Chapter 92: Chapter 92 - 92 Shield 092

Chapter 92: Shield 092 Chapter 92: Shield 092 Su Cheng initially wanted to pour himself a cup of hot water to drink, but after some thought, he poured one for Nan Qing instead. “Have some water, you’ve just come in from outside; the chill is harsh.”

“Thank you, just put it there,” Nan Qing said without lifting her head, continuing to focus on her painting.

Her hair had grown to shoulder length, and when she bowed her head, strands fell to both sides, covering half her face and revealing a stretch of her fair neck.

After taking a couple of glances, Su Cheng found his mouth growing dry and quickly shifted his gaze to the canvas. “Is this something you just painted? You work so fast; is it almost finished?”

“This is the painting I left halfway done the day we argued,” Nan Qing looked up at Su Cheng and said indifferently, “I’m just finishing it now.”

Su Cheng’s face turned a bit red; he coughed awkwardly and didn’t know how to respond. His most vivid memory of that day was the palette falling from Nan Qing’s hand, shattering on the floor, scattering colors everywhere.

He sat on the sofa, his eyes wandering around. This was where Fu Han lived. Normally, every time he came here, he would be overwhelmed with happiness. Today, however, he felt his presence was redundant.

Indeed it was, with the girl in the balcony gridlewearing clothes painting, bathed in the warm light, it looked like a fairytale world enclosed in a snow globe.

He could see it, but he couldn’t touch it.

Thus, the two of them stayed like that, one painting, the other daydreaming.

About two hours later, it was getting late, and Su Cheng couldn’t stay any longer. He stood up to take his leave, “Nan Qing, I… I should get going. Are you staying here tonight, or are you going back to your place?”

After thinking, he added, “If you want to go home, I can take you.”

“No need,” Nan Qing declined immediately, “It took a lot of effort to get my parents to agree to let me move out. I’m not going back. They’d just keep setting me up with boyfriends.”

“Setting you up… with boyfriends?” Su Cheng was stunned, his mood growing heavy, unsure how to describe what he was feeling at the moment. It was as if he had lost something important.

Nan Qing, however, smiled brilliantly, “Come on, I’m already 26 years old, okay? Any normal person would be in a rush. There used to be you to fend them off for me, but now they all know we’re not a possibility. They can’t possibly stick me with someone, right?”

Su Cheng’s emotions surged, and he blurted out, “Nan Qing, don’t just marry someone carelessly. If you don’t like someone, don’t go on blind dates. You… you can still use me as your shield.”

“I know you pity me,” Nan Qing put down her palette, pulling out a tissue to wipe the paint from her palms, and looked at Su Cheng meaningfully, “You can fend them off temporarily, but can you do it for a lifetime? If I end up alone, are you responsible?”

For a moment, Su Cheng truly wanted to say, “I’m responsible,” but in the end, he held back. Dropping the phrase “I’ve got something to attend to,” he then fled in haste.

…

When the motorhome came to a stop, Fu Han finally realized something was amiss. She opened her confused eyes and looked at He Xing, “I thought you knew you should take me back to Huating No.1.”

“I don’t know,” He Xing raised his head from behind the computer, claiming righteously, “Lanwan is your home. You should come back here.”

Fu Han opened the car door; she was already inside the He Family’s yard.

The mountaintop was colder than the city center, and there was already a substantial layer of snow on the ground. Under the moonlight, it was as if a white blanket had been draped over the earth.

But was she really going to live here?

Fu Han felt uncomfortable, “He Xing, I wasn’t joking when I said I wanted to break off our engagement. Please find a car to take me back, just to the foot of the mountain will do. If the paparazzi find out I’m staying here tonight, the He Group’s stock might fall again.”

“You know about that?” Under the street lights, He Xing’s eyes shone.

Fu Han’s heartbeat skipped a beat as she avoided He Xing’s gaze, “I’m no longer the little girl from three years ago who knew nothing.”

After waiting for a while without hearing He Xing’s reply, she couldn’t help but turn her head toward him, “How is the He Group doing now? Has the negative impact I brought been cleared?”

When it came to the company, He Xing’s expression became serious, “We’ve returned to normal during peaks, but not yet during lows.”

Fu Han tilted her head and thought, meaning that the He Group’s situation was a bit better than when she left, but it hadn’t returned to its heyday.

This wasn’t the best outcome she had hoped for in her heart, but thankfully, it wasn’t the worst either.

With her worry alleviated, she brought up the matter of He Xing taking her down the mountain again.

He Xing said that Liang Tao had already left, leaving no driver.

Fu Han said she could drive herself down the mountain.

He Xing then said that Lanwan was a winding mountain road, difficult to navigate at night, and with the added snow, descending rashly could be dangerous.

Under normal circumstances, Fu Han would insist on going down the mountain, but today, the plane she was on had nearly crashed. Surviving a close call makes one cherish life all the more.

Finally, she said very seriously, “Then I’ll stay here for the night, just for one night. You should take me down the mountain early tomorrow.”

“Sure,” He Xing agreed readily, with a smile he couldn’t hide playing at the corners of his eyes and brows.

Fu Han’s room was very tidy, just as it had been when she moved out, clearly cleaned daily; after all, she had lived in this room for over a decade and still felt an attachment to it.

Her room was just like a suite in a five-star hotel, complete with all amenities. She even found a half bottle of wine in the liquor cabinet, which she had opened while living there.

The burgundy liquid swirled in the tall glass, glimmering like amber. She took a light sip, her thoughts turning to where she should start her new journey.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Without asking, she knew it must be He Xing.

He Xing called her out to enjoy the snow scenery; she declined. He Xing’s knocking persisted, claiming that if she didn’t agree, grandfather would be woken up by the noise.

Fu Han cursed He Xing in her mind for being despicable and pulled the door open angrily, following him outside.

The snow scenery in the garden of the He Family home was beautiful; all the plants were layered with snow, and the pine branches were bowed under the weight, looking like a dreamy Christmas tree.

Fu Han actually wanted to build a snowman, but she couldn’t bear to disturb the yard’s snow; it was a snowscape that hadn’t been seen for years, and she hoped it could be preserved a little longer.

Fortunately, He Xing didn’t plan to do anything in the yard. He walked step by step forward, only occasionally reminding Fu Han to watch out for slippery ground to avoid falling.

Fu Han trailed He Xing by three steps. She observed the footprints left in the snow, feeling they marred the beauty of the yard. She chose instead to step into He Xing’s footprints, moving forward slowly, so there would only be two sets of footprints in the garden.