Chapter 5

The Fifth Rose Branch: Tearful Eyes, Pitiful Beyond Compare.

Maybe someone at Aunt Chu’s birthday banquet had mentioned the Moments post she’d made.

Fu Chaoying casually glanced over the dense block of text and images on Ye Jiayuan’s tablet. A touch of self-mockery rose in her heart—

With Ye Jiayuan this busy, how could she possibly have time to look at her Moments?

As if it were nothing, Fu Chaoying looked away. Her voice was soft. “I wanted to change my mood.”

Oil paintings had bright, vivid colors; compared to ink paintings, they felt livelier, freer.

They could lift people’s spirits. That sort of excuse fit her current image as a “heartbroken woman” perfectly.

Ye Jiayuan gave a slight nod. “That’s fine.”

Her tone was still cool, but a hint of inquiry flashed in her eyes.

Fu Chaoying caught that questioning look from the corner of her eye; amusement and mischief flickered in her own gaze.

Ye Jiayuan closed the tablet in her hands with crisp, controlled movements, then looked back at Fu Chaoying’s face. “You messaged me last night because of Yi’an?”

“I was in a meeting then.”

Ye Jiayuan’s explanation came out of nowhere. Fu Chaoying paused, then curved her lips into a gentle smile. “I wanted to thank you for sending over ‘Magnolia Painting.’ Jiayuan-jie, do you have time these next two days? I’d like to take you to dinner.”

Ye Jiayuan hesitated for a moment, then gently shook her head. “No need to be so polite. It was only right, for Grandma’s last wish.”

Fu Chaoying’s heart suddenly tightened. In this world, the only person who knew about Grandma’s final wish and had the ability to fulfill it was Ye Jiayuan.

But Ye Jiayuan had politely turned down her invitation to dinner, as if spending a huge sum to buy ‘Magnolia Painting’ and send it over was simply part of her job, with no other meaning at all.

Fu Chaoying lowered her eyes and asked softly, “Then how about I give Jiayuan-jie two paintings?”

Ye Jiayuan was taken aback for a moment and looked up at her.

There was something complicated in those eyes, as if she were weighing the value of the gift, or thinking about something else entirely.

After a long while, she finally asked, “Painted recently?”

Some of Fu Chaoying’s paintings were on display at the Chaoying Art Museum, while others circulated through auctions to raise funds for charity.

Fu Chaoying nodded, her tone light but earnest. “I painted them a few nights ago. I was going to keep them for myself.”

Paintings worth keeping in private were usually works the artist was especially pleased with.

Yet now that she was offering them to Ye Jiayuan, Fu Chaoying didn’t feel the slightest reluctance.

Ye Jiayuan didn’t answer right away. She only studied her quietly, as if trying to read something on her face.

Fu Chaoying could feel her heartbeat speeding up uncontrollably, but she kept the same gentle smile on her face until the other woman finally nodded—

Fu Chaoying let out a barely perceptible breath of relief.

Aside from when she was drunk, every time she was alone with Ye Jiayuan, she felt inexplicably tense.

The car slowly drove into the compound. When it stopped, the two of them got out together.

Under the shroud of mist, the Ye family’s residence was ablaze with lights, yet unnaturally quiet. Fu Chaoying caught a whiff of something suppressed and tense in the air.

“Don’t be afraid.”

Before opening the door, Ye Jiayuan suddenly said that in a low voice.

Her tone was calm, but it carried a kind of steadiness that settled the mind.

Fu Chaoying looked up at her back, not knowing why she had said that, but she still couldn’t help giving a small, obedient “Mm.”

As soon as Ye Jiayuan entered, she called Ye Yian into the study.

Fu Chaoying was still looking at Ye Jiayuan’s back as she went upstairs when Aunt Chu suddenly pulled her into an embrace. A concerned voice sounded beside her ear—

“Good child, you’ve been wronged.”

Fu Chaoying stiffened slightly, then heard her aunt speak again: “That mistress somehow got hold of your Aunt Chu’s WeChat and sent a friend request in Ye Yian’s new girlfriend’s name. That’s how we found out…”

Before her aunt had even finished speaking, tears suddenly fell from Fu Chaoying’s eyes. It wasn’t because she’d been moved by the atmosphere; it was to fit the moment, to make herself look even more pitiful and helpless.

Aunt Chu hugged her tighter with aching sympathy, while Fu Chaoying quietly did her part as the victim and let her tears blur her vision.

*

Inside the study.

Ye Jiayuan stood with her back to Ye Yian, hands folded in front of her, gazing at the distant blue-green mountains and mist.

