You’ll Cry If I Say No
1901 Words
Frost looked at Shu Yang in surprise.
“So… you’re really going to let Chenxing have it?”
Shu Yang smiled faintly.
“If they want it that badly, they can take it.”
“I thought you’d never swallow this humiliation.”
“My own work deserves better than being ruined by me.”
She sighed, but there wasn’t much bitterness left in her voice.
“If Chenxing wants a price war, we’ll never beat them.”
“It makes perfect sense for Yundun to choose the cheaper option.”
“If I were in their shoes…”
“I’d probably do the same.”
Over the past two days, she’d finally talked herself into accepting reality.
“So what if someone else plays dirty?”
“Losing just means I misjudged people.”
“The shame isn’t mine.”
“I’ve got nothing to feel guilty about.”
She smiled.
“The money you lent me already solved Feixue’s financial crisis.”
“Everyone finally got their overdue salaries and bonuses.”
“If I have to start over from scratch…”
“So be it.”
She clenched her fist.
“Once I’m healthy again…”
“I’m getting my revenge.”
⸻
Frost suddenly asked,
“Do you remember when we first met?”
Shu Yang laughed immediately.
“Of course.”
“You were so cold back then.”
“You had acute gastroenteritis. I took you to the hospital, stayed with you the whole time…”
“And afterward, you thanked me by handing me a roll of U.S. dollars.”
“It wasn’t payment.”
Frost corrected her seriously.
“It was gratitude.”
She smiled helplessly.
“I’d just been betrayed by my best friend.”
“I didn’t want to make any new friends.”
“No wonder.”
Shu Yang nodded knowingly.
“You disappeared after leaving the hospital.”
“Honestly…”
“I should thank my mixed-race ex-boyfriend.”
Back then, Shu Yang’s boyfriend happened to live in the same apartment building as Frost.
One night…
He sent Frost several inappropriate text messages.
Frost had struggled over whether she should tell Shu Yang.
In the end…
She forwarded every message anyway.
She’d rather risk being misunderstood than let Shu Yang remain in the dark.
“I still remember the day you rushed to my apartment.”
Frost laughed softly.
“I honestly thought you were coming to hit me.”
“Instead…”
“You dragged me straight to him.”
“You slapped him twice.”
“One slap for yourself.”
“The other…”
“For me.”
“And then you dumped him on the spot.”
Frost turned toward her, smiling.
“That was when I thought…”
“This woman is amazing.”
“I really like her.”
Her eyes softened.
“I’m happy.”
“Years have passed…”
“But you’re still the same Shu Yang.”
“The one who knows how to let go.”
Shu Yang reached over and hugged her tightly.
“Then learn from your senior.”
“The most important survival skill in life…”
“…is knowing when to let things go.”
She grinned mischievously.
“As for men…”
“They’re everywhere.”
Frost froze.
For one brief second…
The carefully hidden secret in her heart seemed completely exposed.
“…How did you know?”
“I guessed.”
Shu Yang smiled weakly, but the teasing sparkle in her eyes remained.
“Frost…”
“You have such beautiful eyes.”
“It’s a shame…”
“They’ve only ever been able to see your brother.”
⸻
It was almost ten o’clock when Frost returned to the Shen residence that evening.
Just as she stepped out of the car, her phone rang.
The Song family.
She wasn’t surprised.
Her return to China had been impossible to hide.
After appearing publicly at Shen Yu’s birthday party, what had once been rumors had become undeniable fact.
She’d come back without permission.
Sooner or later…
Cui Ning would call.
⸻
Although Frost carried the Song surname…
She had never truly belonged to the Song family.
She was Song Mianzhi’s biological daughter.
But Madam Song—
Cui Ning—
Wasn’t her mother.
She’d grown up in the Shen family instead.
Her relationship with the Songs had always been distant.
Five years ago…
They’d packed her off overseas against her will.
Whatever little warmth remained between them had disappeared after that.
Standing beneath the tree outside the house, Frost answered the call.
“When did you return?”
Cui Ning’s elegant voice carried its usual authority.
“Last Tuesday.”
“I only heard about it today.”
“You’ve been back for days.”
“And yet you never came home.”
Anyone else might have heard concern.
Frost heard accusation.
She knew perfectly well…
If she had gone back…
She wouldn’t have been welcomed.
Cui Ning wasn’t upset that Frost hadn’t visited.
She was angry that Frost had returned to China without permission.
“I’ve been busy.”
“I’ll visit once things settle down.”
“Come home this weekend.”
It wasn’t a request.
It was an order.
Before Frost could answer—
The line disconnected.
She lowered the phone and muttered under her breath,
“Then someone else can go.”
She turned toward the front door.
Honk—
A sudden horn shattered the quiet.
Startled, Frost jumped before realizing the black Koenigsegg—looking suspiciously like an oversized beetle—was parked nearby.
The window rolled down.
He Tingzhou looked at her from inside.
