Chapter 16: Lying

So many.

After deleting him as a friend, Cen Yingshuang immediately locked her screen and collapsed onto the floor, gasping heavily. She had never known her tears could flow like this.

Only now did it hit her—He Yuzhou had probably investigated her thoroughly long ago.

He knew her birthday, her phone number, her home address.

Even everything that happened tonight was a trap he had set up, waiting for her to fall into.

Just thinking about it sent chills down her spine, a coldness spreading through her entire body.

She never expected such an absurd thing to happen tonight. Her lips still burned, swollen and sore. The sensation of his kiss was still vividly imprinted in her memory.

Her first kiss was gone just like that, so suddenly and messily.

She was angry—furious.

He Yuzhou was a big liar, a hypocritical and frivolous scoundrel!

Cen Yingshuang covered her lips, wiping hard until her skin nearly peeled.

Even the root of her tongue ached from his sucking.

She hadn’t recovered yet; this lingering discomfort was like being trapped in hell, an unbearable torment.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened.

Cen Yingshuang closed her eyes, leaned against the wall, and sat dazed for a minute before slowly pushing herself up.

Of course, she knew how disheveled she looked—clothes messy, makeup ruined by tears.

Her parents were surely home now.

If she went back like this, they’d definitely suspect something, and she didn’t want to worry them.

This matter absolutely could not be known to them.

She stepped out of the elevator and reached into her handbag to pull out some powder and lipstick to touch up her makeup, but her hand grasped nothing.

She realized her handbag was gone.

Could it have been left in He Yuzhou’s car?

Just as she was thinking this, her phone vibrated.

She glanced at it instinctively, and her head buzzed again as she stared in disbelief at the notification bar.

It was a message from He Yuzhou.

A picture.

What was going on?

Hadn’t she deleted him?

After hesitating for a few seconds, she finally tapped to open it.

The screen still showed the “delete friend” interface.

She understood now—it must have failed in the elevator due to poor signal.

Returning to the chat window, she saw the picture he sent.

Her handbag lay on the expensive leather seat of his car.

Cen Yingshuang immediately closed her eyes, despair and distress rising anew.

She didn’t want to see He Yuzhou again, afraid he might do something else to her.

But without her handbag, she couldn’t touch up her makeup.

In this state, she couldn’t enter the house carelessly—Zhou Yabin would definitely notice something was wrong.

How could she explain this?

Cen Yingshuang slipped into the stairwell, resting her forehead against the wall as tears streamed down again, feeling utterly helpless.

She didn’t know what else to do except cry.

The silent stairwell echoed only with her uneven sobs.

Suddenly, her phone vibrated nonstop, startling her so much she shivered all over.

She hurriedly picked it up.

It was another call from Zhou Yabin.

She hadn’t answered before, but now she had to, or Zhou Yabin would become suspicious.

“Hello, Mom…”

“My dear, why haven’t you answered Mom’s calls?”

Zhou Yabin’s worried voice came through as expected.

“Mom thought something happened to you and was about to come looking for you.”

“My phone somehow got set to silent. Sorry, Mom, I didn’t notice.”

Cen Yingshuang sniffled, trying hard to suppress her nasal tone caused by crying, keeping her voice light and natural.

“I’m almost done eating with my friend, just chatting a bit before heading home.”

“That’s good. You scared Mom to death.”

Zhou Yabin sighed in relief.

“Do you want me to come pick you up?”

“No need, Mom. Uncle Zhang will pick me up.”

Uncle Zhang was her driver.

“All right, then Mom will wait at home.”

Zhou Yabin said, “By the way, Yan Li knew it was your birthday today and came to the house looking for you. He waited a long time but you never came back. He just left a little while ago—he shouldn’t be far. Should I call him back?”

“No! No need!”

Cen Yingshuang hastily stopped her, realizing she’d overreacted.

Quickly she added, “I’ll be home soon. Don’t let Yan Li wait too long. I’ll meet him again later.”

“All right then.”

Zhou Yabin said.

Unbeknownst to them, Chen Yanli had just left the Cen Family not long ago.

He pressed the down button at the elevator entrance but hadn’t stepped inside when he faintly heard voices from the stairwell.

Blame it on the quiet hallway and his sharp ears.

Listening carefully, he recognized Cen Yingshuang’s voice.

He walked over and stood at the stairwell entrance, overhearing her say into the phone, “Okay, Mom, I’m hanging up now. My friend’s still waiting for me.”

