After Saving My Possessive Best Friend, I Couldn't Escape (GL) - Chapter 36

Li Zi’s face, the “little piglet,” turned the color of a spilled palette. She froze, unable to utter a single word.

Being put in their place by Zhou’s mother the moment they met was a blow not just to Li Zi, but the faces of the other three girls also darkened considerably.

Yet, no one paid attention to their changing expressions. At this dinner party, the three of them were like meaningless extras—unimportant, irrelevant, unnoticed, and uncared for.

Having enjoyed the treatment of being the center of attention wherever they went since childhood, the three girls were utterly unprepared for the current situation.

The stark contrast between their usual lives and the present moment led to embarrassment, awkwardness, displacement, and a simmering resentment.

On the other side, Zhou’s mother was still warmly talking to Ye Yu.

Everyone looked at Ye Yu with smiles; at this moment, she was the center of attention.

Uncle Xue spoke up at the opportune moment. His voice was not loud, but the instant he spoke, it drew everyone’s attention. “Let’s all sit down.”

The parents of both families took the seats left empty between Zhou Meize and Ye Yu. Waiters served the pre-ordered dishes, the timing and heat of which were precisely managed.

The rising aroma of the food warmed the atmosphere, and the expressions of those present softened slightly.

“I ordered all the specialties here. It’s a small place, but the food is quite good,” Uncle Xue spoke like a kind elder, introducing the house specialties and telling the younger generation to eat well. “Take a look at the menu for any dietary restrictions and be mindful of them later.”

Zhou Meize flipped through the menu, then put it down without speaking.

Ye Yu, on the other side, ordered an additional dessert. “I’ll take one serving of this Cherry Sha.”

Ye Mu looked over, hinting at her disapproval. “Xiaoyu, when did you start liking dessert?”

Ye Yu turned to explain, but caught the criticism and wariness in Ye Mu’s eyes. Ye Mu was reminding Ye Yu that Uncle Xue was hosting. Can’t you see that no one else has added an extra order? Why do you need to order more?

Ye Yu’s eyes trembled slightly. She lowered her head and remained silent.

“Oh dear, this is all my fault,” Zhou’s mother noticed the situation. Seeing the cherries and red beans, she brightened. “Xiaoyu knows I love dessert, especially cherries. This is for me.”

Zhou Meize glanced at the menu, belatedly realizing that her mother did, in fact, like brightly colored fruits like cherries, strawberries, and mulberries. She quickly nodded. “Yes, Auntie. My mother loves sweets.”

“See, Xiaoyu remembers what Mom likes to eat. So thoughtful! You, on the other hand, you don’t even know where to look after flipping through the menu for so long,” Zhou’s mother took the chance to point at the menu, whispering a reminder. “Xiaoyu doesn’t like seafood.”

Zhou Meize’s eyes widened in surprise. Ye Yu doesn’t like seafood? Why didn’t she know that?

Zhou’s mother saw her expression and knew what she was thinking. She instantly shot her a look that said, “You’re useless,” and gestured for her to shut up.

Ye Mu heard Zhou’s mother defending Ye Yu and was about to take the opening to ease the tension, a smile already forming on her face.

But hearing the latter part of the conversation, her eyes flickered down to the menu, then covertly to Uncle Xue.

Uncle Xue watched their interaction the entire time, neither interrupting nor joining in.

Ye Yu was already accustomed to accommodating the adults’ wishes in everything.

The skill she had honed over the past ten years as a thoughtful child was fully employed now.

She immediately smiled and said, “It’s fine. The taste of the ingredients also depends on the chef’s skill. I just dislike the fishy smell of seafood. The specialty dish Uncle Xue recommended must be delicious.”

This statement was reasonable and complimentary to everyone, leaving no room for criticism.

Zhou’s mother shot Zhou Meize another disappointed look, then turned to Ye Mu and smiled.

“See how thoughtful your child is? I truly envy you for having such a well-behaved daughter.”

Ye Mu forced a smile to her lips in agreement.

At this moment, Ye Yu looked up, subtly glancing at Ye Fu. From the moment they entered until now, it had mostly been Zhou’s mother and Ye Mu talking.

Ye Fu and Zhou’s father were almost invisible at the dinner table, remaining silent. Zhou’s father was understandable, given his distant relationship with Uncle Xue, but Ye Fu had been watched over by Uncle Xue since childhood.

