The Yang residence was vast, and though there were many servants, each stuck to their own domain. When they weren’t needed, they could be sent elsewhere.
Hua Man’s place was small to begin with—one glance and you could see it all. With two people already feeling cramped, adding a nanny would make it inconvenient everywhere.
She didn’t like it.
What if she and Hua Man were kissing in the future, or doing something more intimate, and someone suddenly burst in shouting? The thought alone was suffocating.
But without a nanny, who would look after that little brat Hua Xi?
Yang Zhao’s mood darkened. The kid was truly annoying.
In the end, Hua Man prepared a simple four dishes and a soup—lavish enough for her, but after seeing the spread at Yang Zhao’s home, it felt downright meager.
Being with someone like Yang Zhao made it so easy to feel inferior.
Lost in her thoughts, Hua Man heard Yang Zhao suddenly ask, “When are you starting at the company?”
“Not until the interview time,” Hua Man thought for a moment. “Two days from now.”
Yang Zhao nodded thoughtfully.
On the day of Hua Man’s interview, Yang Zhao personally drove her to the building of Yang Corporation.
“I’ll go in with you.” Seeing Hua Man about to get out, Yang Zhao grabbed her hand.
“Don’t joke.” Hua Man laughed helplessly. “If you go in with me, won’t that tell everyone there’s something between us?”
Yang Zhao raised an eyebrow. “So what?”
She and her Manman weren’t simple to begin with.
Hua Man grew a bit nervous, suddenly worried that Yang Zhao was serious. She leaned in and kissed Yang Zhao on the forehead, coaxing her. “Be good.”
Yang Zhao chuckled. “You’re imitating me.”
Those were her exact words to Hua Man before.
“Yeah, you’re my teacher.” Hua Man admitted openly.
At that, Yang Zhao’s gaze flickered.
If she liked her so much, would Hua Man learn from her and start liking her even more?
The thought made her laugh out loud.
“What are you laughing at?”
“Laughing at how cute you are.”
Yang Zhao leaned back in her seat and waved her off. “Alright, go on in.”
Hua Man pressed her lips together to hide a smile and calmly got out of the car.
There were plenty of candidates for the interview that day, but Hua Man was well-prepared and not too nervous.
She aced it successfully.
Yang Zhao had been waiting outside. Once Hua Man got back in the car, she asked, “How’d it go?”
Even though she’d watched the entire interview on her tablet, she couldn’t help asking for Hua Man’s feelings.
“Not bad.” Hua Man frowned slightly. “But one of the interviewers looked at me strangely. I wonder if she was there last time and recognized me.”
Yang Zhao smiled without a word.
The woman had indeed recognized Hua Man, but not because of her previous interview at Yang Corporation.
Out of consideration for Hua Man’s mother, Yang Zhao had blurred her face in the public video. But the internal video for senior executives was unedited.
All of Yang Corporation’s top brass knew that Hua Man was Yang Zhao’s fiancée—the company’s second mistress.
“Maybe she was just so impressed by your excellence.” Yang Zhao handed her phone to Hua Man. “Here, pick a restaurant. We’ll celebrate your successful interview.”
Hua Man was surprised.
Yang Zhao usually just booked a place and took her there. Now she was handing over the choice?
“What are you spacing out for?” Yang Zhao shoved the phone into her hand, guessing the reason. She laughed. “Surprised that I’m asking your opinion?”
Hua Man nodded.
“Yes, I admit it—I’m a very self-centered person.” Yang Zhao owned up openly. “But I like you, so I’m willing to change for you.”
Hua Man hadn’t expected such a straightforward confession bordering on a love declaration. After a moment’s silence, she asked, “Are you confessing to me?”
“Of course.” Yang Zhao nodded.
She gazed steadily at Hua Man. “You didn’t really think I announced you as my fiancée just to plant you inside the company, did you?”
“Isn’t that the case?”
Hua Man even held her breath.
“Silly Manman.” Yang Zhao sighed. “Who am I? The eldest miss of the Yang family—I can trample Zhao Ming and Qin Fangqin underfoot at will. What would require me to sacrifice my fiancée’s position?”
She reached out and rubbed Hua Man’s cheek. “The fiancée thing? I’m dead serious.”
Suddenly, Hua Man felt like she was walking on clouds—light and insubstantial.
After her brain short-circuited for a few seconds, she asked, “You like me the kind of like that wants to marry me?”
“Of course.” Yang Zhao nodded firmly. “What about you? Isn’t your like for me the kind that wants marriage?”
She didn’t even ask if Hua Man liked her.
Hua Man’s heart raced as she realized Yang Zhao had seen right through her heart, knowing full well how much she liked her.
That confidence meant she didn’t need to ask.
After a long pause, she heard her own answer: “Yes, the kind that wants marriage.”
Hearing that, the uneasy heart hidden beneath Yang Zhao’s confident facade finally settled. She couldn’t help grabbing Hua Man and leaning in madly to kiss her.
But her movement was stopped.
“Don’t you want to kiss me?” Yang Zhao asked, puzzled. “You said you like me.”
Hua Man replied, “I have something I want to say to you.”
