Volume One, Chapter 15: Capturing Liu Yan

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“Want to talk?”

Really? Was it truly as simple as just talking?

A faint smile curled at the corners of Zhang Han’s lips. He had originally planned to find Xia Shuang, transfer a thousand yuan to her, and brush her off with some convenient excuse.

Now, he suddenly wanted to make Yang Song’s vulgar threat a reality—and say those very words the moment he saw him.

Just imagining it made him feel light-headed with excitement.

Zhang Han did not reply immediately. Two minutes later, Liu Yan sent another message.

“Xiaohan?”

Zhang Han replied, “I’m free.”

“Then pick a place,” Liu Yan answered.

Zhang Han thought for a moment. Back in high school, the boys who often played basketball would inevitably talk about places where beautiful women gathered—especially women in slit qipaos. They used to joke that if they could visit such a place once in their lives, it would be worth it.

Zhang Han knew of a teahouse where the minimum charge was five hundred yuan per person. Tea attendants in alluring qipaos or long dresses would kneel beside the guests to pour tea. Touching and embracing them were allowed.

Anything further cost extra.

With a slight lift of his lips, Zhang Han decisively chose that place. As far as he knew, although Liu Yan and Yang Zhongrui now lived together like brothers, she still had not dared to cheat on Yang Zhongrui.

She must be terribly starved for affection.

A place like this would be perfect for teasing her, letting sparks fly, and seeing what followed.

Zhang Han sent Liu Yan the address, took a taxi to the teahouse, ordered a private room, and waited quietly.

By now, darkness had fallen. Sitting before the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, Zhang Han watched An City glitter beneath the night sky. The curve of his lips grew wider, and a faint thrill stirred within him.

Of course, it was not the excitement of sleeping with Liu Yan.

It was the excitement of watching the Liu and Yang families step, one move at a time, into the bottomless abyss he had prepared for them.

His handsome face appeared faintly reflected in the glass. Was he cruel? Was he ruthless?

Compared with them—no.

Not in the slightest.

They had coveted the five million yuan in his possession and left him with nothing.

Now they no longer wanted merely five million. They wanted the more than ten million he currently held.

A knock at the private-room door interrupted his thoughts.

“Come in,” Zhang Han said.

Liu Yan pushed open the door and entered.

Her outfit surprised him. Her thin gray yoga pants showed off the lines of her legs, while a matching athletic top strained against her figure. A third of her abdomen was exposed, and it was still fairly flat. For a woman approaching forty to maintain such a body was indeed rare.

Her hair was tied in a ponytail, and her makeup was deliberately understated—she had clearly applied it, but not heavily. At first glance, she really did look as though she had just come from exercising.

Being examined from head to toe by Zhang Han, Liu Yan shifted uncomfortably.

“I... I needed an excuse.”

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“Auntie Yan, have a seat.” Zhang Han smiled. “Dressed like this, with a figure like yours, I’d say twenty-eight would not be an exaggeration.”

Liu Yan gave a cold snort. “I never realized you were such a smooth talker.”

Zhang Han did not mind. “I never realized Auntie Yan was still so charming.”

Liu Yan rolled her eyes and sat upright. “Xiaohan, I’m old enough to be your mother. Besides, I’ve already had a child...”

Zhang Han waved his hand, cutting her off.

“Come in.”

Liu Yan stiffened. Had Zhang Han... changed into a completely different person? He was no longer the Zhang Han she remembered.

That did not make sense.

Since Zhang Han had chosen Liu Yan as the first person to deal with, he had carefully considered how to handle her. With Liu Yan, he needed to keep her under pressure—to be forceful, commanding, and just a little sinister.

There could be no hesitation. He had to act swiftly and decisively.

Two tea attendants entered, their qipaos slit high along their thighs, and began preparing tea for them. During the process, the attendant serving Zhang Han repeatedly gave him suggestive looks. Zhang Han did not hold back. He had paid for the service, after all.

His movements were bold and natural, and he made no attempt to hide them from Liu Yan.

She was completely stunned. Zhang Han’s ease made him seem like an experienced hand. Could this be the real Zhang Han?

Zhang Han smiled faintly and gestured for the attendant to serve Liu Yan as well. The woman understood at once. From time to time, her slender arm brushed against places it should not have, provoking Liu Yan’s nerves.

Before long, Liu Yan was shifting restlessly in her seat, her face flushed crimson.

She could not help thinking that young people these days were far too uninhibited.

When she had been young, they had needed to summon their courage merely to hold hands.

