Can't Hide My Love for You - Chapter 97

“You—what do you want to do?! You wouldn’t dare!” Chen Fei let go of the pool ladder and backed away.

Chi Yi let out a cold laugh. A bodyguard brought a chair for her to sit on, while another handed her a hot drink. The burly man in swimming trunks took the cue and immediately dove into the water to grab him, hoisting Chen Fei up like a dead dog and tossing him onto the flat ground by the poolside.

Coming out of the heated pool into the cold air, Chen Fei’s body shivered uncontrollably.

“What were you saying just now?” Chi Yi took a leisurely sip of her drink. The taste of cocoa spread across her tongue—sweet but not cloying.

With the situation reversed, even a fool knew they were at a disadvantage. Chen Fei didn’t dare make a sound. Bodyguards flanked him and forced him up, trying to make him kneel, but Chen Fei’s knees were stiff; he refused to bend.

The bodyguard wearing rubber-soled Martin boots simply kicked him in the back of the knee. The force made Chen Fei scream in pain, and his knees buckled, hitting the floor.

Realizing Chi Yi was playing for keeps, Chen Fei stopped worrying about the pain and immediately softened his stance. “I’m sorry, I was wrong! I shouldn’t have run my mouth! Please, spare me!”

“I gave you a chance, but you didn’t cherish it.” Chi Yi wore a look of regret and shook her head. “You haven’t answered the question I asked just now.”

He didn’t dare repeat the death-seeking words from earlier. Chen Fei shook his head violently, his body recoiling in an attempt to flee. A bodyguard reached out and slapped him across the face. “She’s asking you a question! Speak!”

“I… I…”

Before he could finish, he received another slap. The handprints on his cheeks were perfectly symmetrical, and the corner of his mouth split instantly.

“Not that sentence.” Chi Yi put down the drink, her brown eyes narrowing with a dangerous glint. “I’ll give you one more chance.”

“Please! I was wrong, I really was!” Chen Fei kowtowed several times. “I won’t do it again, please let me go. I—I’ll withdraw from the show! I promise I’ll never appear in front of you again!”

“Wouldn’t it have been better if you had this attitude from the start?” Chi Yi tilted her chin slightly. “Let him go.”

Once freed, Chen Fei scrambled to run out, but he forgot his knees had just been kicked. The sharp pain made him stumble, and he fell hard onto the floor.

Chi Yi walked toward him step by step, her heels clicking against the tiles. In the quiet swimming hall, the sound was amplified, making one’s heart tremble.

“Ah—!” His back was stepped on heavily. The slender heel was like an awl, driving into Chen Fei’s spine.

“Truly a useless waste.” Chi Yi leaned down slightly, grabbed Chen Fei by the hair, and pulled back so hard his scalp felt like it was being ripped off. She whispered in his ear, “Personally, I’m not a petty person. But who told you to insist on offending my girlfriend?”

“Your mouth is so foul. How about I cut out your tongue? Or maybe just castrate you? Hmm?” Chi Yi’s voice was eerie. To Chen Fei, it sounded like an invitation from hell.

“No, please, no—!”

Chen Fei’s shrill screams echoed throughout the hall.

The lackeys who had fled still had a shred of loyalty left; they called Chairman Chen for help. However, by the time Chairman Chen rushed to the hall, Chen Fei was bruised and swollen beyond recognition.

“You—You—!” Chairman Chen’s eyes bulged. Seeing his only beloved son beaten like this, he shook with rage.

Chi Yi turned to look, then raised a hand. The bodyguards tossed Chen Fei into the pool. The crystal-clear water was immediately stained red. A still-conscious Chen Fei thrashed in the water, shouting: “Dad! Dad! Save me! Ah—it hurts! It hurts so much! Dad—!”

A bodyguard handed her a damp towel. Chi Yi calmly wiped her hands; the clean white towel came away tinged with blood.

“Chairman Chen, long time no see.” she was still able to exchange pleasantries with ease.

Chairman Chen clenched his fists, but at the thought of Chi Yi and the Feng Group controlling most of his company’s stock, he slowly loosened them and said subserviently: “President Chi, if my son has offended you, I apologize on his behalf as his father.”

Chi Yi smiled. “Chairman Chen, I warned you before to manage your dear son. If you over-spoil him and wait for someone else to discipline him for you, it won’t end well.”