Seeing how serious she looked, Yang Zhao reined in her impatience. “Fine, go ahead.”
She liked it when Hua Man opened up to her.
But the surprise came abruptly. The smoothly cruising car suddenly braked hard.
Yang Zhao nearly lurched forward, but Hua Man steadied her in time, preventing further injury to her arm or elsewhere.
The mood shattered, and she’d almost gotten hurt—Yang Zhao’s face darkened instantly.
“What happened?”
She asked the driver in a low voice.
“Miss, someone suddenly rushed out and blocked the road,” the driver explained awkwardly.
A few seconds later, his tone turned odd. “It’s Miss Zhao.”
Yang Zhao laughed in anger.
Was she courting death?
What bad luck!
“Get rid of her,” she snapped impatiently.
The driver hurried out of the car. Zhao Yang’s voice came from outside: “Yang Zhao! Get out! I have something to say to you.”
“Will you go out there?” Hua Man turned to ask Yang Zhao.
“What is she to make me get out just because she says so?” Yang Zhao snorted coldly. “If I did, then from now on, anyone could skip appointments and just block my car.”
Fair point.
Hua Man nodded and looked ahead.
Zhao Yang stood in front of the car with her arms spread wide. The driver was talking to her, but her expression was stubborn—she wouldn’t budge.
Hua Man faintly heard something like “let my dad go” and turned to Yang Zhao. “Did you have Zhao Ming arrested?”
Yang Zhao said innocently, “I’m not the police. What right do I have to arrest Zhao Ming?”
A crowd was gathering, and cars were piling up behind.
Hua Man started to get out.
Yang Zhao pulled her back. “Don’t.”
She took out her phone.
Moments later, several suited bodyguards arrived. Without a word, they grabbed Zhao Yang’s arms and dragged her away.
“Roadblock cleared.” Yang Zhao withdrew her gaze contentedly and turned to Hua Man. “Decided on lunch yet?”
Hua Man let out an “ah” and picked up the neglected tablet.
It was filled with restaurant menus—dazzling options everywhere.
She finally chose a more traditional Chinese place.
Yang Zhao seemed to prefer Chinese cuisine over Western.
Of course, so did she.
It was a rare shared preference between them.
The car headed toward the restaurant.
“What were you about to say earlier?” Yang Zhao asked.
Hua Man hesitated a few seconds and shook her head. “Nothing.”
Zhao Yang had ruined Yang Zhao’s mood, shattered the atmosphere—the topic wasn’t right to continue now.
They could talk once things settled at Yang Corporation.
“Hm?” Yang Zhao narrowed her eyes in dissatisfaction. “Don’t keep it bottled up.”
Seeing her insistence, Hua Man paused and then got serious. “We’ve only been together a short time and don’t know each other well enough. There’s no rush to get engaged or married.”
Chen Yan and Hua Qiang’s failed marriage made her fear love, and even more, any deep intimacy or dependence.
They’d met through matchmaking, married hastily after less than two months, and only then discovered their incompatibilities.
Yang Zhao’s parents were probably much the same—too little time together meant they never truly knew each other.
She didn’t want her and Yang Zhao to repeat their parents’ mistakes.
“I think I know you plenty already.” Yang Zhao met her eyes. “What don’t you know about me? I’ll tell you everything.”
Hua Man was stumped.
How could you quantify that?
And did Yang Zhao really know her?
Hua Man couldn’t help curving her lips. “Fine, tell me then—what do I usually like to do, what don’t I? What color do I like, what don’t I?”
The questions stumped Yang Zhao.
What did Hua Man usually like to do?
Did she even have hobbies?
The scope was too broad. Thinking of the last two, Yang Zhao recalled Hua Man’s style of dress and ventured, “White?”
Wrong answer, of course.
Hua Man shook her head. “No.”
From childhood, whenever asked her favorite food or color, she could never answer.
She felt indifferent to everything, nothing in particular.
But then Yang Zhao appeared, and her world gained color—she had favorites now.
“I like red,” Hua Man said.
“Red?” Yang Zhao looked skeptical. “You’re joking, right? You like red?”
She’d never seen Hua Man in anything red.
“No joke.” Hua Man smiled faintly. “See? You don’t know me at all.”
Red—bright and vibrant.
It was the color Yang Zhao wore most often.
Her fair skin made red stand out like snow against flame—radiant and bold.
Every time Hua Man saw her in a red dress, that bursting vitality seemed to spill everywhere.
Yang Zhao was speechless.
After a moment, she snapped irritably, “You just don’t want to marry me, right?”
Now she was being unreasonable.
Hua Man laughed helplessly. “Wanting marriage doesn’t mean rushing into it right now.”
She was just worried Yang Zhao was too hasty—they’d skipped the dating phase and jumped straight to fiancée.
Yang Zhao glanced at her lightly. “Excuses.”
But soon, she let it go. Getting to know Hua Man was just a matter of time. She had plenty of both.
“From now on, you have to get to know me properly.” She lifted her chin, utterly righteous. “And of course, I’ll start getting to know you.”
She could always be so boldly entitled.
