Falling After Marriage - Chapter 41

Chapter 41: President Lin Loves Beauty, Changing Partners Like Changing Clothes

Shu Wan deliberately teased Cheng Sangluo, keeping a little secret.

She glanced at the pitiful-looking takeout box, curious: “Is this what you’re eating tonight?”

Cheng Sangluo was still pondering what good job it could be. When asked, she lifted the box and shook it, “Egg fried rice. Do you want some?”

“Just this small box? If you share it with me, won’t you go hungry tonight?” Shu Wan covered her mouth and chuckled, then reached out and tugged at Cheng Sangluo’s hem, “I’m not familiar with the roads in the old city. Lead me to a resting place, and we can eat and talk there.”

“Okay.” Cheng Sangluo led the way, looking up at the oppressive night sky, muttering: “It might rain, you know.”

“This rain won’t fall for now.” Shu Wan walked leisurely with her hands clasped behind her back, “How about we make a bet?”

The mention of betting made Cheng Sangluo’s smile strained. Lin Jin’s arrogant face flashed across her mind.

This was peculiar; whenever she was alone with Shu Wan, a few casual words always managed to evoke the madwoman in her memory.

That woman also loved to bet, and always looked so confident that she couldn’t lose.

In fact, Lin Jin had truly never lost a bet.

Thinking of this, Cheng Sangluo let out a deep breath and naturally declined: “I don’t have good luck with money. I tend to lose bets, and I don’t have any proper chips to offer.”

“Why say it so seriously? Who says a bet has to have material chips? We can bet on something else, like if I win, you promise me one thing, like accompanying me for dinner or taking a walk with me.”

Shu Wan tried to dispel Cheng Sangluo’s doubts. Trailing behind her, as if afraid of getting lost, she held onto the hem of her clothes and didn’t let go.

These similar conversations and similar actions repeatedly called up the person etched in her memory.

Cheng Sangluo didn’t respond immediately, distractedly thinking that the madwoman also liked to hold onto her hem like this.

After a period of silence, she pulled her drifting thoughts back and continued the conversation, “Even without a bet, can’t I still accompany you for dinner and a walk?”

By this time, Shu Wan was walking side-by-side with Cheng Sangluo.

“That’s right, why didn’t I think of that? You’re clearly good at refusing, but aren’t we doing these things right now?” She looked at the purely smiling face, as if appreciating a beautiful sight, her soft eyes sparkling even more, “You never actually refused me.”

The words were ambiguous, causing Cheng Sangluo to shiver internally. Her tan skin flushed, which Shu Wan interpreted as adorable shyness.

“Ahem…” She cleared her throat to ease the awkwardness, then changed the subject: “There’s a small park nearby, I’ll take you there.”

“Mhm.” Shu Wan smiled gently, not exposing the person who was pretending to be calm, simply enjoying the thick sense of embarrassment.

Upon entering the small park, Cheng Sangluo found a wooden resting bench.

She was exceptionally careful, using her arm to brush away the fallen leaves on the bench, then wiping it repeatedly a few times before inviting: “It’s clean now. It won’t dirty your dress. Have a seat.”

“Wait a moment.” Shu Wan called softly, rummaged through her bag for a wet wipe, and commanded: “Give me your hand.”

Cheng Sangluo looked at the wipe, extended her hand cooperatively, and teased: “Treating me like a child?”

“Children at least know to wash their hands before eating; you don’t.” Shu Wan chided, taking both her hands to wipe them. Her fingertips brushed against the rough palm, and she couldn’t help but examine the calluses seriously, “Left over from your time in the military, I presume.”

“Ah, yes.” Cheng Sangluo instinctively wanted to pull her arm back, not understanding why she felt this aversion.

From a sensory perspective, she didn’t mind Shu Wan’s closeness, as the person before her offered kindness wherever there was an opportunity.

No one would reject kindness, but that instinctive resistance came from her subconscious.

Her subconscious was saying that Lin Jin wouldn’t like this, so she didn’t like it either.

Shu Wan didn’t hold her hand for too long, just rubbing her palm twice. Feeling the different texture, she immediately sat down on the bench, “Sit down quickly, and eat your food first.”

“Okay.” Cheng Sangluo responded and sat down. After opening the box, she inhaled the fragrant scent of the rice near her nose and sighed with contentment: “There’s nothing like a steaming bowl of egg fried rice. It’s a hundred times better than delicacies.”

Saying this, she offered a clean disposable chopstick to Shu Wan, “Want to try a bite?”

Shu Wan waved her hand, refusing: “No, thank you.”

Although she didn’t show obvious disgust, the slight unintentional retreat when the chopstick was offered betrayed all the kindness and goodness she was trying to project.

It was the inherent disdain for cheap food, a common trait among those who stand above others.

Such a small detail naturally did not escape Cheng Sangluo’s sharp eyes.

She withdrew her arm awkwardly, sighing inwardly: Just as I thought. They are all the same.

The atmosphere fell into a brief silence.

Cheng Sangluo hunched her back, resting her elbows on her knees so she could hold the rice box.

