Chapter 51: An Ambiguous Attitude

This provocative remark didn't excite Chen Hao in the slightest, for it was far from the first time he had been teased by Fan Yirou. Even before he had reunited with Gu Mengyan, Fan Yirou would often act this way, deliberately provoking him, but Chen Hao never took it seriously.

Until one year, on his birthday, their group of friends gathered for drinks. That night, Chen Hao drank too much, and it was Fan Yirou who took him home. As usual, she teased him along the way. But this time, under the influence of alcohol and the long-accumulated frustration from her constant flirting, Chen Hao finally lost control.

He pushed Fan Yirou onto the bed and began to touch her. Fan Yirou herself had also had a few drinks, and her feelings for Chen Hao were always ambiguous—hard to define or explain. So she didn't resist, letting him undress her completely.

But the most amusing part was that after Chen Hao, with great effort, managed to strip off all her clothes—tearing several pieces in the process—he simply collapsed on top of her and... fell asleep! Yes, he just fell asleep! Anyone who drinks often would understand: when someone is truly drunk, not only is it impossible to do anything intimate, it's often a challenge just to undress oneself or even hold a glass of water.

If Chen Hao hadn't been in good physical shape, he might not have managed to take off her clothes at all. In the end, it was unclear whether he did it himself or if Fan Yirou, perhaps intentionally, helped him.

Regardless, what happened was that Chen Hao slept soundly on top of a naked Fan Yirou all night, like a dead pig, until midday the next day.

What Fan Yirou felt that night, Chen Hao had no way of knowing. Nor could he guess her mood after preparing herself for the inevitable, only for nothing to happen in the end.

When dawn broke, Chen Hao finally realized he was lying atop a completely naked Fan Yirou. He was utterly stunned! He couldn't recall a thing from the previous night—his memory after returning home was a complete blank, wiped out by the alcohol.

Could it be that he had gone too far in his drunkenness and taken advantage of Fan Yirou? But... why was he still fully clothed? And there were no traces of blood on the bedsheets—none of it made sense!

Chen Hao's heart raced. But if he got up, he would surely wake Fan Yirou, making things even more awkward for both of them. So he decided to keep pretending to be asleep, hoping that when Fan Yirou woke up she'd quietly get dressed and leave.

To be honest, lying there with a beautiful, naked woman in his arms, breathing in her fragrance, was not an unpleasant experience. He thought he might as well enjoy it a while longer.

With that thought, Chen Hao closed his eyes again. But what he didn't know was that Fan Yirou had already woken up when he started to stir. Since they were lying together, she could clearly feel his racing heartbeat.

Fan Yirou didn't seem embarrassed at all. Instead, she spoke calmly and naturally: "Since you’re awake, why don’t you get up? It’s already noon, and I’m hungry. Let’s go eat something."

"Uh..." Chen Hao hadn't expected her to be so composed. "Yirou... um... about last night..."

"You got drunk at your birthday party, and so did I. I don’t remember much after bringing you home. When I woke up this morning, things were just like this." Fan Yirou’s voice was calm, but it was a calmness that felt unnatural from her. She was too detached, and even though there was no obvious anger, Chen Hao could sense her unhappiness.

Did he do something he shouldn’t have? Chen Hao worried silently.

He wanted to say something more.

"Let’s not dwell on what happened last night," Fan Yirou said coldly. "You probably remember even less than I do. Nothing really happened, just slept naked, that’s all. Come on, let’s go eat."

As she spoke, Fan Yirou climbed out of bed without the slightest embarrassment and began to put on her clothes in front of Chen Hao. But many of the garments were torn and unwearable.

She sighed in resignation. "Do you have anything here I can wear?"

"Ah, um..." Chen Hao was embarrassed. How could he possibly have women’s clothes in his house? He lived alone, after all.

"Never mind," Fan Yirou sighed, picking up her phone to call her family’s housekeeper. She didn’t explain in detail, only asked for a set of her casual clothes to be brought to Chen Hao’s address.

The housekeeper assumed it was a simple matter—perhaps her clothes had gotten dirty and she needed a change. Since Fan Yirou’s wardrobe was mostly custom-made and rarely bought off the rack, the housekeeper didn’t hesitate to bring the clothes right over.

