Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Shen Yanchen replied without missing a beat, “I did a double major. My other degree is in law.”

Xia Sheng didn’t doubt him. She took the documents to the desk, pulled up a chair, and sat down beside him.

She noticed his tie today had a rather flamboyant pattern and asked casually, “Uncle Nine, is your tie a bit different from your usual style today?”

Shen Yanchen asked nonchalantly, “Does it make me look younger?”

“I don’t really feel the ‘younger’ part,” Xia Sheng mused for a few seconds. “It just makes you look a bit like a peacock.

“The kind with its feathers on full display.”

Shen Yanchen: “…”

If Lu Ren were here right now, he would definitely be laughing himself into a hernia.

Shen Yanchen’s eyes darkened. Without a word, he picked up the contract and began flipping through it page by page.

There were over a dozen pages in the contract, and Shen Yanchen read them very slowly. As Xia Sheng absorbed the Baleful Qi from him, she felt as if she were bathed in a spring breeze-relaxed and at ease.

Since the girl remained silent, Shen Yanchen couldn’t help but turn his head, lowering his eyelids to look at her.

From his angle, he could see her thick, curled eyelashes like raven feathers, her small, straight nose, and her rosy, cherry-like lips.

Perhaps because she had been sitting for so long, she seemed a bit drowsy. Every time she blinked, it took several seconds for her to open her eyes again.

The frustration in his heart dissipated, and he said softly, “If you’re tired, you can lean on me and nap for a while.”

Xia Sheng was about to say she could go lie on the sofa for a bit when she heard Shen Yanchen continue, “If your body touches mine, the efficiency of absorbing the Baleful Qi will increase. It should make you feel more comfortable.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

With a skeptical mindset, Xia Sheng didn’t lean against him immediately. Instead, she first poked Shen Yanchen’s shoulder with her finger.

The moment her finger touched the man’s body through the fabric, the abundant Baleful Qi on him seemed to suddenly find a breakthrough point. It converged into a single stream and surged toward her through her fingertip.

Xia Sheng was pleasantly surprised. She looked up, her usually cold eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Uncle Nine, how did you know the transfer efficiency of the Baleful Qi would speed up after skin contact?”

Shen Yanchen’s mind involuntarily flashed back to the scene of the girl pinning him down on the sofa that night. His throat felt dry.

Avoiding her gaze, he said in a raspy voice, “You mentioned before that the closer we are, the better the effect. I guessed it would be faster this way.”

“That makes sense.”

Xia Sheng nodded earnestly and then leaned against him without reservation.

She usually didn’t have much intimate contact with the opposite sex.

But perhaps because Shen Yanchen was an elder, every time she got close to him, she felt a sense of comfort as if she had come home. It was warm and soothing, like a fledgling finding its mother.

She didn’t find contact with him repulsive at all.

At the moment she leaned against him, she even felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if the two of them had already shared much more intimate contact before.

Shen Yanchen hadn’t expected the girl to actually lean over. His body stiffened instantly, and his grip on the pages tightened until his fingertips turned slightly white.

But in just a flash, he returned to normal and continued reviewing the contract.

Xia Sheng drifted off to sleep without realizing it, waking up twenty minutes later.

Seeing that Shen Yanchen was still flipping through the contract, she picked up her phone to check the time.

It had been half an hour since she arrived.

She turned to ask Shen Yanchen, “Aren’t you finished yet?”

She remembered that when she was carving jade here last time, Shen Yanchen’s reading speed for documents was quite fast-he could finish one in just a few minutes.

Shen Yanchen closed the contract and said calmly, “I’ve finished reading it. I was just deliberating on a strategy.

“There is a way to cancel this contract without your friend having to pay any liquidated damages.”
“I’ll have someone send the termination contract over to you tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” Xia Sheng said. After expressing her gratitude, she asked, “What loophole did you find in the contract?”

Shen Yanchen replied, “It’s a bit complicated to explain. Let’s talk about it later.”

Xia Sheng saw that it was already six o’clock, so she didn’t press for details. “Alright, then I’ll head back first.”

With that, she slung her bag over her shoulder and left without hesitation.

Shen Yanchen watched the young girl’s decisive movements and let out a light chuckle.

She really was a carefree one.

After Xia Sheng left, he called Lu Ren into the office.

“Go find the people at Shuoyun Entertainment and terminate this contract.”

Lu Ren took the contract and flipped through it. “Ninth Master, if we terminate this contract, the compensation will be over three million yuan.”

“There are plenty of ways to do it without spending money. Just pick one within the limits of the law.” Shen Yanchen picked up his suit jacket and stood up. “By the way, give them a warning. Tell them to stop running a business that deals in the flesh trade.

“I don’t like collaborating with companies that commit crimes.”

Lu Ren wondered: Was the Ninth Master being influenced by the Little Celestial Master? Not only was he trying to establish an upright, wholesome persona for himself, but he was also dragging others along the path of a great philanthropist?

***

The next day at noon, Xia Sheng received the termination contract sent by Shen Yanchen’s people.

Xia Sheng had Han Yanran sign the contract and let the messenger take one copy back.

Han Yanran hadn’t expected Xia Sheng to resolve her issue so quickly and thanked her repeatedly.

That afternoon, Han Yanran packed her things, preparing to return to her hometown in the county.

Seeing that she still looked a bit haggard, Fang Rong took her hand, her face filled with heartache.

“Child, why are you in such a hurry to leave? Stay here for a few more days. Let Sheng’er and me keep you company a bit longer.”

After spending two days together, Fang Rong had a vague inkling of what Han Yanran might have gone through.

Back when she was young and had her virginity forcibly taken by Xia Yanzhi, she had also been devastated for a long time. Her mental state back then was exactly the same as Han Yanran’s now.

Seeing Han Yanran like this reminded her of herself. Fang Rong couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of empathy and wanted to give her more care.

Han Yanran gave a pale smile and said, “I’ve already troubled you and Sheng’er for several days. It’s time for me to go.

“My parents are also waiting for me to come home.”

Seeing her insistence, Fang Rong didn’t try to make her stay any longer. She and Xia Sheng accompanied her to the high-speed railway station.

Before Han Yanran left, Xia Sheng imbued a Talisman into her body.

“This Talisman Paper will monitor your condition and give me feedback. If you dare try to commit suicide again, I will personally go and pull you back.”

Han Yanran looked at Xia Sheng’s serious little face and knew the girl was worried about her. Her eyes suddenly grew hot, and she pulled Xia Sheng into a hug.

“Sheng’er, thank you. Thank you…”

The kindness given to her by this eighteen-year-old girl would warm her for the rest of her life.

After seeing Han Yanran off and returning home, Xia Sheng pulled a bank card from her pocket and handed it to Fang Rong.

“Mom, your card.”

When Fang Rong saw the card in Xia Sheng’s hand, she spoke to her daughter with a rare tone of sternness. “You child, I secretly put this money in Yanran’s bag. Why did you bring it back…”

Fang Rong only had a little over ten thousand yuan to her name, and it was all on that card.

She had intended for Han Yanran to take it back with her, hoping it would help her out a bit.

She hadn’t expected her daughter to bring it back.

Xia Sheng said, “Keep your money for yourself. I already gave her another card with five hundred thousand yuan on it.”

Hearing this, Fang Rong finally smiled. She rubbed Xia Sheng’s head, her eyes full of pride and relief.