“What did you say?” Ye Yufan’s eyes widened in shock.
Ye Mingxuan lowered his eyelashes. “The only one who can decide whether I leave is the Master.”
“So until he asks me to leave, he belongs to me. I won’t abandon him. I won’t let you succeed.”
“Heh,” Ye Yufan sneered coldly, “Is that so?”
“Then let me tell you plainly—that day will come very soon.” He fixed his gaze on Ye Mingxuan.
Due to malnutrition during adolescence, Ye Mingxuan was slightly shorter. Ye Yufan lifted his chin to look down at him. “Grandpa Tan is very fond of our family now.”
“You didn’t know? Grandpa Tan let my dad pick wine from his cellar and said he’d give Mom jewelry. Just wait—soon you’ll be kicked out.” Ye Yufan said, “Then everything you have will be mine—no, these things were always mine. You’re just returning them to me.”
Ye Mingxuan tugged at the corner of his mouth and smiled.
Ye Yufan frowned. “What are you laughing at?”
Ye Mingxuan met his gaze. “You’re wrong. Even without me, it wouldn’t be yours.”
“You—how dare you say that!”
Ye Mingxuan averted his gaze and turned to leave. Ye Yufan shouted after him, “Ye Mingxuan, explain yourself! Explain it clearly!”
When Uncle Ma approached, he heard Ye Yufan’s shrieks inside the room. Ye Mingxuan walked toward the elevator with a displeased expression.
“Mr. Mingxuan, Mr. Tan is looking for you,” Uncle Ma inquired. “What just happened?”
Ye Mingxuan shook his head. “Nothing.”
Uncle Ma nodded. “Glad to hear it, Mr. Mingxuan.”
Ye Mingxuan thanked Uncle Ma and stepped into the elevator.
Only after the doors closed did he belatedly feel his heart pounding. Reaching the third floor, Ye Mingxuan rushed out and nearly collided with someone at the corridor corner.
The other person swiftly grabbed his wrist, absorbing the impact and preventing Ye Mingxuan from slamming into the wall.
“Sir?” Ye Mingxuan steadied himself and blinked.
Tan Sizhe: “Why were you running so fast?”
Ye Mingxuan shook his head. Tan Sizhe seized his wrist: “Want to go to the terrace? You can watch the sunset now.”
“Sure.” Ye Mingxuan was led by Tan Sizhe to the terrace, where an open-air flower bed and a double swing sat.
Tan Sizhe sat down first, then helped Ye Mingxuan take a seat.
The two sat side by side watching the sunset, the golden-red sunlight bathing them in a dazzling glow.
Ye Mingxuan murmured softly, “It’s so beautiful.”
I wonder if I’ll ever get to watch it with my husband again.
His earlier conversation with Ye Yufan had sobered him considerably. If he didn’t reveal the truth soon, the people he loved would inevitably be hurt.
The longer this matter dragged on, the more Ye Xiangkai and his group would cling to the Tan family. Once they crossed the line, there would be no turning back.
“The day after tomorrow is Grandfather’s birthday. Stay upstairs then. I’ll have people watch them. If they cause trouble for you, call me.”
On the birthday, most servants would be downstairs. With fewer people upstairs, they might not be able to attend to Ye Mingxuan immediately. Tan Sizhe feared Ye Xiangkai’s family would take advantage of the situation to trouble Ye Mingxuan.
“Are you trying to lock me up, sir?” Ye Mingxuan lifted his smiling eyes.
Seeing the moisture in his gaze, Tan Sizhe chuckled. “Is that not acceptable?”
Ye Mingxuan lowered his head, murmuring to himself, “Actually, it should be you who needs locking up, sir.”
Tan Sizhe raised an eyebrow. “Why say that all of a sudden?”
Ye Mingxuan pressed his lips together. “You’ve always protected me. I want to protect you too.”
The swing rocked steadily. Tan Sizhe wrapped his arms around Ye Mingxuan’s waist and rested his head on his shoulder. “Alright. Then protect me.”
…
“What?” Zhao Dongxuan spilled red wine. “Inviting reporters to the birthday party?”
Old Master Tan smiled with his hands behind his back. “Of course. It’s time for our two families to go public. I specially invited reporters from major media outlets so the whole country can hear the Tan family’s good news.”
Ye Yufan paled, seeking help from Ye Xiangkai.
Ye Xiangkai shook his hand nervously. “Grandfather, isn’t this a bit too sudden?”
“Not at all. The two have been married for a year now, and their bond grows stronger daily. It’s the perfect time to announce it,” Grandfather Tan chuckled. “And I must thank you both for raising such an outstanding young man as Mingxuan.”
Zhao Dongxuan: “No…”
Old Master Tan: “What?”
“No, I mean…” Zhao Dongxuan couldn’t speak. Her body swayed dangerously, threatening to collapse.
What kind of good news was this? If reporters found out, the truth about their family’s arranged marriage would be exposed!
“The good days are over!” After Old Master Tan left, Zhao Dongxuan collapsed onto a chair.
Zhao Dongxuan: “How should I know?!”
She paced anxiously, staring blankly at Ye Xiangkai before grabbing his arm. “Honey, say something!”
“What can I do?!” Ye Xiangkai snapped. “If we hadn’t started this whole substitute marriage scheme, none of this would have happened!”
Zhao Dongxuan collapsed into a slump and sat down….
In the late stages of his pregnancy, Ye Mingxuan carried a faint, comforting scent of milk. Tan Size had fallen asleep leaning against the swing. Ye Mingxuan fetched a small blanket and tucked it around him.
Walking back to their room, the sunset had fully faded, leaving only a faint glow on the corridor. Ye Mingxuan stepped forward and saw Xiaoli hiding in a corner, wiping away tears.
