Ye Nanqi was stunned for a moment before coming to his senses. Looking at the message, he couldn’t help but laugh.
Lately, he seemed to have become quite popular. Everyone wanted to meet him.
But as he laughed, he sat up and leaned against the headboard, his expression turning somewhat blank.
Back then, Ye Mei had entered the entertainment industry under the assumed name “Ye Qingqing.” With her astonishing beauty and seemingly effortless acting skills, she had quickly become famous, keeping herself so busy that she could barely find a moment to spare. For a long time, neither Ye Nanqi nor his mother had seen her. Then, one day, a shocking scandal suddenly broke out. Ye Mei returned home in a wretched state, and his mother, overcome with rage, slapped her across the face.
From beginning to end, she had never told anyone in the family what she had gone through. During the worst few months, Ye Mei had been hiding here and there. On the rare occasions when she returned home, their mother would drive her out again. At the time, Ye Nanqi was preparing for his high school entrance exams. His studies and the problems at home had become tangled together. Paparazzi frequently showed up outside their house, lying in wait. His mind was a mess, and he was constantly anxious. He performed poorly on the exams and failed to get into a key high school. Deep down, he had harbored some resentment toward Ye Mei.
Why had she wanted to enter that industry?
Why had she lost herself in that world?
Why had she added even more trouble to an already troubled family?
Several more months passed, and Ye Mei never came home again. At the end of that year, when everyone should have been celebrating the New Year, the Ye family had instead fallen apart. His father lay sleeping beneath the earth, his mother went from place to place looking for work, his younger sister lay in a hospital bed, and Ye Nanqi was left alone at home. He developed a high fever, and when he woke up in the hospital, he heard that his older sister had jumped off a building.
The internet was flooded with heartless comments like, “Good riddance. How did she even have the nerve to keep living?” Lying in his hospital bed, Ye Nanqi listened as his mother held his hand and stared blankly out the window. Outside the ward, he could hear the young nurses chattering about the incident. The wind and snow swept across the world, and his heart felt desolate.
Yet the matter was quickly suppressed. Everything related to Ye Mei was gradually deleted, until “Ye Qingqing,” the celebrity, seemed as though she had never existed at all. The fickle public turned its attention to a new star who was more to its liking.
Even now, whenever Ye Nanqi thought back on those days, his heart felt unbearably heavy, as though something were pressing down on it and making it impossible to breathe.
How much pain had Ye Mei been in back then?
And what had her family been doing?
What had happened was too cruel. Ye Nanqi had chosen to bear it alone for one reason in particular: his mother would never be able to withstand it.
During the period when she had been at her most desperate, they had coldly pushed her toward the abyss.
The last period of Ye Mei’s life had been spent with her assistant at the time and Fang Xingyuan. After Ye Mei’s scandal broke out, that assistant had disappeared completely. The only person who knew what Ye Mei had gone through while she was alive was Fang Xingyuan.
The cold moonlight slanted through the window. Ye Nanqi’s face was pale and cold as he pulled himself away from memories stained with blood and tears and replied with a single word: “Okay.”
After waking up, Ye Nanqi couldn’t fall asleep again, so he simply continued investigating the celebrities on that list.
He picked out those who were suspected of having mysterious wealthy patrons behind them and searched for news about their recent activities. He discovered that there was no trace of them at all.
It was as if they had vanished from the face of the earth.
A mysterious hand had silently erased every trace of their existence.
Ye Nanqi frowned. He felt that this had to be the key, and decided to find someone else to investigate where they had gone afterward.
At around seven in the morning, someone knocked on Ye Nanqi’s door.
He silently closed his laptop, walked over, and opened the door. With a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, he said, “Shen Du, I’ll return your own words to you—don’t you have anything better to do?”
Shen Du was magnanimous enough not to take offense. “Wash up and come downstairs for breakfast.”
It was as though both of them had forgotten what happened the previous night. They tacitly avoided bringing it up. Ye Nanqi looked suspiciously at him. “Is this really necessary?”
