HLnovel Chapter 190 She's Good
Chapter 190 She's Good
A vague guess suddenly popped into her mind, but Xie Yan felt it was impossible.
The TV was playing a palace drama that had been replayed many times. The literary dialogue and slow-paced drama made Xie Yan feel sleepy. People want to sleep after eating, and she had become lazy from staying in this room for the past few days.
Xie Yan, who is nearsighted and can't see the TV screen clearly, simply closed her eyes to rest. "I feel like Xie Yutong is acting strange. I saw her in front of my computer earlier."
"Okay, then let's continue investigating her."
"...Don't you doubt me?"
"I will always believe in you."
The air was silent for a few seconds. Xie Yan didn't reply, so Shen Yan immediately looked up at her and saw that she was leaning back on the sofa, her eyes closed and her breathing long and even, as if she were asleep.
Shen Yan's eyes darkened for a moment. He reached out and stroked her cheek, then checked her breath before withdrawing his hand with relief.
He sat contentedly with Xie Yan in his arms for a while, then gently got up and laid Xie Yan flat on the sofa before turning around to clean up the bowls that had just been knocked over.
The bowl wasn't broken, but rice was spilled all over the floor. Shen Yan cleaned up the floor, then immediately came back to look at Xie Yan, squatted down, and gently kissed her forehead.
He paused as he stood up, pursed his lips, one hand supporting himself on the sofa armrest, the other pressing hard on his knee, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, his face pale.
He stood there for a few seconds, then went to the kitchen to wash the dishes. After he finished washing the dishes, he came back and simply sat on the floor next to the sofa, staring at her without moving.
As the sun began to set, Shen Yan felt a vibration on his wrist. He looked down and turned off the alarm on his smartwatch, his face immediately darkening.
He kissed Xie Yan's ear and whispered, "Sister, I have to go now. I'll come see you again tomorrow."
Xie Yan's eyelids trembled slightly.
After saying that, he slowly got up and left, turning back every few steps.
As soon as he stepped outside, Shen Yan's expression visibly turned cold. Two people from the bureau greeted him downstairs, calling him "President Shen," but he didn't even lift his eyelids and went straight to his car.
The driver was a man who looked to be in his thirties. He wasn't a private driver; he was quite handsome and was currently observing Shen Yan's condition through the rearview mirror. "How are you feeling?"
Shen Yan's mind was still upstairs, and she absentmindedly scrolled through her phone, asking, "What's the situation?"
Zhao Mingfan's gaze swept up and down, "Didn't you say you were going to find someone? Did you have a good chat?"
The other person hummed in response, their brows relaxing slightly.
Zhao Mingfan is a psychologist who has been responsible for Shen Yan's psychological counseling for many years.
In recent years, Shen Yan's condition has fluctuated, and Zhao Mingfan has gradually increased the dosage of his medication to barely maintain his normal life. However, in recent conversations, he discovered that Shen Yan has obvious anxiety and depression, which is a very bad sign.
However, before he could ask why, Shen Yan woke up like this after taking a nap.
Zhao Mingfan would call it an emotional rebound from rock bottom.
He mentally considered the possibility of the mysterious man improving Shen Yan's condition, then stepped on the gas pedal. "Shall I just take you home?"
"No, I need to go to the company."
Zhao Mingfan disagreed, saying, "You'd be better off going home now."
"I said I'm going back to the company," Shen Yan said firmly.
Seeing this, Zhao Mingfan had no other choice but to park the car downstairs at the Future Technology Commercial Building, watch Shen Yan go inside, and then make a phone call to Zhou Panpan.
Zhou Panpan was startled when she received his call. She quickly ran to a corner to answer it and lowered her voice, "What's wrong, Dr. Zhao? Has my boss gone mad again? Is it serious?"
"..." Zhao Mingfan paused for a moment, then said, "It's not serious, just a little confused about his memory. He just went back to the company. Keep an eye on him and contact me immediately if anything happens."
The person on the other end said "Oh," and quickly accepted the matter, as if it were commonplace.
