Chapter 50: The 50th Rose: “I Only Like Xiao Ying.” [Extra Update Included]

“Does Little Darling really have the heart to leave me behind……"

Fu Chaoying blinked and gave a small nod. “I do.”

The words had barely left her mouth when she caught the disappointment in Ye Jiayuan’s eyes, and quickly changed tack. “Unless……”

A trace of confusion flickered across Ye Jiayuan’s gaze. After a moment, she tentatively asked, “Sister?”

Even drunk, she could see right through what Fu Chaoying was thinking.

Watching her lips part and close, Fu Chaoying felt her cheeks inexplicably grow warm. She looked away without making it obvious and lightly patted her arm. “Let’s go.”

The hand around her waist loosened at once. Fu Chaoying bent to help her up and tried to lead her toward the door, but she wouldn’t move. “What is it?”

Ye Jiayuan lifted a hand and pointed at the bright red roses nearby. “My flowers.”

Drunk and still thinking about her flowers. Fu Chaoying’s brows and eyes curved. She helped her pick them up and watched as Ye Jiayuan gathered them into her arms with one hand.

Fu Chaoying guided her out of the private room. The air was thick with the rich scent of roses and the faint fragrance of magnolia. The two mingled together, softening the smell of alcohol, along with another scent—faint, indistinct, yet strangely familiar.

Something stirred in Fu Chaoying’s mind. She took Ye Jiayuan to pay the bill, only to be told, “This lady already paid an hour ago.”

Fu Chaoying nodded slightly and guessed that Ye Jiayuan had paid when she went to the restroom.

After they left the restaurant, the night sky was clear, with scattered stars blinking around the moon.

Fu Chaoying looked away and, with practiced ease, found the keys in Ye Jiayuan’s bag before taking her to the car.

Aside from the two things she’d said earlier when she asked to be taken home, Ye Jiayuan now sat there with her drunken, unfocused eyes, quiet and cool as ever.

Fu Chaoying went around to the driver’s seat, only to realize she hadn’t fastened her seat belt. She reminded her softly, “Jiayuan-jie, buckle up.”

Ye Jiayuan tilted her head and looked at her in confusion. “Who’s Jiayuan-jie? What’s a seat belt?”

Fu Chaoying didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She bent down to help her buckle it, but before she could, Ye Jiayuan suddenly pinned her hand in place—right against her chest.

Feeling the softness beneath her palm, Fu Chaoying’s heartbeat lurched. She struggled lightly, but couldn’t break free. Instead, she heard Ye Jiayuan say, “You’re assaulting me.”

Her cool voice had turned teasing.

Fu Chaoying froze, then pressed her lips together. Stiffly, she moved her hand a little more gently. “That’s assaulting you.”

Just as she was about to force her hand free, she suddenly heard a soft, “Mm……”

Her face went hot all at once. Fu Chaoying jerked her hand back as if shocked by electricity, then, with lightning speed, pulled the belt down and fastened it. Only then did she pry Ye Jiayuan’s flower-holding hand out from under the seat belt.

Fu Chaoying drove out of the garage, but out of the corner of her eye she noticed Ye Jiayuan watching her.

The heat on her cheeks still hadn’t gone down; if anything, it only burned more fiercely.

Fu Chaoying pressed her lips together and turned to look at her at a red light. “Why are you looking at me?”

“You’re pretty.”

A smile curved Ye Jiayuan’s lips. There was a hint of seduction in her eyes, something she would never show when she was sober.

Fu Chaoying’s throat bobbed. She lifted a hand and gently covered Ye Jiayuan’s eyes. “Rest for a bit. We’ll be there soon.”

Before she could even pull her hand away, Fu Chaoying felt her eyelashes flutter beneath her palm; a strange, itchy sensation spread through her hand.

Fu Chaoying abruptly withdrew her hand, only to meet Ye Jiayuan’s smiling eyes.

Ye Jiayuan would never smile at her like this when she was sober. Fu Chaoying pressed her lips together and looked away.

The light turned green just then, and Fu Chaoying drove home.

Aunt Wu heard the engine and hurried out into the courtyard, only to see Fu Chaoying getting out of Ye Jiayuan’s car.

Fu Chaoying smiled reassuringly at her. “Jiayuan-jie got into a fight with Aunt Chu and drank too much; she may need to stay over for the night.”

Aunt Wu quickly came over to help support Ye Jiayuan. “The guest room was tidied up yesterday,” she said with a smile.

