The Tragic Heroine Fell in Love with Me - Chapter 43

Shen Lin left as if fleeing.

After Shen Lin departed, the door opened. Zheng Qi looked up, expecting Xiao San, but it was Li Allen who entered instead.

Li Allen wore his usual mischievous grin. “Well, well, I never thought you’d actually come to your senses and break up with Shen Lin. Even Shen Lin thought you were playing hard to get and honestly, so did I.”

“If you enjoy eavesdropping so much, did you manage to get the competitor’s proposal the other day?”

“Boss, oh boss, stealing proposals from other companies is illegal. How could I possibly do something like that?” He walked over to Zheng Qi and placed a stack of documents in front of him. “I stayed up all night working on this proposal. I hope you’ll consider giving me a raise for my hard work.”

Zheng Qi sneered and glanced at Li Allen. “Did you just come to deliver the documents?”

“Of course, not.” Li Allen said with an ingratiating smile. “I came specifically to pick you up since you’re being discharged from the hospital.”

Seeing the disbelief on Zheng Qi’s face, Li Allen didn’t bother explaining further. “So, have you really let go of Shen Lin completely?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Allen raised both hands defensively. “No need to glare at me like that, boss. I’m just thinking of your best interests. If Miss Xiao comes back and sees you like this, wouldn’t she be frightened? That wouldn’t be good.”

Noticing Zheng Qi fall silent, Li Allen continued, clearly enjoying the drama. “Boss, I really think you should be honest with Miss Xiao. If you keep pretending in front of her, and she finds out your true nature later, she might just break up with you.”

Zheng Qi replied, “If I can pretend for a lifetime, then it becomes the truth.”

“Ah, I don’t get you. A few words could solve everything, yet you insist on making it so complicated.”

Just as Li Allen finished speaking, Xiao San walked in. Seeing Li Allen there, she greeted him, “Assistant Li, you’re here too! Have you been busy lately? I feel like I haven’t seen you much recently.”

Li Allen rubbed his shoulders, his tone full of exhaustion. “Well, with the boss in the hospital, someone had to handle the company’s affairs, right?”

“You should get some rest,” Xiao San said as she walked over to help Zheng Qi out. “Ah Qi, you should give Assistant Li a few days off. Look at those dark circles under his eyes. No matter how busy things are, you can’t pile everything onto him.”

Li Allen nodded emphatically. “Miss Xiao is absolutely right.”

“In that case, I’ll hire a few more people to share Allen’s workload,” Zheng Qi replied after a moment’s thought.

Just as Xiao San was about to nod in agreement, Li Allen quickly interjected, “No, no, that won’t be necessary. I can handle it alone. I’m paid a high salary, so I should be doing this much work. It’s only right that I work myself to death.”

Xiao San couldn’t help but laugh at Li Allen’s remark. She nudged Zheng Qi lightly, realizing he was just teasing Li Allen. In a low voice, she said to Zheng Qi, “Give him a few days off. He really does look exhausted.”

Zheng Qi also leaned in close, whispering into Xiao San’s ear, “This guy probably stayed up all night reading novels again. There aren’t that many novels to read abroad, so work hours are actually his chance to rest. Otherwise, I’m really afraid he’d spend days on end reading, forgetting to eat or sleep.”

“Huh?”

“Alright, stop worrying about others. Worry about me instead. Look at how badly I’ve been beaten up, who knows when I’ll recover? And you still have time to care about other people.”

Zheng Qi leaned against Xiao San with a hint of jealousy, her tone full of complaint.

“I’m not trying to be harsh, but your recovery is really slow. It’s been over three months, and you’re still this weak.” Xiao San wrapped an arm around Zheng Qi, noticing that at some point, Zheng Qi had grown half a head taller than her. “And you had to go and imitate those reckless drivers, crashing into a wall. You have no idea how scared I was.”

Even now, just thinking back to that moment filled Xiao San with lingering fear.

“Wasn’t it cool, though?” Zheng Qi pressed closer, the two of them almost merging into one.

“Cool? I was terrified!” Xiao San rolled her eyes at Zheng Qi. Cool, indeed. “You say Assistant Li reads too many novels, but I think you’ve read your fair share too. Don’t ever do something like that again.”

Zheng Qi nodded solemnly. “As long as you’re okay, I’ll be okay too.”

Xiao San was moved by the underlying meaning in Zheng Qi’s words. “If only I were a guy. If I were, I’d definitely pursue you.”

“Can’t you do that even if you’re not a guy?”

Of course not.

This was a romance novel, after all, one of those heart-wrenching stories where the female lead suffers countless hardships at the hands of the male lead but remains hopelessly devoted to him.

Xiao San chuckled awkwardly and changed the subject.

Zheng Qi was so deeply infatuated with Shen Lin. If she could really let go of him and settle down with Xiao San, it might not be such a bad idea.

Of course, Xiao San was only entertaining the thought.

“Ah Qi, do you know how Lin Nuanyan is doing now?” Xiao San asked.

Zheng Qi shook her head. “How would I know? I’ve been cooped up in the hospital all this time, I’m worse off than you.”

