“What’s going on? Why is Second Young Lady washing the dishes in the kitchen?”
“It seems that Old Master Ye specifically asked her to do that.”
“No way! Second Young Lady’s friend is still here. Old Master Ye treats her friend so enthusiastically—the smile on his face has never stopped since she’s here. I’ve never seen him treat anyone so kindly before.”
“Oh, is that so? Do you think Old Master Ye doesn’t like our Second Young Lady, so he wants to find another woman for Second Young Master? So—”
Such remarks had reached Shen Qi’s ears completely, making her pause. A plate slipped out of her hand and fell to the ground with a loud crash.
The maids glanced at each other and whispered among themselves, “Let’s stop talking; Second Young Lady is going to get angry later. Have you forgotten what happened last time?”
“Go, go.”
They left the kitchen quickly, leaving Shen Qi in the kitchen alone as she stood in front of the sink blankly. After looking at the pile of dishes, she suddenly felt quite uncomfortable.
I thought Old Master Ye wanted Xueyou to be with Ye Linhan? Why would he want her to be with Ye Moxuan suddenly?
Besides, regardless if the person was Ye Moxuan or Ye Linhan, it still had to depend on whether Han Xueyou was willing or not.
What am I thinking?
Shen Qi returned to her senses and bent over to pick up the shattered glass on the ground.
At this moment, a tall figure walked over to her and held her fair fingers before she could touch the glass. He uttered in a calm voice, “Don’t touch it.”
The familiar voice made Shen Qi raise her head in astonishment. Then, her gaze met a pair of gentle eyes, which were full of helplessness.
“Linhan?”
Why is Ye Linhan here?
“Don’t touch it with your hands. The shards are too sharp—you’ll hurt yourself.”
While talking, Ye Linhan held her hands and helped her up.
Shen Qi was stunned for a few seconds. Then, she pulled her hand back as Ye Linhan turned around to take the broom. He swept all the glass fragments on the ground and then dumped it into the garbage bin.
No matter what, his actions were well-intentioned, so Shen Qi couldn’t stay angry at him. She nodded at him. “Thank you, Linhan.”
After speaking, she turned around and turned on the tap to rinse the residue on the dishes.
“Stop doing that.” Ye Linhan stepped over to turn off the tap and frowned. “Just leave these stuff to the maids. You can go upstairs.”
“But…” Old Master Ye has asked me to do it. If I don’t do it well, would I be…
“He was just saying it casually. He won’t really come to check if you are actually doing the dishes, so you don’t have to stay here anymore. Just go upstairs.”
After thinking about it, she still shook her head. “Forget it. It’s not a big deal for me to do it, anyway.”
Shen Qi turned on the tap again. She was actually very skilled in this, for she had done a lot of chores before. Even though she rarely did any after marrying into the Ye family, she was still quite familiar to such chores.
Seeing her deft movements, Ye Linhan felt sorry for her.
“Don’t you feel wronged?”
Shen Qi was taken aback by his question in the beginning, but she then smiled lightly after a moment. “Nah, it’s nothing. I’m used to doing these things before. Linhan, just leave it to me here. You can leave first.”
However, after a long time, the man standing behind her remained motionless, with no intention of leaving.
After a while, Ye Linhan walked to her side. “Well, since you want to do the dishes, let me help you, then.”
With that, Ye Linhan stretched out his hand to help. Shen Qi was stunned as she stared at him dumbfoundedly. “Linhan, you—”
“Don’t call me Linhan.” Ye Linhan pursed his lips, displeased. “I would rather you call me Han.”
Shen Qi was speechless when she heard that.
She did not reply to him; instead, she looked at the sink stubbornly.
“Qi, I know it’s impossible for you to accept me all of a sudden, but I’m willing to wait for you. No matter how you think of me now, I just hope you’ll remember that, no matter what, I don’t think you any other way—I just love you wholeheartedly. As long as you are willing to, my shoulders are here to shield you from the storm for the rest of my life. Even if the entire world ridiculed me in the end, you could hide behind me.”
“Linhan!” Shen Qi interrupted him. “Don’t tell me this anymore. I don’t want to listen to such words.” Her tone was solemn.
“Qi…” Ye Linhan looked at her with a pained expression. “Are you already detesting me?”
“No… that’s not the case. I don’t hate you, Linhan. But, to me, you have always been my brother-in-law. Even if I would not be with Ye Moxuan in the future, we would never be together.”
After saying that, Shen Qi thought that no matter how deeply in love he was with her, he should be able to understand her.
She wanted to continue doing the dishes, but Ye Linhan still stayed here. In the end, Shen Qi couldn’t stand it anymore. “Since you want to do the dishes, Linhan, I shall leave first.
With that, Shen Qi turned around and walked out before Ye Linhan stepped forward to stop her nervously.
“Qi, can’t you give me another chance?”
“Linhan, it’s really impossible.” Shen Qi shook her head and walked past him. However, Ye Linhan hurriedly clasped her wrist. “Even if Moxuan doesn’t love you, do you have to behave so lowly?”
Shen Qi’s movements paused. After a while, she gently pushed away the hands that were holding her and asked in a firm tone, “What about you, Linhan? Isn’t what you are doing now the same as what I’m doing? In fact, you are even worse than me.”
Hearing her words, there was a touch of self-ridicule in Ye Linhan’s warm eyes as he smiled bitterly. “Isn’t that better? This shows that we are the same kind of people. As long as you follow my wishes, the three of us won’t have to suffer.”
“I’m going out first!” Shen Qi didn’t want to talk to him anymore, so she left the kitchen immediately.
Shen Qi went to the bathroom next to her to wash her hands before going upstairs. When she walked directly toward her room, she found that the door was ajar just as she was about to open it.
When she was confused about this, she heard a delicate female voice coming from inside.
“Young Master Ye, please let me go.”
This is…
Han Xueyou’s voice?
Shen Qi’s expression immediately changed when she saw, through the crack of the door, Ye Moxuan clasping Han Xueyou’s wrist while looking at her solemnly.
Han Xueyou obviously wanted to withdraw her hand, but she was not strong enough.
Shen Qi almost rushed in. However, at this moment, both her feet felt as if they were loaded with lead, and she wasn’t able to make a single step.
What’s wrong with me? Shen Qi didn’t even know it herself. Before she could hear what they were talking about, Shen Qi turned around and left. Though she just got upstairs, she rushed down quickly and calmed herself down in a corner of the garden.
What was I doing just now? Seeing such a scene, I didn’t step forward to stop it; instead, I turned around and ran?
What is wrong with me?
Shen Qi felt as if her brain had malfunctioned.
On the other side, Han Xueyou’s eyes were red. “Young Master Ye, I really can’t tell you anything. Please let me go.”
Ye Moxuan’s gaze was sharp and cruel, as if venom was flooding in his eyes. “You’d better tell me clearly, otherwise…”