Her posture was straight and tall, her shadow stretched long across the warm, dim light.

Ye Yian stood beside the desk, her eyes flickering, her voice trembling a little. “Sis, Yu Qingqi and I… that woman and I really didn’t go that far.”

Ye Jiayuan didn’t turn around. She only said coolly, “I remember telling you three years ago.”

“The Fu family has been kind to the Ye family. If you insist on being with the Fu family’s orphan, you cannot let her suffer the slightest grievance.”

Those words landed like a blow, striking straight at the heart, and Ye Yian’s face turned instantly pale.

Back then, they were young and reckless, madly in love. How could they possibly have thought that far ahead?

“Sis, I know I was wrong. We didn’t have any actual physical relationship… I also don’t know how that woman got in touch with Mom,” Ye Yian choked out in defense.

Ye Jiayuan suddenly let out a small laugh, coldness flashing in her eyes. Then she slowly turned around and looked at Ye Yian—her own younger sister—with a deeply disappointed expression.

“I taught you.”

“The facts are settled; there’s no need to keep making excuses.”

Ye Yian didn’t dare meet her sister’s eyes, lowering her head as her voice grew smaller and smaller. “Sis, I’ll transfer half the shares under my name to Ah Ying as compensation… I already transferred the art museum to her too.”

Ye Jiayuan said in a low voice, “If you can’t show sincerity today, I’m afraid this will be hard to settle.”

Ye Yian’s heart jolted. Was that still not sincere enough?

She looked up at Ye Jiayuan. “Sis, I’ve already given everything I can…”

Ye Yian’s studio was still running at a loss—her eye for talent was poor, and the artists she signed had run into one problem after another.

“Transfer 5% of your equity to her.” Ye Jiayuan’s voice was calm, but there was no room for refusal.

“Sis!” Ye Yian almost shouted. “That’s all my shares!”

“Sis, I’m your sister!”

How could she be so biased? Ye Yian didn’t dare say that out loud.

Ye Jiayuan looked at her quietly, her eyes without the slightest ripple. “When you hurt her, why didn’t you remember you were a daughter of the Ye family?”

That question went straight to the core, leaving Ye Yian speechless.

Fu Chaoying’s grandmother, Fu Li, had saved the Ye family from disaster more than once when they were at their most difficult.

There was no one in the Ye family less deserving of hurting Fu Chaoying than them.

“Get out.”

Ye Jiayuan showed her the door directly.

When Fu Chaoying entered the study, Ye Jiayuan was sitting at the desk.

“You’re here.” Ye Jiayuan’s voice was low, but gentle.

Fu Chaoying stopped and softly called, “Jiayuan-jie.”

Ye Jiayuan’s gaze swept over the faint redness at the corners of her eyes, then she handed her a pack of wet wipes.

“Thank you.” Fu Chaoying took them, opened the pack, and gently wiped around her eyes. Her movements were slow, making her look heartbreakingly fragile.

“Sit down, please.” Ye Jiayuan lifted a hand slightly.

“This matter was Ye Yian’s fault; she’ll transfer all her shares to you.”

Fu Chaoying was mildly shocked, but she didn’t show it on her face. She said softly, “If money could erase sadness and hurt, then I should be very happy right now.”

Her voice still carried a bit of choked emotion, making her look pitiful and vulnerable.

Ye Jiayuan looked at her, a complicated emotion flashing in her eyes, then shifted her gaze away. “Right now, that’s all she has.”

Fu Chaoying didn’t speak.

Ye Jiayuan continued, “As for other forms of compensation, you can bring up anything you want.”

Fu Chaoying slowly raised her eyes. Her watery gaze fixed on her as she asked tentatively, “Jiayuan-jie, can I ask for anything?”

Ye Jiayuan considered it briefly, then nodded. “Yes.”

Fu Chaoying thought for a moment, then suddenly said, “Then can you be the strategic consultant for my company?”

Ye Jiayuan’s old specialty was venture capital; she had invested in several unicorn projects, and her strategic vision was beyond compare.

Ye Jiayuan’s brow lifted slightly, a barely noticeable smile flashing at the bottom of her eyes. “I can recommend a professional to you instead.”

Xingye had only just opened up overseas markets, and she was mostly abroad at the moment.

That was another polite refusal.

Fu Chaoying’s breath caught. Then she gave a bitter little smile and looked out the window.

Night had already fallen quietly; only a faint light remained outside. The distant mountains lay in overlapping layers, like an exquisite natural ink painting.

“But I don’t dare trust anyone else right now,” Fu Chaoying murmured.

Ye Jiayuan looked quietly at her profile, a trace of meaning flashing in her eyes. After a long while, she said, “I’m also someone else.”

