Green Tea Top Student Falls in Love with Me - Chapter 63

Reconciliation? She wanted to reconcile?

Even though Wen Youren hadn’t explicitly said those words, Shi Wangui felt a pang in her chest, and her eyes grew moist. She knew the HR representative had misunderstood; apart from some strange things Wen Youren said last night, she had been keeping a subtle distance ever since.

Shi Wangui pursed her lips. “Where is her office?”

It was strange. She knew she should hate Wen Youren, should despise her, but her heart told her otherwise, don’t do this, don’t hate her.

Wen Youren’s office was small and simply structured. To the left of the computer was a small green plant, and to the right was… a photograph.

It was the photo they had taken together at sunrise.

Why?

Why does Wen Youren still have this?

If she still cared, why did she insist on breaking up? Did she think she couldn’t find anyone better over the last few years?

In a fit of pique, Shi Wangui knocked the photo face down. With a dull clack, their image was hidden. The edge of the frame grazed Shi Wangui’s hand; eventually, she couldn’t help but set it back upright.

Nearby was a smaller desk, presumably her own. It held only a computer, a few novels, and a potted plant…

Wait.

Novels?

Shi Wangui opened one in disbelief.

She read for a moment.

Then a moment longer.

Good grief, what did Wen Youren do at work all day? Read these? How on earth did she win Shi Qin’s favor by reading stuff like this?

The beginning of the novel wasn’t anything special, but there were illustrations in the back. The protagonists were two women—two adult women, in very intimate positions…

The door creaked open. Shi Wangui frantically tried to close the book, but in her haste, it slipped from her fingers and fell to the floor, landing perfectly on the page with the illustration.

Shi Wangui: “…”

Wen Youren: “…”

Silence was the only refuge.

But Shi Wangui couldn’t help herself. “Why did you put these novels on my desk?”

After all, she hadn’t bought them, and she hadn’t turned to that page. It had simply fallen and landed there; it had nothing to do with her.

Wen Youren picked up the book. “I asked someone to buy a few random novels yesterday. I thought you might be bored starting a new job, so I got them to keep you entertained.”

To keep her entertained. With books like this. Shi Wangui’s face flushed a deep crimson. Couldn’t she have at least glanced at them first to see what genre they were?

Now, both of them had seen the illustration, and both were forced into a heavy silence. If Wen Youren hadn’t explained, they might have each thought the other was dropping hints.

“Was it to keep me entertained,” Shi Wangui asked incredulously, “or to keep you entertained?”

Two knocks at the door interrupted them.

Sun Ran stood there, looking at Shi Wangui with confusion, as if to say: I thought I was supposed to pick you up; how did you get here?

But she focused on business. She turned to Wen Youren. “General Manager Wen, Mr. Zhang is waiting for you in the conference room.”

“I’ll be there in a moment,” Wen Youren replied.

After Sun Ran left, Wen Youren suddenly leaned in. Shi Wangui instinctively stepped back. Before she could snap, “What are you doing?” she saw Wen Youren reach for a strand of hair near her temple. “Something was stuck in your hair.”

“What was it?”

Wen Youren opened her palm. A long, black strand of hair lay there.

“Why did you pull my hair?” Shi Wangui asked.

Wen Youren smiled. “It’s not yours. It must have rubbed off from me in the car. I have to go. I’ll take you home this evening. You’re free to look at any of the reports on my desk or use the computer.”

“Are you intentionally trying to get close to me so we can reconcile?” Shi Wangui snapped. “It’s not happening. I’m telling you one more time: impossible!”

Shi Wangui regretted it immediately. Her hair was dyed yellow, so the black strand clearly wasn’t hers. She knew she still had feelings for Wen Youren, but she refused to say it. Her body wanted to be near her, even if her words were just an expression of her volatile emotions.

“I will respect all of your wishes,” Wen Youren said before leaving. She turned on the air conditioning on her way out. It wasn’t actually cold today, but she clearly thought Shi Wangui was dressed too lightly.

Left alone, Shi Wangui noticed the office was busy today, with people moving back and forth outside.

She sat down at Wen Youren’s desk. There were no reports in sight, so she opened a drawer and found several blue folders.

She pulled one out and flipped through it.

After a moment, she shoved it back. She simply couldn’t understand any of it.

She turned on the computer. Wen Youren hadn’t used it yet this morning, so she had to enter a password.

She didn’t know the password. She knew the phone password from five years ago, but she wasn’t sure if it had been changed.

