The Xue family had many branches, and its members were usually scattered across the country, making it rare for them to see one another. Now that the end of the year was approaching, the old master had issued an order, and everyone had returned to the ancestral residence.
After the cocktail party ended, Xue Xiangyu also returned to the Xue family estate, but he didn’t bother visiting the old master. Humming an off-key little tune, reeking of alcohol, he strolled briskly down the corridor.
The ancestral residence was so enormous that it resembled an imperial palace. Its winding corridors made it feel more like a prison. Outsiders desperately wanted to get inside, while quite a few of the people living within were anxiously struggling to escape.
Xue Xiangyu found the thought amusing. Just then, someone approached him from the opposite direction. He stopped walking, as though he’d suddenly remembered something interesting, and whistled.
“Well, well.”
The young man approaching him had a somewhat gloomy expression. He ignored Xue Xiangyu and prepared to walk straight past him.
Xue Xiangyu folded his arms and smiled brightly.
“Guess who I ran into at the cocktail party today?”
The other man continued ignoring him. He was almost past the corner when Xue Xiangyu raised his voice slightly.
“Do you still remember ‘Aphrodite’ from eight years ago?”
The young man’s footsteps stopped. He slowly turned around, his expression unpleasant.
“What did you say?”
Ye Nanqi didn’t rush to contact Xue Xiangyu.
Since the other party had deliberately left his contact information, he would eventually come looking for him. Ye Nanqi didn’t know what Xue Xiangyu’s intentions were, so it was best to remain cautious.
It was just that Shen Du seemed to have been so deeply affected by what happened at the cocktail party that his attitude had become rather strange.
Previously, although Shen Du had made breakfast for both of them, he hadn’t said anything about it. But the morning after they returned from the cocktail party, Ye Nanqi had barely come downstairs when he heard Shen Du inviting him to have breakfast. He almost spat his food right into Shen Du’s face.
This bizarre attitude continued until Shen Du actually went into the kitchen and made the little pastries they’d talked about that night.
Ye Nanqi accepted the box of pastries, his feelings complicated and conflicted.
“Shen Du.”
“Hmm?”
There was still a little white flour clinging to Shen Du’s hair. His brows were slightly furrowed, and he was wearing an apron. He looked so domestic that it was almost unbelievable.
Ye Nanqi had wanted to ask whether Shen Du had poisoned the food, but the words changed as they reached his lips.
“Did you find out that I have some kind of terminal illness?”
Shen Du: “…”
Ye Nanqi looked suspiciously at him.
“Or did you find out that you have some kind of terminal illness?”
Shen Du lowered his head, wiped his hands clean, and gave Ye Nanqi’s head a pat.
“Stop talking nonsense.”
After thinking about it, he realized that his behavior really was rather strange. He gave a slight cough and said, “If you run into Yuanyu at the company, give these to him.”
Making little pastries for someone you’re interested in?
Wasn’t that something teenage girls did in middle or high school?
Shen Du actually had such a girlish side?
Ye Nanqi tried to hold back, but couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from rising. He almost burst out laughing.
Shen Du felt somewhat helpless. He was feeling guilty, but didn’t know how to explain himself. He might as well let Ye Nanqi imagine whatever he wanted.
Ye Nanqi carried the box of pastries to the company. His smile was noticeably more genuine than usual. When he arrived at the small meeting room where he often met Wen Chen, he leisurely closed the door, took off his coat, and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt.
Seeing that Ye Nanqi seemed to be in a good mood, Wen Chen teased him.
“What, are you happy to be working overtime on the weekend?”
Ye Nanqi ignored him and opened the pastry box.
Inside lay a selection of exquisite little pastries, still slightly warm. Their sweet fragrance wafted out.
Wen Chen leaned over for a look.
“Oh? Which little temptress made you a love-filled lunch?”
As he spoke, he reached out to take one. But Ye Nanqi, who was usually quite generous, intercepted his hand with a smile.
“Since you know it’s a love-filled lunch, why are you trying to steal it?”
Wen Chen was astonished.
