Chapter 670: Mr. Shen, You Can't Do That!
"Mr. Shen, no, that won't do, absolutely not."
Seeing Shen Anyu's large hand reach out, He Yiyi, like a startled kitten, curled up by the window, her delicate body trembling slightly.
Hangzhou at the end of August was in the midst of sweltering summer, unbearably hot. Though it was evening, heat waves still rolled. After dealing with the car accident outside for a long time, fine beads of sweat dotted He Yiyi's fair forehead.
A few strands of hair clung to her temples, some even playfully sticking to her cheeks.
The interior of the Bugatti Veyron was a world apart from the oppressive heat suffocating the city. Cool, conditioned air whispered from unseen vents, carrying the subtle, expensive scent of genuine leather and a faint, masculine trace of sandalwood cologne that seemed to emanate from Shen Anyu himself. For a moment, He Yiyi's mind went blank with panic. Her heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic drumbeat of fear. Stories she'd heard, warnings from friends about powerful, wealthy men who saw the world as their personal playground, flashed through her mind. Was he going to…?
But then, Shen Anyu's hand, which she'd expected to be forceful and demanding, paused in the air. As if performing a small, intimate magic trick, he produced a pristine, folded white handkerchief from his suit pocket. The fabric was silk, she could tell even from a distance. With a disarming slowness, he leaned closer. The space in the hypercar, already intimate, shrank to nothing. He Yiyi held her breath, her entire being focused on the man beside her.
His movements were deliberate, impossibly gentle. He didn't just wipe; he dabbed. The soft silk kissed her skin, lifting the beads of sweat from her brow with a feather-light touch. The back of his knuckles brushed against her temple, sending a jolt of warmth through her that had nothing to do with the summer heat. He carefully tucked a stray, damp strand of hair behind her ear.
"What won't do?" Shen Anyu asked, his voice a low, smooth murmur that vibrated through the small cabin. It was calm, curious, and utterly devoid of the menace she had anticipated.
He Yiyi's small face flushed a violent crimson. The blood rushed to her cheeks, a hot tide of embarrassment and relief. She had completely, utterly misunderstood. This man wasn't a predator; he was… a gentleman. But the intimacy of the gesture, the sheer unexpectedness of it, stirred deep, unfamiliar ripples in the placid lake of her heart. She risked a glance upward, her wide, doe-like eyes meeting his.
A sliver of the dying sunset pierced through the tinted window, catching Shen Anyu at the perfect angle. It bathed his profile in a celestial, golden light, sharpening the handsome lines of his face and illuminating the kindness in his eyes. He wasn't just a man anymore; he was a vision, a divine being draped in a halo of sunlight, descended to the mortal world. For a dizzying, breathless moment, He Yiyi was utterly mesmerized, her mind wiped clean of all thought.
[Ding! Detected that the Destined Heroine He Yiyi's favorability +10. Plundered +30,000 Destiny Points!]
Who ever said that only men were slaves to beauty? Women were just as susceptible, if not more so.
Staring at the masterpiece of a man before her, He Yiyi felt her heart perform a chaotic staccato. It thumped and thudded against her ribs, a frantic, wild thing trying to escape. An almost uncontrollable urge to let out a high-pitched, hysterical scream bubbled up inside her.
'Handsome! He's too handsome! This is illegally handsome! Ahhh! Oh my god, how can a person who looks like this actually exist in the world? And he's so gentle too? Is this even real?'
Sitting in the passenger seat of a limited-edition Bugatti Veyron, a car whose price tag contained more zeroes than her bank account ever would, watching a god-like man gently wipe the sweat from her forehead—it was too much. Her head spun. A giddy, disoriented sensation washed over her, as if she were floating, treading on clouds of cotton candy. This was beyond her wildest fantasies. Even in her most beautiful, most daring dreams, she had never conjured a scene so perfect, so heart-stoppingly romantic.
He Yiyi's mind raced ahead, carried away by the intoxicating moment. 'If… if Mr. Shen asked me to be his girlfriend right now, I don't think I could even pretend to be reserved. I wouldn't hesitate for a single second. I'd just say yes. Immediately.'
But after completing his chivalrous act, Shen Anyu simply retracted his hand, refolded the handkerchief with an air of casual finality, and placed it back in his pocket. He said nothing more, his attention returning to the road as he guided the magnificent machine through Hangzhou's evening traffic. The magical spell was broken. The silence that filled the car was suddenly heavy, and a sliver of disappointment, sharp and cold, pierced He Yiyi's euphoric haze.
She sat primly in the ridiculously comfortable leather seat, looking at the luxurious, futuristic interior. The dashboard glowed with a soft, ambient light, and every surface was a proof of wealth she could barely comprehend. She wanted to run her fingers over the polished carbon fiber trim, to feel the supple texture of the hand-stitched leather, but she didn't dare. She wanted to pull out her phone and sneak a photo for her Friends Circle, to prove this moment was real, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. The fear of looking like an unsophisticated country bumpkin was too great. Her face was a canvas of admiration, envy, and a growing sense of inadequacy.
'So this is what it feels like to be rich… It must be wonderful. This car alone… I could work for a thousand years and never afford it.' Her thoughts turned back to the man beside her. 'But Mr. Shen isn't like the arrogant, snobbish heirs you hear about. He's so gentle, so approachable… I wonder if he has a girlfriend? Or a wife? If he does, she must be the luckiest, happiest woman on the entire planet, right?'
Just as quickly as it had soared, He Yiyi's mood inexplicably sank. A gray cloud of melancholy settled over her. Then, a sudden, jarring memory hit her like a physical blow. Her expression twisted in alarm, and she blurted out, her voice a little too loud in the quiet car.