“Your mother said your meals are irregular, so she told me to keep an eye on you.” Shen Du spoke with complete conviction, never lacking an excuse to support his stream of nonsense.
Ye Nanqi slammed the door shut. He still hadn’t gotten used to this sudden change in Shen Du’s attitude.
After being served a hearty helping of the cold shoulder, Shen Du rubbed his chin.
He had always suspected that Ye Mei’s death wasn’t as simple as it seemed. Although they hadn’t been particularly close when they were young, he had still understood a little about her temperament. She didn’t seem like the kind of person who would do those things.
Unfortunately, the Shen family had been in turmoil back then, and he had been sent abroad to study during that period. His parents had never paid any attention to the entertainment industry and had never even heard of “Ye Qingqing.” Later, the matter was suppressed. Now, trying to investigate it was practically impossible.
On top of that, Ye Nanqi was on guard against him, refusing to tell him anything and constantly being evasive. Even though Shen Du wanted to help, there was little he could do.
The only thing Shen Du could be sure of was that Ye Nanqi had been acting mysteriously lately. He was definitely doing something related to uncovering the truth.
Ye Nanqi’s mother was afraid he would get himself involved, so Shen Du had better keep a close eye on him. He couldn’t afford to lose track of the man.
The delicate-stomached Mr. Ye, the celebrity, wasn’t particularly easy to feed. Shen Du had to avoid the foods he couldn’t eat while also making sure the meals were good for his stomach and tasted delicious. He had put quite a bit of effort into breakfast. Ye Nanqi ate to his satisfaction, like a cat being stroked the right way.
Shen Du casually asked, “Do you have work today?”
Caught off guard, Ye Nanqi answered lightly, “No.”
“Then why are you up so early?” Shen Du raised his eyebrows in surprise.
Ye Nanqi choked slightly, then shot back, “It’s Saturday. Why are you up so early?”
Shen Du wasn’t the least bit flustered. He calmly replied, “Morning run, then making you breakfast. Are you going out later?”
Fang Xingyuan had arranged to meet him at nine. Ye Nanqi did indeed need to go out.
He was silent for a moment, then smiled. “Yeah. I’m going to meet my sugar daddy. Don’t worry, I won’t let the paparazzi catch me. Your aunt won’t hear any nasty rumors.”
Shen Du: “…” He’d almost believed him.
Jiang Yuanyu had been right. Ye Nanqi was someone whose words and thoughts never matched. What he said was never what he actually had in mind.
After breakfast, Ye Nanqi headed out.
After hesitating for a moment, Shen Du changed into a more inconspicuous car and quietly followed him.
Ye Nanqi, who had no idea anyone would be following him, didn’t notice the car trailing him at a discreet distance. The place Fang Xingyuan had chosen was quite far away. Even on a Saturday morning, the roads in City A were still packed with traffic, just as lively as ever. There was none of the usual relaxed atmosphere of a day off. After stopping and starting all the way there, Ye Nanqi arrived at the agreed location just before nine.
Ye Nanqi glanced around. Only after confirming that there were no paparazzi nearby did he cautiously get out of the car and enter the secluded café.
He ordered a cup of coffee and looked around. Because of its location, the little café had no customers at this hour. Fang Xingyuan was sitting in a corner. When he saw Ye Nanqi arrive, he merely nodded at him.
Only after Ye Nanqi had taken a seat across from him did Fang Xingyuan speak.
“This is your sister’s café.”
Ye Nanqi’s hand trembled slightly.
Fang Xingyuan took a sip of coffee, his voice seemingly tinged with nostalgia. “Before she left, she entrusted this place to me.”
Ye Nanqi silently watched him, unable to understand why he was bringing this up.
Fang Xingyuan definitely knew something. Yet during the several years they had worked at the same company, he had never shown any intention of talking about it. Ye Nanqi couldn’t tell whether he was friend or foe, good or bad, so all he could do was remain cautious.
“Your sister… wasn’t the person you think she was.”
After a long while, Fang Xingyuan finally spoke again. He paused, then raised his eyes and carefully studied Ye Nanqi’s young, handsome face. Shaking his head, he said, “Forget it. There’s no point telling you this.”