“Who on earth made these for you? Could it be… your husband?”
“…” Ye Nanqi answered calmly, “My mother.”
Wen Chen suddenly understood.
“Your mother’s cooking must be pretty good.”
Pretty good—my ass.
Ye’s mother had never lifted a finger in the kitchen before. Even Ye Wan couldn’t bring herself to praise the food she made.
I knew Shen Du still had ulterior motives.
A mischievous gleam appeared in Ye Nanqi’s eyes. In a cheerful mood, he picked up a pastry and slowly savored it. He leisurely thought to himself that if these pastries somehow made it from his hands into Jiang Yuanyu’s, he would change his surname to Shen.
Wen Chen curled his lips, pulled out the schedule, and handed it to Ye Nanqi.
“It’s the end of the year. Looks like there’s not much work left. You’ve got this endorsement shoot this afternoon. Hurry up and finish eating so we can get to work.”
Ye Nanqi responded with an “Oh” and was just about to chew faster when Wen Chen spoke again.
“Hey, take your time. There’s no rush. Your stomach isn’t in good shape.”
Ye Nanqi: “…”
Wen Chen really lived up to his reputation as the old nanny.
After finishing the pastries, Ye Nanqi got a mischievous idea. He used his phone to take a picture of the empty pastry box and sent it to Shen Du.
Shen Du replied almost immediately.
[Finished them?]
He really does still have ulterior motives. He’s actually sitting around waiting for my reply.
Ye Nanqi was full of tricks.
[I finished them. They tasted pretty good. So your ancestors really were royal chefs, huh?]
Shen Du: […]
Ye Nanqi ignored the strange feeling in his heart. In high spirits, he felt he’d won another round. He clapped his hands and went with Wen Chen to the advertising shoot.
This time, it was an endorsement for a brand of chocolate. The female lead was also a popular young actress, though she had quite a temper.
Ye Nanqi arrived early and waited for half an hour before the actress finally showed up. She offered a completely insincere apology, then began filming, only to keep making mistakes and demanding repeated retakes.
An advertisement that shouldn’t have taken long ended up dragging on for more than two hours.
The young actress had powerful backing, so the director didn’t dare say anything. He had someone apologize to Ye Nanqi on her behalf. After more delays, they finally managed to finish the shoot.
Ye Nanqi remained calm and unruffled. Even after being kept waiting for so long, he never lost his temper.
The director took a liking to him. After the shoot ended, he pulled Ye Nanqi aside and lowered his voice.
“…The person backing her is pretty powerful. She’s been acting arrogant these past few days, practically walking around with her nostrils pointed at the ceiling. We can only put up with it.”
Ye Nanqi smiled gently to show that he wasn’t upset.
The director was genuinely furious and couldn’t help saying a little more.
“She thinks that just because she’s hooked up with someone from the Xue family, she can fly straight to the top. She should take a look at how many people before her have fallen from that height and broken their necks.”
At the words “Xue family,” Ye Nanqi’s attention was immediately caught. But the director realized he’d said too much and hurriedly shut his mouth.
Awkwardly, he said, “Xiao Ye, what I just said…”
Ye Nanqi’s thoughts raced. He smiled faintly.
“You didn’t say anything just now, Director. What’s wrong?”
The director gratefully nodded at him. After exchanging a few more words, Ye Nanqi took his leave and got into the van provided for his work. He began thinking about what he’d just heard.
There was only one Xue family in this city that ordinary people couldn’t afford to offend.
The young actress’s backer was probably another member of the Xue family. From what the director had said, there seemed to be quite a few young celebrities who were practically being kept as lovers in plain sight like her. And their endings didn’t seem to be very good?
A faint flash of insight passed through his mind, but he couldn’t quite grasp it. He took out his phone and wanted to search for some information. Before he could figure out what to look for, a text message suddenly appeared.
[Good afternoon, my dear Aphrodite.]
Ye Nanqi froze. After recognizing the phone number, his expression immediately turned serious.
Wen Chen turned to look at his solemn expression, puzzled.
“What happened?”
