The Reason He Wasn’t Angry

"I..."

Tang Mianmian was left speechless by this man's twisted logic.

"If you bring it up again, I'm not letting you off tonight," he warned viciously.

She instantly shrank back into her usual cowardly self, not daring to challenge him.

He had no mind to continue working either. Turning off the light, he lay down to sleep.

At first, he faced away from her, but the fact that she didn't even try to coax him only made him sulk more.

He turned around and glared at her back. "Repeat what you said at the bar."

"Huh?" She turned around in confusion, not quite getting what he meant.

What did I say at the bar?

"If you say you don't remember, I'll strangle you. Believe it?" Long Yejue threatened through clenched teeth.

Terrified, Tang Mianmian began racking her brain.

What exactly did I say at the bar...?

She had been tipsy at the time, everything was fuzzy, and she didn't remember much.

But judging by his expression, if she really couldn't recall it… she might not survive the night.

She bit her lip, searching her memory hard, until finally a flash of realization struck her. She tentatively asked, "Was it when I said I fell in love with you?"

He didn't reply, but his stiff body noticeably relaxed.

That reaction was confirmation enough. Blushing, she added softly, "Saying something like that a second time would be meaningless…"

"But it was meaningful when you said it to another man?" His voice was cold, his gaze sharp and frosty.

Unable to win against him, she could only stammer, "I—I love you."

"Didn't hear you!"

"…I love you!" she said louder.

What a difficult man… always forcing her like this.

Only then did Long Yejue's tone soften, though still full of disdain. "Next time you say that to someone else, just wait and see how I deal with you."

Another "deal with you."

Tang Mianmian puffed up in frustration, but then a thought occurred to her. She looked at him with shining eyes. "Long Yejue, the reason you weren't mad earlier… was it because of that?"

The man froze. A second later, he growled, "Who said I wasn't mad! One more word and I'll choke you."

He wrapped his arms around her in a tight, fierce embrace, nearly squeezing the life out of her.

Seeing his reaction, she wisely shut her mouth.

But deep down, she was certain—that was the reason.

Otherwise, how could he have let it go so easily?

Tang Mianmian smiled secretly in his arms. Turns out this man is pretty easy to handle.

Just a simple sweet confession and he turns into putty.

Who would've thought?

She was nearly asleep when he finally muttered, "I'm sorry about today. I promise something like that won't happen again."

Half-asleep, she mumbled an acknowledgment and drifted off.

She was exhausted. With her tiny brain, she didn't have the capacity to overthink.

Looking at her peaceful sleeping face, Long Yejue sighed and whispered, "Sorry I let you suffer."

When he saw how Wang Chengkui treated her, he had nearly lost it.

But he also understood—a wise man knows when to bow to circumstance.

Ever since the Long family lost Third Grandpa, they'd lacked strong support in this area.

Wang Chengkui was right about one thing—if they didn't maintain ties with Li Muhao, their place as the top aristocratic family would be taken within the next eight years.

Although Long Yejue hadn't officially taken over Longshi Fund yet, his grandfather had hinted many times already.

He was the heir. The pressure on him was unimaginable.

But even while shouldering everything, he still wanted to protect his woman's peace.

Being the successor to a powerful family wasn't easy.

The Next Morning

When Tang Mianmian woke up, Long Yejue was already gone.

She looked around and didn't see him, which struck her as odd. After getting dressed and heading downstairs, she found the previously wrecked living room perfectly restored.

Long Yejue was making breakfast, everything looking as orderly as ever…

Even the potted plants he'd thrown to the ground had been replaced with new ones, placed neatly where they belonged.

Feeling cheerful, she greeted him.

He set toast on the table and said, "Eat quickly. You're going to be late."

Tang Mianmian stuck out her tongue, ashamed of her constant tardiness.

But she was also surprised—he cooked?

"How do you know how to cook? That's so unscientific," she asked while munching on toast.

He paused, then replied casually, "I've been living on my own for eight years. If I didn't learn, I'd have starved to death."

But Tang Mianmian didn't buy it. "When I first got here, your kitchen looked like it had never been used."

"So, you don't want me making you breakfast anymore?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

She wisely shut up.

Free breakfast? Of course she wanted it!

Because the deal with Li Muhao hadn't been finalized, Long Yejue spent the morning holding multiple department meetings.

