When A Snail Falls in Love - Chapter 69

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Once a man had locked onto a woman, he would easily become obsessed with her, even if he had only seen her once.

The feelings Shu Hang had for Yao Meng were quite complicated.

He had initially only caught a brief glimpse of her gracefulness, which left a favorable impression on him. However, after he found out about her situation and learned that she had once fallen for that man’s charms, that she had been kept captive by that man for several months, and that the man was finally shot dead in her arms… How should he put it? No one close to Shu Hang had ever experienced something as tragic as this.

He felt an inexplicable distress and concern for her.

Two months after their first encounter, Shu Hang visited Lin City once again and met Yao Meng. This time, he came as a business partner.

He had intentions to shift the focus of his business to the southwest, and now that Yao Meng was the owner of the most powerful corporation in Lin City, it was inevitable that they would meet.

On the day of their reunion, Yao Meng was looking through all sorts of statistical reports in her office on the top floor of the building. Her secretary came in to report, “President Yao, President Shu from Beijing is here.”

Yao Meng nodded; she felt a slight joy in her heart.

It had nothing to do with love. It was more toward the fact that she had received a man’s pursuit, care, and teasing during the most difficult time of her life – the thought of it moved her a little. Although she had rejected him, they were still friends.

A moment later, a tall, well-groomed man walked in leisurely while hiding his smile. Since the secretary at the door had previously received flowers from this man on Yao Meng’s behalf countless times before, a fleeting smile could be seen on her face too. Yao Meng nodded politely and gestured for him to sit. “President Shu, welcome.”

She was polite yet distant, which was very much intentional.

Shu Hang, who was there to “negotiate a major project”, looked at her for a moment then burst out laughing. He raised his brows and spoke in a mischievous tone. “What did you call me? President Shu? Why are you being so distant after not seeing each other for two months? Yao Meng, you can just call me Ah Hang.”

Yao Meng had previously thought that they were going to leave whatever had happened in the past. However, upon hearing his words, her gaze fell upon his cheerful smile and she became lost for words. Shu Hang took the business proposal out of his bag and casually passed it to her. “Come, come, let’s get down to business – we can save our private matters for later.”

Yao Meng was speechless.

Some people were born to bring happiness to others. Shu Hang was one such man.

Yao Meng had never met any CEOs or high-ranking cadres who acted like him; he lived in his own world, was incomparably talkative, and there was absolutely nothing proper about him. Whether it was a business conference or a casual lunch, he was the type who could make others double over in laughter.

Nonetheless, he was very much cutthroat and disciplined when it came to real business. Yao Meng had only just learned how to conduct business from Lin Qingyan, which came to an abrupt end just as she was starting to figure it out. On the other hand, Shu Hang’s style was completely different. He was not as ruthless as Lin Qingyan, but was even more cunning. There were times when he came up with fresh ideas which left Yao Meng dumbfounded at their complexity. Other times, she found herself completely unable to comprehend his methods.

Of course, Shu Hang was always in a great mood every time it happened. He would gaze into her slightly confused eyes and smile before sitting down next to her, after which he would launch into a detailed explanation. Finally, he would end it with the same line. “Ask me if you ever have any doubts, I’m available 24/7.”

Yao Meng really did call him once, at 3.00am. It was on the eve of a certain project and she was looking at the data on the investment report but could not make sense of it. Since she felt bad about asking her subordinates, she called him instead. The two of them talked until 5 am, then Yao Meng thanked him sincerely. Just as she was about to hang up, Shu Hang stopped her. “Eh, eh, eh, don’t hang up, I’m already at your office building, come down and have breakfast with me.”

He had been driving the whole time he was giving her pointers. Once again, Yao Meng witnessed the gap in their abilities.

Similarly, Yao Meng’s efforts did not go unnoticed by Shu Hang either.

Shu Hang and Ji Bai were the same kind of person, they were both devious and very, very observant. In truth, after interacting with Yao Meng a few times, Shu Huang already knew that this lady was not ready to slug it out in the corporate world. The properties that Lin Qingyan had entrusted to her had probably developed adequately under her care, and with a little more effort, she could, at best, hope to maintain the current situation. However, the best option for both herself and the company was for her to actually sell off her shares.

That being said, he could not actually tell her this. How could he hit her with such harsh news after seeing all the hard work she had put in? Not mention, it was not necessary for her to get involved in all the company’s projects, but she would work overtime every day in order to properly understand the business.

He decided that her natural skill did not matter. As long as he helped her, he could groom her into a future entrepreneurial superstar.

Even if he did not like her, whenever he considered her past, he would feel a rising desire to help this unfortunate soul.

Of course, he still very much liked her, so there was nothing to think about.

Before he knew it, half a year had flown by.

The partnership between the two companies became closer, while Shu Hang’s subtle as well as obvious hints became more apparent.