“I don’t know either. I’ve been swamped lately, working all day. After work, I’m either helping out at my parents’ shop or visiting you. I really haven’t had time to keep up with Lin Nuanyan.”

“Oh? Why are you suddenly asking about her?” Zheng Qi glanced at Xiao San, noticing her evasive expression, as if she were just casually bringing it up.

Xiao San studied Zheng Qi for a moment. Surely, she wouldn’t notice.

Recently, Lin Nuanyan’s mother had approached Xiao San, asking her to write a letter of forgiveness.

Xiao San wasn’t a saint, but she felt that since Lin Nuanyan hadn’t caused any real harm.

Yet, when she met Zheng Qi’s gaze and remembered how Zheng Qi had been hospitalized for over three months because of it, she couldn’t bring herself to forgive Lin Nuanyan.

“Nothing, I just thought of her suddenly.”

Xiao San brushed off Zheng Qi’s question, but she still had to deal with the barrage of text messages from Lin Nuanyan’s friends.

Xiao San had been somewhat hesitant at first, but the constant messaging became so overwhelming that she grew even more reluctant to write the letter of forgiveness.

Another half-month passed, and Xiao San was cornered by Huang Xi on her way home from work. It was then that she finally saw the face of the person who had been bombarding her with messages.

“So you’re Xiao San.”

Huang Xi spoke with such certainty, as if they had met many times before, yet Xiao San had no recollection of ever seeing him.

“It’s you who’s been deliberately refusing to write the letter of understanding! Haven’t you harmed Nuanyan enough? She’s already suffered so much, why do you have to saddle her with a criminal record and a lawsuit?”

“Huh?” Xiao San looked at Huang Xi in confusion.

She understood every word he said, yet she didn’t quite grasp his meaning.

What did he mean by her harming Lin Nuanyan?

“You might have the wrong person,” Xiao San could only kindly remind him.

Huang Xi: “I haven’t mistaken the person. It’s you, Xiao San. Don’t pretend to be innocent. Shen Lin might be fooled by you, but I won’t be. Let’s lay our cards on the table, how much money do you want to let Nuanyan go? Name your price.”

Xiao San felt like she had encountered a lunatic.

She and Lin Nuanyan had no past grievances, and though there had been recent conflicts, it was Lin Nuanyan who had tried to harm her. How could it be her turn to frame Lin Nuanyan?

And “name your price”? Did he think he was some domineering CEO from a cheesy novel?

“Sorry, please step aside. I need to go home now.” Unwilling to continue the argument, Xiao San tried to brush past Huang Xi and walk the other way.

But Huang Xi was not about to let her go.

He blocked her path again. “Xiao San, I don’t like repeating myself. Don’t force me to get rough with you.”

“Get rough?” Xiao San’s temper flared. She crossed her arms and stared at Huang Xi. Though much shorter, she didn’t lose an ounce of her presence. “How exactly are you going to get rough? This is a public street. Do you believe that if I call the police, they’ll arrest you on the spot? Stop acting like some gangster boss, this is a society governed by law!”

“You!” Huang Xi hadn’t expected Xiao San to stand up to him so boldly. He pointed at her nose, looking as if he was about to hit her.

Xiao San wasn’t the least bit afraid. She lifted her chin defiantly. “Go ahead, lay a hand on me. I’ll sue you into the ground!”

Having been to the police station a few times, she was well-versed in basic legal knowledge.

“Fine, fine, fine.” Huang Xi sneered. “So this is how you seduced Shen Lin, huh? Now you’re trying to get my attention the same way? Well, guess what? I’m not falling for it.”

Xiao San burst out laughing.

No wonder he and Shen Lin were friends. His tone, his level of narcissism, it was practically identical to Shen Lin’s, as if carved from the same mold of greasy disgust.

“Think whatever you want. I don’t care about your opinion. You’d better not block my way again, or I won’t be polite either.”

Huang Xi blocked her once more. “Do you think I want to see you? If it weren’t for Nuanyan, I wouldn’t even be standing in front of you.”

“Alright then, but if you’re here for Lin Nuanyan, you’ve come to the wrong place. Lin Nuanyan is involved in a criminal case, and the prosecution is handled by the public security bureau. It has nothing to do with me.”

“Of course, it has to do with you.” Huang Xi grabbed Xiao San’s arm as she tried to leave, his grip so tight it immediately caused her pain. “If you just write the letter of understanding, Nuanyan might at least get a lighter sentence.”

“Hahaha, and you expect me to help you with that attitude? At least show some humility when you’re asking for a favor!”

Seeing that Huang Xi showed no intention of letting her leave, she gave up on the idea of escaping. With a look of disgust, she stared at Huang Xi, determined to see what other outrageous, inhuman words he might utter.

“After all this, you just want money. Name your price.”

“A hundred million,” Xiao San said.

“Why don’t you just go rob someone?”

Xiao San: “Robbery is illegal. Demanding compensation for emotional distress isn’t.”

Huang Xi: “You’re doing this on purpose, deliberately messing with me.”

“Haha, you’re not completely brainless after all, you actually realized I’m messing with you. I thought your brain wasn’t just broken, but stupid too.”

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