Delicate Beauty in the Palm : Chapter 42 - Held Chen Die Tightly in His Arms

June 24, 2025 Oyen 0 Comments

Happy Reading~Chapter 42: Held Chen Die Tightly in His Arms

 

The princess herself was a bit dazed at the moment.

 

In the 21st century, Chen Die had only ever heard the word ‘princess’ used when Chen Shao was mocking Chen Shuyuan. And now, that very word had landed squarely on her own forehead.

 

Is this how thirty-something men chase after women these days?! 

 

But despite herself, Chen Die’s cheeks started to heat up, and her breathing slowed.

 

Wen Liang was still crouched in front of her, looking up with deep, dark eyes, a subtle smile lingering at the corner of his mouth. It looked a little mischievous, not entirely innocent.

 

Chen Die reacted a beat late and only then pulled her leg back from his hands.

 

Wen Liang gently held her ankle and set her foot down on the floor. Her foot, pale and slender, looked especially beautiful in those crystal shoes. Her Achilles tendon was high, and her calves were shapely and straight—perfect for heels of this height.

 

Ye Chuqing clapped her hands twice at the side, clearly not hiding the fact that she might be doing it on purpose. She said, “Princess herself—those are only truly crystal shoes when you wear them.”

 

Wen Liang’s lips curled faintly. “Do you like them?”

 

Chen Die glanced down and nodded slightly. “Mm.”

 

“Want them boxed up, or just wear them out?”

 

The heels were too high, only suitable for special occasions and too tiring for everyday wear. Chen Die changed back into her original shoes. “Box them up.”

 

She had just finished speaking when Wen Liang already pulled out a card and handed it over.

 

Ye Chuqing leaned over to Chen Die and whispered, “So this is what that man is like when he actually talks like a normal person. Not easy—finally acting like a real human.”

 

Chen Die still felt her ankle was burning up, especially the spot Wen Liang had held earlier.

 

Around them, people were chattering nonstop, but Chen Die had no interest in paying attention to what they were saying, nor did she care to look at Chen Shuyuan’s expression.

 

Ye Chuqing squinted at her knowingly and chuckled, “Babe, are you chasing him, or is he chasing you? He just put some shoes on you, and you already look so flustered. Have a little pride, will you?”

 

“......”

 

“A guy like this needs some serious taming before he’s fully trained,” Ye Chuqing added.

 

While they were talking, Wen Liang came back with the boxed shoes. “Let’s go eat?”

 

Chen Die said goodbye to Ye Chuqing and left with Wen Liang.

 

The business event Wen Liang had been attending earlier had already ended. While most people at the fashion show hadn’t left yet, there weren’t many people outside the Shiyu Plaza. Security stood guard at the perimeter.

 

Walking behind him, Chen Die asked, “What was that about, putting shoes on me in front of everyone?”

 

He chuckled lightly and turned his head to glance at her. “Why so shy?”

 

Chen Die: “?”

 

Who's shy?!

 

This damn man and his delusions. Acting like she was some lovestruck girl who had admired him from afar for years.

 

Wen Liang raised his hand lazily and draped it over her shoulder. “What part of you haven’t I touched?”

 

“????”

 

Chen Die’s shoulder twitched, and she flung his hand off, her cheeks red—whether from anger or embarrassment, even she wasn’t sure. She glared at him. “Wen Liang!”

 

He raised an eyebrow slowly.

 

“Know your place! What kind of man courts someone the way you do? That comment just now was straight-up harassment!” Chen Die pointed at him angrily.

 

Wen Liang looked down at her with a helpless expression.

 

He’d lived his life rough—this kind of courtship was already a learning curve for him. And on top of that, Chen Die had a whole set of moral codes that felt like a damn public service announcement.

 

Now he lowered his eyes to look at her, and Chen Die could practically see the words written in his gaze: After all these years of sleeping together, why the hell are you making such a fuss?

 

“Alright.” Wen Liang finally sighed and reached up to flick her on the forehead. “Get in the car.”

 

Chen Die got into the car, and Wen Liang placed the boxed high heels in her lap. 

 

“That pair of ballet flats I bought you before were too big—they didn’t fit, so you couldn’t wear them,” Wen Liang said casually while looking ahead. “This pair finally fits.”

