Delicate Beauty in the Palm : Chapter 86 - Contract Relationship
Chapter 86: Contract Relationship
Though Chen Die had no experience with romance, she was at least someone who went straight from zero to a home run, so she wasn’t oblivious to the implied meaning behind Wen Liang’s “Do you want to?”
Wen Liang, at this moment, was very different from his usual cold self. His eyes had warmth in them, a playful spark, and a heavy, almost oppressive desire.
Chen Die quite liked seeing this side of Wen Liang. She even shamelessly felt a sense of accomplishment, but the way he asked her…
The word “want” was something she couldn’t bring herself to say, no matter how hard she tried.
She stared at Wen Liang, her throat dry as she swallowed, feeling as though her throat was on fire.
The two of them locked eyes in silence, and after a moment, Wen Liang suddenly smiled. He stopped pressing her with his question and effortlessly picked her up in his arms, carrying her upstairs.
Chen Die let out a soft gasp, instinctively wrapping her arms around his neck. When they reached the bed, Wen Liang gently placed her on it.
This was her second time lying on his bed.
Her heartbeat quickened uncontrollably, and she didn’t know whether to look at Wen Liang or avoid his gaze.
Wen Liang, on the other hand, was relaxed, no longer the cold figure from earlier, now fully engulfed by desire. Without giving her time to think or react, he grabbed her ankle and pulled her closer, then leaned over her.
The night was silent.
The water in the bathroom turned on and off, the curtains were drawn open, and the window was cracked, letting in the gentle summer breeze, dispersing the lingering scent in the room.
Wen Liang laid back with her, his body relaxed now, the irritation he’d felt earlier at the bar completely gone. He could still smell the faint fragrance on her skin—whether it was natural or something she had applied, he wasn’t sure.
He inhaled deeply, and a restless feeling stirred inside him again.
Since the first time, Wen Liang had sensed her resistance and hadn’t pushed further until today, when the guy at the bar had triggered him.
After that, it became hard for him to control his desires.
Before long, Wen Liang’s hands began to wander.
Chen Die clenched his wrist tightly, not allowing him to go further.
He remained calm and asked softly, “What’s wrong?”
She didn’t respond but continued to grip his wrist, refusing to let him move. Her back was still turned, and Wen Liang assumed she was just shy. He was about to comfort her when he suddenly heard her soft sobs.
At first, the sobs were barely audible, but soon they became uncontrollable, and she started crying openly.
Wen Liang froze, then gently turned her toward him by the shoulders.
The little girl was crying pitifully, her eyes swollen and red, tears staining her face, and she was hiccupping with sobs, looking at him with watery eyes full of grievance.
Wen Liang, though, felt a strange sense of satisfaction from the way she glared at him.
But Chen Die didn’t cry in front of him often. She didn’t continue being upset with him. He wiped her tears away and softly asked, “Why are you crying?”
“…” She stayed silent.
Wen Liang stroked her back gently. “Did I hurt you?”
She sniffled and sobbed, “You’re so selfish, just thinking about yourself, doing whatever you want. I told you already, but you kept going, again and again…”
Wen Liang actually found her reaction rather amusing, but he held back a smile, not saying anything, just stroking her head.
Chen Die didn’t know why she was crying.
Maybe it was because she felt embarrassed and ashamed about what had just happened, or maybe it was because after Wen Liang kissed her, she started fantasizing that he liked her, only for him to start acting like a rogue, making her feel like the kiss was driven by some ulterior motive.
It was so cruel.
Wen Liang had no experience in comforting anyone, let alone a girl crying in his bed. Usually, he would find it annoying, but this time, he was the one who made her cry.
He tried to comfort her by patting her back and wiping away her tears.
Chen Die, however, became more frustrated. She suddenly sat up on the bed, grabbing some scattered clothes and hastily putting on a short-sleeved shirt.
Wen Liang clicked his tongue and reached over, pulling her back into the bed.
