Chapter 139: Extorted

Sorry? It’s okay? I love you?

After listening to Li Yan, Yurong found herself speechless. She initially thought he had something profound to say, only to realize it was simply represented by three characters.

But then she thought: He listens to what I say, even complies with not writing on his palm, still respects me, right? It seems his previous rudeness was just a momentary impulse... using foot taps to convey meaning, what a strange idea...

He had already expressed that it meant sorry, and then interpreted it as no problem, and also said something about I love you... This made Yurong feel at a loss for words, so she simply responded with, "Got it," and focused on watching TV.

This time, the two of them were still leaning against each other, Li Yan wrapped an arm around Yurong, while his other hand held hers. It looked much the same as before, yet the distance between their hearts had drawn even closer after the previous turmoil.

Later in the movie, Yurong found herself watching rather unnaturally. Though her eyes were fixed on the big screen, unlike before when she noted Li Yan’s reactions, now she was aware of him constantly watching her, making her somewhat distracted.

...

Li Yan never rushes when watching movies, so he usually waits until it finishes before leaving. He simply dislikes the crowd, but after listening to Wen Qianyi, he considered himself part of the movie industry now and should indeed respect the behind-the-scenes workers by watching until the credits roll. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

However, today this thought couldn’t be realized because when the lights turn on, the female employees in the front two rows would also stand up and turn to see them. So, just as the movie plot concluded and the credits were about to roll, while everyone was still immersed, Li Yan softly said to Yurong, "Let’s go!"

"Go?" Yurong looked at him strangely; the movie wasn’t over yet.

Having seen this film before, Li Yan knew the plot had concluded, so he whispered, "It’s finished. If we don’t leave now, when the lights come on we’ll bump into them..."

Upon hearing this, Yurong immediately snapped out of the movie’s atmosphere and hurriedly left with him.

Others shared their thoughts, not wanting to leave amidst the crowd, so they started exiting early, though not many people did. The PR department’s female employees stayed with their male companions.

Leaving the cinema, Yurong almost briskly walked away as though afraid of being chased.

"Shall we... go back?" Yurong checked the time. Though it was still early, she had already called her parents to say she’d return soon.

Li Yan looked around and suggested, "I don’t believe I’ve ever taken you shopping... Shall we go for a walk?"

"Shopping? What’s there to shop for?" Yurong hesitated; she wasn’t like most girls who loved shopping, mostly because it felt like a waste of time to her. She didn’t have time for such useless tasks. However, couples shopping together was almost a dating cliché, and she wanted to experience what it felt like. Though they could be considered as an old married couple on paper, they hadn’t really dated much; it was quite unreliable!

Seeing her not refuse, Li Yan smiled, "Let’s go! No worries, I won’t hold your hand in public, and if you’re scared of being recognized, you can use a scarf to cover your face."

Although it’s almost New Year’s, and the days have gotten cooler, S City is in the south and doesn’t experience the biting cold. Full armed attire for warmth was quite rare.

Yurong didn’t remove her scarf, instead reached out and took Li Yan’s tea-colored glasses off his face and put them on hers. She raised her collar, wrapped her scarf tightly, and added the glasses, which helped somewhat in disguising her beauty. To unfamiliar people, she would appear beautiful but her features wouldn’t be clearly seen. For acquaintances, only up close would they have suspicions. Yurong’s regular company image was too single-dimensional; seeing her dressed casually now, most wouldn’t associate her with the icy corporate president in professional attire.

Li Yan had just bought these glasses, yet now they were all for her use. And the hat and big sunglasses, wearing them outside now would seem silly, and more likely to draw attention, so he simply trashed them.

Their shopping trip was unplanned, lacking any specific goal, just wandering wherever they wished.

Yurong was accustomed to a decisive and efficient style, along with worry they’ll run into those few later; even agreeing to shop, she walked quite fast.

Li Yan accompanied her side, walking along observing the surroundings, looking for any interesting activities.

The cinema wouldn’t be built in a remote location. It was a bustling area, Li Yan suggested, "How about we sit at that plaza over there, or stroll through that shopping mall?"

Since Yurong had no experience, asking her would yield little helpful answers. So he presented a choice, akin to the time he took Hai Fu for a midnight outing, asking if she wanted to watch the sunrise from a mountaintop or by the seaside. Women tend to prefer options.