 

“What do you want to eat?” Wen Liang asked.

 

Chen Die was still stuck on that previous comment, and her thoughts drifted until Wen Liang snapped his fingers in front of her and asked again.

 

“Huh?” Chen Die blinked. “Whatever’s fine.”

 

Wen Liang thought for a moment—there was a nearby barbecue restaurant run by a friend of his with good privacy. “How about barbecue?”

 

“Sure.”

 

Outside, the sun was bright and spring had begun. The wind blew tufts of willow catkins into the air. Chen Die tilted her head and looked out the window, seemingly lost in thought—or maybe thinking about nothing at all.

 

The car pulled up in front of the restaurant, which had a rustic wooden exterior.

 

Chen Die put on her mask and followed Wen Liang into a private dining room. As they walked in, she happened to glance down and noticed that the knee of Wen Liang’s black suit pants had a smudge on it—left from when he knelt on one knee earlier to put the shoes on her.

 

Chen Die suddenly recalled the moment they first met.

 

She had been squatting at an old, rundown bus stop near the train station when Wen Liang walked up to her, leaned down, and looked at her from above.

 

At the time, a dim streetlamp cast its light right behind his head, creating a halo around him as the light fell over his body.

 

In that moment, one word inexplicably came to Chen Die’s mind: divinity.

 

For a long time afterward, their relationship had remained in that dynamic—one looking up, the other looking down, just like at their first meeting.

 

But now, the dust on Wen Liang’s pant leg—right on the knee—made Chen Die feel for the first time that her ‘god’ had finally bent down toward her. She and her god now stood on equal footing.

 

“Your pants are dirty,” Chen Die said once they entered the private dining room.

 

Wen Liang glanced down, unconcerned, and casually brushed it off.

 

“What would you two like to eat?” The staff here were courteous and didn't act any differently just because it was Chen Die. The waiter took their order with a neutral expression.

 

They ordered a set meal, and it was quickly served.

 

Wen Liang didn’t let the staff help grill the meat—it was just the two of them in the room.

 

He took off his coat, rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt to the elbows, and picked up the tongs and scissors to grill the meat.

 

Normally, places like this had staff who did all the grilling, so Wen Liang rarely did it himself. His movements weren’t very practiced, and the meat often ended up burned or stuck to the grill.

 

Chen Die watched for a bit and couldn't help but feel speechless—Wen Liang clearly had zero cooking talent.

 

“Can’t you brush some oil on first?”

 

Wen Liang looked up at her but didn’t say anything, just grabbed the oil and poured some on.

 

Unfortunately, it didn’t help much—the meat still burned where it was going to burn, and still stuck where it wanted to stick.

 

As expected, this kind of human task was beyond this dog of a man.

 

Chen Die sighed. “Let me do it.”

 

She took the tongs and scissors from Wen Liang and grilled a few slices of meat with practiced ease.

 

After lunch, once they were back in the car, Wen Liang asked, “Where to next?”

 

“I’m off today, so just take me home.”

 

“I’ll drop you off first then.” Wen Liang raised his wrist to check his watch and frowned slightly. “I need to go to the hospital afterward.”

 

Chen Die was startled and turned to him. “The hospital?”

 

“Not for me,” Wen Liang said calmly, lips pressing into a line. “It’s Wen Huaiyuan—he’s been hospitalized again. I need to go check on him.”

 

Chen Die knew that Wen Liang hadn’t called Wen Huaiyuan ‘father’ ever since his mother passed. She also knew that Wen Huaiyuan’s health had been poor for years.

 

“Is it serious?” she asked.

 

Wen Liang smiled slightly. “No, he’s fine.”

 

After dropping Chen Die off, Wen Liang drove straight to the hospital.

 

It was the weekend, so Fu Wanmei wasn’t at the hospital, but Wen Qian was.

 

As soon as Wen Qian saw him, he stood up and called, “Brother.”

 

Wen Liang gave a brief reply without even looking at him. He pulled a chair over to the bedside and sat down. “How was your check-up today?”

 

Wen Huaiyuan waved his hand and sighed. “Same old stuff, just the usual ailments.”

 

After his serious illness, Wen Huaiyuan had seemed to age overnight. His whole body had withered, and even his complexion looked dull and gray, completely drained of energy.