Fu Chaoying turned to look at her sharply. Ye Jiayuan didn’t avert her gaze, and for a moment, their eyes met.

Seeing the disappointment in those eyes, Ye Jiayuan suddenly noticed a little more laughter there, and then heard her say, “But Jiayuan-jie hasn’t changed at all.”

Fu Chaoying smiled faintly through red-rimmed eyes. “Jiayuan-jie is just the same as always; cold, rational, and merciless when she refuses me.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Fu Chaoying turned and walked out of the study.

That figure looked lonely, yet also resilient and independent.

More obviously, she seemed to be angry.

For no reason at all, Ye Jiayuan thought of the slyness hidden deep within her hazy, drunken eyes that night; she lifted a hand and lightly brushed her lips. There still seemed to be softness and warmth left there.

The corner of Ye Jiayuan’s mouth curved slightly. The good show had only just begun.

*

Fu Chaoying came out of the study and went to the washroom to compose herself.

In the mirror, her eyes were slightly red, perfectly pitiful.

She lightly pressed her lips together, adjusted her expression, then went downstairs.

Seeing her come down, Aunt Chu quickly called her to take a seat. “Whether I have this birthday or not doesn’t matter; don’t let your stomach go hungry.”

Her tone was full of concern.

At a birthday banquet, the elders came first, so Fu Chaoying obediently sat between her aunt and her cousin.

Ye Yian was already nowhere to be seen.

Aunt Chu was still mercilessly scolding her. “She made such a huge mistake; from now on, there won’t be a place for her at home.”

Fu Chaoying only took a couple of light bites before excusing herself from the table.

Her cousin Fu Chaohua said she’d go check on her and also got up and left.

The two of them met by tacit agreement at the restaurant entrance.

Fu Chaohua grabbed her hand, her voice full of complaint and concern. “Something this big and you didn’t tell my mom? Fine. But you didn’t even tell me either. Xiao Ying, you really never treated me like your sister!”

Fu Chaohua had been busy with her doctoral graduation lately and was already overwhelmed.

Fu Chaoying immediately looped an arm through hers, her voice soft. “Sis, you’re under a lot of pressure too. I was afraid I’d just make things worse.”

Fu Chaohua had never been able to resist her sweet, coy act; her heart softened at once, but she still couldn’t help saying, “I told you long ago, she didn’t look like a good person. You just wouldn’t believe me.”

After speaking, Fu Chaohua sighed. “Still, breaking up now is probably for the best. It saves you from bigger problems later if she causes even more trouble.”

Fu Chaoying patted her hand. “Sis, I’m fine now.”

She said it lightly, but it made Fu Chaohua’s nose sting. She was swamped with research, and she really hadn’t paid enough attention to this younger sister of hers.

Little Xiao Ying used to be a crybaby, tearing up at the drop of a hat.

But ever since the day Grandma died when she was twenty-one, it had become rare to see her cry.

She hadn’t even cried at Grandma’s funeral.

Fu Chaohua had assumed she had simply moved on; now that she thought about it, was it because there was no one left to protect her, so she felt crying was pointless?

Fu Chaohua’s eyes reddened.

Fu Chaoying noticed and hurriedly wiped her tears away in a fluster. “Sis, what’s wrong?”

Fu Chaohua shook her head, but then saw Ye Yian walking past behind the rockery.

Her anger flaring, Fu Chaohua’s feet moved before she could stop them as she followed.

Fu Chaoying didn’t understand what was going on and followed her.

They had only taken a few steps when they suddenly heard a voice not far away: “Sis.”

Fu Chaoying immediately grabbed Fu Chaohua’s hand. “Jiayuan-jie is here too.”

She was just about to pull her cousin away when they heard Ye Yian’s nearly pleading voice from over there. “The studio is in terrible shape right now. Sis, can you please give me a little advice?”

“Sorry, I’ve already agreed to be Chaoying’s consultant. I’m afraid I don’t have much time.” Ye Jiayuan’s voice remained as cool as ever, sounding utterly unyielding.

Fu Chaoying froze. Her cousin also looked puzzled and asked in a low voice, “She really agreed to help you?”

Fu Chaoying didn’t answer, but a faint smile curled at the corners of her lips.

Sure enough, before the banquet ended, she received a WeChat message from Ye Jiayuan: [I agree to be your strategic consultant.]

————————

There’s been a change in the ranking plan TT

There won’t be an update tomorrow!! This time I really mean it TT

See you Thursday at 8 p.m.! I’ll randomly send out 16 bags! [hug][hug]

There will be bonus updates after V!!!!!