(Yesterday, I received a text message from an unknown sender, saying that a beautiful woman wanted to meet me, so they gave her my number. She will come to find me in a few days, and her name is Zhong Qiujie, who will bring me lifelong happiness. Initially, I didn't understand, and it scared Old Lai. It took him a while to react. Haha, tonight Zhong Qiujie will be looking for you all, so let me wish you all a happy festival in advance! Spend it with your family if you're at home; if you're not, make sure to call them.)

After listening to Li Yan's story, Wen Qianyi sighed softly and asked in a low voice, "Is it worth it?"

"Hmm?" Li Yan didn't react immediately because for him, it was just a normal task without anything special about it. If there was something to mention, it was that there were many targets and none of them cheap.

His work, his tasks, success or failure is measured in seconds, and life or death is determined by success or failure. They say the business world is like a battlefield, but at least the business world won't directly or immediately threaten your life, while his profession is a battlefield in itself, where it's either you die or I live.

What worried her more was Li Yan's calm tone, indicating that he was well-prepared and had organized his words in advance, possibly concealing even more dangerous experiences that he hadn't shared. Perhaps in the past ten days, he had gone through several life-and-death tests!

"It's just work, is it worth gambling your life for? You are already valued by Director Zhang. As long as you manage the film company's affairs well, your career will be on track. Perhaps the income isn't as high as in this line of work, but it's safe, steady, and more worthwhile when considering safety costs."

While persuading him, Wen Qianyi reached out and held his hand, no longer with her usual charming smile but with sincerity on her face.

By now, she understood why Li Yan had previously seemed so idle and carefree, as he didn't care about others' contempt. For him, working at the company was just a way to adjust his mood and balance his mindset and stress. But now, she didn't want him to return to that state and wanted to push him even more eagerly onto the right track.

Looking into her beautiful eyes, more focused and serious than when she worked, despite only knowing each other for six months, her care warmed his heart greatly. He let out a slight bitter smile and sighed, "There's an old saying... 'In the world, it's hard to act freely.' I know you want me to quit, but some things aren't so easily walked away from just because you want to."

Hearing his words, Wen Qianyi, being intelligent, could tell that he personally wanted to retire, but he had his difficulties, and she smiled, "I don't know if the 'world' you speak of is like the martial arts world in novels, but even in such worlds, there's a day for retiring honorably. Are you afraid of being hunted down? I believe even if you're not living under a hidden identity, you must be keeping your identity quite a secret."

"It's like I'm in a dark world, not one where you can just walk into the sunlight and change. It's like being stained with ink; even under the sun, you're still black and will leave ink stains everywhere. If they want to find you, they can easily trace the ink stains to find you." Li Yan slightly shook his head.

Wen Qianyi, who was busy listening to his words, hadn't eaten anything, now picked up her chopsticks and took a piece of meat.

Instead of putting the meat into her mouth, she placed it in a teacup, stirring it with her chopsticks for a while before presenting it to Li Yan.

Li Yan smiled and opened his mouth, "Are you going to feed me?"

"Feed you my foot!" Wen Qianyi rolled her eyes at him and looked at the meat, saying, "There's no ink here, just speak of the sauce; this piece of meat originally had the sauce on it, with its unique flavor. Even if you pick it out, you can immediately tell which dish it came from. But after a long time of washing with water, eventually, the sauce and flavor will fade away until it's gone."

Watching her use strength and reason to convince him, Li Yan chuckled and nodded, "You're right; I'll give it a try." He knew what his problems were, but since it wasn't convenient to explain to her, he didn't want to worry her either.

From his expression, Wen Qianyi still sensed he was being perfunctory, feeling slightly disappointed. She put down the piece of meat and added, "What about Xiao Di? Have you thought about her? You can hide things from her now, but what if something happens? Do you know how worried she will be? If you suddenly didn't come back one day, how heartbroken she would be? You would affect her for her entire life!"

The series of questions she posed ultimately boiled down to one. Li Yan thought about it and seriously replied, "As to Xiao Di, do you think Yu Hong and Chen Mingying, her parents, would be willing to let their only daughter be with someone like me, a small manager at Paradise Group? Even if they're willing and have no special demands, what kind of life could I offer her? Not that she can't endure hardship, but lifelong habits are not easy to change overnight.

