But Chen's father quickly softened his expression, as if he had long anticipated such an outcome. After all, from the moment that girl had come here, and seeing how firmly Ye Shuang had shielded her and stood against A'Xian and the others, Chen's father had already foreseen that this day would come.
"Alright, we've actually thought this through already." Chen's father waved his hand.
Ye Shuang was taken aback. That was it? No trouble?
"Life isn't for us to live, you know. The fact that you owned up honestly actually makes me think higher of you," Chen's father said. "If you'd kept dodging and feeding us lies, I'd have to reconsider whether to trust you with my daughter."
"…" Ye Shuang could only offer a wry smile.
"Enough of that. Have you proposed yet?"
"Uh, not yet," Ye Shuang said. "I will propose."
"Well, that's for you young folks to decide. All right, let's eat first. I'm starving after talking so long." Chen's father stood up. "By the way, come upstairs later and take a look at a few antiques with me."
"Sure, Uncle."
It seemed the matter had been put to rest for now. Ye Shuang and Chen Qin both breathed a sigh of relief, perhaps because this had turned out simpler than they'd imagined.
As a father who doted on his daughter, Chen's father naturally didn't want to force Chen Qin's hand or meddle in her decisions.
"A'Ye, I really thought my dad was going to lose it," Chen Qin whispered to Ye Shuang.
"I thought so too," Ye Shuang had to admit, since he'd been ready to take the scolding. Thankfully, Chen's father hadn't said much.
After spending half a day at the Chen residence, Chen Hai drove back.
"Oh, everyone's here?" Chen Hai said cheerfully when he saw Ye Shuang and the others. "I knew it—today must be about meeting the parents."
"What are you doing back?" Ye Shuang, who had been drinking tea with Chen's father, asked curiously.
"It's my own home. I can come back whenever I want." Chen Hai plopped down on the sofa and even asked Chen Qin to pour him tea.
"Chen Qin, serve the tea!"
"Pour it yourself." Chen Qin was blunt.
"Look at this, look at this, Dad. You've spoiled your daughter—she has no respect for her older brother." Chen Hai poured himself a cup, took a sip, and smacked his lips.
Chen's father just laughed. "I'm happy with how she is."
"Fine, fine." Chen Hai shrugged, then turned to Ye Shuang. "All the wedding plans settled? Want me, a veteran in this, to share some tips?"
"What kind of tips?"
"Tips for throwing a wedding, of course," Chen Hai said. "I was a pro at those little games back in the day."
"And weren't those hidden bridal shoes found because Fu Gui and I had to remind you where they were?" Ye Shuang countered.
"Come on, who'd expect them to be stuffed in a computer tower? That was just dirty, wasn't it?"
"All right, get to the point. What are you here for?" Chen's father interrupted, knowing Chen Hai wouldn't normally have time to come back today.
"Right, almost forgot the real business."
Chen Hai's expression turned a bit serious. He pulled out a file folder and took a photo from it.
"What is it?"
The photo showed a striking blonde woman with heavy makeup. The moment he saw her, Ye Shuang froze. "She…"
Memories flashed through his mind, recalling the woman he had coincidentally run into during those days.
Tall, with an indescribably eerie aura, Ye Shuang couldn't help but ask,
"Do you know her?"
"I don't know her, but you all definitely do," Chen Hai said. "Remember the photo we found in Zhou Min's phone? Recently, we found another photo in a social media album marked as 'private.'"
"Compared to the last one, this is a lot clearer, isn't it?"
As Chen Hai spoke, he noticed Ye Shuang's expression change—and not just Ye Shuang, but Chen's father, too.
"She… I see now," Chen's father murmured.
Ye Shuang narrowed his eyes slightly. "What a coincidence?"
"Huh? You both know her?" Chen Hai noticed the odd reactions and asked.
"It's a long story. Let me sort through it," Ye Shuang said, rubbing his forehead.
"Don't get involved in this," Chen's father told Chen Hai. "I'll have someone look into it."
"Just like that?" Chen Hai was puzzled by both Ye Shuang's and his father's reactions.
"Enough, let's drop this for now." Chen's father quietly stashed the photo away. "Why didn't you bring Qiaoqiao home with you?"
"Qiaoqiao had class today," Chen Hai said immediately.
"Dad, you haven't lost your memory yet, have you?"
"What, class matters more than seeing her grandpa?" Chen's father shot back.
"What are you saying? Of course school is important."
"Hmph, I'll hire a private tutor to make up for what she missed."
"Qiaoqiao would be pretty upset about that," Chen Hai said with a twitch of his lips. He knew his little girl would be unhappy if she found out her grandfather had arranged extra tutoring just so she could visit.
Meanwhile, Ye Shuang sipped his tea slowly, lost in thought about the photo.
"A'Ye, is this bothering you? I can help look into it," Chen Qin asked softly.
Ye Shuang snapped out of it and managed a faint smile. "No, just some things on my mind."
"Do you want to go rest in the room for a bit?" Ye Shuang was particularly attentive to Chen Qin's condition now.
[Character: Chen Qin
Expecting a baby]
"I am a little sleepy. A'Ye, will you nap with me?" Chen Qin said. She had no other intentions—she just wanted to hold Ye Shuang during her afternoon nap.
"Sure, I'll go with you." Ye Shuang then turned to Chen's father.
"Uncle, I'm going to take Qin upstairs for a rest."
"Go ahead, go ahead. I'll call you down before dinner," Chen's mother said with a smile. "But don't you two get up to any mischief."
Chen Qin's cheeks flushed. "We won't!"
As if lacking confidence, she added, "Really."
Ye Shuang just smiled faintly and led Chen Qin into the elevator to go rest upstairs.
But just as they stepped out of the elevator and were about to return to the room, Ye Shuang's phone rang.
He glanced at it—an unfamiliar number.
"Hello."
"Hello, Mr. Ye. This is the police station."
"Oh, go ahead."
"It's about the girl you found the other day. We've found a match in the blood bank database." The voice on the line continued. "A woman named Bai Yuyou has a perfect match with her data."
Ye Shuang froze, wondering if his ears were playing tricks on him. "Wait—what did you say the name of the match from the blood bank is?"
"Bai Yuyou," the voice confirmed again.
"How old?"
"Eighteen… Huh?" The voice hesitated. "Wait, that's strange…"
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
