Xiao Qitang, who had finally managed to find his way there from a distance, fell silent too.
“……”
He rubbed his ears.
Wait—what exactly had he just heard?
The Ye brothers finally noticed Xiao Qitang nearby as well.
Ye Yunche had exceptionally sharp eyes. Almost instantly, he locked onto the figure standing beside a pillar, smiling as he watched the show while holding a bouquet of flowers.
His brows lifted, and his tone carried an instinctive wariness and hostility.
“Xiao Qitang, what are you doing here?”
Xiao Qitang hugged the bouquet of champagne roses closer to his chest and answered with a beaming smile, “I’m here to pick up Liuyue.”
Ye Yunjin shot his younger brother a sidelong glance. He decided to put aside their internal feud for the moment and join forces against an outside enemy.
Turning back, he said coldly, “My fiancée doesn’t need anyone else to pick her up.”
Xiao Qitang still wore that irritatingly cheerful smile as he strode over, completely unhurried.
He stopped in front of Zhu Liuyue, tilted his head slightly, and winked at her.
His eyes gleamed mischievously.
His voice was pitched perfectly so that all three people present could hear him clearly.
“I’m not here to pick up your fiancée.”
After a pause, the smile at the corners of his lips deepened as he provoked him, “I’m here to pick up my ex-girlfriend.”
Ye Yunjin’s fists clenched again. Perhaps because his foolish younger brother had just irritated him, his emotions were now dangerously unstable.
He looked nothing like the mature, steady CEO he usually was.
He was clearly a mad dog driven crazy by love.
“Say that again if you’ve got the nerve.” His voice was icy, carrying a hint of threat.
Xiao Qitang bared his teeth in an extremely punchable grin and cheerfully repeated what Ye Yunche had said earlier.
“I’m not here to break you two up. I’m here to join you.”
This time, Ye Yunche was the one who exploded.
“Xiao Qitang! Go to hell!”
He raised his fist and was about to charge forward when Ye Yunjin grabbed him.
Ye Yunche was confused. “Brother, he said something that outrageous, and you’re not angry?”
Of course Ye Yunjin was angry too.
But that could be put aside for now.
Lowering his voice, he reminded him, “If you injure him, he’ll have an even better excuse to cling to Liuyue.”
Ye Yunche was persuaded.
That made sense!
Was Xiao Qitang doing this on purpose?
And what did he mean by joining them?
Had anyone given him permission to join?
No matter what, he and his brother were twins. Add Liuyue to the mix, and they were already a perfectly happy family.
What did Xiao Qitang count as?
Seeing that the Ye brothers had both calmed down, Xiao Qitang was a little disappointed.
Tsk, tsk.
He had already planned out the whole scenario. He would deliberately walk up and let them hit him, then use his injuries as an excuse to have Liuyue take him to the hospital.
Wouldn’t that give him some alone time with her?
As for why he hadn’t shown up even once while Liuyue was away teaching in a mountainous area for a month…
It wasn’t because he didn’t want to.
A paparazzo had dug up photos of him having dinner with Liuyue when he had just debuted. The paparazzo had planned to expose them, and Xiao Qitang and his manager had gone to great lengths to deal with the situation.
After all, Liuyue wasn’t part of the entertainment industry. He was worried that exposing her would bring a great deal of malicious attention down on her.
At that moment, he had even considered quitting the industry.
His manager had looked at him with exasperation and said, “Doesn’t she only like you for your talent as a songwriter? If you quit being a singer too, she’ll have even less reason to like you.”
Xiao Qitang had fallen into thought.
“That actually makes sense.”
So he had suppressed his urge to go see Liuyue, afraid that if he went to the mountains, some paparazzo might photograph him again.
It would have been a case of good intentions causing harm, creating a negative impact instead.
After finally obtaining Liuyue’s flight number from Zhao Xin, he had excitedly gone to a flower shop and ordered a bouquet of champagne roses.
Then he suddenly remembered.
Wait a minute. She was supposed to have her fiancé picking her up.