Tang Mianmian, bored, stayed in her office counting imaginary stars.

She had just started this job and didn't know much. She wanted to help but was afraid she'd only cause trouble, so she stayed quietly to the side.

Watching Candy hustle in and out, she caught a break to ask, "Candy, is that piece of land really that important?"

Candy nodded seriously. "Absolutely. Do you know who our competitors are right now?"

"No idea."

"TKL is our fiercest rival at the moment. Then there's YL International and the other three major families. Li Muhao currently favors the Mo family—that's not good news for us. Even though the boss has a good personal relationship with the Mo heir, business is business—competition is always there."

She gave Tang Mianmian a quick breakdown of the situation.

Tang Mianmian could only say: totally lost.

"It's just a piece of land. Why is everyone fighting over it?"

Candy was speechless. "Clearly, you don't understand this industry. Real estate is more lucrative than most businesses. That land is prime meat. Do you know how many chain reactions that plot will trigger?"

"No clue." She wanted to cry in a corner.

Feeling utterly useless was the worst.

"It's not just for a luxury housing development. There's also commercial value, branding—"

Candy explained thoroughly.

Tang Mianmian sort of got it. "So basically… big money?"

"Exactly. Right now, every department of Jue's Group is doing well, but it's all under the shelter of Longshi Fund. And Longshi hasn't seen big profits in years. If things keep going this way, someone else will take the top spot. That'd be a huge blow to the Long family. The boss wants to use this opportunity to turn things around."

Candy meant what she said—it came from the heart.

After all, she knew who Tang Mianmian was.

Tang Mianmian was surprised but nodded. "I get it now."

So that's how much pressure he was under…

Candy smiled. "But don't stress too much. Everyone knows how capable the boss is. Unless something unexpected happens, this one's in the bag."

"Let's hope so," Tang Mianmian said sincerely.

"I'll get back to work now." Candy waved and walked off.

Tang Mianmian sat in silence, thinking over everything she'd just heard.

She wanted to help him… but didn't know how.

She sighed again, upset at her lack of a strong background.

Now she understood why elite families always arranged marriages—it wasn't just about benefits, but also creating balance and stability between families.

Compared to that… she was just—

Sigh…

After who knew how many sighs, Long Yejue entered with several high-level executives in tow.

"Implement the plans I just outlined. Every department, stay on full alert—I don't want to see any slack."

His expression was cold, his tone calm but authoritative.

"OSS, this is the latest proposal. Our planning and project departments submitted a total of ten schemes, including this one. Please review it."

The planning manager handed over the file.

Long Yejue flipped through it, then immediately pointed out several flaws. "I don't want to see mistakes like these again."

The planning manager broke into a cold sweat. He had double-checked the plan several times, yet the boss still found issues. The man's skill was terrifying.

He left, utterly dejected.

"Who the hell is the HR department hiring lately? Why are we bringing in such useless people?" Long Yejue snapped, slamming another document on the table.

The HR manager rushed forward, scrambling to gather the messy papers. "My mistake. I'll handle it immediately."

"Anyone taking bribes—fire them all," Long Yejue ordered without mercy.

The HR manager bowed low. "Understood."

He continued grilling the remaining departments. Each one left the room looking utterly defeated.

The atmosphere at Jue's Group had dropped to freezing.

Once the room cleared, Tang Mianmian brought over the coffee she'd made and said gently, "Have some coffee—it might help."

Long Yejue accepted it without expression, took a sip, and looked up at her. "Have you eaten?"

"…You haven't eaten yet?"

She'd assumed—

But judging by his expression, he really hadn't. She quickly said, "I'll go get something for you now!"

She had gone to the cafeteria earlier with Ranran, thinking someone else would've handled his meal.

Long Yejue nodded, accepting her offer.

Feeling guilty, she rushed out to get his lunch.

To save time, she took his private elevator and drove straight to Yushiyuan.

The staff there, knowing she was from Jue's Group, didn't require a reservation. The meal was ready in ten minutes.

Afraid he'd be starving, she hurried back with the food.

Back at the office, another mini-meeting was underway.

Tang Mianmian stood at the door with the food box, glancing at the time—lunch had already passed over an hour ago.

He hadn't eaten—only had a little toast in the morning…

But they were still in a meeting. Would it be inappropriate for her to interrupt?