He Xiu was silent for a moment, then lowered his head and laughed.

  Jian Yan felt embarrassed by his laughter. However, she really cared about those strawberries because once they were picked, she would have to pay for them later...

  "Uh, I'm sorry..." She put the strawberry back into the basket and smiled apologetically at He Xiu. With a faint smile on his lips, He Xiu looked at her and said, "It doesn't matter. It's my fault. I should have chosen the strawberries more carefully."

  Jian Yan: "..."

  As he spoke, He Xiu really picked a strawberry carefully, held it up in his palm, and showed it to Jian Yan. "How about this one? It's neither too big nor too small, with a uniform color. It's a ten in terms of appearance."

  "… Well, it's quite good."

  He Xiu smiled and picked it, then put it into the basket. Due to Jian Yan's interruption, he no longer organized his words and directly said to her, "When you suddenly mentioned my parents in the cafeteria before, I was indeed a bit angry. But what made me even angrier was that I casually told you that Zhao Yingfang is not my mother. Although she really isn't my mother, this is a secret in the He family. He Jinglong has always said to the outside world that I'm Zhao Yingfang's eldest son..."

  He Xiu exhaled a breath at this point before continuing, "I was seven years old when I came to the He family. He said that because I was in poor health at birth, I had been receiving treatment abroad. " He smiled sarcastically. "I don't know how much others believed this excuse, but no one delved into it. Those people treated me just like they would treat the eldest son of the He family, being so polite. People in the business world are probably all so hypocritical."

  Jian Yan pursed her lips slightly, not knowing what to say. When she was a child, she thought that if her family was rich, she wouldn't have had such a tough time. But in fact, even a wealthy family like the He family had its own kind of pain.

  He Xiu was silent for a long time, then said in a solemn voice, "My mother passed away when I was seven years old..."

  Jian Yan suddenly placed her hand on his: "Don't say anymore."

  He Xiu turned his head to look at her. Jian Yan gently exhaled a breath and said, "It's a sad memory. You don't have to force yourself to recall it again."

  The corners of He Xiu's eyes glistening with water flickered. After a moment, he noticed their hands overlapping. He looked at Jian Yan with some hesitation: "You... touched me."

  Jian Yan seemed to notice their physical contact only at this moment, and it was she who took the initiative. Seeing the change in her expression, He Xiu laughed twice as if to ease the atmosphere: "Are you going to hit me next?"

  Jian Yan pursed her lips and smiled, then withdrew her hand. She blinked at him and said, looking at him, "In fact, my situation is much more serious than what I told you before. I don't simply resist men. I actually have misandry."

  He Xiu frowned: "Misandry?"

  "Yeah, I've had it since I was very young. My father was a gambler and lost a lot of money. All the valuable things in our house were taken by him to pay off debts, but it still wasn't enough. Those debt collectors came to our house every day to urge him to pay back the money, and they even sprayed red paint at our door. Once, they directly rushed into the house and demanded fiercely that my father pay them back. Maybe they really saw that there was nothing valuable left in our house. He said to my father that if he had no money to pay off the debt, he could use his daughter to pay it off. As he said that, he reached out and touched my face—although it was just my face, that disgusting feeling makes me get goosebumps every time I think about it."

  Although Jian Yan's tone was relaxed, He Xiu's heart suddenly ached. Frowning, he looked at her and asked, "And then?"

  Jian Yan said, "At that time, my father was drunk. I was really afraid that they would take me away. Fortunately, my mother came back. She desperately protected me and drove those people away. Later, my father sobered up and took the initiative to divorce my mother. Now... I don't know where he is. Maybe he's already been beaten to death by the debt collectors."

  He Xiu didn't say anything, just kept frowning. Jian Yan smiled and said, "After that day, I especially disliked contact with men. Once they got close to me, I would become very irritable."

  He Xiu looked at her, then slowly raised his right hand and gently rubbed her side face with his fingertips: "Do you feel disgusted?"

  Jian Yan shook her head: "Maybe... it's because you're handsome."

  The corners of He Xiu's mouth finally curved. Just as he was about to say something, they heard the owner of the strawberry garden shouting at them not far away: "You two good-looking young people over there, if you want to be lovey-dovey, do it at home. The path here is narrow, and you're blocking the way for others by standing there. Also, there are only so many fully ripe strawberries. If others pick them all, you won't have any left!"

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  He Xiu: "..."

  Jian Yan: "..."

  "Um, we'd better pick strawberries first." He Xiu took the basket from Jian Yan's hand and continued walking into the strawberry shed. They had a great harvest along the way. When the basket couldn't hold any more strawberries, the two of them returned outside the shed. The owner weighed the strawberries for them, and it was almost three jin. Just as Jian Yan was about to pay, He Xiu stopped her: "There's no reason for you to pay."

  "Uh..." Jian Yan paused in her action and said to him, "I'm the one who wants to eat these strawberries. You..."

  He Xiu couldn't help laughing: "They're all for you. I didn't mean to compete with you for them."

  Jian Yan: "..."

  She watched as He Xiu paid the money and then bowed to him politely: "Thank you, Mr. He."

  He Xiu laughed again.

  At that moment, Tang Zheng and Lin Zhen also came out after picking strawberries. Seeing Jian Yan's bow, Tang Zheng teased, "What are you two doing? Getting married?"