Chen Die, with little strength, was easily pulled down and tossed onto the bed. Wen Liang grabbed the shirt she was holding and threw it aside onto a chair, where she couldn’t just go and retrieve it in her current state.
“What now?” he frowned.
Chen Die, her eyes red, stubbornly said, “I want to go back to sleep.”
“You’ve slept here before.” Wen Liang grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward him, holding her tightly, a wicked grin on his face. “How do you plan to leave?”
“…”
Chen Die was furious, not even properly covered by the blanket, and now locked in his hold. She was about to cry again.
Wen Liang couldn’t stand hearing her soft, persistent sobs. He immediately let go of her wrist, gently caressing her face. “Alright, we’re tired, let’s just go to sleep, okay?”
“I don’t want to sleep with you.” Chen Die was stubborn and refused to listen to him. “You’re such a—”
“Such a what?”
“...Pervert.” Chen Die said firmly.
Wen Liang laughed. “So now I'm a pervert? Who was the one who made the first move the first time? And now you're playing the victim?” He tapped her nose lightly and teased, “Little pervert.”
Chen Die huffed and turned her back to him again. Thankfully, she didn’t insist on going back to sleep.
Wen Liang got up and turned off the lights.
Worried that she might catch a cold from sleeping like that, he wasn’t foolish enough to give her back that T-shirt so she could continue being uncomfortable. Instead, he grabbed some random clothes from the wardrobe and tossed them to her. “Put this on.”
Feeling embarrassed, she quickly hid under the blanket and carefully put the clothes on without revealing herself.
The shirt was long enough to be worn as a nightgown, covering her thighs completely.
There was a moment of silence, then Chen Die sniffled and finally remembered to ask, “Were you at the bar just now too?”
“Mmm.” He answered with his eyes closed.
“…Then why did you tell me you were at home?”
Wen Liang didn’t answer immediately, just furrowed his brow and said, “Don’t go to places like that in the future.”
“You were there too!” Chen Die retorted logically.
Wen Liang's arm crossed over her chest, playfully accusing her, “How old are you? How old am I? A little kid like you goes to places like that and still dares to argue with me?”
“......”
He was so unreasonable.
Now he was complaining that she was too young, but when he was acting like a jerk earlier, he didn’t care about that at all. Double standards.
Chen Die sighed. “I didn’t do anything. I just drank a little. Not even half a glass. And there were so many classmates around, nothing was going to happen.”
Wen Liang scoffed, “You think your classmates have pure intentions toward you?”
Chen Die grew even more frustrated with his unreasonable behavior. He was always so convinced that everyone else was bad. She stubbornly argued, “They didn’t.”
Only then did Wen Liang open his eyes, narrowing them in a way that seemed to warn he was on the edge of getting angry. He pinched her arm. “Still defending them? You’re just like someone who gets sold and still counts the money for the seller.”
His pinch wasn’t gentle, and it hurt. Chen Die furrowed her brows in irritation and hit him. “You’re so annoying!”
“And now you’re hitting me for him?” Wen Liang grabbed her wrist and spoke low, “Do you like him that much?”
“Huh?”
Chen Die didn’t quite process his words at first.
Then, belatedly, she realized that she and Wen Liang were clearly not on the same page. “...What do you mean, like him? Who?”
Wen Liang clicked his tongue and frowned.
Earlier, when he saw Chen Die laughing and talking with that guy at the bar, he had felt irritated, associating it with her mentioning someone she liked. But now, thinking back, it didn’t make sense.
If she really liked him, why would she be here with him, doing what they just did?
Besides, Chen Die had been the one who entered his room on her own and refused to leave.
With that in mind, Wen Liang realized something he had overlooked earlier.
“Chen Die,” he said in a low voice, a little rough with heat, his breath warm against the back of her neck, “Who told you that a little girl like you can sleep with a man?”
Chen Die hesitated for a while before forcing out an answer, “...Who doesn’t know that? I’m not a primary school kid. I have classmates who’ve done that with their boyfriends.”
As soon as she said that, she regretted it—what a terrible excuse!
