Chapter 150: A Little Reward for You

(My health is really poor. Yesterday, I went to Splendid China with my wife and kids for a day and got motion sickness from the car ride. I was exhausted and only recovered after sleeping for twelve hours... I’ll write at least three Chapters today!)

"What?" Yue Yao was taken aback by Li Yan’s words, then she quickly reacted and chuckled, "Drowning my sorrows in drink? No way, what sorrows do I have to drown?"

Li Yan pointed at the bottle. He understood Yue Yao’s feelings. Today, he was celebrating a birthday with Yurong and would be staying at the Zhang Family’s home, not coming back. It was normal for Yue Yao to feel lonely at home by herself...

Yue Yao shook her head with a smile, "You’ve misunderstood. It’s just that since neither of you are coming back, I thought I might as well drink a bit more. Anyway, I’m going to sleep soon, so..."

She wanted to explain but found it difficult. Given how well they knew each other, it was hard to deceive Li Yan face-to-face.

Actually, she couldn’t quite understand her own mindset. Seeing the two of them reconcile, especially with Li Yan putting so much effort into celebrating Yurong’s birthday, made Yue Yao feel very gratified. She had always been trying to bring the two together.

But even the most selfless person would somewhat consider their own feelings—it’s human nature. Yue Yao didn’t want to replace Zhang Yurong. Originally, she wasn’t sure what Li Yan felt, but later she found out he had feelings for her too. Yet, she had no such intentions. She just felt that being by his side more often, making him happier, was already better than expected.

But Li Yan and Zhang Yurong were husband and wife, while she was merely a friend of Yurong, having evolved from an online acquaintance to a close friend, living here to help with her relationship issues. In their cohabiting but room-sharing situation, she served as a buffer. But once their relationship improved and they lived sweetly as a normal couple, she would become like a third wheel if she stayed. Even if Zhang Yurong agreed to her staying, she’d feel uncomfortable.

Moreover, Zhang Yurong hadn’t been intimate with Li Yan yet. In other words, she had no experience in such matters and was quite innocent. Once they fully came together, knowing each other more intimately, Yurong would likely have a stronger sense of possession over her man. Would she still allow another beautiful girl to be present in her home? Would she still gift her alluring sleepwear to wear at home?

It’s common for young women to be shy and bring a female companion along during the initial stages of dating for a better atmosphere and peace of mind. But typically, after a few dates, as the relationship deepens, the companion fades out and no longer joins the couple’s dates.

Yue Yao felt like she was that role. Once they completely came together, she should move out. Otherwise, their relationship would become subtle and awkward...

Tonight, she was indeed happy about the progression of Li Yan and Zhang Yurong’s relationship, as it also meant she was one step closer to leaving. However, it was an inevitable outcome that she neither avoided nor sought to change. That’s why she drank, partially as a way to drown her sorrows.

"By the way, why did you come back alone?" It was her decision, and the issue hadn’t arrived yet. When she saw Li Yan, she forgot about it. Now that he brought it up and saw through it, she still felt it wasn’t convenient to discuss, so she tried to change the subject.

Li Yan felt a bit helpless, "Didn’t I just tell you?"

"Oh, right..." Yue Yao was secretly embarrassed. How could she be so absent-minded? It must be because she drank too much...

Seeing her like this, Li Yan didn’t want to force her to admit anything, just felt very sorry for her. He sighed gently, "Your injury hasn’t fully healed. Don’t drink so much."

"Okay." Yue Yao nodded. She knew that he genuinely cared for her and calmed down a bit, shifting to another topic, "You’re looking for me to have a meeting, right?"

"Meeting?" Li Yan didn’t know what to say. That was indeed his original intention. With Yurong absent, he had a chance to meet with Yue Yao alone, face-to-face to discuss some serious matters. However, seeing her drinking alone, he had already forgotten about this and felt he should care more about her.

"Yue Yao, let me put it this way, I don’t want you to just be my shadow, revolving entirely around me. I hope you find your own happiness and pursue your happiness. I also don’t want to just come to you for routine business. I hope we can..."

