ATMAWTPM Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Do You Want to Marry Me?

After finishing with the security guard, Shen Jun turned and left.

The long-faced security guard’s face was pale, “President Shen, let me explain!”

He tried to chase after him but was stopped by the assistant.

Ye Tingtong, confirming that the assistant wasn’t stopping him, immediately followed behind Shen Jun, holding an umbrella, wanting to enter the banquet hall together. However, Shen Jun’s strides were too long, and he had to jog to barely keep up.

Because of his haste, coupled with the fact that his cold hadn’t completely healed, Ye Tingtong couldn’t help but cough heavily.

After coughing, Ye Tingtong straightened his umbrella, and found that he was actually able to keep pace with Shen Jun.

They walked side by side, and Ye Tingtong hesitated about whether to strike up a conversation.

Earlier, in order to condemn the long-faced security guard to death, he had lied about the ten-minute journey being an hour. At that time, it felt great, but thinking about it afterward, Shen Jun had also been at that villa that day, so he should be clear about the distance.

Moreover, he didn’t know if it was his imagination, but when he righteously declared that he had walked for an hour, Shen Jun had chuckled.

But when dealing with the long-faced security guard, Shen Jun’s face had the same cold expression as usual.

Had he misheard?

Ye Tingtong was lost in thought the whole way and didn’t even notice they had reached the main hall. By the time he heard the noise of the crowd and regained his senses, Shen Jun was no longer beside him.

Yu Huanhuan, hearing this, gave him a forehead flick, “You’re really stupid! You let such a good opportunity slip away.”

Ye Tingtong covered his forehead, looking aggrieved, “He walked too fast.”

Long legs were really something.

After speaking, he thought of something and moved closer to Yu Huanhuan, mysteriously saying, “Shen Jun took my side so decisively, he might really be interested in me.”

“Don’t be narcissistic when you shouldn’t be,” Yu Huanhuan said speechlessly, “It was the security guard’s negligence that let the guest get wet, Shen Jun’s response was completely correct.”

“But you, not only were you bullied by the driver, now even a security guard can ride on your head?”

Yu Huanhuan couldn’t help but pinch his face, “Next time something like this happens, as long as I’m there, you call me directly, understand?”

Ye Tingtong, with his face being pinched, couldn’t speak clearly, “Got it.”

As the two were fooling around, Yu Huanhuan suddenly pulled him behind her, took a step forward, and put on a distant and polite smile, “Isn’t this Director Hu? Why aren’t you in the main hall, instead squeezing into this little corner with us?”

Hu Cheng said gently, “I saw Miss Yu chatting very happily with Tingtong, and wanted to join the fun.”

He tilted his head to look at the person hiding behind Yu Huanhuan, and smiled, “It’s been a while, Tingtong has gotten thinner.”

This form of address made Ye Tingtong’s heart feel uneasy, he glared at Hu Cheng, “I’m not familiar with you, don’t call me that, it sounds disgusting.”

He shivered from disgust after speaking.

If these words were said to an average person, they would probably be furious by now, but Hu Cheng only restrained his smile, saying quietly, “Brother Ye is right, your personality really needs to be disciplined.”

The word “discipline” made Ye Tingtong extremely uncomfortable, it reminded him of the little boy he saw next to Hu Cheng at Xin Yue Guan that day.

That little boy also had delicate features, dressed elaborately, with a silk scarf around his neck, tied in a beautiful bow.

However, in the elevator, he had stood behind the little boy and inadvertently saw a heavy purple-red bruise beneath the boy’s scarf, forming a perfect circle.

This must be what Hu Cheng meant by “discipline”.

Yu Huanhuan also spoke in a cold tone, “Director Hu, we’re not in the mood for small talk with you now, please leave, or don’t blame me for calling security directly.”

She and Ye Tingtong didn’t need so-called face, and weren’t afraid of making a scene.

Hu Cheng didn’t linger, and before leaving, he held out his glass of wine to Ye Tingtong, “Little cat, looking forward to seeing you next time.”