She hung up without coming out, still hiding in the stairwell, her soft sobs following, sounding very distressed.

Chen Yanli couldn’t just turn a blind eye.

After pondering, he gently knocked on the stairwell door.

Cen Yingshuang was probably startled; her sobbing stopped abruptly.

Then silence stretched on with no movement.

Chen Yanli slowly pushed the door open but saw no one inside, as if it was all just his illusion.

He stepped in, and Cen Yingshuang suddenly shrank back behind the door, terrified.

The motion-activated light turned on.

When their eyes met, Cen Yingshuang saw it was him and breathed a huge sigh of relief.

“Yanli Ge.”

She leaned against the wall, feeling unburdened.

“Why are you here? Mom said you already left.”

“And you? Why are you hiding here, afraid to go home?”

Chen Yanli looked at her—her hair was messy, lips stained with lipstick marks, eyes red and swollen from crying.

His brow furrowed in concern.

“Why didn’t you answer mine and your mom’s calls? Why did you lie to your mom that you were with a friend?”

Cen Yingshuang lowered her head and stayed silent.

Chen Yanli instinctively stepped closer.

Tonight, Cen Yingshuang was already overly frightened; even facing his approach, she reacted like a scared bird, trembling and instinctively dodging.

He immediately stopped, keeping a respectful distance.

“Yingshuang.”

His voice dropped very soft, as if afraid to scare her, gentle and soothing.

“It’s okay now. Don’t be afraid. Tell Yanli Ge—did someone… bully you?”

She knew what the word “bully” implied.

Just hearing him ask made her tears well up again.

She really wanted to pour out everything that happened tonight, to have someone stand up for her.

But she couldn’t say.

He Yuzhou’s identity and status were too high.

According to Màn Jie, no one in the country could compare.

Chen Yanli was always close to her, and if in a moment of impulse he offended He Yuzhou, it could affect him badly.

“…No.”

Cen Yingshuang shook her head, still looking down.

“No one bullied me.”

“Then why are you crying here?”

Chen Yanli pressed on.

“Yingshuang, what really happened?”

In her impression, Chen Yanli had always been gentle and polite, with a strong sense of boundaries and respect for privacy. He would never pry unnecessarily.

Yet at this moment, he was so persistent, digging relentlessly as if refusing to let go without an answer.

Cen Yingshuang was caught between a rock and a hard place, fearing that if she didn’t reply, he would tell Zhou Yabin.

“It’s just… I had a disagreement with my friend tonight…” she offered a vague excuse.

Luckily, the motion-activated light went off, and aside from the faint exit signs, the stairwell plunged into darkness, obscuring her expression.

Feeling a little safer, Cen Yingshuang drew on her professional acting skills, keeping a poker face as she continued, “I was hiding because I wanted to calm down, didn’t want Mom to worry.”

“Yanli Ge, can you keep this secret? Don’t tell Mom…”

Before she could finish, Chen Yanli knocked again, neither hard nor soft.

The light flicked on once more.

All her expressions were exposed to his gaze.

He looked into her eyes and bluntly asked, “Boyfriend?”

Chen Yanli was tall, though not as tall as He Yuzhou.

He had presence, but nothing like He Yuzhou’s overwhelming, mountain-crushing aura.

His gaze lacked the aggressiveness He Yuzhou’s held—it was instead as if he could see right through someone in an instant.

Cen Yingshuang felt inexplicably nervous, forcing down her panic as she shook her head: “No! It’s a female friend.”

Chen Yanli kept watching her, silent.

Cen Yingshuang swallowed quietly and added, “It’s girl stuff—things you wouldn’t understand, Yanli Ge.”

She lifted a usual carefree, innocent smile.

“But don’t worry, I’ll be fine in a few days.”

Having said that, Chen Yanli didn’t press further.

His eyes then fell on the pearl necklace around her neck.

He squinted slightly, as if recalling something.

Because he recognized that necklace.

“You’re wearing this necklace…” he hesitated.

After a moment’s thought, he remembered.

This pearl necklace was a piece from a recent global top-tier auction held in Italy.

Cen Yingshuang had forgotten about the necklace.

She instinctively touched her neck and blurted, “This necklace is my mom’s.”

“Today’s my birthday. Mom put it on me to match my outfit.”

She thought her explanation was flawless.

But to Chen Yanli’s ears, it was full of holes.

He was certain Cen Yingshuang was lying.

