Dusk gradually enveloped the surroundings, casting the streets in a golden glow.
Ye Mingxuan hurried home. As soon as he entered the house, the pleasant air conditioning greeted him, dispelling his heat.
“This is soup made with roasted duck skin. Mr. Mingxuan, try some.” Aunt Fu served Ye Mingxuan a small bowl.
Ye Mingxuan carefully held the bowl, blew on it, and took a sip.
The salty, golden broth flowed down his throat, and Ye Mingxuan raised his clear, bright eyes: “It’s delicious.”
There was a noise from upstairs. Ye Mingxuan looked up and saw Tan Sizhe coming out of the bedroom in his pajamas.
The two made eye contact. Ye Mingxuan realized that he had taken the first sip of soup, which was very impolite in someone else’s home. He awkwardly put down the bowl.
“Sir…”
Tan Sizhe came downstairs: “What are you drinking?”
Ye Mingxuan lowered his head: “The soup Aunt Fu made.”
“Is it good?”
“Yes.”
Aunt Fu excitedly asked: “Would you like a bowl first, sir? It will take a while for the rice to be ready.”
Tan Sizhe approached Ye Mingxuan and reached out his hand in front of him.
The man’s steady, woody fragrance enveloped Ye Mingxuan. Ye Mingxuan took a step back but ended up leaning against the man’s arm, with no room to retreat further.
Tan Sizhe took the bowl Ye Mingxuan had been drinking from: “Let me try a sip.”
Ye Mingxuan’s pupils dilated slightly: “Sir…”
Under Aunt Fu’s gaze, Tan Sizhe drank a sip of soup from the bowl Ye Mingxuan had been drinking from.
He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.
Besides the salty aroma of the soup, there was also a hint of the sweet scent of youth.
Ye Mingxuan met Tan Sizhe’s smiling eyes. Sir, shall I pour you another bowl?”
In contrast to the cool tones, the warmth of his palm was scorching. Ye Mingxuan unconsciously tried to pull his hand away but couldn’t.
Tan Sizhe stared at him for a few seconds before withdrawing his hand and walking toward the sofa.
The spot where the man had touched him itched slightly, and Ye Mingxuan raised his hand to rub it.
Tan Sizhe sat down leisurely, crossed his legs, and picked up a financial magazine from the coffee table to glance through it.
Watching the man’s relaxed demeanor, Ye Mingxuan grew increasingly restless.
He took a few steps to the man’s side: “Sir.”
“At noon…”
Ye Mingxuan froze for a moment, then sat down abruptly, causing the sofa to creak.
“Not bad, nutritionally balanced,” Tan Sizhe said.
“Sir,” Ye Mingxuan said helplessly, biting his lip, “I eat well and sleep well at your house. You don’t need to give me money…”
Since arriving at the master’s house, Aunt Fu hadn’t let him do any chores, and he had been eating and staying there for free every day. He already felt guilty about it.
How could he possibly accept five million?
After hearing this, Tan Sizhe furrowed his brows, shifting his gaze from the magazine to him: “Why?”
Ye Mingxuan: “Because…”
“Dinner’s ready!” Aunt Fu called out cheerfully, “President Tan, Mr. Mingxuan, dinner’s ready.”
Ye Mingxuan’s unspoken words were interrupted.
Tan Sizhe closed the magazine and stood up: “Let’s eat first.”
Aunt Fu was an excellent cook, and she rarely repeated dishes. However, Ye Mingxuan didn’t have much of an appetite today and couldn’t eat much.
Tan Sizhe glanced at him: “Let’s discuss it after dinner.”
Ye Mingxuan nodded and drank the soup Aunt Fu had brought over.
After finishing the meal, Aunt Fu cleaned up the dining room, while Ye Mingxuan followed Tan Sizhe upstairs.
This was another study, with a wall of bookshelves, an L-shaped computer desk, a desktop computer on the desk, a large monitor, and the main unit and keyboard emitting a crystal-blue gradient light.
Next to the computer were the latest iPad and iPhone, as well as the items Ye Mingxuan needed for his studies.
Ye Mingxuan stared at these items, his heart already in turmoil.
“Mingxuan,” Tan Sizhe picked up the tablet, took his hand, and scanned his fingerprint, “Do you know what marrying me means?”
“But sir…”
“There’s no ‘but’ about it,” Tan Sizhe shoved the tablet into his hands. “Though money is just a string of numbers to me, I’ll only spend it on meaningful things.”
“Mingxuan, this is my investment in you.”
Ye Mingxuan looked up, his eyes sparkling with confusion: “Investment?”
“Sir, what do you need me to do?”
“It’s simple,” Tan Sizhe raised his hand and tapped him on the head, “Spend it however you want. Treat it as your own money.”
