Ye Ran sat inside the café.
Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, people came and went in an endless stream.
Beijing’s summer was very hot. The evergreen trees along the roadside were lush, and sunlight filtered through the crisscrossing branches, scattering mottled spots of light.
A server came over holding a cappuccino. “Sir, the order you placed.”
He came back to his senses and smiled. “Thank you.”
The server’s eyes lit up instantly and she hurried to say, “You’re welcome.”
Ahhh! So handsome! Such a good temperament!
Thrilled, she held her empty tray and walked away.
What good luck today, seeing such a handsome guy first thing in the morning!
Not long after she left, the wind chime at the shop door let out a clear, pleasant sound.
A boy walked in from outside, wearing a white short-sleeve shirt and sporting dyed blond hair, fresh and handsome. The boy glanced around the shop and, spotting Ye Ran, immediately broke into a big smile and came over waving. “Senior!”
Ye Ran set down his cappuccino and stood up slightly. “Jiaming.”
“Sorry, Senior. I ran into something before heading out… really sorry.” Cheng Jiaming scratched his hair guiltily. He had the look of a big-boy type, and when he smiled he showed small canine teeth. He was two years below Ye Ran and had become a well-known figure as soon as he entered school.
Today’s meetup was also a last-minute idea. Ye Ran didn’t mind his being late, so he shook his head gently. “It’s fine.”
The server came forward again, this time carrying a fragrant iced Americano.
Cheng Jiaming took one look and his smile deepened. “Senior, you really get me.”
“I didn’t let them add too much ice,” Ye Ran said with a soft smile. “Calling you out suddenly today, did I delay anything for you?”
“Of course not. Whenever you ask me out, I’m always free.” Cheng Jiaming took a savoring sip of coffee. The fingertips resting on the table tapped lightly and subtly. “But Senior, why did you have time to ask me out today?”
“I heard your studio picked up a big project recently. Did you stay up late again? Your dark circles are so heavy.” He asked with concern.
Ye Ran sat by the window. His face looked slightly pale, and his lips were faint in color.
The scorching midsummer sunlight slanted across the side of his face. His lowered lashes shaded his eyes. His features were elegant and restrained, like ink wash bleeding softly across paper, and his temperament was crystal-clear and pure, rare to see. He was like a piece of warm jade, untouched and unpolished, quietly alluring.
In just a few minutes, several people in the café had already sneaked glances at him.
Cheng Jiaming narrowed his eyes, pulled his gaze away, and sipped his iced Americano, moistening his dry throat. “…Is it because of Uncle Ye?”
“Yes.” Ye Ran gave a bitter smile.
Last winter, Ye Huaishan had been in a car accident and had been bedridden ever since. With him falling ill, the small Ye family clothing company was also on the verge of collapse. The major shareholders couldn’t support it, so they came to Ye Ran and asked him to take charge.
Ye Ran had studied art. After graduating, he worked at a concept art studio. The shareholders had watched him grow up. When he chose art back then, they didn’t say anything on the surface, but secretly they were relieved. Yet now that the company truly had problems, they wanted this outsider to hold it up.
Cheng Jiaming was Ye Ran’s junior. During freshman orientation, Ye Ran had helped the lost Cheng Jiaming find his dorm. To thank him, Cheng Jiaming treated him to two meals. With time, they grew familiar.
After the Ye family ran into trouble, Cheng Jiaming was the first to call him and ask whether he needed help.
The Cheng family was considered a mid-to-upper-tier family in the capital, several levels above the Ye family. Their monthly cash flow alone was in the tens of millions. Reviving a small clothing company would be easy.
Ye Ran didn’t think their relationship was at that level, and he wasn’t confident he could make the company profitable. So he declined Cheng Jiaming’s offer. Cheng was loyal, after several failed attempts to bring up funding, he stopped pushing and instead helped search for experts and doctors nationwide for Ye Huaishan.
Ye Huaishan’s recent improvement was partly due to Cheng Jiaming.
This was something Ye Ran had to acknowledge.
But thinking about Cheng Jiaming’s original purpose in doing all this made him troubled again.
Yes, Cheng Jiaming was pursuing him.
He had been pursuing him for three years.
From Ye Ran’s junior year in university until now.