“Xiaoli?” Ye Mingxuan approached. “What’s wrong?”
Hearing his voice, Xiaoli quickly dried her tears and lowered her sleeves. “Mr. Mingxuan.”
Her skin was pale, and Ye Mingxuan, sensitive to color contrasts, caught a fleeting glimpse of bruising. He gasped, “What happened to your arm?”
Xiao Li shook her head. “Nothing.”
“I saw it. You’re hurt.” Ye Mingxuan stepped closer. “May I take a look?”
At Ye Mingxuan’s repeated urging, Xiaoli rolled up her sleeve. A bruised mark marred her arm. Ye Mingxuan gasped in shock. “What happened?”
Tears lingered at the corners of Xiaoli’s eyes. She shook her head silently.
“If you won’t tell me, I’ll take you to Uncle Ma,” Ye Mingxuan said. “Let him ask you. See if you’ll speak then.”
“It won’t work, Mr. Mingxuan.”
“Why?”
Xiao Li kept her head down. “They won’t admit it. They’ll just say it was an accident…”
Ye Mingxuan froze. “They? You mean…”
Perhaps deeply moved by someone finally caring, Xiaoli nodded and spilled everything. “These past few days, Mr. Ye and his people have been bullying the servants. But they hide it well, especially in front of the old master.”
”The day before yesterday, Mr. Ye went to the wine cellar to select some bottles. He wanted to choose from the master’s collection—you know, those rare bottles where only one exists of each variety. If they took them, the master wouldn’t have any left. So I tried to stop them, which meant Mr. Ye didn’t get to drink those wines. They’ve been holding a grudge ever since. Yesterday, I ran into them in the hallway. Mrs. Ye shoved me into the corner. Just then, Uncle Ma came over. Mrs. Ye stubbornly insisted it wasn’t on purpose, saying I was slandering her.”
Ye Mingxuan listened quietly, his heart feeling as though it were being strangled by thorny vines: “They’ve gone too far.”
Xiao Li looked up and suddenly saw two tears fall from Ye Mingxuan’s eyes. Startled, she gasped, “Mr. Mingxuan?”
She’d only suffered a minor injury, yet Mr. Mingxuan was crying. Xiao Li felt a bit flustered.
“Did you apply medicine?”
“Yes, it should heal in a couple of days.”
“Shall I take you to see Grandpa Tan?”
“Mr. Mingxuan, it’s fine. They’re adamant it wasn’t intentional. What else can we say?”
Xiao Li smiled. “Mr. Mingxuan, thank you. You’re completely different from Mrs. Ye and the others.”
Ye Mingxuan clenched his teeth, suddenly feeling more exhausted than ever before.
He didn’t want to keep lying anymore. He didn’t want anyone else to be bullied.
He wanted to end all this sooner rather than later.
“What? You plan to come clean?” When Lin Jiale received Ye Mingxuan’s call, she hadn’t expected him to say that.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“The day after Grandpa Tan’s birthday.”
“Mingxuan, don’t scare me! You’re about to give birth!” Lin Jiale sat up. “If you reveal everything now and something happens, what about premature birth?”
Ye Mingxuan clutched his stomach. “Premature birth?”
“Yes. And if Tan Cize has any conscience, he might let you stay to deliver the baby. But if he doesn’t, he’ll kick you out of the Tan family. Where would you go as a pregnant man to give birth? Which doctor has experience performing a C-section on someone like you?”
Lin Jiale broke out in a cold sweat. “Can’t you just give birth, recover, and then confront him? Can’t you wait a few months?”
Wait a few more months? No. The longer it dragged on, the worse it would be.
Ye Mingxuan stroked his belly. “He… he should show a shred of mercy for the child’s sake.”
He admitted his selfishness—exploiting Tan Sizhe’s affection, hoping that even if Tan grew furious upon learning the truth, he might still feel compassion.
Ye Mingxuan realized that before, he’d wanted nothing. But since meeting Tan Sizhe, his desires had multiplied endlessly.
He wanted Tan Sizhe’s affection, wanted to spend his life with him, wanted to be his one and only exception.
“Mingxuan…” Lin Jiale asked, “Are you absolutely sure?”
Ye Mingxuan sat by the window, gazing at the moon: “Yes, I’m certain.”
Lin Jiale took a deep breath. “Alright then. I’ll prepare a room for you. Don’t worry—if you get kicked out, you can stay at my place.”
“Thanks, Jiale.”
“You’re welcome. Just treat me to KFC.”
“Deal.”
After chatting with Lin Jiale for a while, Ye Mingxuan felt much better. He turned around and noticed Tan Sizhe hadn’t returned yet.
Sleeping on the terrace? Ye Mingxuan hurried over and sure enough, found Tan Sizhe still sitting there asleep, the blanket draped over his legs.
The night wind was strong; without the blanket, he’d be cold.
Ye Mingxuan sat on the swing, jolting Tan Sizhe awake. He pulled the blanket over both of them and snuggled close. “Sir, let’s sleep together.”
Tan Sizhe blinked lazily, a faint smile playing on his lips. His voice was slightly hoarse. “Let’s sleep in the room.”
“Let’s sleep right here.” Ye Mingxuan rested his head on Tan Sizhe’s shoulder. “That way, the first thing we see tomorrow will be the sun.”
“You really want to sleep here?”
“Mhm.”
Tan Sizhe embraced Ye Mingxuan, pressing his cheek against the back of his head. “Fine. But the first thing I see definitely won’t be the sun.”
Ye Mingxuan lifted his head. Tan Sizhe lowered his gaze, his nose brushing against Ye Mingxuan’s. “The first thing I’ll see will definitely be you.”