He was not on intimate terms with him, and the atmosphere felt incredibly strange.

Ye Yu swallowed a piece of crab meat. She passed the three already-cleaned plates of crab separately to the two female elders and Uncle Xue.

Then, Ye Yu smiled sweetly at Ye Fu, intentionally handing him an empty plate. “Dad, you peel it yourself. My hands are starting to hurt from peeling.”

Ye Fu’s stern face softened slightly. He said to Ye Yu, “I’ll peel my own.”

“It’s been a long time since our two families sat down to dinner,” Ye Fu started talking, and the rest flowed smoothly, allowing him to handle the pleasantries. “How are Xiaowei’s studies going?”

Zhou Meize put down her chopsticks and answered respectfully, “About the same as before.”

“She’s always been an average student since childhood. It doesn’t matter how many tutors we hire,” Zhou’s mother chuckled. “Unlike Xiaoyu, who has always had good grades.”

Ye Fu smiled and shook his head. “They’re both fine.”

Zhou’s mother looked around, as if only just noticing the other three young girls. She asked, “You must be Xiaowei’s classmates, right? If I remember correctly, you came to the house when you were little.”

Li Zi’s group of three felt extremely uneasy. Hearing the question, Sun Li quickly answered, “Yes, Auntie. We often play together.”

“And how are your grades?” Zhou’s mother was a shrewd person.

She certainly remembered who the three girls were.

She could even guess most of the reason why Uncle Xue had hosted this dinner.

Her addressing the three girls now was undoubtedly to distance her daughter from them. She introduced them to Zhou’s father.

“These are the children from the Sun, Li, and Liu families. You should remember them from when they visited the house before.”

Zhou’s father was a man of few words. He gave them a slight nod, a greeting.

Li Zi had been chastised by Zhou’s mother and was unwilling to speak first, so Sun Li had to bite the bullet and answer.

“Our grades are also similar to Sister Meize’s,” Sun Li forced a smile. “Average.”

Uncle Xue picked up the white napkin by his hand and wiped his mouth.

The moment he moved, everyone looked at him. He put down the napkin, his expression calm, and spoke softly and slowly, like a feather gently falling to the ground.

“Students should focus on their studies.”

The moment the feather landed, it sounded like a bullet with a silencer—a small pop that detonated in everyone’s ears.

The attitude of the superior was the weather vane. Above the vane hung a poisoned blade. Where the blade pointed was where the condemnation fell.

Sun Li, Li Zi, and Liu Mei’s faces instantly turned pale.

The Ye family’s foundation was bottomless, with connections in all industries.

Uncle Xue inviting the two families to dinner was polite, but also a normal social connection.

The Zhou family had been business people for generations, accumulating vast capital that could rival the Ye family.

But from the moment they walked in, Zhou’s child’s every move was unlikable. She was dull yet pretentious, slow-witted yet arrogant, and fond of associating with a group of low-class, troublesome friends.

Birds of a feather flock together, and someone about to become an adult who was this immature, unintelligent, with questionable social and emotional intelligence, and who chose bad friends, was not a good match.

When Ye Yu asked him to invite these three girls, he had people look into them, thinking they might be excellent children.

It was better that he hadn’t checked; now, with a check, everything the three had done was laid bare before Uncle Xue, like a transparent box.

Unfit for great things.

Uncle Xue’s gaze fell on the crab meat in front of him. A suspicion suddenly arose in his mind. Does this good, obedient girl, whom I painstakingly raised, really have to be married to this debauched person from the Zhou family? Who would benefit from that arrangement?

Ye Yu, on the other side, didn’t know about Zhou Meize’s recent wild nights.

She assumed Uncle Xue had only investigated the three girls’ past actions of bullying classmates and being spoiled.

Uncle Xue was a sharp man. He was perceptive about people and things and naturally understood her current situation.

The point had been made. Ye Yu didn’t plan to let Uncle Xue antagonize the Zhou family now. After all, Zhou’s mother was compromising and practical. Any outburst now would only result in a few words of reprimand, not fundamental damage.

“We have private matters to discuss,” Ye Yu thought for a moment, put down her chopsticks, and calmly spoke to the three girls. “You should return to school now.”

Zhou Meize instantly looked up, about to say something, when Zhou’s mother fiercely pinched her under the table.