"Uh..." Yurong truly had no ideas. If Li Yan had asked her opinion, she might say ’whatever’, ’your choice’ or similar responses, but with two options given, she naturally engaged her customary company decision-making process — something she faced daily. With a slight pause, a decision was made: "Let’s go sit on the plaza across. The cinema was too crowded, the air wasn’t good; let’s get some fresh air outside, then head home."

"Sure." Li Yan accompanied her as they walked toward the square, and he casually remarked, "Do you feel like shopping at the mall is pointless? If you’re not buying anything, why go?"

Yurong retorted, "Do you like it?"

"I’m here with you; as long as you like it, it’s fine."

The two of them reached the square, looking for a place to sit. They found plenty of seats, but most were occupied. Those stone benches meant for public rest could usually seat four people comfortably. Yet now, all the benches were occupied, but not fully. If a couple occupied one, nobody else would come sit next to them. If it was a single person, they usually sat at one end, and someone else would sit at the other end, leaving the middle empty without anyone squeezing in. As for groups of three or four, friends definitely wouldn’t come to the square to sit and chat unless it was a whole family.

"It’s no big deal, we’ve been sitting for two hours; walking is good too." Yurong whispered, unsure what to talk about with Li Yan if they just sat. If it got awkward, walking would be better.

"Hmm."

Yurong noticed that when Li Yan responded, he frowned, and she quickly asked, "What’s wrong?"

"Ran into some of those persistent types..." Li Yan shrugged.

"Persistent types?" Yurong looked around, puzzled.

She soon understood what Li Yan meant because a six or seven-year-old boy came running up to them with a few roses, and immediately hugged Li Yan’s leg, shouting, "Sir, buy a flower for this beautiful lady!"

Yurong pointed at the boy and looked at Li Yan.

Li Yan nodded and then lifted his foot to show her; the boy was hugging tightly and wouldn’t let go.

"Little boy, we’re not buying flowers; go find someone else." Yurong noticed Li Yan was quite unwilling, so she spoke to the boy. She had received a big bouquet of red roses from him last night, which was still at home. Now, being on the street, holding a single flower bought by force would be meaningless.

The boy clung stubbornly, repeating, "Buy a flower!"

Li Yan was actually quite annoyed, but since Yurong was there—obviously, if he were alone, he’d never be accosted—he pulled out a ten-yuan bill and handed it over. "Here!"

The boy took the money, instantly let go, handed a flower to Yurong and ran off to find his next target.

"Sigh..." Yurong sighed softly, "This child is so pitiful... He should be in school, yet he’s selling flowers on a Sunday. So sensible!"

Li Yan lit a cigarette casually and smiled, "Pitiful people often have something despicable about them. What I actually wanted was to catch him and throw him out..."

"Why are you so violent?" Yurong frowned slightly, "A poor, sensible little kid! How could you bear to do that?"

"You don’t understand. Even though it was just ten yuan, we were extorted."

"Extorted?" Yurong thought he was sounding more and more absurd and sneered, "Yeah! A kid who just started school extorted a tall and mighty man like you for ten yuan!" As she spoke, she tossed the flower in her hand to Li Yan.

Li Yan reached out and caught it without any anger, calmly asking, "Do you think they are out here selling flowers to help out because their family is poor? Do you think a pitiful, sensible child would use such rogue tactics as hanging onto someone, not letting go without getting money?

Kids are innocent, do you think they can be so vile?"

Yurong was quite surprised; she initially thought she was seeing an inspirational story of ’poor kids growing up early,’ but Li Yan was exposing the dark side of society!

"Really?"

"If you linger a bit, you’ll see; this plaza isn’t the only place, there are many kids, boys and girls alike. They each have only a few flowers, but they roam the whole day. Even reporters know to avoid them..." Li Yan sighed: "They are pitiful children too, but the despicable ones are the adults manipulating them behind the scenes!"

(Special thanks to yesterday’s supporters: zjun971210, Cavalry, 麒麟ぉ心, 轩辕绝001, 流星の在等待, dongmin8061, 枫→随風飛, zjun971210, しょぅけん, 书友36135440, CP潘帕斯) (To be continued, for more information please visit www.qidian.com, support the authors and support legitimate reading!)