She buried her head, quickly scooping up rice, stuffing her mouth until her cheeks were bulging, and then slowly savoring the taste of the everyday world.

She had tightened her belt repeatedly and was now down to one meal a day. It would be strange if she wasn’t starving.

Who was to blame?

She didn’t have much money to begin with, but she insisted on putting on airs, throwing away that thousand dollars to make Lin Jin feel disgusted. Now, it seemed like a move that hurt the enemy by a thousand but harmed herself by eight hundred.

Shu Wan turned her head, watching the person seriously eating, and couldn’t help but ask curiously: “Are you starving, or is the rice that delicious?”

“Cough, cough… cough, cough, cough…” Cheng Sangluo choked on the rice, feeling like she had been stripped naked. She coughed continuously, but insisted stubbornly: “It’s delicious.”

Shu Wan looked at her disheveled appearance and softly complained: “Eat slower. No one is fighting you for it. I’ll go buy you a bottle of water. Aren’t you afraid of choking, eating so dryly?”

Saying this, she prepared to stand up and leave.

Cheng Sangluo promptly grabbed her wrist, “You don’t need to make a trip. If I get thirsty, I’ll find water myself.”

“The way you talk, you sound like a stray puppy.” Shu Wan laughed, wanting to reach out and rub the puppy’s head.

She suppressed her delighted thoughts, quietly moved closer, and leaned against Cheng Sangluo’s arm, appearing a little tired.

The arm felt very firm, but not hard enough to hurt the skin, making one want to squint and rub against it—a comfortable sense of security.

Cheng Sangluo was panicking, thinking of a way to move away, but also felt it would be rude. She could only stiffen her body and let the other person lean on her.

Shu Wan unexpectedly embraced her arm, leaning her face close, creating an uncomfortably intimate atmosphere.

She reached out and poked Cheng Sangluo’s cheek, which was bulging with rice, and teased: “I know you wouldn’t be happy if I called you a stray puppy, but right now, you look like an extra-large hamster.”

“Why do I look like a hamster?” Cheng Sangluo pretended not to understand, but used the action of tidying the empty rice box to subtly pull away from the overly intimate posture.

This looked natural and made it hard to detect any resistance.

Shu Wan didn’t let the atmosphere cool, quickly changing the subject to business: “I own a bar. Would you be willing to work there as a night security guard? I’ll give you special privileges. You only need to work from 8 PM to 12 AM every night, for a monthly salary of $7,000, plus bonuses. Although we don’t usually offer weekends off, you can be the exception.”

This treatment was almost too good to be true, causing Cheng Sangluo to recall that phrase once again—no one is kind to another person without reason.

But as she thought about it, an image of a beautiful figure standing in the rain followed.

She really wanted to shake her head a few times to expel the wrongdoer from her mind.

Shu Wan noticed her wariness and smiled, resting her hands on her knees, explaining on her own: “Although I don’t know you well yet, I can tell you are a reliable and hard-working person. Isn’t meeting a few times still fate? I help when I can. It’s quite good for me to have you owe me a favor.”

The woman still phrased her words beautifully. The exchange didn’t contain the word ‘money,’ yet every sentence implied, ‘I know you need money.‘

Cheng Sangluo didn’t immediately accept the strange olive branch. She held the garbage bag with both hands, making a few rustling noises in the silence.

She pondered Shu Wan’s motives, then felt she was being overly cautious.

She had nothing left but her life, no, she should also add a debt of $2.99 million.

Her life was already a mess. What right did she have to doubt this and that?

Shu Wan was extremely patient. While waiting for an answer, she took out a tissue and handed it to Cheng Sangluo, “Wipe your mouth.”

“Thank you.” Cheng Sangluo took the tissue and gave her response: “Okay, such good treatment is rare. You taught me yourself: you can’t refuse the same thing twice.”

“You’re quite clever, even able to extrapolate.” Shu Wan was quite satisfied with this result.

She paused and softly explained: “I understand your defensiveness, but I genuinely want to help you. You can understand it as me doing Bai Mu a favor, or you can understand it as me letting you owe me a favor. Either way, I’m not losing out, am I?”

Cheng Sangluo nodded knowingly, “Yes, you are also a businesswoman.”

She reached a conclusion: Shu Wan and Lin Jin were cut from the same cloth. They would both use the pretense of offering help, secretly mixing in profit.

However, they had fundamental differences. Lin Jin was sharp, both pretending to be a savior while unable to contain her aggressive and clawing nature.

Shu Wan, in contrast, was more calculating and smooth, presenting her tactics precisely and beautifully, packaging the so-called profit as kindness, which prevented people from feeling resistant.

“Also?” Shu Wan raised an eyebrow, pondering the word, but didn’t press further, continuing to talk about the job: “You can think about it further. You can report for duty anytime you’ve made up your mind. I’ll send you the address later.”

With that, she picked up her purse and stood up, lightly patting the skirt beneath her, still perhaps feeling the bench was dirty, “It’s getting late…”

Before she could finish, several flashes of white light flickered across the dense night sky, followed by deafening thunder that seemed to explode right overhead.

