Chapter 67: If Madam Wishes, I Can Do That Too

For a brief moment their eyes met. Shen Linyan's eyes curved into a slight smile before he walked in and lowered his head to change his shoes.

"Would you like something to drink? Sorry I'm a bit late, there was a meeting at the company."

An Ling's mind was in a bit of a mess. She replied dryly, "It's fine, I just arrived too. Plain water is fine."

Placing the glass of water on the table, the man sat down on the sofa next to her. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

A crisp, woody scent lingered at the tip of her nose for a moment. An Ling tightened her grip and hurriedly picked up the glass to take a sip, suppressing the inexplicable uneasiness in her heart.

She understood this uneasiness as guilt toward Shen Linyan.

An Ling gripped the cup tightly and pursed her lips.

"Shen Linyan... about last night, I want to make things clear with you."

The woman's familiar tone was exactly like the night she brought up their divorce.

Shen Linyan's heart skipped a beat. His eyelashes trembled slightly, and his body stiffened for a second before he sat on the sofa and gave a soft "Mm."

He subconsciously tried to twist the ring on his finger, only to touch empty air.

An Ling didn't notice his movement as she organized her words. "Mainly, it's about you..."

Her voice suddenly caught, and she slowly frowned.

These words were simply too difficult to say.

She didn't even know from which angle to completely nip Shen Linyan's thoughts in the bud. Suddenly telling him to stop liking her felt too baffling and out of nowhere.

After a moment of silence, the woman's long eyelashes slowly lowered, and her red lips parted slightly.

"Shen Linyan, what did you mean yesterday when you said you wouldn't get married because of me?"

The man on the sofa paused his movements.

His back was straight, his pitch-black eyes quietly watching her. The surging obscurity in his eyes was hidden by the night, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing against each other.

"I don't quite understand... did I say something wrong?"

He wanted to be friends with An Ling, wanted to try falling in love with her, so naturally he wouldn't take a wife.

He also couldn't fulfill his obligations to his next wife, so he wouldn't marry anyone else.

Was An Ling looking so troubled because those words made her feel morally burdened?

Shen Linyan's eyes darkened slightly, and he spoke exceptionally slowly and gently.

"If I get married, I won't be able to contact you, and you won't have any contact with me either. So to avoid this situation, I won't get married. But An Ling, I won't mind if you get married. You don't need to feel burdened."

"?"

Hearing this answer, An Ling looked dumbfounded.

She looked up and met the man's gaze. Seeing that his expression didn't seem fake, her face went blank.

For the first time, An Ling felt her brain short-circuit, just like when Shen Linyan suddenly kissed her in her room back then.

To this day, she still didn't know why he had kissed her.

She used to think it was because Shen Linyan had too strong a sense of responsibility, but now that they were divorced, what did he mean by saying those words?

Sounded like, if her husband allowed it, Shen Linyan would still continue being friends with her?

After a brief silence, An Ling suddenly lowered her head, covered her face, and laughed out loud. Her tone sounded relieved.

"You... if you want to be friends, just be friends. Don't say things like that, you made me think you liked me."

Hearing this, Shen Linyan's breathing slowed by half a beat, and his nails subconsciously dug into his palms.

He slowly lowered his eyes, his dark gaze fixed on the spot on his ring finger. His long fingertips gently rubbed it, who knew what he was thinking.

With the misunderstanding cleared up, An Ling stood up with a blushing face, wishing she could run downstairs immediately.

"Alright, alright, it's nothing. I have nothing else to say."

She was dying of embarrassment. She had almost blurted out telling him to stop liking her.

It turned out he didn't like her romantically at all; he just thought she was a good person and wanted to be friends. There wasn't just love in this world, there was friendship too.

Rest assured, she would definitely cut off contact with Shen Linyan this time!

Just as she was about to walk out, her wrist was grabbed.

She subconsciously looked down, only to crash straight into the man's pitch-black eyes. There was none of his usual gentleness in them, only an indescribable darkness.

