The Devil President's Delicate Wife (GL) - Chapter 10

Han Haojun had established Junyi Comics and Games for about a year now. Though the company wasn’t large, it was quite profitable and had gained some reputation in the industry. Running into Lin Yueshu this time was purely accidental, but for him, it felt like an opportunity. Although he wasn’t sure if Lin Yueshu had a boyfriend, he had sent someone to investigate and found out she had always been single. How could he let such a good chance slip by?

Murong Qing never mentioned a word about what happened that afternoon. She kept silent out of fear that Lin Yueshu might get angry, and also because their relationship had just started to improve. She didn’t want to ruin the hard-earned progress over this matter.

Since that night when she slept beside Murong Qing, Lin Yueshu felt something shifting in her heart. Yet, she couldn’t quite grasp what that inexplicable emotion was. After brooding over it for a long time without reaching any conclusion, she simply let it go. Dwelling too much on one thing wasn’t in her nature. She had too many things to do to waste time pondering unresolved matters.

After letting Murong Qing know about her work, Lin Yueshu no longer deliberately avoided her as before. If she was busy with work, she would send Murong Qing a message to let her know she’d be back late. At Fengtian, Lin Yueshu had the freedom to manage her own schedule. She had a private studio, but she rarely stayed there, preferring instead to go out sketching or keeping up with the latest fashion trends to stay updated on the market.

Lin Yueshu had her own unique philosophy when it came to design most of her work catered to the general public. She loved wandering through streets and alleys, observing the culture, lifestyle, and how ordinary people engaged with fashion. Occasionally, she also worked on advertising designs targeting high society, though such projects were rare. She wasn’t drawn to the extravagant, dizzying glamour of the upper class perhaps because of her own background.

Lin Yueshu believed that the most authentic inspiration came from the mundane lives of ordinary people—their simplicity, sincerity, and uninhibited way of living. Su Fuyin often teased her as a “fake commoner mingling among the masses,” but Lin Yueshu didn’t mind. She thought it was fine that way. However, perhaps life had been too peaceful lately, and someone just had to stir things up.

As soon as Han Haojun finished a game development project, he realized it had already been a month since he last saw Lin Yueshu. In truth, he often stared at her phone number on his screen, tempted to call many times, but he could never think of a suitable excuse. More than that, he was afraid she might reject him.

Now that the project was done, he had plenty of free time and didn’t want to wait any longer. If he delayed further, he feared Lin Yueshu might end up becoming someone else’s wife.

Han Haojun pulled out his phone, found Lin Yueshu’s number, and dialed. After two rings, someone picked up.

“Hello, who is this?” Lin Yueshu had dialed Han Haojun’s number before but hadn’t saved it. She didn’t like storing contacts of people she wasn’t familiar with. At the moment, she was chatting with an elderly woman in her eighties in a small alley in H City when her phone rang. Seeing an unknown number, she initially didn’t want to answer, but not picking up in front of the old lady might seem impolite, so she decided to take the call.

Han Haojun felt a mix of nervousness and unease upon hearing Lin Yueshu’s voice, causing him to stammer slightly as he spoke. “Yueshu, it’s… it’s me, Han Haojun. Do you… do you have time now? It’s noon would you like to have lunch together?”

Listening to Han Haojun’s stuttering and slightly trembling voice, Lin Yueshu found it amusing. She thought he was quite interesting getting so nervous just over asking someone out for a meal that he could barely speak clearly. Seeing him like that, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse and agreed readily. “I have time, Senior. Why don’t you make the arrangements?”

Han Haojun was overjoyed at her quick agreement. He stood up from his chair excitedly and said, “Great! Where should we meet? I’ll drive over to pick you up right away.”

“Mm, wait for me by the bridge in Plum Garden Alley,” Lin Yueshu replied. Hearing the excitement in his voice, she couldn’t help but think that for a man in his mid-to-late twenties, Han Haojun was surprisingly innocent. It was rare to see someone like that these days.

Han Haojun grabbed his car keys and wallet from the drawer and hurried out, not forgetting to say to Lin Yueshu over the phone, “Alright, I’ll be there soon. I’ll hang up now, Yueshu. See you soon.”

After hanging up, Lin Yueshu wondered whether, if not for the complications involving Murong Qing, she might have liked someone like Han Haojun. She pondered it for a while but couldn’t come to any conclusion. In terms of what she sought in a relationship, Han Haojun—talented and sincere probably met half her criteria. But given her current circumstances and life, pursuing such a romance was already out of the question.

In less than fifteen minutes, Han Haojun arrived at Plum Garden Alley, though Lin Yueshu hadn’t yet emerged from the alley.

Lin Yueshu had assumed it would take him at least half an hour to get there, so she had been walking leisurely. Only when she arrived did she realize Han Haojun had been waiting for her for quite some time.

Han Haojun had chosen a rather upscale restaurant in the city for their meal. Lin Yueshu wasn’t particularly picky about locations; she didn’t frequent such luxurious places often. She thought home-style dishes were perfectly delicious and saw no need for such extravagance. Eating didn’t have to be so elaborate.

Once seated, Han Haojun ordered two steaks and drinks, which arrived shortly after.

The two sat in relative silence until Han Haojun couldn’t hold back any longer and asked, “Yueshu, where are you working now? Still as a designer?” Though he had looked into Lin Yueshu’s background, his knowledge was superficial. He only knew she spent a lot of time wandering the streets and alleys of City H these days nothing beyond that.

