Chapter 71: Cheng Yao, I like you.

Just as she pressed a hand to her chest trying to calm that wildly beating heart, the instigator of it all called.

In her nervousness Cheng Yao hit “Decline”…

When she hurriedly dialed back in a fluster, it showed “Busy”…

She persisted and dialed a few more times. A text message popped up.

“Don’t call me.”

Almost the moment Cheng Yao obediently put down her phone, Qian Heng’s call came again.

“Cheng Yao, come downstairs.”

“Eh? What’s wrong?”

“I’ve changed my mind.”

“Ah??”

Qian Heng’s voice on the phone was calm and composed. “Generally in this kind of situation, the pursuer should accompany the person being pursued to work overtime.”

“…”

Qian Heng said righteously, “If you want to successfully chase me, you have to work harder. So come downstairs. At a time like this you should accompany me to work overtime.”

“…”

One way or another, in the end Cheng Yao still obediently went downstairs as ordered.

And so at this moment she was sitting in Qian Heng’s office, literally properly watching Qian Heng work overtime…

It wasn’t as if she had never been to Qian Heng’s office before, but this time Cheng Yao felt especially nervous. There was no one else left in the firm. Only this office of Qian Heng’s had the lights and heating on. Qian Heng was seriously looking at materials. Inside this closed space the atmosphere was quiet and subtle.

Everything was no different, yet everything also seemed different.

Cheng Yao glanced at Qian Heng. His profile was still handsome to the point of being unreal. His brows were slightly furrowed, as if he had encountered some difficulty. His expression was serious and focused. Clearly the buttons at the collar of his clothes were all tightly fastened, yet the two words “sexy” still popped into Cheng Yao’s mind.

Truly poisoned, truly poisoned. Cheng Yao’s face flushed. She hurriedly looked away.

Not long after—

“At a time like this the pursuer should look at the person being pursued with deep affection.”

Qian Heng didn’t raise his head. He was still buried in the documents. If it weren’t for the fact that only he and Cheng Yao were in this room, one couldn’t even tell he had just spoken.

Cheng Yao had no choice but to gather her spirits and look toward Qian Heng.

Yet the moment she so obediently complied, Qian Heng became dissatisfied again. Cheng Yao had only looked for a short while when Qian Heng changed his mind.

“Forget it. You’d better not look at me after all.” He furrowed his brows, still maintaining the posture of looking at documents, his tone somewhat unnatural and blustering. After a while he added another sentence. “You, turn around and face the wall.”

“…”

Not only not allowing her to look at him, but also making her face the wall and reflect…

Cheng Yao thought resentfully, Then what’s the point of calling me over to accompany overtime?! Who treats their own pursuer with such a cold face?! Can you leave singlehood like this? You can’t! And didn’t you not even raise your head? If you didn’t raise your head, what does it matter whether I’m looking at you or not?!

“You looking like that will distract me.”

Just as Cheng Yao was feeling indignant, Qian Heng’s voice rang out again.

Still the calm, cool voice natural enough to make one think he was discussing work. Yet the moment Cheng Yao reacted, her face flushed.

“If you don’t want to face the wall, that’s also fine.” Qian Heng said coldly. “But pay attention to the degree. Too heated. Affects my work.”

What heated?!!! Is it your own temperature-sensing cells that are out of order?!

Fifteen minutes later, Qian Heng finished handling the work and replied to the emails. He raised his head and casually swept a glance at Cheng Yao. “Today is about to end. There are still two days left. Have you thought about what you’re going to do?”

This… this still requires a report???

“I still… haven’t thought it through yet…” Cheng Yao carefully glanced at Qian Heng. “How about Boss give some hints?”

“Oh.” Qian Heng pressed his lips together. “Generally, in order to highlight their own strengths, the pursuer will dress a bit prettier to attract the gaze of the person being pursued.”

He glanced at Cheng Yao. “Red.” Qian Heng looked toward the green plants inside the office. “You have a red knitted dress. I think it’s barely acceptable. Tomorrow is Saturday. No need to wear formal wear. You should switch styles a bit.”

