Chapter 27

Take twenty-seven bites.
This was the kind of situation that made everything awkward.
Ying Tao and Zhou Chaoli clearly hadn’t done anything, but the moment Zhou Lubai said it out loud, it sounded like the two of them really had something going on.
She lowered her head awkwardly, looking visibly uncomfortable—thankfully, Aunt Tang suddenly came out to look for her.
She called, “Peach, come here. Your dad’s calling you.”
Ying Tao exhaled in relief and answered quickly, “Oh—coming.”
As she moved, she shot a glance at Zhou Chaoli, then looked from afar at the man who, from the moment he entered, hadn’t properly looked at her even once.
She rubbed the tip of her nose, unable to tell what He Mingye was mad about again.
After a long pause, she said, muffled, “Then I’ll go in first. You guys talk.”
She turned and walked inside.
Zhou Chaoli frowned slightly, his gaze landing on the man standing not far away.
The young man carried himself with effortless presence—an eye-catching existence even in a crowd.
As if sensing the scrutiny, the man lifted his phoenix eyes, his gaze cold.
When their eyes met, the truth Zhou Chaoli had never fully dared to confirm suddenly became clear.
He Mingye liked Peach.
Zhou Chaoli’s thoughts turned, but He Mingye only glanced at him calmly.
As if they’d read each other’s intent, in the not-so-spacious hallway the atmosphere suddenly tightened, sticky and tense, with a faint, sword-drawn edge.
Zhou Chaoli reined in his gaze. The gentle smile returned to his face.
“Long time no see, Mingye. How’s your hand now?”
He Mingye was emotionless. “Appreciate your concern. It’s healed.”
“What’s going on?”
Even someone as slow as Zhou Lubai could taste something off.
He looked between them, suspicious. “You two already met before?”
No wonder he was shocked.
Zhou Chaoli might be his uncle, but in truth he wasn’t close with any of them. Work and life—he had no overlap with their circle.
And besides, He Mingye had just returned from abroad.
Two people who had nothing to do with each other had already met?
Zhou Chaoli smiled. “We did. The day Mingye injured his hand, he came to the hospital to get it treated. We ran into each other by coincidence.”
Zhou Lubai was astonished. “That coincidental?”
“It was,” He Mingye said, eyes narrowing slightly. Hands in his pockets, he stood there and asked coolly, “Didn’t expect you to transfer back to Jingbei.”
Zhou Chaoli smiled. “I was foolish before. The choices I made were reckless. Now that I’ve figured out what I truly want, of course I came back.”
“Heh.”
He Mingye’s smile was faintly mocking. “Yeah? And you’re sure that if you want something, you’ll definitely get it?”
Zhou Chaoli’s eyes curved with a smile. “If you don’t try, how do you know you can’t?”
“…”
Zhou Lubai listened until his head spun. “What—are you two talking in riddles?”
He couldn’t understand what was happening. Unfortunately, no one bothered to explain.
After a long silence, Zhou Chaoli deliberately sent Zhou Lubai away.
“Xiao Bai, I heard you’ve been behaving lately. Since the three-month term is up and you’ve strictly kept your agreement, you can take your car back today.”
The moment he heard his beloved car could be returned, Zhou Lubai forgot everything else. He lit up, overjoyed.
“Really? Little uncle, you’re really giving it back?”
Zhou Chaoli said, “The keys are in the study. Go get them yourself.”
“Deal, I’ll go right now.”
Then Zhou Lubai remembered He Mingye. “Young master, you want to wait for me a sec? I’ll grab my car and we’ll leave.”
“Whatever.”
Once Zhou Lubai left, only the two of them remained in the corridor.
Zhou Chaoli weighed his words, then simply tore open the last layer of paper.
“Mingye, I know what you’re thinking.”
He Mingye lifted his eyes at him, flat and indifferent. “So?”
Zhou Chaoli’s expression was complicated. “Have you considered that maybe Peach only sees you as a brother? The moment she learns what you’re thinking, the balance between you will collapse.”
No one could guess what Ying Tao truly felt.
Maybe she really did only see He Mingye as an older brother.
After Ying Baiqing left, He Mingye naturally filled that vacancy.
Growing up together could make the bond between them look closer than other people’s.
But what if it was only unrequited?
If Ying Tao didn’t feel romantic love for him—if he kept using the identities of “friend” and “brother-sister” to cross boundaries—then when the truth finally broke, it might burden her and trouble her deeply.
“Maybe…”
Zhou Chaoli smiled helplessly. “You’ll think what I’m saying is ridiculous. I don’t have the standing to say any of this.”
“But I think your intention and mine should be the same.”
“Neither of us wants to see her get hurt.”
He Mingye let out a scoff. “What? So you mean I’ll hurt her, and you won’t?”
Zhou Chaoli seemed to remember something. A bitter look flickered across his face, and he gave a self-deprecating smile.
“That’s not what I meant.”
He Mingye’s face was cold, his voice calm. “How do you know I never tried to give up?”
When she was brimming with joy, ready to run to someone else…
When she was already wholeheartedly thinking of someone else, worrying over someone else…
He had intended to let go.
That was why he left the country.
And why he never planned to let her discover that the person she trusted without condition had the most shameful, filthy fantasies about her.
