Ye Yuning casually ordered a glass of plain water, but Ye Shilong said, "Don’t you like coffee?"
Ye Yuning, who was handing the menu to the waiter, paused upon hearing this. After giving the menu to the waiter, she looked straight at Ye Shilong without saying a word. Her silence left Ye Shilong momentarily unable to understand her.
The coffee Ye Shilong ordered was quickly served. He took a sip before asking, seemingly casually, "How did you and Mister Xiao meet?"
By now, Ye Shilong had calmed down and mentally reviewed the sequence of events. Zheng Cai had claimed Ye Yuning’s marriage partner was Mister Xiao, something Ye Shilong absolutely didn’t believe. Ye Yuning’s social circle was very small, and she had even fewer close friends. Her professional circle consisted of business partners, with whom Ye Yuning rarely interacted privately. More importantly, during the time Zheng Cai had sold her to the Qin Family, Mister Xiao had been overseas. Besides, Ye Yuning had never collaborated with Mister Xiao through Ye Corporation. Thinking carefully... Mister Xiao seemed to have returned to the country only a week before her planned wedding with the Qin Family. How could two people with no prior connection possibly discuss marriage in such a short time?
When Ye Yuning heard the name "Mister Xiao," her expression immediately soured.
"What do you mean?" she asked, her tone far from pleasant.
These people, how bizarre! Should I know Mister Xiao? Or should I be very familiar with him? Lately, it was either Xiao Shuo asking about me and Mister Xiao, or Ye Tong! Now Ye Shilong has also chimed in to ask...!
Ye Shilong met her piercing gaze and faltered. "Sorry."
"Mr. Ye, everything the Ye Family is suffering now is because you have such a ’good’ daughter. As for me..." Ye Yuning paused here.
After a brief moment, she continued, "I have done everything I possibly could for the Ye Family!"
Even if Zheng Cai had indeed raised her for two years, that meager kindness had long since been repaid in full.
Her words, "I have done everything I possibly could," landed like a thousand-pound stone on Ye Shilong’s heart. He could clearly see the coldness in Ye Yuning’s eyes. Seeing her , Ye Shilong’s initially probing gaze also turned cold.
"When you were at your most helpless, we took you in. Regardless of how we raised you, without us, you would have been begging on the streets. And now you talk to me about having done everything you could?"
Ye Yuning was speechless.
Her breath hitched, and a frigid light settled in her eyes. Her hands beneath the table instantly clenched into fists. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✦𝘧𝙞𝙧𝙚✦𝕟𝕖𝕥
"What exactly do you mean, Mr. Ye?"
Ye Shilong set down his coffee cup, his gaze on Ye Yuning unprecedentedly sharp.
He retorted cuttingly, "What do I mean? Have you ever learned the meaning of ’repaying kindness’?"
Ye Yuning remained silent.
"During those two years, you were young! Without any external support, you might not have survived. We might have raised you inadequately, but we raised you nonetheless."
"You’re capable now, true. But do you honestly believe you could have made it this far, this smoothly, without us? Need I remind you? If it weren’t for the Ye Corporation, you wouldn’t have reached your current position, would you?"
As his words faded, a suffocating silence filled the cafe. Ye Yuning stared icily at Ye Shilong, who returned her gaze with a grim expression.
In Ye Shilong’s mind, the Ye Corporation and the Ye Family had been her stepping stone to her current success! Without the Ye Family, the Ye Yuning of today wouldn’t exist!
Ye Yuning scoffed. "Then let me ask you, without me, would today’s Ye Family and Ye Corporation even exist?"
Repaying kindness, he certainly knows how to make excuses!
"The Ye Family is considered a powerhouse among family businesses these days. How come it hasn’t managed to produce one ’decent’ Ye Tong?"
He’s sarcastically implying I relied on the Ye Corporation to get ahead! The Ye Corporation and the entire Ye Family threw their full support behind Ye Tong, yet what noteworthy achievements came of it? And still, Ye Shilong has the audacity to claim I owe my current position to the Ye Corporation.
Her words made Ye Shilong’s face turn ashen. "Yuning, I hope you understand that I came to you today out of consideration for our past ties."
Ye Shilong delivered this sentence with a heavy note of warning.
Hearing the words "past ties," Ye Yuning found it even more ironic.
Not wanting to waste any more time with Ye Shilong, she asked bluntly, "Between us, let’s not mince words with talk of ’past ties.’ Just say it directly: what is it you really want from me?"
Ye Yuning had completely lost her patience by now, especially with Ye Shilong’s hypocritical demeanor.
Ye Shilong stated, "You should be aware of the troubles the Ye Family is currently facing. We need Mister Xiao’s help!"
He was direct, and his tone was firm. Undoubtedly, he was trying to shift responsibility for the current troubles onto Ye Yuning, adopting a forceful stance that implied she had no choice but to help, whether she wanted to or not.