Most art students were bisexual, and his roommates couldn’t understand why he could refuse such a devoted, high-quality man. Ye Ran couldn’t explain either. It was strange, he could always sense a subtle dissonance from Cheng Jiaming.
That unease made him gradually distance himself from Cheng.
Until he graduated, found a job with joy… and then Ye Huaishan’s car accident happened, the Ye company was struck with malicious attacks, and everything fell apart overnight.
In half a year, Ye Ran had experienced the rise and fall of a lifetime.
And during the Ye family’s darkest period, aside from An Yu, it was Cheng Jiaming who reached out. This made Ye Ran feel guilty, wondering if he had been too sensitive before.
As the saying goes, help in need is hard, help in success is easy.
Whatever he thought before, Cheng Jiaming now counted as a benefactor who helped save his father. It was a debt he had to remember.
“Don’t worry.” Cheng Jiaming looked at him, seeing the exhaustion on his face, and couldn’t help softening his voice. “The company is a small matter. What’s urgent is Uncle Ye’s health. I already sent people abroad to find specialists. He will definitely wake up.”
Ye Ran couldn’t hide his gratitude. “Jiaming, thank you. Truly.”
“It’s nothing. Your business is my business,” Cheng said. “Are you sure you don’t need my help with the company? I have some small shares now. Injecting funds into the Ye family is just one word from me. When Uncle Ye wakes up, he can rest without worry.”
Speaking of the company, the smile in Ye Ran’s eyes faded. Thinking of the shareholders who came to him every few days, he shook his head. Calmly, he said, “Forget the company.”
Even if they saved it, it was meaningless. With Ye Huaishan still unconscious and no shareholder able to take charge, and with Ye Ran being an outsider to business, once Cheng stepped in, he wouldn’t be able to withdraw again.
Ye Ran saw the situation clearly. He had no intention of using this chance to seize power or reshuffle things.
Cheng Jiaming paused, then smiled. “Alright. But if you ever need anything, just say the word. I’ll help you.”
“Jiaming, honestly… aside from thank you, I don’t know what else to say.” Ye Ran gripped his cup and said seriously, “If you ever run into trouble in the future, I won’t turn you away.”
“Don’t. What’s the point of all these thanks between us? If you really feel you can’t repay me, then how about agreeing to be with me? If we get engaged, we’ll be family. No need to talk about thanks.” Cheng Jiaming said.
Ye Ran looked at him helplessly. “Stop talking nonsense.”
“How is it nonsense?” Cheng straightened up, the handsome features on his face breaking into a wide smile. He stared at him directly. “Senior, I’m serious.”
“My abilities are limited right now. I can’t help you much. But if you’re willing to date me, get engaged to me, I guarantee I’ll give everything I have to revive the Ye family.”
“Senior, you know,” Cheng Jiaming said with deep affection, “I’m doing all this for you.”
…
“He really said that?!”
A few more people entered the café. The wind chimes rang crisply.
The rich aroma of coffee beans spread, like wisps of smoke.
Cheng Jiaming had taken a call halfway through and rushed off, still waiting for Ye Ran’s answer. Ye Ran leaned tiredly against the window. The soft sunlight fell onto him, dyeing his lowered eyelashes faint gold.
He sat quietly. His figure was slender and pale, the white shirt on him making him look even cooler and more restrained, with a fragile air of being weighed down.
But when he gave the slightest smile, that fragile weariness dissolved.
“Yes.”
On the phone, An Yu immediately exploded like he’d swallowed a pack of firecrackers. Every three words came with a curse. “F*ck, isn’t he just using the favor he did to force you?! I told you this guy wasn’t clean. Ranran, do NOT let him fool you!”
After graduating, An Yu returned home to join the An family business. He understood the Ye family’s predicament better than Ye Ran himself.
“What’s happening to your family is d*mn shady. Too coincidental. Uncle Ye just had a car accident, and right after that, someone reports your company for selling fake goods, then the smear campaigns, the scandals, such dirty tactics. Only a rival would send people to do that. You think Cheng Jiaming can’t tell? If he can see it and still pushes you into muddy water, isn’t he forcing you?” An Yu ranted.
Ye Ran spoke softly to calm him. “I didn’t agree.”
An Yu exploded again. “If you dare agree, I’ll crash the engagement ceremony!”
