Chapter 123: Still Not Awake [Word Count Replenished]

In the evening, An Zhou returned home.

Just as he walked through the door, he loosened his tie, but his footsteps instantly halted when he saw An Ling in the living room.

His gaze fell on a few neatly arranged suitcases, then slowly shifted to An Ling.

An Ling was eating fruit. Noticing his gaze, she shot him a puzzled look. Before she could speak, she heard the man hesitantly ask:

"Did you... get divorced again?"

An Ling: "??"

Before An Ling could answer, Mother An, who was beside her, said, "An Zhou, what kind of thing is that to say? Why are you cursing your sister to get a divorce?"

An Zhou pointed at the suitcases. "Doesn't this mean she's moving back?"

The last time this girl came back with a suitcase, the first thing out of her mouth was that she had gotten a divorce.

After what happened a few days ago, this girl hadn't sent him a single message. He thought she was quietly pulling off something huge again.

An Ling calmly put down the fork in her hand. "These aren't my suitcases."

An Zhou: "Then whose are they?"

Mother An answered from the side, "They belong to your dad and me. We're going traveling."

An Zhou: ?

"Ah?" An Zhou rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Going traveling? When did this happen? Why didn't I know?"

"We just decided today. Seeing that you were too busy, your mom and I didn't bother you. It's not a big deal anyway, we're just going for a few days."

Hearing Father An's words, Mother An nodded in agreement.

An Zhou: "..."

Now he knew who this girl An Ling inherited her incredibly strong execution skills from.

But then again...

An Zhou glanced at An Ling.

What exactly was the situation between An Ling and Shen Linyan now?

Sitting on the sofa, An Zhou sent her a message.

[Let's talk upstairs.]

Feeling her phone vibrate, An Ling looked down at the message, then looked up at An Zhou.

An Zhou signaled her with a look to go upstairs.

Then he pretended to naturally walk up the stairs, even secretly waving at her halfway up.

An Ling: "..."

She stood up helplessly and followed An Zhou upstairs.

Father An glanced at them.

"What are these two kids doing? Sneaking around like that."

Mother An was looking down at a tourist attraction guide. "I don't know, probably whispering secrets."

They went upstairs and entered the room.

As soon as the door closed, An Zhou turned and asked, "Did things break down between you and Shen Linyan, or not? Did that man confess?"

An Ling paused, then shook her head. "We didn't fight, and we don't plan on getting a divorce. We're just going to live like this for now."

An Zhou frowned: "Did he threaten you?"

Without waiting for An Ling's answer, he continued, "It's fine. If you really want a divorce, then get one. You know there's no need to be afraid if Shen Linyan threatens you, right? As long as you don't cause trouble, the An family won't be easily brought down by him."

An Ling choked on her words. Sitting on the sofa, she blinked, "Really? Even if I get a divorce, it won't do much harm to the An family?"

An Zhou, who suddenly remembered he had accepted a lot of "project bribes": "..."

He quickly changed his tune, "Actually, not getting a divorce is fine too... An Ling, if you ask me, just treat it as a new arranged marriage. Mutual respect, you know? Besides, I feel like Shen Linyan might not necessarily make a move against the An family. That kid is actually quite good to you."

An Ling: "?"

Why did her brother have two faces?

"Did Shen Linyan give you some benefits??"

An Zhou: "Hahahaha! What a joke, what do you mean benefits? For businessmen, it's called cooperation!"

"..."

Sure enough.

An Ling stared at him for a moment, then stood up with a smile. "Alright then. For the sake of the An family, it seems I really can't get a divorce."

An Zhou's tone turned serious. "Of course not. If that kid Shen Linyan treats you badly, you definitely have to divorce him."

An Ling smiled and said, "Got it. So, brother, when are you and Sister Qin You getting married? I heard from Mom that you two have been getting along quite well lately."

"..."

An Zhou coughed lightly, his gaze shifting unsteadily. "Not really, just so-so."

Seeing him like this, An Ling raised an eyebrow.

Oh ho, it was actually true.

She checked the time.

"Alright, it's about time to take Mom and Dad to the airport."

