Being misunderstood is naturally unpleasant, but when it comes to Ying Yun, Yang Xueyi feels that his displeasure mostly comes from the fact that the person involved in the rumor with him is Yang Xueyi herself.
Just from this young master’s obsessive cleanliness, he probably can’t stand being associated with her at all.
Regarding this, Qiao Qianqian was also filled with regret, tangled for a long time about whether she should apologize to Ying Yun, but unfortunately, she couldn’t find him anywhere.
He really did as Yang Xueyi said—after the first half of the ball, he didn’t dance with anyone else.
When Yang Xueyi left, she even saw Mrs. Ying anxiously searching the entire hall for someone.
But soon, Yang Xueyi found out where Ying Yun had gone—
She’d earned a hefty side income, and on her way back, she bought Ms. Yang Meiying’s favorite cheesecake, carrying it to Ying Yun’s Villa to welcome her mother home and celebrate her return to the country.
But the one who opened the door was Ying Yun.
At this moment, Ying Yun had already changed into loose casual clothes, yet the coldness and unapproachable air between his brows and eyes remained unchanged.
This annoying guy, upon seeing Yang Xueyi, immediately frowned and showed a look of displeasure.
Yang Xueyi had no doubt that, if not for the sound of her mother’s voice coming from the kitchen, Ying Yun would have started mocking and ridiculing her the next second.
“Xiaoxue? You’re back?”
Fortunately, it was probably Ms. Yang Meiying’s voice that called Ying Yun back to reason.
He loved to put on a virtuous act in front of his mother, so in the end, he only glanced at Yang Xueyi, then averted his gaze and turned back to the kitchen.
Yang Xueyi quickly followed into the kitchen: “Mom! I bought you your favorite cheesecake!”
After some time apart, Ms. Yang Meiying looked in great spirits.
She was cleaning the kitchen, her voice cheerful: “I was eating these desserts every day in Europe, I’m so sick of them! There’s really nothing good to eat abroad!”
“I just left for a short while, how did the kitchen at home get so messy? Haven’t you been living here lately? Why don’t you tidy up a bit?”
Maybe because she hadn’t gotten over the jet lag, even though it was late at night, Ms. Yang Meiying was still full of energy.
As soon as she saw Yang Xueyi, she started nagging: “Look at Ying Junior, isn’t he a doctor and busier than you? Yet he still knows to help out.”
Only then did Yang Xueyi notice that this annoying guy Ying Yun was actually putting on an act, tidying up the fridge at this very moment.
This two-faced, hypocritical, backstabbing nuisance!
Since they were kids, Ying Yun was always that “other people’s child” in her mother’s eyes, and now that he knew how to put on a show, Ms. Yang Meiying praised him even more.
Sure enough, as soon as she saw Yang Xueyi come home, Ms. Yang Meiying immediately shooed Ying Yun out of the kitchen: “Ying Junior, go rest, I’ll take care of this.”
“Auntie, it’s fine. You just got back from abroad, you’ve had it tougher than I have. I’m the main one who made a mess in the kitchen, so it’s only right for me to help clean up,” Yang Xueyi heard Ying Yun say coolly.
“I’ve been here every day eating instant noodles, really haven’t had time to tidy up.”
This scheming villain…
Sure enough, as soon as she heard this, Ms. Yang Meiying glared at Yang Xueyi: “Didn’t you dislocate your hand and stay home to rest? Did you just order takeout all the time? If you’re free, you could at least cook a little and make something for Ying Junior too.”
She dislocated her hand!
And she’s still expected to cook?
Besides, she’s not Ying Yun’s maid!
Yang Xueyi could hardly stand it anymore and was about to retort, but Ying Yun spoke up first—
“Auntie, Yang Xueyi has her own things to do, and she does cook.”
At least you said something human for once!
But Yang Xueyi hadn’t even had time to breathe a sigh of relief before she heard Ying Yun continue, “She cooks and takes the food out to deliver it to someone else every day. She’s pretty busy.”
This guy is the type to set fires but never put them out.
Trash!
She cooked and took the food out—wasn’t it for him?!
Ms. Yang Meiying immediately became alert at the mention of delivering food to someone: “Xiaoxue, are you in a relationship? Who are you bringing food to?”
Yang Xueyi was about to explode—thanks to Ying Yun, she was now under her mother’s close watch!
What more does this annoying guy want?!
“No! I was delivering food to someone at the Hospital! A friend, who’s sick!”
“What illness?”
Yang Xueyi glared at Ying Yun: “Pretty pitiful, so young, but already lost his mind.”
Damn Ying Yun, if you’re heartless, don’t blame me for being unjust!
Ms. Yang Meiying sighed, full of pity: “So young and already has a brain tumor? Is there any hope?”
Yang Xueyi glanced at Ying Yun and didn’t hesitate: “Probably not.”
Ying Yun pressed his lips together in silence, only shooting her a cold look.
“By the way, Mom, when I left the banquet, Mrs. Ying was still looking all over for Ying Yun. I’ll let her know right away that he actually came home halfway through.”
