Chapter 117: Taking Advantage

At that time, she still liked Tang Que and paid little attention to He Chuan. At most, she would turn to him for help when in trouble, never imagining she would actually be with He Chuan, even though their relationship had to remain a secret from their parents.

Because He Chuan had accompanied her throughout her childhood, looking back now, her childhood was indeed happy and carefree.

Cheng Hui looked at He Chuan again, feeling a twinge of guilt. Their falling out had been so severe that he had left Yong City for a while. She wondered how he had endured that time.

She straightforwardly asked him, "Last year, didn’t we have a falling out?"

He Chuan nodded. It was far worse than a mere quarrel—he had even resolved not to see her again. "And then?"

"My brother said you went abroad for a while. How did you spend that time...?"

He Chuan replied, "Why suddenly ask about that?"

"I feel a bit sorry for you."

He Chuan looked at her sincerity. Although she had apologized more than once, she still felt uneasy.

He smiled, setting aside his work, and came over to crouch down to her level. He held her fingers and said, "You never need to apologize to me. I was at fault too, not considering your feelings. I was also angry at you. I treated you so well, yet you liked someone else—it felt like raising a cabbage only to have a pig root it up. Now that I think about it, I owe you an apology too."

Cheng Hui hugged him willingly, running her fingers through his hair, and said, "Alright then, let's go have hotpot. Are you done with work?"

"Yeah, let’s go."

...

They went to their usual hotpot place, which was packed at the busiest hour. Cheng Hui pulled He Chuan along and they had to queue before getting a seat.

He Chuan was very picky about dining environments. He wasn’t fond of noisy, crowded roadside eateries. He mostly came because Cheng Hui liked the food, though he worried about hygiene. Cheng Hui assured him it was fine—the food was delicious, and she’d never gotten sick from it.

He Chuan resigned himself to it to avoid spoiling her mood.

Fortunately, the place seemed reasonably clean inside.

Their table was cramped. At the neighboring table sat a young couple, and the girl kept glancing at He Chuan after Cheng Hui and he sat down.

Attractive people were always eye-catching wherever they went.

While waiting for their dishes, Cheng Hui noticed the girl at the next table whispering to her companion, apparently guessing the nature of Cheng Hui and He Chuan’s relationship—whether they were siblings or something else.

Siblings?

Did her new hairstyle make her look immature? Why would anyone think they were siblings?

Cheng Hui felt a pang of grievance. Did she really look that young?

He Chuan poured tea into her cup. His long legs were cramped under the table; the two-person seat was too tight for him. He kept brushing against Cheng Hui's legs, so he gave up and crossed his legs beside hers.

After a few accidental touches, Cheng Hui said, "Could you stretch your legs out a bit? You're crowding me."

"Feeling annoyed?"

"Forget it, I won’t argue with you."

When the food arrived, Cheng Hui mischievously picked up a piece of crispy meat and tried to feed him, pretending to insist he open his mouth.

He Chuan didn’t react, calmly watching her.

"Don’t like it?"

He noticed the girl at the next table staring intently but remained composed and accepted her offering quietly.

Cheng Hui was delighted and kept doing it. The girl’s gaze fixed on He Chuan, wondering if siblings could be so close, sharing food without disgust.

Cheng Hui ate slowly, so their hotpot meal took a while to finish.

After paying, they walked out of the restaurant, still smelling of the rich broth. Cheng Hui was sniffing her hair to see how strong the scent was when He Chuan suddenly wrapped his arm around her, saying, "Stop sniffing, it’s quite a strong smell."

"Looks like I need to wash my hair."

As they walked, someone called out to Cheng Hui from nearby.

She thought she misheard, but when she turned, she saw her roommate.

Her roommate was stunned, especially upon seeing He Chuan. She recognized him—the brother of He Cheng, whose family background had recently been exposed. Among the revelations was information about He Cheng’s brother, including photos. He Chuan’s striking looks made him instantly recognizable, so her roommate’s recognition was natural.

"Cheng Hui, isn’t this He Cheng’s brother... you two..."

Cheng Hui now couldn’t deny their connection. She feared her classmates, friends, and family finding out about her relationship with He Chuan—it was like an underground romance. She only dared show affection when no one she knew was around.

She hadn’t expected to be caught by her roommate.

That meant she couldn’t keep it a secret any longer.

And her roommate knew He Chuan was He Cheng’s brother.

He Chuan sensed Cheng Hui’s nervousness and unease. He squeezed her fingers and asked, "Hui Hui, you know her?"

"Yes, she’s my roommate..."

Her roommate’s eyes dropped to their joined hands and realization dawned. She felt Cheng Hui was unfair and asked, "Is he your boyfriend?"

Cheng Hui nodded.

