Ye Yunche had even made a special effort to dress up today.
He usually favored a bold, distinctive style, but today he wore a deep-purple silk shirt, the collar opened wide to reveal a large expanse of fair skin. Below, he had on black suit trousers with a soft, flowing drape.
He was going for the mature-man, innocent-yet-sensual look.
His style resembled Ye Yunjin’s in some ways, though Ye Yunche was a little more uninhibited.
His face was lean, his features sharp and masculine, and his thin lips were pressed into a faintly stubborn line.
So the moment he walked in, the gazes of all the girls waiting to be grouped at the murder-mystery game store swept toward him.
Where had this male bodhisattva come from?
That was what they were thinking.
Zhu Liuyue, however, thought: Where did this strutting peacock come from?
Ye Yunche had a clear objective. He walked over with light, buoyant steps, humming a tune under his breath, and sat down directly beside Zhu Liuyue.
He curved his lips into a smile.
“Big Sister,” he called obediently.
Zhu Liuyue: “...!!!”
What kind of tactic was this?
Hadn’t Ye Yunche previously refused to call her that even if he were beaten to death?
After saying it, Ye Yunche naturally began inching his fingertips over—inch by inch—until they covered the back of her hand.
When she didn’t pull away, the smile at the corners of his lips grew even more genuine.
“Did you call Xiao Qitang away?” Zhu Liuyue asked.
Ye Yunche answered honestly, “My brother did.”
“Then where’s your brother?”
Ye Yunche looked extremely proud. “That’s right. I was the one who called him away.”
The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
Who could have imagined that one day Ye Yunche would play Ye Yunjin and Xiao Qitang like fools?
Xiao Qitang had said he wanted to form an alliance with Ye Yunche, but Ye Yunche had turned around and sold him out to Ye Yunjin, winning Ye Yunjin’s trust.
Ye Yunjin, however, still refused to back down. So a wicked idea appeared in Ye Yunche’s little head.
His brother’s possessiveness was simply too strong.
Why shouldn’t he be allowed to get close to Liuyue?
He had been the one who went up onstage during the engagement ceremony! Him! Him! Him!
The little demon in Ye Yunche’s heart flapped its wings excitedly.
Zhu Liuyue glanced at his hand covering the back of hers and was just about to pull away when Ye Yunche quickly latched on again, like a clingy octopus.
“What are you doing?” she asked, raising a brow.
Ye Yunche’s eyes were clear and guileless. “Holding hands.”
He said it as if holding hands in public were the most natural thing in the world.
“Aren’t you afraid your brother will sense it?” Zhu Liuyue asked.
Ye Yunche answered with complete confidence, “Nope. I blocked the empathic link. He can’t figure it out.”
Zhu Liuyue nodded. “Oh.”
The next second, she suddenly turned her hand over and clasped Ye Yunche’s tightly.
She brought their joined hands up against her left cheek, tilted her head, and looked at him.
Her long lashes lifted, and a hint of wicked amusement flashed through her eyes.
As she spoke, warm breath brushed across the backs of their hands.
She was like a mischievous little fox.
“So what about this...?”
Ye Yunche’s heart began pounding wildly and completely out of control.
Ahhhhh!
Liuyue took the initiative to hold my hand!
Ahhhhh!
And she pressed it against her cheek!
Ahhhhh!
She’s so cute. She’s so wicked. But I love it so much!
The little man in Ye Yunche’s heart screamed hysterically, though he didn’t forget to keep his emotions under control. Otherwise, Ye Yunjin—who was signing a contract with a business partner dozens of kilometers away—would be able to sense them.
He told himself: Hold it together!
The corners of Zhu Liuyue’s lips slowly curved upward.
From the way he blinked, she could tell that he was constantly restraining himself.
Ah, how could that possibly do?
So she lifted her other, free hand and mischievously traced the shape of his ear, lightly circling the rim with her fingertip. The touch sent a tingling sensation through him.
As she did so, she said with a smile, “Yunche, your ears are so red. Why is that? Are you afraid your brother will find out?”
“Does blocking the empathic link really work? Can Yunjin feel what I’m doing?”
Ye Yunche’s ears had been merely red before.
Now, they were so red they looked ready to bleed.
His back went rigid, and his entire body froze as if he had been immobilized.
Inside, he was screaming wildly.
Ahhhhh!
Liuyue touched my ear!
Ahhhhh!
Why does she look so beautiful even when she’s smiling wickedly?
Ahhhhh!
It was over. He was about to lose control. The emotions he had been suppressing seemed on the verge of breaking free.
It was so hard to hold them back.
But if he didn’t, what if his brother sensed them and came rushing over?
Zhu Liuyue continued teasing him. “Cheche, why aren’t you saying anything?”
Ahhhh!
Ye Yunche finally broke.
She called me Cheche! Such an affectionate name. I love it so much!
The corners of his lips rose involuntarily, and his previously tense back gradually relaxed.
The force he was using to block the empathic link also loosened slightly.
At that moment, Zhu Liuyue suddenly pulled him into an empty private room and shut the door behind them, pinning him against it.
Ye Yunche’s eyes widened. “...”
He was even faintly hopeful.
Ahhhhh!
Could it be what he thought it was?
Zhu Liuyue gave him a half-smile. “Say ‘Big Sister’ again.”
Ye Yunche’s face flushed with embarrassment. He had only managed to call her that when they first came in after summoning up every ounce of his courage.
How could he possibly say it again now?
Zhu Liuyue raised a brow. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Ye Yunche finally spoke.
“Um... I want to call you Yueyue.”
“Then call me Sister Yueyue—and make it sound sweet.” Zhu Liuyue had completely taken control of the situation. She lifted a hand and pinched the earlobe that was practically dripping blood-red.
“I... I...” Ye Yunche puffed out his cheeks and made one last attempt to resist. “You’re only three months older than me. I want to call you Yueyue.”
“So you won’t call me Big Sister?”
The smile on Zhu Liuyue’s face faded slightly.
Ye Yunche immediately panicked.
Ahhhhh.
He’d made Yueyue unhappy.
Would that make her like his brother even more?
Ye Yunche wore the remorseful expression of a puppy. His greatest virtue was how quickly he admitted defeat.
“Big Sister.” His voice was very soft.
“I can’t hear you. Was our Cheche calling me?” Zhu Liuyue deliberately teased him. “Louder. The door to the private room is closed. No one will hear you.”
Ye Yunche summoned his courage, raising his voice a little. “Big Sister.”
“Use the way I just told you to.”
Ye Yunche was so shy that he nearly lowered his head, but he still managed to say it.
“Sister Yueyue.”
Ahhhhh!
Before Zhu Liuyue could say anything, Ye Yunche nearly wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
This was so embarrassing.
How had he ended up being teased into this?
But Yueyue seemed to like it.
It didn’t matter if he lost his dignity. Someone with too much pride would never be able to win a wife.
His brother, that stiff, serious man, would definitely never call her “Big Sister” over and over like he did. Nor could he make Liuyue as happy as Ye Yunche could.
With that thought, Ye Yunche encouraged himself.
He opened his mouth. “Yueyue, I...”
Before he could finish, a forceful, domineering kiss silenced him.
“Can Yunjin feel that?”
