Lan Yan could not help laughing. “Make him pay.”
“Make him pay.”
/
The holiday ended, and Mend Orchid Studio resumed work.
At four-thirty in the afternoon, Lan Yan left early, went back home to change clothes, and headed to Mustard Seed Book House for the painting appraisal gathering hosted by Tang Wangxiang.
It was called a small gathering, but there seemed to be thirty or forty people. This kind of event was usually a wine reception, but here it was a tea party.
The tea setup stood under the persimmon tree in the courtyard, with fragrant tea and snacks to enjoy. After washing hands at the side, one could enter the room to view the paintings.
All from Elder Tang’s collection, hung on plain white walls—admirable from afar or up close.
A very elegant gathering.
But every gathering had its social element. Elder Tang’s guests were naturally social elites. Participants gathered in twos and threes, eyes on the paintings, talk on personal connections.
Lan Yan was probably the only outlier.
She was leaning in close to appreciate a late Qing female painter’s meticulous flower-and-bird work when someone approached from behind.
Lan Yan turned and immediately greeted her. “Miss Tang.”
It was Tang Wangxiang’s granddaughter, Tang Xiyue. Last time Tang Wangxiang came to retrieve the family letter, she had accompanied him.
Tang Xiyue smiled. “Miss Lan, you came alone? Where’s your boyfriend?”
“The invitation didn’t say if companions were allowed, so…”
Tang Xiyue looked puzzled. “But Young Master Chen specifically asked me…” She seemed to realize something and stopped abruptly.
How could Lan Yan fail to notice something was off? She quickly pressed.
But Tang Xiyue was evasive. “I think… maybe I misunderstood…”
“Please tell me the truth.” Lan Yan looked at Tang Xiyue earnestly. “I truly cherish Elder Tang’s kindness and don’t want any unnecessary misunderstandings.”
Tang Xiyue hesitated for a moment before speaking. “I know the Chen family is a prominent clan, but since our fields are different and Grandpa’s health hasn’t been good these years, he’s declined a lot of socializing. So we have no dealings with the Chen family. If I’d known early on that Young Master Chen was your boyfriend, I definitely would have sent two invitations.”
As expected of the Tang family—her words were impeccably tactful.
If one really analyzed it, the Tang family was the true prominent clan, one the Chen family could not hope to associate with.
Lan Yan basically understood the real meaning behind Tang Xiyue’s tactful words. “Chen Boyu went over my head and approached you directly, didn’t he?”
“…Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“He said he’d long heard of the rich collection at Mustard Seed Book House but never had the chance to see it. When he heard Miss Lan was invited to the gathering, he wanted to boldly come along. He originally wanted to ask you to inquire with me if a companion could be an exception, but he was afraid you’d be too shy to agree, so he approached me directly… He even asked me not to tell you.”
Lan Yan’s face went deathly pale.
Tang Xiyue hurriedly said, “Don’t worry. I understand the situation now. I won’t misunderstand. That letter—Grandpa keeps it in his bedside cabinet and looks at it every night before bed. We will always be grateful to you, Miss Lan, for preserving it.”
The more polite Tang Xiyue was, the more stifled Lan Yan felt in her heart. “…I wonder if there were people at the scene who weren’t originally on the invite list?”
“There were a few, all family members brought by today’s guests. And one more…”
Tang Xiyue raised her eyes and looked toward the man standing by the wall on the other side of the room.
He was entranced by the painting, dressed in a suit, and at first glance, he appeared quite dashing.
“I saw that President Ye was a true lover of paintings, so I didn’t ask too many questions.”
“…President Ye.”
“Does Miss Lan know him?”
Lan Yan shook her head speechlessly.
Lan Yan didn’t stay long. She handed the souvenir she had brought to Tang Xiyue, went to the inner room to greet Tang Wangxiang, and then left in a hurry.
The office of Clear Source Creation was located in the high-tech zone’s science park.
Lan Yan had been there a few times, so she knew the way well.
The front desk recognized her and didn’t stop her, so she went in without any obstruction.
At the door of Chen Boyu’s office, Lan Yan took a deep breath and raised her hand to knock.
“Please come in.”
Chen Boyu was sitting at his desk reviewing documents. The moment the door was pushed open, he looked up in surprise. “Yanyan…”
Lan Yan closed the door, strode quickly to him, and got straight to the point. “Why did you go to Tang Xiyue behind my back?”
“You…” Chen Boyu was startled. He quickly stood up, walked out from behind the desk, and reached to grab her arm. “Yanyan, listen to me…”
Lan Yan stepped back to avoid his hand. “I’m asking you a question.”
Chen Boyu opened his mouth but said nothing.
“What? You did it but don’t dare admit it?”
“…Yes. But I had my reasons.”
