I Revealed My True Identity After Confessing My Love - Chapter 42

The “Husband” Incident

Du Xiran couldn’t quite remember how she had managed to get home from Ye Nanning’s place.

She shed her clothes and stepped into the shower, letting the hot water wash away the lingering scent of alcohol. Her mind kept looping back to what Ye Nanning had said.

She likes women?

Even though Du Xiran had entertained that bold suspicion before, hearing it confirmed by the girl herself was still a shock. She had even asked multiple times to be sure: “Are you serious? You’re not joking with me, are you?”

Ye Nanning’s expression back then had been incredibly earnest: “I wouldn’t lie to you, President Du.”

There was no reason to lie, really. If anything, she was being remarkably transparent.

By the time Du Xiran finished her shower, her head had cleared. It seemed that hangover soup had actually worked. Usually, she’d be passed out by now, but tonight she felt refreshed enough to chat with her online friend.

Specifically, that cute food blogger.

Late Night Chat

Tree-side Grandpa: [Sticker: Are you asleep?]

Dududu: [Not yet. You’re still up too?]

Tree-side Grandpa: [Yeah, can’t sleep…]

Dududu: [What’s wrong? Did something happen?]

Tree-side Grandpa: [I told someone a huge secret today, and now I’m terrified they’ll hate me.]

Dududu: [Is it that big of a secret?]

Tree-side Grandpa: [Yeah… like, ‘I like women’ kind of big.]

Dududu: [Even if it’s liking women, it’s not a big deal. Society is much more inclusive now, plenty of people are open about it. Don’t panic.]

Tree-side Grandpa: [Really?]

Dududu: [Of course. I have a very excellent intern who confessed the same thing to me tonight.]

Tree-side Grandpa: [An intern? Weren’t you surprised?]

Dududu: [A little, but mostly I just felt that she really trusts me to tell me something so private. Why would I hate her? I think she’s great.]

Watching the screen, Ye Nanning rolled around on her bed, covering her mouth to keep from screaming.

President Du doesn’t hate me! She even called me an “excellent intern”!

Since she’d started her “pursuit plan,” her goal was to let President Du know her sexual orientation first. She wanted to shift the dynamic to stop being just a “little girl” or a “protege” in Du Xiran’s eyes.

The Morning After

The next morning, Ye Nanning was full of energy. She prepared two portions of pasta and nervously knocked on the door across the hall.

When the door opened, Du Xiran stepped out, bag over her shoulder. “Morning.” She headed straight for Ye Nanning’s kitchen. “What’s on the menu today?”

She seemed completely unfazed by last night’s revelation. During breakfast, noticing Ye Nanning’s hesitation, Du Xiran spoke up with a leadership tone: “Are you feeling awkward? Regretting telling me? Don’t worry about it. Liking women won’t get your bonus docked. Just work as usual.”

“Thank you, President Du… but I’m actually worried about what to wear today,” Ye Nanning whispered. Her own clothes were still in transit.

Du Xiran dragged her back to her own apartment. “Pick something from here.”

Inside the wardrobe was a riot of colors. Ye Nanning looked at the flashy clothes, then at Du Xiran’s elegant style. “I like your style better.”

Du Xiran laughed and teased her, even recording a voice note of Ye Nanning saying she “didn’t like the flashy clothes” to send to her younger sister, Du Heruo, as a joke.

Eventually, Ye Nanning settled on a black oversized hoodie with a metal skull on the back. To complete the look, she tied her hair into a neat bun.

“Cool Girl” at the Office

When Ye Nanning walked into the office, she was the center of attention. Usually, she wore professional attire, but this “cool girl” vibe suited her icy expression perfectly.

“Woah! Are you trying to out-style us today?” her colleague Xu Huan gasped. “Give me the link to that hoodie!”

Even the guy across the aisle, Hu Jiaxu, kept turning around. “Ye Nanning, you look killer today!”

When Du Xiran walked out of her office, Xu Huan called her over. “President Du, look at Xiao Ye! Isn’t she a cool babe today?”

Du Xiran played along, examining her. “Indeed. Very cool. As expected of someone from my team.”

The “Husband” and the Heartbeat

At lunch, Hu Jiaxu took a selfie with Ye Nanning and posted it. “The comments are going crazy. A girl just asked if you can give her a ‘lesbian chance.’ They’re calling you ‘Husband’!”

“Husband?” Du Xiran overheard and chuckled.

Ye Nanning felt her heart stop. I should record her saying that and play it at my funeral, she thought wildly.

Du Xiran, noticing Ye Nanning’s silence, assumed she was uncomfortable. “Xiao Ye already has someone she likes,” Du Xiran told the others. “Don’t go setting her up.”

“What?! Who is it? Have you confessed?” Hu Jiaxu bombarded her with questions.

Ye Nanning caught Du Xiran’s gaze and looked down at her food. “Eat, it’s getting cold.”

Later, in Du Xiran’s office, the two talked again. Du Xiran, feeling a sudden spark of curiosity (and perhaps a bit of self-conceit), asked, “How long have you liked them?”

“Almost four months,” Ye Nanning said instantly.

Du Xiran paused. She felt a slight sting of self-deprecating disappointment. Ye Nanning had only been at the company for a month and a half. The timeline doesn’t fit. She liked someone long before she met me.

“Give me a couple of those hand warmers you bought,” Du Xiran said, changing the subject.

“You really want them?” Ye Nanning piled them onto the desk. “Stay warm, President Du.”

“Thanks. You’re so sweet, I’m starting to envy your future wife.”

Ye Nanning froze, hand warmers slipping from her fingers. “Future… wife?”

“Yeah, since you’re everyone’s ‘Husband’ now,” Du Xiran teased. “Even the girls in the company group chat are calling you that.”

Ye Nanning’s face flushed deep red. She pulled the drawstrings of her hoodie tight until only her face was visible. “They’re… they’re joking.”

“And?” Du Xiran leaned in, finding this high-cold girl’s shyness adorable. “Does being called ‘Husband’ make you that embarrassed?”

Ye Nanning covered her face with both hands. Her ears were ringing with the word Husband coming from Du Xiran’s lips.

Du Xiran said it again, purely to tease: “Husband?”

Ye Nanning felt like steam was literally rising from her head. Her knees went weak, and she collapsed forward against the desk, hiding everything but the very top of her head.

The sound of Du Xiran’s light, genuine laughter filled the office.