Chapter 25: Shen Yan's Car Accident

Ye Qian and Ye Ziyou were utterly miserable to the point of tears.

After a busy day, Ye Yaoyao glanced at the messages in the group chat, her gaze softening.

How wonderful.

This feeling—it's truly wonderful!

It turns out that real love doesn't require desperate striving; as long as it's you, someone will love you simply because you are you.

In her excellent mood and getting off work early, Ye Yaoyao reflected that she hadn't cooked for a long time and decided to buy ingredients at the supermarket.

Her steps were light, a gentle smile played on her lips as she walked home.

But the moment she saw Shen Yan, her expression changed abruptly.

"Why are you here?"

Shen Yan was hurt by Ye Yaoyao's attitude; though his face showed nothing, his eyes flicked to the groceries in her hand. "I came to have dinner."

"Did Shen Corporation go bankrupt? Are you a beggar now?"

Ye Yaoyao's eyes were openly impatient. "If you're looking for a handout, try somewhere else."

She pressed her fingerprint to unlock the door, aiming to slip inside quickly, but Shen Yan shamelessly squeezed in after her.

Her good mood for the day was ruined.

"What exactly do you want?" Ye Yaoyao asked Shen Yan.

"Dinner," he replied, sitting directly on the sofa and turning his attention to Shen Corporation's stocks, busy with his own affairs.

Ye Yaoyao shot him a glance, unwilling to argue, and began washing vegetables and preparing the meal.

When the food was ready, Shen Yan came over to serve himself.

Ye Yaoyao ignored him completely.

She didn't know why Shen Yan's attitude had suddenly changed, but she couldn't even be bothered to waste words on him.

Noticing that he still hadn't received a single glance from Ye Yaoyao, Shen Yan pressed his lips together and set down his chopsticks. "What's your relationship with the Ye brothers?"

He knew some details about the Ye family: Ye Shen dealt with the legitimate side, Ye Qian handled the shadows, and Ye Ziyou was in business, though rarely seen in public.

He wasn't sure about the brothers' personalities, but blatantly fighting over a woman wasn't typical behavior.

Ye Yaoyao had pinned Ye Qian's comment at the top; if their relationship was really like that, would she dare be so bold?

When they were together, Ye Yaoyao kept her distance from male colleagues at work, barely speaking.

Shen Yan doubted their relationship was what it seemed.

"As you see, it's ambiguous," Ye Yaoyao replied, eyes fixed on the television.

"Ambiguous? You're playing the Ye brothers in the palm of your hand?"

"Why not?"

Ye Yaoyao found his agitation amusing. "Weren't you ambiguous with both me and Qin Miao before? If you can do it, why can't I? Shen Yan, don't be so hypocritical."

Thinking back, her eyes were filled with scorn. "You thought I couldn't leave because of a contract, had no choice, so you toyed with my feelings and openly flirted with Qin Miao."

"Luckily, I left myself a way out—the contract only stipulated the duration."

Otherwise, she would never have been able to escape.

Ye Yaoyao recounted the past calmly, but to Shen Yan, her words tasted bitter.

He frowned, weighing every syllable.

After a long moment, Shen Yan came to a conclusion. "So, you signed an agreement with Ye Shen too?"

Ye Yaoyao was speechless.

Could he not understand plain words?!

"So it's true?" Shen Yan's face darkened.

She really had learned from experience.

The losses he'd suffered, she turned around and made others suffer in the same way.

She truly was something else.

Ye Yaoyao thought Shen Yan's explanation worked well—she could use it.

"Of course. So why aren't you leaving? You hang around in front of a married woman every day—don't you find yourself disgusting?" Ye Yaoyao glared at him.

With words like these, any normal person would be embarrassed to stay.

But Shen Yan was not normal.

No sooner had she finished speaking than Shen Yan lifted her chin and kissed her fiercely—her eyes widened in shock.

He was biting her!

Ye Yaoyao raised her hand to strike, but Shen Yan released her.

"Shen Yan, are you part dog?"

"Yes. Otherwise, why would I covet what belongs to others?"

With that, Shen Yan suddenly tugged at his tie, his gaze menacing. "Ye Yaoyao, haven't I told you before—you can't get too close to other men without my permission?"

Realizing his intent, Ye Yaoyao tried to escape, but her foot slipped and she fell hard to the floor, wincing in pain.

In that brief moment, Shen Yan pressed himself over her.

"Shen Yan, what are you trying to do?!"

"Go ahead, tell everyone! Tell them Ye Yaoyao is tangled up with three men at once." Shen Yan felt he was losing his mind. Proud as he was, he never touched what wasn't his.

But now, hearing that she belonged to someone else, he only wanted to prove that Ye Yaoyao was his! Only his!

Enraged, Shen Yan lost control of his strength. As Ye Yaoyao realized the gravity of the situation, she grabbed a glass from the coffee table and smashed it against his head.

Bang!

With the sound, blood trickled down Shen Yan's forehead. Time froze.

Ye Yaoyao pushed him aside, grabbed her clothes, and scrambled up in panic.

"Do you hate me that much?" Shen Yan's eyes dimmed.

"Shen Yan, you brought this on yourself." Ye Yaoyao felt no guilt.

She was simply defending herself.

Shen Yan nodded, wiped the blood from his face, dressed, and left.

Strength drained from Ye Yaoyao; she collapsed onto the sofa.

Moving out! She had to move out!

Ye Yaoyao relocated in haste, enjoying much more peace.

Only, at work, she occasionally recalled the fleeting hurt in Shen Yan's eyes as he left.

She wondered if she was losing her mind—why think of Shen Yan? In three years, hadn't he hurt her enough?

But had he ever truly felt remorse?

He had hurt her again and again, with words and actions, like a sharp blade, stabbing her heart until it bled.

Now, having left, he still tried to control her out of possessiveness. Absurd... utterly absurd!

For several days, Shen Yan didn't appear. At first, Ye Yaoyao felt a moment's relief, but then a slight bitterness crept in...

That day, Ye Yaoyao descended the stairs with Ye Shen.

"Yaoyao, come home and stay with us. It's dangerous for you to be alone outside."

Ye Shen knew all about Shen Yan showing up, but couldn't intervene.

"It's fine, brother. Some things have to be dealt with," Ye Yaoyao replied, acting spoiled.

Mostly, the house was far away and commuting wasted too much time—not worth it.

Her demanding job required energy.

Willingness to work hard was one thing, but not all effort should be pointless.

"Come home tonight. I'll give you half a day off tomorrow morning," Ye Shen said, blocking her refusal. "Mom says she misses you, and she's worried about what's happened with Qin Miao."

"Alright," Ye Yaoyao agreed, unable to refuse. She got into the car with Ye Shen, thinking she could enjoy a good sleep-in the next morning—not bad at all.

Not far away, Shen Yan watched the two get into the car, a bandage wrapped around his head and his gaze deep.

After leaving Ye Yaoyao's place that day, he had spread word of his car accident, but she hadn't come to see him.

Did she not know why he had the accident?

How could she be so heartless?

The sense of losing his place in Ye Yaoyao's heart filled him with panic.

But he didn't know what to do.

A profound helplessness overwhelmed Shen Yan.

Then he spotted the ring nearby, and the light in his eyes dimmed further.

She would rather do without the ring than pay him any attention.

Did she despise him that much?

Fine, he'd return the ring. Perhaps... it would salvage a little bit of goodwill.