134

Anna walked out of the villa and turned back to look at the main gates.

Recalling her very first meeting with Yichen, his opening question had been to ask who she was.

At that time, she was infatuated not only with him as a person, but even found his voice to be exceptionally pleasant.

Deep, magnetic, and carrying the sensual undertone of a mature man.

That was the initial impression Yichen had left upon Anna.

When she first laid eyes on him, her heart had skipped a beat, much like a young maiden's heartstrings being plucked, sending gentle ripples outward. To her at that moment, the sensation felt both unfamiliar and bizarre.

Yet, the very instant his entire being fell into the depths of her gaze.

Just one glance, and it was deeply and indelibly branded into her mind.

Therefore, she was absolutely not going to let go of the person already burned into her heart.

With this thought in mind, she pulled out her phone and dialed a number. "Handle something for me. Investigate Ye Xiyang's family background and everything there is to know about her."

After speaking, she hung up the phone. Deep within Anna's dark eyes, a faint, sinister glow flickered.

Xiaoqi had originally intended to leave using teleportation.

First, if she were to vanish directly, it would inevitably arouse Yichen's suspicion. After all, this was the third floor; surely she couldn't just jump straight down?

Second, the look he had given her just moments ago, though somewhat cold, didn't seem quite as devoid of emotion as before.

Moreover, that final look in his eyes seemed to be warning: *If you dare not run away, you're dead meat.*

When all was said and done, Xiaoqi was still intimidated by that murderous glare of his.

If she couldn't leave, then she wouldn't. Staying here might even give her a chance to get her hands on the signal transmitter later!

Xiaoqi walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down, her view dominated by a garden.

Instantly, it brought to mind that dream.

The garden in her dream, except that the dream garden had been even larger and more breathtaking than this one.

In the dream, Lin Yichen had called her Xiaoqi, not Xiyang.

Her heart fluttered slightly at the thought.

It immediately calmed down the next second.

It was only a dream. If she were to tell him the truth, he surely wouldn't be able to accept it!

Ah, she was dying of anxiety over this.

However, if she managed to acquire the signal transmitter and escape this place, then this annoyance would cease to exist.

Yet, leaving this place...

Xiaoqi's mind once again drifted into wild, worried imaginings.

Yichen walked in to see a slender figure standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, clad in his white shirt, revealing a pair of straight, slender legs below.

In that fraction of a second, an uncontrollable wave of feverish heat surged from the bottom of his heart.

He immediately averted his gaze.

"Sneaking into my bedroom like a thief, what kind of game are you trying to play this time?"

Hearing the voice, Xiaoqi turned around, glanced toward the doorway, and retorted with a sour tone, "Did your gorgeous girlfriend leave?"

Yichen raised his gaze to flick a glance at her, his eyes as deep as a pool, yet the corners of his lips carried a faint, ambiguous smile. "Ye Xiyang, do you enjoy seducing me that much?"

As he spoke, he stepped toward her step by step.

"I am not seducing you."

Watching him approach step by step, Xiaoqi felt a sudden, inexplicable wave of nervousness.

"No?" Yichen wore a half-smile. "You didn't dress this provocatively? You didn't wear perfume? And you didn't appear right before my eyes at the crack of dawn? Tell me, how did you sneak in?"

Seeing the tall, imposing man closing in on her, Xiaoqi desperately wanted to flee.

However, President Lin had already stopped right in front of her, his dark eyes locked straight onto hers.

"Um... it's just..." Xiaoqi had no idea where to cast her gaze, and instinctively backed away, step by step, because President Lin was simply too close, his warm breath washing over all her senses.

"Just what?"

"It's just... it's just..."

Before she could finish her sentence, she was trapped in a wall-corner pin before she could even guard against it.

Now, Xiaoqi had nowhere left to retreat.

Yichen braced both hands on either side of her head, lowering his gaze to look down at her. "Just what? Hmm?"

"I..." Xiaoqi desperately wanted to push him away. With him this close, she was about to lose her capacity for speech.

After a few seconds of waiting, Yichen muttered softly, "Did you climb up?"

"..."

At this moment, the tenderness flashing in Yichen's eyes brushed against the tip of Xiaoqi's heart, causing it to tremble violently.

Which Lin Yichen was he, really? Why didn't he look anything like that ice-cold Lin Yichen?

Yet, he didn't look like the Lin Yichen who was fond of her, either.

In the bright light of the bedroom, Yichen felt as though the person before him possessed a unique, alluring charm that she usually kept hidden.

Looking at the girl within arm's reach, he acted on a sudden, unexplainable impulse, reaching out an arm to loop her into his embrace. Lowering his head to look at her, his eyes burned as bright as stars twinkling in the night sky. "Ye Xiyang, do you really like me this much?"

"I, I don't like you at all, I was just..." Xiaoqi stammered, "Just... just..."

"Just wanted me to kiss you?"

Hearing this, Xiaoqi instantly felt a wave of feverish heat rush to her face, abruptly recalling yesterday outside the TC entrance.

Her heart began to beat wildly and uncontrollably. She wanted to escape, only to find herself already firmly trapped. Before she could even open her mouth, his handsome face magnified within her pupils.

Xiaoqi instinctively closed her eyes.

However...

"How on earth did you get in? Just how long do you plan to pester me?"

His cold tone instantly dragged Xiaoqi back to reality. She opened her eyes to find his handsome face still inches away, except that those dark eyes were utterly devoid of warmth.

"I have no intention of pestering you," Xiaoqi tried her best to come up with an excuse. "If I really wanted to pester you, while you were asleep, I could have just tied you up and taken action directly. Would I have gone to all this trouble?"

