Ye Fan composed himself a bit and exited from Ye Juanjuan’s room.
In the living room, Chu Biyao and Ye Juanjuan were chattering about something, occasionally exchanging mysterious smiles.
After Ye Fan appeared, the two girls lowered their voices, keeping their secret conversations from him.
Ye Fan glanced at his sister and secretly vowed to take good care of her, never allowing her to suffer the slightest grievance again.
In the kitchen, Chu Mengyao and Xu Xia were busy.
"Aunt, it’s just a few of us, we can make something simple to eat, how are we going to finish so much food?" Ye Fan looked at Xu Xia, who wouldn’t be content without making a feast, and Mengyao who was busily working, and asked in confusion.
"What do you know? Today is truly a day of triple happiness; we must celebrate properly," Xu Xia beamed with joy.
"Triple happiness?" Ye Fan was puzzled, his forehead full of question marks.
Xu Xia laughed, "Isn’t your return home a great joy? Your uncle’s leg injury finally got treated, the factory’s troubles have been resolved, so it’s a win-win for all. More importantly, you brought someone home; isn’t that three joyous events all at once?"
"Brought someone home?" Ye Fan was shocked. He had already sensed something odd; ever since Chu Mengyao arrived, everyone’s demeanor had changed, especially the hidden reproach in their looks toward him, as if saying, "You’re blessed but don’t realize it, are you blind?"
Chu Mengyao blushed and continued her work, ignoring Ye Fan.
"Isn’t it? Who else could Chu Mengyao be if not your girlfriend?" Xu Xia got more pleased with herself as she spoke.
Ye Fan had no words, stole a glance at Mengyao, then said to Xu Xia, "Aunt, why don’t you take a break, I’ll handle the cooking."
"How could that be?" Xu Xia refused; she planned to have a good chat with Mengyao and wasn’t going to pass up the chance.
"Why not?" Ye Fan nudged Xu Xia out of the kitchen, and she left with a wry smile.
Ye Fan had many questions in his mind and took the initiative to ask, "Mengyao, what’s going on? They all seem to have unfriendly looks, as if I’ve done something wrong to you. Earlier, my uncle even lectured me."
"How would I know!" Chu Mengyao feigned ignorance.
"Really don’t know?" Ye Fan pressed.
"Stop being nosy and stir-fry this dish," Chu Mengyao directed.
"Alright!" Ye Fan complied, heating the pan and pouring oil.
In fact, how could Chu Mengyao not understand the underlying thoughts? In her sister’s schemes, she was portrayed as pursuing Ye Fan while he became an ungrateful scoundrel. Being met with merely different attitudes rather than being beaten by the family was already lenient.
"Thanks for all your hard work today, running around and now helping with cooking," Ye Fan said gratefully.
"I like it," Chu Mengyao mumbled.
"If you like it, I’m happy too," Ye Fan said sincerely.
"Fool!" Chu Mengyao quietly muttered to herself.
Elsewhere, Xu Xia looked into the kitchen at the duo, clicking her tongue in wonder, "What a perfect couple, truly a match made in heaven."
Ye Juanjuan said oddly, "Mom, didn’t you notice? They’re both so cold, how are they a match?"
"Their similar temperaments make them a perfect match," Xu Xia was very optimistic about their future, then scolded, "Mengyao is your boss, shouldn’t you speak for her? If I were your boss, I’d have let go of an employee like you long ago instead of entrusting you with important tasks. Dream on."
"Mom, I never seem to do anything right in your eyes now," Ye Juanjuan muttered resentfully.
"If you want to good in my eyes, bring someone home, and I’ll praise you every day," Xu Xia shot her daughter a look.
"..." The moment this topic was mentioned, Ye Juanjuan fell silent.
However, the way she looked at her brother and the president was very approving.
Chu Biyao decided to stir things up more, determined to paint Ye Fan as a cad who used and discarded her sister. That way, Ye Juanjuan and her family would pressure Ye Fan into taking action quickly; dragging it out was not an option as time and tide wait for no one.
"Aunt, I have some private photos of my sister and Ye Fan together, would you like to see them?" Chu Biyao edited some videos on her phone and compiled a few photos that could easily mislead people.
"What is it?" Xu Xia and Ye Juanjuan became interested.
"Look at this one, this is a warm moment from this morning." The first photo that Chu Biyao opened was of Chu Mengyao in pajamas, gently touching Ye Fan’s face, believing meeting him was a dream.
The second photo naturally showed the two cuddling, sitting on the sofa until dawn. Though Chu Biyao knew the details and nothing actually happened, just the image of Ye Fan lying on Chu Mengyao’s lap alone could lead others to imagine wild things.
The third photo showed Ye Fan carrying Chu Mengyao upstairs. Of course, by then Chu Mengyao was drunk, but with her face obscured in Ye Fan’s arms, it was hard to confirm her state.
However, a man carrying a woman into a bedroom, the woman’s face shyly buried in the man’s chest, could easily lead to misunderstood conclusions.
The fourth photo, quite shocking, showed Ye Fan helping a drunken Chu Mengyao undress.
After some editing, Chu Mengyao appeared vulnerable while Ye Fan seemed like the bad guy.
After seeing a series of photos, Ye Juanjuan’s face reddened, whether from thinking too much or too little, one couldn’t be sure, but she definitely wasn’t thinking anything positive about it.
Xu Xia grew increasingly upset with Ye Fan as she looked; this behavior—both what should and shouldn’t happen—had occurred, yet he still treated the girl so indifferently. How could that be? As a man of the Ye Family, how could he shirk responsibility?
"Fanfan, we must have a good talk during dinner. This can’t continue. As a man of the Ye Family, he must learn to be responsible," Xu Xia resolved.
Chu Biyao knew well that her sister and Ye Fan were innocent as could be, yet with these suggestive photos, it was almost impossible for anyone to avoid jumping to conclusions.
"Biyao, where did these photos come from?" Xu Xia questioned.
Chu Biyao feared being seen as a peeping tom spying on her sister and Ye Fan’s private lives. Thinking quickly, she replied, "Aunt, I took them from Ye Fan’s phone. Please don’t let him know, or I’ll be in trouble."
Her fearful expression was compelling, dispelling any doubt.
"Don’t worry; Auntie will keep your secret. Without you, I wouldn’t know any of these things," Xu Xia firmly promised.
She fully believed Chu Biyao’s words, immediately guessing they latently took photos when up to no good, giving Chu Biyao the opportunity to discover them.