Chapter 38

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

After Li Yuhuan finished touching up her makeup, she returned to the chess room.

The room was filled with smoke and the smell was very pungent. She scanned the room but she felt a little disheartened when she didn’t see Lei Hanping.

Sitting not far away from the door, she could see Lei Hanping’s friend, Pei Rongyu, looking defeated. His face was red from drinking and he was staggering as he got up from the drinking table to play cards again. Song Ran gave Li Yuhuan a look, telling her not to worry and that she could handle it. With that further prompting,she walked out of the chess room to put on her coat and headed towards the elevator door, hoping to catch the man she had accidentally offended.

Xiang City was very lively on New Year’s Eve. Despite the noise in the club, she could still see the sound of fireworks somewhere nearby. There were fixed areas where fireworks could be set off, and this area was one of them. Standing in Jin Zhao’s lobby area, through the glassy doors, she could see the beautiful fireworks lightening up the inky night sky.

Li Yuhuan suddenly began to miss home again. If she were back home at this time, she would have enjoyed the fireworks in the backyard with her family.

Li Yuhuan suddenly felt her phone vibrate in her coat pocket. She took out the device and saw a text message: “Happy New Year, Yuhuan.”

From Shen Ang.

She instinctively looked out of the door and saw a black Bentley parked across the road. She wouldn’t have paid too much attention to the vehicle if it weren’t for the occupant in the car. The driver’s seat window was rolled down, revealing Shen Ang who had spotted her from across the road.

Their eyes met. Li Yuhuan suddenly remembered the time when they were still in love a few years ago, when a thirty-year-old Shen Ang appeared by her family’s door, holding her favorite soup dumplings with a smile on his face, wishing her, “Happy New Year, Yuhuan.”

If it wasn’t for the accident four years ago, she would probably be able to eat the soup dumplings he brought every year.

Thinking of this, Li Yuhuan’s lips curved into a sarcastic smile. ‘No use hiding from him now’. She pushed the heavy doors open and walked to meet her ex. Shen Ang opened the car door, with something in his hand. When he walked over to meet her at the club’s entrance, she saw that he was holding a container of soup dumplings.

“I bought the restaurant that you like and even reopened it right across your apartment. It’s open twenty-four-seven, so you can eat them whenever you want,” Shen Ang opened the beautifully wrapped lunch box and handed Li Yuhuan a pair of disposable gloves. His eyes were filled with anticipation, “Try it?”

Li Yuhuan didn’t refuse. She put on the gloves, picked up a dumpling, and took a bite. It still had the same taste as many years ago. “It’s delicious. I’ll be there to support President Shen when it opens,”

“It has been open for a week,” Shen Ang stared at Li Yuhuan intently, not blinking even once, “I haven’t seen you recently, did you go back to the Lei family’s main residence?”

“President Shen, you really know how to joke. If I don’t go back to their house, where would I go?” Li Yuhuan picked up a napkin and wiped the corner of her mouth, “Thank you for the soup dumplings, President Shen. I’ll head back inside, Song Ran is still waiting for me,”

“Yuhuan,” Shen Ang grabbed her wrist, “I know that your marriage is fake,” He said.

Li Yuhuan’s eyes remained calm, her heart beating normally. His declaration doesn’t scare her. She knew Shen Ang would find out about their fake marriage sooner or later. She shook off Shen Ang’s hand, but his grip remained tightly on her. She sighed “President Shen, you seem to have misunderstood. Fourth Brother and I just haven’t gone to the Civil Affairs Bureau to register yet. We’ll go after the Spring Festival,” She explained.

“Don’t lie to me anymore, Yuhuan. I’m not stupid, I can see through your relationship with him with one look,” Shen Ang tightened his hold on her wrist, not planning to her go anytime soon. He pulled her closer, crowding her menacingly, “You don’t love Lei Hanping. I’ve always been in your heart,”

“You?” Li Yuhuan raised her eyebrows.

“You married him to punish me for my stupidity. Yuhuan, can you stop punishing me? Give me one more chance, let me make it up to you, okay?” Shen Ang begged.

“Why do I need you to make it up to me?” Li Yuhuan’s eyes shone as if she was smiling through her gaze, “The man who raped me that night wasn’t you. Why do you want to make it up to me?”

The word “rape” used to be taboo for Li Yuhuan. But now, she had accepted everything that had happened in the past and moved on. She took advantage of Shen Ang’s daze and flabbergasted look to pried his hand away, “President Shen, please conduct yourself with dignity,”

…

With no luck in finding Lei Hanping, Li Yuhuan returned to the private room, only to find the man had also returned.

During the break in the chess room, everyone was chatting and drinking. Pei Rongyu sat on the sofa, looking even more defeated than before. Song Ran was explaining why he had lost beside him, pointing out his mistakes like a senior student bestowing her life knowledge to her junior.Jin Zhao’s princesses were listening attentively around them as if they wanted to absorb every trick of the game from Song Ran.

Li Yuhuan walked over to Lei Hanping and took the initiative to start a conversation with him, “Fourth Brother, I’m hungry,”

Lei Hanping picked up his glass and took a sip, before he wrapped his arm around her waist to pull her into his arms, “You’re not full from the soup dumplings?”

Li Yuhuan didn’t know how Lei Hanping had known about that, but she doesn’t see any merit in hiding the knowledge from him either, “I just took a bite,” she answered honestly.

“What do you want to eat?” Lei Hanping asked, quickly dropping the subject.

“Noodles,” Li Yuhuan replied.