After Teasing the Crazy Mermaid, He Actually Deceived Me into Marriage - Chapter 73

“Vice President Si has an impressive alcohol tolerance!”

“This project was completed so perfectly thanks to our VP personally taking charge of the design.”

“Not at all, it’s all thanks to the cooperation and guidance from the He Corporation.”

Si Tang smiled as she chatted and laughed with the others. Unconsciously, several rounds of drinks had been served, but her phone kept vibrating incessantly.

She glanced down at the screen and froze for a moment.

There were three or four missed calls from Fan Yi.

Frowning slightly, she thought there might be an emergency. Politely excusing herself, she stood up and stepped aside to return the call.

The other end picked up almost instantly. “Hello? Tangtang, where are you?”

His voice sounded calm and normal as usual.

“I’m at the celebration banquet hosted by the He Corporation. I’ll be back soon,” Si Tang replied, inexplicably feeling like a wife being questioned for returning home late.

His tone remained gentle as he asked with concern, “Do you need me to pick you up?”

“No need to trouble yourself. I didn’t drink, so I can drive back on my own.”

There was a brief silence on the other end before he responded lightly, “Alright, then.”

After hanging up, Si Tang suddenly realized, was there even an emergency? Why did she feel an inexplicable chill down her spine after the call?

On the other end, at Haiyuan, Fan Yi stared at Si Tang’s photo on his screen, his expression far from pleasant.

She seemed happy tonight, he could tell from her cheerful conversations with others.

After ending the call, Si Tang noticed it was getting late and decided to leave. Ever since Fan Yi’s call, she had felt an uneasy restlessness.

“My husband is waiting for me at home,” Si Tang apologized, using it as an excuse.

The others teased her, “Marriage really changes a person! Looks like your husband just checked up on you.”

Checked up on her?

Si Tang paused, suddenly reminded of that phone call, Did it really feel like that?

“I’m about to leave as well. Let’s head downstairs together,” He Chenzhou, who had been sitting nearby, suddenly stood up.

Si Tang was taken aback for a moment but nodded and walked out with him.

Behind them, a He Corporation employee whispered suspiciously to a colleague, “Don’t you think the CEO has been acting strange tonight?”

“Strange? Isn’t he always like this? Cold and unsmiling.”

“That’s not what I mean. Have you ever seen him get this close to a female business partner before?” Not only that, but she noticed the CEO’s gaze seemed to linger on Si Tang from time to time.

“You’re overthinking it. Both of them are in committed relationships.”

“Well, I hope I am overthinking it.”

Si Tang and He Chenzhou took the elevator down to the lobby, where a little girl holding a flower basket ran up to them. She pulled out a red rose and said sweetly to He Chenzhou, “Sir, would you like to buy a flower for your wife?”

Si Tang was momentarily stunned and quickly explained to the girl, “I’m not his wife.”

Before He Chenzhou or the girl could react, Si Tang bent down slightly, took the flower herself, and handed over a bill.

“I’ll buy this flower,” she said, gently patting the girl’s head.

“Thank you, sister!” The little girl beamed with joy, quickly made change for Si Tang, and scampered away.

Si Tang watched the girl’s retreating figure with an amused smile. Beside her, He Chenzhou’s deep, apologetic voice sounded.

“Sorry for the misunderstanding.”

Si Tang was slightly taken aback but then smiled even more warmly.

“What is there to apologize for?”

He Chenzhou lowered his head and caught sight of the woman’s delicate yet sly smile, which inexplicably overlapped with the girl from his dreams. His heartstrings trembled, and he averted his gaze.

As the two stepped out of the club, a biting wind swept through, and in an instant, a torrential downpour began. The rain fell like pearls bouncing on the ground, rippling into the man’s heart.

“What heavy rain,” Si Tang frowned slightly.

The driver and bodyguards, upon seeing He Chenzhou emerge, hurried over with umbrellas. He Chenzhou took an umbrella from one of the bodyguards and tilted it toward Si Tang.

“I know you drove here alone today. Come on, I’ll walk you to your car.”

The man was poised and composed, his actions gentlemanly.

Without much thought, Si Tang nodded. “Thank you.”

Sharing an umbrella, he maintained a respectful distance, putting Si Tang at ease. For some reason, He Chenzhou occasionally gave her a sense of security, like an older brother.

When He Chenzhou escorted her to her car, Si Tang unlocked it, and he opened the door for her.

As Si Tang got into the car, through the rain-streaked window, she noticed the man’s shoulder was soaked. Her eyes flickered with emotion. But when she glanced again, He Chenzhou had already turned and walked away.

Si Tang snapped back to reality and looked ahead. For some reason, the more time she spent with He Chenzhou, the more she felt a familiar, reassuring aura about him.

Shaking off her thoughts, she started the engine and drove off. The Cayenne shot through the rain like an arrow.

He Chenzhou paused mid-step and glanced back, his gaze lingering in that direction for a long time.

Returning to Haiyuan, Si Tang was damp from the rain.

The living room was unlit, inexplicably eerie and cold.

Si Tang switched on the light and wearily hung her bag by the entrance.

She spotted Fan Yi sitting on the sofa with his back to her.

For some reason, she felt a pang of guilt.

“You’re back?” His voice drifted over like smoke, and Si Tang couldn’t discern his mood at first.

In her momentary daze, she saw Fan Yi rise from the sofa and approach her.

The dim light cast shadows like a dark scythe. He was tall, and the shadows accentuated his intimidating presence. Just then, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled outside, casting the scene like a vampire from a grim, medieval castle coming to claim a life.

The thought sent a shiver down Si Tang’s spine, but when she looked again, it was the same familiar, gentle, and strikingly handsome face his eyes shimmering with warmth, soft and harmless.

“Have you eaten?” he asked knowingly.

“Yes I have,” Si Tang replied, feeling an inexplicable strangeness about Fan Yi at that moment.

Her guard and alertness surged instantly, and she dared not take another step forward.

But Fan Yi didn’t stop his approach. He curved his lips into a soft smile and said, “You look pale, Tangtang. Are you scared of the thunder outside?”

As he drew closer, Si Tang felt the hairs on her body stand on end as if they had a will of their own.

She couldn’t help but take two steps back.

Fan Yi’s footsteps halted abruptly.

He slowly lowered his gaze, staring at the spot where Si Tang had just moved.

He restrained, controlled, pretended, and concealed, forcing an expression of calm gentleness onto his face.

“I was just worried about you, coming home so late.”

“I know.”

“I’m sorry, Tangtang, I was just too nervous.” Seeing the doubt and wariness fade from her eyes, he stepped closer again, allowing Si Tang to clearly see the sincerity in his gaze. “You know how I feel about you. I just don’t want you getting too close to He Chenzhou.”

Si Tang was completely stunned.

She lifted her head just as lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, allowing her to clearly see the emotions in Fan Yi’s eyes.

Love, pleading, innocence, and grievance.

Faced with his sudden directness tonight, Si Tang found herself at a loss for how to respond.