“Jesus Christ, same-sex marriage isn’t even legal here. I see right through what he’s planning. Engagements have no legal effect. Later he can cancel it for any random excuse, and what will you be left with?!”
These days, the public generally held a neutral-but-slightly-biased stance toward homosexuality. If word spread that a gay couple broke off an engagement, people would probably praise it as ‘the prodigal son returning to the right path.’
Ye Ran couldn’t help smiling. Knowing his friend had always disliked Cheng Jiaming, he didn’t argue. “I understand everything you said. Don’t worry, I won’t just get married casually.”
“As long as you know your path. I just don’t want that flowery-tongued b*stard fooling you.” An Yu sighed, as if remembering something. “Next month I have to go with my dad to Haishi. There’s a financial forum there that’ll probably set the tone for the next year.”
“While I’m gone, you have to stay alert, understand? Cheng Jiaming is filled with bad ideas; don’t you dare get close to him!”
He wanted to feel grateful to Cheng Jiaming like Ye Ran did, but over the past six months, Cheng Jiaming’s actions were always half-human, half-ghost, using the favor of helping find a specialist for Uncle Ye to repeatedly drag Ye Ran to banquets and parties.
The intention was obvious to anyone, even a blind man: a subtle claim of ownership. The two weren’t even officially dating, yet rumors in their circle already said Ye Ran was Cheng Jiaming’s person.
An Yu was furious. He had seen Ye Ran shine quietly in the art world, and he had seen the soft concentration in his eyes when he faced his canvas.
Ye Ran should have been protected by his father, doing what he truly loved. Yet now he had inexplicably been labeled as someone else’s property, an unspoken fact in their social circle.
If it weren’t for the fact that the specialist Cheng Jiaming hired was genuinely effective, An Yu would have already smashed his head in.
He only hated himself for not getting that expert’s contact information earlier, letting that idiot Cheng Jiaming grab the chance first.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. An Yu’s belly was full of fire, but unlike Ye Ran, he couldn’t let it out. He said, “I’m going to the hospital this afternoon to see Uncle. What about you?”
On the phone, Ye Ran’s voice was gentle. “I’m going too.”
…
Two o’clock in the afternoon.
An Yu and Ye Ran met at the hospital.
An Yu was carrying fruit. From a distance, he saw Ye Ran get out of a taxi.
Because the weather was too hot, Ye Ran’s pale face carried a bit of red. His appearance was striking; his phoenix eyes gathered like drifting clouds tinged with red. His thin eyelids were lowered, their shape fine and long. He was wearing only a simple white T-shirt, loose and draped over him, making him look even thinner.
Distressed, An Yu ran over and touched his arm and waist. “Good lord, did you not eat this week? How did you get so skinny?”
Ye Ran smiled from the touch, his lips curving softly. “I ate. I just had a lot going on lately, slept a bit late.”
“How late could that be? Come stay at my place next week, stop staying up so late,” An Yu said.
Ye Ran shook his head. “I have to draw drafts at night. I’d disturb you.”
“Enough, why are you telling me all that,” An Yu waved his hand. “I told you to come, so just come!”
Ye Ran smiled and nodded, then went with An Yu to the ward to see Father Ye.
Father Ye had already been moved from the ICU to a regular ward. Ye Ran had booked a VIP room, fully equipped with a small kitchen, a companion bed, and a bathroom. The caregiver was dozing by the bed and quickly stood up to greet them when they arrived.
An Yu’s family worked in the service industry, and the caregiver had been chosen from their own company, very responsible.
After letting the caregiver step out, Ye Ran sat on the chair by the bed and quietly looked at Father Ye.
In just three months, Father Ye had visibly lost weight.
His jawline was protruding, his eye sockets sunken.
This face that was always stern and imposing when awake looked extremely fragile in its unconscious state.
Ye Ran held his hand, feeling the slow heartbeat, staring blankly into space, empty and lost.
…What should he do?
Dad, what should he do?
Was choosing to study art in the first place a mistake?
Just like those shareholders whispered behind his back: “What kind of useless child did Ye Hanshan raise?”
If he had studied business management instead, would everything have turned out differently?
…
His thoughts slowly became muddled.
Ye Ran felt a little short of breath.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.
