Chapter 6

After being bullied by her student for the entire day, just the mere sight of the name flashing on the screen on her phone was enough to send her into tears.

She sniffled softly before reaching out her towards her phone, only to freeze in her tracks as she remembered the situation she was in right now, while an unavoidable sense of guilt and worry filled her senses as she stared at her ringing phone in silence.

The ringing slowly died down, only to ring once again insistently, as if expressing the anxiousness and worries of the caller.

“Miss Shu, are you ready?” A servant’s voice sounded from outside the room once more, pulling Shu ChunChun back from her thoughts, I will not worry him no matter what!

She picked up her phone with shaky hands while biting down softly on her lips before answering the call.

The call was connected immediately, but before she could even speak, an anxious voice sounded from the other end, “ChunChun? Are you okay? Did something happen, since you took such a long time to answer…”

Han XiPing’s usual gentle voice was now filled with an urgency, and as soon as she heard it, her eyes reddened immediately as she covered her palms over her mouth to silence the escaped sob.

When she finally spoke, her voice was filled with her usual cheerful tone, “Eh? Nothing happened, I was at the washroom just now.”

“ChunChun, why does your voice sound somewhat weird?”

She clenched her hands into fists upon hearing his words, but her tone was still light, “It’s probably the cold,” She coughed softly before continuing, “It’s irritating my throat… Ah, right! What happened to you, why are you in such a rush, didn’t you mention that you’d be busy with the partnership project recently?”

“Ah, speaking of the project, I called to announce a wonderful new! The deal was done and we’ll officially be starting the partnership…” Han XiPing’s gentle voice was coated with pure happiness, happiness that was so contagious even through the phone, which even Shu ChunChun, who had been miserable and hopeless previously, to beam happily at his words.

“Great! I’ve always known that my XiPing is the best!”

Listening to her unrestrained praises, his smile grew wider on his face, “In that case, Han Shi’s future boss’s wife, would you allow me the honor of dining with you tonight?”

Shu ChunChun nodded at herself instinctively, almost saying ‘yes’ but pausing just in time as she remembered where she was right now.

“ChunChun? Why aren’t you responding?” Han XiPing asked worriedly at her lack of response.

“Ah?…” She answered quickly, “Oh, I was pondering about which dress I should wear tonight…”

Han XiPing chuckled at her adorable reaction before continuing, “ChunChun looks beautiful no matter what you wear, I’ll drive over to your house right away.”

“N…No need…” She stuttered quickly before forcing a smile on her own face, “I’ll come over myself, since it’s nearby, how horrible it will be to make you go back and forth like this…”

Shu ChunChun’s soft tone made him ignore the slight doubt in his heart, “Well, alright then. I’ll meet you at the usual place.”

“Alright…” She ended the call quickly before standing movingly in a daze.

Since Chen Liang had not restricted her freedom, it should be fine to leave the house to meet someone for a meal right?

Steadying her heart, she entered her washroom for a quick clean-up before leaving her room, she noticed the racks of new clothes on the way out from the washroom but she ignored them completely, refusing to change into any of the new clothes. His gifts are disgusting, and her disgusts for them runs deep within her heart.

She opened the door before following the servant downstairs.

Han XiPing was part of Chen Liang’s ploy, so why he be part of hers too?

She will now present Chen Liang with this wonderful opportunity. Didn’t he threaten her with Han XiPing previously? …Then, she would use Han XiPing to make him regret everything!

Chen Liang waited casually for her at the long dining table, but in fact, his eyes watched the entire scene that happened in Shu ChunChun’s room just moments ago.

He narrowed his eyes at the woman following behind one of his servants, it was but a normal call from that man, but it was enough to fill her with energy and an uncontrollable need to escape this place just to meet him.

[She’s like a little rabbit who still had not figured out her position… It seemed that my previous warnings were not enough to make her realize who she belonged to.]

“Teacher, sit beside me.” He smiled at her as she was approaching the table.

His face was filled with smiles, while his voice was gentle and soft, but nonetheless, she did not dare to resist.

This man, even though he was younger than her, was capable of handling issues like a grown mature man, even the occasional flash within his eyes were not usually seen in younger men.

Shu ChunChun sat down timidly beside him, staring at the table full of food, “I…I wish to go out…” She stuttered nervously before peeking to see his reaction, only to find him staring at her expressionlessly, “I…I will return quickly… You…”

“Must you leave now?” Chen Liang’s gaze passed through the food on the table before finally landing on her firmly, as if upset at the wasted food.

She bit down on her lips silently as she felt his gaze on her, but she refused to back down.

“Teacher, I have not restricted your freedom.” He said blandly while her face lit up brightly at his words.

He grinned slightly before continuing, “I only wish teacher could share this meal with me.”

His sudden gentleness made her feel as if he had turned back into the gentle and hardworking student she had always known.

