Chapter 72: “Cheng Yao, I’m asking you to be my girlfriend.”

Chapter 72

Cheng Yao almost inappropriately put her hands on her hips and laughed wildly. Looking at Qian Heng who still kept a taut face, a mischievous emotion suddenly rose in her heart.

The wheel of fortune turns. Now it should be her home ground, right?

Cheng Yao looked at Qian Heng, her voice carrying regret. “Boss, this new post you’re offering me—with my current ability and overall quality, I really can’t match it. I can’t handle the job, so I’m voluntarily giving up this opportunity. You’d better find someone more capable.”

Qian Heng indeed paused, then glared at Cheng Yao, working hard to maintain composure. “This job isn’t as hard as you think either. Whatever you don’t know, it’s not impossible for me to teach you hand by hand…”

“No need, no need.” Cheng Yao only smiled. “I know my own limitations. I just remembered—I completely don’t meet your standards for choosing a partner, Boss.”

“…”

“You want a girlfriend who is obedient. Me, deep down I’m actually quite rebellious. Making me obediently listen is too against my nature.”

“You want a girlfriend who is sensible and understands the bigger picture. When a man plays around and makes mistakes outside, she must understand, and also be able to properly reflect on where she herself didn’t do well.” Cheng Yao put on a troubled face. “I can’t do that. Me, my possessiveness is very strong. What’s mine is mine—other people can’t even touch it, and looking one more time already makes me jealous. If a man plays around and makes mistakes outside, I’ll grit my teeth and treat the judicial exam as taken for nothing. Even if my license gets revoked, I’ll still get the thing done.”

“…”

Cheng Yao looked up and glanced at Qian Heng. “I’ve already memorized the Standards for Assessing the Degree of Human Body Injury . Loss of more than half the glans; loss of one testicle—both are only first-degree minor injury. Loss of both testicles is second-degree minor injury.”

“…”

Qian Heng was silent for a long time before squeezing out a few words. “Cheng Yao, there’s no need to be so ruthless, right?”

“No choice. If a woman isn’t ruthless, her status won’t be stable.”

Cheng Yao flicked her hair and didn’t look at the purple-and-red expression on Qian Heng’s face. She continued on her own. “And don’t look at how high my requirements for a man’s loyalty are. I’m actually a double-standard person myself. I don’t like men who play around, but as an outstanding female lawyer myself, I inevitably have to deal with men outside. For work, playing around is also very normal. My man has to understand the bigger picture and not make unreasonable trouble.”

“…”

“Moreover, my boss said no dating within two years.”

“…”

“Office romance is too unprofessional. Professional people absolutely cannot make this kind of mistake.”

“…”

After a long silence, Qian Heng finally took a deep breath. His face had completely blackened. He looked like a balloon about to explode on the spot from anger.

“The rule of no dating within two years targets people who are far inferior to me. If the target is me, you can immediately date, and you should seize the opportunity.”

“Office romance, if properly utilized, can become an aid to work. Working while dating can better relieve stress.”

“You can be disobedient.”

“I won’t play around.”

Qian Heng stared into Cheng Yao’s eyes, his tone hard. “But if you want to play around, that’s also a dream.”

He looked away. “You have possessiveness and get jealous. I do too.”

When Qian Heng said these words, he tightly stared into Cheng Yao’s eyes. This time, however, Cheng Yao couldn’t stare back with complete focus. With Qian Heng saying this kind of thing in this kind of tone, Cheng Yao only felt her heart pounding like a drum. The earlier pride of putting hands on hips and laughing wildly suddenly collapsed completely.

Qian Heng was too outstanding—outstanding to the point of creating distance. Only by getting closer and closer did Cheng Yao finally have no choice but to face her own heart.

From the initial prejudice and dissatisfaction toward Qian Heng, to later, every one of his gazes, every action, seemed to carry different meaning for her. As long as Qian Heng was present, Cheng Yao would unconsciously chase him with her eyes; hearing that he was going on a blind date made her unhappy; learning that his blind date failed made her gloat…

Those increasing moments of heart-flutter when facing him, those inner warnings she worked hard to suppress and keep distance, those fine details of daily life she worked hard to ignore—at this instant, like water that had been suppressed behind a dam on ordinary days, the moment the dam collapsed, they retaliatorily roared and swept over.

