I'm a Villain! Why Are You Trying to Date Me? - Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Lin Tian: Please, don’t come any closer!

The stairs weren’t deep—only about a dozen steps.

From the outside, it was a dark and mysterious space, but once they entered, there was a faint glow that illuminated the surroundings enough to make out details.

At the bottom of the stairs, there was a small room of about ten square meters. Inside was a small bed, two rocking chairs, and a wall made of special glass next to the bed, offering a view of the pond beneath the “Ting Chan Xuan” courtyard!

Koi fish swam gracefully beside the glass, creating a scene that resembled a room beneath a lake!

Lin Tian couldn’t help but be impressed.

Shang Chan, as the legitimate daughter of the Zhao family, had a secret base made just for her to play in—this was beyond expectations. In terms of construction, the cost of this secret room might even rival the “Ting Chan Xuan.”

…

“Lin Tian, this was my favorite place when I was a child. How is it? Isn’t it quite hidden?”

Shang Chan turned around, her face relaxing into a smile.

It seemed that when she was in her secret base, she had put aside her identity as the CEO of Xinghai and the eldest daughter of the Zhao family. Here, she was just a carefree little girl who didn’t need to worry about anything.

Lin Tian nodded and smiled.

“Indeed, it’s very secretive. Without knowing about the mechanism, who would ever guess that there’s a secret room at the bottom of the lake?”

“Until I finished high school, this was my favorite place to be. Whenever I was upset, I’d come here and talk to these koi fish…”

The woman in the pure white suit was a nearly invincible queen in the business world, a woman of swift action who often made the upper echelons of Xinghai tremble in fear. She was also the brightest star in the Zhao family.

But now, her face showed nostalgia, innocence, and simplicity.

Looking at this incongruous scene, Lin Tian could only feel that time had slowed down.

[As a child, when she was upset, she could only come to this secret room to deal with it by herself? Perhaps in her heart, Shang Chan carries a lot of loneliness, a lot of unspoken desires.]

Lin Tian quietly reflected on this in his heart.

In the original book, although there were many descriptions of Shang Chan, they mostly focused on her abilities, beauty, and cold demeanor. When she became Jiang Yifeng’s herem, her inner thoughts weren’t described much. Perhaps the author of that little white novel knew that a woman with such a personality is difficult to conquer, so they directly abandoned reason and forced her into submission to Jiang Yifeng.

But now, it seemed that even if Shang Chan really had to agree to Jiang Yifeng today, it likely wasn’t just because of that real estate investment proposal. Jiang Yifeng might have done something else? Or perhaps, he had obtained leverage over Zhao Dongyun? Otherwise, how could such a father, who dotes on his daughter so much, like Zhao Dongyun, possibly let Shang Chan go?

Lin Tian was unsure.

And upon hearing his thoughts, Shang Chan with her eyelashes fluttering, suddenly felt a warm current surge in her chest. This man truly understood her…

……

The underground secret room was small and cramped. While there was some light, it wasn’t overly bright to maintain the room’s sense of mystery.

Shang Chan was a perfect woman, and every smile and frown of hers exuded charm.

More importantly, the woman seemed to have taken something that made her unable to stop talking. She began by sharing childhood anecdotes, then moved on to the troubles and thoughts of her adolescence, and even talked about her past dreams and aspirations.

Lin Tian thought that perhaps the private and intimate environment of the secret room made Shang Chan subconsciously relax, unknowingly wanting to pour out all the pressure from the outside world.

But the problem was…

You can vent all you want, but could you at least do it a bit farther away?

Unconsciously, Shang Chan had already sat next to Lin Tian with less than half a meter between them. The faint fragrance continued to drift into Lin Tian’s nose, and Shang Chan’s expression had lost its usual cold indifference. Instead, it was filled with more innocence, purity, and cuteness.

Lin Tian felt his heart racing faster and faster.

[Damn! This isn’t good, this isn’t good, if this goes on, even a saint wouldn’t be able to control himself! Shang Chan, do you even know what you’re doing? You’re playing with fire!]