The three’s conversation wasn’t concealed much, and many people around them cast ambiguous glances at them, clearly seeing it as a show.

Yu Huanhuan, with a cold face, led Ye Tingtong out of the hall.

The rain outside had stopped, the air was misty, and the originally beautiful garden scenery was blurred, as if separated by a layer of gauze.

The two were silent for a while, then Yu Huanhuan spoke first, “What are you going to do?”

Hu Cheng dared to appear so openly and say such suggestive things, which meant that the other party knew—

Ye Tingtong hadn’t actually hooked up with Shen Jun.

After all, the deterrence had already reached its limit after all these days.

Ye Tingtong was still holding the black umbrella Shen Jun had given him, and he squeezed the umbrella handle, saying, “I’ll leave before the end of the engagement banquet and find a place to hide.”

Although it wasn’t a long-term solution, he could only hide for a while for now.

Yu Huanhuan paced back and forth, “Hu Cheng’s attitude isn’t right, he won’t let you get away easily.”

Hu Cheng was so brazen in coming to demonstrate, he must be very confident.

They both knew this, and the atmosphere suddenly became heavy.

At this moment, Ye Tingtong’s phone suddenly beeped, someone had sent him a text message.

[Ye Guodong is lurking near the Shen family’s old house, and there are also people around Yu Huanhuan’s house, be careful.]

It was an unknown number, but Ye Tingtong quickly guessed the other party’s identity, “It’s Driver Li.”

When Shen Minghuai was still protecting him, in order to know more about the Ye family’s movements, he had tried to befriend Driver Li. Because of this, Yu Huanhuan often rebuked him for doing useless things.

Although it was working now, it became the last straw that broke their backs.

Ye Tingtong slowly put his phone into his pocket, and suddenly started talking about unrelated things, “Sister Huanhuan, there are still five or six gifts that Shen Minghuai gave me in my dorm closet, I haven’t even taken off the tags, if you need them, remember to take them, don’t let the dorm manager take them away.”

This was the only thing he had that was of some use.

“Who wants your random junk—” Yu Huanhuan hadn’t finished speaking, thought of something, and trembled with anger, “Ye Tingtong, is that all the backbone you have!”

“It’s not that bad.” She took a deep breath, “There’s still Shen Jun.”

Ye Tingtong said softly, “But he doesn’t like me.”

Shen Jun was cold and restrained, helping him was clearly just a whim.

“I know.” Yu Huanhuan calmed down, “What I mean is, let you seduce Shen Jun.”

Hu Cheng was a dirty player, and he definitely couldn’t be touched. Ye Tingtong had his own bottom line, and he didn’t want to be with Shen Minghuai, so the only one left was Shen Jun.

“Even if you just become Shen Jun’s lover, it would be enough to deal with the Ye family.”

Ye Tingtong stared blankly at Yu Huanhuan, clearly not having reacted yet.

“Shen Jun doesn’t have a partner, and it looks like he won’t have one in the near future, it’s not breaking your bottom line,” Yu Huanhuan said, “You should also come out of the ivory tower that Shen Minghuai built for you.”

Sometimes even she was jealous of Ye Tingtong’s treatment. Although his background was worse than hers, he could live leisurely and happily, while she could only struggle in the arena of fame and fortune, constantly walking on thin ice.

What Yu Huanhuan said was ruthless and objective, and Ye Tingtong had no room for rebuttal.

She took out a small candy-like thing from her pocket and handed it to Ye Tingtong, “Shen Jun is not wary of you, just put it in his wine and let him drink it.”

Ye Tingtong looked at the drug in front of him, the black umbrella in his hand suddenly became sharp, hurting his palm, “What if, he’s still not interested in me?”

“Then take a lot of pictures while he’s drunk,” Yu Huanhuan said, “These people care most about their reputation.”

This was a last resort. If things really got to that point, it was possible that the first person to ruin Ye Tingtong wouldn’t be the Ye family, but Shen Jun.

However, they had no other way to go.