At this moment, what flashed through Cheng Yao’s mind were all images of Qian Heng. His smile, the way he raised his brows, the arc of his lips slightly pressed together, the rapid blinking of his lashes when extremely shocked, the way he remained professional even while suppressing a stomach ache, the unconsciously soft look in his eyes when looking at succulents, the dark-faced expression when demanding accountability, the extremely punchable yet still handsome expression full of superiority, the fist he swung for her, the unnaturalness when handing her chocolate, the unreasonableness when forbidding her to cry…

The moment Qian Heng said “like,” Cheng Yao only felt her heartbeat pause.

In the face of Qian Heng’s domineering and unreasonable confession, no matter how calm and composed Cheng Yao appeared on the surface, inside she had absolutely no resistance.

If this was a battle, then Cheng Yao, who had clearly held the advantage and the initiative at the opening, had by now been thrown into chaos by Qian Heng, her military heart disturbed, her formation self-disrupted.

Even if she was unwilling to admit it, Cheng Yao finally realized.

She really did, after all, have a bit of improper thoughts toward Qian Heng.

Only in her subconscious, even Cheng Yao herself felt this idea was too bold, too suicidal, too dangerous, so under the self-protection mechanism she desperately denied this feeling.

Perhaps because of Cheng Yao’s long silence, Qian Heng finally couldn’t hold back. He looked at Cheng Yao and very forcefully added another sentence. “I won’t go play around, and you can’t either. You can only have me.” Qian Heng paused and turned his face sideways. “I also only have you.”

Cheng Yao had used so many moves, yet Qian Heng with just this one sentence easily dissolved all her armor.

Truly foul play.

Cheng Yao glared at Qian Heng with a completely red face. Qian Heng was really hateful!

“As for the new post offer I’m providing you—I say you match, so you match.” Qian Heng said domineeringly. “If I tell you to take the post, take the post. Being coy and hesitant—do you not want your year-end bonus anymore?”

Is the year-end bonus joke never going to end?!

Cheng Yao suppressed the fluster in her heart and worked hard to pretend anger. “There’s no boyfriend who uses the year-end bonus to threaten his girlfriend!”

“There’s also no boyfriend who pays his girlfriend a salary.”

“…”

Cheng Yao calmed down a little before finally recovering her composure. She glanced at Qian Heng and worked hard to maintain a fearless face. “Oh, then forget it. I don’t want the year-end bonus. I know my own weight. I can’t take the post.”

“…”

Cheng Yao endured her racing heartbeat and watched Qian Heng get shut down. It was obvious that Qian Heng’s face had already blackened to the point it was almost unwatchable. Only, only driven by the mischievous factors inside her, she still wanted to go one step further.

“Besides, thinking about it, you might not like me that much either. After all, your liking changes very quickly. Not long ago didn’t you fall in love at first sight with the girl you went on a blind date with, and blame me for ruining your blind-date banquet?” Cheng Yao said sourly. “According to your frequency of liking people, even if I reject you, you should be able to meet someone new you like within a month and successfully leave singlehood…”

“There’s no one I like more.”

Cheng Yao said leisurely, “Try it. How will you know if you don’t try, Boss?”

“I never liked the blind-date girl.”

Qian Heng glanced at Cheng Yao, then looked away. “I don’t like her.”

“But you said…”

Qian Heng glared at Cheng Yao. “I lied to you.”

Cheng Yao paused, then understood. Hmph, so that early on, Qian Heng had already been setting a trap for her.

But she had no intention of letting Qian Heng off just like that. She pretended not to know and pressed further. “Why did you lie to me?”

Qian Heng didn’t speak. He only fiercely looked at Cheng Yao. “Don’t you already know in your heart?”

Cheng Yao, however, was determined to play dumb to the end. “I don’t know. I don’t have mind-reading abilities. How would I know what you’re thinking?”

“Cheng Yao.” Qian Heng was almost grinding his teeth. “Don’t push your luck too far.”

“How am I pushing my luck? Tell me why you lied to me?”

Qian Heng stiffened his neck, looking as if he would rather die than submit. “I refuse to answer this question.”

“Oh, then I also refuse to be your girlfriend.”

Qian Heng was almost exploding from anger. “Cheng! Yao!”

“Is it that hard to tell the truth?” Cheng Yao met Qian Heng’s gaze. Her heart was beating very fast, her face also very red, but she worked hard to maintain a calm tone. “I don’t want a boyfriend who won’t tell me anything. Someone like you doesn’t meet my standards for choosing a partner.”