After dropping off Father and Mother An at the airport, An Ling also went home.

Shen Linyan had something come up unexpectedly tonight, so when she got back, no one was home yet.

She put down her bag and took out her phone, seeing a message from Jiang Mai.

[I'm never online dating again!]

She paused and replied: [What happened?]

Jiang Mai instantly sent a barrage of complaints.

[I met up with him for dinner tonight, and he looks completely different from his photos!! So ugly!! It's a total scam!]

As if finding typing too troublesome, the other side directly sent a 34-second voice message.

An Ling laughed out loud. She tapped on the voice message to listen to her rants, walked over to the windowsill, crouched down, and pet Huihui. She fed it some snacks, then opened her bedroom door, walked in, and replied:

[Hahaha, will there be a next time for online dating, Miss Jiang?]

Jiang Mai: [There won't be a next time. My heart is dead. I'm never opening mystery boxes again.]

An Ling comforted her with a few words, placed her phone on the bedside table, and took her pajamas into the bathroom.

After coming out of the shower, she sat on the bed, opened her laptop, and finished up some pending documents.

Recently, Ms. Chen had taken on a movie, so they needed to start drawing up plans again.

Once she had roughly sorted things out, she rubbed her somewhat tired eyes and checked the time again.

9:10 PM.

It wasn't too late, but probably due to a lack of sleep last night, she was already feeling a bit drowsy.

Sure enough, she really shouldn't mess around with Shen Linyan on workdays.

An Ling shut down her laptop and placed it on the desk. She turned off the main light, leaving only the dim nightlight by the bed.

Originally, she just planned to take a short nap. An Ling was even thinking about whether she should text Shen Linyan to tell him she was going to sleep first.

But after closing her eyes, these stray thoughts gradually faded away with her consciousness, and sleepiness washed over her like a tide.

It wasn't until she woke up again from her dreams that An Ling groggily opened her eyes. The room was still dark and quiet.

Unable to tell the time or how long she had slept, she was still bleary-eyed. Just as she reached out to grab her phone, she felt an arm wrap around her waist. Her back was pressed tightly against a warm, firm chest, making her feel as if she were enveloped by a heater.

She paused her movements and slightly turned her head.

Under the light, the man's features were handsome and refined. His eyes were closed, his breathing steady, and his handsome face was pressed against the crook of her neck. His dark hair fell casually over his forehead. He had lost some of his usual aloofness, replaced by a touch of softness. His warm breath gently brushed against the back of her neck.

Looking at the man's sleeping face, An Ling blinked. She reached out and gently touched the hair falling over his eyes.

He didn't wake up?

The dim light shone on the man's handsome face. His gentle and refined appearance exuded a noble aura of excellent upbringing.

An Ling stared for quite a while. Holding her head turned like that was a bit tiring, so she slowly turned her body around, her forehead ending up pressed right against the man's thin lips.

This movement made it seem as if she had completely melted into the man's embrace, and it also slightly roused him.

Shen Linyan, with his eyes still closed, lowered his head and kissed her forehead. He pulled her back into his arms with a familiarity that suggested he had done it thousands of times.

An Ling looked up at him. Only after confirming that the man was truly still asleep did she slowly raise her hand. Her fingertips gently traced the air, tracing the man's three-dimensional features from a distance—from his eyebrows to his eyes, then to his straight nose, and finally down to his lips.

Little by little, as if trying to brand it deeply into her eyes.

Rather than being afraid of Shen Linyan's personality...

In reality, she was more afraid of Shen Linyan having a change of heart.

Because she could only recognize Shen Linyan's face, she worried even more that one day, this familiar face would show an unfamiliar, cold expression towards her.

If it were anyone else, she would forget them after a single glance, and she wouldn't even need to pretend not to know them when walking down the street.

But Shen Linyan was different...

An Ling lowered her hand and tilted her head up to gently kiss the man's chin, brushing against him lightly like an affectionate little animal.

The touch of her soft lips was fleeting.

Yet it left behind a faint, lingering tickle.

The man slowly opened his eyes, still clouded with sleep. Meeting his little wife's dark, clear eyes, he subconsciously pulled her closer into his arms and lowered his head to kiss her eyes.