Fu Chaoying opened her mouth, then decided not to say anything. Aunt Wu always seemed especially warm whenever she saw Ye Jiayuan; she’d even prepared the guest room for her in advance.

Together they helped Ye Jiayuan onto the bed, and Fu Chaoying asked Aunt Wu to go downstairs and make some hangover soup. Then she took the roses from Ye Jiayuan’s hands, only to find her gripping them tightly.

“Not giving them to you.” There was suddenly a touch of playfulness in Ye Jiayuan’s cool voice.

Fu Chaoying looked up at her. Her gaze was gentle, almost lingering, yet stubborn.

Fu Chaoying said softly, “Give them to me.”

“Call me sister, and I’ll give them to you.” Ye Jiayuan lay drunkenly on the bed, eyes curved as she stared at her.

Fu Chaoying pressed her lips together. “No.”

Fu Chaoying turned as if to leave, only for Ye Jiayuan to catch her wrist. Then came a quiet, “I’ll give them to you.”

Her tone carried a kind of carefulness.

Fu Chaoying’s heart ached with a sour sweetness. She looked back, took the flowers from her, and said, “I’m going to get your suitcase.”

“Okay.”

Fu Chaoying went downstairs, opened the trunk, and didn’t see the familiar suitcase.

It wasn’t convenient to call Liu Xin right now; she was in Hong Kong.

Fu Chaoying went upstairs and took a newly bought nightdress from her own wardrobe.

But as soon as she stepped out, she paused. Only then did it occur to her that even if she brought the nightdress, who would change her into it?

Fu Chaoying took two deep breaths, but as soon as she stepped out of the room, she ran into Aunt Wu.

Aunt Wu was carrying the hangover soup and noticed the nightdress in Fu Chaoying’s hand. She smiled knowingly. “Going to help Miss Jiayuan change?”

Fu Chaoying looked awkwardly at the bowl in her hands. “Let her sober up first; she can change it herself.”

Aunt Wu shook her head, laughing. “How could it take effect that quickly?”

Fu Chaoying pressed her lips together and followed her back into the guest room, only to see Ye Jiayuan with her eyes tightly shut, as though she were already asleep.

Fu Chaoying took the hangover soup from Aunt Wu. “You should go rest.”

Aunt Wu glanced back at the two of them with a smile and left the room.

Fu Chaoying set the hangover soup by the bedside and silently gazed down at her sleeping face. But a few seconds later, she fell back into those hazy eyes again.

Fu Chaoying quickly looked away, placed the nightdress beside her pillow, and said, “I’m going to sleep first. Change into the nightdress yourself later.”

Just as she bent down, Ye Jiayuan hooked an arm around her neck, and Fu Chaoying stumbled forward onto the side of the bed.

“Little Darling,” Ye Jiayuan called her in a low voice.

Fu Chaoying was at a loss; she couldn’t tell whether Ye Jiayuan was really drunk. “Mm?”

“Help me change.” Ye Jiayuan stared at her, her eyes carrying a faint, almost imperceptible allure.

Fu Chaoying’s thoughts instantly scattered, but she forced herself to look away. “Change it yourself.”

Yet as Ye Jiayuan’s arm tightened, Fu Chaoying was somehow dragged downward, until her warm, damp breath brushed against Fu Chaoying’s ear. Fu Chaoying couldn’t help shivering slightly. Then she heard her say, “There’s a reward.”

What reward?

Fu Chaoying turned to look at her, only to realize they were far too close; their breaths mingled at once, and her throat moved involuntarily.

Fu Chaoying pulled her arms away and stood up in a panic, but in her mind an image flashed of the two of them naked on this very bed.

Not long ago.

Under Ye Jiayuan’s gaze, Fu Chaoying kept retreating step by step until she reached the doorway. Then from behind her came that cool voice: “Little Darling?”

Her tone was still cool, yet for some reason it sounded heartbreakingly fragile. Fu Chaoying turned off the overhead light and then came back to stand by the bed, only to hear a very faint laugh.

“Is Little Darling shy?”

Fu Chaoying ignored her, feeling around for the switch before turning on the small reading lamp by the bed. In the dim yellow light, she slowly, carefully began undoing her buttons.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Ye Jiayuan’s unwavering stare; the pale area in front of her seemed to grow larger and larger. Fu Chaoying’s heartbeat quickened at once, and even her breathing grew harder to bear.

When she got to the last button, Fu Chaoying was suddenly caught by the hand. She looked up instinctively, only to find Ye Jiayuan’s eyes full of starlight and smiling warmth, before those thin lips moved again: “Little Darling, do you want to assault me too?”

