When Song Hanzheng woke up.
He realized that the bed and the room felt somewhat unfamiliar.
After changing his clothes and walking out to the living room, he saw a sticky note on the table.
[I've gone to the set. Breakfast is in the kitchen, remember to eat. — Liuyue]
He had gotten very drunk last night.
After that kiss ended, he seemed to have staggered and passed out from the alcohol.
So Jiang Liuyue was the one who had brought him home.
Song Hanzheng rubbed his still-throbbing head and went to take a look in the kitchen. The plain congee was still warm, served with some pickled vegetables.
He didn't have much of an appetite and just ate a little casually.
His phone suddenly rang.
He quickly glanced at it.
And swiftly hung up.
The phone rang again, and he answered it impatiently.
"Hello? What is it?" His tone was extremely impatient.
Cen Yuan's voice came from the other end of the line.
"Feile has fallen ill and is in the hospital right now, did you know?"
Song Hanzheng froze for a moment.
Weren't they just sweeping Li Xinle's tomb together yesterday and having lunch?
She looked perfectly fine, how could anything happen to her?
Seeing his prolonged silence, Cen Yuan reported the ward number and said:
"If you still have any conscience left, come over and take a look."
Song Hanzheng's lips moved, feeling somewhat hesitant, but suddenly the image of Jiang Liuyue's smiling, curved eyes from last night flashed in his mind.
He frowned and said:
"I'm not a doctor. If she's sick, what's the use of me coming?"
"Take care of her yourself, I'm busy!"
With that, he hung up directly.
Cen Yuan had his phone on speaker, so the person in the hospital ward could hear everything.
Listening to the dial tone from the other end, he raised an eyebrow and waved the phone at Li Feile.
"You heard him, Song Hanzheng doesn't want to come."
Li Feile, sitting on the hospital bed, looked perfectly normal. She wasn't sick at all; she just wanted to find an excuse to see Song Hanzheng again.
"Call him again! Tell him I'm seriously ill!" she demanded stubbornly.
"He won't believe it."
Cen Yuan had already put his phone back into his pocket.
Just as he turned around, something soft hit his back hard, making him pause.
It was Li Feile throwing a pillow from the bed at his back.
"Useless trash!" she cursed.
A flash of anger crossed Cen Yuan's face, but he tried hard to suppress it.
Bending down, he picked up the pillow that had fallen to the floor.
He patted the dust off it.
And said in a cold tone:
"You've been chasing him for so many years. It's hopeless."
"Who says it's hopeless! Before Jiang Liuyue showed up, even if he was indifferent to me, he would still come to see me when I was sick," Li Feile said, her face contorted with anger.
She slammed her fist resentfully against the metal railing of the bed a few times.
And said angrily:
"It must be all Jiang Liuyue's doing."
Cen Yuan stepped closer and placed the pillow back at the head of the bed.
He said patiently:
"Alright, you're a Best Actress now. Why are you getting angry over some unknown little starlet?"
Li Feile suddenly grabbed his hands, looking at him with hopeful eyes.
"Cen Yuan, go seduce Jiang Liuyue, okay?"
"You can do it. All those women who used to hang around Brother Hanzheng disappeared just like that."
Cen Yuan shook his head and said, "You know as well as I do, she has her guard up way too high against me."
"Then make her lower her guard. My strategy was wrong from the start," Li Feile said, resting her chin on her hand in thought. "You're handsome and rich. Just flash a little bit of wealth, and Jiang Liuyue will definitely be blinded by greed."
Cen Yuan shook his head.
"Song Hanzheng has money too."
Li Feile abruptly flung his hands away.
She started yelling at him:
"I knew you didn't want to help me, didn't I?"
"Useless! Last time I told you to drug her, you failed. Tell me, what else can you even help me with!"
"Get out of here, I don't want to see you. You're annoying!"
Just as she was about to grab the pillow to throw at Cen Yuan again, her wrist was firmly grabbed.
Cen Yuan's eyes were dark and cold.
He said in a faint, eerie tone:
"Feile, from beginning to end, have you just been treating me like a lapdog?"
Just like Jiang Liuyue had said.
He was nothing but a wild dog.
Seeing that he seemed genuinely angry, Li Feile quickly changed her tune and said:
"How could that be? We grew up together, you're my good friend."
"Didn't you say that as long as I'm happy, you're happy? I just want to have Brother Hanzheng, and you said you would help me."
The grip Cen Yuan had on her wrist did not loosen.
"And what about me?" he asked.
Li Feile couldn't help but sigh and muttered, "I've always seen you as a brother, how could anything happen between us? I've told you so many times..."
"I understand."
Cen Yuan let go of her hand.
A smile reappeared on his handsome face.
His tone was slow, but firm.
"Feile, whatever you want, I will achieve it for you."
...
"Miss Jiang, this unit is the king of the entire real estate project. Look at this natural lighting, and you can overlook the night view of the entire city..."
The salesperson wore a flattering smile, pointing at the sandbox model and chattering away.
Jiang Liuyue finished work early today.
In the afternoon, Song Hanzheng sent a driver to pick her up, saying they should go look at houses first.
The apartment she was currently living in was too small; she needed to change to a bigger one.
But he still had some matters to attend to at the company and would come over later.
Naturally, Jiang Liuyue wasn't going to save money for Song Hanzheng, so as soon as she arrived, she specifically asked for a unit in a prime location with excellent lighting—the most expensive top-floor penthouse of the premium building.
"Miss Jiang, just looking at the sandbox model won't show you much. It just so happens that the model apartment is open for viewing today. How about I take you up to see it in person?" the salesperson asked enthusiastically.
Jiang Liuyue glanced at the time on her phone.
It was almost five o'clock.
Song Hanzheng still hadn't arrived.
She was just about to send him a message to ask when he would be able to make it.
Suddenly, a male voice came from behind her.
"Picking out a house? Why not ask me."
Jiang Liuyue turned her head and saw Cen Yuan walking up with a smile, but his gaze was rather uncomfortable.
It felt like being targeted as prey.
His eyes carried an undisguised scrutiny and appraisal.
"Mr. Cen."
"Why call me Mr. Cen? I'm Hanzheng's good friend, which means I'm your friend too. Just call me Cen Yuan."
Seeing Cen Yuan, the nearby salesperson immediately called out respectfully, "Young Master Cen."
Cen Yuan waved his hand and said:
"Which unit did my friend pick?"
The salesperson pointed to the top floor of the premium building and said, "This one."
Cen Yuan's eyes flickered, and he smiled.
The look he gave her held a bit more contempt and mockery.
"You have good taste. This unit is the most expensive one."
Jiang Liuyue didn't want to pay him any attention and said to the salesperson:
"Casually revealing a client's privacy. I'm sorry, I will no longer consider your property."
With that, she turned to leave.
Cen Yuan took a long stride and blocked her path.
He said in a soft, mocking tone:
"Liuyue, it will be the same even if you change to another real estate project."
"Why?"
Cen Yuan pointed at the salesperson and said, "You tell her."
The salesperson explained tremblingly:
"Young Master Cen's father is the largest real estate developer. Not just in this city, but eighty percent of the real estate projects in the surrounding cities are developed by the Cen family..."
Jiang Liuyue narrowed her eyes.
Looking at Cen Yuan smiling smugly across from her.
She curled her lips into a smile and laughed:
"Oh, so you're not a wild dog, you're a bastard."