Her roommate said, "You’re really good at keeping secrets. You never told me before. Turns out your boyfriend is so handsome, and he’s He Cheng’s brother."

Cheng Hui awkwardly explained, "No, it’s just that I hadn’t found the right time to say anything."

Her roommate joked, "Alright, I believe you."

...

On the way back, He Chuan smoked silently while driving.

When they reached the apartment parking lot, Cheng Hui got out of the car and saw He Chuan also stepping out. She quickly tugged his sleeve and asked, "What’s wrong?"

He said, "Am I that embarrassing? Is it so stressful being with me?"

Cheng Hui’s grievances welled up, "I don’t mean that, it’s just..."

"What?"

His question left her speechless, and the flood of emotions overwhelmed her.

"I’m just afraid my mother will find out."

Because of this, He Chuan had to accommodate her wishes. But hiding forever wasn’t a solution; sooner or later the truth would come out. Cheng Hui kept avoiding it because she lacked courage. He couldn’t confront her directly, so he went along with it.

He softened, patting her hand. "Let’s go home. It’s late."

...

Back at school, her roommate told others about seeing Cheng Hui with her boyfriend. Now everyone knew who he was.

Returning to class, Cheng Hui noticed her roommates’ strange looks and guessed they knew. She said nothing but felt uneasy.

The roommate beside her suddenly recalled something and whispered to another, "I think I saw Cheng Hui’s boyfriend on someone’s social feed..."

"What do you mean?"

"Let me check." She pulled out her phone and opened Tang Huaihuai’s Moments. She gasped and showed them a photo, "Isn’t this the counselor’s ex? Look at the pictures and captions."

"Really? What’s going on? Did Cheng Hui steal the counselor's boyfriend? Is that why she resigned?"

"Who knows. Maybe. I even comforted her when she broke up, but turns out she was stealing someone else’s boyfriend."

"Yeah, so nasty, stealing someone’s man."

"Never thought Cheng Hui was like that..."

...

They gossiped, excluding Cheng Hui, casting unfriendly glances her way.

Cheng Hui fretted, unsure how to explain, unaware she’d been completely ostracized.

After class, she tried inviting them to eat in the cafeteria, but they all refused, making excuses about prior plans.

She felt rejected and lonely.

At noon, she ate with other girls from class.

Back in the dorm, all three roommates were there. Cheng Hui lay down for a nap as she had afternoon classes and didn’t visit He Chuan.

Around 1 p.m., the roommates returned noisily, especially their voices.

Someone noticed Cheng Hui resting and asked them to be quiet, but their chair-scraping grew louder, seemingly on purpose.

Cheng Hui woke but didn’t respond, turning over to sleep.

"Putting on an act," someone muttered.

Another said, "Enough. If she doesn’t consider us friends, we don’t need to care. Let’s just say we’re not worthy."

"Who cares."

...

In the afternoon class, Cheng Hui sat in her usual seat, but the three roommates switched seats together, making it hard not to suspect something.

Some classmates discreetly messaged Cheng Hui on WeChat, asking what was wrong and why the atmosphere felt strange.

Cheng Hui didn’t know either. She thought she’d ask them after class.

After class, she approached them and asked why they were ignoring her.

They replied in unison, "We’re not ignoring you. Don’t overthink it."

Cheng Hui was left speechless.

"We have other things to do. See you later."

They walked away.

That night, Cheng Hui saw their Moments posts—photos from outings, food, and group selfies with the caption: “Dorm 605 Group Photo.”

Oh, so the photo just left one person out.

She wasn’t part of Dorm 605 anymore.

Cheng Hui was upset but too weary for mind games. She packed and went home for the weekend.

He Chuan hadn’t contacted her recently because he had arranged to meet He Cheng.

At first, He Cheng didn’t want to meet, but He Chuan made an offer that was hard to refuse, so He Cheng agreed.

He Cheng had the photos Tang Huaihuai sent him—pictures of Cheng Hui—but he hadn’t contacted He Chuan, having his own reasons.

He suspected Tang Huaihuai was using him as a pawn. Once he realized her intentions weren’t pure, he held back.

He wanted to compete with He Chuan but wasn’t in a hurry, especially since Tang Huaihuai claimed she had broken with He Chuan and sought refuge with him. That was clearly a scheme to use him against He Chuan in a no-holds-barred fight, with Tang Huaihuai intending to profit from their conflict.

He Chuan took the initiative to meet He Cheng, suspecting a trap, but it was still preferable to dealing with Tang Huaihuai’s unpredictable interference.

He Cheng met He Chuan roadside and got into his car.

He Chuan got straight to the point: "Give me everything Tang Huaihuai gave you, and I’ll give you what you want."

