Release that Man

The issue of whether Xu Jian could take care of his troublesome uncle aside, at least his wish was a beautiful one. Ye Shuang was not interested attacking other people’s dreams; life had to be filled with hope after all.

Therefore, after briefly updating each other about the situation in San Lin City and confirming that Xu Jian’s work was progressing well—other than the potential relationship issue with Qiu Yu due to the chaos that was related to Wang Xueyu—it seemed that work there was going smoothly.

The next step was to wait patiently for Xu Jian and Anthony to get more incriminating evidence.

…

“My birthday…” Anthony came over to share breakfast with a pair of watery eyes early in the morning. As he ate, his cheeks filled up. At the same time, he managed to howl with tears. “Xiao Shuang, you don’t love me anymore.”

“I’ve never loved you. Please pass me the vinegar, thank you,” Ye Shuang said calmly. If anyone else had the experience of rearing a large golden retriever, they would also be able to face the daily grousing from Anthony calmly like Ye Shuang.

Han Chu chewed on the steamed bun with a lack of pity. He took a sip of the soy milk, glanced at Anthony, and told Ye Shuang, “He wants you to make him a big dinner, bake a cake… The birthday is not that important—the important thing is for you to pay him some attention.”

He paused and added with a nod, “As I told you earlier, this is them fighting for your attention. Before you stop praising Ol’ K, Tony’s birthday will never end.”

Then, he welcomed another pause before continuing. “Also, I want to add that if you’re baking a cake, I prefer strawberry cheesecake.”

Ye Shuang almost choked. She held the spoon and looked at the boys before sighing. “Do you people still have any shame after making such demands?”

Ever since Han Chu and Anthony officially moved in next door, the two had kept coming over to her place to steal food. To put it more accurately, initially, there had only been the shameless Anthony, but after Ye Shuang’s secret was revealed, even Han Chu’s shamelessness had found a new breakthrough.

Based on what Anthony said, her cooking was the best while Han Chu rationally listed off the inconvenience and the lack of cleanliness of calling take-out. In the end, he even gave her some money for the food. Those were the reasons that these two would be at Ye Shuang’s dining table in the morning.

“A birthday celebration…” Ye Shuang thought about it. “After all, I cook on a regular basis, so making a few more dishes won’t be that much of an inconvenience. However, I’ll have to see if I have other arrangements later in the day or not.”

Han Chu frowned. “You have something scheduled today?”

If she really had something to do, then she could ignore Anthony. After all, the man was only there to make a fuss.

“Temporarily, no.” Ye Shuang shook her head. “But no one can be sure. Of course, I hope it’ll be a peaceful day, but you can’t never tell…”

Before she even finished, the thing that she could not tell arrived.

Little Brother Ye pushed the door open with a bang and rushed in with a big commotion. Then he screamed at Ye Shuang, “Help me, this is an emergency! I need to borrow some money!”

When he noticed the other two, he greeted them hurriedly, “Morning, Brother Han. Tony is also here?”

“How much do you want?” Ye Shuang stood up to grab her wallet and then started counting the money.

“One thousand! It’s my girlfriend’s birthday!” Little Brother Ye grinned in ingratiation. “I’d forgotten all about it. Thankfully, I have my friends to remind me… Hmm, it should be enough to go out for a dinner and buy a present.”

Ye Shuang paused and then raised her head to look at her brother helplessly for three seconds. In the end, she pulled out the thousand and tossed it to him. “The cost of pursuing your girlfriend really is not low.”

This was even her biological brother. She should have known that the sister was incomparable to the woman outside. When she or Mother Ye celebrated their birthdays, the kid always waited in the living room for the food to be served and only greeted them with a happy birthday while he stuffed his face with food.

No wonder the relationship between the mother and the girlfriend was never good. If this was an understanding man, then it would have been fine, but they were unlucky enough to run into Little Brother Ye, who obviously pampered his girlfriend more than his family. The comparison was enough to make them cough blood.

Listening to him, Anthony was confused. “Celebrating a birthday with your girlfriend? Xiao Feng, haven’t you been saving up for the occasion?”

Han Chu answered without taking his face from the phone, “The students in our country do not like to work to save money, unless they’re forced to. Before they’re willing, all their expenses are borne by their family.”

“Before they’re willing?” Anthony was always learning.