Realizing what she meant, Fu Chaoying’s mind exploded like fireworks. After a brief moment of blankness, she withdrew her hand, took the nightdress beside the pillow, and helped her sit up, intending to put it on her; but Ye Jiayuan wrapped her arms around her waist.

Softness shifted and pressed together. Fu Chaoying’s breath hitched. Enduring it as best she could, she tried to slip the nightdress over Ye Jiayuan’s head, but Ye Jiayuan caught her hand and said, “It’s not all off yet.”

Fu Chaoying thought she meant her pants and only said hurriedly, “Then lie down first.”

But she heard Ye Jiayuan laugh, then say, “It’s easier to take off when I’m sitting up.”

Fu Chaoying immediately understood what she meant. She set the nightdress down, lifted a hand, and with a slight motion the metal clasp snapped open; her brain hadn’t even caught up yet, but her fingers had already acted.

Then came a rustling sound as Ye Jiayuan took it off herself and pressed against her again. Her freedom of movement had clearly increased. Fu Chaoying didn’t dare look down and could only take the sleepwear and pull it over her head; even so, she still accidentally caught sight of those two points.

Fu Chaoying’s throat bobbed. She yanked the nightdress down at once and looked away.

Then Ye Jiayuan caught her hand again and pulled it down to the zipper.

Fu Chaoying’s heart trembled; she unzipped it in a few quick motions and then pulled off her long pants.

Even though they had already done the most intimate things, Fu Chaoying still felt her cheeks burn inexplicably. Then she stood up in a panic and said, “I, I’m going to sleep.”

Fu Chaoying walked to the door, then turned back to add, “Remember to drink the hangover soup.”

She raised a hand and closed the door. Standing outside, Fu Chaoying took a deep breath, but it still did nothing to steady her breathing or heartbeat.

When had Ye Jiayuan become this good at flirting? Fu Chaoying lightly patted her cheeks and quickly went into her own bedroom, took her nightdress, and went into the bathroom to shower.

She turned the water temperature down, but it still couldn’t stop the scenes replaying in Fu Chaoying’s mind like a film.

Fu Chaoying shut off the water, dried herself off, put on the nightdress, and opened the window to let in some air.

But the breeze outside wasn’t cool. Fu Chaoying pressed her lips together, opened the door, and went downstairs to get some ice water. Instead, she ran into Ye Jiayuan in the kitchen, just as she was opening the refrigerator.

They met eye to eye without warning. Fu Chaoying saw that Ye Jiayuan was still hazy and unsteady on her feet.

Fu Chaoying hurried over to support her. “Why did Jiayuan-jie come downstairs?”

“I wanted to make you something to eat.” As she spoke, Ye Jiayuan naturally leaned into her arms.

“What do you mean, ‘make something now’? Did you drink the hangover soup?” The person in her arms felt boneless, and Fu Chaoying’s heartbeat sped up again.

“I drank it.”

Fu Chaoying took two bottles of mineral water, helped her sit at the nearby dining table, and unscrewed one for her. But then Ye Jiayuan suddenly wrapped her arms around her waist again.

Here we go again. Fu Chaoying looked down at her suspiciously. “You’ve sobered up, haven’t you?”

“What? I wasn’t drunk to begin with.” Ye Jiayuan’s speech still sounded slightly slurred.

People who were drunk usually wouldn’t admit they were drunk.

Fu Chaoying studied her eyes closely, only to find them still full of haze and blur, no different from how they’d looked in the restaurant.

Fu Chaoying pressed her lips together, picked up her own bottle of water, unscrewed it, and drank half of it without another word. Then she pried Ye Jiayuan’s hands loose. “I’m sleepy.”

Only then did Ye Jiayuan lift the bottle and stare at her without blinking.

Fu Chaoying blinked. “Don’t stare. Drink!”

“You’re so fierce.”

Fu Chaoying took two deep breaths, trying to find more evidence that she was sober. But then Ye Jiayuan set down the bottle and opened her arms toward her. “Sleep.”

Helping her up again, Fu Chaoying caught the faint scent of magnolia on her body and steadied herself, only to hear her murmur, almost to herself, “I want to cook for our Little Darling.”

Fu Chaoying couldn’t tell whether she was sober or not. All she could do was mutter, “Who’s your Little Darling?”

She heard a soft laugh. “It’s Xiao Ying.”

“I like Xiao Ying. I only like Xiao Ying.”