But Wen Liang seemed to accept it and didn’t press further. His breathing slowed, and he seemed close to falling asleep.
Chen Die paused, reflecting on his words, and then quietly, almost to herself, said, “I don’t like anyone.”
It was more like something she was saying to convince herself.
He lightly murmured “Mmm,” his arms still wrapped around her waist, and after a moment, he spoke again. “Lingling.”
Chen Die’s heart skipped a beat. “Hm?”
“Since you’re with me now, tomorrow, bring over the stuff from your room. You’ll sleep in my room from now on. If you need anything, just tell me. As for those male classmates of yours, keep your distance from them.” He spoke very directly, as though giving orders.
Chen Die bit her lip, softly replying, “Okay.”
The next morning, she was still asleep when Wen Liang had already left for work. When she finally got up and walked out of the bedroom, she noticed that Aunt Zhang was already tidying up the guest room for her—probably because Wen Liang had asked her to.
Chen Die felt a bit awkward. She couldn’t help but feel like this situation was too similar to the scheming, malicious women on TV. Here she was, living under Wen Liang’s roof, being taken care of, going to school, and eating, and yet, she ended up sleeping in the master bedroom. It felt like she was taking advantage of the situation, acting selfishly.
But Aunt Zhang didn’t seem to mind. In fact, when she was packing up her things, she appeared quite happy.
“Miss Chen, do you need to take these books with you?” Aunt Zhang asked, holding a stack of books.
Chen Die walked over. “No, Aunt Zhang, I’ll do it myself. Don’t trouble yourself.”
“It’s no trouble at all,” Aunt Zhang replied, “You have a lot of things. Once everything’s ready, you can rest a bit earlier.”
Chen Die had no choice but to tidy up with Aunt Zhang. She had been living there for two years, so she had accumulated quite a few things, but most of them consisted of old high school textbooks and notebooks that she no longer needed. The only things to move were her clothes and toiletries.
Wen Liang didn’t have many clothes, mostly a few suits and shirts. Chen Die placed her clothes in one of the wardrobes in the master bedroom and noticed another one of her cups on the bathroom sink.
Even though their relationship was unclear, she felt especially happy.
At least, in this situation, Wen Liang couldn’t possibly be going on blind dates or getting married to some other wealthy young lady now, could he?
At the time, Chen Die was young and didn’t know much about relationships between men and women. She didn’t understand that such an unequal beginning would be hard to maintain. She naively thought she had won a victory, even calling it a war without gunpowder.
She took a picture of the two cups in the bathroom, then carefully placed the photo in a hidden album.
Chen Die settled into the master bedroom.
At first, she was very uncomfortable. Wen Liang had always looked so serious, even intimidating when angry. But after moving in, she often saw a more playful, mischievous side of him. She liked this version of Wen Liang, but… her body couldn’t quite keep up.
Even though Wen Liang had never had a girlfriend before, he seemed to know what he was doing when it came to intimacy. She didn’t know where he learned it from.
It took her a long time to adjust, gradually becoming more in sync with him.
Chen Die was the type to become spoiled with affection, and now that she was closer to Wen Liang, she became more bold, pushing the limits of their previous boundaries, claiming more space within his world.
Wen Liang still scolded her sometimes, but he was also willing to indulge her. He would usually scold her verbally, but his actions were always more accommodating.
One day, Wen Liang, for once, didn’t go to the office early. Instead, he went to the hospital to see Wen Huaiyuan, then came back to the villa in the western suburbs by lunchtime.
After the college entrance exams, Chen Die had been idle at home. When Wen Liang arrived, she was curled up on the sofa watching a classic old film from the last century.
Since she wasn’t going out, she hadn’t even changed clothes, still wearing her nightgown. Her pale, soft toes were exposed, resting on the sofa, and her arms were wrapped around her legs.
It wasn’t until Aunt Zhang brought out lunch and said, “Young master is home,” that she quickly turned to look.
She rushed to stand up, nearly tripping over her nightgown.
