The aftermath of last night's passionate encounter left Ye Ziyu oversleeping. She felt the spot beside her in bed, where Di Mingjue had already left. On the pillow, she found a note he'd left behind.
"Get some more rest!"
She tossed the note onto the bedside table and picked up her phone from the floor, kicked there the previous night.
It was already nine o'clock!
Tying up her hair, Ye Ziyu got out of bed, her body still aching.
With every step, her legs felt weak, and she stumbled forward. She managed to grab onto the adjacent cabinet just in time, narrowly avoiding a fall.
It was all Di Mingjue's fault for being so rough last night!
Ye Ziyu grumbled inwardly, standing still to let her body recover from the soreness.
Downstairs, Ye Ziyu learned from the servants that Di Mingjue had left after breakfast. Guessing he was out looking for a location for his company, she sat down at the dining table.
Ye Shaoting walked over to the bar, refilling his water glass with cool boiled water. He turned, leaning against the bar, his gaze casually falling on Ye Ziyu.
A servant brought over a steaming bowl of white congee and placed it in front of Ye Ziyu. Finally, she took small side dishes from the refrigerator and arranged them on the table.
Pushing her hair back, Ye Ziyu revealed her fair neck.
Ye Shaoting's gaze happened to land on her neck, noticing the faint red hickey. Thinking about what they had done the night before, he squeezed his glass tightly and placed it forcefully on the table.
Ye Ziyu glanced at Ye Shaoting, looking at his embarrassed and angry expression with confusion.
Her lips parted, but before she could even utter the word "Big Brother," Ye Shaoting huffed and stormed past her.
What was wrong with him this morning? She couldn't figure out why he seemed so resentful.
Ye Shaoting's outburst ruined Ye Ziyu's appetite. She took a few sips of congee, the fatigue making her drowsy.
"Ziyu," Ye Chenhan ran up to her enthusiastically, thrusting a concert ticket into her hand. "I have a live performance tonight, would you do me the honor of coming to listen?"
Looking down at the address and time on the ticket, Ye Ziyu told Ye Chenhan, who looked at her expectantly, "I'm not feeling very well today."
"It's a rare opportunity, just this once," Ye Chenhan pleaded, holding onto Ye Ziyu's arm.
Ye Shaoting brushed past them, deliberately bumping into them.
Ye Ziyu truly couldn't understand what was going on with Ye Shaoting, why he suddenly seemed so hostile towards her.
"Ziyu?" Ye Chenhan waved his hand in front of her. "I'll take that as a yes."
Saying this, he quickly turned and left the living room, fearing he might hear Ye Ziyu's refusal.
Holding the two tickets in her hand, one of which was for Di Mingjue, Ye Ziyu put them back in her pocket. She then looked at Ye Shaoting, who was emanating gloom on the living room sofa.
They saw each other every day, and an awkward relationship was just that—awkward.
After some thought, Ye Ziyu reconsidered her move upstairs and walked over to sit on the sofa.
"Big Brother, aren't you going to the company today?" Ye Ziyu asked.
Ye Shaoting gave a perfunctory "Mm," his eyes fixed on the newspaper in front of him.
With the conversation not progressing, Ye Ziyu shifted uncomfortably, thinking of Xingxing. "Big Brother, is Xingxing's personality always this aloof?"
Ye Shaoting put down the newspaper, his gloomy gaze fixed on her. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, Xiaoran really likes Xingxing and wants to be friends with him. But Xingxing seems very opinionated and rejected Xiaoran's invitation," Ye Ziyu explained.
Friends?
They were enemies; how could they overcome their hatred and become friends?
"Xingxing doesn't like to talk, nor does he like to interact with outsiders."
"Is that so? Hasn't Big Brother tried to change his personality?" Ye Ziyu suggested subtly. "Xingxing is still a child. The way he is now is too adult-like; he must be tired too."
Anything he experienced couldn't be resolved by crying or acting spoiled like a child. He had to suppress it all, heal in the quiet of the night, and slowly get better.