*

In the deepest courtyard of the Shen family’s old house, Shen Jun stood beside a woman with a dignified aura.

Even though she was very well maintained, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes betrayed her age. This person was Qin Qiong, the old matriarch of the Shen family, and also Shen Jun’s mother.

Qin Qiong stood by the window, looking at the hazy lights in the fog, and said, “Do you know why I called you over?”

Shen Jun, “You can tell me.”

“I know you’ve grown up, and there are some things I can’t control.” Qin Qiong’s tone was flat, “But the marriage with the Liang family should not fall into the hands of the fourth branch.”

Qin Qiong looked at the tall figure beside her, “This matter was still promoted by you, what? You don’t have your eyes on what the Liang family has?”

Shen Jun lowered his head, his tone unchanging, “You and Miss Liang’s mother are close friends, you should know that Miss Liang likes Shen Minghuai.”

“So what.” Qin Qiong didn’t care, “If you’re willing to put in some effort, Liang Yuting would have changed her mind long ago.”

Even though she didn’t like Shen Jun, she was clear that Shen Jun had the means to do it.

Shen Jun was silent for a while, “I thought you would be happy that Shen Minghuai is marrying into the Liang family.”

Since she had given birth to him, Qin Qiong’s health had been bad, and she had been quietly recovering in the old house. The person who came the most often wasn’t him, her youngest son, but Shen Minghuai.

There was a rumor that the 10% company shares in Qin Qiong’s hands were reserved for her most beloved grandson.

“Why do you still have such naive thoughts? Forget it, saying this is useless.” Qin Qiong’s tone carried a trace of impatience, “Wang Mei should have greeted you already? You should get along with her well, and don’t leave tonight, stay at the old house overnight.”

Qin Qiong had her own circle, and the Wang family, like the Liang family, had close relationships with her.

After leaving the back house, Yu Mo, after hearing what Shen Jun said, was shocked, “Holy crap, your mom just sold you out like that?”

The meaning was too obvious. She wouldn’t let Shen Jun come to the old house before, but now she’s generously letting him sleep here, as if afraid of not having something to hold over him.

“Tell me, she’s not young anymore, why is she still doing this, could it be she wants to be the behind-the-scenes power of Shen Group?” Yu Mo clicked his tongue, “She really has a big appetite.”

No one believed that Qin Qiong was doing this for Shen Jun’s sake. After all, this mother had hated Shen Jun to the extreme since he was born, feeling that it was Shen Jun who had ruined her health. Shen Jun could walk, but Qin Qiong hadn’t held him once.

If Shen Jun hadn’t been so successful, he would have been forgotten a long time ago.

Now, she probably wanted to control Shen Jun’s marriage partner in order to fight for the Shen family’s shares.

The more Yu Mo thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt, he thought this Shen residence was gloomy and sinister, “You should be careful tonight, do you want me to stay with you?”

Qin Qiong’s methods were extreme when she was young, and despite taking many precautions, an enemy within the house is hard to defend. They didn’t know what kind of scheme she would pull.

Shen Jun walked normally, “No need, I know what I’m doing.”

“It’s really the emperor’s eunuch who is anxious.” Yu Mo said helplessly, “Rather than this, you might as well find someone you can control to marry.”

That way, you can also prevent so many people from coveting the position beside Shen Jun, it’s annoying to look at every day.

As soon as he said that, Shen Jun suddenly glanced at Yu Mo.

Yu Mo was so startled by the look that he took three steps back, warning, “Bro, don’t, our friendship is not to be defiled.”

Shen Jun’s temples throbbed, “Get lost.”

On the other side, Ye Tingtong had been staying in the main hall, watching Shen Jun socializing and clinking glasses, he had absolutely no room to get involved.

On the contrary, Yu Mo came over and cheerfully clinked glasses with him.

Maybe Shen Jun had drunk too much that night, not long after, he staggered out of the hall, Ye Tingtong’s eyes lit up, and he immediately followed.