"My car! My car is still there!"
She had been so caught up in the dream that she'd almost forgotten the nightmare: her Porsche, the one she'd bought with a loan she couldn't afford, was still sitting wrecked at the scene of the accident.
Shen Anyu's lips curved into a faint, reassuring smile. He said softly, his voice a balm to her frayed nerves:
"Your car is quite damaged. I've already arranged for someone to tow it for repairs. Just leave your number, and someone will deliver it to your door when it's finished."
Listening to his calm, competent words, He Yiyi was flooded with a profound sense of gratitude. She felt completely overwhelmed by his kindness. "Thank you, thank you so much for your help, Mr. Shen. But… but I'll cover my own repair costs. It's already incredibly kind of you not to pursue my responsibility for the accident."
As she said the words, a sharp pang of pain shot through her heart. Her Porsche. Bought with a loan. A loan she'd secured by embezzling public funds. And now it was crashed. Her heart felt like it was being squeezed in a vice, bleeding drop by painful drop. The thought of the car inevitably led to the thought of Ren Zhacheng, and the ugly knowledge he held over her. Regret and worry churned in her stomach, a toxic, sickening brew.
'Consumerism really is the death of me,' she thought, misery washing over her. 'And my own stupid vanity. It started with that Givenchy bag on loan… When I couldn't make the payments, I took the money from the company accounts. Just a little, I told myself. I'd pay it back. But I never did. I just stepped deeper and deeper into the abyss, taking more and more… If I had a second chance, I would never, ever do it again. But now… is there any way to turn back?'
He Yiyi bit her lower lip hard, trying to anchor herself against the rising tide of tears. Her eyes grew red and misty.
What was she going to do now?
Let Ren Zhacheng blackmail her into becoming his plaything?
Or turn herself in and go to jail?
Shen Anyu's eyes flickered, a deep, unreadable light passing through them. This He Yiyi was certainly vain, but her fundamental character was likable enough. She wasn't the greedy, vampiric type who would bleed a man dry. She even possessed the basic decency to offer to pay for her own repairs.
Most importantly, however, He Yiyi was beautiful.
If she weren't beautiful, Shen Anyu wouldn't have given her a second glance. If she weren't beautiful, Ren Zhacheng wouldn't be trying to threaten her.
Her beauty was the source of all her trouble, and paradoxically, her only potential salvation. Without it, she would have been left to face the consequences of her embezzlement alone, with no hope of recovery.
"Yiyi, is something on your mind? You look so troubled," Shen Anyu asked, his tone laced with a perfectly feigned note of concern.
Hearing his gentle voice, He Yiyi's carefully constructed composure shattered. Her lips trembled, and she almost started to cry right there. Her voice came out choked and thick with unshed tears.
"I've… I've encountered a big problem recently."
"What kind of problem? Tell me. Perhaps I can help you."
"I…"
He Yiyi met his concerned gaze, and her heart stirred. The confession was right there, on the tip of her tongue. The whole sordid story: she'd embezzled public funds, that scumbag Ren Zhacheng had discovered it, and now he was using it to blackmail her. For a split second, she was desperate to unload her burden onto these strong, capable shoulders.
But then she bit her lip again, forcing the words back down. She managed a weak, watery smile.
"Mr. Shen, it's alright. I… I can handle it."
She couldn't let him know. She couldn't let this perfect, god-like man know that she was a common criminal, a bad girl who stole from her company.
He Yiyi secretly glanced at Shen Anyu's handsome profile, a silent, bitter conversation running through her head.
'He Yiyi, oh, He Yiyi. A man as good as Mr. Shen… you're not worthy of him. Stop fantasizing. And whatever you do, don't let him find out you embezzled money. Don't let him see how pathetic, how awful you really are.'
Thinking this, and terrified that Shen Anyu would press the issue, she quickly changed the subject.
"Mr. Shen, where are you taking me to be your female companion?"
Shen Anyu smiled, recognizing her deflection but choosing not to push further. He responded easily:
"Tonight at eight, there's a banquet at the Hilton Hotel. I'm going to join the fun."
The banquet hosted by Yu Guanying, First Young Master of Yanxia's Yu Clan, invited many prominent figures and magnates from various circles in Hangzhou. Ordinary people would find it difficult to get in; even casual billionaires were not qualified.
Unless one was a leading figure or magnate in various industries in Hangzhou, they simply weren't qualified to receive an invitation.
But Shen Anyu had ways to get an invitation and didn't need to use the connections of Yanxia's Shen Clan.
'Speaking of which, Yu Guanying has been very active recently. He established a Hero Assembly, located by West Lake, inviting many magnates to become members to discuss heroes over wine. With the Yu Clan's influence, his ventures are booming, showing a momentum as the leader of the younger generation south of the Yangtze River.'
'Compared to Yu Guanying, that Second Young Master of the Yu Clan, Yu Guanxiong, only knows how to eat, drink, play, and womanize. The difference is vast.'
'Even Yu Guannan is helping out, while Yu Guanxiong is still fixated on Ling Qingcheng, only causing trouble.'
Shen Anyu's eyes flickered, and he sneered inwardly.
The Yu Clan and the Shen Clan have always been adversaries. In the original work, the Yu Clan even colluded with Ye Yan to jointly deal with the Shen Clan.
Ye Yan is dead, and Shen Anyu wouldn't let the Yu Clan off either.
Tonight's banquet would be a good opportunity to stir things up.
Presumably, they would welcome Shen Anyu, wouldn't they?
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