Ye Family

Bedroom, eerily quiet.

Ye Jiuliang played with her phone, calmly ignoring the occasional glances from beside her.

In the end, it was the Ye family patriarch who couldn’t hold back and spoke first.

"Do you live at Mo Garden now?"

Ye Jiuliang responded with a faint "Mhm."

The patriarch continued, "You’re not planning to come back and live at home?"

Ye Jiuliang responded with another mhm, showing little reaction.

"Now that you are with Li Mochan, I won’t say anything else," the patriarch glanced at her squarely, "You’re still in school, so you should prioritize your studies. Even though you’re with Li Mochan now, don’t just listen to everything he says; you need to have your own opinions."

Ye Jiuliang listened quietly, the corners of her lips curling into a meaningful smile.

In the end, they were just afraid Mo would use her to do something that could harm the Ye family’s interests. Why beat around the bush with so many words, making it seem like they were genuinely considering her feelings?

"Jiuliang, I might as well be frank with you; the old man Li has always disapproved of you being with Li Mochan. It would be best for you to be careful, lest you end up being used by someone with ulterior motives," the patriarch added.

Ye Jiuliang put away her phone and responded with a faint "Mhm. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going. I have class today."

She rolled up her sleeves and stood up, "Take care of yourself."

She intended to leave after just a few words.

The patriarch became anxious, "Wait, there’s something else I need to discuss with you."

Ye Jiuliang turned to look at him, "What is it?"

Seeing her indifferent face showing no emotion, the patriarch found it difficult to speak.

"If you haven’t figured out what to say, then don’t say it for now," Ye Jiuliang said.

The patriarch couldn’t miss this rare opportunity to have her back, "Our Ye family had a partnership with the Su family. After that incident happened, the Su family and we became enemies. Li Mochan took action against the Su family, which incidentally involved that partnership. Could you ask Li Mochan not to target that partnership deal?"

If that partnership deal were to fail, their Ye family’s loss wouldn’t be much different from the Su family’s.

A trace of mockery flashed in Ye Jiuliang’s eyes; they still wanted to use her.

No wonder they were willing to approve of her relationship with Li Mochan today.

This old man really is always thinking about the Ye family’s interests.

She tugged at her lips, "Fine."

"Did you really agree?" Her hasty agreement made the patriarch somewhat distrustful.

The smile on Ye Jiuliang’s lips deepened, "Why wouldn’t I agree? After all, it’s about the interests of our Ye family. If the Ye family prospers, so do I. It’s a win-win deal; I’m not at a loss."

Hearing this, the patriarch cast aside his doubts, "It’s hard to get a taxi from here; let Aren take you to school."

"No need, I’ll call for a ride," she said.

After speaking, Ye Jiuliang turned and left.

Not long after she left, Aren walked in.

"Master, did Miss Jiuliang agree?"

The patriarch got out of bed, his frail voice suddenly changing, "That girl Jiuliang is too clever; deceiving her isn’t easy. However, if she’s sensible, she should help the Ye family."

Only if the Ye family is doing well can she have support, and only then would old man Li agree to her being with Li Mochan.

The marriages of the children of distinguished families were never simple; she should understand this.

...

After leaving the Ye family home, Ye Jiuliang did not go to Beisen but instead returned to Mo Garden.

Seeing her return, Jiang Yisheng was surprised.

"Jiuliang, weren’t you going to Beisen?"

"Your brother approved my leave," Ye Jiuliang righteously took advantage of Li Mochan’s name, "Where is your brother?"

Jiang Yisheng replied, "Wei Bei came to see him just now, and he went out."

"Is Ji Mingqian still dead in his room?" Ye Jiuliang glanced at the living room but didn’t spot that guy Ji Mingqian.

"He probably went to bed really late last night, so I guess he’s still not up," he said.

Ye Jiuliang pulled back the foot she had stepped out with and looked at him with puzzled eyes, "How do you know he slept late last night?"

"He got up in the middle of the night looking for coffee, and I just happened to be getting up to get some water," Jiang Yisheng said in a gentle voice.

Ye Jiuliang raised an eyebrow, "I remember there’s no instant coffee here, only coffee beans; how did he drink it?"

If she remembered correctly, Ji Mingqian was a klutz, clueless about brewing coffee.

Jiang Yisheng explained, "He said he’s particular about his bed and couldn’t sleep without coffee, so I brewed him a cup."

Ye Jiuliang curled her lips slightly, "Next time don’t bother with him. Brewing coffee in the middle of the night? If he can’t sleep, just let him take a couple of sleeping pills."

Jiang Yisheng just smiled and didn’t say anything.

Ye Jiuliang took steps toward the stairs, where Ji Mingqian’s room door was slightly ajar, not shut tightly.

Ye Jiuliang knocked twice, but there was no sound from inside, so she pushed the door open and went in.

Seeing the person on the bed sleeping like the dead, she sneered softly.

This is what he calls being particular about a bed?

"Ji Mingqian, get up. I need to talk to you," she said in a flat voice as she kicked the bed.

"If you don’t get up, you’re on your own."

Awakened suddenly by years of "psychological shadow," Ji Mingqian jolted awake.

He squinted at the person standing by the bed and lifted a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, "Ye Jiuliang, are you toxic? Do you know I went to sleep after five in the morning?"

"Of course, I know. I heard you conned someone into brewing you coffee at night. Big accomplishment, huh?" Ye Jiuliang said with her hands in her pockets, her gaze teasing as she looked at him.

"How was the coffee taste?"

"Of course, it was good," Ji Mingqian replied nonchalantly.

Ye Jiuliang looked at him with disdain, "Get up and wash up quickly, then help me look up something after breakfast."

"Labor fee," Ji Mingqian said.

"Fine, then I’ll just go and tell Yisheng that someone doesn’t really care about his bed at all, just wanted to scam some coffee."

Saying that, Ye Jiuliang turned and left.

"Not not, Master Jiu, I’ll look it up for you in a bit, I was just joking just now," Ji Mingqian sat up, immediately backing down.

Ye Jiuliang laughed satisfactorily. He was just too provoking.

Ji Mingqian tidied up his sleeping robe and cast a resentful glance at her, "I really don’t know how Li Mochan puts up with you. Really, Ye Jiuliang, I advise you to be kind."

Ye Jiuliang snatched a pillow and chucked it at him, "That’s why you can only continue to be a single dog."

Ji Mingqian, "..."

Is there something wrong with being a single dog?

These days, being a single dog is quite precious, okay?

After breakfast, Ji Mingqian settled on the sofa with his computer, his fingertips tapping rapidly on the keyboard, the "tap tap tap" occasionally drawing curious glances from the person across.

Moments later, Ji Mingqian closed the computer, pulled out a U-disk, and tossed it to Ye Jiuliang, "Everything’s inside here."

Ye Jiuliang caught it, fingering the U-disk, a hint of darkness flashing through her eyes.

Some things, it was indeed time to settle.

She shoved the U-disk into her pocket and suddenly thought of something, turning her head to Jiang Yisheng, "Yisheng, I want to ask you something."

"Hmm?" Seeing her serious expression was rare, Jiang Yisheng felt a bit confused.

Ye Jiuliang asked, "Can you tell me about Mohan’s mother?"

Jiang Yisheng’s finger, flipping through a book, paused. He curved his lips, slightly helpless.

"I’m not very clear on auntie either; I’ve just heard grandma and the others mention her occasionally."