It started to rain again outside, and he happened to have an umbrella in his hand. When he was going out, a girl seemed to have an emergency and wanted the umbrella in his hand. Ye Tingtong didn’t give it to her. After searching for a while with his umbrella, he finally found Shen Jun in the garage.

Luckily, he had staked out earlier and knew that Shen Jun’s car was here.

Shen Jun leaned casually against the car, his assistant standing next to him, whom he had seen before.

When he walked over, the two of them looked at him at the same time. Shen Jun’s expression was calm, while the assistant looked surprised.

As if, the person who came wasn’t supposed to be him.

Ye Tingtong slowly walked over, using the excuse he had come up with earlier, “That, I came to return the umbrella.”

However, he didn’t return the umbrella, and looked at Shen Jun, stammering, “Did you drink too much? Do you need help?”

Ye Tingtong didn’t know if his intentions had been seen through, he only knew that Shen Jun’s gaze lingered on him for a while, then he dismissed the assistant.

Ye Tingtong temporarily acted as Shen Jun’s driver, taking him back home, to the house he had lived in.

When they reached their destination, Shen Jun seemed to be really drunk, and he needed Ye Tingtong’s support to walk. Maybe he had too much difficulty walking, before entering the elevator, the security guard at the door asked helpfully if they needed help.

Ye Tingtong, with a guilty conscience, refused and gritted his teeth to drag the man all the way to the sofa.

After catching his breath, Ye Tingtong poured a glass of water, then, with his back to Shen Jun, he put the medicine Yu Huanhuan had given him into the water.

The pill quickly dissolved and disappeared, the water returning to its clear state.

Shen Jun leaned on the sofa, his eyes closed, it was unclear if he was unconscious or simply resting.

Ye Tingtong, holding the glass of water, leaned closer, “Are you okay?”

No response.

Ye Tingtong tried to be bolder, “Shen Jun?”

He wouldn’t have drunk himself to death, right?

Just as he finished speaking, the other person slowly opened his eyes.

Maybe it was the alcohol, Shen Jun’s eyes were especially dark, Ye Tingtong made eye contact, and it was like crashing into a deep, bottomless cold pool, which startled him so much that his hand shook.

Afraid that the pill would not dissolve easily, Ye Tingtong had poured the water to the brim, this tremor made him spill almost half of it.

A faint, sweet smell vaguely appeared in the air.

Ye Tingtong’s cold hadn’t healed, so he didn’t smell it, but he did see Shen Jun glance at the glass of water.

The two suddenly fell into an awkward silence, Ye Tingtong’s fingers picked at the wet glass, “Shen Jun, I have something to tell you.”

Shen Jun hummed in agreement.

Ye Tingtong’s mind was filled with a barrage of lines that he had practiced before.

[Do you want to sleep with me?]

[Take care of me, I’ll be your lover.]

[You won’t lose out, I’m great in bed.]

……

With the catalyst of alcohol, as long as he was a little more proactive, it was bound to be a success.

Ye Tingtong gritted his teeth, “Do you want to—”

Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly caught sight of the black umbrella he had left by the door.

The umbrella was very large, and when it was over his head, he couldn’t even see Shen Jun’s face clearly.

And even when drunk, Shen Jun was still very patient in listening to him, and didn’t even scold him for spilling the water.

Ye Tingtong suddenly felt deflated, he put the water glass on the table next to him, and said in a muffled voice, “This water is cold, I’ll get you a new cup in a bit.”

“Do you want honey water?”

After speaking, Ye Tingtong was angry and frustrated with himself for giving up the golden opportunity, “Forget it, I don’t want to serve you, do whatever you want.”

He had to take advantage of the fact that the Ye family hadn’t reacted yet and slip away and hide.

“I don’t know if it’s easy to get a taxi here…” Just as Ye Tingtong stood up, his hand was grabbed.

He looked confused, “What?”

Shen Jun said, “Ye Tingtong.”

Ye Tingtong was stunned, this was the first time Shen Jun had called him by his name.

Shen Jun looked up and made eye contact, “Do you want to marry me?”