Fu Chaoying’s heart jolted; her nose suddenly burned. She didn’t say anything else, only helped her onto the bed.

“Good night.”

“Good night.”

Fu Chaoying spoke softly, walked to the foot of the bed, then, moved by something in her heart, turned back and leaned down to gently press a kiss to her forehead.

She was just about to straighten up when Ye Jiayuan suddenly hooked an arm around her neck. Before Fu Chaoying could react, she was pinned against those lips. Ye Jiayuan took the lead at once, catching the tip of her tongue and sucking on it.

Fu Chaoying’s breath caught. She broke away from her immediately, then stood up in a panic. “Ye Jiayuan!”

There still seemed to be mist lingering in Ye Jiayuan’s eyes. “Mm?”

Fu Chaoying steadied her breathing and quickly left her room, turning into her own bedroom.

It felt as though Ye Jiayuan’s scent still lingered on her lips and tongue. Fu Chaoying took two deep breaths, and then a very likely possibility surfaced in her mind: Ye Jiayuan had long since sobered up. Or rather, she had never been drunk at all.

Fu Chaoying remembered one night in old Singapore, when she went to pick up Ye Jiayuan after a banquet. In the elevator, Ye Jiayuan had also collapsed bonelessly into her arms and flirted with her in that faint, elusive way.

Not long after, she hadn’t even drunk the hangover soup; with a clear head, she said she wasn’t drunk, then politely declined Fu Chaoying’s invitation to enter into a contract relationship.

Fu Chaoying pressed her lips together and rolled around on the bed. But no matter what, she couldn’t shake Ye Jiayuan’s image from her mind.

*

Early the next morning, Fu Chaoying went downstairs for breakfast and saw Ye Jiayuan sitting calmly on the sofa, making tea.

“Good morning, Xiao Ying.”

Ye Jiayuan looked to be in excellent spirits, and she’d even changed clothes; it was probably the suitcase the assistant had delivered.

Fu Chaoying pressed her lips together and didn’t look at her for long. She only gave Ye Jiayuan a brief glance before saying flatly, “Good morning, Jiayuan-jie.”

Ye Jiayuan looked after her retreating figure as she headed for the dining room, and amusement flickered through her features.

As soon as Fu Chaoying sat down, Ye Jiayuan came to sit across from her.

“Xiao Ying, sorry to trouble you last night,” Ye Jiayuan said in a low voice.

Fu Chaoying met her gaze. “It was indeed troublesome. Jiayuan-jie was a completely different person from usual last night.”

Before the words had even finished, Ye Jiayuan laughed. “Then which version of me do you like?”

Fu Chaoying gave a soft snort. “You’ll become whatever version I like?”

Ye Jiayuan thought for a moment and gave a quiet “Mm.”

Fu Chaoying picked up a fried egg and said, “I like the one who calls me ‘sister.’”

Ye Jiayuan put a shrimp into her bowl and smiled. “You calling me ‘sister’ sounds nicer than me calling you.”

Fu Chaoying nearly choked. She finished breakfast in a hurry, then got up to leave for work.

“I’ll take you,” Ye Jiayuan said, standing too.

Fu Chaoying looked back at her and hesitated a little. “No need to trouble Jiayuan-jie. I can drive myself.”

“It’s no trouble.” Ye Jiayuan’s voice was warm.

Fu Chaoying looked away and went out with her bag.

Sitting in the car, Fu Chaoying took out her phone to reply to messages and saw that her cousin had sent her a photo of Dong Muyu’s disastrous cooking.

Cousin: [Guess what dish this is?]

A beginner couldn’t control the heat; Dong Muyu had burned the dish black, making its original form impossible to recognize.

Fu Chaoying could barely make out some scallions and meat, so she guessed: [Fish-fragrant shredded pork?]

Cousin: [Scallion stir-fried lamb!]

Fu Chaoying couldn’t help laughing when she heard Ye Jiayuan ask, “What’s so funny?”

Fu Chaoying’s smile didn’t fade. “My aunt is going to test Director Dong’s cooking, and then my cousin sent me a picture of the dish she made. It’s completely burnt.”

“It’s tonight, right?” Ye Jiayuan focused on the first half of the sentence.

“My aunt invited you too?” Fu Chaoying asked, turning to look at her.

Ye Jiayuan gave a quiet “Mm.”

Fu Chaoying said casually, “My aunt used to want to set you up with my cousin.”

“I know.” Ye Jiayuan said it lightly.