And it never felt obnoxious.
“Okay.” Hua Man nodded in agreement.
Yang Zhao wasn’t done. “Anything else you want to say to me? Go on.”
Hua Man paused, then asked, “If two people love each other, shouldn’t it be mutual respect and equality?”
Yang Zhao’s expression grew serious. “Of course.”
Hua Man’s gaze softened.
The tight chains binding her finally fell away.
The restaurant arrived.
Hua Man got out first, holding a hand over the car roof to shield Yang Zhao as she exited.
“Doing that always gives me the illusion you’re still my bodyguard.”
Hua Man, imitating Yang Zhao, didn’t keep it inside. “You can keep treating me like your bodyguard. I have a duty to protect my fiancée.”
Yang Zhao had been a bit displeased at the first half, but the second made her smile uncontrollably.
“Smooth talker.”
She hadn’t expected she’d ever call Hua Man a smooth talker.
“Didn’t you say before that I’m silver-tongued with others but tongue-tied with you?” Hua Man pulled Yang Zhao closer to avoid the crowd bumping her injured arm. “Careful.”
“So I’ve decided to talk more around you.” She continued her unfinished thought.
She would learn from Yang Zhao.
Learn to express herself, learn to love.
“What’s going on?” Yang Zhao hooked the corner of her mouth. “Suddenly so obedient—I’m not used to it.”
She had grown accustomed to Hua Man’s cold indifference toward her. Now, Hua Man was suddenly talking more and even whispering sweet nothings. It caught her off guard.
Beyond the surprise, she felt a bit flattered.
How rare—it turned out she could feel this way too.
“Don’t you like it?” Hearing this, Hua Man instantly grew uneasy.
“How could I not?” Yang Zhao’s eyes curved into crescents. “I like you no matter what. The cool, quiet you? I like her. The silver-tongued you? I like her too.”
One sentence turned Hua Man’s entire face red.
She simply couldn’t match Yang Zhao, who could drop confessions of love anytime, anywhere.
The two sat down in the private room.
“If you hadn’t had Zhao Ming arrested, why would Zhao Yang have blocked your car today?” While waiting for their food, Hua Man recalled the incident and couldn’t help asking.
Yang Zhao blinked innocently. “How should I know? You know I was injured. I’ve been sticking to a straight line between two points—either obediently recovering at home or at your place.”
That was true.
Hua Man’s gaze fell on Yang Zhao’s hand. “Does your hand still hurt?”
“Of course it hurts.” Yang Zhao nodded and glanced at her arm in its cast, her brows drooping. “It’s smelly, ugly, and painful.”
With that, she lifted her chin. “You have to kiss me for thirty seconds to soothe my inner pain.”
Yang Zhao might have seemed more believable if she’d kept up that pitiful expression, but the laughter sparkling in her eyes gave her away.
Still, Hua Man clenched her fist and leaned in slightly.
She decided to follow her heart and learn from Yang Zhao.
Under Yang Zhao’s surprised gaze, Hua Man cradled the back of her head and pressed their lips together without hesitation.
In the quiet private room, only the soft, wet sounds of their kiss filled the air—an intensely intimate moment.
Right in the heat of it, Hua Man pulled back. A thin silver thread connected their lips as her voice came out slightly hoarse. “Is thirty seconds enough?”
Obviously not.
Yang Zhao said nothing, simply offering her lips again with eager eyes.
When the suction at the base of her tongue left it tingling, she finally drew back. Her eyes brimmed with desire as she smiled at Hua Man.
Hua Man reached out, her fingertip brushing over Yang Zhao’s lips to wipe away the glistening moisture before sitting back down.
That wipe left Yang Zhao’s lips tingling.
Unable to resist, Yang Zhao flicked her tongue across them, her gaze turning seductive. “Teacher Hua is so passionate.”
With that, she tried to hook Hua Man’s leg with her foot.
After such a bold kiss, Hua Man’s heart pounded wildly, but she forced herself to stay composed in the face of Yang Zhao’s teasing. “Behave yourself. No hands or* feet.”
She pressed her legs together, trapping the unruly foot under the table.
That was when the waiter knocked.
The dishes they’d ordered arrived on a serving cart. Sensing Yang Zhao still wouldn’t settle down, Hua Man shot her a light glare.
“Pfft—”
Yang Zhao burst out laughing.
She shook with laughter, trembling all over, so Hua Man had no choice but to release her foot.
In the next instant, Yang Zhao’s eyes gleamed as she put on an air of faux innocence.
“Sister-in-law, we’re sneaking around behind Brother’s back for a fling. He won’t get mad if he finds out, right?”
The waiter’s hand suddenly shook.
![Welcome to the World of the Strong [Unlimited Flow]](https://i1.wp.com/dobytranslations.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/21240336806.png?resize=151,215 "Welcome to the World of the Strong [Unlimited Flow]")
![Master, Let Me Touch Your Tail [Transmigration]](https://i1.wp.com/dobytranslations.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Master-Let-Me-Touch-Your-Tail-Transmigration.jpg?resize=151,215 "Master, Let Me Touch Your Tail [Transmigration]")