Sure enough, not long after Yang Xueyi shifted the trouble, Ying Yun’s phone rang with a call from Mrs. Ying.
Moments later, Yang Xueyi saw Mrs. Ying rush back in a flurry—
“Why did you leave halfway?”
“You know this banquet wasn’t just for charity; so many girls were there…”
“Ying Yun, you’re not young anymore. We gave you freedom to choose your major and let you study medicine, even respected your wish to stay in the country for university. But when it comes to starting a family, you can’t be so willful…”
Ying Yun had Mrs. Yang Meiying scold Yang Xueyi, so Yang Xueyi got Mrs. Ying to deal with Ying Yun.
For the past ten years, the two of them have endlessly sabotaged each other—their main principle being, if I can’t have it good, neither can you.
Yang Xueyi hid in the kitchen, listening to Mrs. Ying lecturing her son in the living room, praising Yang Xueyi for being obedient and criticizing Ying Yun for becoming more unruly and selfish as he grew up, never considering the big picture.
Only then did she feel truly satisfied.
She turned to Ms. Yang Meiying, who was cleaning the cupboards: “By the way, Mom, the apartment was handed over ahead of schedule. I bought some simple furniture. Do you want to go check it out when you have time?”
As expected, Ms. Yang Meiying waved her hand: “No need, didn’t you send me photos and videos already? I don’t have time to go to the apartment right now. Just got back, there’s so much work waiting for me at Ying Yun’s Family’s place.”
Yang Xueyi felt relieved hearing this. It was best if her mom didn’t go—she was still planning to secretly live there.
“I bought you some souvenirs from Europe. Go get them from your room, and hurry back to your dorm. It’s too dark to be safe outside if you’re out too late.”
Maybe it was the music from tonight’s ball that brought up memories, but before leaving, Yang Xueyi found herself asking about An Xin.
“Mom, do you still remember An Xin? Didn’t Ying Yun like her back then?”
“I remember. That girl was really nice. Ying Junior did like her, probably liked her a lot. Once, when I was tidying his room, I saw him writing something, and there were lots of discarded drafts in the trash. As soon as I walked in, he got really nervous and hurried to hide what he was writing. But I have sharp eyes, and I saw a line on one of the crumpled papers in the bin—something like, ‘Actually, I really like you.’”
Ms. Yang Meiying smiled and shook her head: “Turns out that kid was writing a love letter.”
“To An Xin?”
“Of course. Ying Junior’s always been cool and distant. Besides An Xin, when has he ever gotten close to any other girl? Who else could it be? I heard Mrs. Ying and Mr. Ying discussing, and they suspected he was dating someone during that time. You might not know him well, so you couldn’t tell, but it was actually pretty obvious.”
Yang Xueyi curled her lips.
Who would have thought that the eighteen-year-old Ying Yun was such a lovesick fool?
But for someone so fashionably into puppy love, you’d think he’d get a head start.
Yet now, he still doesn’t have a girlfriend.
An Xin must have had sharp eyes and dumped Ying Yun.
Now at twenty-eight and still single, that’s failure upon failure.
Yang Xueyi figured at least she wouldn’t end up like Ying Yun.
Once she settled her work, she’d definitely be in a relationship within three years—she’d be more successful than him for sure, not ending up as a lonely singleton at twenty-eight.
After hearing the gossip, she didn’t want to linger, so she left the kitchen and headed to the basement maid’s room.
Ying Yun and Mrs. Ying were no longer in the living room; they’d moved their discussion to a small sitting room next to the living room.
As Yang Xueyi passed by, she overheard bits and pieces of their conversation.
“Before the opening dance, Yang Xueyi said you’d had a falling out with Lin Zixian? Did you argue? I thought you wouldn’t be able to do the opening dance, but luckily that girl was very gracious and still danced with you.”
“I watched you and Lin Zixian’s opening dance. You’re interested in her, right? She chased after you and you rejected her before, but have you changed your mind now?”
“You wouldn’t dance with any other girls after her—do you have someone you like? Is that why you only wanted to dance with her?”
Answering Mrs. Ying was Ying Yun’s cold, hard voice—
“I don’t like her.”
“I didn’t dance with Lin Zixian.”
Mrs. Ying was very surprised: “Then who was it? She was even wearing a mask, so mysterious! Do I know her?”
“Who it is doesn’t matter. Anyway, I don’t like Lin Zixian, and the one who danced with me won’t end up with me either.”
He makes it sound like he’s above it all, so certain they’ll never be together.
Fortunately, Yang Xueyi was used to it by now, and just silently retorted in her heart: She wouldn’t be interested in someone like Ying Yun either!
After grabbing the souvenir her mom bought her from the maid’s room and heading back upstairs to leave, Yang Xueyi saw that Ying Yun had finished talking with Mrs. Ying and was now standing in the living room drinking water.
When he saw Yang Xueyi, he glanced at her with extreme indifference, as if he were looking at something dirty, and quickly looked away.
Yang Xueyi was so angry she could barely contain herself.