Li Yan, in a moment of impulse, said these words but couldn’t continue. The bond between them was unlike typical interactions between men and women—built silently over time. If they were to date in a typical way, both would probably feel awkward and unnatural. Also, given their current situations, it wasn’t possible to take things further.

Seeing him unable to continue, Yue Yao understood and smiled slightly, "I understand... But you don’t need to feel you owe me anything. I like how things are now. Publicly, you made me and nurtured me. As your assistant, it’s my job to report on tasks and manage them, and I share in the benefits. Privately, working for you and being your shadow is what makes me happiest."

Hearing her words, Li Yan fell silent, feeling that Yue Yao was comforting him. He really didn’t know how best to interact with her. Wanting to date would require going somewhere no one knew them; wanting to have some intimacy at home felt awkward given how familiar they were.

Seeing his confusion, Yue Yao added another metaphor, "Take you, for example. You have enough savings to ensure your family lives comfortably for life without needing to work. But for Yurong, you still happily go to work every day, striving to make her see your ambition, even performing tasks that, productivity-wise, aren’t highly effective for you. Isn’t this not a kind of suffering for you?"

Li Yan thought about her words for a moment, then sighed, "You’re right too. Initially, I worked at Paradise Group because it was just a holiday gig, integrating into a regular life, slacking off there is like slacking off anywhere, so I agreed to their arrangement. But as I developed feelings for Yurong, I genuinely couldn’t bear to see her disappointed. Plus... I started putting in more effort, not needing to achieve great results, just to show them I am progressing."

There was one part Yue Yao didn’t understand. Initially, she thought the ’them’ Li Yan referred to were Zhang Tianyi and Zhang Yurong; the ’plus’ that he didn’t say was related to Wen Qianyi, who was involved in business with him. So when he mentioned ’them,’ Li Yan now didn’t want to let the ’them’ down, which included Zhang Yurong, Wen Qianyi, and also Hai Fu, who was likewise concerned about him!

"I get it now!"

Working hard for the people you love, making them happy, is in itself a way to make oneself happy. Li Yan came to understand Yue Yao’s heart, realizing that he might not need to intervene or interfere with her methods.

Yue Yao nodded with a smile. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"But..."

"But what?"

"But I never gave you any reward..." Li Yan furrowed his brows.

Yue Yao wondered what he was going to say, then burst into laughter, "Oh, please. You’ve given me the reins to manage everything, including the finances. I’ve secretly transferred most of the assets to my name, and you’re still unaware. What reward could you give, from one hand to the other?"

Li Yan had indeed always trusted her to manage everything, whether it be payment for tasks undertaken by assassins or reinvestment of organizational assets, or even her income distribution. He wasn’t clear on the organization’s or his own assets.

Yue Yao’s words were clearly a joke. It was impossible for her to transfer most of the assets to her own name. Her later sentence about transferring ’from the left hand to the right’ also revealed her true feelings. Perhaps in Yue Yao’s view, everything she had was his, and he was content to let her handle it all. His reward was just a transfer from one hand to the other.

"Do you really not need a reward?" Li Yan asked with a surprised look at her.

Yue Yao shrugged slightly, "How much can I spend by myself? Haha, I’m a homebody after all."

"I’m not talking about money..."

"Oh?"

"It’s this kind of reward..." Li Yan said as he reached out, embraced her, and quickly kissed Yue Yao’s lips.

Yue Yao was momentarily stunned. Hearing ’reward,’ she only thought of a financial bonus. Especially given the previous conversation, she thought Li Yan felt she was managing a lot of work and deserved a larger bonus. But she didn’t expect this kind of reward! However, she quickly understood—hadn’t she said working for him was what made her happy? Now, was she yearning for a rewarding kiss from him too?

She didn’t have time to ponder further. Whether it was his affectionate gesture or a heartfelt kiss, she knew she had to cherish it, so she fully immersed herself in it...

Will something happen tonight?

(Thanks to those who rewarded yesterday: dongmin8061, Cavalry, Li Fanshow, Cp Pampas) (To be continued. To know what happens next, please log in to www.qidian.com for more Chapters. Support the author, support legitimate reading!)