 

“Wen Qian, step out for a bit,” Wen Huaiyuan said, turning his head. “I want to speak with your brother alone.”

 

Wen Qian paused for a second, but didn’t show much emotion. He nodded and left with an “Oh.”

 

Wen Liang shifted into a more relaxed position in the chair and raised an eyebrow, waiting for Wen Huaiyuan to speak first.

 

“I feel at ease now that Wenyuan is under your management. Your brother really isn’t suited for the business world.”

 

Back in the day, under Fu Wanmei’s constant pillow talk, Wen Huaiyuan had seriously considered handing the company over to Wen Qian. But now, seeing how Wenyuan was flourishing under Wen Liang’s leadership, and with Wen Qian growing older and more set in his ways, Wen Huaiyuan could no longer ignore what kind of person his youngest son really was.

 

Now with one foot in the grave, he had begun thinking more clearly—he knew who the company should be entrusted to if it were to truly thrive.

 

“But Wen Qian is still your brother, and Wanmei has been my wife for so many years. If something happens to me, I still have to think about how they’ll live the rest of their lives. You already hold more than half of Wenyuan’s shares. As for what I still own—when I die, half will go to your brother and Wanmei.”

 

Halfway through speaking, Wen Huaiyuan suddenly broke into a violent coughing fit, his face turning red as if he were about to cough up a lung.

 

Wen Liang handed him a glass of water without a word.

 

“As for Wen Qian and Wanmei, they’ll live off the dividends from their shares, so they don’t have to struggle. But the company itself—of course, it’ll go to you. I’m not so far gone as to be confused about that. I’ll make it clear in my will that they aren’t allowed to interfere with company decisions.”

 

Wen Liang suddenly gave a self-deprecating smile.

 

At this point, Wen Huaiyuan was still thinking about how to ensure Wen Qian and Fu Wanmei could live comfortably in the future, while to him—Wen Liang—he simply said, “Don’t worry, you’ll be the one making decisions for the company.”

 

Wen Liang let out a soft snort and leaned back lazily in his chair. “Fine.”

 

“I've heard about that thing between you and the Chen family girl, too,” Wen Huaiyuan said weakly, his voice lacking the authority it once had. “I don't have the strength to control you anymore, but her personality isn’t suitable for you.”

 

Wen Liang looked up, asking nonchalantly, “Then what kind of personality is suitable for me?”

 

Wen Huaiyuan shook his head. “That Chen girl is like your mother. It's normal for you to be curious and develop feelings for someone like that, but she’s not the type to marry.”

 

“Surprised you still remember her,” Wen Liang replied blandly.

 

Whenever Wen Liang’s birth mother was mentioned, Wen Huaiyuan always seemed a bit wistful. But just as he was about to say something, Wen Liang stood up. “I’m heading out.”

 

A week later, Chen Die set off once again to record <Three Meals a Day>. At the same time, the first episode officially aired.

 

After having already worked together once, everyone was much more relaxed and familiar this time around.

 

They all sat around a table as the production team handed out the mission card for the episode: the ingredients for dinner had to be earned by completing an escape room challenge.

 

“My agency told me this was just a chill food show—why do I need to use my brain?” Ran Liming joked.

 

Li Cong chimed in, “Yeah, my brain is definitely not made for escape rooms.”

 

Chen Die pulled a task card out of the envelope and read it over. “We're not all starting together?”

 

“That's right. Each of the four of you will enter through a different entrance. After solving the puzzles in your rooms, you might run into your teammates. The ingredients are locked in safes scattered throughout the rooms,” the director explained. “There are four themes to choose from. Once you’ve decided, we’ll get ready to go.”

 

The four themes were: Sci-fi, Fairy Tale, School, and Cave.

 

Li Cong glanced at the list and tilted his head. “Chen Die, you’re going in alone—won’t you be scared?”

 

Chen Die replied, "I'm fine. I’m not really scared of this stuff."

 

After some discussion, the guys gallantly decided to let Chen Die take the ‘least scary’ one—Fairy Tale.

 

…Even though Chen Die didn’t really think a themed escape room would necessarily be all that warm and fuzzy.

 

Lin Qingye chose School, Li Cong picked Cave, and Ran Liming went with Sci-fi.