"You're awake, honey." His voice was very light, rumbling from his throat with a husky, magnetic quality that was incredibly sexy and alluring.

An Ling closed her eyes under his kisses, her voice thick and soft with sleep. "Shen Linyan..."

Shen Linyan paused, his sleepiness fading. "Hmm?"

"Can't sleep?" He raised a hand to caress her face, his fingertips tangling in her hair before gently pinching her earlobe.

With her eyes closed, An Ling spoke slowly:

"Find some free time, and let's go watch a movie."

Shen Linyan's movements stilled. He lowered his head, rubbing his nose against her cheek, and kissed her lips with lingering breath. "Really?"

An Ling nodded.

Then, she felt a kiss on her cheek.

"Okay." The man's voice carried a husky smile.

...

An Ling had always known that Shen Linyan wasn't poor.

But she had never truly realized just how wealthy he was.

Until she found out—

The blue diamond necklace he had given her was worth six hundred million.

An Ling was dumbfounded.

She looked up blankly, pointing at the gift bag on the table.

"That little thing... is worth six hundred million??"

Shen Linyan lowered his eyes as he fastened the necklace around her neck, chuckling softly at her words. "Yes, Madam."

"..." When they initially divorced, she had ONLY! GOTTEN! TWO! HUNDRED! MILLION!

Sitting in the chair, it took An Ling a long while before she could dryly say:

"Shen Linyan, while I do really like this necklace, I'll allow you to go buy a six-yuan knockoff and just transfer the six hundred million to me instead."

Low chuckles rumbled from the man's chest. He bent down and kissed the tip of her ear. "I'll give you all my money, and then wait for Madam to be my sugar daddy."

An Ling touched her ear, shot him a sideways glance, and gave a soft hmph without saying a word.

Just as she stood up to leave for work, her wrist was suddenly caught.

As soon as she turned her head, she met the man's pitch-black eyes.

He gazed at her, his voice light and his tone gentle.

"Madam, may I have a kiss?"

An Ling blinked and nodded. "You may."

The next second, the man held her chin and leaned in to kiss her.

A crisp, clean scent washed over her. He took her lips, sucking gently, and only released her after a while, lowering his head to nuzzle against her cheek.

...

After taking on the new project, everyone threw themselves back into a busy routine.

An Ling gathered her documents and stood up to head to a meeting with a few colleagues. On the way to the conference room, everyone was discussing how the damn weather was getting colder and colder.

"I can't even get up in the mornings."

"This kind of weather is only good for sleeping at home."

An Ling nodded in deep agreement. She couldn't get up this morning either; it was Shen Linyan who had fished her out from under the covers.

Another colleague sighed, "But it's snowing really late this year. Normally, we'd have heavy snow by this time, but the first snow hasn't even arrived yet."

"Tell me about it." The colleague opened the weather forecast. "The forecast doesn't mention it either."

Xiao Yang stood beside them, pressing her hands together. "I'm still waiting for the first snow so I can go on a date with my boyfriend."

Hearing this, An Ling turned her head and asked curiously, "A date on that day? Does it have some special meaning?"

"There's a saying," Xiao Yang replied, "that any wish you make during the first snow will come true."

An Ling realized. "I see. That's quite romantic."

Xiao Yang suddenly wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "So, is Sister Aleng going to go on a date with Chairman Shen?"

As soon as the words were out, teasing cheers erupted all around.

"Ooh~ At the last gathering, a certain comrade was the first to be taken home by her family member."

An Ling's face instantly flushed red, and she stiffly changed the subject. "We're going to be late for the meeting, let's hurry up."

She walked briskly ahead, trying to shake off the teasing behind her.

After the meeting ended and tasks were assigned, she was paired up with Nan Zhechuan again. They needed to go out for a site visit.

The two of them stood in the elevator. An Ling was still searching for the site's address when a breaking news headline suddenly popped up.

[Shen Group Exposed for Tax Evasion, Amount Involved Exceeds 100 Million; Relevant Personnel Under Investigation.]

She didn't react at first, thinking she had misread it.

