Volume 1, Chapter 51: Did his hand go around your waist?

Miao Ziai, who could never keep anything to herself, marched straight up to Song Qinian looking indignant. "Ninian, they're saying you like Yushun and that you're pursuing him. Is that true?"

Song Qinian had no idea rumors about her and Shen Yushun were already making the rounds. She shook her head and said gravely, "Xiao'ai, let me say this again. Yushun and I are just friends."

"But they're talking about it as if they saw it with their own eyes."

Fearing Song Qinian might misunderstand, Miao Ziai quickly explained, "Ninian, I do like Yushun, but my fondness for him is no different from how I like any other handsome guy. I'm just worried about you. I don't want you to be misunderstood or have people talking nonsense behind your back."

"The innocent need no defense. There's no need to care what others say."

After a moment of thought, Miao Ziai nodded heavily. "You're right! Those people have nothing better to do than gossip. Still... Yushun is really nice to you. If the two of you liked each other, I'd totally support you being together."

You can't just go around saying things like that!

Song Qinian clamped a hand over Miao Ziai's mouth and anxiously glanced around. Fortunately, Shen Chiyan hadn't been dropping by the planning department on a whim the way he used to these days.

Otherwise, if he were to overhear such talk, who knew how he might retaliate against her?

"I... I already like someone."

Miao Ziai's eyes lit up. "Really? Is it that Guan Mingxu who's been sending you flowers lately? Um... speaking of that Guan Mingxu, he sends you a bouquet of roses every single day without fail, yet he never shows his face. What on earth is he playing at?"

Song Qinian couldn't very well tell Miao Ziai that Guan Mingxu didn't even exist. Explaining that whole mess would be far too complicated, so she simply bypassed the topic.

"It's not him."

"Then who is it?"

Song Qinian shook her head, adopting an expression that suggested it was inconvenient to disclose.

"A secret crush?"

Indeed it was!

A secret love that could never be spoken aloud.

Seeing that Song Qinian remained silent and refused to gesture anything further, Miao Ziai knew better than to press.

Although Song Qinian was never lacking in confidence when it came to her work, she was, after all, mute.

The person she had a crush on must be exceptionally outstanding, which was probably why she didn't dare confess to them.

Miao Ziai let out a heavy sigh. Such a lovely girl—how did she end up losing her voice?

Song Qinian had assumed that people would soon gossip themselves tired and forget all about her and Shen Yushun, but that turned out to be just the beginning.

Later on, no one knew who had posted a photograph of her giving Shen Yushun a ride on the company intranet, and the entire office instantly blew up.

"No wonder they're always together. A talented man and a beautiful woman—they look so perfect for each other!"

"The scene is just too warm and aesthetic. It makes a person want to fall into a sweet romance."

"Just get married already. You guys won't be able to talk your way out of this without walking down the aisle."

When Song Qinian first saw the photo, it was because Miao Ziai had pointed it out to her. Her very first reaction was to wonder who could be so idle as to snap a picture of her and Shen Yushun and upload it to the company's network.

Immediately following that thought came the rising wave of anxiety: what would happen if Shen Chiyan saw this picture?

That evening, when Song Qinian returned home, Shen Chiyan was nowhere to be found.

It wasn't until eleven o'clock, just as Song Qinian was getting ready for bed, that her phone suddenly chimed with a WeChat message from "QQ".

"Get down to the garage!"

Song Qinian remembered that this "QQ" was someone who had added her some time ago; their previous chat history consisted solely of her asking the person if they had any requests.

Why would this person suddenly send her a message like this?

"You have thirty seconds. If you aren't here, your electric scooter is going to be reduced to a pile of scrap metal!"

A flash of insight suddenly struck Song Qinian's mind.

"QQ" stood for Qiuqiu, didn't it?

Could this person... be Shen Chiyan?

Was he going to smash her scooter?

There was no time to overthink. Song Qinian threw on her slippers and sprinted toward the garage.

It was one thing for Shen Chiyan to bully her, but she absolutely could not let him smash her vehicle. How would she get to work tomorrow if he did?

The garage lights were on. Not seeing Shen Chiyan immediately, she hurried over to inspect her scooter.

Fortunately, her little electric donkey was completely intact and undamaged.

However, the next second, a powerful force suddenly slammed her against the scooter. As the scooter tipped over, it was caught firmly by the wall beside them.

Song Qinian was pinned onto the scooter in a posture that left her utterly devoid of any sense of security. Subconsciously, she gripped Shen Chiyan's arm tightly, only to meet his dark, terrifying gaze—gaze so gloomy and intense it felt capable of destroying everything in its path.

"Bringing breakfast to Shen Yushun from home, making a keychain for him with your own hands, and even hauling him around on this piece-of-junk scooter of yours—Song Qinian, you've got some nerve. How dare you make a cuckold out of me!"

Song Qinian's heart seized with fright. Shen Chiyan had indeed seen that post, and now he had come to settle accounts with her.

She couldn't let him misunderstand!

Song Qinian reached out, intending to explain that she and Shen Yushun were strictly friends, but Shen Chiyan had no patience to watch her make frantic hand gestures. He pinned one of her hands against the wall behind the scooter.

With his other hand, he ruthlessly gripped her small, delicate chin.

"I had no idea you were such a romantic. When you were giving Shen Yushun a ride, did his arms wrap around your waist?"

Although Shen Chiyan was praising her, and a hint of a cold, mocking smile played at the corners of his lips, the aura of violent malice radiating from his every pore filled Song Qinian with dread.

She rapidly shook her head, as if she believed that a single second of hesitation would prompt Shen Chiyan to sever her waist and hack off Shen Yushun's hands without a second thought.

Shen Yushun was a gentleman; whenever he rode on her scooter, his hands always gripped the back rails. Between the two of them, there had never been any intimate physical contact that crossed the boundaries of friendship.

Shen Chiyan stared fixedly into Song Qinian's clear, beautiful eyes, which resembled glazed pearls, and upon seeing the anxiety and terror filling her face, the corners of his lips curled faintly. "I'll spare you because you wouldn't dare lie to me."

Song Qinian let out a slight breath of relief. Before that breath could even fully leave her chest, Shen Chiyan's hand suddenly slid beneath the hem of her pajamas.

Her breath hitched, and Song Qinian's eyes widened in shock.

This man... surely he wouldn't—

"Since you love your little piece-of-junk scooter so much, tonight I'll let you ride it for the entire night."

Realizing the implication behind Shen Chiyan's words, Song Qinian's face flushed red and turned pale by turns.

This was the garage, for goodness' sake! Had this man lost his mind?

No...

Not here, and certainly not on top of her scooter!

Besides, this wasn't a spacious sedan; it was just a regular electric scooter!

Yet, all of Song Qinian's struggles and inward cries of protest were thoroughly ignored by Shen Chiyan, and naturally, she failed to escape this ordeal.

Fortunately, whether it was because Shen Chiyan's conscience finally pricked him or his germaphobia flared up, after a single round, he scooped up the trembling, weak-kneed Song Qinian and carried her back to the bedroom.

Of course, that did not mean it was over; rather, it was merely the beginning of a long, endless night.

That night, Song Qinian felt like a lone leaf drifting upon a vast ocean, rising and falling with Shen Chiyan's relentless movements, until finally, she sank completely into the vortex.

After tossing and turning all night, when she woke up the next morning, Song Qinian felt achy all over and utterly miserable.

When she headed off to work and caught sight of the electric scooter in the garage, the image of Shen Chiyan pinning her against it the night before flashed instantly through her mind.

It was simply... too insane!