 

Right before heading to the escape rooms, Wen Liang sent Chen Die a message:

 

[Wen Liang: Filming right now?]

 

[Chen Die: Yeah, about to go offline. We have to do an escape room task.]

 

[Wen Liang: I’ll come find you later.]

 

Chen Die hesitated. The crew was already handing out blindfolds and walkie-talkies.

 

Before putting on her blindfold, she quickly replied, [No need, you’re busy.] Then turned off her phone.

 

With blindfolds on, the four of them were driven to an unknown location by the production team. Their faces stayed covered the entire time until they were separated and placed at the entrance of their respective rooms.

 

It was only then that the director’s voice came through the walkie-talkie: “The themes ranked from easiest to hardest are: Sci-fi, Cave, School, and… Fairy Tale.”

 

Chen Die: “…”

 

Figures.

 

She was guided into the first room by a staff member and followed the instructions via walkie-talkie. Only when the director said, “You can now remove your blindfolds,” did she take it off.

 

She did it quickly—just tugged one corner up—and the scene in front of her hit her like a brick. 

 

Fairy Tale, alright.

 

Except it was dark fairy tale. The entire room was painted in blood-red hues, and the princess dolls had bulging eyes laced with bloodshot lines and twisted, eerie smiles.

 

Chen Die wasn’t afraid of horror movies, but standing in this creepy room all alone, even she couldn't help but feel uneasy.

 

Meanwhile, the walkie-talkie crackled to life with the shrieks of the others—seems like they were getting spooked too.

 

Not daring to stare too long at the dolls, Chen Die steadied herself and began searching for clues.

 

The fairy tale-themed room was filled with box-like chests resembling treasure boxes. As she opened several to look for hints, she triggered a bunch of prank traps and let out a few startled yelps—loud enough to make the boys in the other rooms laugh gleefully.

 

She’d played escape rooms a few times back in her student council days, so once she got past the initial fright, she quickly began to figure out the logic behind the puzzles.

 

An hour in, Chen Die had already successfully cleared two rooms and collected two ingredients.

 

The walkie-talkie provided real-time updates on everyone’s progress, and Chen Die was currently the first to clear two levels. Li Cong and Ran Liming exaggeratedly cheered her on.

 

“Alright, Chen Die!”

 

“You’re totally our team’s brainiac MVP!”

 

Chen Die smiled, just about to respond when suddenly, the walkie-talkie emitted a burst of sharp, static noise—then went completely silent.

 

She tried adjusting it a few times, but it was no use.

 

The walkie-talkie was dead.

 

Elsewhere, Ran Liming was shouting “Hello? Hello?” repeatedly before quickly notifying the production crew outside.

 

By the time Wen Liang arrived, the team was already dealing with the issue. The escape room was rigged with a bunch of stationary cameras, and to keep the atmosphere spooky, no cameramen were allowed to follow them inside. With so many cameras and no live feed setup, checking footage in real time wasn’t exactly easy.

 

After Chen Die’s walkie-talkie broke, it meant she had no way to communicate—she was completely out of contact.

 

“What happened?” Wen Liang asked.

 

The director, aware that the two shared a close relationship, didn’t dare lie. He replied truthfully but cautiously, “I’m sending someone in with a new walkie-talkie right away.”

 

Wen Liang frowned slightly. “Give it to me. I’ll take it in.”

 

The director was momentarily stunned but had no choice but to hand the walkie-talkie to Wen Liang. Before he left, the director added carefully, “Everything inside is being recorded in real-time, and it’ll be edited into the final show.”

 

The implication was clear: don’t linger too long, or it’ll complicate the editing process.

 

Whether Wen Liang got the hint or not was unclear. He just took the walkie-talkie, tested it once, and then followed the staff toward the escape room entrance.

 

Meanwhile, Chen Die hadn’t taken the walkie-talkie failure too seriously. She even assumed maybe everyone’s devices had been shut off intentionally—for dramatic effect in the final cut.

 

So she quickly refocused on solving the challenge.

 

But the fairy tale room being the most difficult wasn’t just for show. The first two levels had been manageable, but now she was completely stuck on the third.

 

The third level was pitch-black, lit only by a few scattered candlelights that actually made the room feel more eerie.

