“Get a good sleep and rest. You just recovered from your illness, you need rest. I’ll go cook for you.”
Su Ling didn’t struggle. He obediently lay on the bed. After the other person left, he immediately sat up.
‘This guy is definitely lying! Sister wouldn’t treat me like that. She has always been so good to me, so gentle. Every meal I ate before was made by her. Just because I couldn’t get used to other food, she learned to cook herself. She has always been so good to me. I don’t believe it. I don’t believe she would treat me like this.’
“Elder Sister…”
Ye Moran gently stroked a photograph, standing by the floor-to-ceiling window. She stared at the curtain of rain outside, lost in thought. Just then, a series of hurried footsteps rang out, and a young man rushed in, ignoring everyone blocking his way.
“You, you let him go!”
Jiang Yu rushed in and immediately hugged Ye Moran’s thigh, his voice choked with sobs.
Ye Moran glanced at him coldly, her eyes devoid of any emotion. She shook him off, patted her clothes, turned around, and sat back in her office chair.
“I beg you, please let him go, don’t hurt him. I’ll do anything you ask!”
Ye Moran was taken aback. Those words sounded familiar. The Little Thing had once said something similar, but the situation then was different from now.
“I can let him go, but I need you to do one thing.”
“What?”
“There’s a safe under the bed in Su Xing and Ye Shuyu’s room. There’s a document inside. Bring it to me, and I’ll release him.”
“I…”
“What, unwilling?”
“No. It’s just… I want to know what you’re really doing here.”
“You don’t know?”
Ye Moran was a little surprised. She had assumed Jiang Yu was on Su Xing’s side, so she’d planned to target him as the weakest link to break them apart. But this guy was actually in the dark?
“I only know that you two don’t get along. Also, that you’re not Mom’s biological daughter. Other than that, I don’t know anything.”
“Heh—”
Ye Moran let out a cold laugh, as if mocking something, though it was unclear who she was mocking. She shook her head, collected her thoughts, and looked up at the person before her again.
“Do as I say. If you can’t do it, come find me. Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of your boyfriend during this time. I guarantee he won’t suffer a bit.”
“Really?”
“Of course. I won’t lie to you.”
Ye Moran spoke casually, already losing interest in this guy. That Jiang Yu wasn’t an accomplice surprised her, but it also felt troublesome. Since he wasn’t one of them, it meant they might have been wary of him too. The safe might have already been moved.
‘Two old foxes. But the Little Thing has already been sent away. I have no weakness now, plenty of energy to play with the two old foxes! But it’s better to end things early, so I can go pick up the Little Thing with peace of mind.’
‘I wonder how the Little Thing is doing with Gu Qingyuan? Hope he doesn’t change his mind.’
‘It hurts to give the Little Thing away, but only by completely dealing with Su Xing and Ye Shuyu can I stay by the Little Thing’s side without worry. With the Little Thing beside me, I can’t guarantee his safety—Su Xing and Ye Shuyu aren’t easy to handle. If they use the Little Thing to threaten me, I’ll be helpless.’
‘Sending the Little Thing to Gu Qingyuan lets me use her influence to protect him. Even if the price is that the Little Thing might become her plaything… I don’t mind. No matter what the Little Thing becomes, I won’t mind.’
Crack
The pen in her hand snapped, and a sharp shard pierced her palm. Bright red blood mixed with blue ink, forming an eerie purple bloom in her hand.
‘It hurts so much, so painful, I can barely breathe! I did all of this myself, it was the choice I thought was best, so why does it still hurt this much? Is it because of my illness?’
Ye Moran took a deep breath, forcing herself not to think about the Little Thing. That made her feel a little better.
Su Ling sat at the dining table, but his gaze wasn’t on the food. He was staring at a corner nearby. There was a small bowl there. But why was there a bowl on the floor?
Gu Qingyuan walked over with the last dish, noticing the Little Thing’s gaze. She followed his eyes, and her body stiffened for a moment before quickly returning to normal. Without making a sound, she stepped over and kicked the bowl away.
Su Ling finally looked away from the bowl and turned to face her.
Gu Qingyuan didn’t look at the Little Thing. She explained casually, “We used to keep a cat at home, but it ran away later… couldn’t be tamed.”
Su Ling frowned slightly. A suspicion instinctively rose in his mind, but he found no basis for it. A bowl for a cat on the floor—that was common enough, wasn’t it? Still, Su Ling felt something was off, especially about that bowl. It gave him a strange feeling.
“Don’t think too much, come eat. I made your favorite shrimp today.”
Gu Qingyuan said this without a blush or a racing heart. Though she really couldn’t cook, and this meal was prepared in advance by others and brought out one by one, being able to cook should be a plus, right? As long as she didn’t say anything, the Little Thing wouldn’t find out. On the contrary, it could give him the illusion that she was very capable.
Su Ling picked up a shrimp with his chopsticks, examined it, and carefully began to peel it. As he peeled, he wondered, ‘How does she know I like shrimp?’ He tried a bite. The taste was surprisingly good, though far from his sister’s cooking.
“Is it good?”
Su Ling didn’t answer. He kept eating, not even lifting his head.
Gu Qingyuan frowned and asked again, her voice deeper. Only then did Su Ling look up at her, then shook his head.
Gu Qingyuan froze for a moment, then suspiciously picked up a shrimp that the Little Thing had peeled, dipped it in sauce, and put it in her mouth. The shrimp meat was tender and fresh, the taste not bad, and the sauce was flavorful. Immediately, she realized she had been tricked.
‘He’s messing with me!’
Su Ling bit his lip, staring at a spot on the edge of the bowl. Just a few seconds ago, there had been a shrimp he had painstakingly peeled. That woman had just taken it without asking. So annoying.
Creak!
Gu Qingyuan stood up, pushed her chair back, and walked step by step toward the Little Thing. Su Ling looked up at her. ‘What does she want now?’ A sense of dread suddenly rose in his heart. His body tensed, teeth clenched, eyes alert.
“Don’t be scared. I’m not going to hit you!”
Gu Qingyuan placed her hand on the Little Thing’s shoulder, pressing down on his trembling body.
“You cost me five million, and I didn’t spend that much money for you to throw a tantrum at me!”
Then she turned and walked into the kitchen, taking a pack of shrimp from the fridge. She couldn’t cook, but boiling shrimp was no problem. She poured the entire pack into a pot. Looking at the shrimp in the pot, she felt it still wasn’t enough. She took out two more packs and dumped them all in!
Seeing the pot full of shrimp, she finally smiled. As the shrimp turned pink, she didn’t even wait to see if they were fully cooked. She scooped them all into a plate, carried the huge plate over, and set it in front of the Little Thing.
“You have to eat all of them. If even one is left, I’ll punish you properly.”