Chapter 36

"Yuan Xiaoer, do you like me?" The moss-covered wall and the phoenix tree leaning against it. Yan Xi stood under the phoenix tree, the morning sunlight casting a faint yellow hue, as if it had dyed her in a layer of divine light.

Yuan Yi couldn't feel the warmth of the sunlight. He looked at Yan Xi uneasily: "What are you thinking? How could I like you?"

Upon hearing these words, Yan Xi's smile slowly faded. She stared at him in a daze, her expression full of sadness and anger. His figure appeared particularly disheveled in her clear eyes.

Pata.

Tears traced her pale face, splashing onto the withered leaves on the ground.

"You... don't cry," Yuan Yi felt a sharp pain in his chest, as if pierced by needles. He hurriedly reached into his pocket for a handkerchief, but when he couldn't find one, he reluctantly stretched out his hand to wipe her tears. The tears were warm and moist, and Yuan Yi felt as if he could taste the bitter and salty flavor in them.

"Do you like me?" The woman in front of him blinked her big, watery eyes, filled with grievance.

Yuan Yi opened his mouth, wanting to say "no," but the moist warmth on his fingertips made it impossible to utter those words.

"I... I... I..."

"I like..." Yuan Yi opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling, dazed for several minutes before snapping out of this somewhat absurd dream. He slowly got up from the bed, casually put on his robe, and went to the bathroom.

After washing up, Yuan Yi rubbed his aching temples and walked out of the room.

Yuan Yasen glanced at his second son coming downstairs and spoke in a calm tone: "It's almost noon, and you just got up. Is this how you usually manage the company?"

"Dad, I just hold a nominal position at Changfeng. It doesn't make a difference whether I'm here or not," Yuan Yi said, looking a bit pale as he sat down at the dining table and picked up his chopsticks to eat the breakfast that Li Yi had brought.

"Don't you own several companies?" Yuan Yasen usually didn't interfere with his son's business, but seeing his indifferent attitude, he couldn't help but speak a few more words. "If the company can't run anymore, you should return to the headquarters and stay there."

"Not yet needed," Yuan Yi said without lifting his head. "The businesses under my name are performing quite well."

Yuan Yasen thought Yuan Yi was just being stubborn, deciding to let him face some setbacks so he could understand how difficult it was to run a business. "After breakfast, come to my study. I need to talk to you."

"Okay." Yuan Yi drank a bowl of millet porridge, which was thick, and he wanted to drink another bowl.

Half an hour later, father and son sat face-to-face in the study, and the atmosphere was somewhat cold.

"Your mother doesn't want you to move out," Yuan Yasen looked at his second son, his brow slightly furrowed. "What do you think?"

"Dad, I'm twenty-seven this year," Yuan Yi replied calmly, "I should have moved out long ago."

Yuan Yasen realized he couldn't tell whether his second son was angry or not. It felt like he was merely stating a fact without any further meaning. He realized that the child who used to argue with him and give him trouble had unknowingly grown up. As a father, he felt as though the past had become a vague dream.

"I'm not trying to interfere with your life," Yuan Yasen pondered for a moment, "but as a son, you should consider your mother's feelings before you act."

Yuan Yi looked at him without saying anything.

Yuan Yasen inexplicably didn't want to meet his son's gaze. "Er, when your mother was pregnant with you, she suffered a lot. She almost died from heavy bleeding during childbirth. Don't disappoint me."

"Dad," Yuan Yi suddenly smiled, "Shouldn't you blame yourself for that? If you hadn't allowed Mom to get pregnant and have me, how would she have suffered so much?"

"Er, you're talking nonsense now," Yuan Yasen's face darkened, "Get out!"

Yuan Yi showed no anger on his face. "Dad, being irritable is bad for your health."

By the time Yuan Yasen turned around to look at Yuan Yi, he had already stood up and was walking out of the study without even looking back.

"Unfilial son!" Yuan Yasen cursed under his breath. Hearing the sound of high heels approaching outside, he knew his wife, Xu Ya, had returned. He took a deep breath and tried to put on a pleasant expression before heading out.

"Yasen, I think Xiao Yi doesn't look well. Is he sick?" Xu Ya asked with concern when she saw her husband coming out of the study. "Should I call the family doctor to check on him?"

Yuan Yasen reached out to support her. "It's fine, don't worry too much. You've been out shopping for so long, are you tired?"

Xu Ya frowned and still called the family doctor after a moment, then went back to their room with Yuan Yasen.