Frost really didn’t want to deal with him.
But ignoring him completely would’ve been rude.
So…
The instant she saw him…
She smoothly shifted her gaze elsewhere and continued walking.
As if she were a blind person who just happened to have her eyes open.
“Don’t pretend.”
His lazy voice drifted over.
Frost silently inhaled before turning back with perfect manners.
“Tingzhou.”
“What a coincidence.”
He looked at her expressionlessly.
“Not a coincidence.”
“I came to see you.”
“Come here.”
She obediently took…
Two tiny steps.
Then stopped a full two meters away from the car.
“Did you need something?”
Back to ‘you’ with formal politeness again.
He Tingzhou quietly watched the obvious distance she insisted on keeping.
As though standing any closer might make her suffocate.
“I don’t like looking up at people.”
“Get in.”
“We’ll talk inside.”
What a difficult man.
Frost no longer needed to ask him for help.
If anything…
She wanted to stay as far away from him as possible.
“I just came back from the hospital.”
“I might be carrying germs.”
“It wouldn’t be good if I infected you.”
A faint mocking smile tugged at his lips.
“Get in.”
“Let’s see whether you can actually kill me.”
“…”
Biting the inside of her cheek, Frost finally walked around the car and climbed into the passenger seat.
⸻
The interior was all matte-black leather and carbon fiber.
Cold.
Minimalist.
Exactly like its owner.
The moment she sat down…
She was surrounded by his scent.
Cool cedar.
Pine.
Fresh and crisp.
With the faintest trace of sweetness.
She glanced over.
Only then did she realize…
He was sucking on a piece of candy.
He bit it lazily before asking,
“What university did you attend?”
“Stanford.”
She frowned.
“Why?”
“The school motto…”
He looked at her sideways.
“Was it Devote your life to your senior?”
Frost nearly choked.
“I can devote my life to myself.”
“I own half of Feixue now.”
He clicked his tongue.
“Half the company…”
“And President Shu bought herself Shen Yu’s little sister.”
“She’s quite the businesswoman.”
Frost immediately frowned.
“I don’t like the way you’re saying that.”
“My senior has always treated me well.”
“Whether she’s taking advantage of me…”
“I know better than anyone.”
He let out a low, amused scoff.
“Princess.”
“Aren’t there already enough people treating you well?”
Frost didn’t think so.
“When I was little…”
“My biological mother abandoned me once.”
“So…”
“Being sent overseas…”
“Brought all those feelings back.”
She looked out the windshield.
“When I first arrived…”
“I was a complete mess.”
“My senior…”
“Was the only person who cared.”
“The food overseas was awful.”
“Finding authentic Chinese food was almost impossible.”
“I’d never even cooked before.”
“I couldn’t tell whether noodles were done.”
A faint smile appeared.
“She came over all the time.”
“Cooked Chinese food for me.”
“During Lunar New Year…”
“She searched half the city just to gather enough ingredients to make dumplings.”
She turned back toward him.
“Maybe she never saved my life.”
“And maybe we haven’t known each other that long.”
“But…”
“She stayed with me through the hardest period of my life.”
“Now she’s in trouble.”
“Shouldn’t I help her?”
He Tingzhou clearly couldn’t understand.
Or perhaps…
He’d never needed to.
“So…”
“Two thousand dollars’ worth of dumplings bought themselves twenty million?”
Frost knew he wouldn’t understand.
Someone born into power…
Someone who had probably never experienced abandonment…
How could he?
“There are things in my heart worth more than twenty million.”
“I don’t regret it.”
She reached for the door handle.
“If you’re done making fun of me…”
“Can I leave now?”
Without answering…
He Tingzhou tossed a folder onto her lap.
She looked down.
It was Feixue’s contract.
The original contract.
The exact same terms Yundun had offered before.
She blinked in confusion.
“I thought you refused.”
“Chenxing practically begged to hand this project to you.”
“Why choose us?”
Crunch.
The candy between his teeth shattered.
He chewed slowly before replying,
“If I didn’t…”
“You’d cry.”
“You’ve got quite the temper, Princess.”
“You’d run back and complain to your brother.”
“I’m afraid your whole family would come force-feed me birthday cake.”
“I didn’t cry…”
Frost started to deny it.
Then paused.
If admitting it meant Feixue got the contract…
Maybe it wasn’t such a terrible deal.
At last…
She understood.
He hadn’t changed his mind because of her.
He’d changed it because of Shen Yu.
Offending Frost was one thing.
Offending his own brother-in-arms over such a tiny project?
That wasn’t worth it.
For Yundun Group…
This contract was nothing more than a single strand of hair on a lion’s mane.
Selling Frost a favor cost him almost nothing.
Holding the contract tightly, she stepped out of the car.
Before closing the door…
She bent down slightly and smiled.
“Thank you…”
“Tingzhou.”
This time…
Her gratitude was genuine.
- Writer
