Volume One, Chapter 20: No Longer Just Her Brother

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“Of course there is!”
But the second assistant naturally dared not say so outright, since there was a recorder in the car—perhaps Mr. Lu himself was listening right now.
“Miss Ye, why do you ask that?”
Because she truly felt it herself!
Beside Lu Jingchen, even a day over thirty degrees felt cold!
Ye Zhaoying gazed out the window, pondering for a moment but refrained from revealing her true feelings. “Nothing much, I just noticed that Mr. Lu always seems very serious, so I was curious.”
The second assistant paused briefly, then replied cautiously, “Well, Mr. Lu manages such a large enterprise; it’s only natural for him to be serious.”
“That’s true.” Ye Zhaoying nodded sincerely.
Putting everything else aside, Ye Zhaoying genuinely admired Lu Jingchen’s abilities. Although just a year older than herself, he had already managed such a vast company with impeccable order—it was hard not to respect him.
Meanwhile, Lu Jingchen sat with his legs crossed on the leather sofa, frowning slightly at the words “nervous,” “oppressive,” and “serious” coming from Ye Zhaoying.
The second assistant diligently escorted Ye Zhaoying to the entrance of the Morning Light Studio. After she stepped out and thanked him, she went inside.
The moment Ye Zhaoying entered the studio, ten employees swarmed around her, surrounding her in the middle as they collectively cheered for the successful completion of their project bidding.
Ye Zhaoying promised these juniors and mentees that once the project payment arrived, everyone would receive a bonus. This promise further energized the office atmosphere, filling everyone with enthusiasm.
Back in her office, Ye Zhaoying suddenly received a call from Wang Huaiying, who had probably heard about her breakup with Fu Mingchi.
There was no avoiding it; Ye Zhaoying answered without hesitation.
“You broke up with Mingchi?!”
Before Ye Zhaoying could even greet her, Wang Huaiying’s sharp interrogation came through the phone.
Ye Zhaoying stiffened. “Well…”
“What’s going on?! Fu Mingchi is such a good man—you won’t find another like him even if you searched with a lantern! You don’t cherish the opportunity, and you break up with him? What’s going on in your head? Not even a fraction of Qianyao’s sense!”
“Hmph!”

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A cold snort came from Ye’s father nearby, sounding less like a father addressing his daughter and more like a debt collector.
Ye Zhaoying struggled to calm her emotions and spoke gently to explain.
“Mom, listen to me. Fu Mingchi and I are not like you think—we…”
Before she could finish, Wang Huaiying interrupted again, “Not like I think? Then how? Since you were brought back, you’ve caused nothing but trouble. How can you compare to your sister? Finally, you made some progress and found a wealthy boyfriend, but you couldn’t hold onto him and broke up. You’ve completely disgraced Dad and me! Mingchi is such a good man—last New Year, he gifted Dad two bottles of fine wine worth over a hundred thousand each and bought me a set of gold jewelry. We had face to show off because of him. You can’t even keep a man like that? Are you trying to kill us with worry?”
Wang Huaiying’s words about Fu Mingchi’s virtues poured into Ye Zhaoying’s ear relentlessly.
Today, those words were unbearably ironic, like sharp knives cutting into Ye Zhaoying’s heart.
At last, unable to bear it any longer, Ye Zhaoying interrupted, “Fu Mingchi cheated on me!”
Silence instantly fell; both voices on the other end froze.
Ye Zhaoying had thought her parents would support her once they knew about Fu Mingchi’s infidelity. But the next moment, Wang Huaiying’s words plunged her into an icy abyss.
“What? You let him cheat on you?! Ye Zhaoying, what use are you? You can’t even keep a man! Go find Mingchi and make up immediately. If you’re not capable yourself, at least hold onto a wealthy man. What are you thinking?!”
Ye Zhaoying’s anger flared, her tone resolute. “He cheated on me. I will never get back together with Fu Mingchi. Give up on that idea!”
With that, Ye Zhaoying hung up. She did not answer the following calls from Wang Huaiying. After calming herself for a while, she returned to work.
Soon after, she received a message from her elder brother, Ye Zhaoyuan.
The message was brief: “Come home tonight.”
Ye Zhaoying stared at the text, already imagining the commanding expression on Ye Zhaoyuan’s face as he sent it.
It was obvious—this was about her winning the DL Clothing Company project bid while Ye Qianyao lost out.
Ye Zhaoyuan, her own brother.
Even though Ye Zhaoying was abducted when she was four or five years old, she still remembered how much her brother had cared for her.
As a child, he would share all his treats and toys with her. When others bullied Ye Zhaoying, he stood up for her and threatened the neighborhood kids,
“If anyone bullies my sister again, I’ll beat them up!”
Ye Zhaoyuan once loved her so much, was so good to her, so even after she was abducted, she never forgot his kindness.

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That determination to hold on, to reunite with her brother and parents, had carried her through countless dark and helpless nights. Those cherished memories were her final delusions.
But when she finally returned to the family she thought about day and night, everything had changed.
There was a new girl in the house—Ye Qianyao, only half a year younger than her, who had already taken her place.
The warmth and affection Ye Zhaoying longed for had shifted to Ye Qianyao.
Her brother Ye Zhaoyuan’s favoritism had gone to Ye Qianyao, and no matter how hard Ye Zhaoying tried to squeeze back in, to reclaim the past,
it was impossible.
Yes, impossible.
When Ye Zhaoyuan forgot her eighteenth birthday and only remembered it two weeks later, and when he had to rush back overnight from a business trip in R City just to celebrate Ye Qianyao’s birthday,
Ye Zhaoying clearly understood that the brother who once promised to cherish her for life was gone forever.
She knew what going back meant.
Ye Zhaoying stared at the message for a long time, then finally typed a line: “I have work at the studio tonight. I won’t come home.”
After replying, she muted her phone and focused on her work.
Finally, when work ended, Ye Zhaoying was about to take her excited employees out for dinner and a movie when she encountered Ye Zhaoyuan at the door.
He was dressed in a sleek black suit, leaning against a white Mercedes, obviously waiting for her.
Seeing her come out, Ye Zhaoyuan quickly strode over, his handsome face clouded with anger.
Ye Zhaoying closed her eyes, rubbing her temples wearily.
Judging by Ye Zhaoyuan’s demeanor, he was clearly here to drag her back for a scolding.
The few employees nearby froze in place, staring at the sudden appearance of the man with puzzled expressions.