Returning - Chapter 84
Chapter 84: When Pretense Becomes Real
The corridor was long, and Zhao Yu's and Xue Zhan's positions were at opposite ends. At such a distance, she could practically guarantee that Xue Zhan couldn't hear what she and Song Xuan were saying.
But Song Xuan's presence truly had a significant impact on her. After all, he represented a past she couldn't yet reveal in front of Xue Zhan.
This chance encounter with Song Xuan was something she had never anticipated.
As she walked calmly toward Xue Zhan, Zhao Yu continuously mulled over her current identity and the potential problems that could arise.
Her ID card had been changed by Shang Lu before she even graduated from university, with no record of her former name left behind. It was impossible for anyone to know she was once called Tang Xi.
But her academic credentials couldn't be faked. She had simply changed her name at the school before graduation, and her diploma bore her current name. As Zhao Yu, she had been a transparent nobody at Jiaotong University who left no trace—nothing could be dug up. However, if someone were to investigate her past thoroughly, it was hard to say they wouldn't uncover Tang Xi directly.
Would Xue Zhan investigate her because of this? Theoretically, no. After all, she had merely run into an old classmate; he had no reason to investigate her. Yet her lack of understanding of this man only heightened her vigilance.
"Sorry, Director Xue. I ran into an old classmate and chatted a bit too long. Lost track of time."
When she reached Xue Zhan, she proactively offered a smiling explanation, even gesturing in Song Xuan's direction, striving to appear calm and forthright. She knew very well that in front of someone like Xue Zhan, the fewer lies told, the better.
Song Xuan had already entered the restroom. Xue Zhan merely glanced casually in that direction before losing interest, asking offhandedly, "It looked like your chat wasn't too pleasant?"
"Yeah." Zhao Yu nodded honestly. "My university roommate's cousin is chasing him—that's the girl who came with him tonight. I was trying to play matchmaker, but he… wasn't very receptive. I was just meddling."
Xue Zhan said nothing more. He turned and led her toward the elevator. "Let's go. We can leave now."
He could tell Zhao Yu disliked this kind of scene and hated dealing with the men who approached her. Besides, he didn't like these banquets either; they were just a social necessity he had to attend.
Zhao Yu followed obediently behind him, maintaining an assistant's proper distance, but she could still easily smell the perfume on him—the kind only a woman would wear.
Zhao Yu wasn't blind; she had, of course, noticed several women proactively approaching him during the banquet. His manner of rejection was always the same: polite, but distant. As if no woman in this world could catch his eye.
The driver had been waiting in the underground parking lot. Once in the car, Xue Zhan directly instructed, "To Shallow Bay."
That was one of his residences. Such an order implied that Zhao Yu was to go with him.
Zhao Yu didn't react much. She merely took out her phone to check the surveillance feed at her front door, and sure enough, she saw Xue Zi'ang standing guard there.
She had specifically installed this camera after breaking up with Xue Zi'ang, just in case he showed up suddenly and caught her off guard.
With such a large camera hanging there, Xue Zi'ang couldn't possibly miss it. His willingness to expose himself under the lens—was he trying to demonstrate his sincerity to her?
Xue Zhan leaned over to look and let out a cold laugh. "He's certainly persistent."
Zhao Yu smiled faintly. "You already guessed he'd be like this, didn't you, President Xue?"
That was why he hadn't sent her home—to let Xue Zi'ang believe they were spending the night together.
Xue Zhan stared expressionlessly ahead. "He wanted to attend the evening gala too. I asked the organizers to refuse him. It seems he still refuses to believe that you and I are involved."
We were never involved in the first place. Zhao Yu didn't say this aloud, but she conveyed it to him with her eyes.
Xue Zhan smiled and asked, "Tasted the pleasure of revenge against him?"
Zhao Yu nodded, then immediately shook her head vigorously. After all, he and Xue Zi'ang were family; admitting this in front of him was a bit ridiculous.
Xue Zhan understood her meaning and said flatly, "It doesn't matter."
Upon entering the villa, Zhao Yu consciously stood aside, waiting for instructions. Xue Zhan casually pointed upstairs. "Pick any room on the third floor. I'm on the second."