Then came An Yu’s impatient voice: “Why are you here?”
Ye Ran turned and saw his father’s right-hand man, the company’s vice president, Sun Haiguo.
Sun Haiguo stood at the door, looking a little awkward. Behind him were several other shareholders, but unlike Sun Haiguo, their expressions were cold.
They scrutinized Ye Ran almost critically. One of them was just about to speak when Ye Ran said coolly, “Let’s talk outside.”
He leaned over and gently pulled the blanket up over his father.
“Don’t make noise in here.”
Late at night, the sky hung low.
Beijing was still lively and bustling.
The city center glowed with neon lights. In contrast, the upscale residential area in the suburbs was much quieter, even showing twinkling stars.
Ye Ran sat on the second-floor balcony of the villa, staring blankly at the night sky.
As always, the shareholders came to probe whether Cheng Group would invest, and to ask about Father Ye’s recovery, if he wouldn’t wake up, could they bring in a professional manager to run the company, that kind of question.
Ye Ran was tired of dealing with them and didn’t bother answering.
An Yu, who had a hair-trigger temper, directly cursed out all five of them, making those fifty-or-sixty-year-old shareholders red-faced and nearly faint from high blood pressure.
Ye Ran found it amusing.
All these years, Father Ye had devoted himself to the company, negotiating contracts even during holidays. And now he was merely in a coma, yet these shareholders were already urging him to sell his shares in exchange for investment.
What a brilliant idea.
He slowly unlocked his phone and looked at the long string of messages Cheng Jiaming had sent.
All gentle comfort, along with persuasion telling him not to sell his shares. If things got too dire, he could inject capital immediately to save the Ye family.
Once he invested, Cheng Jiaming would become the biggest shareholder of Ye Corp.
Then even the tiny amount of shares Ye Ran held would leave him dependent on Cheng Jiaming.
He quietly locked the screen again and continued spacing out in the cool night breeze.
When his phone rang, a thick sense of irritated disgust rose inside him.
Who was it this time?
Sun Haiguo, Cheng Jiaming, or one of the countless “uncles” and “aunties” calling to ask for updates?
He looked at the unknown number, forced down his agitation, and answered. “Hello.”
His voice, carried on the night wind, was gentle and soft, as calm as always, like warm water dissolving into the dark. He asked lightly, “How can I help you?”
On the other end, silence lingered for a long time.
Two uneven breaths seemed to sound at once.
After a moment, the phone rustled, then a cautious, trembling female voice came through.
“Is… is this Ranran?”
Ye Ran paused, eyes dropping. “This is Ye Ran.”
“It’s really you! It’s really you!”
The woman, unable to hide her excitement, seemed to say something to someone beside her. Then she calmed herself, steadying her breathing. “Hello, Ranran, I’m your Auntie Jiang… I—I held you when you were a baby. Your mother, Chen Wan, was my friend. Your father was my friend too.”
Her voice choked a little. She inhaled shakily and asked, “Is your mother there? Can I speak to her?”
…His mother’s friend?
Ye Ran paused, hesitating. “Sorry, Auntie. My mother… passed away over ten years ago.”
The other end fell completely silent.
The woman seemed to lose her voice. Only several hoarse “ah” sounds came out. A few seconds later, after some static, a steady male voice came on.
“Hello, Ranran. I’m your Uncle Shen. Can you put your father on the phone?”
Ye Ran lowered his gaze, his voice even softer. “Sorry, my father is still in the hospital. He can’t take calls.”
“The hospital?” The man’s tone deepened. He clearly held authority, a natural air of command. “Is your father ill?”
“Yes. He was in a car accident and hasn’t woken up yet.” Father Ye had friends everywhere, so Ye Ran assumed these two were acquaintances from his father’s years of traveling and doing business. He answered truthfully.
Besides, anyone who wanted to look into the accident could find out. There was no point in hiding it.
“How did he end up in a car accident?” The man asked. “Ranran, are you the only one at home right now?”
“Yes.”
“All right, I understand. Your Auntie Jiang and I will come to Beijing in the next couple of days to visit you and your father,” the man said decisively. “Can you send us the exact hospital address?”
Before Ye Ran could reply, the woman took the phone again.