Yichen raised an eyebrow slightly, his dark eyes studying her intently as if trying to pierce right through her defenseless gaze, wearing a half-smile. "Didn't you know that a person should have the courage to take responsibility for their actions? If you like me, just say it straight out, no need to beat around the bush."

His tone was flat, revealing very little emotion.

Hearing this, Xiaoqi's heart skipped a beat, and her cheeks suddenly grew somewhat warm.

"I, I told you, I don't like you at all."

Yichen let out a faint "Mn," and then left it at that.

Xiaoqi looked up to meet his deep, dark eyes, feeling an inexplicable wave of tension. Her chest grew heavy and tight, as if she couldn't catch her breath.

She lowered her head, feeling rather uneasy.

She really couldn't figure out which version of Lin Yichen this was right now.

Yichen watched her lowered head, twisting her delicate, pale fingers—an action he seemed to have seen her do frequently.

It looked as though she was just playing with her fingers out of boredom, but her slightly trembling fingertips betrayed her nervous state.

So, whenever she got nervous, she would twist her fingers.

Sensing a burning gaze fixed on the top of her head, Xiaoqi grew even more nervous.

Why on earth was he ruining the mood with silence?

Shouldn't he be dragging her by the back of the neck and tossing her out like last time?!

A soft chuckle suddenly sounded from above. Xiaoqi instinctively looked up to find President Lin's perfect jawline dangerously close to her. She swallowed hard in her throat and said somewhat unnaturally, "Um, if you're fine, I'll be heading back."

Yichen didn't speak, merely chuckling softly once more.

Xiaoqi thought the sound of his laughter was exceedingly pleasant, yet it carried an unprovoked indifference within it, light and shallow, plucking at her heartstrings.

Wake up, wake up. This Lin Yichen is not the Lin Yichen who likes you.

Thinking of this, Xiaoqi lifted her chin to meet his gaze. "I'm telling you, I don't like you at all. Also, don't worry, I won't come pestering you ever again. I'm leaving."

Xiaoqi pried his hand away from her waist, turned around, and began to walk away.

Her arm was caught by a large hand, and once again, she was pinned against the wall. "Did you think my home was somewhere you could come and go as you pleased?"

Xiaoqi grew nervous all over again. "Then... what do you want?"

"What do I want?" Yichen laughed softly. "Isn't this what you wanted me to do to you? I'll grant your wish right now."

As his thin lips drew closer, Xiaoqi snapped fully awake. Him treating her this way could only mean he was toying with her. She immediately raised her voice and said, "I apologize! I was wrong! I promise you won't ever have to see me again, I'll stay far, far away from you!"

The moment the words left her mouth, Xiaoqi felt the aura of the man inches away from her shift abruptly.

It turned... exceptionally chilling.

Had she said something wrong?

Wasn't this the ice-cold Lin Yichen, the Lin Yichen who detested her? Surely talking to him this way was playing right into his hands and doing what he wanted?!

"Ye Xiyang," Yichen looked at her with chilling hostility. "Listen to me carefully. You are nothing more than a clown who has been playing the part of an ignorant yet self-righteous fool. Now that you've figured things out, pack up your emotions and get out of my world. Don't let me ever see you again. Get lost."

With those words, he released her.

Xiaoqi truly hadn't expected that the words she had casually spoken to the housekeeper earlier would be repeated twice by two people who disliked her.

She had no clear idea what kind of emotional state she was in as she ran out of that suffocating villa. The only thing she knew for certain was that his command to "get lost" made her heart ache so terribly, so terribly much.

Xiaoqi strolled slowly along the street, unconsciously drifting toward a roadside bus stop.

Because of her superpowers, she rarely ever took the bus.

*The 12X bus goes back to my place, right?*

A sudden impulse to take the bus back washed over her.

She looked up, watching buses come and go one after another, but the 12X she was waiting for never appeared.

Ugh, the buses in City A seemed to love bunching up sometimes; none would come for ages, and then several would arrive all at once.

This was Xiaoqi's very first time seeing a place with a population density that could rival her own home planet.

The bus stop was exceptionally crowded, and Xiaoqi felt as though the air had grown foul and hard to breathe.

She decided against the bus after all. She would just teleport back!

To use teleportation, she needed to find somewhere empty.

Xiaoqi quickened her pace as she walked away from the bus stop, instantly feeling the air grow fresh once more, accompanied by a strong sense of surviving a disaster.

Breathing such fresh air, she ought to be smiling.

Instead, her eyes began to sting, growing increasingly sore. She raised a hand to wipe them twice to stop the tears, but that only made them flow faster. The overwhelming, swollen ache in her chest made her just want to cry her eyes out.

She had always believed that liking someone should be a joyous feeling, like flowers blooming in spring. Why on earth did it have to hurt so much?

It hurt so, so much...

And because it hurt, her eyes were leaking again.

Wearing a man's oversized shirt, she drew sideways glances from passing pedestrians. Xiaoqi naturally had no spare attention to care as she walked along, weeping miserably from the pain.

While she wept miserably over here, on the other end...

Ever since Xiaoqi had run out, Yichen had maintained the exact posture from when she left, remaining completely motionless, standing straight and stiff like a statue beside the floor-to-ceiling window.

It was only after a long while that his legs finally shifted.

He walked slowly over to the bed and sat down. His phone rang, and he answered it. "President Lin, why haven't you arrived at the company yet? Didn't you say yesterday that you needed to lead a very important meeting early this morning?"