…
When Ying Tao was called inside, she finally learned what her parents had planned.
Listening to Ying Zhaohui, she only felt absurdity.
She stared at him in shock. “What did you just say? Did I hear wrong or…?”
How ridiculous—listen to the garbage he was spouting.
An engagement with Zhou Chaoli?
Ying Zhaohui’s expression tightened with displeasure, but since it was supposed to be “good news,” he forced himself not to blow up.
“What’s the problem? Didn’t you used to love trailing after him?”
“Now the Zhou family wants to marry into ours. Doesn’t that just fulfill your wish?”
“You can marry into the Zhou family the proper way, marry Zhou Chaoli.”
“Impossible!”
Ying Tao shot back without thinking. “I will never agree!”
Ying Zhaohui’s anger finally ignited.
“Try yelling at me one more time, see what happens!”
“Don’t think I won’t discipline you just because we’re at the Zhou house.”
“I give you a little color and you don’t know how high the sky is.”
“When you were little you never did anything proper—all you knew was chasing love, trailing after people, using those indecent tricks to confess.”
“Now I’m giving you a proper name and a proper standing, fulfilling your wish, and you dare to talk back to your father?”
Ying Tao laughed. “Fulfilling my wish? Are you fulfilling me, or fulfilling yourself?”
“When did I ever say I wanted to marry him?”
“Before you made this decision, did you ever ask for my opinion?”
No wonder Ying Zhaohui had been acting strange lately.
No wonder the Zhou family had been so overly warm to her.
So this dinner was just an excuse to set her up with Zhou Chaoli?
Yes, she had liked Zhou Chaoli.
But that was in the past.
And besides…
“You arranged us however you wanted—did you respect either of us?”
“Chaoli-ge already has a girlfriend. Forget me—he would never agree to this either.”
“What girlfriend?”
Ying Zhaohui frowned. “So what if he has a girlfriend? If Old Madam Zhou doesn’t approve, that woman will never enter the door.”
“The old madam picked you. If you marry into the Zhou family, it’s all proper—people know your background.”
“Chaoli’s temperament is good, he’s thoughtful in everything. This is your good fortune.”
She understood now.
So that was it…
Ying Zhaohui had taken a liking to the Zhou family’s status.
The Zhou family was rising fast. Even though the two families had always been close, being bound by marriage would be a different kind of leverage.
In the end, he still only saw her as a bargaining chip.
Ying Tao was disappointed to the bone. “I used to think you were just indifferent because you didn’t like me.”
“Now I know…”
She gave a bitter, mocking smile. “You don’t dislike me. You simply never treated me as a person.”
“In your eyes, I’m just a chip you trade for profit, right?”
“When you divorced my mom, she took my brother and left me behind.”
“You were disappointed—your only son didn’t inherit your path, wouldn’t obey your control.”
“You had no successor, no support.”
“So you remembered me.”
“You remembered your useless daughter—worthless in your eyes.”
“You want to trade me out, to secure a safe marriage alliance for yourself.”
“What a deep calculation. What a poisonous heart.”
“You—!”
Ying Zhaohui was shaking with rage. He raised his hand as if to strike, but Aunt Tang stopped him.
“Old Ying, talk properly. Don’t take it out on the child.”
Ying Zhaohui glared at her. “Listen to what she’s saying. Does she treat me like a father at all?”
“I’m the poisonous snake, right? I’ve bared my fangs to bite her to death, right?”
“Isn’t that exactly what you are?”
Years of piled-up grievance seemed to find a single point to detonate.
“What did I say that was wrong?”
“You’ve never treated me like your daughter.”
“All you ever wanted was a useful chess piece.”
Ying Zhaohui yanked his arm free. In a rage, he grabbed the blue-and-white porcelain teacup from the table and hurled it at her.
Ying Tao stiffened her neck. She didn’t dodge. She didn’t flinch.
The cup flew at her—if it hit, it would crack her head open.
But Ying Tao was already numb. She didn’t want to move.
Hit her, then.
It wasn’t like she hadn’t been hit before.
She held no illusions. She held no longing for Ying Zhaohui anymore.
She closed her eyes, quietly awaiting the final verdict.
But the next second—along with Aunt Tang’s scream—the teacup crashed to the floor and shattered, shards spraying everywhere.
She heard a restrained grunt right in front of her, low and muffled, like…
Like…
She opened her eyes blankly.
The person in front of her was looking down at her.
Thin lids like folded fans; a calm gaze resting on her face, with something complex hidden underneath.
“Are you stupid?” he said. “You don’t know to dodge?”
“…”
Her nose stung. All at once.
“You… you…”
The man was tall, long-limbed. He had completely pulled her into his arms.
The tea never splashed onto her.
Instead, his hand was already bruised purple-red from the impact.
Scalding tea splattered onto his cold pale skin, blooming red almost instantly.
Ying Tao’s eyes turned red.
After the extreme anger and fear passed, grievance surged in like a tide.
She couldn’t stop the urge to cry—and she hurt for him, for how badly his hand had been hit.
But he looked as if he didn’t feel pain at all.
He only stared at her bloodshot eyes, then let out a lazy scoff, his voice hoarse:
“What are you crying for?”
“Aren’t I here?”