Her voice was thick with held-back tears, yet gentle. “Ranran, we’re old friends of your parents. I don’t know if your father mentioned us. My name is Jiang Ruyan. My husband is Shen Hanqing. We also have a child, Shen Shi, five years older than you. You two used to play together when you were little. Do you remember?”
Several familiar names seemed to unlock an old memory box.
Vaguely, fragments of warm, scattered images skimmed across Ye Ran’s mind.
His guardedness loosened for reasons he couldn’t name. Slowly, hesitantly, he said, “Auntie Shen?”
Mother Shen nearly burst into tears of relief.
“Yes, yes, it’s me! Ranran, you remember?”
Ye Ran’s grip on his phone relaxed slightly. “…I think I remember. Auntie Shen, I’ll send you the hospital address.”
People had their own natural “magnetic fields.”
When the woman called him “Ranran,” Ye Ran could hear genuine joy and affection in her voice.
After dealing with so much hypocrisy lately, he had suddenly become able to distinguish sincerity with ease.
He made his decision. “Auntie Shen, if you’re coming, let me know ahead of time. I’ll pick you up.”
“No need, Ranran,” the woman said warmly. “You must be very tired these days. Once we’re in Beijing, I’ll stay there to help you. Your mother and I were like sisters. Your family’s business is our business.”
“And my son sits at a desk all day. I’d like him to carry some luggage for once.”
Haishi.
The Shen family’s old estate.
The call ended.
Mother Shen still looked reluctant to hang up.
They didn’t have to ask to know that the Ye family must be in serious trouble.
Otherwise, during tonight’s social gathering, they wouldn’t have heard rumors that made them suspicious enough to investigate, only to discover it really was their long-lost friend, Ye Huaishan.
“Ranran is just a child. How can he handle such a mess by himself?” Mother Shen fretted. “Those shareholders… they’re already trying to sell shares even down here in the south.”
Father Shen held up his newspaper, reading the news. At her words, he gave a cold snort. He had already retired and was enjoying his later years. Shen Shi now handled the Shen family business, and no one dared question him.
Thinking of Shen Shi, Father Shen said coldly, “That brat isn’t coming home tonight?”
It was Monday. Normally, Shen Shi would come home to keep his mother company.
Mother Shen sighed. “I set up a blind date for him today. I don’t know how it went. Miss Su is someone I hand-picked. She studied abroad, majored in the arts, has a wonderful temperament, and can dance. I just don’t know if our Little Shi will like her.”
“He’s twenty-eight. He’ll be thirty in two years. Does he plan to stay single forever?” Father Shen snapped.
Mother Shen glared at him. “Don’t talk nonsense. Little Shi is just… independent.”
How was being independent related to whether he got married?
Father Shen was about to speak when they heard Chen Ma’s voice at the entrance.
“Young Master, you’re back?”
Chen Ma had served the Shen family for years, and she still insisted on calling Shen Shi “Young Master,” no matter who corrected her.
Mother Shen immediately tensed up, both nervous and expectant. Even Father Shen put down his newspaper; though he didn’t move, his ears were clearly alert.
At the entrance, a deep male voice responded with a quiet “Mm.”
Then came unhurried footsteps.
A figure turned around the corner. The first things visible were polished leather shoes, long legs, and then a casually unbuttoned shirt with two buttons undone.
Shen Shi had just left the banquet. There was a faint smell of alcohol on him, yet it didn’t feel out of place.
He glanced at the living room and said to Mother Shen, who was waiting expectantly, “Mom.”
“You’re back?” Half of Mother Shen’s heart sank. “Why are you back so late… You didn’t go to Lao Fengzhai tonight? You didn’t go meet Qiaoqiao?”
Lao Fengzhai was a famous private kitchen restaurant in Haishi.
An old establishment. They only served one hundred tables a day. If you wanted to eat there, you had to book half a month in advance.
Mother Shen arranged today’s blind date there as a sign of the importance she placed on Miss Su.
“I went.” Shen Shi took the honey water Chen Ma handed him and drank a sip to moisten his throat.
He sat down on the sofa with a hint of fatigue. His dark, deep phoenix eyes showed no fluctuation. Even hearing Miss Su’s name, he didn’t lift his eyelids. “I met her.”
So he left halfway through.