Although Zhou Panpan had indeed witnessed her boss's illness flare-up several times, she still found it quite amazing.
How can someone feel like they're eighteen or nineteen years old while also feeling that everything around them is normal?
For example, ten years ago, Shen Yan could not possibly have been the richest man in Beicheng, nor did he have such a large company, but he could still logically make sense of it and did not find it strange.
In response, Zhao Mingfan once satisfied her curiosity: "Don't try to understand the logic of a madman unless you become a madman yourself."
After hanging up the phone, Zhou Panpan dutifully went to the president's office to find Shen Yan, only to hear from the secretariat staff at the door that President Shen had just returned, picked up a document, and left.
Zhou Panpan was completely dumbfounded.
------
Zou Dehai never expected that an uninvited guest would come to his home so late at night.
The Zou family's apartment is located in a high-end residential area in the northern part of the city. The more than 200-square-meter apartment is decorated with a strong scholarly atmosphere, and all the furniture, including the coffee table and sofa, is made of dark mahogany.
The study door was ajar. Zou Yating took the opportunity to peek through the door while passing by to get water, and then happily slipped back into the bedroom.
Her childhood friend, Feng Jing, was also inside, asking with a gossipy look, "So, so, is he your Prince Charming?"
Zou Yating nodded. "He and my dad are probably talking about work. Hurry up and help me pick out an outfit!" She rummaged through her drawers, "How about this dress? Is it too over-the-top? Or maybe I should just wear jeans?"
While helping her choose an outfit, Feng Jing asked curiously who could possibly be so captivating to the usually haughty Miss Zou?
The two grew up together. Zou Yating had had a constant stream of suitors since junior high school, but she had never seen Zou Yating so flustered before.
But thinking about it, it makes sense. Anyone who can talk about work with Uncle Zou must be someone special, far beyond what those young lads in school can compare to.
Recalling the pleasant time spent with her father at his birthday banquet, Zou Yating couldn't hide her shyness. "We had eaten and taken walks together before. He was incredibly gentlemanly and gentle, with a very handsome smile and a pleasant voice."
Hearing this, Feng Jing became even more curious. "I'm going to have to see what kind of handsome guy could snatch Xiaoting away. Or, why don't you show off your skills and let him have some late-night snacks?"
That's a good idea, Zou Yating's eyes lit up.
study.
The heavy desk was piled with books in one corner, and some documents were scattered haphazardly on the mahogany table, covered with dense English letters and numbers. Shen Yan was looking down and carefully reading through each page.
Zou Dehai had his own set of skills when it came to handling serious matters, but he genuinely couldn't understand code or anything like that. After a long while, having already refilled his teacup and drunk his fill, he finally couldn't help but ask, "How's it going?"
The man across the desk deftly pulled out a few sheets of paper from the tangled mess, tapping them on the table with his fingertips. "These are the cloud computing platform access records for Huang Yuan, the director of the research institute. His service requests appear normal, but they are actually transmitting data via DNS requests, bypassing regular traffic monitoring."
Despite his advanced age and authoritative demeanor, Zou Dehai, a man long accustomed to high positions, listened with a bewildered expression. "...Um, please continue."
"He configured DNS tools on the cloud server to encapsulate data in DNS queries and distributed access across multiple cloud servers, which means he was accessing anonymous third-party networks covertly."
Zou Dehai: ...I don't understand.
Elder abuse is prohibited.
Seemingly seeing through the confusion behind Zou Dehai's dignified facade, Shen Yan paused and fell silent.
Seeing that Shen Yan was about to pack up the documents on the table and take them away, Zou Dehai reacted and stopped him, saying, "You can look at these things, but you can't take them away. They're all confidential documents."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yan frowned slightly, but said nothing, and simply lowered her head to continue flipping through the pages.
It was almost ten o'clock when he was about to leave. As soon as he opened the study door, he saw two beautiful figures moving about in the open kitchen.
Zou Yating had been swaying gracefully for half an hour when the person finally came out. She immediately carried the plates out with Feng Jing and said with a smile, "Dad, look at what I just learned..." She then looked at Shen Yan, "Good evening, Mr. Shen. I made a pudding cake. Would you like to try some?"
