Jin Yuanhao stared at her thoughtfully, one hand in his khaki pants pocket, raising an eyebrow, “He’s my rival, isn’t he?”
“What rival?” She was puzzled, not understanding his remark.
Rubbing his chin, he asked directly, “An Zhang is my love rival, right?”
She frowned, “What are you talking about?”
He questioned, “Are you and An Zhang really just ordinary friends? If that’s true, I’d be very happy. But looking at how he deliberately arranged for you to live in his house, it’s hard not to suspect your relationship.”
What kind of friend would be so close that An Zhang, a businessman focused on interests, would unconditionally provide police information in exchange for the Taiwan police suddenly renovating the guesthouse?
Even an idiot could see this was too coincidental and clearly deliberately arranged.
“Whether he and I are ordinary friends or not is my private matter. I don’t need to report to you,” Shi Ying frowned and walked down the stairs, disliking his interrogative tone.
“At least give me a fair chance to compete,” Jin Yuanhao called after her back.
She impatiently turned back and gave him a cold look, “Yuanhao, can’t you be serious?”
“Please, can’t you see how serious I am now?” Seeing her still disbelieving, he cleared his throat, suppressing the playful smile on his face, and said seriously: “Shi Xuan, I’ll be honest with you. I’ve had a crush on you for many years. I’m declaring now that I want to pursue you.”
She burst out laughing and waved her hand. “Stop playing, it’s childish.” She didn’t believe his words at all.
Having partnered for many years, she knew too well his fickle and flirtatious personality. He wanted to pursue any beautiful woman, having gone through several short-lived relationships.
“Hey…” Seeing her walk away towards the nearby coffee shop, Jin Yuanhao sighed in defeat, “Am I such a failure? I’m being serious and you don’t believe me, but if I casually say something, you take it seriously.”
“It does sound quite pathetic,” a cool laugh sounded behind him.
He turned around to see Fang Xinlan.
“Looks like Shi Xuan is quite popular,” she said with a smile.
“I just discovered something today, Captain Fang,” he suddenly stared at her. “You’re not bad looking.”
Full of teasing meaning.
She was no pushover, raising an eyebrow and laughing charmingly, “You’ve got good taste.” Her sharp eyes glanced at the person buying coffee at the shop, “If what you just said is true, you’d better work hard because your rival is strong.
Watching Jin Yuanhao see her off into the night, Shi Xuan stood frozen at the doorway, holding a bouquet of red roses, touching the spot on her cheek where he had just kissed her, feeling a hint of absurdity.
She truly found it difficult to understand how her long-time partner could suddenly want to pursue her?
She thought he was joking, but when he unexpectedly gave her this bouquet of roses tonight, along with a declaration that sounded utterly disgusting, she had no choice but to believe it.
If the purple roses An Zhang had arranged in her room didn’t count, this was the first time someone had given her flowers. During her years with An Zhang, he had never given her flowers. She was always the one who gave him flowers on Valentine’s Day.
“What are these two men up to?” she muttered to herself in bewilderment. One who had coldly spoken of breaking up was now trying every means to get her to live at his place, while the other, her long-time partner with whom she had perfect chemistry, suddenly and inexplicably said he liked her.
What the hell was going on.
“You’re back but not coming in? Didn’t I give you a key? Did you forget to bring it?” Discovering her standing at the entrance, An Zhang walked out from inside, opening the ornate iron gate for her. Catching sight of the striking roses in her hands, his ink-dark eyes slightly narrowed. “Who gave you these flowers?”
Shi Xuan didn’t respond, giving him a strange look before walking directly inside.
He silently followed behind her, slightly furrowing his brow. Seeing her casually place the flowers on the table, seemingly not caring, his brow softened, and he asked warmly with concern, “Have you eaten dinner?”
“Mm, I have,” she said, rubbing her temples after sitting down.
“Woof woof woof woof…” Sister, play with me. The CEO wagged his tail happily, coming to her feet.
“I’m a bit tired, maybe another time,” she said, patting its cute head and smiling.
“Woof woof woof woof…” Give me a ride, I want to play horseback war. Unwilling to give up, it raised its front paws, lying on her lap, its blue eyes looking at her longingly.
She frowned, “Horseback war? Come on, you’re a dog. What horseback war? Have you turned into a human?”
Staring at its innocent and enthusiastic face, she found it amusing, rubbing its head and saying, “Be good, stop causing trouble, go chew on a bone over there.” She casually picked up a bone-shaped toy from the ground and placed it in front of it.
The CEO showed no interest in the bone, completely ignoring it.
An Zhang picked up the roses from the table to tease it.
Attracted by the bright red roses, it curiously opened its mouth and bit the flower.
He simply let go, allowing it to drag the roses aside, biting and chewing, trampling the beautiful bouquet.
“CEO, those flowers can’t be eaten,” Shi Xuan softly reprimanded.
“It’s fine, let it be,” seeing it ruthlessly destroying the flowers, An Zhang’s lips spread in a satisfied smile, secretly deciding to ask Aunt Man to give the CEO extra food tomorrow.
“I’m worried it might get sick from eating the flowers,” she said, concerned.
“I think it’s just curious and using them to chew on, it won’t actually eat the flowers,” watching the roses torn to shreds and looking pitiful, his smile deepened.
“W-what are you doing?” seeing his face suddenly lean towards her, Shi Xuan’s heart tightened nervously, instinctively leaning back.
“Xuan, I should have made it to the airport back then,” his gentle, low voice carried a hint of enchantment, his face now just two inches from hers.
“I-I heard about it from Xiao Jiang later,” her head resting against the sofa back, unable to retreat further, his slightly warm breath brushed her face, a fresh and seductively fragrant male scent filling her nostrils, disrupting her breathing rhythm.
“You, don’t come any closer, talking like this is strange,” she tried to push his face away, but her hand was suddenly grasped by him.
“Strange? We’ve been in closer distances when talking before,” his soft tone was alluring, the corner of his lips lifting as he slowly moved his face towards her.
She froze, wanting to stop what was about to happen, but her mind was in chaos, only able to stare blankly as his elegant and handsome face enlarged before her eyes.
Just as his lips were about to touch hers, a sudden sneeze erupted, spraying water droplets onto Shi Xuan’s face, startling them both.
An Zhang rubbed his itchy nose, slightly annoyed, “Damn dog hair.” He was allergic to dog hair.
“Hahaha…” she laughed, pushing him away. “If you’re allergic to dog hair, you shouldn’t keep a dog.”
“I don’t want to, the dog just refused to leave,” he realized how mischievous the seemingly cute and enthusiastic dog was from the second day it ran in.
It had been there only a few days but had already made the neighbors furious. No wonder the previous owner, Qin Ge, would grit his teeth and call it a demon.
“I feel like it’s different from other dogs. I can only understand its barks, but I can’t understand other dogs’ barking,” she thought she had suddenly gained the magical ability to communicate with dogs, but after seeing other dogs, she realized she still couldn’t understand their barks.
