After Breaking Up with the Crazy CEO - Chapter 2

Xiang Yan’s gaze shifted to the passenger seat, where a woman sat with perfect posture and a neatly tied hairstyle.

Xing Bingwu got out of the car, and the woman in the passenger seat moved to the driver’s seat. She backed the car away and parked it alongside Xiang Yan’s.

Click.

A finger snap sounded in front of her. Xiang Yan’s attention snapped back to the woman before her.

“Ignore her,” Xing Bingwu said. “She’s my personal bodyguard.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly as if she’d suddenly had an idea. “Could it be, Miss Xiang, that you’re jealous because I was confessing to you one moment and then brought another woman with me the next?”

“President Xing is joking,” Xiang Yan replied calmly. “What exactly is your intention now?”

“My intention? To chase after my beloved, who flees from me, of course.”

“……”

“Do you want the truth?”

“Please enlighten me, President Xing.”

“The truth is, I’ve never been rejected in my life. Being rejected by you again and again has left me resentful. I wanted to follow you and bump into your taillights, just to play around and vent my frustration.”

Her voice was melodious and light, even cheerful, yet she spoke words that sent shivers down one’s spine.

Xing Bingwu maintained a three-quarters smile, her fox-like eyes slightly curved, as if she were wearing a beautiful mask that never changed. It was impossible to tell which of her words were sincere and which were false, or whether she was genuinely happy or secretly angry.

But Xiang Yan knew Xing Bingwu’s style well. The idea of “playing around” by bumping into the back of her car was exactly the kind of thing she would do.

It wasn’t a question of whether Xing Bingwu dared to do it, but whether she wanted to.

“Why so quiet? Scared silly?” Xing Bingwu seemed to be in a good mood as she sat on the hood of the car. “I was just kidding.”

She pulled a lollipop from her pocket and unwrapped it, the crinkling of the plastic wrapper the only sound in the quiet night.

After popping the candy into her mouth, Xing Bingwu began folding the wrapper.

Xiang Yan glanced at her hands and said, “If President Xing has nothing else, I’ll be leaving now.”

A slender leg swept across in front of her, resting on the wheel. Xiang Yan froze in place once more.

“Miss Xiang was in such a hurry to leave. Before I caught up, I thought she might have had an important date and was meeting someone secretly here,” Xing Bingwu said, looking around. “But it seems we’re really alone here.”

“So, the situation is that Miss Xiang doesn’t want to be with me anymore?”

Xiang Yan was silent for a moment before explaining, “President Xing, you’re overthinking things. I just need to get home before my curfew.”

“Curfew…” Xing Bingwu said, her hands still moving. “Did your dad set that?”

Xiang Yan nodded in silent agreement.

“In that case, call your dad. He knows you’re with me, and I guarantee he’d be more than happy to let you stay out.”

“And I’d like to invite Miss Xiang for late-night snacks. I really, truly want to get to know you better.”

With that, she opened her hand, revealing a folded candy wrapper star lying quietly in her palm.

“Oh, right. Perhaps Miss Xiang likes lollipops too?” She produced another lollipop and placed it in her palm. “My favorite strawberry flavor. It’s for you.”

Xiang Yan lowered her gaze. A star, a piece of candy—these were the things she had longed to receive from her parents as a child.

“I don’t like sweets. Thank you, President Xing, but I really must go now. Please let me pass.”

Xing Bingwu closed her palm and sighed softly. “They say whoever falls first is at a disadvantage. It seems that saying is absolutely true.” Despite her words, she didn’t move her leg. Instead, she pulled out her phone again and offered it. “Let’s compromise. Miss Xiang, give me your contact information, and I’ll let you go home. How about that?”

Xiang Yan remained silent.

Seeing her indifference, Xing Bingwu added, “Or… would Miss Xiang prefer to see the rear of your car and the front of mine have a close encounter?”

Xiang Yan took the phone and entered her number.

Xing Bingwu immediately dialed the number. When she heard the ringtone on Xiang Yan’s phone and watched her save the number, she finally lowered her leg and waved. “Goodbye, Miss Xiang. Drive carefully and stay safe.”

At nine-thirty, Xiang Yan returned home on time to find the living room brightly lit.