When she clicked on it and saw that it was indeed the Shen Group, An Ling froze in place.

Nan Zhechuan, standing next to her, also saw the news and let out an exclamation. "Holy crap, is this for real? Such a massive company actually evading taxes? This is no joke, someone's going to prison."

For it to be exposed now meant that the investigation and evidence collection were already complete.

An Ling wanted to message Shen Linyan but suddenly remembered that he had come home quite late last night.

Was it because of this?

"Ding—"

The elevator doors opened, and An Ling walked out absentmindedly.

For an enterprise as large as the Shen Group, generally speaking, they wouldn't ruin all their hard work over this amount of money. Moreover, Father and Mother Shen treated the Shen Group as their very lives, making it even more impossible. Unless...

Unless someone was deliberately pulling strings behind the scenes.

An Ling's footsteps paused slightly. She lowered her eyes, pursed her lips, and put her phone down.

Beside her, Nan Zhechuan continued, "With this news out, the Shen Group is finished."

Even if they paid the taxes in time, after a scandal like this, the Shen Group and anyone from the Shen family involved in the company's projects would inevitably be investigated. In severe cases, they might even face criminal charges.

They walked to the entrance, and Nan Zhechuan said, "I'll go get the car first. Wait for me here for a bit."

An Ling nodded. She stood at the door, eyes downcast, deep in thought.

Her phone suddenly vibrated. It was a message from Shen Linyan.

Shen Linyan: [Madam, I will be home a little late tonight.]

An Ling: [Okay.]

After sending the message, the status bar on his end showed "typing..." for a long time, but no message came through.

After about a minute, a message slowly appeared from him.

Shen Linyan: [つ♡⊂]

An Ling paused, realizing what he was worried about, and couldn't stop the corners of her lips from turning up.

An Ling: [૮(♡♡)ა]

Shen Linyan: [つ♡♡♡⊂]

Seeing this message, An Ling was momentarily stunned before she let out a soft laugh.

Shen Linyan was now even better at using kaomoji than she was.

Just then, a sudden gasp swept through the crowd around her.

An Ling subconsciously looked up.

The next second, her gaze froze.

In the sky, snowflakes were falling gently from the grayish-blue expanse, filling the air with fragmented white.

A blanket of pure white, soft and silent.

A snowflake landed between An Ling's brows, melting into a faint coolness. Her eyelashes fluttered, and she raised a hand to lightly touch it.

Everyone quickly raised their phones to take pictures, and someone called out.

"This year's first snow is finally here."

She hadn't quite processed it, but the excited voices of her colleagues echoed beside her.

"Wow! It's finally snowing! The weather forecast didn't even mention it. It's so beautiful!"

An unannounced first snow arrived just like that, silently and without warning.

Of all times, it chose to fall on the day the Shen family met with disaster.

In an instant, An Ling felt as though she had returned to that original ending. On the day the An family went bankrupt and fell apart, it had also snowed just like this.

A few days later, she had died on the coldest snowy night.

After an unknown amount of time, she finally raised her head.

Staring blankly at the scene before her, she murmured softly, "The weather... is going to get colder and colder."

...

Tonight, while visiting sets outside, An Ling and Nan Zhechuan walked all over, constantly changing locations.

It wasn't until the sky grew dark that today's tasks finally drew to a close.

Snowflakes were still drifting in the sky, piling up heavily on the tree branches and casting fragmented silhouettes under the streetlights.

An Ling stood by the street, holding a black umbrella. A thin layer of snow had settled on her off-white cashmere coat. Her pitch-black hair hung loose, and her beautiful, fair face was slightly flushed from the cold wind.

She blinked, her breath forming white puffs of mist in the air. Tilting her head up, a snowflake landed on her eye, making her instinctively close it. She lowered her head, her gaze falling back onto the bag in her hands.

"Finally, we can go home. I'm freezing to death," Nan Zhechuan's voice came from behind.

He closed his umbrella, took out his car keys, and turned to look at An Ling.

Before An Ling could speak, he beat her to it:

"I'm guessing someone is coming to pick you up."

An Ling's expression froze. "Huh?"

Nan Zhechuan chuckled, looking confident. "Because it's like this every time I come out with you."

