When the Male Lead Finds Out I’m the Transmigrator Trying to Win Him Over - Chapter 24

Running into Han Qi was something Yun Ruo hadn’t expected. She thought tonight was already chaotic enough, but at the last moment, Han Qi also appeared.

Han Qi had helped her quite a lot. If it was just chatting, she wouldn’t mind.

“Not done talking yet.” Meng Tingmo chased after them, his tone sharp. Ever since that incident four years ago, there had been a rift between him and Han Qi. He had thought about it for a long time, convinced Han Qi—just like Feng You—couldn’t stand the way he treated Yun Ruo. Feng You had fought with him for a whole year before things calmed down; Han Qi had stayed estranged for four full years.

“All done,” Yun Ruo replied lightly. She had spent half the night talking, and it all turned out to be meaningless. The rain hadn’t stopped, and she had even gotten a little wet in the garden.

“Let’s go.”

Yun Ruo took the lead down the stairs, Han Qi following closely behind. Watching the two of them together, Meng Tingmo felt a blaze of fury inside.

What was this supposed to mean—she would rather talk to Han Qi, an outsider, than stay by his side?

Great. Just great.

Yun Ruo’s hair was damp, raindrops clinging to her arms. Luckily the rain wasn’t heavy—a towel would be enough.

She tidied herself up and opened the lounge door. Han Qi was still standing at the entrance, for some reason looking amused.

“Afraid I’ll run away?” she asked.

Han Qi looked at her deeply. Even after so long, that night was still vivid in his memory. “Afraid if you disappear again, it’ll be another four years.”

That… Yun Ruo rubbed her arm uneasily. He wasn’t wrong—if the mission succeeded, she wouldn’t just disappear for four years.

“Come on.” Han Qi gestured toward the elevator. “I’ll take you back.”

The banquet was just full of people waiting for gossip anyway. Yun Ruo had come tonight only to see Meng Tingmo. Now that her purpose was achieved, leaving made sense.

But Han Qi…

She hesitated, sent He Xitong a quick message, then left the hotel with Han Qi.

His car was parked right outside. Before getting in, Yun Ruo casually asked, “You can just leave like this without any issues?”

Wasn’t the whole point of a banquet to network? Han Qi’s business had grown rapidly in recent years, and countless people wanted to connect with him.

Han Qi answered casually, “If anyone needs me, they’ll find me.”

Yun Ruo shivered a little. He really wasn’t the same as before.

The driver pulled out, Yun Ruo and Han Qi seated in the back. He had been drinking, and the faint scent of alcohol lingered in the car—not unpleasant, but impossible to ignore.

Just like Han Qi’s presence.

Yun Ruo leaned subtly toward the car door. At the banquet she had already been startled by how much Yun Jia had changed, but now, sitting beside Han Qi, she realized the one who had changed the most was him. Meng Tingmo, personality-wise, was still the same as four years ago.

In the past, being with Han Qi had always been comfortable. He was courteous and gentlemanly, never aggressive, always pleasant to talk to.

Now, Yun Ruo couldn’t help shifting even closer to the door. Even without looking at him, she could feel the weight of Han Qi’s gaze.

“Need me to open the door for you?” Han Qi suddenly asked.

“Huh?” Yun Ruo blinked in confusion.

“Keep squeezing over and you’ll be outside.”

“…”

Yun Ruo pressed her lips together. The old Han Qi would never have said something like that out loud.

She glanced at him, only to see that he was indeed watching her. His eyes were dark and unfathomable, his expression serious enough to be intimidating. Sitting with his hands resting on his thighs, his presence seemed to fill the entire backseat. Compared to him, she felt like a timid little quail.

Han Qi carried a hint of roguishness—something Meng Tingmo lacked.

Finally, she found the right word.

“Why are you staring at me?” Yun Ruo asked.

“You’ve changed,” she admitted when he didn’t look away.

“Changed?” Han Qi turned his gaze back forward, his words heavy with meaning. “Back then, I was new to the circle. I always felt like an outsider—if I wanted to fit in, I had to stay humble.”

“But later I realized, if you’re too humble, everything you want will just be taken away.”

Yun Ruo couldn’t make sense of it. Had someone stolen his business? But yes, he had indeed been modest in the past.

She tried to lighten the mood with a smile. “That’s fine. You’re more successful now—others should be the ones being humble to you.”

“So, what do you want to talk about? I haven’t even thanked you yet. If I hadn’t run into you the other day, I don’t know what would’ve happened.”

At the very least, Meng Feihan might not have survived.

“It’s nothing—friends help each other.” Han Qi’s mind drifted back to waiting outside the operating room. That had been the most desperate moment of his life.

Running a company—if it failed, he could always start again. But if someone died, there was no bringing them back.

He had thought Yun Ruo wouldn’t make it.

“Where were you during those four years?” Han Qi asked.

Yun Ruo shrugged. She had already told Meng Tingmo the truth, and it wasn’t a big deal if Han Qi knew too. Besides, he had no idea about her true identity. “In a coma.”

The tapping of his fingers on his leg suddenly stopped. Han Qi’s memories of that night were always hazy—he remembered the chaos of the emergency, but after the surgery ended, everything became unclear. Mother and child had both been rescued… yet Yun Ruo had vanished, leaving only the baby behind.

That wasn’t something that happened in real life. But if she had been moved while comatose, then it made sense.

“Then,” he looked at her again. Her profile in the dim car was pale and delicate like jade. “What are your thoughts now?”

Fearing she might dodge the question, he clarified, “About Meng Tingmo—what do you think of him?”

Yun Ruo’s answer was crisp: “The past.”

Something flickered in Han Qi’s eyes, but he didn’t press further. The suffocating tension in the car eased slightly.

