Chapter 4

The car arrived at the Lidong Grand Hotel. Following the attendant’s guidance, the group entered the private banquet room.

No sooner had they stepped inside than an elderly voice reached Ye Mingxuan’s ears: “Let me see my granddaughter-in-law!”

Zhao Dongxuan immediately pushed the bewildered Ye Mingxuan forward: “Mingxuan, quickly call Grandpa Tan.”

In the Chinese-style private room, spacious enough for over a hundred people, Ye Mingxuan saw an elderly man seated at the head of the table. The man had a kind face and was smiling warmly at him:

“Just call me Grandpa, like you call Sizhe. Come here so I can take a look.”

He beckoned Ye Mingxuan closer, scrutinizing him intently before nodding approvingly. “Such a handsome young man—so well-mannered and charming. Sizhe married you? That’s a blessing he earned in a past life!”

Zhao Dongxuan interjected, “You flatter him, Grandpa. It’s actually Mingxuan’s good fortune to marry Mr. Tan!”

Old Master Tan chuckled, motioning for Ye Mingxuan to sit beside him. He looked around impatiently and grumbled, “Tsk! Where is he? How can he keep his new bride waiting like this? What kind of etiquette is this!”

Ye Xiangkai, Zhao Dongxuan, and Ye Yufan sat down together. Zhao Dongxuan remarked, “Mr. Tan has a busy schedule, so it’s understandable he’s running late. But we haven’t met Mr. Tan yet—we’re really looking forward to seeing what he looks like.”

“Ah, Sizhe is nowhere near as impressive as I was in my youth!” Old Master Tan chuckled, shaking his head.

Zhao Dongxuan sipped the tea poured by the waiter. “To be the grandson of the Old Master, Mr. Tan must be quite the handsome gentleman.”

Old Master Tan roared with laughter, then suddenly looked toward the door. “Oh, here he comes!”

Ye Yufan snapped his head up. Entering the doorway was a clean-cut man with a subtle demeanor and looks that could only be described as average.

Seeing Ye Mingxuan married to such a husband, he suddenly felt that even great wealth and power were nothing special. Ye Yufan felt a surge of satisfaction.

Ye Mingxuan looked at the man entering.

The man was gentle and refined, his smile never fading since he entered, seeming very easy to get along with.

Yet Ye Mingxuan’s heart began to race. He struggled to reconcile the gentleman before him with the fierce man from the night before.

“Mingxuan, what are you staring at?” Zhao Dongxuan urged him, relishing the drama. “Hurry up and greet him! Don’t be rude.”

Ye Mingxuan snapped back to reality, immediately standing up and hesitantly approaching the man. “Sir.”

The man smiled and nodded. “Hello, sister-in-law.”

The air froze in an instant. Ye Mingxuan was dumbfounded. “?”

Just as he was staring blankly, several waiters behind him called out in unison, “Mr. Tan!”

Ye Mingxuan turned to see a man of about twenty-five entering.

His expression was stern, radiating a powerful aura. His phoenix-like eyes were deep, and he stood tall and graceful.

Everyone in the private room was stunned.

Tan Sizhe’s gaze swept around the room, finally settling on Ye Mingxuan’s face. “Waiting for me?”

Ye Yufan jumped to his feet, staring at them in disbelief.

Ye Mingxuan’s eyes widened as he looked at the man before him, astonished and hesitant. “Sir…?”

“Mhm.” Tan Sizhe’s voice was deep, resonating like the clang of metal.

He stepped before Ye Mingxuan, his thin lips parting slightly. “This time, I haven’t mistaken you.”

Ye Mingxuan’s mouth opened, yet no words came out.

Only the laughter of Old Master Tan snapped him back to attention.

“Mingxuan is such a sensible boy. Look, he even greets Sizhe’s elder brother when he arrives.” Old Master Tan was thoroughly pleased with Ye Mingxuan.

“We’re all family. No need for such formality. Mingxuan, come sit beside me.”

Ye Mingxuan flushed with embarrassment, wishing he could vanish into a crack in the ground over his mistaken identity.

 

Silently, he sat beside Old Master Tan. Tan Sizhe walked over and sat close to him.

Ye Mingxuan stiffened. Last night’s madness flashed through his mind again.

He caught the woodsy, clean scent emanating from the man. Even without physical contact, he felt completely enveloped by him.

Ye Yufan’s teeth nearly ground to dust. He never imagined Tan Sizhe could be this handsome!

Under the table, he messaged his mother:

【Mom! How could this happen?! This guy is actually Tan Sizhe?!】

【Why is he so damn handsome! His older brother looks average, so why is he so handsome?!】

【Why? Why? Why? Why did Ye Mingxuan marry someone this gorgeous?! He’s even more handsome than Brother Yusen!】

Zhao Dongxuan glanced at her son and typed back: 【Have you forgotten what I taught you?】

【You must learn to stay calm and observe carefully. Many things aren’t as simple as they seem on the surface.】

【Look, they barely spoke after sitting down. I told you—Tan Sizhe looks down on him.】

Ye Yufan looked up to see Ye Mingxuan and Tan Sizhe eating their meals without acknowledging each other.

Ye Mingxuan only answered Old Master Tan’s questions, while Tan Sizhe wore an expressionless face, not even sparing him a glance.

Ye Yufan’s heart settled: [Mom, you were right.]

[What good is being handsome? What good is being rich? Ye Mingxuan still ends up sitting on the sidelines.]

Zhao Dongxuan replied to her son: [Of course. Rest assured, Ye Mingxuan won’t have it better than you.]

The man sat beside him, and Ye Mingxuan nervously downed glass after glass of water.