At the Empire TV building, Yan Xi stared at the calla lilies in the delivery man's hands. She casually signed her name on the confirmation form. "I don't want the flowers, you can take care of them however you like."

The delivery man was stunned. He rarely encountered such situations and didn't know what to say for a moment. "Sorry, our store doesn't have such a policy."

"Okay, I shouldn't make things difficult for you," Yan Xi took the flowers and said to the delivery man, "Your flowers are very beautiful, I have no complaint about them."

After saying that, she threw the flowers into the trash can and even stepped on them a couple of times.

After stepping on them, Yan Xi turned around, smiled brightly, and said to the delivery man, "Thank you, you've worked hard."

The delivery man: "No... no trouble."

The flowers were quite expensive, specially ordered and airlifted, yet they were discarded just like that. In that instant, he suddenly felt the urge to refute some online prejudices, wondering what kind of confidence a man with money has to think he can win over a woman with flowers.

After the delivery man left, other colleagues gathered around, gossiping. "Destroying the flowers so ruthlessly, Xiao Yan, you really have the style of a female villain."

"Didn't you see in the TV dramas that the female villains always like the righteous masters and sect leaders?" Yan Xi crossed her arms, speaking casually. "A female villain and the leader of a demonic sect wouldn't find happiness together."

Everyone knew that Yan Xi didn't like the man who sent the flowers, so they didn't take her words seriously. After some playful banter, they quickly forgot about the matter.

Back in her office, Yan Xi saw a message on her work phone from Song Chao.

Song Chao: Did you like the flowers today?

She stared at the message for two minutes before dialing Song Chao's number.

When the phone rang, Song Chao waited for half a minute before answering, greeting her with a smile in his voice: "Miss Yan."

"Mr. Song," Yan Xi was unaffected by his pleasant voice. In their line of work, there were too many men with nice voices, and Song Chao's had little impact on her. "I don't like flowers. Mr. Song, you might as well save that money and donate it to the Hope Project."

"The Hope Project money should be donated, and sending beautiful flowers to Miss Yan is my small wish," Song Chao removed his glasses and calmly spoke, "After all these years, Miss Yan still refuses to accept my pursuit?"

Yan Xi smiled. "Mr. Song, are you joking?"

"No, I never joke," Song Chao lightly tapped the desk with his index finger, his eyes emotionless. "Not only do I want to pursue Miss Yan, but I also want to cooperate with your father's business. I wonder if Miss Yan would be willing to give me this little favor?"

Using her father's business to threaten her? Was this Song Chao acting out a domineering CEO drama, or did he think she was easily intimidated?

"Mr. Song, any business matters should be discussed with my father. I can't make decisions on that," Yan Xi laughed lightly. "As for your pursuit of me, I'm sorry, but I cannot agree."

"Oh?" Song Chao didn't get angry. Instead, he chuckled lightly and said, "As the saying goes, 'Time will reveal one's true nature.' I believe Miss Yan will eventually be touched by my sincerity one day."

"I'm sorry, but I place too much importance on family background," Yan Xi gently touched the succulent plant on the table. "A wealthy family is not suitable for me. Mr. Song, please take it easy."

"Miss Yan..."

Song Chao heard the busy tone from the phone and suddenly laughed. Back then, this woman had made him wait for several hours like a fool. She certainly had something special about her.

Too focused on family background?

He put the phone down. He hadn't planned to marry her into the family, so family background wasn't that important.

"Teacher Yan," a staff member knocked on the office door, "It's time for your makeup."

"Alright, thank you. I'll be right there." Yan Xi got up and walked to the makeup room. As soon as she entered, she overheard the two makeup artists talking about Li Jiayu. Seeing her come in, the makeup artists didn't stop gossiping and instead asked if she knew Song Ci.

"I don't know Song Ci, but I have memorized Tang poetry and Song poetry," Yan Xi leaned back in the makeup chair, not joining in the gossip.

"What Tang poetry and Song poetry, Teacher Yan, we're talking about Li Jiayu's boyfriend before she passed away," the makeup artist said, holding a makeup brush and sweeping it across Yan Xi's face. Yan Xi worried the makeup artist was too immersed in gossip and might use her face as a palette.

"Someone has dug up some big news. Apparently, Li Jiayu was dating Song Ci, the heir of the wealthy Song family, before she died. But this was never exposed. Recently, a reporter photographed Song Ci holding hands with a famous actress at the airport, so now people suspect Li Jiayu committed suicide because she was betrayed by her boyfriend." The makeup artist couldn't help but shake her head and sigh. "These wealthy young masters can't be trusted. It's such a shame—Li Jiayu was beautiful and talented, but she fell because of love."