So he could already guess what An Ling was going to say next.

"This time I'm taking a wild guess it's Shen Linyan, right?"

An Ling smiled and slowly shook her head.

"Wrong. This time I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you, Brother Nan, to take me back."

Nan Zhechuan was a bit surprised, then joked with a laugh, "I finally get the chance to drive Producer An?!"

He hurriedly opened the passenger door. "Please, get in."

An Ling laughed and walked over. "Thank you, Brother Nan. Sorry for the trouble."

"It's nothing."

Once Nan Zhechuan got in the car, An Ling took out a sandwich and placed it on the center console for him. "This is for you."

Only then did Nan Zhechuan notice An Ling was still holding a bag, and he immediately looked delighted.

"Thanks! I was just wondering what to eat for dinner!"

Busy until this hour, neither of them had eaten dinner yet.

He tore open the packaging, keeping one hand on the steering wheel and holding the sandwich with the other. "Have you eaten?"

An Ling hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. "I'm not too hungry. I'll eat when I get back."

Nan Zhechuan drove her to the gate of her residential compound.

"Security is strict here, so I can't go in. This is as far as I can take you."

"Okay," An Ling nodded. "Drive safely."

Nan Zhechuan gave her an 'OK' hand gesture.

Just as An Ling turned around to enter the compound, before she could take more than a few steps, a black Maybach suddenly drove past and stopped right beside her.

Before she could react, the car window rolled down.

"Madam." The man's familiar, deep voice came from the driver's seat.

An Ling turned her head and, sure enough, saw Shen Linyan's familiar face.

She stepped closer, a look of pleasant surprise appearing on her face. "Did you just get back too?"

Shen Linyan's eyes curved as he nodded, speaking in a gentle tone. "Get in, Madam. It's cold outside."

An Ling opened the door and got in. As soon as she sat down, Shen Linyan took her freezing hands, gently rubbing them. "Did you just finish work?"

The man's palms were broad and warm, with a thin layer of calluses. His fingers were long and distinctly bony as they slowly intertwined with hers.

"Yeah," An Ling nodded. "I was visiting sets today, so I finished quite late."

Shen Linyan drove the car into the garage. After getting out, he held her hand with one hand and naturally took the bag from her with the other.

An Ling let him lead her toward the elevator. After stepping inside, she hesitated for a moment. She wanted to say something, opened her mouth, but ultimately closed it again.

Shen Linyan noticed her movement. His gaze paused, and his grip on her hand tightened slightly.

"Beep—"

Pushing the front door open, An Ling was just about to go to the balcony to check on Huihui.

But she hadn't taken more than a few steps before the man wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Madam, take a shower and warm up first. You can see the cat later."

An Ling turned to look at him and nodded. "Okay."

After getting out of the shower, An Ling sat on the sofa in her pajamas, looking down as she stroked Huihui's fur, but her gaze slowly drifted out the window, lost in thought.

Outside the window, the falling snow drifted down slowly, growing heavier and heavier.

At that moment, the sofa beside her suddenly sank slightly. A crisp, clean post-shower scent, carrying a hint of moisture, drifted over and gently enveloped her senses.

She paused and turned to look at the man beside her.

The man had just showered. The tips of his hair were still damp, and a drop of water slid down his collar, giving him an air of lazy charm.

His pitch-black eyes were deep, like a cold lake under the night sky, yet at this moment, they watched her quietly and gently. His voice was soft: "Did you eat dinner, Madam? I saw that there was a cake in your bag earlier."

An Ling pursed her lips, suddenly setting down the pet brush, and straddled his lap. She reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her small face in his shoulder and rubbing against it gently.

It had been a long time since she had done something like this to him.

Shen Linyan was momentarily stunned, a rare reaction for him. His heart felt as though it had been lightly brushed by a feather, stirring a faint itch, while his hands had already instinctively wrapped around the girl's waist.

He lowered his head, his nose catching the scent on her. He turned and kissed her cheek, lowering his voice. "Wife, what's wrong?"

An Ling remained silent for a long moment before finally speaking in a muffled voice:

"I bought that cake for you."