Cheng Sangluo quickly caught up to Shu Wan, hastily thanking her: “Miss Shu, thank you for your trouble. Where is your car parked? I’ll walk you over.”

With the impending storm and downpour, it seemed the whole world was on edge, but Shu Wan smiled exceptionally lightly, “See? If you had bet with me, wouldn’t you have won?”

“Don’t have a gambling mentality.” Cheng Sangluo replied earnestly, reaching out and pulling her arm to hurry her along, “This rain has been building all afternoon. You still have to drive home. Let’s go quickly to avoid any danger.”

Shu Wan intentionally dragged her feet, seeming to enjoy the rough touch of the palm, and perhaps Cheng Sangluo’s concern.

“Are you this gentle with Lin Jin too?”

This sudden question caused Cheng Sangluo to stop.

“Why would you ask that?” She turned to look at the relaxed, beautiful woman, trying to find other emotions on the gentle face, but the smiling tiger was the hardest to read.

“Pure curiosity, I suppose. Women love gossip, right?”

“No, because I dislike her.” Cheng Sangluo’s attitude when talking about Lin Jin was cold, and her words became brief.

Shu Wan was more than satisfied with this attitude, but her neutral words slightly twisted the truth: “Then we see things differently. President Lin treats you with more earnestness than she treats other women. You probably don’t know her past, but people in the circle know that President Lin loves beauty and changes partners like she changes clothes. You seem to be the exception.”

“Is that so? What does that have to do with me?” Cheng Sangluo shrugged indifferently, “I avoid her whenever possible.”

She tried to appear more nonchalant, yet her originally bright eyes dimmed slightly, betraying her true emotions.

Shu Wan saw it but didn’t let on, saying softly: “Let’s go.”

Whether it was due to the topic or the fatigue of the entire day, Cheng Sangluo became quieter on the way to the car.

Only after seeing Shu Wan into her car did she carefully remind her: “Please be safe on the road. Please send me a message when you get home to let me know you’re safe.”

Shu Wan leaned languidly by the car window. Hearing the gentle, soft concern, her smile became content, “Has anyone ever told you that your thoughtful meticulousness is very charming~”

“Uh… no…” Cheng Sangluo stammered, covering the bridge of her nose with her fingertip, hiding the blush on her face.

As Shu Wan started the engine, she suddenly asked: “Can I make a small request?”

“Go ahead.”

“In the future, when I visit the bar for leisure, could you be responsible for my security?”

Cheng Sangluo looked suspicious, tilting her head and muttering: “You are the boss. Isn’t that just a simple command?”

“I am asking you from the perspective of Miss Shu, not as an order from the boss. Isn’t that a big difference?” Shu Wan seemed to have figured out Cheng Sangluo’s thoughts, playing the game of respectful choice to perfection, “The former is voluntary, the latter is forced.”

Cheng Sangluo, who was not prone to smiling, now smiled warmly like the spring breeze: “Of course, I accept voluntarily.”

Having received a satisfactory answer, Shu Wan briefly said goodbye: “Hurry back. Good night.”

She didn’t say goodbye, as if to make the person feel she was looking forward to the next meeting.

“Drive safely, sweet dreams.” Cheng Sangluo wouldn’t say “good night” easily, as if the word itself was very precious.

After the black, shiny sports car sped away, Cheng Sangluo’s smile faded.

With her hands in her pockets, she stood there, gazing at the direction where the car had disappeared, considering whether she should add Shu Wan’s photo to the wall of her rental apartment.

This highly perceptive person sensed danger in that flawless conversation.

This danger was not superficial like Xu Songheng’s, nor was it like Lin Jin’s precise manipulation.

Cheng Sangluo pondered for a long time. Her assessment of Shu Wan was still ‘water,’ but not just the gentle surface she presented at first meeting.

Water carries an insidious penetrating force. When gentle, it can seep into any crack. When ferocious, it is like the sudden downpour that was about to arrive tonight, a destructive force with a deceptive friendliness.

Cheng Sangluo turned around and walked towards the alley.

When she reached the alley entrance, she stared blankly into the pitch-black path. How had the madwoman, with frantic steps, pinned her against the wall and kissed and bit her last night?

Boom—

Another bolt of lightning and thunder illuminated half the sky, shaking the pensive Cheng Sangluo’s spine and scattering her thoughts everywhere.

‘Cheng Sangluo…’ ‘Don’t leave… stay with me…’ ‘It’s thundering… it’s thundering… don’t go…’

Lin Jin’s trembling roar drowned out the approaching thunder, lingering in her memory.

That heartbreaking tone struck against Cheng Sangluo’s eardrums, causing the illusion of tinnitus, and by the time it hit her heart, it had turned into a pleading whimper.

“You’re already so tired today. Why dwell on meaningless things?” Cheng Sangluo shook her head, continuing into the depths of the alley.

She was deceiving herself, finding a rational excuse to convince herself not to succumb to any damned maternal instinct.

When the membrane-piercing thunder boomed again.

The soft-hearted ‘god’ whispered in her ear.

In the alley, so dark it swallowed even shadows, hurried footsteps suddenly rang out, desperately running.

At first, the steps were rushed, then they turned into an erratic dash.

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