My Virtual Girlfriend-Chapter 446

Recalling Chen Yan’s earlier words about "atonement" and "finding peace within," Yu Qiao Qiao felt a bit scared for a moment.

She looked at Chen Yan, then couldn’t help but ask, "Chen Yan... did you do something illegal?"

She whispered, "If you really did, you must not hide it. Go and turn yourself in."

"Don’t worry, I will wait for you until you get out."

A frown crossed Chen Yan’s face.

He couldn’t help but tap Yu Qiao Qiao’s head, saying, "What are you thinking about?"

"I was just saying."

"Besides, I said it as if it had something to do with you."

"So, what illegal thing do you think I would do that would involve you?"

Hearing Chen Yan’s words, Yu Qiao Qiao was stunned for a moment. Blushing, she lowered her head and whispered, "You... you don’t have to do anything illegal."

Chen Yan held his forehead.

He felt that ever since he had led Yu Qiao Qiao astray, her path seemed to veer off more and more.

Sometimes, even though he meant nothing by it, she would already be overthinking.

With that thought, Chen Yan once again pulled Yu Qiao Qiao into his arms, then explained, "I won’t do anything illegal."

"I’m just worried about doing something wrong."

Hearing Chen Yan’s words, Yu Qiao Qiao gently hugged him.

Then she hesitated for a moment and asked, "Then... would you leave me because of this?"

Hearing Yu Qiao Qiao’s question, Chen Yan was a bit puzzled.

He asked, "Why would I leave you if I did something wrong?"

Yu Qiao Qiao said weakly, "I’ve seen some TV shows and movies where the protagonist always feels guilty for their wrongdoings and then leaves the person they love."

"I’m afraid... you might do the same."

Chen Yan smiled, smoothed Yu Qiao Qiao’s still damp hair, and said, "I won’t."

"If I did something wrong,"

"No matter whether you still want to be with me or not,"

"I will always stay by your side quietly, hoping to earn your forgiveness and to be with you again."

Hearing Chen Yan’s shameless words, Yu Qiao Qiao, to her own surprise, actually felt relieved.

She said, "That’s good..."

She stepped out of Chen Yan’s embrace, then looked at him with her soft but firm gaze, and said, "Chen Yan..."

"Even though I don’t know what wrong you might do,"

"I don’t know if I will really be angry when the time comes,"

"But I know, I really don’t want you to leave me."

"I like you, and I want to stay with you forever..."

"No matter how you treat me in the future,"

"No matter what kind of person you become,"

"As long as you don’t drive me away, I will always stay by your side..."

Observing Yu Qiao Qiao’s firm gaze, Chen Yan’s previously gloomy mood slowly eased.

Once again, he embraced Yu Qiao Qiao, as if holding a precious treasure.

Then he whispered in her ear, "Don’t worry, Qiao Qiao. I will always treat you well in this lifetime."

"Because you are the best gift given to me by heaven..."

"Meeting you really is the greatest luck of my life."

Listening to Chen Yan’s confession, Yu Qiao Qiao closed her eyes contentedly and leaned on his shoulder.

The two of them, held in each other’s embrace, quietly listened to the heartbeat of the other, as if time had stopped at that moment...

And after about five or six minutes,

Chen Yan suddenly tilted his head towards Yu Qiao Qiao and said, "Qiao Qiao... you’re all wet."

Hearing Chen Yan’s words, Yu Qiao Qiao’s face instantly turned red, waving her hands frantically, "No, I’m not. Don’t talk nonsense... Chen Yan."

Seeing Yu Qiao Qiao’s flustered look, Chen Yan touched his shoulder, cleared his throat, and said, "I mean your hair is wet."

"It got my clothes all wet."

Hearing Chen Yan’s words, Yu Qiao Qiao felt even more embarrassed.

She looked at Chen Yan angrily, wanting to say something, but out of shyness, she couldn’t speak.

In the end, all her emotions turned into a coy "hmm~"!

...

Half an hour later, at Yu Qiao Qiao’s request, Chen Yan sat behind her, holding a hairdryer, and dried her hair.

