On the other end of the phone was Lu Yan's calm and reserved voice, tinged with a faint hint of displeasure.
He didn't have the leisure to gossip about Gong Ming's love life, but his little girl was being extremely persistent. She insisted that he call to warn Gong Ming not to hurt her friend.
"Got it." Gong Ming rubbed his temples and squinted his eyes slightly. "I know what I'm doing."
He clamped the phone receiver between his left shoulder and ear, half - heartedly answering Lu Yan while pulling out the needle from the back of his hand. Then he calmly stood up, put on his coat hanging aside, and slowly buttoned it up.
In the blink of an eye, he had regained his former gentle and elegant nobleman demeanor.
It was as if nothing had happened.
After hanging up the phone, he stared at the phone for a few seconds and suddenly remembered something.
--
After leaving the hospital, Yin Yiyan took a taxi straight to her studio. Just like nothing had happened, she got back to her normal work.
Sure enough, keeping busy could make one forget about troubles for a while. By the time she finished organizing the cooperation details of several new orders, it was already very late.
Everyone in the studio had left, and only the light above her work area was still on.
Yin Yiyan stretched, looked out of the dark window, and suddenly felt sleepy. She stood up and was about to go to the restroom to wash her face. After taking two steps, she noticed that her legs felt uncomfortable.
It was like the soreness after running 800 meters during school days, and it was also a bit swollen.
Only then did she belatedly remember that she and Gong Ming had just had "intense exercise" today.
It was their first time.
Taking the elevator downstairs, Yin Yiyan walked to the roadside to hail a taxi. The soreness in her thighs still hadn't subsided, so she took advantage of the time while waiting for a taxi to bend down and gently tap the outside of her thighs to relieve the pain.
Just then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a long, black limousine stop in front of her.
She pretended not to notice and continued to pound the front of her thighs with her head down.
"Get in the car."
Gong Ming's handsome side face appeared in the car. He had changed into another set of inky - colored shirt and suit, looking rather cold. "Yin Yiyan, get in the car."
"No need, Mr. Gong. I've just called a taxi." She squinted her eyes. She didn't even need to look up to know who it was.
Gong Ming said calmly, "Do you think you can get a taxi at this time?"
In the end, Yin Yiyan couldn't resist him. She simply opened the car door, got into the passenger seat, and neatly buckled up her seatbelt.
"Li Shi Apartment. Thank you for the ride, Mr. Gong."
The distance in her words was quite obvious. Gong Ming paused slightly, stared at her with his deep eyes, and stuffed a plastic bag into her lap. "Take the medicine."
Hearing this, Yin Yiyan turned to feel for the box in the bag. After looking at the words on it, she was stunned for a few seconds.
When she realized what kind of medicine it was, she couldn't help but smile. "Mr. Gong is really cautious."
Then, she unscrewed a bottle of water in the bag, casually picked out a pill, and swallowed it expressionlessly.
Gong Ming glanced at her from the corner of his eye and remained silent.
They had been too hasty during the day and forgotten to take contraceptive measures. Although the probability of pregnancy was low, it was better to be safe than sorry.
Before he could give her any promises or guarantees, he didn't want any accidents to happen.
The whole journey was quiet.
Apart from the words "Take the medicine", Gong Ming didn't say anything else and focused on driving.
The excessive silence made Yin Yiyan restless.
She started to make small talk from time to time. "Are you feeling better? Can people with congenital heart disease even get a driver's license? What if you suddenly have an attack while driving? Won't there be an accident?"
Gong Ming said, "… If you keep blabbering like this, if something happens, you'll have to die with me."
Although his words showed impatience, there was a faint smile hidden in his eyes.
She was still as lively as ever, always chattering non - stop. She was so full of energy, as if she would never run out.
Seeing his cold attitude, Yin Yiyan pouted and glanced out of the window. Looking at the increasingly familiar buildings, she whispered to herself, "If you're going to chase a girl, you should at least show some effort. Do you expect me to always take the initiative?"
Her voice was just loud enough for Gong Ming to hear.
Who said he was going to chase her?
As the car drove into the alley, Gong Ming slowly slowed down and stopped in front of her apartment building.
"We're here. Go upstairs."
His tone was flat, and his attitude was polite and proper. "It's getting late. You've been tired all day. Go up and rest early."
"I am really tired." Yin Yiyan pursed her lips, her tone full of meaning. "I don't know who made me so tired. After having his way with me, he just pretends to be stupid."
Her directness was too obvious, and Gong Ming was almost at a loss.
His eyes darkened, and his voice was stern without any disguise. "Yin Yiyan, do you know what modesty is?"
He couldn't imagine how a bold and straightforward woman like Yin Yiyan had managed to navigate the business world unscathed for so many years.
But Yin Yiyan didn't care. She even boldly let her eyes wander over his body. "Whether I'm modest or not depends on who I'm with."
The implication in her words was self - evident.
The gloom between Gong Ming's eyebrows deepened. "Do you act like this when you're doing business?"
Suddenly, he felt that Yin Yiyan was a stranger.
It made sense, though. They hadn't seen each other for many years, and even he himself had changed.
The young boy back then had grown into a shrewd boss, and the straightforward girl had now become someone who said one thing but meant another.
Maybe this was what they meant by "clothes are better new, but people are better old".
Yin Yiyan didn't know what he was thinking. She frowned slightly but quickly relaxed. "Mr. Gong has driven me all the way here. Won't you come up for a visit?"
In adult social interactions, this was a very obvious hint.
Gong Ming wasn't stupid. He knew what she meant. Many women had tried this trick on him.
But when it came to Yin Yiyan, he didn't flatly refuse. He just tightened his face, and his facial features looked even colder.
Yin Yiyan read the silent consent from his eyes.
He had taken the bait.
Although she looked charming on the surface, she was actually not very confident.
This was the first time she had taken the initiative to seduce someone.
It was clumsy, but it worked.
After they got out of the car, Yin Yiyan walked in front, and Gong Ming followed behind at a leisurely pace.
He stared at her graceful figure, and the gloom in his eyes deepened.
"I've thought carefully about what you said today. It's a feasible option."
Yin Yiyan took a few steps forward. Just as one of her feet was about to step onto the stairs, she suddenly turned around and raised her chin.
"What?"
"Just date, don't talk about marriage."