As soon as Ye Yanxi finished speaking, Xiao Yu's familiar voice came through the microphone, deep and melodious. "Are you at Miss He's place?"
However, his voice seemed a bit hoarse. Presumably, it was because he had rushed back from Rome without a break and hadn't had a chance to rest yet. Thinking of this, Ye Yanxi fell silent for a moment.
"Yes, I'm already here." Her voice was still soft, as if afraid of disturbing someone. "So, you don't have to worry."
After she finished speaking, there was an unusual silence on both ends of the phone. It seemed that she could even hear Xiao Yu's gentle breathing. Ye Yanxi didn't rush to hang up the phone. After a while, Xiao Yu's voice came again. "I did know you were Mrs. He's daughter a long time ago."
Ye Yanxi hadn't even asked, yet Xiao Yu admitted it.
She had only guessed this in a moment of confusion. She never thought that Xiao Yu would admit it himself, which confirmed her previous speculation.
Ye Yanxi's voice faltered. It took her a long time to ask, "If Mrs. Jiang hadn't brought me to the Jiang Mansion, would you... never have told me the truth in your whole life?"
Xiao Yu replied firmly, "Yes."
"Okay, I understand." Ye Yanxi couldn't quite put her finger on her feelings. Maybe it was a bit of relief. "Thank you for telling me the truth."
"If time could turn back, even if it were to start all over again, I would still choose to keep it from you."
After hearing Xiao Yu's words, Ye Yanxi looked up at the rising sun in the east. It was so dazzling. The blue sky was like an inverted plate. Her mood at the moment was as clear and clean as the sky, with a touch of clarity.
After a night of contemplation, her mind had regained its clarity.
She lowered her head and bit her lip. When she spoke again, there was no hesitation. "I'll stay at Yanyan's place for a while. I'll go back after I've figured everything out."
There was a hint of joy in Xiao Yu's voice. "Okay, I'll wait for you. I'll take care of things at the company."
"Thank you."
The problem now wasn't whether she could figure things out. Whether she could accept it or not, the fact was right there.
What she had to do now was to accept all of this and face herself. After learning this truth, she realized that she wasn't as strong as she thought.
At first, she said that it didn't matter who her parents were or how they were doing. After sixteen years, everything seemed to have faded away. But when it actually happened, she still felt resentment and hatred. Why didn't Jiang Pinzhen take her away back then? She also resented Ye Junze for selfishly adopting her for so many years without telling her the truth, causing her to be separated from her biological mother for a full sixteen years. And she resented Xiao Yu for knowing who her biological parents were but not telling her.
In her heart, she had always considered herself an orphan, a child with no father or mother!
But no matter how much she resented, Jiang Pinzhen was the one who brought her into this world. Without Jiang Pinzhen, there would be no her.
Although Ye Junze had selfishly kept her by his side, she had seen all the kindness he had shown her over the years. Sometimes, he was even better to her than to Ye Weiqi and Ye Minghao.
And Xiao Yu had always cared about her, silently looking out for her. He hadn't told her for her own good.
This time, he had even come all the way from Rome to save her. At the moment she saw Xiao Yu appear, Ye Yanxi had let go of her grudges and wasn't as blameful anymore.
Although she could understand that these people had her best interests at heart, she still couldn't face them so quickly, especially Xiao Yu, and she couldn't face her own ugly thoughts either.
That night, she had thought a lot. From the initial blame to the final relief, it was like knowing that there was light and dawn at the end of the alley, but refusing to take a single step forward and just wanting to hide in the darkness.
In the past few days, Ye Yanxi's mood had been up and down. So, He Chuyan took the initiative to take a day off to stay with her at home, afraid that she would fall into a depression again and get angry with herself.
He Chuyan had gone to such lengths for her, bustling around all day to make her happy. Ye Yanxi felt a bit guilty.
"Yanyan, you can just go to work with peace of mind. I'll be fine on my own. I won't run around." Ye Yanxi immediately assured He Chuyan sincerely.
He Chuyan ignored her words. She picked up a bucket of popcorn on her own, nestled comfortably on the sofa, and picked up the remote control to change the TV channels. "I've already told my boss that I'm taking a day off. If I go back now, I'll still have to work on the weekend. Am I stupid? I'm not going."
"You... sigh..." Ye Yanxi was touched and leaned against her.
It was almost Qixi Valentine's Day at the moment, so most of the TV programs were about Valentine's Day. Just then, a news report about Valentine's Day came on. The whole town was filled with a strong festive atmosphere. All the roses in the flower shops had been pre - ordered and sold out. Even many fruit stores had come up with the idea of packaging couple - themed fruits. It was really astonishing.
Seeing the host excitedly reporting this news, He Chuyan snorted disdainfully.
"These merchants these days have really wracked their brains for all these festivals to stimulate consumers to spend. It's just Qixi Valentine's Day." He Chuyan said helplessly again, "Those roses are usually just sitting there, and no one even looks at them. But now the price has skyrocketed. It's enough for me to buy a whole set of clothes."
Listening to He Chuyan's dissatisfied complaints, Ye Yanxi smiled. "Where there's a demand, there's a market. Don't you think these festivals have also brought people closer together? There are still some benefits after all."
