Chapter 3

Upon arriving at the hotel entrance, she still showed no signs of having woken up. He turned his head to look at her, half of her face hidden among her dark hair. The light from outside the hotel fell down, and in the hazy glow, he could faintly discern the slight redness on her face from the alcohol.

Qin Nuanyang: "... ..." She was momentarily flustered just now and did not pay attention to the room number at all. It was only now that she remembered they were in the same hotel. Under the dim streetlight, she barely suppressed the thought of throwing the room card at his face, smiled faintly, and gracefully extended her hands. "It turns out it was a misunderstanding"

Li Han was suddenly called upon, and his speech became somewhat stammering, "Yes... there are... some... interests."

Qin Zhaoyang simply put down the documents this time, seemingly pondering for a moment, and did not inquire further about what had happened to her. He only cautioned, "This person is far more dangerous than you know, and even I am reluctant to confront him directly when it is unnecessary. Although both of us are in business, our industries are different. From a purely superficial perspective, there seems to be no conflict of interest for the time being. However, Nuanyang, Tang Zechen..."

Li Ao originally raised his wine glass to toast him, but after Tang Zechen picked up his glass, he hesitated for a moment, raised his hand to summon the waiter, and instructed, "Please change this to freshly squeezed orange juice, and also change Miss Qin's drink."

She stiffly turned around, no longer daring to look at the ambiguous and inscrutable gaze behind her. Grabbing the assistant's sleeve, she said with a mournful expression: "Where is Mr. Tang? I want to thank him."

The person who was supposed to be asleep suddenly felt a twitch in their eyelid

The astonished gazes immediately shifted from speculation to mockery, as they merely assumed that Qin Nuanyang was trying to climb the social ladder, all laughing with ambiguous intentions

The space between her and Li Ao was reserved for him, and he naturally took a seat beside her

Without a word along the way, when she finally reached the lobby on the ground floor, she forced a smile and thanked him, "Thank you, Mr. Tang. I had no idea when I lost my card."

The room was filled with people trying to please him, yet he merely nodded, his gaze shifting directly to her as he slowly approached, unbuttoning the top two buttons of his shirt.

Qin Nuanyang: "... ..." I really want to curse

The two words "thank you" seemed to be squeezed out from between her teeth, as if she were gritting them, causing even the assistant to glance at her more than once. "Miss Qin, please wait a moment."

Qin Nuanyang thought that she must have been drunk and confused to consider using Tang Zechen to get rid of Li Han. As soon as she took a bite, she regretted it. But with so many people watching, she could only force herself to say, "I have long admired Mr. Tang's great name."

Qin Nuanyang: "... ..."

As soon as he sat down, everyone else followed suit, and the atmosphere became considerably more restrained. He, however, seemed completely oblivious to this, directly removing his coat and having the waiter hang it on the back of his chair, unfastening his cuffs and rolling them up slightly, his expression finally relaxing a little.

Tang Zechen was very pleased with the result that required no further explanation from him. After getting into the car, he reached out his hand towards her, saying, "That card does not belong to you."

This time, he truly smiled, a faint smile lingering in his eyes, yet it was genuine and palpable. Immediately afterward, he did not look at her again and instructed the driver to drive away.

He cast a meaningful glance at Li Han, and after a long pause, he said ambiguously, "Interest must be cultivated properly; one cannot be too hasty." After speaking, his gaze seemed to intentionally or unintentionally sweep over Qin Nuanyang, and he picked up his glass to take a sip of his orange juice

Seeing her lack of enthusiasm, Qin Zhaoyang stood up and dialed the internal line, requesting his assistant to bring an extra serving of seafood congee when coming up.

Li Han sat quietly in his seat for a while before stammering to ask her: "Do you know Mr. Tang?"

No. He took the room card and put it in his pocket, turning to look at her with a smile that was neither too deep nor too shallow in his eyes

He resolved the issue with the vegetable, quietly observed her for a moment, and then turned to continue the conversation with Li Ao about the previous topic

He raised his hand to press his forehead, looking extremely tired, "We can make it," he said while walking.

As she was thinking this, he had already entered the room, dressed in formal attire, as if he had just come from some banquet, with a faint scent of smoke and alcohol lingering on him

Li Han also harbored a certain degree of apprehension towards this man, but more than that, there was admiration. He leaned closer and began to speak softly about his matters.

After a dinner gathering, everyone's thoughts were different. After Qin Nuanyang drank orange juice, she felt that the aftereffect of the red wine was even stronger. When she stood up, she felt a bit dizzy and had to hold onto the table to steady herself.

Qin Zhaoyang was taken aback when he saw Qin Nuanyang, who should have just boarded the plane, sitting in his seat in the office. "You returned early?"

An assistant beside Tang Zechen approached and casually handed her a room card, "Miss Qin, you dropped your room card."

Qin Nuanyang thought that this sentence could finally be found without any mistakes, right? He would never shamelessly pin a random charge on her. At that time, if he politely said it was no trouble, they would be even. Yet, at this moment, he seriously nodded and said, "You have indeed offended me"

Qin Nuanyang found herself unable to articulate her thoughts in the face of his calm and composed gaze, her tongue felt as if it were tied in knots, while her heart was already in an uproar, rebelling against the situation. Yet, her lips remained tightly sealed, and she ultimately chose to abandon her resistance and obediently got into the car

Qin Nuanyang fled in a panic

Listening to this tone, it seems that the engagement in close combat is not very pleasant

Qin Nuanyang did not dare to delve into the deeper meaning of the words, instead pretending that he did not understand at all, "One should still express gratitude when it is due; a person like Mr. Tang is rare to encounter."