As she walked in, she saw her parents seated on the sofa, their gazes fixed on Xiang Yangxing. Her heart skipped a beat.

Why is Xiang Yangxing back so early today?

Xiang Lunsen, seated at the head of the sofa, his face as dark as a pot bottom, spoke in a glacial tone: “Explain yourself. You went to pick someone up—why are you only returning now?”

“Don’t tell me you’ve been secretly dating again behind our backs?”

Xiang Yan immediately knelt down and answered truthfully: “No, Father. I just went to the observation deck to enjoy the night view for a while. If you don’t believe me, you can check my dashcam.”

The butler, following orders, retrieved the dashcam. The footage showed nothing but Xiang Yan’s back and the glittering nightscape of Shanghai.

“What about that long stretch of blank footage? Where were you?”

“It was windy, so I walked to the side and sat by the car to organize my project progress.”

She then held out the tablet she was holding.

In reality, she had prepared this report long ago.

Xiang Lunsen seemed to believe her, but he still stood up and took the whip from the servant’s hand. “Still, you lied.”

“I was wrong,” Xiang Yan admitted readily, removing her jacket. “I’m sorry, Father. I promise it won’t happen again.”

The special material of the whip left no gruesome scars on her back, only a searing, bone-deep pain.

With the thirty-ninth strike, Xiang Yan couldn’t suppress a cough, spitting up a mouthful of blood. The fortieth and final strike marked the end of the punishment.

Xiang Lunsen tossed the whip aside and said coldly, “Kneel for two full hours.”

Except for the moment she coughed up blood, Xiang Yan had remained kneeling upright. “Yes,” she replied.

Xiang Yangxing crossed her arms and walked past, leaving a meaningful remark: “A word of advice for my sister: always recognize your place.”

The brightly dressed woman seated on the side sofa had remained silent throughout. Only after everyone had left did she stand, glaring at Xiang Yan with a look of disappointment, before striding away.

That night, the pain in her back kept Xiang Yan tossing and turning. She finally fell asleep just before dawn, only to dream of her childhood. In the dream’s final moments, she woke up late because she was ill, and her father doused her with a basin of ice-cold water.

Xiang Yan’s eyes snapped open, and she shot upright in bed, gasping for breath.

After taking a deep breath to steady herself, she raised a hand to her forehead. Sure enough, she had a fever. She got out of bed, her legs unsteady, and found two fever reducers to swallow. After washing up, she went downstairs.

At the breakfast table, Xiang Lunsen asked about the progress of the real estate project. Xiang Yan answered truthfully. The man nodded. “Good. Keep following up closely.”

Encouraged by his words, Xiang Yan ate two more spoonfuls of congee before heading to the office to continue working on the project.

After two days of nearly non-stop work, she finally finalized all the details.

During this time, Xing Bingwu tried to contact her through various intermediaries to arrange a meeting. She had blocked Xing Bingwu’s number before getting out of the car that night. While Xing Bingwu’s persistence was unexpected, it didn’t matter.

She would never meet Xing Bingwu again.

That woman was too dangerous.

On the morning of the third day, Xiang Yan came downstairs with her tablet, ready to review the final work progress with her father. But the moment she reached the breakfast table, a stack of documents was hurled at her.

Xiang Lunsen roared with fury, “Is this what you call ‘going smoothly’?”

Confused, Xiang Yan took the documents and read them carefully. She saw that several investors she had already secured were now withdrawing their funding. If this happened, the entire project would be dead in the water.

How could this be?

Everything had been going so smoothly. She had had such pleasant discussions with the investors just yesterday.

She immediately knelt down. “I’m so sorry, Father. Please punish me. I’ll investigate this immediately and find out what happened. I won’t let this project fail.”

The moment she finished speaking, the butler stepped forward with a whip.

Xiang Lunsen sighed heavily. “Get up. Go and fix this now. Yanyan, you must understand that I entrusted this project to you because I trust you. Do you understand the depth of my intentions?”

Xiang Yan was momentarily stunned, then quickly rose to her feet. She stumbled slightly from her haste and steadied herself by gripping the back of a chair. Concealing the joy in her eyes, she said calmly, “Father, I will absolutely not disappoint you.”

After she left, Xiang Yangxing glanced at the man seated in the main chair and sneered, “That cunning old man.”