Ye Mingxuan widened his eyes: “Sir…”
How did we end up back here again?
Tan Sizhe yawned elegantly: “I’m going to take a shower.”
“Oh, right,” he turned at the door, “Mingxuan, I hope you’ll wear the new clothes I bought for you tomorrow.”
Ye Mingxuan looked down at himself; he had been wearing his old clothes these past few days.
The clothes Tan Sizhe gave him were beautiful and comfortable, but Ye Mingxuan couldn’t bring himself to wear them.
The hallway light cast a shadow over Tan Sizhe’s face, his features as dark as ink: “I picked out those clothes. If you wear them, I’ll be very pleased.”…
A fierce wind blew through the night, rustling the leaves with a whispering sound.
After attending the wealthy ladies’ gathering, Zhao Dongxuan returned to the villa in high spirits.
“Son, come see the lovely things Mom got today!” Zhao Dongxuan slipped on a jeweled necklace, stood before the full-length mirror, and admired herself several times with satisfaction.
No one answered her. Zhao Dongxuan frowned slightly, walked into the living room, and snatched the game console from Ye Yufan’s hands. “Lying around playing games all day? Watch out for myopia.”
“Hey, give it back! You’re annoying me.” Ye Yufan snatched the console back.
Seeing her son upset, Zhao Dongxuan sat down. “What’s wrong?”
Ye Yufan gritted his teeth. “It’s about that time we went to the forest park.”
“That time?” Zhao Dongxuan recalled. “I almost forgot about it. Didn’t I give you a task? What happened? Did you ask?”
“…No,” Ye Yufan mumbled. “I forgot.”
“Forgot? You could forget something like that?!” Zhao Dongxuan jumped up. “Do you know how important this is?!”
“Well, I forgot. If you care so much, why didn’t you ask yourself?”
“Now you’re talking back! How could I ask as easily as you?” Zhao Dongxuan picked up the fan on the table and fanned herself. “This is infuriating.”
“That’s not what I wanted to talk about.” Ye Yufan lay back down.
“Then what is it?”
Ye Yufan took a deep breath and spilled everything.
Zhao Dongxuan’s fanning motions gradually stopped. “Are you serious?”
“You really saw Tan Sizhe carrying someone out of the hotel?”
“Yeah! Why would I lie?” Ye Yufan slammed her pillow. “I didn’t see who he was holding.”
“It couldn’t be Ye Mingxuan, could it?!” Ye Yufan felt like she was going to throw up.
“…” Zhao Dongxuan suddenly recalled, “I saw Tan Sizhe at the theater earlier too. There was a man beside him.”
“What? The theater?”
“That’s right. I thought his silhouette looked familiar then. Now that I think about it, it might really have been him.”
“If it was Tan Sizhe, then… then the man beside him really was Ye Mingxuan?”
Zhao Dongxuan shook her head. “I can’t be sure. I didn’t see clearly.”
“But we know Tan Sizhe. Why would he be interested in someone like Ye Mingxuan—someone who can’t hold his own in public?”
“Unless…” Zhao Dongxuan speculated, “unless that person wasn’t Ye Mingxuan.”
Ye Yufan’s eyes lit up instantly: “Mom, are you saying… Tan Sizhe has a lover?”
“Exactly,” Zhao Dongxuan curved her lips. “A lover.”
…
The next day, soft sunlight spilled into the dining room. Tan Sizhe held a newspaper, quietly sipping his coffee.
The paper featured entertainment gossip about him. The writer had twisted facts and exaggerated details, painting him as a thoroughly despicable villain.
Tan Sizhe raised an eyebrow, finished reading it as if it were fiction, and commented, “Well written.”
He just disagreed with one detail—the article described him as a middle-aged man in his forties with a beer belly. That was his cousin Run, who had emigrated, not him.
Aunt Fu brought in the steamed dumplings. Tan Sizhe asked, “Aunt Fu, what do I look like?”
“What a question?!” Aunt Fu gushed sincerely. “If anyone dared claim second place for looks, no one could claim first! Mr. Tan, you’re the most handsome man I’ve ever seen in my life!”
“Really?”
“Absolutely! You and your wife are the most beautiful people I’ve ever laid eyes on!” Aunt Fu’s eyes lit up. “Madam!”
Tan Sizhe turned his head just as Ye Mingxuan descended the stairs. He wore a well-fitted casual haute couture outfit, his hair cropped short to reveal a smooth, full forehead, radiating youthful vigor.
Pure morning light flooded the staircase. Ye Mingxuan walked down step by step against the bright window, one hand hooked on the banister, his eyes betraying a hint of unease.
He greeted Tan Sizhe.
Tan Sizhe stared intently for over ten seconds, scalding his hand with spilled coffee.
