Bai Shurou was not happy.
Why did everyone assume she liked Ye Yunjin?
He was a good man, sure, but he could never compare to the bold and uninhibited man before her.
People were always drawn to their opposites. Ye Yunjin's personality was too similar to her own.
She pressed her lips together.
Then she said softly:
"Yunche, stop messing around."
"I don't like your older brother. Besides, he already has a fiancée. If Miss Zhu heard this, she would be very upset too."
Ye Yunche hadn't expected that answer.
He was a little taken aback. "You... you really don't like my brother?"
Bai Shurou nodded slowly. "No, I don't."
"Oh... well, okay then." Ye Yunche looked a little disappointed. He took two steps, then couldn't help but stop and turn his head back. "Um... why don't you give it some more thought? My brother really is outstanding, and he's loyal too."
Bai Shurou shook her head firmly but gently.
"No need."
"Fine, fine." Ye Yunche pursed his lips.
"You... you're leaving?" Bai Shurou asked, then remembered Zhu Liuyue's warning to her, and subconsciously restrained her emotions.
"Yeah, anything else?" Ye Yunche asked.
"N-no, nothing. Thank you for coming to see me. I'm really glad, Yunche, truly." The corners of Bai Shurou's lips lifted slightly, and she waved her hand.
She behaved very properly.
Only her expression was a little complicated.
Ye Yunche didn't think twice about it. He nodded and strode out of the hospital room.
...
The lighting in the café was dim, and a gentle piano melody played softly in the distance.
Zhu Liuyue yawned and took a sip of black coffee.
She still felt sleepy.
Resting her chin on her hand, she looked impatiently at the man who had asked her out late at night.
Ye Yunjin also took a sip of his Americano.
His voice was steady and refined, very gentlemanly.
"Liuyue, are you free this weekend? I know a really nice camping site."
"Don't you have to work on weekends?" Zhu Liuyue asked, puzzled.
Ye Yunjin smiled faintly and shook his head. "No matter how busy work gets, I still need to spend time with my fiancée."
Zhu Liuyue waved her hand repeatedly.
"No need to keep me company, no need. I'm not interested in camping anyway."
"Then... how about organizing a frisbee game?" Ye Yunjin was very attentive.
"Are you that free?" Zhu Liuyue's expression was one of disgust.
Ye Yunjin's smile froze for a moment. He wasn't quite sure how to respond.
He asked cautiously, "You seem upset."
Zhu Liuyue got straight to the point.
"Ye Yunjin, I was very satisfied with you before, and I believe you felt the same about me. But that was all because our backgrounds matched well—we were the most suitable marriage alliance partners."
"You know how it is with arranged marriages among the wealthy. The ones we truly love are never the ones we marry."
"After we get married, we each do our own thing outside. As long as we don't cause a scene or affect our families' businesses, that's fine."
"So there's no need for you to work so hard trying to please me. It's unnecessary!"
Ye Yunjin's fingers tightened slightly around his coffee cup.
After marriage, each doing their own thing outside.
Who did Zhu Liuyue want to fool around with?
His younger brother, Ye Yunche?
The moment that answer came to him, a storm brewed in Ye Yunjin's dark pupils.
He took a deep breath.
When he looked up again, his eyes were sincere. "I think I'm completely different from what you just described. I'm a one-woman man. Once I'm married, I'll stay completely faithful to my wife and be fully responsible for my family."
"And there's no 'doing your own thing' as you speculated. Husband and wife should only be devoted to each other."
Zhu Liuyue gave a dull "oh," her attitude dismissive.
She stirred her coffee with the spoon and added a little sugar anyway.
"Then would you care to explain why you ran off to see Bai Shurou on the day of our engagement ceremony?"
Ye Yunjin had actually been waiting for Zhu Liuyue to ask.
But she had acted as if nothing had happened, all light and breezy.
In truth, he had been nervous about it.
When she finally asked, Ye Yunjin felt a sense of relief.
"Bai Shurou is just a friend I know."
He recounted everything that had happened that day in full detail.
Then he emphasized, "After she woke up, I didn't go to see her to avoid any misunderstanding."
Zhu Liuyue listened, and the smile on her lips gradually widened.
She clapped her hands together forcefully.
The applause was crisp.
"Ye Yunjin, you're such a good man. So selfless, so noble, thinking of everyone."
Ye Yunjin felt something was off about those words.
Then Zhu Liuyue continued, "So you never thought about how I had to face all those guests alone and handle the rest of the engagement ceremony by myself?"
Ye Yunjin was silent.
"Yes, you went off to be the big hero and left me to deal with the mess." Zhu Liuyue clicked her tongue twice, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
"I'm sorry. At the time, I thought—"
"Right! Bai Shurou's life was at stake, while mine was just an engagement ceremony. How could an engagement ceremony compare to a life, right?" Zhu Liuyue finished the thought that was in his head.
Ye Yunjin didn't say anything. He just nodded.
Zhu Liuyue hit the nail on the head.
"Of course, the most important thing is that you don't actually like me."
"Because you don't like me, you don't put yourself in my shoes. All you think about is yourself—how you feel, what you want. Even going to the hospital to save Bai Shurou was, in the end, for yourself."
"Ye Yunjin, you're selfish."
Selfish?
The word struck Ye Yunjin like a blow.
For a moment, he felt dazed.
When he was a child, he had been generous.
Because his parents would always say, "You're the older brother. If your younger brother likes it, let him have it."
Later, when his parents saw him giving things up willingly, they would praise him, "You're really acting like a big brother now, taking care of your little brother. Well done."
But his "generosity" wasn't real generosity.
It was generosity only meant to win others' approval.
So...
Was he actually selfish?
Yes.
If not out of selfishness, then why couldn't he stand everyone's attention being on Ye Yunche? That was why he had to become better, work harder.
To overshadow Ye Yunche completely with his own brilliance.
He was the steady, mature heir of the family, while Ye Yunche was just a spoiled young master who only cared about racing.
Yes.
Ye Yunjin smiled bitterly and nodded.
He admitted it.
"Yes, I'm selfish."
Zhu Liuyue continued to strip away his disguise without mercy.
Her tone was sharp. "And not only are you selfish, you're also a phony."
Ye Yunjin was taken aback. "Phony...?"
Zhu Liuyue nodded.
"Exactly. Phony. Very phony."
"You want to please me? Just ask me what I like and be done with it. First a camping site, then frisbee—none of that interests me."
"Not to mention that line you just said, 'No matter how busy work gets, I still need to spend time with my fiancée.'"
"Am I some burden to you? Or some chore? You make it sound like I'm forcing you to set aside work and make special time to keep me company?"
"Ye Yunjin, right now, you're the one trying to please me."
"So get off your high horse!"
