Eldest Young Master Bai couldn't shake a nagging feeling after leaving the hospital.
Though he was a gambler and not exactly a model older brother, he still had an instinct to protect his younger sister, Bai Shurou.
Bai Shurou was sick right now—what if Zhu Liuyue actually did go to her hospital room to pick a fight?
How would his timid, helpless sister ever cope with that?
No way!
He had to think of something.
So Eldest Young Master Bai dialed Ye Yunjin's number.
He skipped over the audacious things he'd said to Zhu Liuyue and gave a condensed version instead:
"Your fiancée went to see my sister. My sister just had surgery and she's very weak. Maybe you should head over there?"
It was as good as saying outright that Zhu Liuyue had gone to the hospital to cause trouble.
After hearing this, Ye Yunjin thought Eldest Young Master Bai was exaggerating.
Still, he worried the two women might get into an unnecessary argument.
He left his younger brother at the company, used some excuse about having things to do, and turned right back around to the hospital.
On the way there, his mind raced with thoughts—until he stood outside the hospital room door and clearly overheard the words Zhu Liuyue was saying.
...
"You heard me correctly. Ye Yunjin and I are nothing but a business arrangement. There's no love between us, and I don't like him. So whatever he does has no effect on me at all."
"As for Ye Yunche..."
"I like him very much. So I won't allow any woman near him—including you, Senior Bai."
...
Ye Yunjin had always considered himself emotionally stable, unflappable, a man who didn't get stirred up easily.
But hearing those words, his heart couldn't help but tremble.
Zhu Liuyue.
His arranged fiancée.
The one she truly liked was Yunche?
And Yunche seemed to harbor a different kind of feeling for her too—so they were the ones who liked each other, the perfect match made in heaven?
Ye Yunjin felt dazed.
Having accidentally stumbled onto this truth, if he were a good older brother, he should go to their parents and arrange for his brother and Zhu Liuyue to be together.
But at this moment.
He hesitated.
A dark, hidden part of his heart surfaced once more.
Why did everyone always favor the younger brother?
When they were kids, they were twins, but their parents always paid more attention to the frail younger twin, Ye Yunche.
For the same accomplishment, if Ye Yunjin did it, it was just expected.
But if Ye Yunche did it, their parents would shower him with exaggerated praise and admiration.
In kindergarten, the little girls all preferred the lively, outgoing Ye Yunche, while little Ye Yunjin would sit primly beside the teacher like a tiny old man.
Serious and rigid—no one wanted to get close to him.
Ye Yunjin never understood why, if they were twins and looked exactly the same, everyone always preferred Ye Yunche.
What stung even more was that they were empathic twins.
He could feel his brother's emotions.
When he was left at home while their parents took his brother to the amusement park, he sat in the empty living room, yet he could feel the weightlessness and thrill of the roller coaster, even Yunche's excitement.
That emotion swept him up, and he should have been laughing along.
But for some reason.
At that moment, he wanted to cry.
Ye Yunjin withdrew his hand and didn't enter the room.
He turned away with a crisp motion—the once gentle light in his eyes now darkened to an unfathomable black.
Yunche, I'm not giving this up!
...
Ye Yunche hadn't felt his brother's emotions in a long time.
After all, Ye Yunjin was a strange one—ever since he learned to block his own feelings, he'd suppress them completely, never letting even a sliver reach Yunche.
All these years, without exception.
Even back in university, when everyone said Bai Shurou was Ye Yunjin's first love, Ye Yunche never sensed a bit of joy or heart-flutter from him.
But at this very moment, he felt his heart suddenly clench.
Though the feeling faded quickly.
Still, Ye Yunche was certain—he couldn't be wrong!
Something was deeply wrong with his big brother right now. He was upset, hurting, even feeling desperate.
Why?
Ye Yunche wandered around the company and found his brother's executive assistant.
The assistant replied, "The General Manager went to the hospital. Beyond that, I don't know."
Went to the hospital?
Ye Yunche propped his chin on his hand, thinking.
Maybe his brother went to see Bai Shurou at the hospital, got rejected, and that's why he was so down.
No good.
If his brother didn't end up with Bai Shurou, how would he and Zhu Liuyue ever have a chance?
He needed to find an opportunity to go to the hospital and have a proper talk with Bai Shurou—tell her that his brother was a good man worth trusting, and that if she missed this chance, it would never come again.
That afternoon, when Ye Yunjin returned to the company, he had already pulled himself together.
He assigned Ye Yunche a department and a position, then went back to work.
After work, the two brothers had dinner together, each lost in their own thoughts.
Ye Yunjin planned to go see Zhu Liuyue.
Ye Yunche planned to go to the hospital to see Bai Shurou.
At the hospital.
Bai Shurou felt exhausted, but just then she heard a nurse say someone else had come to visit her.
The nurse even remarked cheerfully that Bai Shurou must have a lot of friends.
Bai Shurou could only force a wry smile.
She'd been abroad for so long—what friends could she possibly have in the country?
When Ye Yunche pushed the door open and walked in, she was momentarily stunned.
At first, she thought it was Ye Yunjin. But looking closer at the carefree, mischievous expression on his face, she realized it was Ye Yunche.
Her heart couldn't help but start racing.
She'd assumed Ye Yunche wouldn't care about her at all after she'd gotten hurt.
After all, everyone knew that of the Ye twins, the younger brother was a reckless playboy who only loved cars, disliked women, and was a strange character.
But she had already promised Zhu Liuyue she wouldn't get close to Ye Yunche.
Thinking of that, Bai Shurou had to suppress her feelings.
Her voice gentle, she said:
"Yunche, long time no see."
"Bai Shurou, you picked a fine time to come back." This statement from Ye Yunche was just a simple observation.
But Bai Shurou didn't know how to respond.
What did he mean?
Was he saying she shouldn't have come back?
She'd come back because she couldn't afford the rent abroad and had no other choice.
"Are you here to defend Zhu Liuyue?" Bai Shurou finally replied with a bitter smile.
To her surprise, Ye Yunche shook his head vigorously, stepped closer with a sincere look on his face, and spoke in a cheerful tone:
"How could that be! I'm glad you're back."
Hearing this, a smile began to form on Bai Shurou's lips.
So he was happy about her return.
Ye Yunche then continued rambling:
"You know, I don't want Zhu Liuyue as my sister-in-law. My big brother is too boring and reserved, and Zhu Liuyue has such a fiery temper—they're a terrible match."
"But you, Bai Shurou—you're gentle, you have a sweet temper. Even if my big brother wanted to argue with you, he wouldn't be able to get a fight going.
Besides, you're my brother's first love—you two are the perfect match!"
As he spoke, he kept nodding, his eyes sparkling.
He looked just like a matchmaker trying to set two people up.