To maintain normal expenses, my salary would almost be fully spent. Asking her to completely alter her spending habits to accommodate me, what kind of life would that be? Block her social circle and relatives completely? Can true love make up for everything? You might say, Chen Mingying has wealth, and one day it will naturally go to Xiao Di, so I shouldn't worry about household expenses. But as a man, do you think I would have any pride?"

Wen Qianyi listened quietly to him finish, knowing everything he said made sense. Love is between two people, while marriage and life involve three families. These issues, she saw very clearly as well, and that's why she stopped believing in pure love a long time ago.

—Even in fairy tales striving for perfect love, the simple plot had to be a prince with a princess. Only when the princess marries the prince can they live happily together. Even ordinary people's stories, where a rich girl marries a poor boy, end tragically, only redeemed through transformations like turning into butterflies.

"So what do you want to do? Break up with Xiao Di and find a girl from an ordinary family?" After saying this, Wen Qianyi subconsciously avoided his gaze, reaching out with chopsticks to grab food.

Li Yan smiled, speaking with a double meaning, "Why should I break up? Whatever I like, I won't give up!"

Wen Qianyi chewed her food and his words, "So, you want to continue doing this high-risk, high-reward work outside your regular job?"

Li Yan shook his head.

Qianyi was a bit surprised, did I misunderstand?

"For me, it might not be high-risk, and not always high-profit either, but at least it's something I'm more professional and skilled at, allowing me to earn a bit more."

Hearing his regretful sigh, Wen Qianyi jokingly scolded him, "You just wish for chaos in the world, don't you?"

Li Yan nodded and looked at her with a smile, "You're in your twenties, during which, surely, there were things or people you didn't want to mention again."

After speaking, he winked at Wen Qianyi.

When he was speaking, her eyebrows had already lifted slightly. How familiar!

Li Yan smiled and said nothing.

Wen Qianyi understood, the phrase she uttered was his answer. Knowing that persuading him was useless, she sighed silently. Since she couldn't change anything, there was no need to speak more, adding to his pressure.

"Hmph! Regardless of what you're thinking, your life doesn't just belong to yourself. You have obligations to your parents, your girlfriend, and us, your friends. Haven't I helped you a lot as well? It may not be what you wanted, but since I've helped you, you owe me. So, before you pay me back, you're not allowed to... escape!"

What she said was gentle, but it clearly meant she wouldn't allow him to die.

"Rest assured, the 'obligations' I owe you, I'll repay with even more 'obligations,' and before doing so, I won't die." Li Yan didn't mind directly mentioning death. His survival relied on his strong abilities, careful planning, and a prudent attitude devoid of arrogance or resentment, not on avoiding taboos.

Wen Qianyi knew when he emphasized the word 'obligations,' he meant something specific, but he acknowledged his relationship with Yu Xiaodi, so she didn't think much of it. "Alright, I'm full. Are you still eating?"

"I'm full too."

"Would you like to..."

"Take away? Forget it. Carrying takeout back would be quite embarrassing." Li Yan laughed.

Wen Qianyi was slightly disappointed. She wanted to suggest going to her place to sit for a while, but started teasing him. Now she felt a bit embarrassed to extend the invitation, and he straightforwardly expressed he was leaving.

"Then go home and rest! I also have to go back to work. These past few days, helping Yu Xiaodi look into your situation delayed a lot of my work." Her concern was evident, but now, although still worried, she felt temporarily reassured.

After paying the bill, as Li Yan and Wen Qianyi left the restaurant, she pulled him slightly.

"Look over there!"

"Why?" Li Yan glanced over.

Wen Qianyi chuckled softly, "Don't make it so obvious; it's Hai Fu, seems like she's on a blind date."

Li Yan saw that the nearby table seemed to have just been seated, with no food served yet. Besides Hai Fu, who looked shy and uneasy, there was a middle-aged man who appeared slightly formal, and another woman who spoke warmly. It really seemed like a blind date.

(Thank you to the brothers who rewarded yesterday: Xiaoaojianghu123, Arbitrageur, Support You with Heart, Book Friend 100916162550757, Lin Qiufeng, Me, The Most Unique, Cavalry, Feng the Carefree, zjun971210, dongmin8061, CP Pampas) (To be continued, for more chapters, please log on to www.qidian.com, support the author, and support genuine reading!)

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