Attention Sir, I Have Your Heart Handcuffed!-Chapter 346 - 229: As long as you’re happy, I’ll admit my fault (Update 2-1)
Shi Nian sniffed sadly, "Mr. Tang, I’m sorry... I really don’t know what’s so good about me that makes you put aside your pride time and again. Your pride is like snow-capped mountains and flowing clouds, never disturbed by the mundane world. Mr. Tang, you should keep your pride, it’s not worth lowering yourself to the dirt for someone as ordinary as me again and again."
Huangfu Huazhang stood solitary in the wind. It was as if he was answering Shi Nian, yet also seemed to be speaking to distract himself, "Love in this world, in truth, is a selfish thing. What someone loves is perhaps forever just an illusion in their heart. Even if that illusion wears a real identity, what a lover desires is simply some aspect of that person that fulfills their fantasy."
His gaze fell like the night wind, "For instance, you, you say you don’t know what’s good about you, but in my eyes, you are the only girl in the world who has shown me the purest smile. Your smiles at me have no contempt, no scheming, even when I intentionally put on a cold face towards you, the next day you still smile at me... All the purity of the world is embodied in you alone, which makes you unique in my eyes, irreplaceable."
"You say you’re too ordinary to be worth me lowering myself to the dust for you; but I must say: in my eyes, you are irreplaceable, the most precious treasure, so I can only see you and wait for you alone. In this world, surely there might be other good women, but—it’s none of my business."
"Your goodness might not be in your own heart, but it is clearly engraved in mine. It remains year after year, unforgettable."
Shi Nian was stunned, unable to help but be touched in her heart.
Every girl in this world is actually no more ordinary, not all have the unparalleled beauty favored by heaven, nor dare to claim ’even if not a beauty, can still elegantly be a talented woman’; most girls live the most mundane lives just like all the ordinary people around them.
Even if deep down they believe they are different, they still can’t help but worry in front of outstanding men that they are too ordinary and can’t see what’s good about themselves.
Yet, at times like this, there’s an outstanding man who solemnly tells you, you are so unique, you are one of a kind in his eyes... This is like the feeling of Cinderella putting on the glass slipper.
You’re not unattractive, nor can you be undeserving, you are just overshadowed by the mundane dust of life, making you unable to see your own brilliance. But there will eventually be discerning eyes in this world, gazing at you, waiting for you to come forth, bit by bit, peerless.
Shi Nian lowered her head, "Thank you."
The winter night finally rose with a layer of warmth at this moment.
Huangfu Huazhang stepped on the fallen leaves on the grass, rustling as he approached her. Standing in front of her, he bowed his head and looked at her deeply, "... so you’ve finally decided to forgive me, right?"
Shi Nian was surprised, looking up at him, "I never blamed you, so how could there be forgiveness? It’s rather I who hurt you, and I feel very sorry."
However, Huangfu Huazhang smiled and shook his head, "No. Nian, though I’m not an expert in literary analysis like Yanqing, I’ve at least read many books in that field. I can see your resistance, even now, when you interact with me, in your words and actions there is still reluctance."
Shi Nian was shocked.
Yet also subsequently relieved.
This Huangfu Huazhang is the real and natural Huangfu Huazhang, if he said he couldn’t see anything, she would actually be disappointed.
He is like a god, standing high above, overlooking the sentient beings in the world. No one can escape his eyes, everyone’s every move is within his calculation.
Shi Nian lowered her head, "... Mr. Tang, Xiong Jie is dead. That big fire, though it started from her neighbor’s house, making her death seem incidental. But I don’t believe it."
Huangfu Huazhang squinted his eyes, "Do you suspect I burned Xiong Jie to death?"
Shi Nian bit her lip yet still resolutely nodded.
"Because back then, Mr. Tang said that the condition for helping me find Xiong Jie was that I agreed to be with you. Mr. Tang sent out his ace, and within days fulfilled his promise to me, but I ultimately refused Mr. Tang. It’s only inevitable that in your wrath, you took it out on Xiong Jie, so..."
Huangfu Huazhang held the skull of clasped hands, looking up to the dark and silent sky. The sky full of stars, cold and twinkling, like one too many overly calm eyes.
"Nian, you’re right, I did take my anger out on Xiong Jie when I was struggling in despair."
Shi Nian’s heart tightened slightly.