At one point, he was facing the core representatives of their respective companies, and after signing the partnership agreement, he turned to everyone with a serious face. “I have a few more confidential conditions to negotiate with President Yao.” Everyone else exited the room quickly, leaving Yao Meng, who was still fully immersed in her work, alone with Shu Huang. “What other confidential conditions do you have? Please tell me.”

Shu Hang laughed. “Oh, I haven’t thought about that yet. What I’m more concerned about is where we’re going for dinner tonight to celebrate the signing of the contract.”

She had already become accustomed to his presence by now, so she agreed. Once the two of them went for dinner, Yao Meng drank a little too much, and when Shu Hang said something which was really funny, she began laughing uncontrollably. As she did this, she instinctively reached out to punch him in the shoulder. However, his reflexes were as fast as lighting, and in the blink of an eye, he had grabbed her hand and was now looking intensely into her eyes.

Yao Meng, on the other hand, immediately pulled her hand back.

Should she accept him?

It was not the first time Yao Meng had thought about it.

Though he no longer talked about pursuing her, their relationship was quite ambiguous. Not to mention, she had also started relying on him, like a drowning person clutching onto a passing log; in truth, she herself was unsure about what her feelings toward him were.

When she thought about love, it made her kind of numb.

The issue was once again brought to light during the annual meeting at Yao Meng’s company’s headquarters. Their partnership had just come to an end, and Shu Hang was set to return to Beijing the next day.

It was a winter night whereby snow was falling everywhere, making the atmosphere calm but also cheerful. Most of the people present had been enjoying some wine, and there were also many others who went up to the main table to give a toast to Yao Meng and Shu Hang.

The minister for the Department of International Trade was a female professor who had studied abroad. She was quite a stunning lady and acted in a swift, decisive manner. Those with perceptive eyes could tell that she had feelings for Shu Hang, but while Shu Hang treated her kindly, he always kept her an arm’s length away.

With a glass of wine in her hand, the female professor toasted to Shu Hang. “President Shu, you’ve been in Lin City for almost a year, why are you still single?”

Everyone laughed, including Yao Meng. They all expected Shu Hang to just brush off the comment with a joke like how he usually did. Unexpectedly, Shu Hang smiled and then replied leisurely, “Haven’t I been going after President Yao all this while? I just didn’t succeed.”

Everyone was startled.

Even though there were rumors of a blossoming romance between the two presidents, their intimacy seemed to be non-existent, and no interesting developments were seen. Hence, as time passed, everyone assumed that nothing was going on. Who would have expected Shu Hang, the wise and powerful chairman, to reveal the truth in front of everyone?

At that moment, everyone laughed out loud, but they had no idea what to say afterward. The female professor who was pursuing Shu Hang put her glass down with a defeated look, then left after muttering a few words.

Yao Meng was embarrassed, immeasurably embarrassed. When she first heard him say this, her heart actually sank. By the looks of it, she could not continue interacting with him whilst simultaneously pretending that nothing was going on between them anymore.

Yao Meng excused herself to go to the restroom, but even as she stood up to leave, her face was already flushed red.

Upon seeing this, Shu Hang placed his glass down and quietly followed her out. He did not feel awkward at all, for this was how Beijing rogues went after girls.

The two of them walked out onto the balcony one after another. Shu Hang shut the door tightly behind him, then consoled her as if he understood what she was going through. “Don’t think about what they are saying, it’s alright.”

Yao Meng turned to look at him quietly. “I’m sorry, Shu Hang, I can’t do this right now.”

I’m sorry, Shu Hang.

After half a year, this was all she could say to him.

The next day, as Shu Hang sat on the plane back to Beijing, his heart felt like it had been compressed into a tiny ball. He thought that he had it in the bag, he thought that her smiles and giggles showed that she too felt the same way toward him. He had never expected her to straight up reject him.

She was only dependent on him, there was no love involved.

As he thought about this, he grieved quietly.

After this, Shu Hang did not come back to Lin City for a long time.

Perhaps all men had their limits that, once exceeded, would finally cause them to react differently. At least, that was what Yao Meng thought. These days, Yao Meng often thought about him; she thought about the unbothered smile on his face, about his handsome face when he painstakingly explained the head-splitting finance problems to her, about his simple, down-to-earth mindset.

Nevertheless, she was not ready for a new beginning. She had no idea when she would ever be ready.

Many things had happened over the past year. Another serial killer’s rampage terrorized Lin City again, and without knowing why, the first person that came to Yao Meng’s mind was Feng Ye. It was probably because of a once bitten, twice shy situation, whereby even the tiniest relation made her tremble with fear. When she explained her gut feeling to Xu Xu, even Xu Xu was shocked.

Afterward, they probed and did their best to lure the snake out of the hole. Yao Meng did not know where she had gained the courage to act like this, but she dated Feng Ye for a while and shivered as she endured his kiss, before finally stealing one of his dolls.

Maybe it was for the sake of the late Lin Qingyan.