Cheng Yao paused. “Is it that I don’t look good in other clothes?”

Qian Heng’s eyes didn’t look at Cheng Yao. He only said lightly, “They all look good, but I like you best in that one.”

It was only a very ordinary, common sentence. Yet somehow, Cheng Yao suddenly felt as if a cluster of fireworks had exploded in her entire heart.

She lowered her head. Her heart started racing wildly again. From nervousness she subconsciously bit her lip.

“Cheng Yao, you’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

Cheng Yao was very blank. “Hm?”

Qian Heng, however, appeared somewhat fierce. “Don’t think you can deliberately seduce me into kissing you this way in order to cheat and shorten the pursuit time.”

Cheng Yao felt wronged. She hadn’t! She actually felt it was Qian Heng who was seducing her!

Qian Heng cleared his throat and returned to the previous topic. “Additionally, the pursuer should greet the person being pursued every morning and evening to emphasize their own presence.”

“…”

“Can only make desserts for the person being pursued.”

“…”

“On all social platforms emphasize that their heart already belongs to someone, to show their feelings toward the person being pursued.”

“…”

The more Cheng Yao listened, the more wronged she felt. By the end she finally couldn’t hold it in. “Boss, you’re going too far!” Cheng Yao gathered her courage. “You’re using your advantageous position in the workplace to squeeze me. Forcing me to pursue you, and still making me publicly declare everywhere that my heart already belongs to someone. Then after three days, if you consider it and still feel it won’t work and reject me, won’t I have no face left to see anyone? Even in a contract, rights and obligations should be equal. But right now on my side it’s all obligations, on your side it’s all rights. This completely violates the spirit of contract…” Cheng Yao stiffened her neck and summarized, “This isn’t fair.”

“If your attitude is good enough to move me, after three days it’s not impossible that I…”

Cheng Yao directly interrupted Qian Heng’s words. “I don’t want someone to reluctantly get together with me.”

“Even if you agree to be with me like this, our relationship still isn’t equal.” She lowered her gaze. “And I’ve always fantasized about someone chasing me, letting me experience that feeling of being held up.” Cheng Yao muttered softly, “Who isn’t a little princess either.”

Probably once a person gathers courage, they grow braver and braver. Having gotten into the flow, Cheng Yao continued resisting. “Besides, you don’t even like me. How can you force me to pursue you first so that you can experience this feeling first before deciding? That’s too irresponsible, too bullying…”

“I didn’t say I don’t like you.”

“I didn’t intentionally cause the factory to ship the wrong goods either. If it caused you trouble I can apologize and treat you to a meal. Even if you dock a bit of my year-end bonus I’ll accept it. But you can’t toy with and retaliate against me like this.”

“There’s no toying or retaliation.”

Cheng Yao, however, was still immersed in her own world. She reasoned with him. “Even if it’s not toying or retaliation, this is still going too far. You don’t even know what you’re thinking yourself—whether you like me or not—yet force me to chase first. Haven’t you heard? A forcibly twisted melon isn’t sweet…”

Qian Heng stood up and walked toward Cheng Yao. “Cheng Yao, I didn’t say I don’t like you.”

“Ah?”

Qian Heng unnaturally repeated once. “I didn’t say I don’t like you.”

“Not liking and liking are completely two different concepts. Many people who don’t like each other but also don’t dislike each other get married and end up with a marriage of mutual respect. Previously Bao Rui and I handled a case that was exactly this kind of couple. They met through a blind date. There was no heart-fluttering liking between them, but they could still get along and live together as partners. They were originally living a peaceful life, but then the husband suddenly encountered the true love that made him strongly like someone, and would rather leave with nothing than divorce.”

This time Cheng Yao didn’t retreat. She bravely looked back at Qian Heng. “You treating me like this when you can only say you don’t dislike me, then forcing me to pursue you—isn’t that going too far?!”

Qian Heng pressed his lips tightly together and said nothing.

Looking at Qian Heng’s appearance, for some reason Cheng Yao felt even more wronged. “See, deep down you actually don’t even know what kind of person you like. Really, not liking is not equivalent to liking…”

“I like.”