Before the housekeeper arrived, Fan Yirou and Chen Hao simply sat there, looking at each other. She wore only a coat loosely draped over her shoulders, every movement revealing more of her fair skin. Chen Hao, meanwhile, seemed distracted, lost in thought—perhaps about the previous night, or perhaps simply captivated by the sight before him.

Noticing his expression, Fan Yirou broke into her familiar playful smile. "Well? Do I look good?"

The silence was suddenly broken. Chen Hao, caught off guard, blurted out, "You look great!"

Fan Yirou burst into laughter.

Realizing what he'd said, Chen Hao’s face turned bright red. "No, no! You don’t! You don’t look good!"

Fan Yirou didn’t get angry. She just raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I don’t?"

Seeing his blunder, Chen Hao quickly backtracked, "No, wait! You do! You do look good!"

"So which is it?" Fan Yirou teased, moving closer to him, placing a hand on his shoulder and whispering into his ear, her breath warm and fragrant, "Well? Why won’t you answer?"

Chen Hao shuddered and leaped from his chair. "I don’t know! Don’t ask me—I didn’t see anything!"

This time, Fan Yirou didn’t press further, simply changing her posture. "If you didn’t look, how do you know whether I look good?"

Chen Hao refused to speak, pretending to be mute. No matter what he said, Fan Yirou always found a way to fluster him. Fortunately, his savior arrived—the housekeeper knocked at the door with her clothes.

The housekeeper had assumed Fan Yirou was just spending the night at a friend’s place and needed a change of clothes. But when Chen Hao opened the door, the housekeeper was stunned. "Young Master Chen... This is your house? Miss spent the night here?!"

Chen Hao could easily imagine what the housekeeper was thinking. He sighed, "It’s not what you think... Yirou and I... nothing happened!"

His explanation sounded weak and unconvincing. After all, a man and a woman spending the night alone, with the woman’s clothes torn in the morning—nine out of ten people would jump to the same conclusion. The housekeeper was no exception.

But the old housekeeper showed no sign of displeasure, didn’t act as if his young lady had been taken advantage of. Instead, he gave Chen Hao a knowing smile and nodded. "I understand. The two of you are just good friends, spent the evening chatting, and nothing happened at all."

"Sigh..." Chen Hao was exasperated. "Let’s just drop it. Hand me the clothes, please. Sorry to trouble you to come all this way."

"Not at all! After all, this is the future son-in-law’s house... ahem! Young Master Chen’s new home. It’s only right I get to know the way here. I won’t disturb you any further, I’ll take my leave!"

With that, the old housekeeper left without giving Chen Hao a chance to explain further.

As soon as he was gone, Fan Yirou, who had been giggling behind the door, teased Chen Hao, "Hehe! My future husband, aren’t you going to give me my clothes?"

After that incident, Chen Hao never drank again, nor did he ever let Fan Yirou stay at his house overnight. Yesterday had been the first time in years. Hearing Fan Yirou tease him before Gu Mengyan left, Chen Hao couldn’t help but think back to that night.

He didn’t dare be alone with Fan Yirou anymore. Though he wanted to marry her, nothing was settled between them. Fan Yirou had always kept things ambiguous between them—even after all that had happened, she’d never spoken openly about it. This made it hard for Chen Hao to open up his heart to her.

And honestly, Chen Hao himself was still confused about his feelings for Fan Yirou. Was she like a sister to him? Or his closest female friend? Or did he truly see her as the woman he loved?

"What are you daydreaming about?" Gu Mengyan poked the dazed Chen Hao at the door. "Listen, you'd better not fall for that woman’s words! She’s not to be trusted—she’ll trick you and never take responsibility!"

"What nonsense," Chen Hao rapped her on the head. "Don’t I know her well enough? All right, let’s go—let’s resign already! But tell me, you two get along so well, why do you always argue?"

"You don’t understand anything! Let me tell you..."

Watching the two of them leave, Fan Yirou revealed a sweet smile, as sweet as when Gu Mengyan first invited her to stay at the Chen family manor as a child. "I really look forward to the days ahead."