“If you have nothing more to say, then I’ve already made my attitude clear. It’s also getting late. I’ll head back first.”

Just as Cheng Yao turned around, she was pulled back by Qian Heng.

“I lied to you because that way I could make you pretend to be my girlfriend.”

Qian Heng looked as if he had used up all his self-respect just to finish this short sentence. And the moment he finished speaking, he awkwardly turned his head away, as if suffering inhuman torment.

But not long after, this boss-complex tsundere spirit seemed unable to hold back and turned his gaze back again, looking at Cheng Yao once more. He glanced at Cheng Yao, then secretly looked away, yet when he couldn’t help looking over again, he was caught red-handed by Cheng Yao’s gaze.

“…”

For the first time, Cheng Yao saw fluster and helplessness in Qian Heng’s eyes. Yet his tone was still fierce on the outside and weak on the inside. He fiercely glared at Cheng Yao once, then looked away again. “Just go ahead and anger me to death.”

Cheng Yao, however, smiled. “Since it’s like this, then how can it count as me chasing you? It should be you chasing me. Based on the current evidence, no matter how you look at it, you’re the one who first had improper thoughts about me.”

Qian Heng subconsciously tautened his face and denied. “I didn’t.”

“Then I’m leaving. A man who doesn’t even have improper thoughts about me definitely doesn’t truly like me.”

“Fine! I do!”

Although Qian Heng still kept a taut face, Cheng Yao always felt that if it could be visualized, Qian Heng right now had already puffed up into a pufferfish. He said, unable to endure any longer, “Cheng Yao, are you really preparing to anger me to death?”

“Didn’t you just say to just go ahead and anger you to death? I’m only following the boss’s orders.”

“…”

Qian Heng’s expression had already gone from the initial full confidence to flustered, panicked, and a bit pitiful. For the first time he had no control over the development of the situation, and had no idea what Cheng Yao would say next—completely unable to predict her behavior. Almost for the first time, he realized that the person he liked was not as obedient as she looked.

Yet even though his heart kept warning him with words like “I’m so angry, I can’t like her anymore,” as long as Cheng Yao gave one glance, one bit of sound, Qian Heng discovered his eyes uncooperatively looking toward her once again.

Truly a femme fatale.

The femme fatale herself, however, was still unaware. This was almost the first time she had gone head-to-head with Qian Heng and still won step by step. At this moment she couldn’t help expanding a bit. “So right now it shouldn’t be ‘you reluctantly agree to let me become your girlfriend,’ but rather ‘you sincerely request that I become your girlfriend.’”

After Cheng Yao finished speaking, she discovered that Qian Heng’s face had already become as foul as a stone in a latrine. Only then did she somewhat belatedly grow uneasy. Had she pushed Qian Heng too hard? Although he had said he liked her, he was after all a boss who valued face above all. Besides, this liking—exactly how much did he like her? Could he like her enough to abandon his principles for her…

Thinking this way, Cheng Yao suddenly felt a bit of regret. She was afraid Qian Heng would get angry and turn around and leave. Afraid of learning that Qian Heng’s liking for her wasn’t actually that deep. Afraid that she and Qian Heng’s principles, compared to his pride, weren’t that important.

And Qian Heng’s silence intensified the unease in Cheng Yao’s heart. Because of those unspeakable subtle little thoughts she had toward Qian Heng, at this moment Cheng Yao actually also started feeling a bit of gain-and-loss anxiety.

Because she also liked him, this liking also became a soft spot.

“Forget it, this question is too difficult for…”

Just as Cheng Yao herself was uneasily preparing to find a way out for Qian Heng and change the topic, she heard Qian Heng’s voice—

“Cheng Yao, I request that you become my girlfriend.”

This was clearly a romantic sentence full of love, yet Qian Heng’s expression at this moment was as colorful as a dye vat. If one only looked at his expression, only listened to that dry voice of his, one probably couldn’t imagine at all that he was confessing. Instead it looked like he had just been severely beaten, his outlook on life and principles had just suffered a heavy blow and collapsed, forced to bow to cruel reality.

Only once this most difficult sentence started, Qian Heng seemed to simply let go of that taut state. His face carried a kind of self-abandoning giving up of struggle.

“Fine, Cheng Yao. I said it. I request that you be my girlfriend.”