A World Apart

Yang Chen felt his breath being whisked away at her straightforwardness.

Jane continued to smile. “Don’t worry too much about it. The moment I fell in love, was the moment everything changed for me. I realized that in this deep, dark world, there will always be a ray of sunshine waiting for me on the other side…”

“I’m not worth it.” Yang Chen shook his head.

“That’s my call to make,” Jane said stubbornly.

Yang Chen gently ran his hands through the grass they were seated on. “Jane, I won’t hide anything from you and you can share all your thoughts with me. We’re here, right now lying back-to-back.”

Jane felt at a loss. “But it doesn’t feel like it. It still feels like we’re half a world apart.”

This time, Yang Chen didn’t know how to reply so he kept silent.

“Yang Chen,” Jane began. “Please don't chase me away even if you don’t want me here next to you. I have nowhere else to go. Promise me?”

Yang Chen thought about it for a long while.

Once he had gathered his thoughts, he got up and walked back towards the party.

He suddenly stopped in his tracks with his back facing her. “I promise.”

Yang Chen continued to walk back to the party.

Jane broke out into a smile as she watched his figure retreat into the distance.

A delicate figure wearing a low-cut red dress appeared in front of Yang Chen when he made a turn near the party location.

Zhao Hongyan stood at the corner absentmindedly, holding a glass of champagne. Her hair was tied up which gave prominence to her busty chest in the low-cut dress. She looked fairly different from when they first met.

She looked like a lonely flower standing alone at the corner.

Yang Chen didn’t realise until he looked up and saw that it was Zhao Hongyan. He froze in his steps.

Zhao Hongyan was flustered to see him too and she hurriedly lower her head down.

“Fancy meeting you here.” Yang Chan tried to act nonchalant and greeted her.

Zhao Hongyan bit her lip and nodded in response.

“Let’s go back. They might dock your pay for slacking off.” Yang Chen joked and started walking back.

To be honest, the moment he saw her, his mind was filled by the seductive moans he heard from yesterday night. How was he going to contain himself should he stay there with her?

Zhao Hongyan mustered up her courage and called out after him. “Wait!”

“Hmm?” Yang Chen stopped in his tracks.

Zhong Hongyan turned around, her eyes brimming with tears. “Yang Chen do you think of me as a dirty, shameless woman? One who only knows how to be vile?”

Yang Chen was stupefied. “What made you say that? I wouldn’t have greeted you if it were true.”

“You’re just sweet talking, aren’t you?” Zhao Hongyan let out a ghost of a smile. “You don’t have to do this. It’ll only make me feel that much worse…”

Zhao Hongyan couldn’t answer that and she turned around in embarrassment.

“You… definitely heard me yesterday. Must you make me repeat it?”

“And so I must assume that you are a despicable person just because you were masturbating?” Yang Chen asked in disdain. “You think too highly of me, and you're being self-centered.”

Zhao Hongyan was surprised to hear his response.

Yang Chen continued, “There are billions of people in the world who all possess the same sexual desires you do. If everyone thinks that masturbation equals to depression, they can disappear for all I care. You think divorcees are rare? You think they don’t have their own sexual needs? If it wasn’t for their second husbands or boyfriends, where else do you think they vent out their desires?

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m just a man and you’re just a woman. I just happened to catch you at the wrong time. I’m not some virgin who’s never done it with a woman before. You’re not some middle school kid who reads obscene novel all day, so why do you have to think so lowly of yourself because of something like this?”

Zhao Hongyan stuttered, “Then… why did you pretend as if nothing had happened?”

Yang Chen pursed his lips and sighed. “I had no choice… You’re pretty and you have a nice body. If I don’t control my actions, I might taint your reputation and get you fired. You’re the first female colleague that I met in Yu Lei. I can’t treat you like a plaything.”

Zhao Hongyan couldn’t hold her happiness although she couldn’t believe his praise. Her cheeks flushed as she stood restlessly, not knowing what to say.

“You understand right? You’re a woman who has a woman’s needs. Don’t dwell too much on it.” Yang Chen chuckled.

Zhao Hongyan nodded. “Thank you. I’m sorry for doubting you.”

Yang Chen waved his hands to cut her off as she sounded awfully close to confessing. “It’s alright, don’t think so much about it. I’m gonna go grab some food.”

He left in a hurry after that.

Zhao Hongyan’s lips curled into a shy smile as she watched him leave.

Yang Chen took a plate and quickly went to the buffet line. He would be busy with the press conference and welcome party later.

Lin Ruoxi and Mo Qianni couldn’t spend time with Yang Chen since they were both busy talking to business partners. So Yang Chen explored around the campus and even had time to take a nap.

The party was just getting started as the evening rolled around.

Lin Ruoxi came to Yang Chen and linked her arms with him. She looked at him up and down as she said skeptically, “Where did you go this afternoon? Were you having an affair?”

Yang Chen smiled awkwardly. “I had nothing to do and I didn’t understand the things you guys were saying, so I took a nap. Don’t worry, I wasn’t with anyone.”

Lin Ruoxi nodded with a satisfied smile. “There are a lot of pretty girls on campus. But I doubt they would go for you since you’re pretty average in both style and looks. I’m just asking for fun, I trust you.”

“Of course, why would I look at them when I have a beautiful wife like you?” Yang Chen tried to please her.

But her face turned chilly. “What did you do with Miss Jane behind the laboratory?”

Yang Chen was surprised as he smiled bitterly. “You saw us?”

“How could I miss my two biggest targets?” Her eyes were filled with murderous intent when she said, “I brought you here because I believed in you. If you flirt with Miss Jane behind my back, I’ll cancel the project and send her back! And you, will suffer!”

Yang Chen sweated nervously. “Ruoxi, it wasn’t like that. All we had time for was a quick chat.”

“Hmph, it better be. I don’t have the right to control your actions but I am working hard towards our relationship. You were the one who said we could only sleep together after we got married. If you dare to find any more girls, I’ll show you just how cruel a woman can be, do you understand?”