“Yes, yes, you’re right.” Chairman Chen lowered his head. “President Chi, for the sake of my face, please spare him this once.”

Chi Yi said bluntly, “You have no face with me.”

The words were utterly merciless. Chairman Chen, who considered himself decades older than Chi Yi, felt humiliated by being rebuffed like this by a junior.

“Don’t go too far…! When I was young, I worked with the Old Man…” Chairman Chen began, trying to leverage his past as a capable lieutenant of Old Man Feng to play the “seniority card.” But the corner of Chi Yi’s mouth twitched, and she said coldly: “Do you want to go in too?”

That expression was identical to a ruthless, younger Feng Nian.

“…” Chairman Chen was instantly intimidated, losing his train of thought.

“Fine.” Chi Yi tossed the towel into the pool. “If he doesn’t learn, there won’t be a next time.”

The bodyguards followed President Chi as they left the hall in a grand procession. Chen Fei wailed in the pool until Chairman Chen and his secretary waded in to drag him ashore.

“Dad—Dad—! You have to avenge me! You can’t let her get away with this! You worked for Feng Nian for so many years…!” Chen Fei shouted until his voice was hoarse. When he opened his mouth, blood leaked from his split lip again.

“Shut up!” Chairman Chen roared, veins popping on his forehead. “I told you long ago not to provoke Chi Yi! Provoking her is the same as digging at Feng Nian’s foundations!”

“Dad! I’m your biological son!”

“I really wish you weren’t!”

Back in the car, Chi Yi sniffed her own clothes. Fortunately, the foul, fishy scent of Chen Fei’s blood hadn’t clung to her.

“President Chi, are we just letting that brat go?” a bodyguard asked, still unsatisfied. “We should have sunk him to the bottom of the lake!”

Chi Yi touched the Buddhist beads on her wrist. “Take a step back, and the sky is wide.”

After all, it wasn’t good to cause a death. Getting one’s hands dirty wasn’t worth it. She just wondered if her girlfriend would be startled if she knew what she did today—if she would find her terrifying.

Chi Yi went home, planning to shower before going to the office. To her surprise, someone was already home when she pushed the door open.

“I finished work early today. Why are you back so early too?” Cheng Yixin asked in surprise. “I was just about to call you.”

“I went to handle some business.”

“Oh, what kind of business?” Cheng Yixin asked casually.

Chi Yi hesitated. she wanted to tell Cheng Yixin that she had taught Chen Fei a lesson—to the point where he was half-dead and covered in blood. But in front of Cheng Yixin, she had always been gentle and steady. She feared it would affect her image.

The obedient Chi Yi was her. The violently injurious Chi Yi was also her.

“I went to find Chen Fei.”

Hearing the name, Cheng Yixin’s expression changed instantly. She became alert and walked over to check Chi Yi up and down. “That creep didn’t lay a hand on you, did he?! I saw how resentful he was after you hit him last time!”

“No.” Chi Yi placed her hand over Cheng Yixin’s. “I brought people and taught him a lesson.”

“Oh?!” Cheng Yixin raised an eyebrow, thinking it was just some verbal intimidation. “That’s a good thing; you’re ridding the people of a pest. Seeing how arrogant he was, he should learn to behave now.”

“I’m serious. He’s not dead, but he was thrown into the pool covered in blood. He definitely won’t be able to record the show.”

“Is it that serious?” Cheng Yixin’s eyes widened in shock. “It sounds like a plot from a drama.”

“It’s not a drama; it happened for real,” Chi Yi said. “Actually, I’m not as ‘pure’ as you imagine. I have a violent and cruel side too.” Chi Yi frowned and asked cautiously, “Did I scare you…?”

“A little,” Cheng Yixin let out a soft breath. “Mostly I’m surprised. Violent means aren’t ideal, of course, but Chen Fei deserved it, didn’t he? He started the trouble himself; it’s karma. However, I still hope you don’t use this method to solve problems; it’s very dangerous legally.”

“You can rest assured about that…” Chi Yi rubbed her nose. “For the sake of their interests, the Chen family would never report this to the police.”

“Then you’ve done a good deed!” Cheng Yixin put her hands on her hips. “He said those disgusting things on the show and disrespected people. Honestly, I wanted to slap him to death then! Someone like him deserves a beating!”

“So… you don’t think I’m… different from what you imagined?”

