Chapter 18: Still Not Loving Enough

Lin Shanni immediately intervened after hearing this, "Forget it. Instead of looking for him, why not go find Ye Hongxiao? Though he can be a bit moody, at least his character is somewhat trustworthy. Don’t you know what kind of person Liu Feng is? I can't believe you even mentioned him."

“Weren’t you the one who told me to handle it?” Qin Sheng glanced at Deling through the rearview mirror and tried to dissuade her. “Deling, Liu Feng is an independent director with significant shares in the Ye Corporation. Hongxiao rarely rejects his proposals, but the final decisions always rest with Hongxiao. Besides, Liu Feng has a pretty bad reputation. Personally, I don’t recommend you seek him out.”

Deling, however, felt that since she couldn’t even get close to Ye Hongxiao now, she might as well take the risk and meet Liu Feng, even if he was mad.

At least there was a glimmer of hope.

Along the way, Deling gathered some information about Liu Feng and had a rough idea of what to expect.

As she was about to get out of the car, Qin Sheng urged again, “Try not to go down the Liu Feng route. I’ll see if I can arrange a meeting with Hongxiao for you when I have time, maybe you two can talk things through.”

Deling knew that was highly unlikely. She clearly understood Ye Hongxiao’s current attitude.

She thanked Qin Sheng, said goodbye to both of them, and returned home.

Exhausted and mentally drained, Deling took her change of clothes and had a hot shower as soon as she entered. The steam enveloped her, finally warming her chilled body.

After her shower, her stomach growled loudly, reminding her she hadn’t eaten much at the Starry Joy tonight.

She rummaged through the fridge, finding a few eggs and a bag of dried noodles. A pang of bittersweet emotion crossed her heart—these were bought for her by Wang Siyang during his last visit.

In recent years, she had been so preoccupied with making a living that she barely had time to consider the small details of life. Wang Siyang was the one who took care of most of these things. Every now and then, he would go to the supermarket to buy food for her, visit her mother in the hospital every other day, and come to her place every two weeks to help clean.

Honestly, if it weren’t for his somewhat weak personality and his bad habit of gambling, he was, at heart, a man she could live with.

But for her, their relationship was limited to merely coexisting.

Wang Siyang had once suggested moving in together, but Deling had to mentally prepare herself for a long time even just to kiss him. After several years together, they had never shared an intimate moment. So she declined.

She thought maybe she just didn’t love him enough.

Realizing this, she suddenly felt selfish—holding the title of his girlfriend, entangled with him financially, yet unable to give him anything else.

The water in the pot bubbled vigorously. Deling tossed the noodles in and stirred them twice before hearing the sound of the fingerprint lock unlocking, followed by the door being pulled but not opened.

She turned off the stove and went to open the door—it was Wang Siyang.

Deling blocked the door, not letting him in. Tonight, she had no energy left to argue about their relationship. “Let’s talk tomorrow if there’s something to say.”

“Deling, please listen to me first,” Wang Siyang blocked her from closing the door, leaning against the frame trying to come inside.

Deling’s expression darkened. After a few seconds of silence, she shut the door and stepped outside. “If you have something to say, say it here. I have work tomorrow.”

Wang Siyang glanced around at the neighbors’ closed doors, then stepped forward to embrace her. Deling dodged him. Undeterred, he stepped closer and forcefully pulled her into his arms, trying to kiss her. A wave of aversion rose within her. She pushed him away hard, creating distance.

A faint scent of alcohol lingered on his breath. Deling frowned. “You’ve been drinking?”

Before he could answer, she briskly walked to the elevator and pressed the down button. “If you’ve been drinking, go home and sleep. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

Wang Siyang seemed not to hear her. He came forward again, grabbing and pulling her. The elevator doors opened during the scuffle.

The man inside saw Deling clearly and asked, "Do you need any help?"