“You tell me. I’ll listen to your reasons.”
Chen Boyu let out a long breath. Clearly, this confrontation happening so early and so suddenly was beyond his expectations. He had to organize his words on the spot.
“President Ye is something of a collector and has always hoped for a chance to get acquainted with Tang Wangxiang. I wanted to ask you to help get another invitation, but I knew with your personality, you definitely wouldn’t agree.”
“…So, is it my fault now? I wouldn’t agree, so you could just go behind my back and use my connections to achieve your goal?”
“Yanyan, I was wrong about this. Please forgive me.”
“You’re so disgusting.”
Chen Boyu’s expression stiffened.
“You ignore me for work and ditch me halfway—these I don’t care about. But what right do you have to use me?”
“My career isn’t your career too? Why make it sound so…”
“My career? Have you ever given me a single cent of the money you earned?”
“I can. I can give you a share right now! Lan Yan, have you never thought that my career is the foundation of us being together? If I fail, my parents would never accept us continuing!”
Their words grew very heated, but after Chen Boyu said this, Lan Yan didn’t respond immediately.
The atmosphere plummeted like a cliff into dead silence.
Lan Yan let out a short laugh. “You’ve finally said what’s really in your heart. When we first got together, did you think I ‘wasn’t good enough’ for your Chen family? Or did you think catching me was the goal? I really regret softening because you had a fever. If I’d proposed breaking up then, I wouldn’t have seen this unscrupulous side of you. It’s so ugly, Chen Boyu. You’re nothing like the person I knew…” She took a breath and couldn’t continue. She didn’t want to cry in front of him.
Chen Boyu tilted his head back, closed his eyes briefly. He seemed choked by many words too, and hoarsely said, “All I know is, when we first got together, I never imagined that you were like an iceberg—impossible to warm no matter how I tried. I never appeared in your WeChat Moments, you wouldn’t even agree to change to a couple’s name in the game, and even taking a photo together, you always made excuses. You had the key to my apartment, but I couldn’t have yours. Two years of dating, and you wouldn’t agree to live together. Even in the last two months, you weren’t willing to cooperate when I wanted to get intimate…”
He seemed to find it all absurdly ridiculous and let out a self-mocking laugh. “The most intense emotion you’ve ever shown me was right now, when talking about breaking up. Do you really like me, Lan Yan?”
“So I dated you for two years just because I’m masochistic?”
Chen Boyu jolted.
Lan Yan reached into her coat pocket, quickly pulled something out, and with a smack, threw it onto his desk.
It was the access card to his apartment.
“Let’s break up, Chen Boyu. Let’s never see each other again in this lifetime.”
Lan Yan turned and walked out.
Chen Boyu rushed forward and grabbed her arm. “Yanyan…”
“Let go.”
“Yanyan…”
“I don’t want your employees to know. I believe you don’t either.”
“Make a scene if you want. I don’t care, as long as you don’t…”
Knock knock. The door was knocked on.
Without waiting for a response, it was pushed open.
Standing at the door was Liang Jingchuan, his face cold as frost, but his voice remarkably calm. “Let go.”
“Jingchuan, help me…”
“I won’t help an outsider bully my little sister.”
Chen Boyu’s face turned ashen.
After a moment of deadlock, he let go of her hand.
Lan Yan shoved her hands into her coat pockets, head down, and walked out. Her elbow bumped into Liang Jingchuan.
But she couldn’t care about anything anymore and walked faster and faster.
She took the elevator down, crossed the open space in front of the office building, and the cool wind sliced like a thin blade across the corner of her eyes.
Hastening footsteps sounded behind her.
Lan Yan snapped without turning around. “Don’t follow me!”
He naturally didn’t listen.
Lan Yan stopped abruptly and whirled around, glaring at him. “There aren’t just you and Chen Boyu as the only men in the world! Even if I break up with him, I won’t be with you!”
Liang Jingchuan didn’t blink, looking at her with boundless tolerance in his gaze. “…Am I getting the brunt of your anger again?”
“…” Lan Yan sniffed.
“Can you tell me straight? What did I do wrong?”
Her vision blurred, and her voice choked uncontrollably. “…You must be so smug. My boyfriend of two years makes you look so much better by comparison.”
“Ex-boyfriend.” Liang Jingchuan corrected seriously.
“…”
“Of course I’m smug.” Liang Jingchuan took a step forward.
Her arm was grabbed and pulled straight forward. Her forehead bumped into his chest. Her instinctive push was stopped, her wrist bones locked in his fingers, immovable.
Her attempt at resistance was easily dismantled, leaving only layers of anger and sadness surging. The tears could no longer be held back.
“…Because when you cry, I can finally comfort you.” The voice came from above her head, resonating with his chest.