Sun Li’s face instantly flushed red, alternating between shame and anger, like a spilled palette on her face. Ye Yu was driving them away! A blatant dismissal!

They recalled their initial excitement when they came to the dinner, believing it was a ticket to higher society.

But the moment they got out of the car, they were suppressed by Ye Yu’s status.

Then, at the dinner table, they were criticized and even implicitly rejected by Uncle Xue. Every single event treated them as insignificant.

They were called and dismissed at will. They were like clowns with painted faces who were being shooed off the stage before they even started their act.

Liu Mei looked at the adults at the table. Not a single person questioned Ye Yu’s command.

Ye Yu’s expression was as indifferent as ever, neither hot nor cold, neither sad nor happy. All her emotions were submerged beneath her calm facade.

Before, they had thought Ye Yu was just an eccentric loner.

Now, they realized how blind they had been.

Ye Yu’s demeanor was the result of a weariness born of transcendent status and having all her desires fulfilled since childhood.

It was a noble arrogance ingrained in her bones.

Liu Mei couldn’t help but recall what Fang Zhile had whispered to her when she moved out of the dorm. The Liu family has core technology.

Wouldn’t it be better to quietly run the business, taking things one step at a time? Why destroy their own Great Wall by provoking people they couldn’t afford to offend?

Realizing this, Liu Mei made her decision. She was the first to stand up, bowing to everyone.

Her words were neither servile nor arrogant. “My apologies for the disturbance. We will leave now.”

With that, Liu Mei grabbed the other two and pulled them out the door forcefully.

As they reached the entrance, Sun Li violently shook off Liu Mei’s hand, shrieking uncontrollably. “How dare they treat us like this, like teasing a cat or walking a dog! What gives the elders the right to do this!”

Liu Mei looked at her grimly, reminding her softly, “You’re wrong. They weren’t trying to mess with you.”

Sun Li glared at her. “What do you mean?”

By this point, Li Zi had figured it out and let out a long sigh of realization. “It’s Ye Yu.”

“Don’t you understand?” Li Zi shook her head. “Ye Yu is the daughter of the Ye family. The two families have always been close. Don’t you remember how we talked about Ye Yu before?”

Sun Li’s rationality slowly returned, and fear appeared on her face. “Then, will, will she come after us?”

“Hard to say,” Liu Mei frowned, clearly worried about this possibility. “Considering Ye Yu’s usual personality, she shouldn’t bother with us. But judging by her behavior now…”

“Why are you scared? Sister Meize will definitely side with us,” Sun Li suddenly interrupted, gritting her teeth. “Didn’t you see how upset Zhou Meize looked when Ye Yu told us to leave?”

Liu Mei frowned. “So what? Get a grip. Even if Sister Meize looked upset, in the end, didn’t she keep quiet? Ye Yu’s attitude represents the Ye family. We were acting out because we didn’t know Ye Yu’s status. I don’t care what you two think, but I’m absolutely done with this.”

Li Zi was silent for a moment, then also moved to stand beside Liu Mei. “We can target others, but let’s leave Ye Yu alone. Sun Li, we can’t afford to offend the Ye family.”

“What’s with your reaction?” Sun Li was completely enraged, lashing out at both of them indiscriminately. “Ye Yu is going to steal Sister Meize away, and you two want to stay away from her? Aren’t you just handing her over!?”

Li Zi looked bewildered. “Huh? How is she stealing Sister Meize?”

Sun Li realized her mistake and quickly corrected herself. “I mean, Ye Yu dislikes us. She’ll definitely tell Sister Meize to stay away from us.”

Liu Mei didn’t speak. She just stared fixedly at Sun Li.

Sun Li became annoyed under her scrutiny. “Why are you looking at me!”

Liu Mei glanced left and right, then lowered her voice suspiciously. “Sun Li, don’t tell me you actually… like her…”

“No!” Sun Li vehemently denied it. “Don’t talk nonsense!”

Liu Mei watched her for a while, seemed to believe her, and nodded meaningfully. “That’s for the best.”

“And another thing,” Liu Mei waited for her to calm down and reminded Sun Li, “Tell your sister, Sun Yangyang, to behave herself. Don’t let her cling to Zhou Meize anymore. She might get targeted without realizing it.”

“I can’t control her,” Sun Li sneered, letting out her accumulated anger by directing it at Sun Yangyang. “If Ye Yu has the capability, she can keep Sister Meize tied to her side. If she can’t control her, she shouldn’t be afraid of others taking advantage.”