Wen Liang came over to steady her. Before she could even say, “Why are you back at this time?” he scowled and scolded, “How old are you, and you’re still acting all flustered? Can’t even walk properly?”
“......”
How unreasonable.
Chen Die’s brief moment of joy was instantly dashed by his words. She gave him a glance and huffed, “What are you back for?”
Her tone was spoiled, and Wen Liang couldn’t help but smile. He thought that if he kept indulging her like this for a few more years, she might actually kick him out of the house one day.
He had figured her out. After she threw her little tantrum, he lazily asked, “Your college is settled now. Where do you want to go on vacation?”
He watched her facial expression change, clearly enjoying it.
Chen Die felt a bit embarrassed, even thinking that Wen Liang was taking revenge in a kind way.
“Anywhere,” she muttered softly.
Wen Liang said, “I’ll see. Once this busy period is over, I’ll take you on a trip.”
Chen Die nodded enthusiastically, looking almost like a little chick pecking at rice. She seemed overly obedient, even with a touch of flattery: “Are you really busy lately?”
“Not today. I’m at home dealing with some contracts.”
After lunch, Wen Liang went to his study. Since taking over the company, he had become more composed. In the past, he used to hang out aimlessly with friends, but now he spent most of his time at the company, only attending parties in the evenings and usually staying at the western suburbs villa.
Chen Die finished watching the remaining half hour of the film. Bored and with nothing to do, she sneaked into Wen Liang’s study again.
“What’s up?” Wen Liang asked.
Chen Die honestly replied, “I’m so bored.”
“Next month is military training. People like you better not complain about being tired then.”
“...Who’s going to complain to you?” Chen Die muttered, walking over to him and leaning her head to peek at what he was doing.
“Can you even understand this?” he mocked.
Chen Die hated it when he looked down on her. He had done this before, a few times: “What’s there to not understand!”
The contract in his hands was a business confidential document related to a billion-dollar project, but Wen Liang just casually pulled her onto his lap and lazily asked, “Why don’t you take a look and see if the contract is reasonable?”
She read it carefully and replied, “It seems reasonable.”
Wen Liang patted her on the butt and told her to go play: “Go do something else.”
But Chen Die refused to leave and kept pestering him to explain what was unreasonable about the contract. Wen Liang, for some reason, seemed to be in a good mood that day and patiently explained a few tricky parts of the contract to her.
Chen Die listened carefully, deep in thought.
Wen Liang thought she found it boring and figured it was best to let her go and do something else. However, a few days later, Chen Die came back to him with more questions about the contract. Later, she proudly placed a new contract in front of him, neatly stapled on the side.
Between the lines, Chen Die's pride was clear, as she arrogantly declared that she would maintain her romantic relationship with him throughout her university years.
Wen Liang skimmed through it and found it amusing.
First, he would never be short of women, and if anyone else saw this contract, they’d probably laugh at how seriously she took herself.
Second, the way they were now, a contract written on paper wouldn’t hold up. If it came to use, a simple “against public morals” clause would invalidate it.
But seeing her excitement, Wen Liang didn’t bother to explain any of that to her.
Maybe it was because she was so bored at home, but she actually spent time making such a contract.
Then, Wen Liang suddenly remembered that day at the bar. Even though Chen Die wasn’t interested in that guy, he had clearly seen the way the guy looked at her.
Wen Liang glanced at her and had to admit that Chen Die was indeed very pleasant to look at. When she went to university, there would be no teachers around to stop her from falling in love early. He could imagine how much trouble she might cause him.
He knew the contract wasn’t valid, but given the current situation, it might actually intimidate Chen Die.
Seeing that he wasn’t signing, she urged him, “Sign it.”
Wen Liang casually added a weight to her mind: “If you sign it, you have to follow it.”
Chen Die didn’t understand and replied, “Of course, I will.”
Wen Liang signed his name with a flourish on the last page and tossed it at her. He scoffed, “You’re always doing pointless things.”
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