He Cheng was silent.

"Scared to ask?"

He Cheng said, "You really will give me everything?"

"Even the He family assets."

That was all He Cheng wanted.

He looked at He Chuan incredulously: "How do you know Tang Huaihuai gave me something?"

"If she didn’t give you leverage, would you admit she’s your girlfriend?"

He Cheng said, "Never thought you’d be more straightforward than me. Yes, Tang Huaihuai gave me photos of Cheng Hui. I didn’t expect Cheng Hui to be so important to you. But if Dad knew you’d give him the business he built to me for a woman, what would he think?"

He Chuan was tired of the back-and-forth. "Cut the nonsense. Act like a man."

He Cheng replied, "Fine. How could I miss such a good deal?"

He Chuan said, "Meet the lawyer tomorrow at 8 a.m. at the company."

He Cheng agreed.

...

After learning of He Chuan’s plan, Cheng Jiu couldn’t help but ask, "Are you serious? He Cheng isn’t capable. If you give him the family assets, what will you have left?"

He Chuan said, "Compared to Cheng Hui, nothing else matters. Besides, He Cheng must be able to manage those assets."

"Don’t worry. But I might not be able to focus on Cheng Hui lately. If you have time, keep an eye on her."

"What do you mean?"

"Cheng Hui’s afraid Uncle Cheng will find out about us, so she keeps avoiding it. I’m going along with it for now, but this isn’t a solution. Since she lacks courage, I’ll step away for a while until she figures things out."

"Are you serious?"

"Do you think I’m joking?"

Cheng Jiu was frustrated: "Then why did you get involved with her in the first place, only to do this now?"

He Chuan didn’t explain further; he just asked Cheng Jiu to look after Cheng Hui more.

...

He Cheng and He Chuan finalized the deal; He Cheng handed over everything with no backups.

Tang Huaihuai had given the photos to He Cheng but kept copies for herself. He Chuan knew this, but He Cheng hadn’t pursued it further since they had signed the agreement, allowing him to relax.

Meanwhile, He Cheng no longer cared that his biological mother had been sent to a guesthouse by He Chuan.

Tan Yazhuo was busy managing the negative publicity surrounding He Cheng when Ah Zhou called, crying, "Yazhuo, I think I’m pregnant."

Just when one crisis subsided, another arose.

Tan Yazhuo asked, "Is it He Cheng’s?"

Who else could it be?

Ah Zhou had also seen the news online about He Cheng’s new girlfriend. She was heartbroken, crying every day. Upon discovering the pregnancy, she grew anxious and scared, unsure what to do.

Tan Yazhuo clenched her teeth. "Are you sure it’s his?"

"Yes, Yazhuo. I haven’t been with anyone else."

"How many months?"

"Three months..."

Tan Yazhuo scolded, "You only realized after three months? Or were you hiding it?"

"Yazhuo, I didn’t mean to. I was scared. It wasn’t intentional..."

Tan Yazhuo felt sorry for her young age and unfortunate background, so she stopped scolding and said, "Wait at home. I’ll come to see you."

Ah Zhou’s eyes were red from crying. Though pregnant, she was severely malnourished. Doctors warned she was too thin to carry a child safely but stressed the importance of nutrition.

When Tan Yazhuo arrived, she found Ah Zhou curled up weakly on the couch. She sighed deeply. "Now that it’s come to this, what do you want to do?"

Ah Zhou looked up. "I... I want to keep it."

"Are you crazy? Or has He Cheng brainwashed you? He already has a girlfriend. If you have the baby, will you raise it?"

Ah Zhou shook her head, tears streaming. "But it’s so pitiful inside me. I can’t bear to abort it, Yazhuo..."

Tan Yazhuo fell silent, recalling He Cheng’s recent behavior. Another scandal could ruin his career and cost the company dearly due to the bet agreement. On the other hand, she held leverage over He Cheng through this child, which could be useful.

This child’s arrival was both timely and untimely.

Tan Yazhuo weighed the situation carefully. Ah Zhou looked at her with despair, pleading, "Yazhuo, please help me. Just this once. The last time..."

"Are you sure you want to keep it?"

"Yes. I want to give birth."

"If you do, He Cheng won’t acknowledge the child. Are you sure?"

Without hesitation, Ah Zhou replied, "Yes. I want to."

Tan Yazhuo asked, "Have you fallen in love with him?"

Ah Zhou’s panicked eyes betrayed her.

Tan Yazhuo said, "Ah Zhou, if you decide to keep the baby, you have to listen to me from now on."

Ah Zhou’s hope rekindled. "Really, Yazhuo? Thank you. Thank you so much..."

Tan Yazhuo suppressed her guilt. She was only using Ah Zhou and the child for her own ends...