Perhaps really embarrassed, this was one of the few times that Qiao Qiao coquettishly initiated a request for Chen Yan to do something.

So, Chen Yan did not refuse, but rather happily agreed.

After drying her hair, the two lay in bed, relaxing their tired bodies from the day.

And perhaps because of what Chen Yan had said earlier, Yu Qiao Qiao had some thoughts.

She lay in Chen Yan’s arms, looking at him every few seconds, then lying back down, before sneaking a look at him again.

At first, Chen Yan hadn’t noticed her gaze, but after he did, he became curious and asked, "What’s with you?"

Yu Qiao Qiao hesitated for a moment, then asked softly, "Chen Yan..."

"I actually wanted to ask you this before, but I didn’t dare."

Looking at her, Chen Yan asked, "What is it?"

Yu Qiao Qiao said, "Why were you so nice to me when we first met?"

"And, why did you give such expensive gifts to me and my roommates..."

As she said this, seeing Chen Yan wanting to argue, Yu Qiao Qiao quickly added in a low voice,

"Don’t say there wasn’t..."

"Even though Brother Ying and the others didn’t tell me directly, I later accidentally overheard their discussion."

"That’s when I found out, we had only known each other for a few days, but you had given each of us a pen worth tens of thousands."

Chen Yan was surprised.

He had done this when he first met Yu Qiao Qiao.

After all these years, he had forgotten about it, but Yu Qiao Qiao still remembered it vividly.

Chen Yan hesitated for a moment. He wanted to lie, trying to gloss over this matter.

But seeing Yu Qiao Qiao’s innocent eyes, after thinking for a moment, he half-truthfully said, "Hmm... if I say it was because it was love at first sight that I gave you these gifts, would you believe me?"

Yu Qiao Qiao looked at Chen Yan and nodded.

Seeing her reaction, Chen Yan couldn’t help but smile.

Then he said, "That’s one part of it."

"You really are my ideal type."

"Whether it’s your looks, your body, or your personality."

"You’re like my dream lover, as if you stepped right out of a painting."

"So, that’s why I was so nice to you."

Yu Qiao Qiao naively asked, "What about the other part of the reason?"

Chen Yan said, "The other part... is a task."

"Task?" Over the years, Yu Qiao Qiao had thought of many reasons, but she never thought of this reason.

She looked at Chen Yan, curiously asking, "Like truth or dare?"

Chen Yan pondered for a moment and said, "Sort of."

"But it’s the kind that has a reward after completion."

Hearing Chen Yan’s words, Yu Qiao Qiao finally felt like she understood some of Chen Yan’s strange actions over the years.

She couldn’t help but say, "You guys are really silly... to set such tasks."

Chen Yan, holding her in his arms, replied, "It’s really silly."

Yu Qiao Qiao looked up at him with her big eyes and asked, "So... are you still playing these tasks now?"

Chen Yan understood what Yu Qiao Qiao meant.

He smiled and shook his head, "No. Now, everything I do for you comes from my heart."

Hearing Chen Yan’s words, Yu Qiao Qiao smiled happily again.

And even though that was the case, Chen Yan still added, "Also, my liking for you is because of who you are, not because of any task."

Hearing Chen Yan’s explanation, Yu Qiao Qiao covered her mouth and laughed, saying, "Of course, I know that."

"What kind of task would make someone fall in love, anyway?"

"Chen Yan, you’re so silly~~"

Perhaps because of that day’s charitable event, which helped so many people, Yu Qiao Qiao was in a very good mood and even took the initiative to tease Chen Yan.

Chen Yan immediately embraced her tightly and said, "I’m silly?"

"Come on. Let me show you if I’m really silly."

Saying so, Chen Yan, like a hungry tiger, pinned Yu Qiao Qiao under him amid her girlish screams.

And as it turned out, Chen Yan’s hair drying skills were indeed average.

Because Boss Qiao Qiao was still a bit wet...

So, it wasn’t long before her celestial music filled the room...

...

Happiness refreshes the spirit.

And so does exercise.

