Chapter 16 Who Deceived Whom

ce childhood and blushed at Shao Meizhu's words. "I won't allow you to speak of Brother Li Yi like this.""Hmph." Shao Meizhu snorted coldly. "Don't be afraid; I'm not here to harm you. I want to help...Chapter Sixteen Who Deceived Whom

Yan Luoxi looked at the indifferent Zhou Guangtao through her tears, and suddenly a reckless impulse surged in her heart. She held back her tears and said, "Because I love you, I am afraid that you might doubt or misinterpret things, so I tell white lies to protect you. Have you never lied to me Are you really as upright and guilt-free as you seem"

"Yan Luoxi, don't twist words!" Zhou Guangtao seemed taken aback by Yan Luoxi's bold questioning of him. He suddenly recalled Fang Jianghai’s vicious insults, feeling a mix of shame and anger which made him grab an object from the table and hurl it violently against the wall.

Yan Luoxi instinctively shrank back in fear; when she looked down, she saw that it was the crystal rose pen holder she had bought for Zhou Guangtao. She remembered saying at the time that although roses wilt easily, their own would be made of crystal and remain eternally clear and beautiful.

But she forgot that crystals are fragile; now, those red crystal petals lay shattered on the floor in pieces.

This seemed to be the first argument between them since they met. Yan Luoxi stared at the wreckage of the rose, more tears falling freely down her face.

She bit her lip hard and suppressed her sobs, speaking clearly: "Brother Guangtao, I may have handled some things badly and caused you embarrassment, but last night, I didn't lie to you. But are you sure you've never lied to me You know better than anyone!"

"Yan Luoxi, what is the meaning of this" Zhou Guangtao was very annoyed by others speaking to him in such an aggressive manner, especially Yan Luoxi.

Before, he had been with He Yufan once. He felt deeply ashamed towards Yan Luoxi, but that happened when he was drunk and not thinking clearly.

Last night, after what happened between him and He Yufan, he still thought of the woman in front of him and stood firm for her; yet today she doubted him like this. Zhou Guangtao felt both humiliated and angry.

Without any evidence, Yan Luoxi was frightened by Zhou Guangtao's sudden anger. Her cowardly nature emerged at an inopportune moment again. What could she say Just because Zhou Guangtao didn't come back all night and due to the ambiguous gazes between him and He Yufan, she couldn’t just accuse them of infidelity!

She couldn't do this as it would disgrace both Zhou Guangtao and He Yufan while also belittling herself.

Yan Luoxi gave Zhou Guangtao a bitter smile before turning around to leave.

Hearing Yan Luoxi's footsteps fade away at the door, Zhou Guangtao slumped back into his chair. He stared blankly at the mess on the floor and tiredly rubbed his stiff cheeks, wincing when he touched the spot where Fang Jianghai’s bodyguard had hit him last night.

After Fang Jianghai left with two bodyguards last night, Zhou Guangtao spent a long time in the bathroom. He washed all the wet clothes that he and He Yufan wore, wrung them out, and hung them up to dry.

Zhou Guangtao had always lived an honest life. Except for that one night with He Yufan, no other incident in his lifetime had made him feel such humiliation.

He felt as if his heart was twisted and ached from anger, steam rising up his nostrils.

When Zhou Guangtao came out of the bathroom, He Yufan had already turned off the lights and lain down. Relieved, he lay down on the sofa outside.

The next morning, when Zhou Guangtao woke up, He Yufan was already awake, having finished washing up and dressed herself, sitting quietly by the bed looking out of the window.

He Yufan's long curly hair hung down her back. Her posture was very upright as she focused intently on what she was seeing outside, like a diligent child.

Zhou Guangtao knew that after last night's incident, He Yufan must have been greatly affected; he wanted to comfort her, but the awkwardness hadn't faded yet. So he silently went into the bathroom to wash up and get dressed before taking He Yufan away.

On the way back, He Yufan had a very calm expression, just not much to say. After getting off Zhou Guangtao's friend’s yacht, she acted as if nothing happened and smiled at him: "Brother Guangtao, I don't want to go to work today; I'd like to rest at home."

"Sure." Knowing that He Yufan was troubled, Zhou Guangtao readily gave her the day off.

Due to time constraints, Zhou Guangtao didn’t see He Yufan off. Instead, he drove himself to work, while she took a taxi home to rest.

Zhou Guangtao had a tough day; he felt guilty towards Yan Luoxi and He Yufan, feeling extremely disappointed in himself and hating himself intensely.

Fang Jianghai didn't show up that day, nor did Zhou Guangtao seek him out. Impulsiveness was like the devil— he wanted to wait until his emotions were completely calm before dealing with this matter.

If life is a train journey, his previous life had been running smoothly on its tracks, but now everything seemed chaotic.

With his thoughts in turmoil, Zhou Guangtao couldn't focus on work. He randomly clicked around the web until he saw someone familiar appear on screen, which stopped him from this aimless fidgeting behavior.

In the evening, a client invited Zhou Guangtao to dinner. During the meal, the host was very enthusiastic and served both beer and wine, along with two PR department beauties who kept making toasts to Zhou Guangtao.

Today, Zhou Guangtao only brought Gao Tianze along; without He Yufan by his side, he still performed well, emptying every glass offered to him by any toasting guests.

Before coming to the gathering, he called Yan Luoxi but found that her phone was turned off. He knew she might be innocent, yet the photos and comments spread by the media about her being with Ran Xu truly bothered him.

As they got more drunk, Zhou Guangtao thought of He Yufan; vaguely, he knew that He Yufan wouldn’t be working for his company anymore.

"Since we parted, all good times and beautiful scenes will be meaningless. Even if I have a thousand feelings to express, to whom should I say them..." Zhou Guangtao picked up a full glass of beer, forced himself to smile bitterly, and drank it in one go.

At this moment, the phone beside him suddenly rang; when he looked at it, he saw that it was He Yufan calling.

Might this be what they call a spiritual connection

Zhou Guangtao walked outside with his phone and heard He Yufan's voice sound somewhat disoriented, "Brother Guangtao, for last night’s incident, thank you and I’m sorry to you."

"Why say it like this You did all of this for the company; what I should have said is..."

"No, I didn’t do any of that for the company. I did it for you. I love you!" He Yufan’s voice through the phone resonated in Zhou Guangtao's ears like a sharp blade scraping against glass, stimulating his nerves and senses.

"Brother Guangtao, I’ve loved you for a long time now. Originally, I didn’t intend to tell you, but if I don’t tell you now, it might be too late..."

Suddenly, an eerie feeling rose from the back of Zhou Guangtao’s neck; his heart started pounding rapidly as he shouted, "Yufan, what are you doing Don’t do anything foolish!"g could stir his emotions anymore.Li Yi took the silent Li An to the airport; despite the bustling streets with traffic and pedestrians, Li An felt an emptiness as if the surroundings were vast like a...