Chapter 32

The girl shook her head, “I’m not thirsty anymore.”

Shen Qian helped her lie back down and casually adjusted the blanket for her.

Had it not been for her previous life’s intense clashes with this man, where she had witnessed his intricate scheming firsthand, Shen Wan might have believed him to be a thoughtful and compassionate elder brother.

Unfortunately, fate had granted her rebirth.

Shen Qian’s disguise was destined to be a joke.

A deeper smile appeared at the corner of the girl’s lips. In her gaze towards the man, besides gratitude, there was also a sense of reliance. She treated him as if he were her lifesaving straw.

Shen Qian found satisfaction in her attentive demeanor, and a subtle smile graced his typically impassive eyes.

“It’s fine even if the money is lost.”

“But…”

“The Shen family won’t give you less.”

Shen Wan obediently closed her mouth.

“Besides money, what’s in your bag?”

“My phone and identification.”

“Then how did you call me earlier?” The man asked seemingly casually, but there was a hint of contemplation in his expression that Shen Wan couldn’t see from her angle.

“I used the landline phone in the duty room.”

“You remember my phone number?” He lightly tossed out the second question.

If Shen Qian remembered correctly, he hadn’t told Shen Wan his phone number before.

She, however, didn’t sense the probing undertone in his words and simply smiled foolishly, nodding, “I remember.”

“Oh?” His tone was cool.

Shen Wan was momentarily at a loss, nervously staring at him. “Brother, did I… say something wrong?”

She was quite sensitive.

That was Shen Qian’s initial reaction.

But it was this very sensitivity that made his doubts somewhat subside.

If Shen Wan pretended to be clueless, then there was a real problem!

“Did I tell you my phone number?”

“I’m sorry…” The girl lowered her gaze, her eyelashes trembling lightly, like a startled butterfly fluttering its wings. “I asked Steward Zhou.”

“You asked and you remembered?” There was a hint of amusement in the man’s tone. This shift from his previous indifferent demeanor was enough to surprise her.

Shen Wan looked up, her mouth curving into a smile, “I memorized it.”

There was an indissoluble depth in the man’s eyes, but she only pretended not to understand, her gaze clear and pure.

“Why?”

“Because I know, Brother will help me. Like this time, I didn’t dare call home, didn’t dare tell Dad…”

Yet I told you.

She didn’t finish her sentence, but Shen Qian understood the meaning completely.

She believed in him, relied on him, even regarded him as the first person to ask for help in a critical moment.

Shen Qian didn’t view himself as a rigid follower of traditional masculinity. He preferred individuals with distinct personalities over innocuous creatures, like clever foxes or relaxed raccoon cats.

But when Shen Wan stared at him with those innocent, clear eyes, he realized that he was unexpectedly powerless, to the point of being defenseless.

He was moved by her.

Shen Wan yawned, her eyes showing signs of weariness.

“Tired?”

She shook her head, “Not at all!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll leave once you’re asleep.”

“Then I definitely can’t sleep…” She mumbled softly.

However, the man heard her perfectly well, but Shen Qian acted as if he hadn’t, “What did you say?”

Shen Wan looked embarrassed, her expression awkward, “It’s… nothing. Brother…” She tugged at Shen Qian’s sleeve, her grip gentle enough that he could easily free himself if he wanted to.

“Hmm?” But he didn’t.

“That truck…” She hesitated to speak.

“I’ll handle it.”

“And the taxi driver…”

“I know,” the man responded readily.

Shen Wan’s gaze flickered slightly. “And how should I explain to my family?” Her tone sounded like a negotiation.

Upon initial hearing, there was an air of secrecy and conspiratorial undertones in her words.

Shen Qian couldn’t suppress a chuckle…