Cheng Yao paused, for a moment not reacting. “What?”

Qian Heng turned his face sideways. His ears had already rapidly turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye, yet his voice was still as calm as Mount Tai collapsing before him without changing color. “Cheng Yao, I like.”

Wh… what?

At this moment Cheng Yao almost experienced the supreme feeling of being struck by five thunderbolts. She only felt that with these few simple words of Qian Heng’s, she herself was also bombarded into tinnitus.

“Fine, you win.” Qian Heng’s tone was a bit dry. Even when admitting defeat he maintained high-cold composure, though his eyes fiercely glared at Cheng Yao. “You just had to push me to this point? I’m your boss after all. Can’t you give me a little face?”

“Me? How did I push you?”

“Some things, knowing them in your heart is enough. Must you point them out? I already found good reasons. Can’t you just go with the flow?”

“Ah?”

Qian Heng pressed his lips together. He stood opposite Cheng Yao and glared at her. The height difference immediately gave Cheng Yao great pressure. And just as Cheng Yao was preparing to protest, Qian Heng suddenly leaned down.

He bent at the waist, keeping his line of sight level with Cheng Yao’s, staring into her eyes. In this posture he said word by word, “Cheng Yao, I like you.”

The distance between the two of them was too close. Behind Cheng Yao was the wall—nowhere to retreat. Right in front of her eyes was Qian Heng’s tall, straight nose bridge that looked as if it had been padded. She worked hard to stare at the root of Qian Heng’s nose. Just as she was about to go cross-eyed, Qian Heng’s nose bridge lightly touched hers.

Then two lips with a cool touch lightly touched hers.

Only after what felt like a century did Cheng Yao finally react—

That was a dragonfly-touching-water kiss.

And just as Cheng Yao was preparing to start being indignant and accusing, the instigator Qian Heng had already straightened up again as if nothing had happened, stepped back two steps away from her side. He extremely unnaturally and deliberately turned his head away, his gaze falling out the window. If Cheng Yao weren’t the person involved, she would have been completely unable to imagine that the one who had just done those things was the Qian Heng in front of her.

In Cheng Yao’s stunned gaze, Qian Heng finally opened his mouth—

“As for what you said about whether a forcibly twisted melon is sweet or not—how do you know without twisting it?” His voice was calm and composed. “And whether it’s sweet or not doesn’t matter. Of course you twist it down first and then talk. If it’s not sweet, just throw it away.”

“…”

Cheng Yao had to admit that this robber logic actually made a lot of sense. Only when she herself was this melon that had been forcibly twisted and might be thrown away because it wasn’t sweet, it really wasn’t something that could make one happy…

Just as she lowered her head to hide the expression on her face, Qian Heng’s voice rang out once more.

“Now it’s been twisted.”

“Very sweet.”

Cheng Yao raised her head in astonishment.

The Qian Heng who was saying such words was still turning his face sideways looking out the window. Although his expression remained calm and self-restrained, the red slowly spreading across his ears betrayed his emotions.

“In short, just like I said before, as a bona fide third party, causing this kind of misunderstanding is not my fault, so you have to chase me.” Even at this point, the face-saving Qian Heng could still forcibly salvage his dignity with forced reasoning. “I’ve reconsidered. Because I like you, and in view of your usually good reputation and sincere character, I’m shortening the three-day trial period to one day. Your performance today was barely passing.” At this point Qian Heng finally glanced at Cheng Yao. “So congratulations. You’ve passed the evaluation and obtained the opportunity to become my girlfriend.”

“Cherish it well.”

“…”

If previously Cheng Yao had been completely caught off guard by the development of events, now she had finally fully reacted.

—“I didn’t say I don’t like you.”

—“Very sweet.”

—“There’s no toying or retaliation.”

—“I like.”

Cheng Yao simply wanted to jump up and shout, Oh my god!!! Qian Heng likes her!!!

Her toxic boss actually likes her!!!

Qian Heng ah Qian Heng, you also have this day!

Ah hahahahahahahahahahaha!