She hesitated for a few seconds before deciding that she needed to see Han XiPing more, staring at the abundance of food on the table, she muttered apologetically at him, “I’m sorry for not letting you know that I won’t be having my meal here tonight, but don’t worry, I’ll be back soon…”

Even though he had known what her decisions would be, it still made him somewhat upset, but he nodded slowly at her, “I believe you, I believe teacher will return very soon.”

He gazed at her silently for a few seconds, “Does teacher need me to send you out with a car?” He asked gently.

“Ah, it’s alright, I’ll go by feet.” She refused his offer politely as she beamed with happiness, not realizing the darkness within his eyes.

As she walked towards the entrance, she turned back towards him to mutter a soft thank you before running off.

[Beep! Target Shu ChunChun’s affection +20, total affection = 10]

He listened to the emotionless voice within his mind as he ate, grinning sarcastically upon hearing the content.

[All I did was to fulfill such a small request, and it was enough to make her forget about all the wrongdoings from before. Such a…]

Such an irritating innocence…

[But still, it seems that teacher had not taken my words seriously, I’m really eager to see her reaction the next time we meet…]

Chen Liang chuckled deeply, as if thinking of something fun.

[This world is getting more and more interesting, because teacher is always capable of making me look forward to what would happen next…]

He slowly continued on with his meal, before waving his hand at one of the servants nearby, “Go, get some men and follow me out later.”

“Yes, sir.”

Meanwhile, at their usual spot, Han XiPing, who was dressed in a handsome suit, was already waiting there with a huge bouquet of roses in his arms.

Shu ChunChun, who had noticed him there, ran over quickly before rushing into his embrace, causing him to beam happily as he moved away the bouquet of roses with a single hand while catching her firmly with the other.

“Whose clingy kitten is this? It’s been just a single day~” He teased her gently.

“Had it been just a single day? Why do I feel as if we hadn’t met for months…” She muttered softly before blushing immediately at her growling stomach.

He kissed her forehead softly before grinning at her, “Could it be that the starvation made you feel as if a lot of time passed?”

She hung her head slightly before answering, “… Today had been a busy day, hence I haven’t had the chance to eat at all…”

“Let’s go quickly then, I can’t hear starving my hungry little kitten,” He sighed softly at her before pinching her cheeks softly.

Time flies quickly when you’re having fun, and in no time, the sweet couple were already strolling hand-in-hand on the way back.

Shu ChunChun stared at her watch, realizing that it’s already ten.

“I…I need to go home now.” She said quietly.

“Aren’t we on the way back?” Han XiPing pointed at the direction they were moving towards with a grin.

Shu ChunChun was not talking about her own home, but still, there was no way she could let him know.

“It’s alright, you should return home too, I’ll just make my way back swiftly.” She forced a sweet smile on her face as she gazed at him.

“Fine,” Han XiPing hugged her tightly before muttering softly into her ears, “ChunCun, our company will be holding an important ball to celebrate the partnership, please attend it as my female partner.”

“I want to let everyone know that you’re the love of my life.” His gentle voice was firm, filled with determination and affection for her.

Shu ChunChun’s tears began streaming down her cheeks upon hearing his words, giving him a huge shock as he tried to wipe her tears off in a panic.

“What is it, ChunChun, why are you crying? Did I say something wrong…” He coo-ed anxiously, “ChunChun, please don’t cry…”

She shook her head softly, her tears still streaming down her face as she grinned brightly, “No, I’m just… too happy…”

The ball, since the partnership was with Chen Shi, then, Chen Liang would surely attend, by then…

As Shu ChunChun was deep in thoughts, she felt Han XiPing pushing her behind him in a rush.

“What are you two lovebirds doing here at night? Aren’t you afraid of slipping in the dark path?” A gruff voice sounded nearby, pulling her back from her thoughts before they were surrounded by a group of men dressed as thugs.

Shu ChunChun’s brows furrowed deeply… It’s not Chen Liang, then is this a real robbery?

Han XiPing continued to keep her safe behind him, staring at the thugs before landing his gaze on the man who had spoken previously while taking out his wallet, “We were in a rush when we came out, hence we don’t have much cash on us…”

The man reached out towards the wallet before nodding in approval, “You’re quite the smart boy.”

Han XiPing let out an unnoticeable sigh of relief at the thug’s reaction, before noticing his gaze had landed Shu ChunChun, “Heh, your woman looks damn fine, since you don’t have enough cash, you wouldn’t mind letting us play with her, right?”

Han XiPing’s eyes turned ice-cold immediately at his words before grabbing tightly onto Shu ChunChun’s hands, “ChunChun, later when I say run, you run as quickly as possible…” He whispered urgently at her.

“But…” She whispered softly as her eyes flashed worriedly at him.

“I’ll be fine,” He smiled at her reassuringly before landing a kick at the man nearest to him while pushing Shu ChunChun towards the other direction.

“Run!”