Chapter 47
It turns out that the irritation she felt was anger. At this moment, Ji Ting confirmed that she was indeed angry. She had finally found someone she could talk to well, which had distracted her from other concerns, but he ruined it with just a few words.
Ji Ting looked up at him in the dim light, her eyes meeting him. “Shouldn’t I be angry?”
Tan Yucheng’s eyes narrowed slightly. In the next moment, he pushed her backward, pinning her against the desk. He stepped forward, trapping her in his embrace, and looked down at her with a cold, low voice: “When you meet someone like this, you should stay away. And now you’re angry with me!”
“But I rarely meet someone I can talk to.”
Ji Ting met his gaze, admitting it directly.
Tan Yucheng’s eyes flashed with a hint of hostility. “Even if you can talk, you need to consider the person’s character. You eat anything and cover your ears, not wanting to listen to anything. Do you want to harm yourself?”
Ji Ting bit her lip and then instinctively struggled. Tan Yucheng held her waist, trapping her between the desk and himself. He was furious. For the sake of such a man, she was causing trouble and arguing with him. He felt murderous rage.
Ji Ting grabbed his arm, gritted her teeth, and looked up. Her beautiful eyes were misty, filled with both anger and reproach. They stared at each other, and if this had been before, Tan Yucheng would have kissed her then and there, making all her emotions disappear.
They had known each other for so many years and their families had been close for so long.
This was their first argument.
And the reason for the argument was another man. Tan Yucheng’s forehead was throbbing with veins, his grip on her waist tightening. She was wearing a beige long-sleeve top and pants, with the top being loose. During their struggle, her waist was exposed, and his hand was pressing against her exposed skin.
Ji Ting saw the anger in his eyes.
She continued to struggle and push.
Sometimes she didn’t even know why she was struggling. Perhaps emotions were fleeting, she could calm down and revisit what Qiu Dan had said, or review Fang Yu’s information.
But at this moment, she stubbornly remained in a standoff with him, not really knowing why, as if she just didn’t want to admit that everyone she met was no good.
Tan Yucheng suddenly leaned in, burying his face in her neck. His large hand pressed firmly on her waist as he said, “Can we at least look at the information first? I’m not lying to you, everything I said is true.”
He had softened.
Miraculously, Ji Ting’s struggle stops. She bit her lip, tightened her grip on his arm, and after a moment, she whispered, “Okay.”
Tan Yucheng’s hand around her waist tightened a bit more.
He wanted to crush Fang Yu in his mind.
Meanwhile, not far behind them, his phone, which he had tossed into his pocket, lit up.
A WeChat message popped up on the screen from Shu Xiao.
Shu Xiao: Are you busy?
In the dim light, Ji Ting was pressed against Tan Yucheng’s chest. He buried his face in her neck to calm his breathing and diffuse some of his anger. Ji Ting’s fingers tightened around his arm as she turned her head slightly. The room was quiet except for the faint sound of heartbeats. She carried a subtle, fresh scent from her bath and lingering perfume, blending together and constantly stimulating his senses. He knew his palm had somehow found her waist and was pressed against her skin.
But he didn’t immediately let go. The hem of her clothes lightly brushed against his hand, as soft as silk.
After a long while.
Tan Yucheng looked up.
Ji Ting met his gaze for a few seconds. Tan Yucheng stepped back and released her waist, then picked up the glass of water on the table. The water had gone cold, but he drank it.
His emotions had also returned to calm.
Ji Ting walked past him and headed towards the sofa, her hair messy and her waist still burning with warmth. She sat down on the sofa. Tan Yucheng put down the glass, returned to the sofa, with his collar slightly open. He sat down at the edge of the sofa, took out his coat, retrieved his phone from inside it, and leaned against the armrest to check it.
He also saw a new message.
The name is unexpected.
He glanced at it briefly, swiped away from WeChat without opening the message, and instead found the file he had sent to Ji Lindong, then forwarded it to Ji Ting’s email.
Two beeps.
Ji Ting’s tablet notified her of the new email.
She opened her email and reviewed the document.
The first thing that caught her eye was Fang Yu’s bright smiling face, a passport-sized photo. Below that were his other resume details, with the relationship history at the end.
His private life abroad was so chaotic that the names were unclear: a senior student, a teacher, a nurse, a doctor, a landlord, an older sister of a classmate…
And lastly, a woman named Gong Lidan.
Ji Ting was familiar with the name Gong Lidan but couldn’t immediately place it. She was Fang Yu’s former boss, the formidable woman who had taught him many things.
The document stated she was 49 years old.
Fang Yu was 30.
Ji Ting’s emotions were complex after reading it. Fang Yu seemed sunny and cheerful, like a beautifully wrapped piece of candy. Who would have known that tearing it open would reveal poison instead of candy?
She put the tablet down, leaned back in her chair, and remained still.
Tan Yucheng looked up at her.
Seeing her like this, his eyes flared with anger again.
In a low and cold voice, he asked, “Are you very upset?”
Ji Ting came back to her senses and turned to look at him. After a few seconds, she shook her head. Leaning against the back of the sofa with her hair falling loosely, she said, “I just didn’t expect it.”
Tan Yucheng tilted his head to look at her.
He snorted coldly.
Ji Ting observed his expression. His eyes and brows were filled with coldness, conveying a sense of ruthlessness that seemed capable of killing, reminiscent of the time he had thrown a chair on the man who had harrash her.
Ji Ting paused for a moment, then got off the sofa barefoot and walked towards him.
Tan Yucheng raised an eyebrow, leaned back, and watched her approach.
Ji Ting sat down not far from him, cross-legged on the sofa. She looked at him and said, “I’m apologizing to you.”
Tan Yucheng leaned against the back of the chair with his collar slightly open, one hand resting on the armrest, and stared at her in silence. After a while, when Ji Ting didn’t receive a response, she bit her lip.
“Turn around.”
He spoke suddenly.
Ji Ting was taken aback and looked up at him.
Tan Yucheng’s expression was calm. After a few seconds of stillness, Ji Ting turned her back to him.
At that moment, a hand reached around her waist from behind, followed by Tan Yucheng’s tall body pressing against her. He wrapped his arms around her waist with a hint of exhaustion and buried his face in her neck, his voice low and lazy, “Let me lean on you.”
Ji Ting’s body tensed.
Her hand was resting on the sofa, and he held her waist tightly, causing her loose pajamas to stretch her curves.
Her heart, which had been pounding heavily, started racing again as she realized he had been really busy these days. Since Nanxi had the baby, Fu Yan had barely gone to the office, leaving the entire company to him.
She had sent him a message at 10:30 at night.
Yet he was still at the company.
Her body felt soft, and the faint scent she carried seemed to drive him.
As Ji Ting allowed him to hold her, her mind was in turmoil, filled with chaotic thoughts. Was Shu Xiao pursuing him? Was she taking action? These thoughts flashed through her mind, and she drifted off to think about other things. By the time she came back to her senses, the man behind her was asleep.
Ji Ting was stunned.
She turned to look, seeing only his thick hair.
The hand holding her waist was as solid as iron, and his chest was similarly firm. Her tablet, which she had left aside, began to beeped loudly. Ji Ting was startled and quickly reached for it.
She unlocked the screen and saw several messages from Fang Yu.
The last message from Fang Yu: Are you asleep? Then good night.
Ji Ting’s emotions were still quite mixed.
She didn’t reply. She needed to think carefully about how to handle this or reassess the situation.
She turned off the tablet and placed it beside her.