spring bite mark

Chapter 45 Taking it Back, Forced Love

Surrounded by the crowd, Xie Yuheng stood before her like a star being fawned over, his head slightly bowed, his aura cool, yet his tone carrying an ambiguous undertone:
"Did you hurt yourself?"

Jiang Manman was slightly embarrassed and took a step back, breaking free from his embrace.

Xie Yuheng subtly felt the sudden emptiness and coldness in his embrace, his voice low and gentle: "The alumni reunion is about to start, shall we go together?"

"no need."

Jiang Manman refused without hesitation and turned away from the group of people.

She followed another group of people to the school's conference room.

There, alumni were already sitting densely packed.

Jiang Manman casually chose a less conspicuous spot to sit down. Next to her sat a few female finance students who were probably there to join in the fun.

A few minutes later, Xie Yuheng and his group, whom they had just met, entered the conference room accompanied by the dean of the Department of Finance.

Following closely behind was a large group of people from Yan Changye's side.

"Wow!" A girl next to Jiang Manman exclaimed, covering her mouth in amazement. "The two people ranked at the top of the alumni honor roll, I only knew they had top-notch backgrounds and the ability to make waves in the business world, how come no one told me they were also incredibly good-looking?"

She wasn't the only one agitated; lively discussions echoed from every corner of the conference room, followed by prolonged applause.

After the school leaders finished speaking, Xie Yuheng went on stage to briefly share his business experience and views. The whole process was calm and uneventful, except at the end when Xie Yuheng, on behalf of the Xie family conglomerate, donated a library and HK$500 million to Tsinghua University, which attracted some attention.

"You've probably all heard that my girlfriend and I used to have dates in the library." Xie Yuheng's expression softened slightly, his slender fingers caressing the microphone, his voice gentle. "The library was the happiest time of my year at Tsinghua University, and it has a very special meaning for me."

The host asked with a smile, "Mr. Xie Yuheng, when you took the most beautiful girl from the Academy of Fine Arts to Hong Kong, when will you give us some wedding candy?"

Before Xie Yuheng could speak, Yan Changye scoffed, "His wedding candy might be rather bitter."

The host exclaimed, "What do you mean?"

Yan Changye gave a meaningful sneer: "I ate all the sweet parts."

"W-what do you mean?"

"you guess."

The host, naturally unable to guess the man's twisted meaning, was momentarily speechless.

One of the girls next to Jiang Manman asked the other, "Don't you feel there's something going on between these two?"

“Yes, there’s a very obvious repulsive magnetic field.” Another girl lowered her voice. “You don’t know, just now when the dean was showing Xie Yuheng around, Xie Yuheng asked about the specific locations where the 500 million yuan would be used. I heard they’re all places where he and his girlfriend had sweet memories. Some people are guessing that he might have been cheated on…”

"That can't be right, he's Xie Yuheng! I've heard that countless women in Hong Kong are crazy about him! How could he possibly have his love stolen away?"

"It's said that he bought a wedding ring back then, and he and his girlfriend each wore one, never taking it off. Today, he has nothing on his ring finger. If they're really married, there's no need for him to deliberately take it off, right?"

"Could it be that coming to Tsinghua University is inconvenient?"

"It's just a ring, how could it be inconvenient?" The girl looked at Yan Changye. "Look at Yan Changye's ring finger. Just the time he was standing on the stage, he touched the ring more than ten times. He treasures it like a treasure. This is normal behavior, isn't it..."

"Ha, this isn't normal practice! What man touches his ring for no reason unless he's extremely in love, insecure, and deeply in love..."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Manman went to look at Yan Changye and indeed found that the man was playing with the wedding ring on his ring finger from time to time. It didn't seem like he was doing it intentionally, but rather... it seemed like he couldn't help himself.

She paused for a moment, then realized, in a daze, that the scoundrel seemed to care about the marriage more than she had imagined…

On the stage.

Seeing that Yan Changye was unwilling to speak openly, and Xie Yuheng was keeping quiet about it, the host chuckled and said, "It seems that your private lives are not convenient to disclose. No problem, the alumni have prepared some questions for you. Would you be willing to cooperate?"

Xie Yuheng and Yan Changye both nodded noncommittally. The host brought out a raffle box: "Both of you have valuable time, so how about each of you draw five tickets?"

Xie Yuheng's well-defined fingers had already casually drawn out a card.

The host took the document and opened it: "Mr. Xie Yuheng, could you share what you consider to be two of the most successful business cases?"

Xie Yuheng answered with ease, and amidst applause, Yan Changye also drew a card.

This time, the host paused for a moment before asking, "Mr. Yan Changye, this question may be a bit presumptuous..."

Yan Changye: "Hmm?"

The host was slightly embarrassed. "It's a personal question. Someone asked, 'What kind of girl do you like?'"

Yan Changye responded with an "Oh," and said, "I am married, and I love no one but my wife."

The host repeatedly apologized: "I forgot, Mr. Yan already has a beautiful woman by his side."

He immediately changed the subject to Xie Yuheng: "Mr. Xie Yuheng, you can go first for the second question."

Xie Yuheng drew another card, this time also a personal question. The host coughed lightly: "Mr. Xie Yuheng, this is a hypothetical question. If your wife fell in love with someone else, would you choose to take her back and force her to love you, or would you let her go? — I don't know who it was that joked about Mr. Xie and his wife. You can choose not to answer."

Xie Yuheng remained silent for a relatively long time this time.

Then, she said calmly, "I would choose to take it back and force myself to love it."

Yan Changye glanced at him lazily with her peach blossom eyes, her gaze cold.

Then, he picked up the second slip of paper and handed it to the host.

The host opened the slip of paper and breathed a sigh of relief: "It's a financial question..."

Yan Changye interrupted: "Change."

After saying that, he drew another card.

Host: "...This is an economics question, please tell me—"

"Change it again." Yan Changye drew another one.

host:"……"

After four attempts, the host, with a complicated expression, said, "This time, it's a matter of love. Mr. Yan, with your status and position, have you ever encountered a rival in love?"

Yan Changye answered very decisively this time: "Yes! There are one or two every month, and there's also one who has been eyeing my wife for a long time."

The host asked curiously, "Mr. Yan, how do you usually deal with your love rivals?"

Yan Changye sighed softly: "Trying to take my wife is tantamount to taking my life. Let's see who has the tougher life!"

Xie Yuheng abruptly interrupted: "In an academic setting, there's no need to continue with personal matters. Today is an alumni reunion, so the focus is on social exchange."

Before me stood the alumni association's founder and sponsor, who had just donated a library and a large sum of cash. The host, showing great respect, said, "Indeed! Now I'll ask you both some questions about the financial sector and hear your insights..."

The exchange lasted for nearly an hour.

After a group photo in the conference room, the final meal was served.

Jiang Manman did not attend the dinner party. She met up with Yan Changye early and walked out from a less crowded area.

On the way back, Yan Changye languidly teased, "Madam, how does it feel to reunite with an old friend?"

(End of this chapter)