C21 Finally It Appeared

She never imagined she was worth so much.

"Ahem, miss, you look really familiar."

Unfortunately, this taxi driver was another chatty one.

"A lot of people say I look like someone, but I’m not," Wanwan quickly explained, not wanting the driver to recognize her as Nian Wanwan.

Even though she wasn't a celebrity, there was a chance the driver might be an investor who had seen her all over the news lately. The odds of being recognized were high.

"Ahem, well, I'm not sure... but that car behind us has been following for a while. I thought maybe you were a celebrity," the driver said quickly.

He had been debating whether to mention it and finally spoke up when he noticed Wanwan was about to say something.

Hearing this, Wanwan felt a headache coming on. These reporters were really something else. She wasn't a celebrity, so why did they feel the need to follow her around all the time?

She turned to look back and saw the dark car steadily trailing them. Her heart tightened, and she fell silent.

It was Pei Chenglin.

She hadn't planned on confronting him, so she dialed his phone number instead.

Sitting in the back seat, she clearly saw him release one hand from the steering wheel to answer the call. At the same time, her phone's speaker delivered his familiar, magnetic voice.

"Hello..." Pei Chenglin's voice reached deep into Nian Wanwan's heart.

Initially, she felt a bit restless due to the news, the company issues, her father, and Qin Yanting. But now, inexplicably, she felt calmer.

Nian Wanwan pressed her lips together before speaking, "You, stop following me."

"I'm not following you, just heading the same way, okay?" Pei Chenglin replied casually.

Through the phone, Nian Wanwan could almost picture his infuriating smile.

"Then you..."

If he wouldn't admit to following her, there was no way she could get a straight answer.

So, Nian Wanwan had to say, "Well, sorry to bother you, Director Pei. I just wanted to let you know that yesterday, my father and I both fainted. Thank you for arranging our hospital stay."

"Oh? And how do you plan to thank me?" Pei Chenglin's voice sounded lighthearted.

After all, wasn't this exactly what Pei Chenglin wanted? To find a way to take Nian Wanwan away from Qin Yanting, keep her by his side, and then make her pay for the past.

Otherwise, how could he let go of the fact that she had rejected him when he was down and out, only to marry Qin Yanting?

Thanking him was precisely what he desired.

"Here's what I think, if you want to thank me, why not stay with me..."

"How about this, Director Pei!" Nian Wanwan cut him off, not wanting to hear what he had to say, knowing it couldn't be anything good. Right now, her only focus was finding Qin Yanting, seeing him, and taking care of him. She had no interest in engaging further with Pei Chenglin.

Nian Wanwan quickly spoke up, "How much did the treatment for my father and my hospital stay cost? I'll transfer the money to you."

Pei Chenglin was cut off mid-sentence by Wanwan's abruptness, gripping the steering wheel tightly, his words coming through gritted teeth, "You've got some nerve, Wanwan."

"Not satisfied, Director Pei?" Wanwan found it somewhat amusing, but mostly ironic. She couldn't understand how the man she had loved for so many years, the one she had been through so much with, could turn into this. But she didn't want to dwell on it anymore.

She knew that the present was what mattered most.

So, with a hint of coldness, she said, "Pei Chenglin, wasn't it you who caused my father to be hospitalized and me to faint? If it weren't for you releasing that news, how would the Nian Family have gone bankrupt? How would my father have ended up in such a state, and how would I have fallen so low?"

"Wanwan! You still think it was me!" Pei Chenglin's car screeched to a halt by the roadside, no longer following Wanwan. His emotions were stirred up, making it impossible to focus on driving. Stopping was the best option. He continued, "Do you really think I'm that kind of person? That I'm so despicable?"

"Wasn't it you? Weren't you the one who kept saying you'd make me famous? Now you don't want to admit it? I don't understand why you're doing this to me. Do you know what I've done for you? You're just repaying kindness with betrayal..."

Talking about those days, Nian Wanwan felt a lump in her throat and couldn't continue. She hung up the phone.

Back then, to help Pei Chenglin pay off his debts, she knelt at her doorstep for a whole day and night, even as the rain poured down relentlessly. Despite her efforts, her father refused to help Pei Chenglin.

In the end, she exchanged a marriage contract to free Pei Chenglin from his debts, only to be treated like this. She felt utterly exhausted, sitting in the back seat, reflecting on those days. Everything she did for Pei Chenglin now seemed worthless.

Pei Chenglin didn't follow her, which aligned with her initial intention when she called him.

Nian Wanwan got out of the car and hurried towards her apartment. As she reached her door, she saw a figure.

He didn't stand as tall and strong as before; he looked frail, leaning against the wall.

"Wanwan." Qin Yanting looked at Nian Wanwan.

"Yanting! What are you doing here? Why didn't you call me?"

Seeing him there, Nian Wanwan quickly opened the door and let Qin Yanting inside. It was like searching high and low only to find him right there.

"Come in quickly, why do you look so pale?" Nian Wanwan said, noting that the person had just recovered from a stomach bleed and hospitalization. She didn't press further and hurried to get a glass of warm water.

Qin Yanting took the water and said, "I just managed to escape. I don't have my phone with me."

"I know, it's with your mom. I can't believe they actually kept you locked up."

Everything made sense now. Qin Yanting had been sick, and his mother took the opportunity to confine him. Seeing his pale face, Wanwan felt a wave of guilt, thinking it was because she hadn't picked him up that day.

"So, you can't go anywhere right now?" Wanwan asked, sitting on the other couch, her concern evident.

She had been searching for Qin Yanting for so long, unable to hide her worry, even if it might lead to misunderstandings.

"That day, I drank too much and slept deeply. The next day, I got your call and sent Little Qin to pick you up, but then I fell back asleep. When I woke up, my phone was gone, and I couldn't reach you," Qin Yanting explained truthfully.

Wanwan's eyes flickered slightly as she looked at his pale face, admiring his determination to explain everything. He didn't mention the stomach bleed from drinking, knowing he didn't want her to worry. This made her heart feel even heavier.