“In other words,” Han Chu concluded, “university graduation doesn’t count, starting work doesn’t count, and marriage doesn’t count…. In any case, even if they have their own children, they might still retain the habit of asking for money from home. Unless they are willing to shoulder this responsibility or it is geographically too inconvenient, there’s a possibility they will continue to spend their parent’s savings. Of course, there is also the reason that the parents are worried about their children.”

Anthony understood it immediately. “I hear the family ties in your family are very close. Are you referring to this?”

Ye Shuang suspected that this man was being sarcastic and was silently mocking them. However, Han Chu knew that Anthony merely did not have the concept in his mind. His understanding of the family structure came from his impression of other people. For example, when an American teen wanted to buy something, they would work to save the money while Chinese children would often find their mothers. It was really hard to tell which was better—this was merely a difference in environment and family influence.

“Sis, are Brother Han and Tony mocking me?” Little Brother Ye cried.

“Just look at yourself, and what do you think?” Ye Shuang complained. “When have you ever gifted me something worth more than 100? If you’ve done that, I can die in peace.”

After sending Little Brother Ye away, the three continued their breakfast. Ye Shuang decided to fulfill Anthony’s unreasonable demand, grabbed her keys, and went shopping for ingredients. Han Chu went back to the sofa to work on his computer, expressing fully his desire to not leave home whereas Anthony happily tagged along.

Therefore, after confirming that he would be paying the bill, carrying the bags, and driving the car, Ye Shuang and Anthony departed happily.

…

“Tony, please stop here,” Ye Shuang suddenly said when the car was slowly rolling in the traffic jam.

“Even though I don’t quite understand the traffic law in your country, I’m sure it’s illegal to stop the car in the middle of the road.” Anthony used his fingers to tap rhythmically on the steering wheel. Then he turned to say, “Also, baby, do you think there’s a difference between stopping and moving, given our current speed?”

Ye Shuang thought about it and pulled out her phone to call Little Brother Ye. She turned to look down a certain direction. “Xiao Feng, where are you now?”

“Of course, I’m with my girlfriend,” Little Brother Ye answered. The man was so used to telling lies that he did not even pause.

“Oh?” Ye Shuang raised her brow and continued to confirm that one of the guys who was holding a large shopping bag on the opposite street was her brother, and then she chuckled. “Even though I’m an open-minded big sister, Xiao Feng… how come you never told me that you’re gay before?”

That’s right, gay!

Her vision was not so bad that she was unable to recognize someone’s sex from a distance. With Ye Shuang’s current memory, it was impossible for her to forget anything, and Ye Shuang knew all of Little Brother Ye’s dormitory mates.

Little Brother Ye looked around with panic, and Ye Shuang saw this clearly. She saw the kid freeze where he was and then look around him with alertness and anxiety. “He he… Sis, are you messing with me?”

While he was looking around, Little Brother Ye seemed to not want to face the truth yet, and he kept on struggling with his words.

Ye Shuang did not want to waste time, so she turned to order Anthony, “Tony, press on the horn.”

Anthony nodded and then pressed on the horn like he was playing the drums. After all, they were stuck in traffic, and many people were using their horns, so he was not the only one.

When he heard the horn that came out from the street and the phone simultaneously, Little Brother Ye fell into despair.

“He he… is there anything you wish to say for yourself?” Ye Shuang smiled, but it did not reach her eyes.

Little Brother Ye gripped the phone and was covered with sweat. His friends from the dormitory also finally noticed that something was wrong, so they stopped. “Xiao Feng, what’s up?”

“Er… sis.” Little Brother Ye tried to change the topic. “Actually, this is just a misunderstanding.”

“Good! I’m sure I want to hear this story.” Ye Shuang rolled down the window and waved happily at the three young men who looked like they had just been struck by lightning. She smiled extremely gently. “You can run, but you can’t hide… If you can, try to hide from me forever.”

Just as Little Brother Ye was crying, one of the boys finally recovered from the shock of meeting Ye Shuang. He sighed and grabbed the phone from Little Brother Ye. With some shame and embarrassment, he said, “Sister Shuang, actually, Xiao Feng didn’t mean to lie to you. It’s because my family…”

“Has some issues?” Ye Shuang rolled the window back up and told Anthony to drive the car to the nearby parking lot. “Stand there and wait for me. No matter the issue, we can talk this over slowly.”

“…Okay, we’ll wait for you here.”