A young man entered the boat. Though his appearance was not necessarily more handsome than Ye Chu’s, he was dressed in luxurious elegance. The jade ornaments and decorations hanging from his person were rare even in Yao City. From this alone, it was clear that this young man came from an extraordinary family background.
“Young Master Shangguan, we were just talking about you. Who would have thought you’d arrive right at that moment!” Ye Jingyun turned her lively eyes towards the newcomer, Shangguan Minda, smiling sweetly. Her two long, slender legs crossed gracefully, exquisite and alluring.
“Then I must thank Miss Jingyun.” Shangguan Minda nodded politely towards Ye Jingyun. His gaze softened as it fell on Tan Miaotong. “Miaotong is finally willing to see me. All the effort I put into chasing after you along the way was worth it.”
Tan Miaotong’s face flushed red. Her delicate features showed pure tenderness. She gave Ye Jingyun a reproachful glance but could not explain. She could only sit there, her cheeks blooming with an intoxicating blush.
“Young Master Shangguan, don’t keep your eyes only on Miaotong. It’s been a long time since we last met too. Come, have a cup of tea. Let me introduce a friend to you.” Ye Jingyun’s dark eyes sparkled. She stood up, pulled Shangguan Minda over, and seated him directly opposite Ye Chu.
Though Shangguan Minda wanted to be alone with Tan Miaotong, he also knew it was impossible to drive Ye Jingyun and Qing Wenting away. He could only smile helplessly and sit opposite Ye Chu.
“This is my cousin, Ye Chu!” Ye Jingyun pointed at Ye Chu with a smile. “Young Master Shangguan, you can take care of my cousin from now on. Just now, Ye Chu took Miaotong out on a little flatboat for a poetic and romantic tour of Cold Lake. He was especially attentive to her.”
Ye Chu saw Shangguan Minda suddenly lift his head, his gaze shooting towards him like arrows. How could he not understand Ye Jingyun’s scheme? From her words just now, Ye Chu fully realised that Shangguan Minda was Tan Miaotong’s devoted pursuer. Otherwise, he would not have travelled such a long distance chasing after her.
Seeing Ye Jingyun’s brilliant smile, Ye Chu also smiled. He looked at Shangguan Minda and said, “It’s an honour to meet Young Master Shangguan. But there’s something I must say to you: you should give up on Miaotong.”
Those words stunned not only Shangguan Minda but even Ye Jingyun. She had indeed intended to use Shangguan Minda to deal with Ye Chu, but she never expected Ye Chu to cooperate so perfectly. Did Ye Chu not realise how furious this sentence would make Shangguan Minda?
“You want me to give up on Miaotong?” Shangguan Minda’s voice rose sharply. Everyone could clearly feel the suppressed rage beneath his words.
Ye Chu seemed completely oblivious to Shangguan Minda’s anger. He smiled and continued, “Today, while touring Cold Lake with Miaotong, she told me some things about you.”
“What did Miaotong say about me?” Shangguan Minda already had no goodwill towards Ye Chu. From the moment he heard Ye Jingyun say that Ye Chu had taken Tan Miaotong on a romantic boat ride across Cold Lake, jealousy had consumed him. He hated Ye Chu to the core.
Ye Jingyun watched Shangguan Minda’s face darken to an iron-blue shade and secretly laughed inside. Shangguan Minda’s feelings for Tan Miaotong were obvious. Normally, any man who appeared near Tan Miaotong would provoke his retaliation. Now, hearing that Ye Chu had spent time alone with her on the lake, he was probably going mad with jealousy.
Ye Jingyun smiled sweetly at Ye Chu, waiting to see him get tormented by Shangguan Minda.
Tan Miaotong tugged at Ye Jingyun, silently begging her not to stir up trouble. But Ye Jingyun ignored her completely. After giving Tan Miaotong a reassuring look, she added fuel to the fire. “Yes! What exactly did Miaotong say about you? Giggle… Ye Chu, you and Miaotong really are close. She won’t even tell us, her close sisters, such secrets.”
Sure enough, Shangguan Minda’s expression grew even darker.
“You don’t have to stir things up, do you? If it weren’t for you, would Miaotong have said anything to an outsider like me?” Ye Chu smiled at Shangguan Minda. “Young Master Shangguan, can’t you see that Ye Jingyun has been trying to provoke us the whole time? She wants us to fight.”
Shangguan Minda frowned and glanced suspiciously at Ye Jingyun. He could naturally tell that his cousin seemed to hope he would do something to Ye Chu.
Ye Jingyun did not mind at all. “So what if I’m stirring things up? I just don’t like you! But can you deny that today you and Miaotong were together, enjoying a romantic boat ride across Cold Lake?”
Seeing Shangguan Minda’s sudden realisation and the even uglier look on his face, Ye Chu had to admit that Ye Jingyun was very good at manipulating people’s emotions. With just those words, even if Shangguan Minda knew Ye Jingyun was using him, he probably would not care.
“I once said that any man who dares come within three metres of Miaotong will have his hands and feet broken.” Shangguan Minda stared at Ye Chu. “That wasn’t just empty talk!”
Tan Miaotong grew furious. Her eyes widened in anger. “Who I spend time with is none of your business! Don’t interfere in my life!”
“Miaotong! You know how I feel! Even if you don’t accept me now, you will one day. No matter what you say, I cannot tolerate other men getting close to you.” Shangguan Minda stared at Tan Miaotong.
Ye Chu looked at Shangguan Minda and thought to himself that this man’s possessiveness was truly extreme. In his previous life, he had seen similar types. Once, a female friend was pursued by a man who could not stand her having any male numbers in her phone. She hated him, yet he persisted. He even called every man in her contacts and cursed them out.
Ye Chu had received one of those inexplicable calls right after climbing out of that woman’s bed. The woman had teased him that he had not satisfied her the night before. Furious, he had moved straight into her house.
That drove the man into a frenzy. He grabbed a machete and came to chop Ye Chu. But Ye Chu had prepared in advance and called several police friends to wait outside. They caught him in the act of attempted murder and arrested him. As the man was being dragged away, Ye Chu leaned close to his ear and sighed, “If I hadn’t spent the whole night with her and was exhausted, I’d have beaten you to death today.”
Those words drained the colour from the man’s face. He collapsed as though all strength had left him. Only the woman — who had actually done nothing with Ye Chu the night before — laughed helplessly. She knew exactly how devastating those words were. Ye Chu’s single sentence hurt worse than ten slaps to the face!
Ye Chu despised men like this the most. No ability, yet they still tried to chase women. All they knew was the lowest, most skill-less tactic: threatening rivals. Utterly shameful.
“Who I get close to, who Miaotong chooses to spend time with — I don’t think you have the right to interfere, do you?” Ye Chu smiled at the other man. He ignored Tan Miaotong’s pleading look. That only made her more anxious. Ye Chu did not know how domineering Shangguan Minda could be. Acting like this was practically begging for crazy retaliation.
Shangguan Minda stared coldly at Ye Chu. “Whoever dares get close to Miaotong, I’ll cripple him. Let’s see who still has the guts.”
Ye Chu laughed nonchalantly. “Quite domineering. But not very manly. Don’t you want to know what Miaotong said about you today?”
“What did she say?” Shangguan Minda was still very nervous about anything concerning Tan Miaotong. He stared at Ye Chu, demanding an answer.
Ye Chu glanced at Ye Jingyun. When his eyes swept over her, Ye Jingyun’s heart skipped a beat. A bad premonition rose in her chest.