 

By the faint light, Chen Die pulled a slip of paper from a bamboo tube. It had a string of numbers on it. Just as she was about to examine it closely, something she touched must’ve triggered a mechanism—because suddenly, all the candles went out.

 

The room was plunged into total darkness.

 

Chen Die’s night vision was terrible, and she hadn’t adjusted yet. She couldn’t see a thing.

 

Then came the eerie music—soft, ethereal, unnerving.

 

Chen Die: “…”

 

Who designed this awful game!?

 

She was this close to dying of fright!

 

Would it be so bad if she just gave up on getting the ingredients?!

 

She didn’t dare stay still, so she began to carefully feel her way forward in the dark. But after just a few steps, she heard something like oooh ahh oooh noises beside her. In the silence of the room, it was deafening.

 

Chen Die could feel her heart clawing its way up into her throat.

 

She even began wondering how she could act scared in a way that still looked elegant on camera.

 

The sound was getting closer. She froze, eyes wide, desperately trying to see—but it was no use.

 

What happened to this being a normal escape room? When did it become immersive horror?

 

They had actual NPCs now!?

 

Then she caught a familiar scent—a faint hint of tobacco, mixed with the soft detergent smell of her own clothes from earlier.

 

…Was she so scared she was hallucinating?

 

She didn’t have time to think—just instinctively tried to back away. But then someone’s arm wrapped around her waist, and that familiar scent closed in. Something cool touched her lips.

 

Chen Die immediately bit down hard, then jerked backward with a scream: “Ahhhhhh—!”

 

“Hiss…”

 

Wen Liang lifted a hand to his mouth—it was wet.

 

It was bleeding.

 

Breathing heavily, Chen Die asked cautiously, “Wen Liang?”

 

He pressed his fingers to his lips and replied with a faint “Yeah,” followed by a soft chuckle. “You bit me pretty hard.”

 

Now that her eyes had adjusted to the dark, Wen Liang’s outline slowly came into view—sharp features, a smear of blood on his lips where he’d wiped it, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly.

 

Chen Die blinked. “…Serves you right.”

 

“Did I scare you?” Wen Liang lifted a hand and tugged at her ponytail, teasing, “You’re such a scaredy-cat.”

 

“.....”

 

Chen Die ignored him and wiped her mouth with her sleeve. Then her eyes widened. “Wait—why the hell did you kiss me just now!?”

 

He grinned in that roguish way of his and didn’t answer.

 

“There are night vision cameras in here! They definitely recorded that!”

 

“Oh,” Wen Liang raised a brow. “So if they hadn’t recorded it, kissing would’ve been fine?”

 

“…You’re shameless.”

 

Wen Liang was used to her snark by now. “I’ll talk to the team later, tell them to cut those clips out in editing.”

 

“Oh.” Chen Die wiped her mouth again and looked up. “Why did you come in here?”

 

Wen Liang handed her the walkie-talkie.

 

Chen Die adjusted the settings, quickly switching to the original channel—Ran Liming and Li Cong’s voices came through immediately:

 

“Why haven’t we heard from Little Sister Die yet?”

 

“Hello? Hello? Little Sister Die, you there?”

 

Chen Die pressed the button and spoke into the walkie-talkie: “I’m here. The old one just broke.”

 

The moment she put the walkie-talkie down, Wen Liang let out a low snort and squinted as he repeated what the others had called her earlier: “Little Sister Die?”

 

“......”

 

Honestly, it was the first time Chen Die had heard Ran Liming and Li Cong call her that. Usually, no one addressed her that way—only her fans used the nickname ‘Little Sister Die.’

 

“Chen Die,” Wen Liang said, eyes lowered.

 

“What?”

 

“Watch it. Don’t go playing into this big brother-little sister nonsense with anyone.”

 

“......”

 

Right. Wen Liang’s version of pursuing someone: sneak a kiss, issue a warning, and throw in a threat.

 

Ha.

 

If you can actually win someone over with tactics like that, I’ll admit defeat.

 

Chen Die grumbled inwardly.

 

She rolled her eyes and pushed him. “Go already.”

 

“Not scared anymore?” Wen Liang looked at her.

 

“I wasn’t scared in the first place. You scared me, okay?”

 

Wen Liang patted her cheek and turned to leave.