The next day, Chen Yan headed to the company with a lively spirit.

Upon arriving, the staff he encountered along the way were curiously watching him and greeting with a smile, "President Chen, you look really good today. Is there a happy occasion?"

Every time, Chen Yan would use two different pretexts.

To acquaintances from afar, he’d say, "I’m fine, fine. Ha ha."

To those he was familiar with, he’d say, "I washed my face today. Ha ha ha."

Thus, Chen Yan made his way to his office.

Upon reaching there, he returned to his boss chair, turned on the computer, and started his routine from the past two years of checking the news from last night and this morning.

As an entrepreneur who had developed to a certain level, keeping abreast of national and international events had become an essential daily task for him.

However, today there were no significant national events.

The only news that caught his attention was:

The rival of Headline Technology, Slow Hand, announced its user report for the first quarter of the year.

Seeing that series of rising curves, along with the user data counted in billions,

Everyone knew a new star was rising in the internet industry.

This would further complicate the situation for Headline Technology.

Although Headline Technology was still rapidly developing in the content distribution industry, its main future direction—short videos—was still playing catch-up.

As the industry leader, Slow Hand’s rapid development was making things increasingly difficult for them.

It was expected that the capital market would once again lower its valuation of them due to this issue.

After reading this news, Chen Yan had a guess: he suspected that the timing of this news release might be related to the Strong Buy Card.

After all, only by letting the capital market start to doubt and worry about Headline Technology could it possibly turn from a non-sellable asset to a sellable one.

Chen Yan felt this was good news for him.

After finishing the news, Chen Yan then immersed himself back into a busy day at work.

He had recently established a company overseas.

There would be lots of things to handle.

Even though He Mengxue and Qin Ming were helping share the load, as the chairman, Chen Yan was still extremely busy.

And just like that, Chen Yan was busy until noon.

It wasn’t until his stomach growled that he suddenly realized: it was time for lunch.

He paused his work, hesitating over whom to invite for lunch.

However, before he could decide,

His phone rang.

Picking it up, Chen Yan saw it was from Lu Man.

Ever since the last time Yu Qiao Qiao stood in for Chen Yan and gave Lu Man a surprise, the little fairy, Lu Man, had been somewhat clingy to him.

However, because she had new film projects to shoot during this period, she had no time to visit Chen Yan.

Therefore, Chen Yan had no idea why the girl was calling him at this time.

Could it be that she was done with her work?

While he thought about this, Chen Yan answered the phone.

As soon as the call connected, Lu Man’s voice came from the other end, "Brother-in-law~~ are you hanging out with Fa Hai again~~~"

Hearing Lu Man’s words, Chen Yan couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time.

Typical Lu Man, always so playful.

Always so random.

Thinking this, Chen Yan played along, "Hmph! I’m not your brother-in-law! I am Fa Hai!"

"Great Mighty Dragon! Xiao Qing. Take my Vajra Pestle!"

Hearing Chen Yan play along, Lu Man burst into laughter.

She said with a laugh, "Xiao Chen, you really understand my heart more and more now."

Chen Yan couldn’t help but smile.

Then he asked, "All right, Your Majesty. What do you need from this humble one?"

Lu Man giggled and said, "Your queen is feeling lonely. I want you to accompany me for a meal."

Chen Yan casually picked at his nails, "I would actually like to join you."

"But I remember Mei Li said a few days ago that you had gone to Hengdian."

And as Chen Yan was saying this,

suddenly, the door to his office was pushed open.

Lu Man’s playful voice came through both the doorway and the receiver, "Spectrum Reizer~~!"

Chen Yan looked at this silly girl with a mix of laughter and tears.

Then he put down his phone, walked over, and pulled her into his office.

Behind her, the various onlooking staff of the gaming company laughed "cheekily".

Clearly, seeing Lu Man, a top actress, acting so goofy made everyone quite joyful.

After pulling Lu Man into the office and closing the door, Chen Yan then hugged her and gently said, "Back now?"

Lu Man hummed twice, then said, "Yeah."

"I’ve been busy in Hengdian for several days, so tired."