Lin Yueshu cut a piece of steak, placed it in her mouth, and looked up at Han Haojun. “Mm, I’ve taken on a new project recently. I’ve been walking around to find inspiration.” Suddenly remembering Han Haojun had once mentioned running a gaming company, she asked, “Senior, how’s your company doing? The gaming industry has a lot of potential.”

“It’s going well. It’s been over a year since I started it, and the returns are good,” Han Haojun replied. He felt a bit distant being called “Senior” all the time. Glancing at Lin Yueshu’s face, he smiled and said, “Yueshu, you don’t have to keep calling me ‘Senior.’ We’ve both graduated. It’s not like we’re still in school. Just call me by my name.”

Lin Yueshu was taken aback for a moment before looking at Han Haojun and saying, “Your name? Oh, then I’ll just call you Haojun from now on.” She didn’t dwell much on names after all, they were just a form of address.

“Okay.” Han Haojun felt an inexplicable joy upon hearing Lin Yueshu call him by his name and couldn’t help but respond loudly.

Seeing Han Haojun’s somewhat silly expression at that moment, Lin Yueshu found him rather endearing. Han Haojun was, after all, the CEO of a company and had his own image to maintain. She wondered what his employees would think if they saw him like this. Comparing this to his usual serious demeanor at work, Lin Yueshu couldn’t quite reconcile the two. Did someone as good-natured as Han Haojun even have a serious side? She couldn’t help but laugh.

Seeing her smile, Han Haojun was momentarily entranced. He stared blankly at her, his fork and knife holding a piece of steak frozen mid-air.

Noticing his daze, Lin Yueshu waved her hand in front of his face and said, “Haojun, what are you staring at so intently?”

“Huh? Oh, nothing.” Han Haojun snapped out of it and chuckled awkwardly before hurriedly stuffing the steak into his mouth.

Lin Yueshu, amused by his reaction, remarked, “Haojun, you know, right now you look like a lovestruck teenage boy.”

Han Haojun’s face flushed at her words. Then, noticing a bit of sauce at the corner of her lips, he grabbed a napkin from the table, stood up, and gently wiped it away. “You’ve got some sauce here.”

Lin Yueshu was momentarily stunned by his sudden gesture. This was the first time a man had gotten so close to her, and she felt a bit flustered. Quickly, she thanked him, “Thank you.”

Unbeknownst to them, every move they made had been observed by someone not far away. Murong Qing had come to the restaurant for a business meeting, never expecting to run into Lin Yueshu and Han Haojun. Her initially good mood was completely ruined by their cheerful banter. By the time Han Haojun wiped Lin Yueshu’s mouth, Murong Qing’s face had darkened beyond recognition. Clenching her fists, she glared at the two with a tense expression.

Her client, noticing the sudden change in her demeanor, grew anxious and asked, “President Murong, did I say something to upset you?”

Murong Qing snapped back to reality. “No, let’s end here for today. Regarding your company’s proposal, I’ll discuss it with my team and get back to you with an answer.” She had completely lost interest in the meeting. Her mind was fixated on the pair across the room.

Soon after, the client left, but Murong Qing remained seated, watching Lin Yueshu and Han Haojun until they finished their meal and departed.

Lin Yueshu hadn’t eaten much, as she wasn’t particularly fond of meat. If Han Haojun invited her out again, she might not be so easily persuaded.

She preferred light, simple meals. Most of the time, she only cooked meat dishes to nourish Lin Yushu. When alone, she rarely bothered with such things.

After dinner, the two went to a café for a while. Lin Yueshu didn’t feel any strong aversion to spending time with Han Haojun, nor did she have any special fondness for it. She simply enjoyed the easygoing dynamic between them. Her feelings for him remained at the level of an ordinary friendship, she hadn’t considered anything beyond that.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to, but rather that she simply wouldn’t think about it, because even if she did, many things were impossible. Since they were impossible, why exhaust her brain cells thinking about them? That would just be asking for trouble. Lin Yueshu was the kind of person who never sought out trouble for herself.

Murong Qing had been watching the two of them the whole time. She really wanted to leave, but she was afraid they might do something outrageous. She thought again about that wicked woman who had driven her mother to death. Although that woman hadn’t ended up well either, it was still a deep wound in Murong Qing’s heart, one she knew might never heal.

Lin Yueshu was secretly dating another man behind her back, and she couldn’t stand it. Lin Yueshu was hers. She wouldn’t allow anyone else to like her, nor would she tolerate Lin Yueshu betraying her. Just the thought of Lin Yueshu possibly falling in love with someone else and being with another man filled her with uncontrollable rage.

In truth, when it came to Lin Yueshu, Murong Qing had only ever focused on possessing her, never making an effort to understand her. This was the reason why, no matter how hard she tried, Lin Yueshu remained unmoved. To unlock Lin Yueshu’s heart, Murong Qing still had a long way to go at least for now.

At one in the afternoon, Lin Yueshu and Han Haojun parted ways. She headed to Fengtian to discuss a new project with Su Fuyin. Ever since winning the award and signing the contract, Su Fuyin had been swamped, barely able to catch her breath. Meanwhile, Lin Yueshu strolled around leisurely every day, which only fueled Su Fuyin’s resentment. She had always wanted Lin Yueshu to help manage the company, but Lin Yueshu stubbornly refused, insisting on her freedom.

Lin Yueshu’s abilities weren’t limited to just design. If she took on company management, she wouldn’t be any less capable than Su Fuyin. She simply disliked the hassle and the stress that came with it.