Chapter 132: Chapter 79: It’s Up to You to Advance or Retreat Chapter 132: Chapter 79: It’s Up to You to Advance or Retreat His face was cradled between her hands, as though she was trying to squish it into a bun, but there wasn’t much flesh on his face, and his skin was tight and thin, so no matter how hard she squeezed, it wouldn’t plump up into a round shape.

Perhaps because she could easily do that to herself, she assumed others also had baby fat—or that it would appear with a little squeezing, even if it wasn’t initially there.

Wen Yangzhi was twenty-eight already, how could he still have the baby fat that even an eighteen-year-old wouldn’t have?

Yun Yuwan, having failed, could only let go and turn to say something else, “Did I manage to cheer you up?”

“It’s okay,” he said noncommittally.

She didn’t believe it, “You’re being insincere, you’re obviously very happy.”

Yun Yuwan signed her name in the lower right corner of the painting, proudly declaring, “This is for you, stubborn brother.”

She was full of pride, getting too big for her britches.

Wen Yangzhi’s hand rested on her shoulder, earnestly contemplating the painting.

Even if it was a goofy one, from the moment she made the first stroke, he knew the difference between them—finding it unlikely he’d ever have the chance to create something like it.

He touched her head and carefully placed the painting into a folder.

Yun Yuwan looked up at him, “Can you keep me company like this tomorrow too?”

“Not tomorrow,” he said, his lips forming clean lines like the veins on a leaf.

She sounded disappointed, “My VIP time is only for one day.”

He was succinct, “Tomorrow I have to present awards at the City’s Top Ten Outstanding Youths event.”

Yun Yuwan thought he got it backward, “Aren’t you receiving the award?”

He opened his mouth and effortlessly settled the matter,

“Presenting.”

Given his status, of course, he could only be the one presenting the awards.

Yun Yuwan took another sheet of paper and drew several lines on it, without structure, at first glance, it was unclear what she was trying to draw, “Brother, will you ever change your habit of being stubborn?”

He kept it brief, “Depends on the mood.”

She accused, “Does that mean you only speak half-truths when you’re in a bad mood?”

He glanced at her, “It depends on your mood.”

As the words reached her ears, Yun Yuwan pursed her lips to hold back laughter, burying her head in his chest and squirming with embarrassment and sweetness, “Why are you like this?”

She rubbed against his chest and arm, like a fluffy little teddy bear, and since she had a lot of hair, the static built up from the friction.

When she looked up, her hair was a frizzy mess, making her look even more like a cartoon character. Wen Yangzhi bent down to kiss her, capturing her lower lip, the soft and warm touch meeting in sensitivity, a fine sensation trickling down his throat as if with a tiny hook, with one tug he could reel her in, leaving her completely weak and ready to be kneaded into his own little fish ball.

His large hand laid atop her head, pressing her uplifted head down, preventing her from looking at him, or else they might end up kissing for ages while standing amidst these two paintings.

He spoke without a hint of sentiment, as decisively as water runs clear, “I’ll give you the control, to advance or retreat at your will.”

She was curious, “Why aren’t you even a little bit of a male chauvinist?”

She had thought that Wen Yangzhi, a man who commanded respect and admiration everywhere he went, would also take a lofty position in matters of the heart.

Wen Yangzhi’s long fingers pressed against the paper, studying the new lines she had drawn, guessing at what she wanted to create,

“Only useless men need to be treading over their partners on everything.”

She was surprised, “But you’re a man, why are you criticising men?”

He encircled her with one hand, propping up his forehead with the other, looking down at her drawing, “It’s just the truth.”

“I had thought…” she murmured.

He countered, “What makes you think that?”

She answered him honestly, “If I dated you, control would be entirely in your hands.”

Hearing her somewhat naive words, Wen Yangzhi still didn’t show much reaction, but he taught her, “If a man wants to maintain a relationship for a long time, he won’t fight with you for the control of feelings, and he won’t want to control the relationship.”

“Why?” She didn’t understand these implicit things.

He lowered his thin eyelids, finally understanding what she was trying to depict, “Those who care about control won’t choose the women they truly like, only those who are obedient and will make concessions. If I cared about control, I wouldn’t choose you.”

Yun Yuwan understood this; it meant he liked her, and she cheerfully asked, “Then what do you like about me?”

He told the truth, “I like your foolishness.”

Because she was foolish, he always worried she’d be bullied by others, worried that if she wasn’t dating him, she would get hurt, worried that she would demand something from others without measuring the depth or boundaries, and they would not be able to give to her, worried that others wouldn’t keep up with her pace and neglect the emotional and psychological scars left behind, unable to understand her hidden pain, and that a single tantrum from her would wear away their love for her.

He was different; he could give her whatever she wanted.

Yun Yuwan felt upset, “Doesn’t that mean you like that I’m foolish and easy to control? And I’m not foolish.”

She wasn’t stupid; among ordinary people, she’d even be considered somewhat smart. But in this environment, she encountered nothing but shrewd people, even just his subordinates, all who had fought their way through challenges, battled among the elite in the finance world, scheming to the fullest just to have a chance to be in his presence.

Wen Yangzhi took the pencil from her hand, continuing her drawing with a finishing touch, “When you were just sixteen or seventeen, it was cute to be foolish, but now, I only hope you’re a bit smarter.”

She rested her head on his right forearm, complaining to him, “So being foolish now makes me unlikable?”

He stopped writing, “You can be foolish, but I’d rather you be mentally sound and not be bullied by anyone.”

He followed her strokes, filling in, “At least when it comes to choosing a man, you should know that a normal man who loves you should not love you because you’re “fuckable,” nor because you’re “useful.”

(Fuckable, meant for play; useful, practical)

She seemed to understand something but was still somewhat hazy, “Why are you telling me this?”

He set down the pen, the palm of his hand cradling her head, his mature and indifferent face, even when she looked up at him from his chin, was clearly chiseled, without an extra ounce of flesh:

“Raising you is my responsibility.”

Both physically and mentally.

A strange feeling spread from the soles of her feet upwards. To her, he was the man she had a crush on for many years, but in his eyes, it seemed different. She felt a tickling in her heart, “You’re teaching me how to choose men.”

His voice was low and deep, and she could clearly see his Adam’s apple moving slightly with his words, “You don’t have to learn too precisely.”

She straightened up, “Why?”

He looked at her with lowered eyes, his gaze faint, “Because your big brother is your man.”

She felt goosebumps, her hands involuntarily rubbing her arms, and found it damn awkward; she realized only when rubbing her hands that he was holding her very tightly, as if he embraced her closely, wrapping her like vines or a rockface would.

For the first time, she truly felt that Wen Yangzhi must like her, “Do you really like me that much?”

She didn’t understand anything and looked innocent, with her round, glossy, deer-like eyes, pure as a newly born animal, staring at him.

Wen Yangzhi remained unfazed, “Not very much, just average liking.”

“On what grounds, when I like you so much.” As soon as she spoke, she realized, “You must be just talking tough again.”

She looked down and found he embraced her so tightly; if he didn’t like her, why would he hold her that way? She wouldn’t have noticed if she hadn’t moved a bit.

He chuckled lightly, “Can you feel it?”

She elevated her chin, confidently said, “Yeah.”

Wen Yangzhi’s hand lay on her abdomen, spanning her waist, his voice lazy and indifferent, “If you can feel it, then don’t ask me.”

She went, “Oh, I get it now, you’re embarrassed to say it, sometimes saying you don’t like me means you do, saying you like me just average means you really like me a lot.”

He didn’t say much but responded to her, “Possibly.”