“Got it! Got it!” The young reporter exclaimed excitedly as he held up his camera.
In the frame, the second young master of the Qiao family sat side by side with the young lady of the Han family. Qiao Chengyu had one arm draped over Han Yanyan's chair, making it seem as if he was embracing her. The angle of the shot was perfect; at first glance, it appeared as if their heads were overlapping, as if they were about to kiss. Although it was clear this wasn’t reality, the reporter eagerly imagined captions like “golden couple sharing a passionate kiss” or “uncle and niece suddenly becoming lovebirds" to grab attention.
“Alright, that's a wrap!” The reporter whistled as he and his companions packed up their equipment and left.
“Are they gone?” Qiao Chengyu asked, his back to them, unable to see what was happening.
Han Yanyan had already noticed the paparazzi leaving. She stole a glance at Qiao Chengyu, who was pretending to be close but was actually quite distant. “Not yet, they're still shooting. Maybe they're not satisfied,” she replied.
“Don’t be so stiff, it looks unnatural,” she said, slightly lifting her chin as she spoke to him, “Be a bit more intimate, tease me by playing with my hair, twirl it around your finger. Yes, just like that… twirl…”
Qiao Chengyu earnestly followed her instructions, leaning slightly and naturally drawing closer to her, the aroma of her perfume filling his senses.
He didn’t know much about women and perfume, unlike some rich young men in this circle who could identify a woman by her scent. He just thought the fragrance of Han Yanyan was incredibly enticing. It felt surprisingly mature for someone as young as twenty-three, making her alluring scent seem almost beyond her years.
Her skin, however, appeared even younger than she was—tight and elastic, radiating youthful vitality.
And her eyes… those eyes… Qiao Chengyu noticed a teasing glint in her gaze, pausing for a moment. He turned to look, but the paparazzi were long gone, having already wrapped up and gone home.
He had been played.
Qiao Chengyu pressed his lips together, wanting to retract his hand. Yet, a strand of Han Yanyan’s hair was still wrapped around his fingers. When he pulled away, she let out a soft “ouch.” He halted, murmuring an “I’m sorry,” as he bent down, gently unwinding the hair.
As the last strand was freed, just as her curls were about to slip from his grasp, Han Yanyan suddenly raised her gaze, tilting her face up to plant a kiss on his lips.
That strand didn’t slip away; Qiao Chengyu held the tip of her hair in his hand. Their eyes met, noses just a few centimeters apart. His gaze was dark, and Han Yanyan raised an eyebrow.
There was no domineering CEO-style aggressive kiss. Instead, they stared at each other for a few seconds before Qiao Chengyu released his fingers, allowing her hair to fall away and straightened up.
“Boring,” Han Yanyan wrinkled her nose. Qiao Chengyu shot her a sideways glance. Han Yanyan scoffed, saying, “You act like an old man.”
Then, she suddenly paused, a hint of surprise in her voice. “You… you’re not still a virgin, are you?” That shouldn’t be the case; according to the information she'd received, Qiao Chengyu had had more than one girlfriend while studying abroad.
Qiao Chengyu took a deep breath to calm himself and replied steadily, “No.”
“Then are you gay?” Han Yanyan frowned. That shouldn’t be true either; her intel didn’t suggest that.
That breath he held couldn’t be let out anymore.
“How else do you explain it? You have no reaction to me at all,” she complained, resting her chin in her hand.
Qiao Chengyu turned to look at her, his eyes dark and profound.
“You’re the person I want to marry,” he said earnestly, “I want to take this seriously.”
This time, Han Yanyan’s gaze froze. After a moment, her rosy lips curved into a slightly cold smile.
“Here’s a piece of advice: in this world, don’t be too sincere. Whoever is sincere… is a fool.” She smiled, cold and beautiful.
The lazy Han Yanyan, the seductive Han Yanyan, the proud Han Yanyan, the confident Han Yanyan… perhaps none of these were as genuine as Han Yanyan was at this moment, Qiao Chengyu thought.
Because of this little interruption, their dinner was unusually quiet. After dinner, Han Yanyan insisted on calling her own driver to take her elsewhere, not needing Qiao Chengyu to send her off.
“Going out tonight, want to join?” Han Yanyan asked.
“No thanks.” Qiao Chengyu glanced at his watch and declined politely, “I have a report to finish.”
“Alright then, work hard, heir.” Han Yanyan teased.
The title “heir” struck a chord with Qiao Chengyu. As the driver opened the door, Han Yanyan turned to get in but was suddenly pulled back by her wrist.
Winter was nearing its end, but the wind was still chilly. Qiao Chengyu's lips were warm, and his tongue felt hot. He kissed well; he truly wasn’t a virgin.
Uncle Chen maintained a professional smile, holding the car door as he turned to the front, only leaving this pair of lovey-dovey people to their own devices.
Qiao Chengyu released Han Yanyan, gently wiping the lipstick from his lips with his thumb before letting go of her hand. “Have fun,” he said, stepping back. His hands slipped into his pockets, the black coat parted as the evening breeze rustled it.
Han Yanyan shot him a knowing glance, bent down and climbed into the car, driving away.
Inside the car, Han Yanyan lit a cigarette.
