The guest bathroom was filled with steaming mist, the air warm and humid.
"Whoosh—"
Warm water poured evenly from the showerhead, enveloping Shen Yuyan's graceful figure in a hazy veil of vapor, making her appear indistinct, now visible, now hidden.
She closed her eyes, tilting her head back slightly, letting the water droplets slide down her cheeks, neck, and collarbone.
Images flashed through her mind.
The smoky, bustling barbecue joint outside the west gate of Yanke University, the crisp clinking of glasses, walks on campus stepping on dry leaves, and those conversations about old photographs...
In the past, her interactions with Tang Song were more like a silent ga of chess.
In her eyes, Tang Song was like a high-end "Sigma Man."
He always maintained a sense of control over her that was now close, now distant.
Every ti she felt she had taken a step forward and wanted to reach out and grasp him, he would elegantly withdraw, leaving her grabbing at air.
Making her anxious and uncertain.
With her extrely high emotional intelligence, she had actually vaguely sensed it long ago.
This was a form of high-level PUA.
But she didn't know how to turn the situation around.
But tonight.
There were no deliberately created ambiguous glances, no now-close-now-distant physical contact, no carefully designed flirtatious words.
She rely sat there as an old classmate, letting down all her defenses, listening and conversing naturally.
Yet, she had touched upon a gentleness and softness in Tang Song that she had never felt before.
The look in his eyes when he talked about the past, his sincerity towards Lu Ziming, even the completely unguarded smile he gave her.
That was real, warm emotional flow.
She gently bit her lip under the water stream. An uncontrollable fantasy and regret rose in her heart.
If back then, she could have been like Qingqing. A bit more foolish, a bit more pure.
Approaching him based on instinct and that silly, foolish kind of liking.
Not calculating gains and losses so much, not being so shrewd and scheming.
Perhaps she wouldn't have needed to go around in such a big circle, wouldn't have needed to experience these years of ups and downs, to get everything she dread of.
Even... love?
But...
Shen Yuyan opened her eyes, looking at the tiles blurred by the steam.
This was impossible.
Even if given another chance, another hundred chances, she would still make the sa choice.
That was her nature, unchangeable.
This afternoon, she had officially completed the resignation handover procedures at Rongliu Capital.
When the identity label of "Special Assistant to the Chairman," which had once given her a new life, dignity, and power, was removed.
The "platform" and "identity" she relied on for survival switched once again.
An intense sense of emptiness, like duckweed without roots, struck her unprepared.
She began to think.
Stripped of these external labels, what was her true inner core?
An extrely precocious, clear-headed, and ambitious climber.
Beauty was a gift, but also a weapon; emotional intelligence was instinct, but also a ticulously honed tool.
She had a ntal ledger for every step she took, what attitude to use with whom, how much to give and how much to expect in return.
Even her best friend Xu Qing had, at certain tis, beco a tool for her to create emotional value and get closer to Tang Song.
For example, when she received the appointnt as "Chief Ecosystem Officer of Xuanji Optical World," her heart was filled with the excitent of a carp leaping over the dragon gate, ambitions for a bigger stage, and deep gratitude and submission for the opportunity he gave her.
She almost took it for granted that this was his reward for her ability and loyalty, another higher-level "transaction" or "investnt."
And she imdiately began planning how to maximize the use of this platform.
"I'm truly soone utilitarian to the bone."
Amidst the sound of rushing water, Shen Yuyan murmured to herself in the mist, her voice carrying a trace of weary self-mockery.
And yet, it was precisely soone like her who now began to crave Tang Song's affection.
Began to ponder how to win his true heart.
Deep inside.
The instinct to climb, to crave power, intertwined, clashed, and tore violently with the emotions of craving recognition and love.
She didn't even know how she should interact with Tang Song next.
Nor did she know how Tang Song truly viewed her in his heart, or what kind of feelings he had for her.
"Hoo—"
Shen Yuyan turned off the shower.
The whole world instantly quieted down, leaving only the soft sound of dripping water.
She reached out, wiped the water from her face, raised her head, and looked at her reflection in the half-length mirror before her.
Dense, impenetrable steam, layer upon layer, trapped her within.
In the master bedroom.
"Smack!"
A crisp sound was particularly clear in the night.
"Ah! Gently, gently! Master, spare !"
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