Once the tea had been served, the two attendants left. One of them even threw Zhang Han a flirtatious glance before departing.

Zhang Han smiled. When the door closed, the room suddenly fell silent.

He lifted his cup and took a sip. The tea’s fragrance was subtle at first, but deepened in the aftertaste, lingering pleasantly in his mouth. It seemed the five-hundred-yuan minimum charge was not entirely for the tea attendants.

“Auntie Yan, what did you want to see me about?”

“Let’s skip the nonsense. I’m busy.”

“It’s about Xiaosong.” Liu Yan still wanted to maintain the upper hand and manipulate Zhang Han. “Think about it. When you were at your lowest, who stayed by your side? Who took care of you...”

Zhang Han rose and walked toward the door.

Liu Yan panicked and grabbed his arm.

“Wait, don’t go. Auntie Yan agrees.”

A cold smile appeared at the corners of Zhang Han’s lips. He slowly turned around and pressed her face against his abdomen.

“Auntie Yan, Yang Song nearly ruined the woman I love most. If I settle the score with him, that’s only fair, isn’t it?”

“Y-yes. Fair,” Liu Yan whispered.

“Kneel.”

Liu Yan stared at him in shock. She could not believe what she was hearing. None of the speeches she had prepared had even found an opportunity to leave her mouth.

More importantly, how had she ended up following Zhang Han’s rhythm so completely?

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And then there was the look in Zhang Han’s eyes: an icy, imperious arrogance that made her heart tremble. Before she knew it, she had submitted to him.

Half an hour later, Liu Yan was exhausted and shaken. She was astonished by Zhang Han’s stamina; her cheeks ached from the strain.

After finishing their tea, Zhang Han took Liu Yan shopping—at luxury stores.

A handbag costing twenty thousand yuan? Buy it.

A dress costing ten thousand? Buy it.

A cosmetics set costing five thousand? Buy it.

They spent more than fifty thousand yuan in total. Liu Yan gazed at Zhang Han’s young, handsome profile with complicated emotions, her heart filled with conflicting feelings.

Perhaps she was not as cheap and worthless as she had believed.

In the twenty years since marrying Yang Zhongrui, the most expensive gift he had ever given her was a two-thousand-yuan coat, purchased on the day she gave birth to Yang Song.

She had never imagined that, in this lifetime, she would be cherished by an eighteen-year-old handsome young man.

Liu Yan bit her lip. The next second, she slipped her arm around Zhang Han’s and leaned against him repeatedly.

Zhang Han’s lips curved slightly. The information he had received from his dormmates had been completely accurate. Liu Yan was the easiest of them to win over.

After leaving the mall, Zhang Han took Liu Yan by taxi straight to his home. On the way, Liu Yan took the initiative to tease and provoke him. The restraints she had endured for years had finally broken, and once released, they could not easily be contained. If she had not been worried about being filmed and the consequences of such a scandal appearing online, she would have surrendered to the moment right there in the taxi.

Once they entered the apartment, they did not even turn on the lights. They embraced and tumbled together.

After kissing for a long while, Liu Yan was dizzy and breathless.

“Xiaohan... turn on the air conditioner, will you? It’s so hot. I’m covered in sweat.”

“Your clothes are soaked through.”

“Auntie Yan, didn’t you go out jogging? Wouldn’t you sweat?” Zhang Han said with a smile.

His words struck her as perfectly reasonable. She did not even bother changing her clothes. It was the middle of July, and the nights were unbearably hot. If she had gone jogging and returned without a trace of sweat, how could she explain it?

An hour and a half later, her gray yoga pants and athletic top were drenched. Liu Yan wrung them out several times, and streams of water dripped onto the floor.

She lay there and checked her phone. It was already half past ten. She had left at seven—three and a half hours had passed.

Liu Yan struggled to her knees, her legs trembling uncontrollably. She cast Zhang Han a reproachful look.

“Look what you’ve done. Auntie Yan can barely walk.”

Standing by the window and exhaling a cloud of smoke, Zhang Han replied, “You were out jogging for three hours. Surely it’s reasonable that you can hardly walk afterward.”

Zhang Han supported Liu Yan downstairs and waited with her for a car. During that time, she held his hand and spoke coquettishly.

“Xiaohan, you and Xiaosong...”

Zhang Han patted her still-firm hip.

“Don’t worry, Auntie Yan. Starting tomorrow, Yang Song and I will still be the best of brothers.”

“Your sacrifice was worth it!”