 

Thanks to that little episode with Wen Liang, Chen Die had wasted quite a bit of time. After getting the new walkie-talkie, she turned on the backup flashlight and finally made it through the third room after another twenty-plus minutes.

 

Over the walkie-talkie, the director announced that Lin Qingye had completed the challenge and retrieved all the ingredients from his path.

 

Another forty minutes passed, and Chen Die became the second to finish. Soon after, Ran Liming and Li Cong completed theirs as well.

 

Chen Die grabbed some water, experiencing a repeat of what the crew had gone through before—Version 2.0. The staff once again looked at her with newfound respect.

 

She glanced around the area but didn’t see any sign of Wen Liang.

 

The director was already calling for everyone to get in the van and head back.

 

Back at the house, it was time to prepare dinner. All four of them could cook at least a little, though Chen Die hadn’t done it in a while and was the least skilled at stir-frying.

 

After dinner, it was time to assign sleeping arrangements.

 

The rooms for the night were determined based on their escape room performance. Lin Qingye got the best, most luxurious room. Chen Die got the second-best. Ran Liming, who finished last, had to sleep in a tent.

 

Chen Die went to her room, put away her luggage, washed her face, and stepped back out.

 

The other three were sitting in the living room, chatting.

 

Li Cong waved at her, “Come sit with us, Little Sister Die.”

 

“In a bit. I need to head out first,” Chen Die said with a smile.

 

It was cold outside, and the moment she stepped out, she regretted not wearing a scarf. She let down her long ponytail and pulled her hair forward to cover her neck.

 

The crew had already returned to their vehicles.

 

Chen Die hugged her coat tighter and stomped her feet to keep warm, her breath turning to mist in the air.

 

She pulled out her phone and typed a message to Wen Liang.

 

She first wrote [Did you leave already?] But after a pause, she deleted it and rewrote:

 

[Chen Die: Where are you right now?]

 

She didn’t expect a quick reply, so after sending it, she tucked her phone back in her pocket and turned to head inside—but her phone buzzed almost immediately.

 

[Wen Liang: Turn around.] 

 

Chen Die turned.

 

Wen Liang stood under a streetlight, his dark hair tinged light under the glow.

 

Chen Die couldn’t help but take a step toward him, hesitated for a second, then continued walking until she was standing in front of him, looking up. “Where did you go just now?”

 

“Had something to take care of,” Wen Liang replied calmly. “I’ll need to head back to Yan City soon.”

 

Chen Die froze, then instinctively asked, “Is everything okay?”

 

“Wen Huaiyuan’s condition is a bit critical—he’s in surgery.”

 

His voice was soft and almost emotionless. The wind seemed to carry his words away. Anyone else listening probably wouldn’t even guess that Wen Huaiyuan was his father.

 

But Chen Die knew.

 

She suddenly recalled a phrase she’d once seen online: “As long as your parents are alive, you still have a place to go. Once they’re gone, there’s only the road home.”

 

That quote had resonated deeply with many.

However, Chen Die, who had no parents, hadn’t truly understood it—until now.

 

Though Wen Liang and Wen Huaiyuan had never had a good relationship, in the end, he was still his father. His mother was already gone, and now with his father in critical condition, facing life and death in an operating room, some emotions couldn’t be put into words.

 

Chen Die looked at him for a long time, unsure what to say.

 

Wen Liang spoke first, trying to keep things light: “What’s with that expression?”

 

Chen Die didn’t smile. Instead, she gave in to her feelings.

 

She stepped forward and opened her arms, pulling him into a hug.

 

Wen Liang was caught off guard, his body stiffening for a second—until the muffled voice in his chest complained, “Are your arms broken or something? Hug me back.”

 

Her tone was annoyed and slightly embarrassed, yet somehow still fierce.

 

Whatever complicated feelings Wen Liang had been carrying seemed to dissolve in that moment. He opened his arms, bent down, and wrapped her tightly in an embrace, lowering his head to rest near hers.

 

He chuckled softly in her ear: “What a nice surprise.”

 

Chen Die bit her lip in his arms, her face flushed, both shy and warm.

 

It was a long while before she let go.

 

Wen Liang looked down at her, ruffled her hair gently, and said, “I’m going now.”

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