Yan felt a sharp pain across her forehead after the collision, which left her feeling dizzy and unsteady. A strong masculine scent shrouded over her and the elevator was rowdy since there was a large crowd.
However, when Yan snapped back to her senses and realized where she was, the entire place fell into silence. She looked up blankly while gazing at Han Qing, who pulled her into an embrace, and stared at him in disbelief. What is… What is happening?? Does Han Qing… know what he’s doing?
Just when Yan regarded him with suspicion, Han Qing pushed her away coldly. “They almost knocked into you. Why did you not dodge them?”
Yan kept her head bowed after his lecture and she bit her lower lip lightly. Just when she was about to refute him, she heard him speaking coldly to the person who pushed the wheelchair. “You should look where you are going, especially in public even if you are in a rush, do you not agree? Do you think that a casual apology would cut it if you hurt someone else by bumping into them?”
He was a Group President who was used to having a forceful and intimidating aura around him. The whole elevator went silent at his booming voice as a result; others did not want to get involved, so they refused to make a sound.
The person who pushed the wheelchair was a middle-aged woman. She was fashionably dressed whereas the person in the wheelchair looked elderly. They seemed to be father and daughter. She looked at Han Qing and quickly noticed that he had an unmistakable and unique presence, hence she knew that it would be a bad idea to offend him. However, the woman was upset that Han Qing reprimanded her openly in front of such a large crowd. Thus, she retorted scathingly, “Did I knock into you? Besides, you are so young. Is it too much for you to dodge when I walk in? Do you not know how to show respect to your elderly?” She clearly referred to the old man in the wheelchair.
Yan hadn’t expected Han Qing to reprimand the woman and never expected her to refute him either, which caused the atmosphere in the elevator to become tense.
“Are you saying that you can do whatever you want and knock into others freely just because you are pushing an old man in a wheelchair?” Han Qing’s voice was icy-cold.
The temperature in the elevator dropped significantly.
The middle-aged woman did not reply because it was obvious that Han Qing was a powerful figure. The old man in the wheelchair broke the silence slowly. “I am sorry, young lady… My daughter did not intentionally do that. She is in a rush because we are in a hurry to head downstairs. Please accept my apologies on her behalf.” The old man sounded sincere and he was very good-natured.
Yan had never minded the situation to begin with, but the middle-aged woman was horrible. Nevertheless, Yan’s heart melted after the old man apologized to her and she waved her hand to dismiss the matter. “No worries, mister. You did not crash into me anyway, so you do not have to apologize.”
The middle-aged woman commented scathingly, “That is right! This young lady knows very well that I did not crash into her, so what do you, as a grown man, care? You are being calculative and tasteless!”
When Yan heard the woman complaining about Han Qing, she frowned and her anger from the earlier incident immediately burst. “What nonsense are you spouting? I said it is fine for this mister’s sake. This mister here has such a commendable attitude. I don’t understand how he would have a daughter like you. You almost crashed into me, but here you are, acting high and mighty by blaming others. You act as though you are always right!”
The middle-aged woman’s eyes widened in surprise as she never expected Yan’s outburst. “How dare you—”
“How dare I what, exactly? I have never lost an argument before. Do not think that you can bully someone else just because they are younger than you are! Before you call him tasteless, why don’t you reflect upon your behavior? Forget about almost crashing into someone else, you could not even be bothered to apologize! Your behavior disgusts me!”
Everyone in the elevator also never expected the young lady to refute with guns blazing, especially since she hid behind the man’s protective embrace just a second ago. Now, she behaved like an animal reacting after her territory had been invaded. Yan seemed ferocious as she snarled at the middle-aged woman during the argument, as if she was being overly protective of Han Qing.
Yan returned to her smiling self after speaking her mind, looking at the old man to reassure him in a soft voice and a sweet smile, “Mister, I do not mean to scold you. This is unrelated to you as you are a good old man.”
The old man was at a loss for words while he thought to himself, What’s happening? What just happened?
Han Qing also stared at the back of Yan’s head while looking bewildered. She was in a good mood just now. Did she just lose her temper?
Everyone in the elevator observed the ordeal in amusement. It was at that moment that the elevator finally arrived at a designated level and the middle-aged woman couldn’t have a comeback after Yan’s outburst earlier. Hence, she snorted in disdain as she pushed the old man’s wheelchair out of the open elevator doors and stormed out in anger.
Everyone chuckled after witnessing the turn of events. “Young lady, your womanly charms are off the charts.”
“That is true. That woman went overboard just now. She was so careless just because she was pushing an old man in a wheelchair. This type of person deserves a scolding. Otherwise, they would never be aware of their mistakes.”
“Young lady, you did well! Besides, your boyfriend is very handsome!”
Han Qing was tall and handsome whereas Yan was petite and adorable. He had pulled her into his arms earlier while trying to seek justice for her. Hence, outsiders assumed that the two of them were a couple and that they were perfect for each other. That was why everyone automatically assumed that Yan was being protective of her boyfriend.
Yan’s expression changed drastically when the crowd started to tease them. “Well… It’s not what you think. I…” How should I explain this? Yan’s facial features were contorted in concentration to clarify the situation. I just heard that middle-aged woman calling Han Qing tasteless, which is why I was blinded by rage. I’ve never considered the possible consequences, and now…
She stole a glance at Han Qing from the corner of her eyes. Han Qing’s face remained blank as usual—the only difference was that he stared at her blankly with his bottomless, black eyes, which caused Yan to turn away once their gaze met.
She was embarrassed to speak again since there were so many people in the elevator, hence, she had no choice but to keep her head bowed. She couldn’t help but feel as if someone was boring holes at the top of her head, which caused her to overthink again. Did I wash my hair last night? Is my hair in a mess right now? I wonder if there is any dandruff on my head. Do I smell funny?
The elevator finally arrived on the first floor while her thoughts ran wild. Yan followed Han Qing from behind to walk out of the elevator. She maintained a distance from Han Qing like before, but since they stood so close together in the elevator earlier, she could smell Han Qing’s scent around her—it was a crisp and calming scent. She bit her lower lip lightly while replaying the scene in the elevator. It feels… so warm in his arms.
Hang on! Yan shook her head to clear her mind. What am I thinking? How can I let a hug ruin the initial plan that I’ve decided on? No, I can’t let this happen! She followed Han Qing to the car parking lot after clearing her mind. Then, she recalled something important. Little Bean sent him over the last time. In that case, Han Qing should know where my house is. Why would he ask me to show him the way if he knows where my house is?