Fu Chaoying turned to look at her. “You noticed?”

“Mm. Your aunt probably noticed too that I have no interest in her.” Ye Jiayuan looked perfectly at ease.

“Jiayuan-jie has so many blossoms of romance,” Fu Chaoying said offhandedly.

“I don’t like blossoms of romance. I like roses.”

Ye Jiayuan was driving with full concentration and didn’t look at her, yet for some reason the words made Fu Chaoying’s heart tremble.

Fu Chaoying turned her gaze out the window and found that the sky was clear and blue today.

Ye Jiayuan dropped her off at the company entrance.

Fu Chaoying went upstairs, only to hear the receptionist smile and say, “Teacher Fu, two mysterious ladies sent flowers for you today~”

Fu Chaoying frowned slightly. Two?

A bouquet of tulips, and a bouquet of red roses.

Fu Chaoying took the flowers over and only opened the cards once she got back to her office.

She opened the red roses first; there was no question they’d been ordered by Ye Jiayuan.

Then the tulips? Fu Chaoying instantly lost interest in opening the card and instead sent Li Bingzhe a message.

More than ten seconds later, Li Bingzhe knocked on her office door. “Teacher Fu~”

“Give the tulips to whoever wants them.”

Wasting them wasn’t very good.

Li Bingzhe froze slightly, glanced at the tulips set aside, then saw Fu Chaoying carefully trimming the stems of the red roses and immediately understood. “I’ll take them and share them with everyone.”

Fu Chaoying looked down at the card in the trash can and let out a nearly imperceptible sigh.

After arranging the flowers, Fu Chaoying picked up her phone and just happened to receive a message from Ye Jiayuan: [Good morning, I like you /[heart]]

The corners of Fu Chaoying’s lips lifted. She tapped the screen and sent her a photo she had just taken.

But she couldn’t help thinking of Ye Jiayuan calling her “sister” last night. Fu Chaoying opened the window a little wider before starting work.

At noon, she got a call from Fu Chaohua. “Xiao Ying, let me tell you, Muyu’s taken the whole day off today and is practicing her cooking at home like crazy.”

Hearing her cousin’s bright tone, Fu Chaoying didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Then how’s Director Dong doing?”

“Ahem, you tell her yourself.”

Dong Muyu took the phone. “Teacher Fu, can you put in a good word for me tonight? Okay? Please?”

Fu Chaoying couldn’t help but chuckle. “Okay, I’ll do my best.”

“Also, could you get President Ye to say something good for me too?”

Fu Chaoying was slightly taken aback, then said softly, “President Ye doesn’t say much; she probably won’t give a bad review.”

“Could you ask President Ye for me, please, please!”

Fu Chaoying rubbed her brow lightly. “Okay, I’ll try.”

After hanging up, Fu Chaoying opened her chat with Ye Jiayuan and just happened to see a new message pop up: [Good afternoon, I like you /[rose]]

Fu Chaoying blinked and tapped the screen to reply: [Good afternoon /[rose]]

[Director Dong asked whether you could help say something good for her tonight /[finger-heart]]

*

At that moment, Ye Jiayuan was meeting with a partner when two new messages popped up on her phone; the first one even came with a rose.

The two people in charge of the partner company caught the slight curve of her brows and exchanged a glance, each seeing confusion in the other’s eyes.

One of them tentatively asked, “President Ye, this new project of ours is pretty interesting, isn’t it?”

Ye Jiayuan had just finished replying to the message and looked up at that moment. “It’s okay.”

Less than two seconds later, her phone vibrated again. Ye Jiayuan opened it and saw—

Fu Chaoying: [Sister~ /[rose]]

Seeing Ye Jiayuan’s smile deepen, the partner asked again, “Then President Ye, as for this round of financing……”

“We’ll invest.”

Her tone remained as calm as water, but the smile in it was unmistakable.

*

Fu Chaoying had barely sent the message when Ye Jiayuan replied: [Okay.]

Before the smile on Fu Chaoying’s lips had even faded, her cousin called again. “How is it, how is it? Did you ask?”

“She agreed.” Fu Chaoying worked hard to suppress her smile and keep her tone normal.

“Yay; I told you Jiayuan-jie listens to you the most!”

Afraid she’d say something else, Fu Chaoying hurriedly cut in, “Alright, I need to get back to work. Hanging up now.”

She quickly ended the call, but couldn’t stop staring blankly at her chat history with Ye Jiayuan. Her gaze fixed on the line Ye Jiayuan had sent: [You can, but you have to call me sister first.]