She herself didn’t smoke, but the “Han Yanyan” of this world did.
Once the memory in her head activated, Han Yanyan could access everything about her persona in this world: her demeanor, habits, and even personality.
The original “Han Yanyan” in the broken world was a simple-hearted little white-collar worker, a weak character. After assimilating with this personality, Han Yanyan’s true nature came to the forefront. The apocalyptic “Han Yanyan” persona was a blank slate, filled entirely by Han Yanyan herself. Therefore, in those two worlds, she hadn’t felt much at all.
But this world’s “Miss Han” was born with a silver spoon, enthusiastic, flamboyant, and assertive. Though Han Yanyan still held the reins, she couldn’t help but be influenced. For instance, right now, her mood slightly fluctuated, and she lit a cigarette, a habit of “Miss Han” rather than her own.
Being in this world, Han Yanyan felt she was likely losing her mind.
As she sat in the dimly lit car, smoking, she contemplated the course of this world.
In this world, her advantage was her status. The Han family had been wealthy for three generations, with solid capital. In front of the identity of the “Han family heiress,” beauty was merely an embellishment. The task in this world was to make Qiao Wenxing realize his mistakes, to put it bluntly, to make him regret.
This task wasn’t too difficult; the challenge lay in managing her heart and emotions in interactions with other living, breathing people.
“Quick travel through worlds”—whoever is sincere is a fool.
Han Yanyan took a deep drag from her cigarette, letting the nicotine sink into her lungs, harming her cells.
After being in this world for half a year, Han Yanyan felt she had improved greatly. She remembered clearly that when she first arrived, she traveled the world, enjoying each day freely. Yet at night, she always woke in a cold sweat, checking her chest, ensuring there was no blood hole, no sharp claw crushing her heart.
Then, she couldn’t help but look back, wondering if there was a ruthless man behind her. She really wanted to know what Ding Yao’s expression was during that time, and how he felt. When she couldn’t sleep in the middle of the night, she would curse him, wishing that he would die in the hands of the corpse emperor after her demise. And then she would fall into a deep sleep, wrapped in that anger.
Six months had passed, and that anger had gradually lessened. But Han Yanyan knew it hadn’t dissipated; it had merely been pushed deep down.
Perhaps it was true that hate lasts longer than love.
Her phone rang; her companions for the night were calling to hurry her along.
She chuckled lightly, “I’m almost there. I had dinner with Chengyu, so I’m running a bit late.” The voice on the other end teased, asking if she was serious about Qiao Chengyu. Han Yanyan laughed with abandon, “You’ll find out soon enough.”
She extinguished her cigarette and asked, “Are there any handsome guys tonight?”
“Of course! They’re all under our family’s banner, every single one a rising young star. Just point out whom you fancy,” came the cheerful reply.
She had written about the extravagant life of the wealthy before, given that CEO romances were popular in romantic fiction. Those stories were partly drawn from entertainment news, a bit from forum gossip, and mostly from her own imagination. There were times when she couldn’t help but fantasize about living such a life.
Never did she expect that day would truly come. If she saw this “quick travel” as a job, this would count as a nice perk.
Han Yanyan had a delightful evening.
The following day, two blurry pictures of her hugging two rising stars in the nightclub made entertainment headlines. The newspaper was placed in front of her father at breakfast.
Han’s father only took a glance, lightly reminding her not to stay up too late and hurt herself. Qiao Wenxing announced his intention to break off the engagement in the papers, which brought shame to the Han family. Although Han Yanyan was currently dating Qiao Chengyu, giving him a little bit of bite, Han’s father thought it wasn’t a big deal.
With a father like this who would cover for her no matter what, Han Yanyan felt particularly cheerful.
In a good mood, she called Qiao Chengyu, “You’ve been pursuing me for two months now, when does the second young master plan to propose?”
Qiao Chengyu replied, “That’s up to you, Miss.”
Han Yanyan gazed out at the expansive yard through the floor-to-ceiling windows as the chill faded, warm sunlight streaming in.
“Then let’s do it today,” she said lazily.
The next day, the two appeared in public, and sharp-eyed paparazzi noticed the ring on Han Yanyan’s finger. When asked about their engagement, they intertwined their fingers, beaming with sweetness.
One said, “Guess!” while the other used an arm to wrap around their lover, blocking the intrusive flashes as he said, “You’ll know in time.”
The news of their engagement spread rapidly, making headlines in the entertainment world.
Upon seeing this, Han’s father cast a glance at the ring on Han Yanyan’s finger, asking, “When’s the engagement ceremony?”
Han Yanyan, only drinking healthy freshly squeezed juice in front of her dad, raised her cup and naturally replied, “Of course, this kind of thing has to be proposed by the man.”
Meanwhile, in his apartment, Qiao Chengyu received a call from his father’s secretary: “Young Master Chengyu, the chairman wants to see you tonight. Please come home.”
At the same time, Bai Yue spotted the newspaper.
Her lover was the legitimate eldest son of the Qiao family, while this arrogant young lady of the Han family was about to marry a private child born of an outsider, all of it mere pretentiousness, a pitiful business arrangement.
Bai Yue felt a subtle sense of victory.