Mother Shen understood Shen Shi’s temperament too well. He was a workaholic, very much like his father when he was young. Besides work, he seemed to have no emotions, no desires, and absolutely no intention of settling down.
Even knowing this, she still asked with full hope, “What do you think of her?”
Shen Shi responded as if it didn’t matter. “She’s fine.”
Fine what?
The person is fine? Her looks are fine? Her personality is fine? Or her character is fine?
Seeing his expression, needing to squeeze every word out of him, Mother Shen became angry. She snapped without politeness, “Fine what? Fine enough to marry?”
Shen Shi: “Mm.”
Mother Shen: “If she’s not, then what are you saying ‘fine’ for— what?!”
Mother Shen, rarely losing composure, almost couldn’t sit upright. Father Shen also froze, turning to scrutinize Shen Shi, wanting to know what he meant.
This proud son of his, who had always sailed through life smoothly, had walked every step firmly and correctly after graduating college.
Whether starting his own company or inheriting the family business, he had become a leader among his peers. In fact, no one of his generation could compare.
Only in the matter of marriage did he remain careless. Father Shen and Mother Shen were truly in love and had accompanied each other through life, so they understood better than anyone what this attitude meant.
…He didn’t see marriage as a responsibility.
He viewed marriage as a joke.
He was settling, compromising, trying to shut their mouths and ease their minds.
Father Shen held back a cold laugh, so angry his blood pressure rose.
Fine, huh.
Agreed, huh.
Treating marriage like settling, huh.
Then he wouldn’t bother advising further. When this brat eventually met someone he truly wanted to date and marry, he would know regret.
Let’s see how he panics then!
Father Shen barely steadied himself and exchanged a glance with Mother Shen. Mother Shen understood Shen Shi even better. Naturally she also recognized his careless, indifferent state. Twenty-eight years old, and still this flippant.
Did he really think having some money made him remarkable?
She took a deep breath. “All right. After we come back from Beijing in a couple of days, I’ll go talk to Miss Su’s parents about the engagement.”
Shen Shi remained emotionless. Calmly, he lifted his eyelids and looked at the table. “Mm.”
Mother Shen was speechless.
After a while, Shen Shi finally seemed to understand the implication in her words. Casually, he looked over and asked, “Why are you going to Beijing?”
“To visit an old friend. Are you going?” Mother Shen asked.
Shen Shi: “No.”
“There’s too much work at the company.” He stood up, like a rested male beast, elegant and composed. “Call me when you get there. I’ll arrange someone to pick you up.”
“No need. Ranran said he’s definitely coming to pick us up.” Mother Shen’s expression softened a little. She couldn’t help glancing at Father Shen. “If you ask me, Ranran is steady. With such a major incident at home, he isn’t panicked at all. If it were someone else’s child, they would’ve long been coaxed into selling their shares.”
Shares were the foundation of one’s standing.
Ye Ran hadn’t studied much finance or management, but his sharp and independent nature allowed him to remain calm amid the turmoil and make the best decisions.
Even if Ye Huaishan woke up now, he wouldn’t be facing a four-sided siege.
Father Shen rustled his newspaper, thinking of Ye Ran’s gentle, soft voice on the phone like a spring breeze brushing the face. You could tell immediately he was a polite and sensible child, the exact type Father Shen admired most.
“Mm, smart.”
He rarely praised people as smart. Even Shen Shi had never received such an evaluation.
Hearing Ye Ran praised pleased Mother Shen more than if Shen Shi had been complimented. “Tomorrow I’ll go buy some things to bring to Ranran. Hurry and have Little Zhou book the tickets. We’ll leave the day after tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Father Shen did not delay.
Seeing Mother Shen who always treated Shen Shi as her heart and soul praising another child nonstop, Shen Shi felt neither resentment nor jealousy. Calmly rolling up his shirt sleeves, he casually asked, “Who are we going to see?”
“…Your Uncle Ye and Aunt Chen.”
Mother Shen’s smile faded, and her eyes filled with a hint of moisture and sorrow. “And their child.”
“Ye Ran.”
Author’s note:
Big Shen has no memory of meeting Yezi.
Treat it as an “if” line.
Advance warning: Yezi really will get engaged in this arc!
Big Shen will NOT be engaged!
