Chapter 243

"What? Worried about me?"

He Lele shook her head. With L's techniques and habits, unless caught in the act, the possibility of obtaining evidence after the fact was basically zero. She wasn't worried that Muse would find L; what made her uneasy was... "You, why did you hack into Muse?" Was it because of her?

"Entrusted by someone," Li Yiquan replied.

Really? He Lele didn't ask again.

After finishing lunch, He Lele suggested returning to Ren Lingyu's place. Li Yiquan didn't say anything; after taking her to buy a set of clothes, he drove to Ren Lingyu's home.

"L, about this morning..."

"Treat it as if it never happened?"

He Lele lowered her head. "I, I really am not suitable for you."

"...You have already said this sentence, and I have already answered."

Silence, a long silence. The music inside the car remained clear and pleasant, yet it sounded so distant and strange. The her of the past, the her of the present...

"L, you once drafted an administrator contract for Muse's Deep Blue Apartment, remember?" Such labor contracts were generally drafted by the Human Resources Department. Since they had him draft it separately, and given the nature of the work, she believed he must have an impression of it.

Pulling the car to the side of the road, Li Yiquan gripped He Lele's clenched fist. "I know. You don't need to say anything."

"You, you know? You know I—"

"July 13th, you signed the contract; the 14th, you entered Deep Blue; October 16th, you left."

As his words fell, her whole body froze.

"Heh... so you knew everything. Then, haha, I actually thought... haha, I just said it!" He knew everything! He knew it all! He knew how dirty she was, he knew she wasn't worthy of him at all. He actually... was it because he saw she was a woman who would sleep with anyone that he wanted to make her a casual lover? And she had been self-indulgent, worrying for nothing, thinking too highly of herself—"Should've said so earlier, you scared me, haha!"

Listening to her laughter, Li Yiquan turned her tear-streaked face toward him and kissed her deeply. "If you keep letting your imagination run wild, I will take you right here."

"..."

"I know everything, but everything only makes me want to protect you, make it up to you, cherish you, and love you with everything I have. No matter what you have experienced, not a single thing will become an obstacle to my loving you. The one I love is the Kaixin who has accompanied me for three years, the He Lele right before my eyes! You are Li Yiquan's... only woman."

"L..." She didn't want to cry, didn't want to... In the past four months, she had already cried too, too many times, but, "L..."

One last time, let her cry one last time.

Holding the sobbing He Lele, Li Yiquan stroked her long hair without stopping for a moment.

"I'm sorry," after her tears ran dry, He Lele pushed Li Yiquan away, ordering herself to cast aside her shameless greed. "Thank you for loving me, but I already have someone I cannot leave, so... don't waste any more time on me."

"Is it that you cannot, or that you will not?"

"Whether it is 'cannot' or 'will not,' the result is no different, is it?"

"If it is 'cannot,' I will give you the reason to be able. If it is 'will not'... I will wait until you will."

"L!"

Li Yiquan restarted the car and drove into the residential complex where Ren Lingyu lived. He coldly glanced at the few figures at the entrance of the complex before taking He Lele back to Ren Lingyu's home.

"Excuse me, Uncle and Auntie, there might be a few uninvited guests coming over later. I am very sorry to disturb you."

"Uh... is, is it Producer Shentu and, and Chairman Ji and the others?"

"Yes, it should be, and there will be more than just them."

"Ah! Oh my! How did I forget that today is Lingyu's cousin's birthday! I'm so sorry! This, we must leave quickly. Lingyu, entertain the guests well! Lingyu's dad, let's go, let's go!"

Half an hour later, five of the Deep Blue owners arrived one after another.

Wednesday's little scoop:

Bodyguard: I really am just a bystander.

The age ranking of the six men, this was actually mentioned in the big section of Orange Juice's post. From oldest to youngest: Mu Wei, Shentu, Ruan Lin, Ji Jie, Li Yiquan, Qin Zhixiu.

☆, (11 Fresh Coins) Chapter 268: Where to Go

When Shentu Mo entered the door, He Lele subconsciously blocked Ren Lingyu. Shentu Mo glanced at the guarded and vigilant He Lele, his gaze shifting to Li Yiquan, who was sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed, drinking tea.

"Please," Li Yiquan gestured with his hand.

"L?" Shentu Mo frowned.

Once Shentu Mo said this, Ji Jie and Ruan Lin, who had arrived before him, had their expressions shift slightly, while Qin Zhixiu remained as usual.

He Lele felt as if she were facing a great enemy, but before she could speak, Li Yiquan had already nodded and set down his teacup.

"Kaixin, Xiaoyu, I’d like to have a chat with these gentlemen. Could you two return to your room for a moment?" Li Yiquan said with a smile.

"I have no interest." Ruan Lin stood up. "Lele, let’s go."

"Mr. Ruan, I drafted the employment contract for the Deep Blue administrator. I thought you might be interested in discussing the terms with me," Li Yiquan said.

Ruan Lin was stunned; his tall frame instantly stiffened like iron. Then, catching the somewhat dazed expression on He Lele’s face, he gritted his teeth and sat back down.

Shentu Mo let out a cold snort, staring at He Lele. He didn't want to say anything now; he only wanted to fuck the woman in front of him until she couldn't cry out another tear!