On the night that the police were due to arrest Feng Ye, Yao Meng sat in the bedroom of her villa surrounded by tens of bodyguards outside in addition to the police officers who were assigned to keep watch around the compound. In spite of this, when she looked out at the quiet night sky, she was frightened. She knew very well that Feng Ye would not be able to break through the layers of security to take revenge, but she feared the thought of Feng Ye suddenly appearing outside her window.

Time seemed to slow down as the fear inside her heart only grew. As she was in a daze and all tensed up, her phone suddenly rang. She looked at it and saw that it was Feng Ye calling, causing her to throw her phone straight into the toilet out of shock.

The phone continued to ring for quite some time before it finally died. After this, she breathed a long sigh of relief and huddled against the corner of her bed.

Minutes later, her house phone rang. Yao Meng screamed out loud, then glared at the phone on her couch, feeling both terrified and enraged. As the phone continued ringing, the fire in her heart kept burning – she was scared, but she was also extremely frustrated. In the blink of an eye, she hopped off her bed and stormed over to pick up the phone. “Barbaric animal! I have nothing to say to you!”

The person on the other end of the phone fell silent for a moment before replying, “Barbaric animal? What did I do?”

It was Shu Hang.

Yao Meng immediately calmed down. “Oh, it’s you. I thought that it was…”

“Who did you think it was?”

“Nothing.”

Shu Hang went quiet for a while again, then asked, “What are you up to? I called your handphone, but it was turned off, I was afraid that something might have happened to you. I heard that there’s another psychopathic killer in Lin City.”

“I’m fine, I’m at home, my handphone just fell into the toilet.” Yao Meng paused for a while and asked, “You… How have you been?”

That night, the two of them unknowingly talked until 2 am. This went on until the police officer outside her door came knocking before giving Yao Meng an excited thumbs-up. Yao Meng instantly felt like a huge load was lifted off her back.

This meant that Feng Ye had been arrested.

This was the longest phone call the two of them ever had, but Shu Hang had no idea that it was entirely due to his rival, the psychopathic killer.

It was only much later that Shu Hang learned that the psychopathic killer was a man called Feng Ye, that he had gone through a whole epic to evade capture, that Yao Meng was involved in the affair, and that she had even cooperated with the police to capture him. He scowled when he found out about all of this. This lady was not afraid of death.

He immediately bought a ticket to Lin City.

This night during Xu Juan’s company ball, the two of them finally settled their relationship status. During the time that Yao Meng had sprained her ankle, Shu Hang took advantage of the situation to apply medicine on her in the hotel’s infirmary. He massaged her foot, hugged her, and at last kissed the weeping Yao Meng.

Throughout all this, Yao Meng did not say a word.

She did not know if it was love, but she currently did not want to be without Shu Hang by her side.

After the medicine was applied, Shu Hang suggested that he drive her home, so they left their assistants and secretaries behind. However, as he drove her, he did not head to her home but instead went to the riverside.

Yao Meng looked at him suspiciously. “What are you doing?”

Shu Hang kissed her reddened face. “I finally achieved my goal after a hundred-thousand-mile expedition, allow me to be a little romantic to express my sincerity.”

In truth, there was not much romance. All they had as they parked by the river bank was the night sky, the stars, the grass, and each other. He held her as they sat on the grass and looked out at the warm glow of the houses near the river as well as the gentle flow of water.

This was the first time in several years that Yao Meng had experienced such tranquility, such that she was able to watch the night sky in peace. There was no strange dream, no dripping sweat, and no fancy dates. Here, there was just another man who laughed as he sat by her side, massaging her swollen foot, and pointing out the constellations in the sky to her.

Just like an ordinary couple, enjoying an ordinary love and living an ordinary life.

As the sky turned bright, Yao Meng realized that the two of them had fallen asleep on the grass by the river. He was sprawled on the ground while she slept in his arms, his suit placed carefully over her body.

Yao Meng snuggled deeper into his arms.

“Thank you, Shu Hang.”

Two years later, the two of them started to talk about marriage.

Yao Meng’s parents were blue collar workers, so they initially felt uneasy about their high-status potential son-in-law. Nevertheless, as time passed, they took note of his steady and reliable character, thus they were quite pleased by their daughter’s catch.

Yao Meng, on the other hand, had never seen Shu Hang’s parents.

As the spring festival approached, Shu Hang took the initiative to book plane tickets for the two of them and even prepared suitable presents for his parents on Yao Meng’s behalf.

Despite this, Yao Meng was quite worried. “Will your parents…”

Before she could finish, Shu Hang answered clearly, “They won’t. I still have the final say at home. Don’t worry, my mother is quite blur, so she doesn’t even know about your past – not everybody has an overbearing mother like Ji Bai. As for my father, he’s just a simple old man, so why would he care about these things? The Shu Family name is much more bark than bite and their name is now carried solely by my efforts in the corporate field. Don’t worry, sweetheart, everything will go fine.”