  Jian Yan: "..."

  He Xiu glanced at Tang Zheng and said, "What does it have to do with you if we're getting married?"

  "How can it have nothing to do with me if you're getting married!"

  Lin Zhen nodded in agreement beside him. Yeah, how can it have nothing to do with him if you're getting married? She looked at the strawberries in Jian Yan's hand and said in surprise, "You dawdled for so long and only picked this little? Tang Zheng and I picked two big baskets!"

  As she spoke, she showed Jian Yan their results: "How about it? Great, right? Come on, I'll give you some." She carefully grabbed a handful of strawberries and put them into Jian Yan's pocket. Jian Yan looked at them and picked out two: "I don't want these funny-looking ones."

  Lin Zhen clicked her tongue: "What? Afraid they have hormones?"

  Jian Yan shook her head: "I just simply think they're ugly."

  Lin Zhen: "..."

  It was approaching noon, and Tang Zheng suggested finding a place to sit down and have a meal. There was a restaurant in the strawberry garden, and there was also a special all-strawberry dessert counter. So the few of them directly had lunch in the strawberry garden.

  "This strawberry cake really isn't as good as the ones from Yu's." Jian Yan took a bite of the small strawberry cake and sighed. Lin Zhen sneered, "Come on. If it were at the same level as Yu's, it wouldn't be sold here."

  Tang Zheng said, "Mr. He is here. If you want to eat the desserts from Yu's, ask Mr. He to call and have all the desserts from Yu's Dessert Shop delivered here."

  He Xiu gave him a sideways glance: "We have a cooperative relationship with Mr. Yu. He's not my subordinate."

  Tang Zheng exclaimed in surprise, "Then you're a pretty useless president!"

  He Xiu raised his eyebrows. Looking for trouble, aren't you?

  Tang Zheng giggled, picked up a washed strawberry, and brought it to He Xiu's mouth: "Try one of the strawberries we just picked. It's very sweet. Here, let me feed you."

  "… I can eat it myself."

  Lin Zhen suddenly elbowed Jian Yan hard. The strawberry in Jian Yan's hand almost fell to the ground: "What are you doing? The strawberry is about to fall to the ground!"

  Lin Zhen: "..."

  Is this the time to talk about the strawberry?

  He Xiu's brows flickered. It seemed that he, somehow, understood something.

  He looked at Tang Zheng, raised the corners of his mouth, and smiled without speaking.

  Tang Zheng: "..."

  Damn it! Every time Young Master He smiles like this, someone is going to be in trouble!

  After the meal, Tang Zheng still wanted to go somewhere else to play. Jian Yan was still worried about the manuscript she had to submit, so she said, "I'm not going. I still have to go home and draw... sleep. You guys go and have fun."

  He Xiu heard the first word she said clearly and lowered his head to smile.

  Tang Zheng looked at Jian Yan in disbelief: "It's the middle of the day. What are you sleeping for?"

  Jian Yan looked at him even more unbelievably: "Taking a nap. Haven't you heard of it?"

  Tang Zheng: "..."

  He Xiu said: "I'm also going back to the company. You two can go."

  Tang Zheng slapped the table with a "snap": "You two are so boring!"

  He Xiu nodded calmly: "So we two won't bother you two."

  Tang Zheng: "..."

  For some reason, he felt that the number of times he had been rebutted today seemed to be twice as much as usual.

  Since Lin Zhen and He Xiu drove here, now that He Xiu and Jian Yan were leaving first, He Xiu was responsible for sending Jian Yan back.

  That's how it should be in theory.

  But Lin Zhen knew that Jian Yan had misandry. If she were to stay in the same car with a man, something serious would definitely happen! And Jian Yan definitely wouldn't agree to it either.

  She originally planned to abandon Tang Zheng and send Jian Yan back herself. Unexpectedly, she heard Jian Yan say, "Then I'll trouble Manager He."

  Lin Zhen: "..."

  Wait a minute, did she hear it wrong?

  She looked at Jian Yan and asked uncertainly: "Young Master He is sending you back?"

  Thinking that she was worried about Jian Yan's safety, He Xiu said, "Don't worry. I'm a very good driver."

  Lin Zhen: "..."

  No, that's not the problem! And what you said, Young Master He, sounds a bit inappropriate!

  Jian Yan understood Lin Zhen's meaning. She nodded to her and said, "It's okay. You and Mr. Tang have a good time."

  Lin Zhen blinked quickly. Before, Jian Yan had dinner at the same table as Young Master He. Now, she was going home in the same car as him. Could it be that they would... No, no, no! How could she be so inappropriate!

  "Then be careful." She reminded them again and walked towards her car with Tang Zheng.

  This was the first time in Jian Yan's life that she was sitting in a car driven by a man—she used to only take taxis driven by female drivers. After fastening her seat belt, He Xiu slowly started the car. He glanced in the direction of the passenger seat and asked her, "Do you feel uncomfortable?"

  Jian Yan shook her head: "It's okay."

  The car was an enclosed space, and He Xiu's scent became more intense here. Jian Yan was indeed more reserved than when they were outside, but it was still within her acceptable range.

  He Xiu turned on the music in the car, hoping to make Jian Yan relax a bit.