Chapter 157: A Fluttering Heart

Shen Yanlie took the pants from the closet, put them on, took the shirt, and put it on... Reluctant as he was, it seemed that he really had to do this, and had no other choice...

Yan Mai watched Shen Yanlie's graceful departure, sighing involuntarily. The thousands of tangled threads in her heart were, after all, a knot that she could not escape.

When Shen Yanlie returned home and stepped inside, he was stunned to find no sign of Yan Mai. He thought she must have found some way to leave, and a sense of loss inevitably crept into his heart. However, when he looked toward the sofa, he finally realized with a start that she had fallen asleep there.

For some reason, the heavy stone pressing on Shen Yanlie's chest finally began to lift.

He walked toward her with slow, cautious steps, as if afraid to disturb her, then squatted down on the floor to observe her closely.

He no longer remembered how many years it had been since he last saw this face. He truly wished that, if possible, he could have known her right from the very beginning. Perhaps as childhood sweethearts, or perhaps meeting along life's journey—no matter how, how he wished he could have chosen to meet her, know her, and understand her during the finest years of her youth.

He also wished so much that he could have been by her side to help her through every single trough in her life. To put it in a more practical and fitting way for him, had he been able to meet her at those moments, he surely would have freed her with his own hands, led her out of that predicament, and ensured her a carefree and happy life from then on. Absolutely.

* * * * *

Night fell quietly, casting a hazy, seductive veil of dimness over the entire city. The flickering neon lights became the signature mark of the city's coming night.

When Yan Mai woke up, it was already a quarter past eight, and her stomach was rumbling. Sitting up, she discovered that at some point, a blanket had been draped over her. She quickly lifted the blanket and checked her outfit, only to find that she was dressed just as she had been before falling asleep, save for a few creases...

Yan Mai let out a silent breath of relief, while also feeling petty and ashamed for having thought of him as a lowlife...

She rubbed her eyes and turned back to see a note resting quietly on the table.

"Dinner will be delivered. After eating, take a shower; there are new clothes in the cupboard."

Though brief, she could well imagine that Shen Yanlie's expression must have been icy cold as he wrote those words. Yet, for some reason, it stirred a strange fluttering in her heart.

Yan Mai had to admit that Shen Yanlie was a meticulous man who understood how to play upon people's minds. He was a heartthrob, and of that she was thoroughly convinced.

True to Shen Yanlie's words, as Yan Mai looked around the room, the doorbell rang.

Yan Mai went downstairs, but she had no idea how to unlock Shen Yanlie's front door. After she called out an acknowledgment from inside, a voice spoke from outside: "Miss Yan, Mr. Shen asked me to tell you that the code is your birthday."

Hearing this, Yan Mai furrowed her brow. What was that supposed to mean? But her stomach was already growling fiercely. She hadn't eaten a single bite since getting off the plane. Could it be the door password?

Holding a glimmer of hope, Yan Mai entered her own birthday. Sure enough, with a beep, the door unlocked.

A man in hotel service staff uniform and a woman stood before her.

"Hello, Miss Yan, this is your dinner." The man gave a slight nod, bypassed Yan Mai, and walked into the living room.

"Enjoy your meal." After arranging the food on the dining table, the two nodded to Yan Mai in unison and turned to leave.

Seeing that whole table of dishes, Yan Mai's appetite surged instantly. However, she was even more curious as to why his door password turned out to be her birthday. Oh, what a hopeless romantic—and promiscuous with his affections, too. It used to be Xie Yunting's birthday, after all.

Thinking this, Yan Mai turned and walked toward the door. She told herself she needed to be rational; since the door was open now, she might as well just leave.

With this thought, Yan Mai gave a pull, and the front door of Shen Yanlie's apartment closed shut. She marched outside with a huff, but after a few steps, she realized she really was quite hungry—so hungry, in fact, that she was practically devoid of strength and could barely walk...

Her empty stomach ached uncomfortably...

She had barely eaten anything on the plane, and traveling always left her feeling as exhausted as if she had suffered a severe illness. That was why she had accidentally fallen asleep on Shen Yanlie's sofa.

Still, she found it curious that everything in his home remained completely unchanged. What a rare specimen... The mindset of the rich was truly hard to comprehend, but Shen Yanlie's mindset was even harder to fathom. Could it be that he was nostalgic, and thus... too proud to replace those things, perhaps letting them become antiques centuries later?

Or perhaps he simply couldn't bear to change anything related to her.

Perhaps back then, Mai Xijun had no idea that when she angrily turned and walked away, and Yuwen Si chased after her, he had stayed behind instead of following her out because there were some things he truly needed to make clear to Xie Yunting.

He had spoken with absolute rationality to Xie Yunting, telling her that he did not want Mai Xijun to misunderstand again, and therefore requesting that, whether for official business or personal matters, it was best they no longer maintained any contact.

That was precisely what he had told her back then.

Afterwards, he cleared away everything associated with Xie Yunting—the things she had used and left behind at his place—sorting them all out so nothing of hers could remain here.

What he said to Xie Yunting was truly ruthless. Xie Yunting had一度 felt her world collapsing beyond endurance, but love was love, and there was no choice.

Now Yan Mai discovered that the apartment, once filled with memories of Xie Yunting, was now completely empty. Instead, things belonging to her were increasing one by one. The room he had specially prepared for her and the child, the nursery, remained exactly as it had been from the start. He had even bought so many toys, purely so that the child would have a carefree life and future the moment it was born.

Perhaps he truly loved her.

Yan Mai couldn't help shivering slightly. Shen Yanlie, this cold-blooded creature, must surely love himself above all else.

Thinking of the painful emptiness in her stomach, Yan Mai knitted her brows tightly. When Shen Yanlie dragged her out of the hotel, she had brought nothing with her and was essentially penniless. Besides, nighttime had fallen and nightlife was beginning; she had no intention of strolling down the street and running into local thugs coming over to "greet" her. Forget it, a wise person does not fight when the odds are against them. If she was hungry, she'd go eat. Anyway, there was so much good food, and it didn't cost a penny. It would be foolish not to eat, a waste not to take advantage...

Feeling nearly drained of strength, Yan Mai dragged her faltering steps back to the front door of Shen Yanlie's apartment and pressed the switch to input the password.

Beep.

The password you entered is incorrect.

What the hell? What kind of situation was this? Not only was the door not opening, but Yan Mai also heard a most discouraging sound...

Yan Mai was in disarray... standing in the wind in utter disarray...

What on earth was this?!

Yan Mai solemnly entered her birthday again as the password, but it still prompted an error. Shen Yanlie, are you toying with me or what? You just let me enter the correct code to walk out from the inside, and now what is this trick?

Defeated, Yan Mai slid down the door panel to the floor, her whole body sapped of strength from hunger. How tragic...

* * * * *

Shen Yanlie drove back at high speed after finishing his overtime work, because someone was waiting for him at home. To be precise, however, he felt a bit of trepidation in his heart at that moment, full of uncertainties. After all, he had told her the way to unlock the door and the password; if she had truly wanted to leave, she wouldn't have waited.

Parking the car steadily, Shen Yanlie strode toward the house. From the moment he entered the neighborhood, he could already see the basic situation of his home, because the lights on both the second and first floors were on.

Yan Mai suffered from night blindness; she would never forget to turn on the lights. At this realization, a trace of hard-to-mask joy welled up in the bottom of Shen Yanlie's heart. It seemed she hadn't truly left after all...

Dangerous CEO: Woman, You're Arrested Chapter 157_Dangerous CEO: Woman, You're Arrested Full Text Free Reading_Chapter 157 Fluttering Heart updated!