"Other festivals are okay, but look at Valentine's Day. They even have Eastern and Western Valentine's Days, as well as White and Red Valentine's Days. Oh, and there's also May 20th and 21st. People are showing off their love every day. What about us single dogs?"
When she mentioned this, He Chuyan seemed to remember something. "You know what? On May 20th this year, I went to a restaurant for dinner. It clearly said on the menu that there was a couple's set meal. When I went to order it, the cashier said arrogantly to me that this was only for couples, and single people could only order the regular set meal. I was so angry at that time. Is it my fault that I'm single?"
"Then, according to your personality, you could have just grabbed a random man and said you were together. Wouldn't that have solved the problem?"
He Chuyan shook her head firmly. "I'm a person with principles."
Ye Yanxi couldn't help but laugh. "You call that having principles? Who was it that saw a mall event where couples could get a 50% discount and a small gift? You insisted on dragging me along and telling the staff that we were a couple. You pestered them for a long time until they finally gave you an event flyer. After that day, when I walked out of the mall, I always felt like people were pointing at me behind my back. It was so embarrassing."
"Uh, didn't we split the gifts evenly later?" He Chuyan immediately put her arm around Ye Yanxi with a grin. Then, she casually asked, "So, how are you going to spend Valentine's Day this year?"
Last year, she had had Chu Beize as her boyfriend, but most of the time, Chu Beize was like a non - existent person. Whenever Valentine's Day came around, Chu Beize would disappear. So, they had hardly ever spent Valentine's Day together.
Over the years, Ye Yanxi had been like a single person. She had mostly spent Valentine's Day with He Chuyan.
This year, Ye Yanxi had Xiao Yu by her side. When He Chuyan asked this question, Ye Yanxi knew what she meant. The smile on her face faded. "Let's see."
Hearing this, He Chuyan didn't say much. Her eyes were rolling around. No one knew what she was thinking.
After a while, He Chuyan felt stuffy staying at home. Thinking that Ye Yanxi was in a bad mood and needed to go out more, she immediately excitedly suggested, "We don't have anything to do this afternoon. We've had enough sleep, and now we're full of energy. How about we go shopping? Then, in the evening, we can call Du Guo and go for hot pot. This time, we'll let him foot the bill. What do you think?"
Ye Yanxi was immediately interested. "Sure! Let's go!"
Both of them were action - oriented people. As soon as they finished speaking, they immediately went out. They took the subway to an old street area. There were many restaurants there. Usually, Ye Yanxi and He Chuyan would come here on weekends. When they were tired, they would go to the hot - pot street for a meal.
As soon as they got out of the subway station, a flashy Porsche pulled up on the road, right next to them. The person in the car even whistled melodiously, as if he was afraid that no one would notice him.
The people around immediately turned their attention to him. But Ye Yanxi and He Chuyan kept walking forward without a pause, as if they hadn't heard the whistle. They had always scorned the dissolute young men on the street. Most rich people were arrogant, and they weren't the kind of vain people.
However, the car continued to follow them, moving forward slowly.
"Two beautiful ladies, please stop!" The person in the car had no choice but to shout.
This voice sounded a bit familiar. It seemed to be... Chen Moshu?
Ye Yanxi looked back in surprise and happened to meet Chen Moshu's gaze. He was wearing a pair of black sunglasses, lying lazily on the seat. One of his hands was resting on the car door, looking at them with a half - smile.
"It's me. Don't you recognize me?" Chen Moshu immediately took off his sunglasses and widened his eyes.
He Chuyan also immediately recognized Chen Moshu and exclaimed in surprise, "Creepy uncle? It really is you!"
Hearing this nickname, Chen Moshu immediately stopped smiling.
"Do you have a grudge against me or something? Don't use a word like 'creepy' that doesn't suit me at all. Can't you see that I'm a handsome young man?"
Ye Yanxi was amused by Chen Moshu's words.
"Thank you so much for this morning, Young Master Mo."
"You're welcome. It's what I should do." Chen Moshu waved his hand.
"But it's really a coincidence that we could meet Young Master Mo on the street. May I ask where you're going?"
"I'm just driving around aimlessly. I didn't expect to run into you guys. It must be fate. Where are you going? I'll give you a ride." Chen Moshu immediately invited them warmly.
"No, thanks. We're just going to the street up ahead. It's just a short walk."
Chen Moshu wasn't willing to give up so easily. Giving up like this wasn't his style.
"There's nothing interesting on that street up ahead. I'll take you somewhere. I guarantee you'll like it." Chen Moshu continued to persuade them.
"Where could you take us?" He Chuyan sneered. "Besides, don't think I don't know what you're up to. Xixi is already taken, and that person is your good friend. Isn't it a bit unethical of you?"
He Chuyan had hit the nail on the head, which made Chen Moshu feel embarrassed. It took him a long time to say, "I think you're just jealous because no one is chasing you."
"Don't make unfounded accusations!" He Chuyan was so angry that she wanted to kick Chen Moshu's car.
Ye Yanxi quickly grabbed her.
Knowing that the situation was bad, Chen Moshu stepped on the gas and drove away.