An hour later, his bladder finally gave out. He stood up, not daring to glance in the man’s direction: “Grandfather, I… I need to use the restroom. Excuse me.”

Old Master Tan smiled warmly: “Go ahead.”

This private room was a suite, with a spacious lounge adjoining the dining area for guests to chat and sing after meals.

The restroom connected to the lounge, separated from the dining room by a distance.

After taking care of business in the restroom, Ye Mingxuan splashed water on his face at the sink.

Footsteps approached from behind. Ye Mingxuan wiped the droplets from his face and looked up, meeting the man’s intense gaze in the mirror.

“!” Ye Mingxuan spun around in alarm.

Simultaneously, Tan Sizhe closed the door and locked it decisively.

“Mr. Tan… Ah!”

Caught off guard, Ye Mingxuan was lifted onto the sink counter.

Tan Sizhe braced his hands on either side of him, pinning him against the mirror. His eyes were intense as he stared down at him. “Mistaken identity?”

A wave of pressure washed over him. Ye Mingxuan swallowed hard, his voice trembling. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“Was it because the lights were off last night?”

“Um…”

Tan Sizhe chuckled softly. Last night, the lights were off, and during dinner, the other had refused to look him in the face.

Only now did he finally have a chance to properly examine his little wife.

The youth’s skin was as white as snow, his eyes dreamy and misty, his features exquisitely carved like jade. A faint woody scent lingered on him—Tan Sizhe’s scent.

The youth before him had been completely marked by him last night, becoming his own.

Gazing at the boy’s almond-shaped eyes and rosy cheeks, Tan Sizhe felt a tightness in his throat

“The lights are on now. You can get to know me properly.”

 

He hooked his fingers under Ye Mingxuan’s jaw and kissed him.

It was a kiss tinged with punishment, his tongue thrusting deep, stirring every inch of Ye Mingxuan’s mouth, stimulating the glands to secrete saliva.

Ye Mingxuan protested with muffled sounds, his hands pressing against Tan Sizhe’s chest, toes curling stiffly. “Mr. Tan… no… Don’t, uh…”

Tan Sizhe was parched with desire. Swallowing saliva wasn’t enough. He bit down on Ye Mingxuan’s lips while his hands reached for his pants.

Ye Mingxuan’s eyes widened. “No, not in the bathroom… Sir, not here…”

“Not in the bathroom is okay?”

“No…”

“Keep it down,” Tan Sizhe growled into his ear, “You don’t want anyone hearing us, do you?”

With that, he lowered his head.

A muffled whimper escaped Ye Mingxuan’s throat. His eyes glistened with scattered tears as he watched the back of the man’s head rise and fall rhythmically before him.

Several minutes later, Ye Mingxuan collapsed limply against the sink, a faint tingling still coursing through his body.

His eyes stared blankly at the ceiling as he covered his mouth with both hands.

Tan Sizhe licked him clean, as if polishing a plate, then lifted his face to gaze at Ye Mingxuan with satisfaction:

“Even though you said no with your mouth, your body clearly told me you enjoyed it.”

Ye Mingxuan felt like he might faint from fear. Old Master Tan and Uncle Ye were only one living room away, yet they were hiding here doing this…

Tan Sizhe lifted him up, pulling up the pants hanging from Ye Mingxuan’s ankles and fastening them.

The boy’s legs were straight and slender, white as tender lotus roots, even his toes a delicate pink.

Tan Sizhe swallowed hard, averting his gaze.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door: “Mr. Tan, Ye Mingxuan, are you in there?”

Ye Mingxuan paled in shock—it was Yufan’s voice!

He tried to jump down, but the man held him back.

“Sir, please let me go…” Ye Mingxuan clutched his arm, struggling to pry it free. His legs kicked wildly against the man’s sides, his panic nearly bringing tears to his eyes.

Tan Size braced himself against the sink, his body pressed against Ye Mingxuan. “No.”

Ye Mingxuan: “Sir, uh—”

The man captured his lips once more.

Ye Yufan paced anxiously outside. They’d been in there over twenty minutes—what on earth were they doing?

Several more minutes passed before the door slowly creaked open. Ye Yufan looked up to see Tan Sizhe emerge with an expression of utter detachment.

“Mr. Tan,” Ye Yufan greeted him, breathing a sigh of relief.

Tan Sizhe gave a faint “Mhm” in reply and walked straight away.

Ye Yufan entered the restroom to find Ye Mingxuan, his face ashen, arms crossed, sneering coldly. “So? How does it feel to be married to Mr. Tan? Pretty miserable, huh?”

Ye Mingxuan stared at him blankly, utterly confused.

“Did you really think such a blessing would fall on your head?” Ye Yufan said. “My mom told me Tan Sizhe is ruthless. Marrying him would mean nothing but misery.”

“That’s precisely why we arranged for you to marry him. Why else do you think?”

Ye Mingxuan trembled uncontrollably upon hearing this. “So… so that’s how it is…”

It turned out they had pushed him into a den of wolves.

“Hahahaha!” Ye Yufan burst into loud laughter. “Ah, you and I are just from two different worlds.”

“I, on the other hand, was a pampered young master from childhood. Whatever I wanted, my parents would give me.”

“The A-level university you barely scraped into? My dad could have gotten me in with a donation.”

“All those years you spent studying? The salary you earn now doesn’t even match my allowance.”

“My life’s been smooth sailing since birth. I’ll marry the woman I love and live happily ever after.”

“But you,” Ye Yufan sneered, “just wait to be tormented by Tan Sizhe. This is only the beginning!”

Ye Mingxuan’s face drained instantly, turning as pale as wallpaper.

Last night, and what just happened in the bathroom—was that merely the beginning…?