The President Comes Knocking -

Hearing Mu Han’s words, Chu Qianqian managed to claw a shred of rationality back into her short-circuited brain. She recalled her memories from their time in City B and realized he wasn’t wrong.

Back then, because of Mu Han’s leg injury, it was inconvenient for him to stay on the second floor. So, both of their rooms were set on the first floor. To make it easier to take care of the injured, Chu Qianqian’s room was placed right across from his.

At the time, although she felt something was off, she didn’t question the arrangement much because she naively believed Mu Han’s nonsense about “I’m not interested in you.” Looking back now, she realized how foolishly naive she had been, letting herself be fooled with just a few casual remarks.

“You back then…” As soon as the words left her mouth, Chu Qianqian stopped herself. What was the point of asking about this now? The matter was long in the past, and finding out the reasoning now would only disrupt the fragile sense of peace the two of them were barely managing to maintain.

Unfortunately, Chu Qianqian was the only one thinking this way. As for Mu Han, he couldn’t wait for this so-called peace to be shattered. The fact that she was bringing it up gave him the perfect opportunity to go along with it.

“The room arrangement back then was intentional on my part.”

Before the words were even fully out, Mu Han received an exaggerated eye-roll from Chu Qianqian. The corners of his lips curled up into a smile, one that carried a hint of indulgence, and it was enough to make her quickly look away, unable to say anything. Only then did he continue.

“I admit, I did have a bit of an ulterior motive back then. But I’ll be honest with you-it wasn’t as deep a feeling as it is now. The reason I did that was because your rejection of me was so blunt. It was the first time anyone had ever turned me down like that.”

Chu Qianqian’s eyes widened in disbelief. She couldn’t wrap her mind around what she was hearing. This was the reason Mu Han had done all of that? She never would’ve guessed it stemmed from such a childish, self-centered motivation.

Yes, self-centered. Like a little princess who thought the whole world revolved around her.

Mu Han rubbed his nose awkwardly, realizing himself how narcissistic those words sounded. Still, that had indeed been what he was thinking at the time. Having always been used to being the center of attention and constantly receiving confessions of love, his starkest impression of Chu Qianqian was that she was the woman who kept rejecting him-cleanly, decisively, and without the slightest hesitation. It was impossible for her not to catch his attention.

“So, is that the reason why you’ve been doing all these things?” Chu Qianqian’s voice wavered, her expression caught somewhere between joy and sorrow, making it difficult to decipher her true emotions.

Logically, she should feel happy. If it was really just about this-if Mu Han’s feelings for her were as shallow as he implied-then she wouldn’t have to feel so conflicted about it all.

But deep down, in some hidden corner of her heart, Chu Qianqian could hear a voice whispering to her. It told her that if all the ambiguity, the tenderness, and the care were truly just a response to her rejection, as Mu Han said, then maybe-just maybe-she’d feel more than a little heartbroken.

As Chu Qianqian’s expression grew increasingly somber, Mu Han, who had initially tried to buy time to figure out how to phrase his response, suddenly felt like he’d been struck by a lightning bolt of clarity. It was as if a dozen mints had been shoved into his mouth, shocking him wide awake. He realized, with a bone-deep certainty, that this was a critical question, one of those make-or-break moments. How he answered would determine whether their budding relationship would bloom or wither before it had a chance to grow.

“No!”

The word came out firm and unwavering, cloaked in an unshakable sincerity. His tone carried a conviction that seemed to resonate with a certain weight, as if it held an invisible power. Hearing it, you couldn’t help but believe him, as if anything he said must be taken seriously.

“My feelings for you… they’re not what you think they are. Maybe they started clumsily, with a less-than-ideal beginning, and yes, I’ll admit that some of my actions early on were-well-less than respectful toward you. But now… now, they’re completely genuine. No pretenses, no facades.”

The unusually heartfelt and tender words were completely out of character for Mu Han. No sooner had he spoken them than he clamped his mouth shut, stiffening his posture and averting his gaze awkwardly. It was painfully evident that opening up like this made him uncomfortable.

Having lived for so many years, Mu Han had long been used to letting his actions speak louder than his words. Since childhood, even Madam Mu had called him an unfeeling block of wood when it came to expressing emotions. Relationships, in particular, had always been a blind spot for him. It wasn’t entirely his fault-most of the women he had encountered in the past were far too eager, too straightforward. Their forwardness had left him with the mistaken belief that feelings and love were something easy to come by.

That belief, of course, had shattered the moment he met Chu Qianqian.

From their very first encounter, this woman had shown nothing but avoidance toward him. At first, he thought it was some sort of deliberate strategy-a calculated attempt to lure him in by playing hard to get. For a while, he’d even been impressed by what he assumed was her mastery of the “push-and-pull” tactic. But as things unfolded, it became painfully clear that all of his assumptions were just figments of his imagination. It hadn’t been a strategy at all. Every bit of it-his pride, his assumptions-had just been his own foolish delusion.

Unfortunately for Mu Han, by the time he’d come to this realization, it was already far too late. He had been captured by her presence long before then, and his heart had become irrevocably tangled up in her. It was, perhaps, poetic justice-karma, even. After all, how many times in the past had he brushed off women who genuinely cared for him? Now, it was his turn to feel the sting of unrequited affection as Chu Qianqian coolly kept her distance.

But this was a reality Mu Han could accept. As Li Yan had once put it so aptly, “When a woman ignores you at your best, you can be sure she’ll stay the same when you’re at your worst.”

“A woman with that kind of personality might be hard to win over, but once she falls for someone, her feelings are steadfast. She’s the rare type who’s perfect not just for romance but also for marriage and building a life together. If you meet someone like that, you shouldn’t let her slip away-you’ve got to chase her and at least give it a try.”

Assistant Li’s expression was incredibly earnest as he spoke, his demeanor radiating the kind of wisdom only someone who’d experienced it could possess. Thinking about how Li had been in a long-term relationship since their college days and was now finally about to step into the sacred bonds of marriage, Mu Han couldn’t help but feel genuinely happy for him. At the same time, though, a flicker of envy arose within him. After all, the path he and Chu Qianqian had to travel to reach that point still loomed long and uncertain ahead of them.

What made it worse was the pressing challenge currently weighing on him: how to resolve the issues between him and Chu Qianqian amid the looming presence of rivals waiting to pounce. He needed her to finally confront her feelings for him head-on.

Although Mu Han, young and accomplished as he was, didn’t take someone like Chu Ziyu-immature and inexperienced, in his view-very seriously, the corporate battleground was a notoriously unpredictable place. Any successful businessman knows that underestimating an opponent before the game is over is a recipe for disaster. As long as Mu Han hadn’t received a clear and unequivocal confirmation from Chu Qianqian, Chu Ziyu would remain a thorn in his side.

And then there was the “young wolf-dog” explanation from Li Yan. The thought made Mu Han grit his teeth in frustration, but he had to admit, begrudgingly, that he wasn’t exactly in his prime when compared to Chu Ziyu. Not only was Chu Ziyu younger, but Mu Han himself was also a few years older than Chu Qianqian. And if he was being honest, there were women who simply weren’t into older men.

People say “a three-year age gap makes a generation,” and the gap between him and Chu Qianqian was more than just a metaphorical divide. Mu Han wasn’t entirely sure whether she could truly accept his personality.

In this regard, Mu Han was at least self-aware. His perpetual iciness that made him colder than a glacier, his uncompromising strictness when handling matters-yes, these were all parts of who he was. He wasn’t willing to change those traits, nor was he even sure if he could.