Tang Zechen lightly tapped his fingers on his knee a few times and said, "We have arrived at the hotel. Is Miss Qin still not awake?"

The nerve at the corner of Qin Nuanyang's forehead twitched violently, as if sorrow had surged back like a river.

He paused for a moment and said word by word: "Do not be curious about him, do not approach him, and especially do not tempt him"

She really wanted to shout at him, "Do you even know what it implies to hand her the room card in front of so many people!" However, the words circled around her lips several times, and she still silently swallowed them down, transforming into a harmless, "If I have offended you in any way, I hope Mr. Tang will be magnanimous and forgive me."

Recently, encounters have been quite frequent, unexpectedly, such a small gathering could also invite him

After chatting for a moment about trivial matters, Tang Zechen suddenly became interested in "The Prosperous Capital". He glanced at Li Han and said in a calm tone: "I heard that the second young master is also interested in this?"

Tang Zechen's emotions are rarely expressed on his face, and very few people can understand what he is thinking... However, one thing is well known to all: Mr. Tang is not interested in women and shows no mercy towards any advances from them

It seemed that this was the second time someone had asked her this; she raised her hand to rub her aching brow, too lazy to pay him any further attention

Qin Nuanyang let out a sigh of relief upon hearing the sound of the elevator doors closing behind her. She quickly turned to her assistant and added, "Since Mr. Tang is busy, let's discuss it next time..."

Her actions left everyone, including the person involved, momentarily stunned

As he reached the door, his car was already parked there. He glanced over, his voice calm and detached, making it difficult to discern his true emotions, "Are you coming with me? After all, we are headed in the same direction."

Qin Nuanyang pondered for a moment, not daring to ask too many questions. After contemplating for a while, she finally spoke: "Be cautious of him."

The atmosphere at the dining table suddenly became strange

Before she could finish her words, Tang Zechen appeared in her line of sight, unhurried and composed, standing tall and elegant.

Qin Nuanyang suddenly felt her whole body stiffen ... How could Tang Zechen's tone suggest that the relationship between the two was quite close

Just when everyone was anticipating the spectacle of Qin Nuanyang being unable to save face, Tang Zechen, who had not touched his chopsticks all evening, leisurely picked them up and fed a piece of green vegetable into his mouth. "There is no need to be so polite with me."

Only after Qin Nuanyang's vehicle disappeared from her line of sight did she let out a heavy sigh, as dealing with someone whose thoughts were so unclear was truly exhausting

At the end of the gathering, she was eager to run a little faster and had already blended into the crowd at the elevator door, witnessing the imminent victory of the revolution

Having filled her stomach, she finally felt energized. Wiping her lips with a tissue, she asked, "Are you familiar with Tang Zechen?"

Qin Nuanyang listened with indifference, only subtly shifting away when he approached.

As she noticed more and more gazes directed towards her, increasingly ambiguous in nature, she finally furrowed her brow and picked up her chopsticks to place the vegetables in front of her into Tang Zechen's bowl

Originally, she had one more day of rest in City S, but the events of last night left her feeling extremely unsettled, prompting her to have Mia book a flight back to City A for that very day.

The interior of the car was so quiet that only the faint sound of the wheels could be heard. After sitting for a moment without hearing Tang Zechen say anything further, she gradually let down her guard and fell asleep.

Qin Nuanyang was just about to take a sip of wine to quench his thirst, but as soon as he reached out his hand, he silently withdrew it...

Qin Zhaoyang was flipping through the documents when he heard her words. He raised his gaze to look at her, and that glance seemed to penetrate into her heart, leaving her feeling a bit unsteady.

Qin Nuanyang found himself unable to refute this; his original intention to part ways in the lobby on the ground floor was instantly shattered by a single move, leaving him with no choice but to follow him out.

As soon as he finished speaking, she opened her eyes, her gaze clear and devoid of the haze typical of someone just waking up. She opened the car door and stepped out, firmly planting her feet on the ground before gracefully turning to the person inside the car and softly expressing her gratitude: "I have been troubling Mr. Tang quite often lately, and I feel somewhat guilty about it."

Qin Nuanyang has already begun to play dead since just now ... ... Yes, no matter what happens, it has nothing to do with her

The person on the other side, feigning sleep with their eyes closed, heard the gentle and peaceful breathing beside them. They slowly opened their eyes and softly instructed, "Drive more steadily."

Tang Zechen did not respond, merely gazing at her with a smile that was not quite a smile, making her feel a prickling sensation on her scalp. He then slowly said: "It’s alright, we have plenty of time ahead of us"

He paused for a moment before saying: "I have dealt with him before"

Li Han's knowledge is merely superficial, and it is even less than what she knows. I wonder if his experience as a host makes him particularly talkative; even when she responds coldly with just a few hums, he can keep the conversation going without any awkward pauses

Qin Nuanyang held a disposable paper cup and took a sip of warm water, making room for others, "Hmm."

Qin Nuanyang began to deeply regret her impulsive decision to nod at Mr. Tang's car just moments ago. At this moment, she sat closely against the car door, watching the light spots projected from the streetlights on her knees as they sped by and changed, feeling a wave of drowsiness wash over her

The official demeanor was indeed sufficient, but in that very moment, she had already devised an escape plan. If he were to refuse, she could later feign embarrassment to excuse herself from the gathering.