Chapter 12: Money Makes the Mare Go
Yang Yu kicked the door twice, but instead of breaking it open, he only ended up hurting his foot.
He cursed in his heart. In other novels, the system always fully supported the protagonist, helping them at every turn. But when it was finally his turn, he got stuck with this system? Those novels were all lies.
Second-hand systems were unreliable. No, wait—his system was already third-hand by the time it reached him. No wonder it was so useless. What kind of garbage Bājíquán was this? He couldn’t even kick down a door!
Just as Yang Yu was complaining to himself, the elevator chimed, and the doors slid open. Ding Dian stepped out.
“Whoa! What are you doing in the hallway in the middle of the night? You scared the hell out of me!”
She clutched her chest, startled by the sight of Yang Yu just standing there.
Yang Yu’s eyes lit up when he saw her.
“I was thinking about you. I couldn’t sleep, so I waited here for you to come back,” he said with a grin.
Internally, he made up his mind—tonight, no matter what, he had to make her his. He couldn’t drag this out any longer.
If he waited any longer, the opportunity would slip away.
“Pfft! Do you take me for a three-year-old? Trying to act all innocent now?” Ding Dian teased with a smile.
She might have brushed it off, but deep down, she enjoyed hearing it.
I didn’t realize I was this charming, she thought. Too bad my heart already belongs to Yu Fei. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be a bad option.
“How about we have a proper chat tonight?” Yang Yu suggested.
“Sure. I actually have something to tell you too,” Ding Dian said.
Yang Yu opened his door, then turned back to her with a mischievous smile. “Not coming in? Or do you want to talk out here in the hallway? If you don’t trust me, we can go to your place instead—I don’t mind.”
Ding Dian hesitated, stomped her foot, and then followed him inside.
Yang Yu grabbed a few cans of beer from the fridge, handed one to her, then cracked open his own and took a big gulp.
“Make yourself comfortable. There’s only beer in the fridge. I haven’t really settled in yet, so I don’t have much to offer. Just bear with it,” he said.
Ding Dian casually sat on the couch, opened her beer, took a sip, and said, “Alright, say what you need to say.”
Yang Yu glanced at her, then shook his head. “You go first. I’m afraid that after I speak, you won’t get a chance to say anything at all. I’m curious—what do you want to tell me?”
“Fine,” Ding Dian sighed. “I know you like me, but you also know I have a boyfriend. Recently, I had a fight with him, so I used you to make him jealous. I want to apologize—that was wrong of me.”
She looked at Yang Yu to gauge his reaction. He took another sip of beer, still smiling at her.
She continued, “Maybe my actions gave you the wrong impression. I’m truly sorry. I never intended to treat you as a backup option. That’s why I’m being honest with you now. Don’t come looking for me at the café anymore. Let’s just act like we don’t know each other, okay? With your status, you’ll have plenty of women around you.”
She exhaled deeply after saying everything in one go, feeling a weight lift off her chest. She tilted her head back and took a long drink of beer.
Hearing her words, Yang Yu’s mood soured. He cursed in his heart.
Since that’s how it is, there’s no need to keep up this nice-guy act.
“Alright, I’ve said what I needed to say. Now it’s your turn,” Ding Dian said, glancing at the time. “It’s getting late, and I have work tomorrow.”
Yang Yu downed the rest of his beer in one go, stood up from the couch, and walked over to her. He bent down, placed both hands on her shoulders, and whispered in her ear with a smile, “There’s nothing in this world I can’t have. I want you to be my woman.”
His domineering words stunned Ding Dian.
When she snapped out of it, her expression changed, and she coldly replied, “Sorry, but this time, you’re going to be disappointed.”
She tried to stand up and leave, but Yang Yu’s hands held her shoulders firmly in place.
She glared at him. “What? Are you planning to keep me here against my will?”
“Relax, I’d never break the law,” Yang Yu chuckled and shrugged. “I prefer mutual consent. I never force anyone to do something they don’t want to do.”
Ding Dian secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
She had genuinely been worried he might try something reckless.
Since he said that, she felt reassured.
“Then I’d like to go home now. Please move aside.”
“Don’t be in such a hurry,” Yang Yu said. “At least hear me out first.”
“Then hurry up,” Ding Dian urged.
She suddenly had a bad feeling—if she stayed any longer, she might not be able to leave at all.
Yang Yu smirked, gesturing for her to stay calm. He casually opened another can of beer, took a sip, let out a burp, and then slowly said, “Have you ever heard the saying, money makes the mare go?”