Hearing Lin Tian’s thoughts, Shang Chan’s lips curled into a smile.

She suddenly leaned in, so close that Lin Tian could clearly see the slight tremble of her eyelashes.

“Lin Tian, you won’t quit, and you won’t leave… leave Xinghai, right?”

The breath of the stunning woman made Lin Tian freeze all over.

He dazedly nodded, responding in a hoarse voice that even sounded unfamiliar to him.

“I… won’t…”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Lin Tian regretted it.

He had originally wanted to keep some distance from Shang Chan, but now, everything seemed to be getting more and more tangled…

Actually, whether or not he quits his job is irrelevant, but he absolutely has to cut ties with Shang Chan!

In the original story, it was because this woman offended Jiang Yifeng that she was quietly killed in the end. Since Lin Tian has traveled here, he must avoid making the same mistake.

Fortunately, he noticed that Shang Chan didn’t seem to be listening to him at all, her entire demeanor was dazed and confused.

Lin Tian sighed quietly. This woman had no idea what she was doing.

He quietly moved a little further away.

Lin Tian’s movement made Shang Chan snap back to her senses in an instant.
…

Having played with fire so recklessly, Shang Chan felt her heart almost leaping out of her chest!

She had never been so close to another man before, but for some reason, when facing Lin Tian, she didn’t resist at all. In fact, she even felt an inexplicable attraction to him.

Shang Chan wasn’t an ignorant girl, but she wasn’t sure what was going on with her…

“Let’s go, the beer party should be starting soon. I… I’ll take you there.”

Shang Chan flustered as she moved back a bit, using her slender, fair fingers to tuck some loose strands of hair behind her ear.

In the dim light, a faint blush seemed to appear on her neck.

Lin Tian stood dazed for a while, before he harshly bit the tip of his tongue!

[This demon…] He sighed deeply, not knowing what he was even thinking right now.

There’s an old saying: “To die beneath the peony, to be a ghost is also charming.”

A perfect beauty like Shang Chan, if she kept interacting with him so inexplicably, Lin Tian knew he wouldn’t be able to control himself much longer!

The two of them walked out of the secret room, and the moment they were exposed to the sunlight, both Shang Chan and Lin Tian almost simultaneously felt a pang of disappointment.

What exactly they were disappointed about, neither of them could explain.
…

Meanwhile, about a kilometer away from the Zhao family ancestral hall, a man dressed in a light gray suit approached a magnificent three-story building.

The man was in his twenties, with a slender yet not fragile build, wearing a confident expression on his face.

From his attire, watch, shoes, and other external factors, it was difficult to tell whether the man had money or status.

But since he was at the Zhao family ancestral ceremony, his identity was undoubtedly not simple.

As the man walked closer, another young man, also dressed in a light gray suit, approached, with a smile on his face that didn’t seem forced.

“Brother Jiang, you’re here!”

The man glanced over, a trace of a smile appearing in his eyes, but there was also a hint of caution deep within them.

“Xinghui.”

“Brother Jiang, my father asked me to come greet you… Will you go to the banquet hall first, or…”

“Let’s go see your father first.”

The young man, Zhao Xinghui, smiled even wider.

“Brother Jiang, this way please!”

The two walked toward the side of the three-story building. Less than two minutes after they left, Zhao Mengmeng and Zhao Dongyun appeared, accompanied by five or six young men dressed in black, their waists bulging with something.

“Secure the area.”

Zhao Dongyun gave a brief command, then allowed Zhao Mengmeng to link her arm with his.

The father and daughter walked into the banquet hall.

A moment later, Shang Chan and Lin Tian strolled over.

A man in black came forward, bowed respectfully, and said in a low voice,
“Miss, the master has agreed, and he and the second young lady are waiting for you inside.”

Shang Chan gave a slight nod.

Behind her, Lin Tian was immediately filled with confusion.

What had Zhao Dongyun agreed to with Shang Chan?

“Liu Xia Hui” (柳下惠) refers to an ancient Chinese politician, Zhan Huo (展获), who was known for his virtue and was governor of the District of Liuxia (柳下) in the Lu State.