Not to mention, entry to that auction wasn’t possible without private connections.

As for this pearl necklace, it was over 200 years old, from the Royal Family, once worn by the last Queen of France.

It was only recently put up for public auction, reportedly sold for 36 million USD—about 260 million RMB.

Zhou Yabin was influential in the entertainment industry, but her status was nowhere near enough to attend such an auction.

Could the man who gave Cen Yingshuang this necklace be connected to her strange behavior tonight?

One thing was certain—the giver was a man.

Perhaps pursuing her?

Were they already a couple?

Or was their relationship something unusual?

But Chen Yanli knew Cen Yingshuang’s character.

She was a typical good girl, overprotected by her family, too pure to have such complicated social ties.

His thoughts swirled, his expression complicated.

Just as he was about to ask, Cen Yingshuang’s phone screen lit up.

He glanced and saw a WeChat message pop up.

Cen Yingshuang also looked, subtly turning the phone slightly away from Chen Yanli’s sight.

Seeing the message, her tense nerves finally relaxed.

Because He Yuzhou said her handbag was at the lobby reception, reminding her to go downstairs and get it.

Thank goodness.

He hadn’t made her go to his car.

“Yanli Ge.” Cen Yingshuang, fearing more questions, casually said, “I’ll walk you down. The property office said my bag was left at the lobby downstairs. I need to go get it.”

Chen Yanli swallowed his questions and just nodded, “Okay.”

They entered the elevator together and soon reached the lobby.

Cen Yingshuang went to the front desk and retrieved her handbag.

Chen Yanli stood nearby waiting for her.

She approached him.

“Yanli Ge, how long will you be in Beicheng?”

“Probably a few more days,” Chen Yanli said.

“I’ll take a few days off too. When I have time, I’ll properly entertain you.”

Cen Yingshuang smiled.

“Sorry about tonight. I didn’t know you came.”

“No problem.”

“Well…”

Cen Yingshuang hesitated before saying, “You should get some rest early. You must be tired from the long flight.”

“Mm,” Chen Yanli responded.

Cen Yingshuang walked him to the lobby entrance but didn’t go outside.

She stood there, smiling and waving at him.

Before Chen Yanli left, she reminded him, “Yanli Ge, about tonight…”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell your mom.”

Chen Yanli reassured her.

Cen Yingshuang smiled more openly.

“Thank you, Yanli Ge.”

Chen Yanli turned and took a step or two but then stopped and came back to her.

He lowered his eyes, gazing deeply into her eyes, not probing further into what happened tonight, but sincerely said, “Yingshuang, if something bad happens to you, you must tell me.”

Chen Yanli looked at the little girl he had watched grow up.

Her gaze was still so pure, but tonight it carried an awkward fear that didn’t belong to her—like a flower sheltered in a greenhouse wilting after facing storms.

He felt heartache and couldn’t help but raise his hand.

His fingers gently brushed the reddened corner of her eyes.

Since she wouldn’t talk, he wouldn’t press further.

He slowly pulled her into his arms, softly patting her shoulder, whispering in her ear: “Yanli Ge will always protect you.”

To outsiders, they looked very close.

But the embrace hadn’t crossed any boundaries; there was still a few centimeters between them, and his arms only lightly encircled her shoulders.

A hug full of comforting strength.

Cen Yingshuang’s nose tingled, tears nearly spilling again, but she forced them back and nodded.

Still the same words: “Thank you, Yanli Ge.”

At that moment, her phone began vibrating again, ill-timed as ever.

Cen Yingshuang wanted to ignore it, but the vibration wouldn’t stop, so she glanced.

Even without a label, just seeing the location tag “China Hong Kong” confirmed it.

It was He Yuzhou calling again.

Her breath caught in the room.

Why was he calling again?

She didn’t dare answer, didn’t want to answer.

She pretended not to hear.

Unexpectedly, the vibration stopped.

But the next second, a WeChat message popped up again.

Three succinct words: [Answer the phone]

As soon as the message came, his calls followed one after another.

Cen Yingshuang’s reluctance showed clearly on her face.

Yet deep down she was afraid—afraid He Yuzhou would come back to find her.

So she could only obediently answer his call.

Phone pressed to her ear.

Before she could speak, she heard his voice: “Do you want me to come over?”

The sudden question stunned Cen Yingshuang.

Then his low, cold voice sounded again: “If you want me to come, tell the man holding you now,”

He paused on each word: “Tonight, how I kissed you.”