The living room was lit by a soft, warm yellow light. Shen Yan stood in front of the study door, his black clothes contrasting sharply with his pale skin.
His figure was like a slender bamboo, and the wooden cane beside him added to his aura. His sculpted brow bone cast a faint shadow under his eyes, and his sharp and cold eyes were like blades. His dark eyes were like bottomless whirlpools, and his nose was high and straight. His features were handsome and exquisitely proportioned, and once you saw him, you couldn't take your eyes off him.
If someone with that face were to become a celebrity and participate in a talent show, they could debut and become a top star right from the first episode.
Not to mention Zou Yating, Feng Jing was stunned by his face, her hormones surging and her heart pounding uncontrollably.
Goodness, he's so incredibly handsome, no wonder he bewitched Xiaoting so much. Who wouldn't be mesmerized by him?
However, the harmonious scene that Feng Jing had imagined did not appear.
Shen Yan glanced at the two of them casually, her tone distant, "Are you Secretary Zou's daughter?"
These words made it sound as if she didn't know Zou Yating at all, and her smile froze. "Yes, we had dinner together last time, Mr. Shen, have you forgotten?"
Seeing his daughter dressed up so elaborately and with such exquisite makeup so late at night, Zou Dehai's face darkened. "What time is it? Why are you eating cake? Go back to your room and go to sleep."
"I'm not sleepy." Zou Yating gave her father a wronged look, then looked at Shen Yan expectantly, only to find that his eyes were still cold and unfamiliar, as if he didn't remember her at all.
Not to mention a gentle, polite, and handsome smile, which was nowhere to be found.
The atmosphere became tense and awkward. Feng Jing wondered what was going on. Could it be that Xiao Ting was just having a one-sided crush on her? But she didn't dare to ask directly. She just kept looking around with her eyes.
This was the first time in her life that the proud and arrogant Miss Zou had been ignored or even looked down upon. She felt extremely wronged and kept reminding him, "Mr. Shen, have you forgotten the barbecue we had in the small garden last time? You even had your staff grill it for me."
Shen Yan's tone was indifferent. "I'm sorry."
Zou Dehai couldn't take it anymore. What father could stand to see his precious daughter so eager? He sternly shouted, "Zou Yating, I'm telling you to go back to your room and sleep! Jingjing, help me pull her back."
The atmosphere was too awkward. Feng Jing didn't dare to say a word and pulled Zou Yating, whose eyes were red, back to the bedroom, leaving the two of them facing each other in the living room.
Zou Dehai's face was a little ugly, and his slightly square face was particularly serious. He stared at the young man in front of him. It was undeniable that Shen Yan had a good appearance and a good brain. In terms of his demeanor, there were probably few young people in Beicheng who could compare with him. It was not entirely unreasonable for his good-for-nothing daughter to fall for him.
Given his status and position, there were too many ambitious men who wanted to become his son-in-law, but none of them met his standards. Xiaoting was indeed good at choosing, picking someone who was almost perfect in every way.
However, as a father, he cares more about whether the other person loves his daughter, and Shen Yan clearly does not meet that requirement.
It's not just that he doesn't love her, it's that he's arrogant and disrespectful. After all, he was the one who asked Zou Yating to receive Shen Yan back then, how could he not remember?
"Secretary Zou," Shen Yan spoke first, his tone casual as if it were a casual chat, "please tell your daughter that I have a girlfriend."
Seemingly surprised by his words, Zou Dehai was taken aback. How come he had never heard of this before?
So, was he doing it on purpose just now, so that Xiaoting would give up on her own?
After a few moments of thought, Zou Dehai's expression softened, and he looked like a kind, ordinary elder. He casually said, "That's true, it's normal for someone your age to have a girlfriend. I just haven't heard you mention her before. What kind of person is she?"
"She...is fine."
The young man's gaze drifted into the distance, his thoughts wandering away with him. The unchanging indifference in his eyes transformed into tenderness, and his voice was low and soft, as if he were speaking to himself.
"very good."