Half an hour later, the car pulled up in front of He Xitong’s residential complex. Han Qi glanced at the sign. “So He Xitong’s the one who helped you.”

Yun Ruo neither confirmed nor denied it.

She got out of the car and sincerely thanked him again. “Really, thank you. I’ll treat you to a meal sometime.”

“Alright,” Han Qi agreed. He didn’t linger—just told the driver to go.

The car disappeared into the night, soon swallowed by traffic.

At eleven that evening, Meng Tingmo emerged from the bathroom after washing up, grabbing a bottle of liquor from the cabinet.

He pulled out the stopper. He thought about using a glass but dismissed it, lifting the bottle straight to his lips. The frustration that had weighed on him all night didn’t fade—it only grew heavier.

He set the bottle down. Droplets from his wet hair trailed down his skin, one falling into his eye. He shook his head. Tonight’s events refused to leave his mind.

Yun Ruo had returned.

She hadn’t left—she had been in a coma.

Meng Tingmo slumped onto the sofa. For the first two years, all he’d felt was hate. For the next two, his feelings had twisted into a tangle of love and hate. Yun Jia had once told him he was stupid, unable to distinguish love from hate. At the time, he had scoffed. Now, he realized Yun Jia had been right.

Clutching his chest, he had no choice but to admit—the first thing he felt upon seeing Yun Ruo tonight was overwhelming joy.

He couldn’t keep lying to himself that it was hate. Thinking back on the five years Yun Ruo had pursued him, every detail remained crystal clear.

Even the first time they met, when she nervously asked him for help carrying her luggage.

Even if the dream had been real, even if her rewards had twisted his perception, those rewards only came after progress in her pursuit.

Yet that very first meeting—when she had done nothing at all—was still etched into his memory. Which could only mean one thing: even before his perception was altered, Yun Ruo had already entered his heart.

If only he had thought it through back then, things wouldn’t have ended up like this.

Rubbing his temples, Meng Tingmo felt a bitter helplessness.

Did he love Yun Ruo?

The answer was obvious. Just the thought of her made his heart soften. Seeing her with another man filled him with both rage and fear. If that wasn’t love, what was?

Yes, he loved her. Even though he hated being controlled, he still loved her.

Maybe it wasn’t too late.

But if Yun Ruo knew his thoughts, she would only tell him firmly, “It’s too late.” At the moment, her heart held only Meng Feihan.

After waiting all day without hearing from him, she finally pulled up Meng Tingmo’s number. She had a mission coming up, and if things turned out as hectic as when she pursued him before, she might not get the chance again. She had to see Meng Feihan first.

The call was picked up after a few rings. “Yun Ruo?”

“I thought you wouldn’t answer,” Yun Ruo said in surprise. Usually, she had to call several times before he picked up. She had been prepared to keep redialing.

Meng Tingmo was in a meeting, but he held up a hand to pause his subordinates and stepped outside with the phone.

He knew her number by heart. Feng You had told him several times that the number never connected. He himself had tried calling a few times over the past four years—no answer. He had assumed Yun Ruo no longer used it.

After last night’s banquet, he had even regretted not asking her for new contact information.

“Keep it short,” Yun Ruo said. She was busy cooking. Since staying at He Xitong’s place, she had taken over preparing meals for her. He Xitong’s work schedule was irregular, like all domineering CEOs, and forgetting to eat was routine.

“Did you tell Xiao Han about me yet?” she asked.

Meng Tingmo hadn’t. Last night he came home too late; this morning he left too early. Neither time had been right. “Not yet.”

Yun Ruo wasn’t surprised. It had only been a day. “I’m in a hurry. Can you speed it up?”

Standing at the floor-to-ceiling window, Meng Tingmo looked down at the passing crowds. Now that he had recognized his true feelings, his confidence had returned. “I’ll tell him. But it’ll be sudden, no matter what. Don’t you want to get to know him first?”

Yun Ruo had been gone four years—she knew nothing about Meng Feihan now.

She had no choice but to agree. “Alright. What do you suggest?”

“This weekend, let’s set up a meeting. Where are you staying? I’ll pick you up.”

“No need. Just tell me the place.”

After hanging up, Yun Ruo couldn’t shake the odd feeling. This was a man who couldn’t even look at her before—now suddenly insisting on picking her up? Was he possessed?

【Maybe he still hasn’t let you go,】 the system chimed in. 【After all, he was deceived by Jiang Yufei and the greedy System 5499. His love for you was real. Years of resentment have faded. Wanting reconciliation isn’t impossible.】

Yun Ruo chuckled, shaking her head with a trace of mockery. “A man who can’t even tell love from hate…”

She didn’t finish the thought.

“Enough about him.” Her knife moved quickly over the cutting board, shredding a carrot into fine strips, alongside other vegetables.

He Xitong was a meat-lover who rarely touched greens. Yun Ruo made a point of preparing extra vegetables for her.

“Tell me about this mission’s target.”

She had accepted the mission but hadn’t asked who the target was. One—she knew she’d be busy after returning and didn’t want to rush. Two—whoever the target was, it didn’t matter. They were all just passersby.

Now, though, she had free time. She couldn’t just sit around waiting for Meng Tingmo to arrange her meeting with Meng Feihan. Better to get started.

【Ahem.】

The system cleared its throat, as if bracing her. 【Uh… you should prepare yourself mentally.】

Yun Ruo: ?

Her knife kept chopping.

【This time, the target is: Han Qi.】

Chop… chop—what? Chop!

Even Yun Ruo, quick to react, couldn’t save her finger from the slip. She had been truly startled.

“Who?”

【Han Qi. Yes, you heard right. Han Qi—Meng Tingmo’s best friend. The Han Qi you know.】

Support