Li Zi thought this was inappropriate. “Sun Yangyang is part of your Sun family. She’ll drag you down.”

“A child born of a masseuse who climbed into bed,” Sun Li scoffed. “Even her father is useless. What does she have to do with our Sun family?”

As she said this, Sun Li suddenly remembered Sun Yangyang and the camera she had placed in Ye Yu’s dorm.

Her heart skipped a beat. She hadn’t known Ye Yu’s identity before, but now she had to warn Sun Yangyang to keep her mouth shut and say nothing.

“Alright,” Liu Mei sighed. She had said everything she needed to. She couldn’t control what Sun Li did next. “Whether you control Sun Yangyang or not, let’s all go back to our respective homes and discuss this matter with our parents to see what they decide.”

At this, the girls realized the gravity of the situation. No matter how upset they were, it wouldn’t matter. Affecting the relationship between the families was the most serious concern. So, they all rushed back to their homes.

At the dinner table, the atmosphere, which had been warm, turned awkward after the three girls left. For a moment, no one spoke.

Finally, Ye Fu broke the silence, asking about his father’s health.

Uncle Xue smiled and poured Ye Fu a glass of wine. Ye Fu quickly half-rose and accepted the glass with both hands.

“You still remember your father,” Uncle Xue teased.

Ye Fu’s smile looked plastered on his face, and his words were exceptionally pleasant. “Father dislikes being disturbed. We haven’t seen him for years, but we all worry about him.”

“He’s doing very well,” Uncle Xue smiled warmly, like a perfectly ordinary elder. “You brothers, though, you need to take care of yourselves. You must rest, no matter how busy work gets.”

You brothers?

Ye Yu looked at Uncle Xue calmly, tilting her head.

Ye Wucang’s descendants were a strange phenomenon. Others were spoken of generally, but he had to look at them individually. “Sons” and “Grandsons” were completely different. If viewed from the perspective of the “legal wife,” he only had one “son” and one “granddaughter”: Ye Fu and Ye Yu.

If listed by order, there were differences in status—second and third wives. Counting sequentially, over twenty children were born to over a dozen women. Thanks to Ye Wucang’s fickle nature and callousness, most were dismissed with a sum of money, mother and child included. Only a few still received regular wire transfers from Uncle Xue.

Counting them all, there were six sons who had managed to stand before Ye Wucang, including Ye Fu.

The Ye family tree was vast, and the company spanned multiple industries.

If they had been content to be shareholders and receive dividends, they could have lived peacefully forever.

But the five others were ambitious.

When offered the chance to be delegated to a subsidiary for training, each one strained to prove their excellence.

Some were flashy, some were low-key, and some seemed to be patiently waiting for their moment. They all had one goal: to get a share of the Ye family’s assets.

At the same time, they inherited Ye Wucang’s attitude toward his lovers, focusing on procreation and having seven or eight children born each year.

Perhaps due to his indifference to his “sons,” Ye Wucang was somewhat kinder to his grandchildren.

At the very least, he allowed them to stay at the Ye family’s old residence and never disowned any of them.

As a result, the number of grandchildren grew exponentially, enough to form several soccer teams.

The pressure of infighting among the “sons,” combined with the constant stream of new grandchildren, made Ye Fu feel threatened.

He set traps and used ruthless means to drive them all out of the Ye corporation.

Ye Mu, still uneasy, joined forces with her own family to kick them while they were down. Some were arrested, others fled overseas. In the years that followed, the sons died one by one.

Now, Uncle Xue suddenly spoke those words. Ye Mu lost her grip on her water cup. Ye Fu’s hand, holding the wine glass, stopped twenty centimeters from his lips, his knuckles white from clenching.

The air seemed to condense into thick, dark clouds, hovering over everyone. Their little schemes had not escaped Ye Wucang’s eyes!

What did his words mean now? Was it a long-delayed questioning, or a subtle warning?

Ye Fu and Ye Mu stiffened like statues.

Time seemed to freeze as countless thoughts raced through their minds.

At this moment, Ye Yu’s voice, tinged with a complaint, broke the silence, the end of her sentence soft, sounding like a genuine complaint.

“Your memory is truly terrible. Uncle, have you forgotten that my uncles have all passed away over the years?”