Ye Nanqi held back his irritation. A smile lingered at the corners of his lips, but there was not the slightest trace of amusement in his eyes.
“Did Brother Fang specifically ask me to come here just to say this?”
That self-important expression of Fang Xingyuan’s, as though he knew everything and could make decisions on his own, was infuriating. Ye Nanqi wanted very badly to punch him, but forcibly restrained himself.
Fang Xingyuan couldn’t possibly have asked him here just to say things that would earn him a beating.
Sure enough, Fang Xingyuan stirred his coffee and asked in a low voice, “Xiao Ye, have you gotten involved with the Xue family?”
Ye Nanqi paused. He hadn’t expected Fang Xingyuan to have been secretly keeping tabs on his activities. His long fingers rubbed against the rim of the coffee cup for a moment before he revealed a strange smile.
“What’s wrong with the Xue family? Didn’t Brother Fang take Xiao Jiang to meet the executives of Rongyu Group, too?”
Fang Xingyuan stiffened. His lips moved, but in the end, all that came out was a sigh.
“Xiao Jiang… was specifically requested by the other party. Ye Nanqi, even if it’s for your sister’s sake, don’t get involved with the Xue family again.”
For the first time, Ye Nanqi abandoned his usual caution and replied coolly, “Why should I give up my opportunities for her? Brother Fang, I respect you as a senior. You used to be her manager, so you know perfectly well what she did. My mother still refuses to acknowledge her even now. This is a matter for my family. Why are you getting involved?”
“…She wasn’t.” Fang Xingyuan’s throat was dry. He repeated himself. “She wasn’t that kind of person. Ye Nanqi, I hadn’t planned on telling you anything, but now you’ve actually gotten involved with the Xue family…”
Ye Nanqi took a graceful sip of coffee, looking completely indifferent.
Fang Xingyuan’s face turned ashen. In a low voice, he said, “The reason your sister ended up like that was entirely because of the Xue family.”
Ye Nanqi remained expressionless. “Who in the Xue family?”
But Fang Xingyuan warily shook his head. “There are some things you’re better off not knowing. That’s all I can tell you. I also called you here today to give you one piece of advice.”
Ye Nanqi stared at him for a moment. Fang Xingyuan looked away and said, “Ye Nanqi, you’d better retire from the industry.”
Wordless fury filled Ye Nanqi’s chest. He laughed in disbelief, stood up, and looked down at Fang Xingyuan. His voice turned several degrees colder.
“Fang Xingyuan, who do you think you are? Just because you refuse to say certain things doesn’t mean I’ll remain in the dark. Even if you keep your mouth shut about certain matters, I’ll still find out exactly what happened.”
His words were practically an admission that he knew something and was investigating the matter. Fang Xingyuan was visibly shaken, his face full of astonishment. But he quickly composed himself and lowered his eyes again.
Ye Nanqi waited for a while. Seeing that Fang Xingyuan still refused to say anything, he felt somewhat disappointed and no longer expected to get any useful information from him. He put on his coat, turned, and walked away. As he opened the café door and stepped outside, he nearly collided head-on with Shen Du, who was about to enter.
The two stared at each other, both momentarily stunned.
“…” Ye Nanqi felt that he’d been running into Shen Du rather too often lately. His face filled with suspicion. “What are you doing here?”
Shen Du was meticulous in his arrangements. He had called in an accomplice halfway through the trip. Without the slightest panic, he pointed at Zhao Sheng, who was standing beside him with an extremely nosy expression, and said without batting an eye, “I came out to buy something and ran into him. He dragged me here.”
An enormous pot had fallen from the sky onto Zhao Sheng’s head. He rolled his eyes inwardly but smiled cheerfully on the outside. “It’s been a long time since Shen Du and I went shopping together. We were looking around, and happened to pass by here.”
Shen Du: “…”
Ye Nanqi: “…”
What the hell kind of excuse was that? Who went shopping in the middle of winter and just happened to pass by here?