The old man snorted. “The company will be yours eventually. Once she’s been properly trained, you’ll be the one who benefits. Don’t act so virtuous when you’re getting all the perks.”

After arriving at the company and getting a general understanding of the situation, Xiang Yan immediately called the investors. As expected, all her calls went unanswered. She personally visited them, but was still turned away. Only one investor kindly advised her, “Miss Xiang, instead of coming to us, you should focus on figuring out who you’ve offended.”

Who have I offended?

A beautiful face immediately came to mind—one with a hint of a smile, yet radiating arrogance from its very core.

That’s right. In all of Shanghai, who else but Xing Bingwu could possess such power?

Back in her car, Xiang Yan removed Xing Bingwu from her block list and dialed her number.

The call rang for a while before Xing Bingwu answered.

Xiang Yan spoke first: “Hello, President Xing. Do you have time to meet?”

Xing Bingwu’s lazy laugh came through. “Let me see… The sun didn’t rise in the west today, did it? What made Miss Xiang think of calling me?”

Xiang Yan: “My apologies, President Xing. I was too busy the past few days.”

Silence fell on both ends of the line. Time seemed to stretch endlessly, though only a few seconds had passed. Just as Xiang Yan was about to speak again, a helpless sigh came from the other end, followed by a murmur: “Ah, what can I do? I was the one who fell first.”

“If you want to meet, I’m home now. Do you want to come over?”

“Of course,” Xiang Yan replied. “Could you please give me the address, President Xing?”

The call ended. Xiang Yan cleared her throat and took a deep breath. The project is the most important thing.

Qingliu Garden was a luxury residential compound located in a prime area of Shanghai. It featured an 88-story tower with one apartment per floor and hundreds of villas. The development boasted stunning views, exceptional privacy, and stringent security, allowing only the wealthy and influential to reside there.

After passing through multiple layers of security, Xiang Yan boarded the elevator, which took her directly to the top floor where Xing Bingwu lived.

A moment after the first doorbell ring, the door swung open.

“Miss Xiang, please come in,” Xing Bingwu said. “My place offers a panoramic view of Shanghai, you know.”

Xiang Yan stood at the threshold, shaking her head slightly. Just as she was about to speak, a tickle in her throat made her cover her mouth and cough.

Finally managing to stop coughing, Xiang Yan was about to speak when Xing Bingwu held up a hand to silence her. “If you don’t want to come in, I won’t force you. Wait a moment.”

After a short while, Xing Bingwu reappeared, holding a glass of water. She offered it to Xiang Yan. “Drink this. It’s warm.”

Xiang Yan hesitated.

“It’s good to be cautious,” Xing Bingwu said, glancing at her. She took a sip herself, then offered the glass again. “Now you can drink it without worry, right?”

Xiang Yan considered explaining that she didn’t suspect the water was poisoned, but decided it was unnecessary. She took the glass and drank every last drop.

The warm water flowed through her limbs, spreading a comforting warmth throughout her body.

“Thank you, President Xing.”

Xing Bingwu cut to the chase. “You came to see me about the investors, didn’t you?”

Xiang Yan nodded. “I don’t know what I can do to make you feel better.”

Xing Bingwu idly twirled the empty glass in her hand and shook her head gently. “I’m not angry, really. I just feel a little wronged.”

Xiang Yan looked at her with a clear, slightly puzzled expression.

“I’ve been desperately trying to get closer to you, but you avoid me like the plague,” Xing Bingwu said, her gaze full of hurt. “Wouldn’t anyone feel wronged?”

“I really don’t want to resort to these tactics to get your attention, Miss Xiang, but I don’t have any other options.”

Xiang Yan frowned slightly. “I’m sorry, I…”

“You won’t even give me a chance?” Xing Bingwu interrupted. “Miss Xiang, are you dating someone?”

Xiang Yan shook her head.

“Do you have someone you like?”

Another shake of her head.

“So you don’t like girls?”

She shook her head again. At that moment, Xiang Yan realized she’d been led into a trap. She should have nodded; that way, Xing Bingwu might have stopped pestering her.

“If that’s the case, this situation is actually quite simple to resolve.”

Xiang Yan looked at her.

Xing Bingwu continued, “All Miss Xiang has to do is give me a chance a chance to pursue you.”

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