Ye Jiayuan seemed to have an unusually deep fixation on that title.

Fu Chaoying couldn’t help remembering how she had looked when she called her “sister” last night, and her cheeks heated up again. She quickly fanned herself a few times, trying to bring the temperature down.

In the afternoon, too sleepy to function, Fu Chaoying somehow ended up at the café with the collaboration cups featuring song lyrics.

She ordered a latte at random and, when she took it, instinctively looked at the lyric on the cup.

This time it was: “Raise the sweetness brewed from memories and toast with you again.”[1]

Fu Chaoying casually took a photo and posted it to Moments.

After working another forty-five minutes in the office, Fu Chaoying finally couldn’t resist checking her WeChat messages.

As expected, she saw a message Ye Jiayuan had sent half an hour earlier: [Cheers.]

Fu Chaoying’s heart trembled. When she saw Ye Jiayuan’s matching lyric collaboration cup, the line on it was from “Love-ing.”

Amusement flickered through Fu Chaoying’s eyes. She lifted a hand and tapped the screen: [What a coincidence.]

A few minutes later, Ye Jiayuan replied: [Not a coincidence. I bought it specially.]

Fu Chaoying forced herself to turn off her phone. Two minutes later, she unlocked it again and took a screenshot.

Finally she could put the phone away, but then there was a knock at the door.

“Come in.”

It was the receptionist. “Teacher Fu, a Miss Ye ordered afternoon tea for us.”

Noticing the flicker in her expression, Fu Chaoying’s heart gave a sudden jolt. She stood slowly. “What name was it under?”

“...Ye Yian.”

Fu Chaoying immediately got to her feet and walked to the conference room, where she saw everyone sharing the afternoon tea. She let out a nearly imperceptible sigh.

Li Bingzhe shrank her neck. “Teacher Fu, I was late and didn’t get to……”

“It’s fine. Enjoy it.” Fu Chaoying turned and walked out.

She took two deep breaths, then sent Chu Yiyun a message: [Auntie, Ye Yian ordered afternoon tea for our company. It wouldn’t be convenient for me to return it, so could I ask you to transfer the money for me?]

Fu Chaoying immediately transferred 1,000 yuan to Chu Yiyun, then added: [The company staff all know about our previous relationship. Please tell her for me that I hope she won’t do this again next time; it’s a little embarrassing TT]

The good mood of the day ended right there.

Fu Chaoying lowered her eyes to the card in the trash can and guessed that it had also been sent by Ye Yian.

Why was she acting up like this in bursts?

Suddenly enlightened, Fu Chaoying opened her own Moments and, sure enough, found mutual friends who had liked the post.

No way…… they wouldn’t think Fu Chaoying was reminiscing about the “sweetness” between her and Ye Yian, would they?

But deleting it now would only make it seem more suspicious, and explaining it would just look like she was protesting too much.

Fu Chaoying decided to leave it alone, only to see a message from Chu Yiyun pop up: [I’ll go educate her /[hug]]

Chu Yiyun refunded the transfer, then sent her: [Xiao Ying, don’t be angry /[heart]]

Fu Chaoying let out a soft sigh and replied with a pitiful little emoji.

When it was time to get off work, Ye Jiayuan came to pick her up.

The first thing she asked was, “Xiao Ying, how many people are in your company?”

Fu Chaoying blinked. “Twenty-one.”

Ye Jiayuan gave a slight nod, then saw that she was buckling her seat belt and said almost casually, “Ye Yian has been looking for you again lately.”

Fu Chaoying fastened the seat belt and turned to look at her, asking softly, “Your mother told you?”

“Mm. She asked me to educate her.” Ye Jiayuan turned back and lightly pressed the accelerator.

Fu Chaoying pressed her lips together and muttered, “She’s not your daughter.”

Educating a younger sister wasn’t a sister’s duty; it was a mother’s.

“Feeling sorry for me?” Ye Jiayuan’s brows and eyes curved slightly.

Fu Chaoying turned her gaze to the window and didn’t answer. She hadn’t planned on letting Ye Jiayuan know about this.

Whenever Fu Chaoying thought about how Ye Jiayuan had secretly liked her even when Fu Chaoying and Ye Yian were still together, her heart ached; the ache came in waves.

Ye Jiayuan gave a faint smile, then asked softly, “If Little Darling feels sorry for me, do you want to make me official?”

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So, does anyone want the extra update today?[heart]

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Second edit: extra update is here. Good night!