"Come here."

He Lele retreated a step in fear, bumping directly into Ren Lingyu behind her.

"Shentu! You’re scaring her!" Ji Jie said with dissatisfaction.

Shentu Mo walked straight toward He Lele without changing his expression or shifting his gaze. In an instant, the four seated men stood up and strode between the two, with Ren Lingyu pulling He Lele behind him.

"I was the one who hacked into Muse. You have no reason to trouble Lele! This is my home, you aren't welcome here, please leave!" Ren Lingyu shouted.

He Lele hurriedly stopped Ren Lingyu. After much persuasion, she pushed Lingyu into the bedroom, but immediately after, she was pushed into the room by Li Yiquan, who pressed his hands on her shoulders.

"Don't worry, I will never let you be put in a difficult position," Li Yiquan said softly.

A moment later, the five men finally sat down quietly.

"It seems... one is still missing?" Li Yiquan swept his gaze across the faces of the four. The four men had different expressions: Shentu Mo was filled with bloodthirsty gloom; Ruan Lin glanced toward the bedroom in the hallway from time to time, his perfect, handsome face unable to hide his unease and pain; relatively speaking, Ji Jie and Qin Zhixiu were much calmer.

Li Yiquan smiled gently. "Then I will be blunt—I hope you will no longer appear in Lele’s world."

That one sentence caused the expressions of Ji Jie and Qin Zhixiu to change instantly.

"Who do you think you are?" Ji Jie spoke first.

"You're courting death!" Ruan Lin roared angrily.

Hearing the commotion, He Lele rushed out immediately. The moment Ruan Lin saw He Lele, his just-surging aura of rage vanished, leaving only self-resentment.

"It’s fine, don't worry, don't eavesdrop," Li Yiquan instructed patiently.

He Lele looked hesitantly at the men on the sofa, then retreated into the bedroom under Li Yiquan’s reassuring gaze.

"You have no need to be angry, because you—simply have no right to be angry!" Li Yiquan scanned the men with a sharp gaze. "Mr. Ruan, first is you. You know very well what role you played in Lele’s life. What you did to Lele, death would not be enough to atone for!"

Ruan Lin’s face was bloodless. Li Yiquan’s words carved into his heart, yet he... had no way to refute them!

Lele... Lele...

"Mr. Ji, although I am not clear when you learned of this misunderstanding, it is very obvious that you chose to hide it from beginning to end. Furthermore, you know very well that Lele has not the slightest bit of love for you. With you like this, forcing yourself to stay by her side, besides hindering her from finding happiness, does it have any other meaning?"

"You're meddling too much!"

Ignoring Ji Jie’s gaze, which was like that of a wounded beast, Li Yiquan looked at Qin Zhixiu, his tone becoming even softer. "Mr. Qin, objectively speaking, even if you are worthy of sympathy, do you want her to sacrifice her whole life to fill the wounds in yours? What about her wounds? Watching her smile while giving you warmth, only to wail in pain where you cannot see? Please do not deceive yourself; you will only become a burden to her, including what you can give her."

Qin Zhixiu looked back at Li Yiquan with some confusion, but soon, the confusion turned into deep thought.

"As for you, Shentu Mo, from now on, I am no longer the legal advisor for Muse. Of course, you wouldn't want me to hold this position anymore either. Heh... excuse me, during this time I took the liberty of looking at many fascinating things. I believe quite a few people would be interested in this data." Li Yiquan paused, eyeing Shentu Mo, who had a trace of disdain hanging on the corners of his mouth. "Out of years of understanding, I do not wish to be your enemy, unless—it is necessary."

Coldly spitting out the last two words, Li Yiquan’s expression turned cold.

"Please carefully consider my proposal—stay away from the person you should not touch."

Stay away...

Stay away from her...

Stay away from He Lele... How far? Is one step enough? No longer touch her? Never again be able to touch her little face, kiss her lips, never again be able to hold her?

His heart felt as if it had been frozen and then crushed into a handful of debris—

"You didn't tell her the truth about the contract, why?" Ji Jie tried his best to maintain his last bit of pride.

"...She doesn't want to hate anyone, and I don't want to give her a reason to hate anyone."

"Heh..." Ji Jie suddenly laughed. The laughter grew louder and louder, and even as discordant tears gushed down, the laughter did not weaken in the slightest.

He had lost, lost... completely. He had encountered a man who took "her" as the starting point for all his thinking!

"Ji Jie?"

The moment the bedroom door behind them sounded, Ji Jie stood up. "Shentu, consider it me begging you. No matter where she provoked you again, let her go. No matter what, she is the only woman I have truly loved."

After speaking, Ji Jie walked toward the door. Ruan Lin slowly stood up afterward. With a somewhat turbid gaze, he did not walk toward the main door, but toward the bedroom where He Lele was.

Hearing Ji Jie’s indulgent and strange laughter, He Lele couldn't set her mind at ease after all. She secretly opened the door but didn't walk out, only to see Ruan Lin suddenly walk over, push the door open, and gaze down at her.

"Ruan Lin, what’s wrong?"

— Author's Notes —

Author's Note: