Madam Jinsha

"Ah Ye, actually, yesterday it wasn’t just you who ran out. Dad and Chen Hai also went out," Chen Qin suddenly mentioned.

"Huh?" Ye Shuang asked, "What for?"

"That woman in the photo, the one with blonde hair," Chen Qin said at that moment.

"……" Ye Shuang spoke up, "Actually, I’ve seen that woman before. It was when I was traveling in Little Japan, and we happened to be at the same hotel."

"Even though I couldn’t see her face clearly at the time, that aura—I’m eighty or ninety percent sure it’s the same person."

Chen Qin seemed a bit surprised, but then said, "That blonde woman—my dad said she’s the woman Uncle Zhou brought back, the birth mother of Alice."

That simple sentence hit Ye Shuang’s heart like a heavy hammer, sending a wave of chills through him.

At that moment, Ye Shuang turned his head and looked at Chen Qin, his eyes flickering.

That woman was Alice’s birth mother?

That unsettling sense of familiarity.

So that’s how it was…

Was it because it stemmed from his feelings about Alice?

"Why did she do it? What made her send Zhou Min to do something like that?" Ye Shuang frowned. If that were the case, then Bai Yuyou’s kidnapping might also have had that woman’s involvement.

"I’m not really sure either. Ah Ye, didn’t you ask me to look into the Zhou family’s matters?" Chen Qin continued, "I showed the photo to that person, and she confirmed that when Uncle Zhou brought back Bobo, he also brought along that blonde woman."

"So that means all the clues for a lot of things point to that woman."

"……" Ye Shuang was silent for a long while before asking, "What’s her name?"

Chen Qin said, "I don’t know the exact name. The only thing I could find out is something like Madam Jinsha."

"Like the chocolate? Ferrero Rocher?"

"No way, not that."

But what was her goal? How could she be connected to the Chen family?

Ye Shuang couldn’t help but wonder, but for now, he could only find the truth through Alice’s birth mother. If Yu You’s kidnapping was really related to her, then Ye Shuang would have to think carefully about the next steps.

"It’s getting more and more complicated," Ye Shuang said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"But Dad has already gone to the Zhou family. We should know what’s going on by tonight, right?" Chen Qin said at that point.

"He went to the Zhou family?"

"Yeah, I forgot to tell you about that."

"Mm." Ye Shuang wasn’t sure about the specifics of the Zhou family’s situation, but since Uncle Chen had gone over, he could trust him to handle it.

At the very least, he should be able to find out something about this Madam Jinsha.

After thinking for a while, Ye Shuang calmed down a bit. Chen Qin looked over and said, "Ah Ye, there’s actually one more thing from yesterday."

"What is it?"

"Mom had someone pick out auspicious wedding dates for us yesterday. Look, it’s next month." As she spoke, Chen Qin took out her phone, tapped it, and sent Ye Shuang a screenshot of a chat log with her mother.

The gist of it was that the date had been chosen, and it happened to be next month.

After all, Chen Qin was pregnant. They couldn’t wait until her belly got big to have the wedding, nor could they wait until after the child was born.

"The date looks good. Perfect for a wedding," Ye Shuang said with a smile, reaching out to pinch Chen Qin’s cheek.

"Right?" Chen Qin replied cheerfully.

Just then, a knock came from the office door. Ye Shuang said directly, "Come in."

The door opened, and Kou Kou walked in.

"President Chen, here’s today’s schedule. Please take a look," Kou Kou said, placing the planner on the table.

Ye Shuang reached out, took it, glanced at it briefly, and then asked, "I’ll handle these matters."

"Huh?" Kou Kou was a bit surprised but still looked toward Chen Qin, as if seeking her opinion.

"Leave the overseas business to be handled by others. As for these items, let your President Ye take care of them," Chen Qin said at that moment. In the past, she had always kept a tight grip on every task, but now that she had a baby, she naturally had to start delegating gradually to rest properly.

No one would have expected Chen Qin to push her high-priority tasks aside, prioritizing the baby over everything.

It was probably only Ye Shuang who could make Chen Qin do that.

That was also why Kou Kou was surprised. After all, President Chen rarely slacked off.

"Alright, President Chen, you keep resting. I’ll take a look at these contracts, then go meet with the business partners," Ye Shuang said, gently patting Chen Qin’s shoulder. If Kou Kou wasn’t there, he might have leaned in for a kiss.

But in a work setting, he had to maintain some professionalism.

"Oh." Secretly, Chen Qin was still a bit disappointed that Ye Shuang had rejected her earlier request for a quick intimate moment, but for now, she had to hold back.

Ye Shuang left with Kou Kou. On the way to the elevator, he didn’t forget to ask about the appraisal, "Did you get that thing done?"

"President Ye, I won’t have time until noon," Kou Kou had to say. She still had some work to do, so she could only squeeze in the appraisal during her lunch break.

"Lunch break is your rest time; use it to rest," Ye Shuang said, glancing at Kou Kou. "Go handle it this afternoon. I’ll give you half the day off. You can take care of it and then go grab a coffee outside before coming back."

"Ah, that doesn’t seem right."

"It’s fine."

"Hey—" Kou Kou felt a bit embarrassed. She hadn’t expected President Ye to let her slack off a bit after finishing the appraisal. Working under President Ye was definitely more comfortable—she didn’t even have to work overtime.

Too bad she’d been reassigned back to President Chen’s side.

But what did President Chen mean just now? Why was she handing work over to President Ye?

Even though Kou Kou was full of questions, she didn’t dare ask about Ye Shuang’s private affairs.

At that moment, Ye Shuang took Kou Kou back to his own office. He planned to bring along both Yu Fish—or at least one of them—when he went to meet the business partners later.

But the moment he stepped into his office, he found it empty, not a single person in sight.

Ye Shuang: "……"

Seriously, where was everyone?

Off slacking off somewhere?

Ye Shuang had no choice but to pull out his phone and call An Shiyu.

After a few seconds, the call connected. "Hello?"

"You’re not in the office? Where did you go? And where’s Ye Zi?" Ye Shuang noticed that even Ye Zi was gone. Where had all three run off to?

"Oh, we’re taking a group bathroom break," An Shiyu said casually, but on the other end of the line, An Shiyi’s voice chimed in, "Want to join? You’re coming to the restroom, right?"

"……"

Ye Shuang definitely didn’t believe the two Fish’s nonsense. "You didn’t really go off to slack off somewhere, did you? And what about Ye Zi?"