Hu Feng finally sent An Xiao to the hospital.
In An Nuan's warm office, only An Nuan and Ye Jinghuai were left.
The two looked at each other.
An Nuan quickly averted her gaze.
Ye Jinghuai would always catch her off guard.
She kept her head down, dealing with work matters, and said, "I was a bit behind on work the last couple days because of the Gu Group situation, so I have an unusually large amount of work to get through today. I'll probably have to work overtime for a bit. If you get bored, feel free to head home first."
"No worries, I'll wait for you," Ye Jinghuai slowly replied.
"Then I'll try to get through this as fast as I can."
"Take your time," Ye Jinghuai smiled. "Wouldn't want the lady to get too distracted by male charms."
"..." Since when was she getting distracted?
An Nuan ignored Ye Jinghuai.
She tried her best to immerse herself in her work.
The office was incredibly quiet.
Ever since Luo Si had caught them passionately kissing earlier, she had made herself scarce for the rest of the day.
If there was any work that needed to be done, she would definitely report through the office software.
She was afraid of disturbing their intimate moment.
An Nuan finally finished up the work she needed to get through.
She checked the time. It was just past 5pm.
Luckily there was no need for overtime today.
She lifted her head to look at the sofa.
At some point, the man sitting on the sofa had fallen asleep.
He hadn't laid down either. He just sat there, back against the sofa. If one didn't pay close attention, they wouldn't even notice he was sleeping.
So An Nuan had no idea when exactly Ye Jinghuai had dozed off.
She carefully walked over.
An Nuan looked at his stern sleeping face, brows tightly knitted together.
It was as if even in sleep, he was still lost in thought.
On closer inspection, there were dark circles under his eyes.
It wasn't difficult to discern his fatigue recently.
An Nuan felt a bit distressed.
Previously when she didn't understand Ye Jinghuai, she truly believed he was just a playboy son, useless aside from eating, drinking and having fun. She didn't comprehend his abilities and never put him in high regard; in fact, she even felt some dislike towards him.
Now she knew better.
This man actually tried very hard at whatever he did, always striving for excellence.
Compared to Gu Yan Sheng, who was always harping on about his own virtues, Ye Jinghuai was superior by leaps and bounds.
No wonder that once their masks had been torn away, the gaping disparity between them was apparent for all to see.
An Nuan just stood there quietly watching Ye Jinghuai.
She wondered - was it because she had been reborn that Heaven was favoring her so?!
She'd never even dreamed that in her second life, she would meet such an incredible man as Ye Jinghuai.
In her previous life, her impression of him was merely as a stumbling block in Gu Yan Sheng's path.
Because he had hindered Gu Yan Sheng's advancement, she knew Ye Jinghuai had abilities but never held him in high regard; in fact, she even felt some resentment towards him.
How times have changed.
Unable to resist, An Nuan drew closer to Ye Jinghuai.
She couldn't help wanting to get nearer to him.
She had just leaned in, not yet touching Ye Jinghuai's body-
When Ye Jinghuai suddenly grabbed her wrist in an iron grip and yanked her down forcefully onto the sofa.
In the next instant,
A large hand wrapped tightly around An Nuan's neck, its grip inexorable.
The man who had been sound asleep just moments ago now stared at An Nuan with bloodshot eyes. In their close proximity, An Nuan saw the madness and bloodlust in Ye Jinghuai's eyes. That suffocating sensation of nearing death frightened An Nuan so much she didn't even dare breathe.
She stared fixedly at Ye Jinghuai.
At his cruel and sinister face which now seemed so unfamiliar.
It was as if...
She was seeing an entirely different Ye Jinghuai.
And this side of him seemed like his true face.
Her heart raced faster.
Fear grew within her.
Her eyes remained locked on Ye Jinghuai's.
She felt his irresistible strength, the pressure of his hand tightening around her neck.
An Nuan's face turned beet red.
"Ye...Jinghuai..." She struggled to say his name.
Upon hearing her faint, choked voice, the frenzied man suddenly regained awareness.
His eyes flickered as he looked at the woman he had pinned down.
At her frightened white face.
All the ruthlessness and cruelty vanished from his countenance in an instant.
In that moment An Nuan wondered if she had been hallucinating?!
At the same time, the grip around her throat disappeared.
It was replaced by
Ye Jinghuai bending down, kissing her madly.
This kiss was clearly different from before.
The previous sweet passion -
Now what remained seemed to be
Pure desire.
Endless taking.
Beneath him, An Nuan simply let him do as he pleased.
Yet she gave no response whatsoever.
She didn't know how to respond to Ye Jinghuai's current panic.
Nor did she know how to respond to that Ye Jinghuai earlier, who was completely unlike the man she knew.
After some time, Ye Jinghuai finally calmed himself.
Regaining composure, he released An Nuan.
The two of them remained in their original position, Ye Jinghuai pressing An Nuan into the sofa.
Ye Jinghuai looked at An Nuan's white face.
Normally after their fiery kisses, her cheeks would flush red as peaches.
Now, she was white from fear.
Frightened by him.
The corners of Ye Jinghuai's mouth lifted into a smile.
Such a natural smile, as if nothing at all had just transpired between them. His slender fingers caressed her soft lips as his magnetic voice murmured lowly, "Does it hurt?"
Clearly her swollen, reddened lips were a right mess.
In his earlier loss of control, he had been unable to restrain himself.
Now there was only remorse.
An Nuan's clear black eyes gazed fixedly at Ye Jinghuai.
Her eyes were as translucent and flawless as the highest grade black gemstone, beautiful beyond compare.
She asked, "Ye Jinghuai, who did you think I was just now?"
"Or is it that you're on guard against anyone who gets near you?" An Nuan continued asking.
Ye Jinghuai's reaction from before didn't seem to target any specific person.
Rather...
It was pure instinct.
Practiced motions executed perfectly in one breath.
Just what kind of upbringing would lead Ye Jinghuai to such a state of hypervigilance?
Ye Jinghuai lifted An Nuan up from the sofa into his arms.
He said, "I have many sides of me that I don't let others see."
"For example?" An Nuan looked at him.
She truly wanted to fully understand what kind of man he was.
He was the Third Young Master Ye, so why were his behavior and conduct so drastically different compared to others from prominent families?
Just who was Ye Jinghuai?!
"For example..." Ye Jinghuai returned An Nuan's gaze and said calmly, "I can kill people."
"..." An Nuan's heartbeat quickened.
The fear in her eyes was unconcealed.
Ye Jinghuai saw it too.
He took in all her reactions, yet gave no explanation or defense of himself.
The air grew oppressive.
An Nuan looked away from Ye Jinghuai and asked quietly, "Will you kill me?"
"Never," Ye Jinghuai enunciated clearly.
Clearly men's words couldn't always be trusted; the wounds Gu Yan Sheng had inflicted were lesson enough to last her lifetimes.
Yet now,
She believed Ye Jinghuai once more.
She thought, if there ever came a day when she was deceived by a man again, ruined once more because of a man - then she deserved it!