No wonder Li Jiayu, younger than Shen Xingyan by seven or eight years, was not as experienced, skilled, or capable as Shen Xingyan in hosting, yet she could challenge her and even get connections in the fashion industry. It turned out she had someone backing her.

Out of respect for the deceased, no one said these words out loud, but everyone knew it in their hearts.

Yan Xi felt the gossip was a bit subtle. Even if Li Jiayu had been cheated on by a wealthy boyfriend, with her current status, popularity, and determination, she probably wouldn't have committed suicide over a man.

However, since she had never interacted with Li Jiayu, this was only her guess.

As she listened to the makeup artist gossip, Yan Xi casually opened Weibo on her phone. Sure enough, it was filled with all kinds of gossip, with some even posting pictures and biographies of the main heirs of the Song family.

After reading the gossip, she learned that Song Chao was not the only heir of the Song family. Besides him, there were three other heirs: Song Ci, Song Shi, and Song Fu. Yan Xi suspected that whoever named these four heirs was a fan of Song Dynasty history. Song Chao was their favorite, but it didn't matter what poetry or song they had; none of them stood out as much as Song Chao.

The four were cousins: Song Ci, the eldest; Song Shi, the second; Song Fu, the third; and Song Chao, the youngest. However, it had to be admitted that in the online data about the Song family's heirs, Song Chao was the most handsome, with the highest education, and seemed like the perfect young master.

Compared to Song Chao, the other three heirs had stains on their reputations.

In the comments under this gossip post, countless netizens joked calling Song Chao their "husband," as if he were the only pure one among these wealthy heirs, the king of young masters, and the most eligible bachelor.

This type of gossip, dragging down others to lift up one person, was a method long overused in the entertainment industry. But since these four were heirs of a rich family and Song Chao had a handsome face, no netizen seemed to mind that this was a malicious attempt to tear down others.

It was clear that wealth and beauty were the strongest filters in this world.

Closing the gossip and rumors, Yan Xi opened her WeChat chat window and sent a sticker to Yuan Yi.

"What's up?" The family was having breakfast, and Yuan Bo noticed that Yuan Yi had clicked on his phone.

"Nothing," Yuan Yi replied, standing up. "I had a late breakfast, so I'm not hungry yet. You guys eat."

Yan Xi: 【Big shot】

Seeing the dogged expression on the sticker, Yuan Yi immediately knew that Yan Xi was trying to curry favor with him. After thinking for a moment, he changed her name to "Yan Dog Leg."

He looked through the stickers and chose an imperial one to reply.

Yuan Xiao Er: 【If you have something to say, say it; if not, retreat】

Yan Dog Leg: I want to ask, what are the sad consequences of rejecting the pursuit of a rich young master? Is it still possible to sell my family assets and escape now?

Yuan Yi's hand froze. Who the hell would pursue her?

Just as he was about to ask, Yan Xi sent another message.

Yan Dog Leg: I'm going to record a show. I'll talk to you after the "Noon News" is over.

Walking over to the living room sofa, Yuan Yi turned on the TV and noticed several seemingly normal ads from the Song family's businesses appearing on the Beijing TV channel.

Yuan Yi felt a moment of emptiness in his heart, and at the same time, a feeling of suffocation. He kept looking at the WeChat messages from Yan Xi over and over, then replied with a stern face, "Who wants to pursue you?"

There was no reply.

Soon, the familiar opening music of "Noon News" began, and Yan Xi's face appeared on the screen.

Yuan Yi had always thought that there was nothing interesting in "Noon News," especially today's episode, which seemed particularly irritating.

Why report on a leader attending a ribbon-cutting ceremony? Is there no real news? Why spend two to three minutes talking about sugarcane branching? Is there something wrong? Then they had a dog going to the market to buy breakfast and a parrot reciting poems. What kind of nonsense was that?

"Yuan Xiao Er, is there a thorn on the sofa?" Yuan Bo finished his breakfast and came over, noticing Yuan Yi fidgeting on the sofa. "If you can't sit still, go rest in your room," he said, reaching for the remote.

"Don't touch it," Yuan Yi pressed down on the remote. "This news is interesting."

Yuan Bo turned around to look at the TV, where the host was explaining how some middle-aged women in purple-red performance clothes were going to perform on TV. The camera showed these women dancing with large fans, happily smiling.

This news is interesting?

Yuan Bo thought to himself that the generational gap between him and his younger brother was probably as deep as the Mariana Trench.