Ye Nanqi said, “Shh. I’m reading a ghost story.”
Wen Chen: “…”
Since when had his artist developed this kind of habit for relaxing?
Xue Xiangyu had contacted him first.
Ye Nanqi stared at the message, somewhat confused.
Aphrodite? Wasn’t that the name of a goddess? Had Xue Xiangyu sent the message to the wrong person, or was he doing it on purpose?
After thinking for a moment, Ye Nanqi cautiously replied:
[Who is this?]
Xue Xiangyu:
[You took my business card and still don’t recognize me? That’s rather heartbreaking.]
So he’d deliberately left the card for him!
Ye Nanqi took a deep breath, suppressing the blood boiling in his veins, and replied politely:
[What can I do for you, Young Master Xue?]
Ye Nanqi had considered countless possible reasons why Xue Xiangyu might contact him.
Perhaps he simply thought Ye Nanqi was good-looking and wanted to have a little fun with him. Perhaps it was just a sudden whim, or some inexplicable impulse.
Or perhaps—
He was the culprit from back then. After learning that Ye Nanqi was Ye Mei’s younger brother, he wanted to test him.
If it was the last possibility, Ye Nanqi didn’t mind putting himself in danger.
Ye’s mother and Ye Wan’s visas had already been arranged. They could leave the country at any time. And his entanglement with Shen Du amounted to nothing more than a thin sheet of paper.
He had imagined countless possibilities. Now he stared intently at his phone screen, waiting for Xue Xiangyu’s response.
Seeing his grave expression, Wen Chen couldn’t help asking again.
“Is that ghost story really so interesting?”
Ye Nanqi casually replied, “My husband likes listening to them.”
Wen Chen: “…”
The little games you two play as a married couple are really strange.
Two minutes later, Xue Xiangyu finally replied.
[Someone has their eye on your junior brother, you know, Aphrodite.]
Ye Nanqi was abruptly startled. After hesitating for a moment, he sent another message to ask for more details, but Xue Xiangyu never replied again.
After Shen Du had discovered that Ye Nanqi had canceled the surveillance operation that time, he should have had someone investigate the situation around Jiang Yuanyu. Since nothing seemed to have happened, Ye Nanqi had let himself relax as well.
But now Xue Xiangyu had suddenly contacted him to deliver this message. What exactly did it mean?
And why was he calling him “Aphrodite”? Was there some special significance behind it?
What exactly did he know, and what was he trying to do?
Ye Nanqi’s mind was in turmoil. He put down his phone, his expression turning somewhat gloomy.
Seeing that Ye Nanqi had finally stopped staring at his phone, Wen Chen smiled.
“Finished reading?”
Noticing his unpleasant expression, Wen Chen rubbed his chin, thoroughly curious.
“Was it that scary?”
Ye Nanqi closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, his expression had returned to normal. With a faint, sardonic smile, he said,
“It was all right. It was fake. There are no ghosts in this world. The only things causing trouble are people.”
After saying that, he switched to another phone number and contacted the private investigator he’d hired previously.
The other party clearly still remembered the grudge from the last time Ye Nanqi had canceled the assignment halfway through. He grumbled:
[Are you some kind of pervert? You keep asking me to follow young celebrities around. You might as well just bribe a few paparazzi instead…]
Ye Nanqi:
[That actually sounds like a good idea.]
The private investigator immediately stopped giving him a hard time and hurriedly tried to appease his client.
[Daddy! I was wrong! Same as last time?]
Ye Nanqi thought for a moment, replied with a simple yes, and reminded him to be careful of danger.
Having learned his lesson from the previous incident, Ye Nanqi was even more cautious this time when communicating with the private investigator.
However, Xue Xiangyu seemed to be toying with him. For several days in a row, the investigator failed to discover anyone suspicious around Jiang Yuanyu.
Meanwhile, Xue Xiangyu, who had stopped replying to his messages, suddenly contacted Ye Nanqi again.
This time, he called directly. His voice was lazy and languid.
“Baby, how about coming out for dinner with me tonight?”