"Thank you, President Xue."
They took the stairs together. When they reached the second floor, Xue Zhan asked her to wait a moment. He soon went into his room and came out with a set of men's pajamas, handing them to her. "New. I haven't worn them. Wear these tomorrow morning. A guest will be arriving."
His every word and action was perfectly calm, devoid of emotion, yet Zhao Yu felt as if nothing could ever escape his control.
This realization made her inexplicably uneasy.
And his confident tone was validated the next morning when Xue Zi'ang came knocking.
Zhao Yu had just gotten up and was washing up in the guest bathroom. Hearing the doorbell and Xue Zhan's footsteps going downstairs, she quickened her pace. She finished quickly and also went down.
Her pajamas were identical to the ones Xue Zhan was wearing. On the dining table lay piping-hot breakfast that Xue Zhan had just ordered, along with two sets of tableware.
This scene was, by all appearances, that of a loving couple. And Xue Zi'ang, the intruder, was blatantly the outsider.
Staring in disbelief at everything before him, Xue Zi'ang's already haggard face, worn from lack of sleep, grew even more ghastly. His fists were clenched so tight they were bone-white, but he couldn't utter a single sound.
Xue Zhan ignored him completely, naturally wrapping an arm around Zhao Yu's waist and smiling. "All washed up?"
"Mhm." Zhao Yu played along with a sweet, charming smile, acting coy. "I'm hungry."
"I've got breakfast ready." Xue Zhan guided her to the dining table and sat her down, pushing the bowl of congee toward her. "I had extra meat added. You were exhausted last night; you need to replenish your strength."
Xue Zi'ang's fists cracked audibly, his knuckles turning white.
Xue Zhan glanced over and said indifferently, "If you want breakfast, order it yourself. I didn't prepare a share for you."
Xue Zi'ang's gaze fell on Zhao Yu's face. He asked, almost through gritted teeth, "You said you and I aren't from the same world. Well then, what about him? Are he and you from the same world?"
"No." Zhao Yu smiled, slowly stirring the still-scalding congee with her spoon. "But I still want to give it a try."
Xue Zi'ang's eyes blazed with fire, the composure he'd shown in front of her before completely gone. His bloodshot eyes fixed directly on Xue Zhan. "You promised me you wouldn't touch her."
Xue Zhan looked at him expressionlessly. "I'm also a normal man."
Anger, panic, regret… all emotions surged into his heart, clogging his chest until he could barely breathe.
Xue Zi'ang wanted to rush forward and slam his clenched fist hard into that man's body. But when he heard Xue Zhan add, "It was you who failed to cherish her," it was as if all the strength had been drained from him. He couldn't take a step.
Then, he watched helplessly as Xue Zhan pulled Zhao Yu, who was beside him, into his arms and gently kissed her lips.
It was as if countless knives were simultaneously carving into his heart. Xue Zi'ang's lips trembled. He gritted his teeth, but ultimately could only flee in utter defeat.
Zhao Yu was equally stunned, because she had never imagined Xue Zhan would proactively kiss her. Even if they were putting on an act, given Xue Zhan's nature and his usual attitude toward her, it shouldn't have been necessary to go this far.
Once she recovered, she caught a glimpse of Xue Zi'ang standing to the side from the corner of her eye. So she proactively extended her tongue, meeting Xue Zhan's kiss.
Unlike the brief brush of lips at the hospital last time, this was a true entanglement of lips and tongues, a reciprocal exchange. And she could feel that when he kissed her, his attitude was very forceful.
It wasn't until Xue Zi'ang left, utterly dejected, that Zhao Yu ceased the intertwining dance of her tongue with Xue Zhan's. She had assumed he would stop too, but instead, he hooked her tongue and continued his vigorous rhythm inside her mouth.
Even his right hand had moved from the back of her head to her chest, kneading her breast in repetitive motions. His left hand, which had been around her waist, had slipped under the hem of her top, stroking her bare skin.
This was abnormal, completely out of character for him.
Alongside the physical pleasure, an increasingly ominous premonition grew in Zhao Yu's heart.
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