He Hanjin's desire was insatiable, the speed of the car had already reached the maximum, and the reason he endured such discomfort was evident by the thin layer of sweat that had formed on his forehead.
When the car finally came to a stop, He Hanjin turned his head to look and saw that Wen Zhi, who had taken her seat back in the passenger position, had at some point fallen asleep.
She was sleeping so soundly that it seemed nothing could wake her up.
A mix of helplessness and indulgence filled He Hanjin's eyes.
Sometimes, he really had no way to deal with this woman.
Indeed, one who aims to make a mark on the world must take on a lot; it was only normal for her to be so tired that she fell asleep.
He Hanjin did not rush back into the house but got out of the car first and lit a cigarette, calming down, and by the time he finished smoking, he had also tempered his cravings.
In order not to wake her with the smell of smoke, he stood outside for an additional ten minutes, hoping the wind would help dissipate the scent from his body.
After opening the passenger door, He Hanjin carefully picked her up and, with steady steps, walked toward the house.
Wen Zhi slept deeply through it all.
When she became conscious, it was the persistent ringing of her phone that woke her up.
Still groggy with sleepiness, Wen Zhi was in no mood to answer the call promptly; she even covered her head with the pillow, trying to muffle the annoying sound.
However, the person on the other end was quite tenacious; after ringing for several minutes, an impatient Wen Zhi clicked her tongue, got out of bed, and picked up the phone to answer it.
"My dear grandma, you've finally picked up the phone! If you hadn't, the world would have ended!" Yan Xi was wailing non-stop on the other end.
Leisurely, Wen Zhi yawned, "What's the hurry?"
"Were you with He Hanjin last night, and haven't separated from him yet?"
That remark instantly made Wen Zhi more alert, raising an eyebrow, "How do you know?"
"Not just me, the whole world is going to know! How could you not be cautious? The paparazzi got photos of you, and they're going viral online!"
Paparazzi?
To draw attention, every celebrity has their paparazzi, but hearing the urgency in Yan Xi's voice didn't cause Wen Zhi any anxiety.
"Just handle it," she replied nonchalantly.
"It's not our paparazzi!" Yan Xi answered, somewhat helplessly frustrated.
If it had been their people, there wouldn't have been a need to call Wen Zhi repeatedly in such an anxious manner.
It was because the situation was unmanageable that there was a need to contact her!
As Yan Xi's voice dropped off, He Hanjin happened to walk out of the bathroom, the mist from the bathroom escaping into the room with him.
It seemed he hadn't had time to wipe off the droplets of water on his skin, some sliding down the clearly defined six-pack abs, making them conspicuously appealing.
Wen Zhi only glanced briefly before pointing to the phone.
Moving closer, He Hanjin wrapped his arms around Wen Zhi's slender waist and asked, "Who's calling?"
"My manager. We were caught by the paparazzi last night," Wen Zhi succinctly replied.
Though her words were brief, the situation was not as simple as she made it sound.
After listening, He Hanjin fell silent.
Yan Xi, on the other end, could hear their conversation. After waiting a while without hearing any suggestions, she sighed with resignation.
Wen Zhi didn't plan to hide anything and directly switched the phone to speaker mode; Yan Xi's voice filled the bedroom.
"It's not that our people are difficult to deal with, we just need to offer a bit more money for a buyout. How about it? If that works, I can start preparing."
Wen Zhi didn't speak, just looked at He Hanjin with an amused smile.
That one glance was enough to let him know exactly what the little woman beside him was thinking.
He frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "I'll pay for the buyout."
Having received a response, Yan Xi was not inclined to waste any more time on the phone and promptly hung up.
After the call, the bedroom returned to its prior silence.
Receiving such a phone call had naturally dispelled Wen Zhi's sleepiness. Observing He Hanjin with his brows still furrowed, she wrapped her arms around his neck, half-jokingly, "President He is quite generous, huh? A buyout is going to cost a tidy sum. Is it worth spending the money there?"
"It's worth it."
That single word was enough to give Wen Zhi plenty to ponder.
Her smile deepened, "Are you afraid that your haunting-crush will see this and be heartbroken, or maybe you're worried she'll get jealous of you?"
As soon as Wen Zhi brought up Bai Yuewan again, his lips pressed tightly together, as if this person was a forbidden existence between them.
He Hanjin disliked hearing Bai Yuewan's name from her lips, but he had no way to deal with this little woman.
"You're overthinking it."
"I don't think that's necessarily the case. After all, your haunting-crush has been with you for many years. A woman doesn't have so much youth to squander. She's willing to take a gamble on you, which means you must have some charm as a beast."
Wen Zhi could sound sarcastic without saying much.
Indeed, it seemed unbelievable that someone who used to run errands could suddenly turn into a president.
But the reality was right there before them.
Facing Wen Zhi's ridicule, He Hanjin just glanced at her and remained silent.
"You don't have to say anything, I already know. Bai Yuewan is no ordinary person in your life. If you had to choose between her and me, who would you pick?"
"Discussing this matter isn't good for your future," He Hanjin deviated from the topic instead of choosing.
Sometimes, saying nothing is the best answer.
Wen Zhi wasn't foolish; how could she not understand what he meant?
Feeling a bit uncomfortable inside, Wen Zhi released her embrace, letting the blanket slip off her body and started searching for her clothes from the previous night in the bedroom while ignoring He Hanjin's burning gaze.
Such a hypocrite, still playing the big bad wolf here.
After getting dressed, He Hanjin's eyes still hadn't left her body, but Wen Zhi had lost the interest to tease him further.
She picked up her phone intending to contact Yan Xi again but before she could make the call, a message caught her eye.
Wen Zhi paused for a moment before opening the message, then the smile on her lips blossomed again, as if she'd seen something amusing.
"I need to find Yan Xi, you go ahead with your things," Wen Zhi casually made an excuse to leave.
"I'll take you," said He Hanjin.
"No need, we're in a delicate situation right now. If you really care for me, we need to keep our distance, better to act like strangers," Wen Zhi paused in her tracks, turning to stop him.
Kidding, if he followed, wouldn't that just give the game away?
He Hanjin felt there was some sense to Wen Zhi's words, so he could only watch as she left.
Wen Zhi, having left He Family, went directly to the location just sent in the message.