Chapter 527 - 524: What-If Storyline: Did the Bigshot Vie for Favor Today?

Chapter 527: Chapter 524: What-If Storyline: Did the Bigshot Vie for Favor Today?

She shifted uncomfortably, avoiding his tender gaze, and explained with a nervous stammer, "I — I’m not really thinking about that kind of thing yet."

He Hanshi curved his lips into a smile. "I know. I’ll wait for you, however long it takes. Besides, I’m not doing enough yet — I haven’t earned the right to be your husband."

Work kept him far too busy these days. All he could really do was spend money on her, but Shi Lan always refused his gifts. Flowers were the one exception — she’d accept those, if reluctantly.

From Shi Lan’s perspective, though, He Hanshi was actually doing quite well. He’d tried to give her gifts on several occasions, but she’d returned every one. When he sent her red envelopes, she felt too awkward to accept those either. Eventually, he’d gone a different route and tracked down a remarkably skilled employee for her shop.

Thanks to that, Shi Lan rarely had to worry about the shop anymore. The woman was experienced, dependable, and perfectly capable of running things on her own whenever Shi Lan wasn’t around.

When it came down to it, Shi Lan was still the problem — she just had a hard time letting anyone get close.

She kept her head down. He Hanshi, not wanting to push her too hard all at once, stepped back on his own and took his leave, wilted flowers in hand.

But... what He Hanshi had done seemed to set something in motion. In the days that followed, Shi Lan felt like her love life had suddenly exploded into full bloom — way more than she’d bargained for.

He Hanshi’s pursuit never let up. He carved out time to take her to dinner, brought her gifts, and whisked her off to amusement parks and scenic spots.

Jiang Xia kept funneling big orders her way — always ten thousand or more — finding every possible excuse to put money in her pocket. Every now and then he’d show up at her door with bubble tea and snacks, grinning at her and asking, "Sis, wanna go for a drive?"

After Yan Huoshui got angry that one time, Li Wenyi’s dirty laundry was all over the internet the very next day. Shi Lan devoured every bit of the drama — and once she found out Li Wenyi had not only slept with fans but had also bullied girls back in school, she lost every last shred of goodwill toward him and couldn’t even bring herself to finish the show.

The age-gap romance drama got absolutely torched by fans online before getting pulled entirely. The male lead’s reputation was in ruins, while the female lead got caught in the crossfire through no fault of her own — though she did walk away with a wave of sympathy followers as a silver lining.

Even in a bad mood, Yan Huoshui had no reason to take it out on Shi Lan. Whatever else she was, she’d once been his cat — practically half his own. His anger had nowhere to go but straight at Li Wenyi.

Once he’d successfully shaken off that insufferable celebrity, he went right back to messaging Shi Lan and sending her gifts without missing a beat. Finally fed up, Shi Lan came right out and asked:[Are you being so generous because I’m your Benefactor, or because of me?]

Yan Huoshui laughed: [So you’re finally admitting you’re the Benefactor?]

Shi Lan: [So you knew all along? You big fraud.]

Yan Huoshui shot back with a cold laugh: [Ha. Don’t talk to me about fraud — you’re the one who used me and tossed me aside, then went and found yourself a new owner. Shameless. Was I not good to you? Imported cat treats, a luxury cat room, a five-star private chef cooking your meals...]

He listed item after item, and with each one, Shi Lan felt her confidence shrink a little more. In the end, all she could manage was a feeble: [Fine, I can’t argue with you. It’s not like I had a choice — I woke up and I was already inside a different cat.]

Yan Huoshui went quiet for a moment. [Can you still turn into a cat?]

Shi Lan shook her head. [Not anymore.]

After a brief pause, he typed: [Forget the past, then. You’re Shi Lan now. I’m good to you because of you — not because you’re the Benefactor. The Benefactor at home is still being taken care of. Come by whenever you feel like it.]

Shi Lan noticed his tone had softened considerably all of a sudden. Even through a screen, the shift was unmistakable.

And the way he said "at home" — someone who didn’t know better would think the two of them were already family.

Shi Lan had no idea how to respond. In the end, she just typed a single: "Oh."

Besides those three, Shi Lan couldn’t figure out why Mu Tangfeng had decided to get in on the action too.

He showed up at her shop one day out of nowhere and specifically asked one of her employees to call her out.

Shi Lan had assumed it was Jiang Xia or one of the others, but after running through all the possibilities with her employee, who kept insisting it was a man she didn’t recognize, Shi Lan went out front in total confusion.

When Mu Tangfeng spotted her, his eyes took on a distinctly aggrieved look. "I’ve been waiting forever," he said with a pout. "You finally showed up."

For a split second Shi Lan almost thought they were old acquaintances — until she remembered that setting aside the whole cat business, she had never actually met him in real life.

So she put on her most clueless expression. "I’m sorry... do we know each other?"

"Ha. Coming out with that now, are we? After all the petting and kissing you did to me back then—"

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Catching the curious stares from everyone else in the shop, Shi Lan cut him off and dragged him outside to a quiet corner. "Sir, don’t go spreading nonsense — I don’t even know you."

"Oh really, Shi Lan? You were the one saying you loved me when I was your cat. You had your hands all over me. And now you’re not going to take responsibility?"

Not that Mu Tangfeng’s sudden urgency was entirely without reason. When he’d returned to campus the day before, he’d been curious about what Jiang Xia had meant by "true love." But Jiang Xia couldn’t help himself — he went all mysterious and smug, and pulled out a photo he’d secretly taken of Shi Lan at her shop.

The moment Mu Tangfeng saw Shi Lan’s face, he froze. He’d waited all this time for his foot to heal, and Onyx back home still hadn’t brought him the Cat Demon he’d been hoping for. Now he’d finally found a woman who actually interested him — and Jiang Xia had already sniffed her out. It felt like someone was trying to dig up a treasure he’d been quietly guarding all to himself. Of course he couldn’t just sit still.

And on top of everything, Shi Lan was the one who’d told him she loved him. He’d been home recovering all this time, and he still kept dreaming about her.

She owed him.

When Shi Lan heard what Mu Tangfeng had to say, it hit her like a bolt from the blue. "So — you were also inside one of my cats?"