“Not really. If anything, I feel you’re more multi-dimensional.” Cheng Yixin looked her up and down. “I thought you never lost your temper.”

“It depends on the matter,” President Chi said solemnly. “You can insult me, but you cannot insult my girlfriend.”

“Yes, yes, as expected of my Baby Chi Yi.” Cheng Yixin planted a loud kiss on Chi Yi’s face. “Both fierce and sweet. I love it.”

Chen Fei was sent to the hospital with fractures, multiple contusions, and several stitches. He wouldn’t be leaving the hospital soon, let alone filming the show. Because of his contract, he had to pay a large sum to the production team to terminate his agreement. Simultaneously, he issued a retirement announcement—he would never appear in the public eye again.

After the pilot of Is It Only Me Whose Heart Is Fluttering? was released, it only revealed six guests—three men and three women. The other four were kept secret to maintain curiosity. Finally, amidst great anticipation, the official Weibo released the full list of ten guests.

The most shocking part was seeing Chi Yi’s name among the female guests. Before this, everyone thought the “contract process” Chi Yi was going through was for some other variety show; no one imagined she would be on a reality dating show.

What made the CP fans’ hearts sink even more was that both members of the CP were on the same dating show. This meant the CP would have to watch their favorite pair go on “ambiguous” dates with other male guests. Just thinking about it was stifling.

As soon as the lineup was announced, the “Yixin Yi-yi” CP fans were already fuming. Many chose to quit the fandom on the spot.

@WeiXieWanEEE: Holy crap! They’re playing us! Usually they’re so sweet we think they’re doing it on the spot, and now they’re on a dating show?! Thinking about them being ambiguous with smelly men makes me gag. I will never watch this show! Give me my money back!

@KeltonFlyFlyFly: Damn it, my heart is dead. Who would have thought a CP would collapse because they appeared together on a dating show… It’s certain they’re both straight. Straight girls tricking lesbians is the worst!

@YixinYiyiSZD: Can you guys not be so radical… Is it possible that on the dating show, they’re the ones who end up together?

@addd: Exactly! Maybe they’re on a heterosexual show just to hide their actual orientation?

@MiRouRouRou: Are you guys crazy from shipping? Would a hetero dating show let a same-sex couple match?! It’s impossible! I hate them as much as I loved them!! They don’t even want to lie to us anymore!!

While the internet was in an uproar, the first episode of Heart officially began filming.

Besides Cheng Yixin and Chi Yi, the other three female guests included a model, a lawyer, and a mixed-race college student.

The first segment was the official meeting of the male and female guests. Before that, the female guests had to go to a specific entry area and choose one lipstick from countless options that they felt suited them.

The production team, wanting to create a scene, intentionally scheduled Cheng Yixin and Chi Yi to enter at the same time so they would meet. Cheng Yixin was picking a shade in front of the rack when she heard the door open behind her. She turned to see Chi Yi walking in.

Chi Yi was wearing a white suit that best reflected her profession. The well-tailored suit had been personally chosen by Cheng Yixin. President Chi truly looked like the “gentle as jade” figure described in books.

“Chi Yiyi!!” Even though she knew beforehand it would be Chi Yi, Teacher Cheng still acted extremely excited. She put down the lipstick and trotted over to leap into Chi Yi’s arms.

As the guests arrived, the broadcast announced the rules for selecting lipstick.

“Have you chosen yours?” Chi Yi asked.

“I have. I just happened to find a shade that really suits you.” Cheng Yixin pulled Chi Yi to the rack, picked up two tubes, and twisted one open. “This color is a rosy pink; it suits you perfectly.”

“Then I’ll take this one.” Chi Yi didn’t even look closely at the color Cheng Yixin had chosen for her.

Reality shows differ from regular variety shows; there wouldn’t be videographers carrying cameras around them. Instead, cameras were hidden in fixed positions. The absence of camera crews helped them relax.

Cheng Yixin knew there were countless cameras around, but she didn’t care. She tilted Chi Yi’s chin with one hand and pressed the lipstick against her lips. The color was applied slowly, inch by inch, to Chi Yi’s lower lip. Cheng Yixin stared straight at her. Their gazes met, and the look in their eyes was so intense it could have drawn silk.

Once this aired, the bullet comments for this segment were: Good news: [It really is a dating show] Bad news: [The male guests haven’t even appeared yet].