She never expected he would admit it so readily.
He spoke slowly, "To be honest, a role like Xiong Jie, in my eyes, doesn’t even weigh an ounce. Given my nature, I wouldn’t even be interested in mentioning her."
"I even sent my top men to save such an insignificant role, but saving her did not fulfill my wish. Like killing a chicken with a butcher’s knife, just thinking of her makes me annoyed."
"Moreover, you said those words to reject me outside her house... Nian, I am not a saint. On your matter, I would be the narrowest-minded man in the world. My pride suffered an unprecedented setback, so severe that I found it hard to bear. But I couldn’t vent it on you, I had to look for someone I could vent on despicably... naturally, I thought of her."
Huangfu Huazhang took a deep breath, "... I, being such a petty person, just ruined her career."
He raised his eyes, appearing like a little boy who had done something wrong, somewhat lost, timidly gazing at her, "I know how vile I am, but at that time I simply couldn’t help wanting to do something bad, otherwise, I could only hurt myself."
"But Nian, I promise you, a small role like hers means nothing to me, so my punishment was just to temporarily take away her pride in her career, I would not go as far as to plan a murder for her."
"What use would that small role be if I took her life? Even if someone wanted to dedicate their life to me, I would have to weigh if they’re worth it."
Shi Nian was stunned, her brain in a bit of a pause.
Xiong Jie’s career crisis had long been noticed by her as well.
As an opponent, her articles no longer appeared on the pages, replaced instead by ones under her subordinate’s name, on themes she used to cover, like election reports, exposing the Tang Family’s scandals... All media industry insiders, how could Shi Nian not guess what kind of backstabbing happened on Xiong Jie’s side?
Besides, she had Ye He, the little gossip, and Xiao Mai, the little informant, by her side, and with their help, it wasn’t hard to get the internal gossip on the Black Curtain, so Shi Nian also confirmed her worries.
—And at this moment, Huangfu Huazhang admitted that this was indeed his doing. While feeling reassured, she also felt perplexed.
She was reassured to finally verify the person behind the matter, perplexed because her reasoning was only half-confirmed, the other half stuck—more critically, who exactly burned Xiong Jie to death?!
.
The night wind was cold, Shi Nian felt cold inside and out, chilled to the bone. She couldn’t help but hug herself tightly, still feeling coldness coming relentlessly both inside and out.
Huangfu Huazhang saw this and frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment, but still withdrew his outstretched hand, took off his scarf, unfolding it into a shawl, wrapped it around her, enclosing her tightly.
The scarf still carried his body warmth, the soft and lightweight Merino wool brought layers of warmth.
He didn’t embrace her directly, knowing she wouldn’t agree, so he just used the scarf to wrap her, yet it felt like a tight hug.
He sighed with satisfaction, yet melancholy, and looked down at her deeply, "I know I was wrong. I promise to let you blame me. But I forbid you from punishing yourself with unhappiness."
"Nian, tell me, what should I do to make you happy? Should I turn myself in, for destroying her career? If that’s the case, just nod, and I’ll go to the Black Curtain tomorrow morning, and explain the truth to her colleagues myself."
"Or this news material can be left to your Deep Throat, send someone to interview me, I’ll authorize your colleague to write about this, revealing why Xiong Jie’s career was frustrated." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
"But if so, wouldn’t your image, Mr. Tang, collapse?" Shi Nian was quite surprised.
He raised his eyebrows and smiled proudly, "What does it matter? As long as it makes you happy, what can’t I do?"
Shi Nian ultimately shook her head, "Matters of the workplace... strictly speaking, it’s not ’turning oneself in’, because no law has explicitly prohibited such things from happening."
He frowned, "So even if I did this, it still wouldn’t make you happy?"
His long fingers tightly grasped the scarf, through which his anxious trembling was faintly conveyed.
"Then what should I do to make you happy?"
He looked helplessly at her, suddenly his eyes lit up, "How about I help you find out who really killed Xiong Jie, how about that?"
Shi Nian quietly looked up, "Would you really do that, Mr. Tang?"
－－－－
[The second update is still around 10 pm~~ Some might feel that Huangfu has more scenes than Mr. Tang lately; as mentioned during the trial part, the two are subtly completing a role reversal, taking the trial as a turning point. Huangfu is indeed stepping forward officially, and he naturally has to have more scenes~]