"What if I do like you? An Ling."

His hoarse voice carried a trace of imperceptible tension.

Hearing this, An Ling stared at him, her gaze freezing.

A moment later, she spoke softly and slowly:

"Shen Linyan, don't make such assumptions."

She looked up to avoid his gaze, her heart beating a little fast for some unknown reason. "I don't want you to like me, so let's just part on good terms and not even be friends, okay? Don't come looking for me anymore. I'm also afraid of falling for you, because it's impossible for us to remarry."

As she said these words, An Ling's own voice was trembling.

She didn't even dare to look into Shen Linyan's eyes.

What if he cried again?

Anyway, everything had been said. Maybe she should just dash out now and play the part of...

Just as she was thinking this, her fingertip was suddenly gently hooked by a warm finger.

The man's voice was very light, as if it would dissipate in the wind at any moment.

"An Ling, if I destroy the Shen family, will you remarry me?"

"..."

An Ling's entire body stiffened, and she slowly lowered her head in a daze.

"...What? Destroy?"

Was that the word Shen Linyan just used?

The man paused, his eyes flickering. He looked up and said gently, "I mean... if I acquire all the shares of the Shen family, including my mother's portion, become the true person in power, and give half of the shares to you, would you be willing to remarry me?"

An Ling's eyes widened slightly.

What did he mean by true person in power?

Her voice caught, and she became a bit incoherent. "But aren't you already the person in power..."

"I'm not. I'm just a proxy for my father."

Shen Linyan's tone was mild. The most crucial secret of the Shen family was easily spilled by him in this moment, spoken of as if it were a trivial matter.

"I signed a contract with my father that even my mother doesn't know about. Once the contract expires, all the shares I currently hold must be given to him."

The bright and noble eldest son of the Shen family, the Shen heir admired by thousands, was actually nothing more than a pawn for his father.

An Ling had not expected to hear this truth at all. Her beautiful face was full of confusion, unable to process it, and her mind was buzzing.

How did a contract suddenly pop up...

What kind of development was this... Could it be that he went bankrupt because of this?

Jiang Mai never told her what to do in this kind of situation...

Under the man's gaze, An Ling's eyes darted around in panic. She opened her mouth, trying to find her voice. "This... remarrying..."

After a long time, she lowered her head, pursed her lips, and whispered, "...Shen Linyan, I don't know why you want to remarry me. I told you to find someone you like and marry them..."

Shen Linyan: "You also said I could find a very good person to marry."

"..."

The boomerang hit right back, and An Ling's face instantly turned red.

She was actually being given the good person card!?

Her face was flushed crimson, unable to tell if it was from anger or embarrassment. She gritted her teeth and retorted, "Then I want someone I like, okay?! This isn't a marriage of convenience, of course I have to pick someone I like! Besides, who said I'm good? I'm terrible! Fine, wait until you remarry me, I'll scam you out of all your money and use it to keep male models!"

Shen Linyan was taken aback. "Keep male models? Why would you keep them?"

"Why else?"

Without a second thought, An Ling blurted it all out in one breath, "Since we don't have any feelings for each other anyway, and we don't need to fulfill our marital duties, can't I just keep a boy toy to take care of my own needs?"

The moment the words left her mouth, she realized what a scandalous thing she had just said. Her eyes widened in panic. Looking down at the man's stunned expression, she stammered an explanation:

"Um... I didn't mean it like that... I was just, I was just making an analogy, you know... right?"

It was all Jiang Mai's fault for having no filter; her bad habits were completely rubbing off on her!

Shen Linyan looked up and stared at her in silence. His dark eyes gave away no emotion. After a moment, he slowly stood up.

Feeling guilty, An Ling took a step back. But in the next second, the man grabbed her wrist and pinched her chin, forcing her to look up at him.

Her eyes widened in shock. Before she could utter a single word, the man leaned down and pressed against her lips, his warm kiss swallowing all her protests.

"If my wife has needs, I can take care of them too."