But that didn’t matter!
He was still her ex-boyfriend.
When it came to who had arrived first, Ye Yunjin would have to call him “big brother”!
Xiao Qitang refused to be discouraged. Smiling brightly, he handed the champagne roses to Liuyue.
“Welcome home.”
“Thank you.”
Zhu Liuyue accepted them politely, then turned around and placed them in the car.
The corners of Ye Yunjin’s lips lifted.
She doesn’t like these flowers.
Ye Yunche was even happier.
She doesn’t like Xiao Qitang.
Xiao Qitang was also delighted.
She deliberately put my flowers in Ye Yunjin’s car. That proves she likes me more!
Zhu Liuyue briefly treated the injuries of both Ye brothers. They had really gone all out, deliberately aiming for places that would be visible.
Clearly, neither of them had held back.
Ye Yunche wasn’t worried. At worst, he simply wouldn’t go to work.
But if Ye Yunjin went to work with a bruised and swollen face, rumors would probably spread throughout Ye Corporation the very next day that Mr. Ye had been ambushed and beaten by a business rival.
Zhu Liuyue instructed them, “Remember not to get the wounds wet tonight.”
Ye Yunjin smiled gently and nodded. “Okay.”
Ye Yunche pointed at himself. “What about me? What about me?”
Zhu Liuyue replied dismissively, “Do whatever you want.”
Ye Yunche protested, “Why do I get treated so casually?”
Standing to the side with his arms crossed, Xiao Qitang watched the show and said, “Do you know how supermarkets sell those buy-one-get-one-free products? You’re the free one. Hahahaha.”
Ye Yunche’s face darkened, and he turned away.
Then, aiming his sarcasm at Xiao Qitang, he said, “At least I got a legitimate relationship with my buy-one-get-one-free deal. You’re an expired product trying to make a comeback. Keep dreaming!”
At that moment, Ye Yunjin very much wanted to give his younger brother a thumbs-up.
His brother’s combat ability with words was even stronger than he had imagined.
Because of Xiao Qitang’s arrival, the situation in which the Ye brothers had been fighting each other unexpectedly eased. After all, people said that the enemy of your enemy was your friend.
The Ye brothers united against the outside threat.
In the end, Xiao Qitang still failed to steal Liuyue away from them.
But he was still smiling brightly when he left.
……
That evening, the family gathered for dinner. While Zhao Wen and Zhao Xin were eating, they noticed that their cousin kept staring at his phone and grinning foolishly to himself.
Zhao Wen looked at Zhao Xin in confusion.
“What’s going on? Is he in love?”
Zhao Xin took a sip of her drink and shook her head slightly, her face filled with regret.
“Or maybe he’s lost his mind after being rejected.”
Zhao Wen immediately became curious.
“What? Rejected? Your cousin is handsome, he can write songs, and he’s famous. Who could possibly reject such a perfect man?”
Zhao Xin smacked her lips.
“His ex-girlfriend.”
After listening to the gossip for quite a while, Zhao Wen finally figured out who they were talking about.
Unable to control his volume, he exclaimed excitedly, “What? Is it… is it Sister Liuyue? No way! Isn’t she already taken? She’s even engaged!”
Zhao Xin had practically become best friends with Zhu Liuyue by now, so she firmly switched sides.
“Exactly. I told you, it’s unethical for Cousin to do this.”
The two of them leaned their heads together and began whispering, which drew Xiao Qitang’s attention.
He sidled over without making a sound and tried to intimidate them.
“What are you two saying behind my back?”
Zhao Wen and Zhao Xin were so startled that they nearly jumped out of their chairs.
They exchanged a glance and laughed awkwardly.
“N-Nothing.”
Xiao Qitang saw through their act at once. Instead of feeling embarrassed, he declared proudly, “You’ve all misunderstood. I’m not trying to break them up. I just want to join them.”
Zhao Wen: “...!!!”
Zhao Xin: “...!!!”
They exchanged a glance.
Oh my God! This was juicy!