Chen Yan led her to the sofa and then said, "Shall we order some dishes? What do you want to eat? I’ll have the chef make it for you."

Lu Man opened her mouth and said, "I want steamed lamb, steamed bear paws, steamed deer antlers, roasted duck..."

Seeing Lu Man like this, she certainly hadn’t spent half a month in Hengdian without learning something; she actually rattled off a list to Chen Yan.

And at first, Lu Man was a bit smug, thinking she could finally stump Chen Yan.

But when she saw that Chen Yan was just silently noting it all down, she suddenly leaned in curiously and said, "Chen Yan, don’t you think I’m ordering too much?"

Seeing this playful little figure asking such a question, Chen Yan smiled, "Not too much."

"My darling can have as much as she wants."

Seeing Chen Yan dote on her like this,

Lu Man became even happier.

She said, "Then forget it. I don’t want any of the things I mentioned."

"Just get me a plate of Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes."

"And two pancakes."

"I feel like having potato pancakes."

Saying this, she pointed her finger at Chen Yan and ordered, "You wrap it for me~"

Chen Yan patted her head and said, "Got it. Your Majesty."

Seeing Chen Yan agree, Lu Man became even more proudly coquettish.

Her nose was practically up in the air.

After a while, once Chen Yan finished the phone call.

She then leaned into Chen Yan’s arms and said, "Considering how obedient you are, I guess I won’t get jealous then."

Hearing Lu Man’s out-of-the-blue remark, Chen Yan was momentarily stunned, then he couldn’t help but ask, "Jealous? Jealous of what?"

Lu Man pouted, looking at Chen Yan with a wronged expression, "Of course, I’m jealous of your new flame."

"New flame....."

Chen Yan spread his hands, "Where is this coming from?"

Lu Man nodded, "Yes, it starts from ’He’."

Chen Yan felt a sudden pang in his heart.

Then, he watched as Lu Man got up from his lap, and paced in front of him.

"Let me ask you."

"Have you been particularly, particularly, particularly close with He Mengxue recently?"

Lu Man emphasized "particularly" three times.

Chen Yan quickly gestured with his hands, "It’s not that ’particularly’."

Lu Man gave Chen Yan a look, then continued, "Then, did you make billions in Hong Kong?"

That matter was public knowledge.

So Chen Yan nodded and admitted it, "That’s true."

Lu Man said, "Where did those billions go?"

Chen Yan opened his mouth wanting to explain.

But it seemed like he suddenly understood what Lu Man meant.

So, he didn’t explain, but instead coughed lightly and said, "That was all just normal business structuring."

"Nothing to do with personal relationships."

Lu Man gave Chen Yan a ’I don’t believe you’ look.

Then she said, "Hmm. Nothing to do with personal relationships. Just gave her 30% of the shares in Chen’s Investment."

"Then spent billions to build a new company and let her take a share."

"And also, you were with her till late every night, even entering and exiting hotels together."

The more she spoke, the angrier Lu Man seemed to get.

Her pretty face puffed up like two little buns.

But the more he listened, the more Chen Yan felt something was off.

He couldn’t help but ask, "How... how did you find out?"

Hearing Chen Yan’s question, Lu Man nonchalantly said, "Of course, someone told me."

Chen Yan’s brow furrowed, "Mei Li?"

He immediately dismissed this possibility.

After all, Mei Li usually stayed with Lu Man.

When Lu Man went out to film, Mei Li went out with her.

She basically had no chance to gather such information.

Could it be... someone else?

Chen Yan felt it was even less likely.

Actually, although Chen Yan’s conglomerate was tightly knit, it was divided into several internal factions due to his relationships with several women.

Mainly centered around the gaming company and the charity foundation, with the chubby phoenix at the head of the Qiao Qiao faction.

Mainly centered around the talent agency and Lu Man’s Studio, with Mei Li at the head of the Lu Man faction.

Mainly centered around Chen’s Investment, with Qin Ming at the head of the He Meng Xue faction.

Adding on, floating outside, with Yang Rou at the head of the film and television company.

Each company and faction had their own—