Shi Wangui hesitated, her finger hovering over the first key. She tried the old code.

It worked.

The desktop was sparse, with only a few folders labeled “Work” or similar. She opened them to find contracts and financial statements.

Shi Wangui had no interest in those. She saw the WeChat icon and noticed it was logged out. Feeling bored and realizing that coming to “work” on a whim was an impulsive mistake, she prepared to close the window and go find Sun Yi.

By sheer accident, she clicked “Login” and it was Wen Youren’s account.

Even more accidentally, Wen Youren approved the login from her phone.

After a few seconds of loading, she was in.

She wasn’t sure why Wen Youren had happened to check her phone and approve the request. It wasn’t even a request Shi Wangui meant to send.

She thought about logging out immediately to avoid leaving a trail, but then she saw the chat history. There were logs with her aunt and with Sun Yi. The most recent message with her aunt was from last night; the one with Sun Yi was from just this afternoon.

…

Why were they in contact behind her back? Neither Sun Yi nor her aunt had ever mentioned this.

Shi Wangui opened the chat window. She had a right to know. Despite her relationship with Shi Qin, her name was still Shi. Even if there were confidential files, it wouldn’t matter if she saw them. But what she really wanted to see were the conversations with her aunt and her best friend.

She scrolled through the messages for a long time. Finally, she logged out, leaned back in the chair, and stared at the ceiling.

An hour later, Wen Youren returned. Shi Wangui had stayed, waiting for her.

“Lock the door,” Shi Wangui said as soon as Wen Youren entered. “Lock it so no one can come in.”

Wen Youren locked the door and walked to the desk, leaning over it. “You know everything now, don’t you?”

Shi Wangui stood up and grabbed Wen Youren by her tie. “You did this on purpose, didn’t you? You wanted me to see. My coming back was your arrangement too. I wondered why Auntie insisted I come back now when she wouldn’t let me before. And you—do you really think this was ‘for my own good’? Why would you think that?”

The office was deathly quiet. Shi Wangui grew more emotional, her hand trembling as she held the tie. Her grip weakened, but the pain in her heart only intensified.

She knew everything now. She knew why Wen Youren went to Shi Qin’s company, why she broke up with her, and why she insisted on sending her abroad. But Wen Youren had never asked her. Not once. Even her own family and friends knew, yet she—the person who loved her—was the only one kept in the dark.

For five years, Wen Youren had hidden the truth. Five years of suffering for both of them. It shouldn’t have been like this. They could have faced it together. Shi Wangui didn’t want the money or anything from Shi Qin. All she ever wanted was Wen Youren. She just wanted a simple life together. She knew she was a “love-brain,” but that was exactly what she needed.

Tears fell uncontrollably as she stared at the face she had missed for five years.

She suddenly let go of the tie and sobbed, her head bowed.

Wen Youren stepped forward and pulled her into a hug, her own voice thick with emotion. “I didn’t dare gamble. I didn’t want to spend every day worrying about you being controlled while I had no power to stop it. I missed you so much. I broke down so many times over these years, and every time I couldn’t take it, I told myself: ‘Soon. Soon I’ll be able to protect her.’ I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“Shi Qin watched me for five years. I worked for him for five years for free. Right now, the shares are with Shi Yun’en and Shi Qin. The only thing I could do was spend those years building relationships with clients and proving my value. This company will be yours. It can only be yours.”

Wen Youren poured out her apologies and her longing. Two years ago, she had suggested opening a branch here, but Shi Qin refused; he didn’t trust her. She had to play a role negotiating with clients, acting humble and subservient until Shi Qin believed this branch posed no risk to him. Then, he finally agreed.

Shi Wangui pushed Wen Youren away and bit her shoulder hard, venting her fury. Finally, she said, “I haven’t forgiven you. You were the one who broke up with me. I won’t forgive you.”

Wen Youren hugged her again, stroking her back gently. “You’re right not to forgive me. You’ve grown up now; you can do whatever you want, and I will support you. Just… stay by my side. Even if we aren’t a couple, just stay with me.”

Shi Wangui tried to push her away again, but Wen Youren held her too tightly to be moved. After a moment, Shi Wangui whispered, “I’m not forgiving you. But I didn’t say I wouldn’t give you a chance to chase me again.”

Five years of pain couldn’t be erased with a single apology. She wanted Wen Youren to pay a price.

Wen Youren let go. “Okay. Thank you for the chance.”

“That’s not the priority right now,” Shi Wangui added. “Right now, I want to go find Sun Yi.”

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