"Xiao Ya, it's not like that. Listen to my explanation... This is your brother's idea. He knows the Duchess has arrived in the capital and asked me to arrange for Vice President Qi to meet with her. If I wanted to tell your brother, I could have just told him directly, why would I wait until now?"
Cen Ya froze for a moment, then her voice was filled with disappointment as she questioned, "You're pushing all the blame onto my brother! You brought Vice President Qi here privately without telling me. Dare you say you have no ulterior motives?!"
"What about you?!" Gu Sheng's temper flared, "You clearly said you wouldn't be with him anymore, but you secretly brought Ou Minghan to see your mother. What are you trying to do?"
Cen Ya's eyes widened in shock. She was both angry and wronged, "I brought him here just to let him report on the company's situation! I haven't forgiven him at all. How can you misunderstand me like this?"
Gu Sheng sneered, "You haven't forgiven him, but have you done everything you shouldn't have with him?! As long as you say you don't forgive him, you don't mind growing old together and having children?"
"Slap—!" Cen Ya raised her hand and slapped Gu Sheng. She choked out, "Gu Sheng, you've hurt me so deeply. Is this how you see me?"
"Ya Ya..." Ou Minghan called out to her weakly.
Cen Ya immediately walked over, not even glancing at Gu Sheng. She helped Ou Minghan up and said, "Minghan, let's go to the hospital."
Cen Ya and Ou Minghan left. Gu Sheng also wanted to leave but was stopped by the restaurant manager, who demanded compensation for the damaged items.
Gu Sheng initially argued a few words but finally followed the manager to calculate the losses.
Ye Zhi had pretty much understood. Cen Xiucheng had returned to Country K, but his mother had arrived.
It seemed that Cen Xiucheng was unaware of Ou Minghan's schemes involving live streaming and variety shows under Cen Ya's name.
However, Cen Xiucheng was also worried that Cen Ya might deceive him after his departure. Therefore, after the Duchess arrived in the country, he immediately instructed the vice president to meet with her and report on the company's situation.
Cen Ya, in turn, had brought Ou Minghan to meet the Duchess at the earliest opportunity, aiming to persuade her to continue concealing things for her. Unexpectedly, they ran into each other, leading to a direct confrontation.
Ye Zhi was certain that Gu Sheng might have some ulterior motives, and he was angry enough to fall out with Cen Ya now, but he would eventually relent to her.
It appeared that Cen Ya was truly a calamity for the Cen family. Cen Xiucheng had done his best, and now it depended on whether the Duchess was more clear-headed and rational, or more doting on her long-lost daughter.
Ye Zhi sighed inwardly. Even Zhan Ruoqing, who loved gossip the most, didn't want to involve herself in their drama, let alone her. These people were practically forcing her to complete the plot.
"It seems that kid Gu Sheng has fallen out with his family?" Liu Lingyu sighed, "I hope he can come to his senses this time and not persist in his errors."
"It's hard to say," Ye Yongxian mused, "Actually, I always feel quite sorry for the Gu family..."
"Dad, Gu Sheng isn't pursuing a daughter from the Ye family. What does their business have to do with us?" Ye Yuzhe snorted, "Let alone the fact that feelings are voluntary. The one who should apologize to the Gu family is the Cen family, not us!"
Ye Zhi coughed twice, "Alright, alright, we should get going too."
Ye Yuzhe said nothing more. The group got up and left.
They arrived at the parking lot. Ye Yongxian and the other two got into one car to return to the Ye family, while Qi Xuan rode with Ye Zhi back to the semi-mountain villa.
In a corner of the parking lot, a pair of sinister eyes stared at the direction Ye Zhi's car left, through the car window.
That person was none other than Ou Minghan.
After Cen Ya helped him into the car, he didn't rush to leave. Instead, he took this opportunity, leveraging Cen Ya's concern for him, to rekindle their relationship.
"Minghan, are you feeling any better?" Cen Ya asked with concern.
Ou Minghan stared at her abdomen with some dissatisfaction. It had been so many days, why hadn't Cen Ya's belly shown any signs of movement?
If she were pregnant, he could better control the Cen family. As it was now, besides pleasing Cen Ya, he also had to rack his brains to please Cen Ya's mother, so that the Cen family would no longer oppose his relationship with Cen Ya.
However, he had never expected to encounter people from the Ye family today. Furthermore, he saw Ye Zhi leaving with Qi Xuan.
"Ya Ya, is Ye Zhi really together with Qi Xuan?" Ou Minghan asked in a deep voice.
"Huh?" Cen Ya frowned with some displeasure, "I don't think so? Shuang Shuang said that Qi Xuan's mother personally clarified that they are not together; it's just that the two families have a good relationship, and their parents are good friends."
"When did the Ye family start having dealings with the Qi family?" Ou Minghan's suspicion grew even stronger, "Ya Ya, wouldn't you know if their two families are good friends?"
"How would I know? They don't genuinely care about me, so why would they tell me these things?" Cen Ya said angrily, "Ou Minghan, why are you so concerned about Ye Zhi? Are you interested in her because her career is doing well? Then go find her!"
Ou Minghan's head buzzed with anger. How could Cen Ya still be the same, with nothing but romance in her head?
"Ya Ya! Don't you understand my feelings for you?!" Ou Minghan gripped her shoulders forcefully, "Can't you see that I'm not interested in Ye Zhi, but I'm guarding against her?! If she's really with Qi Xuan, then our enemies won't just be Ye Zhi, but also Qi Xuan! I want to protect you, to ensure you don't get hurt in the slightest!"
Seeing that Ou Minghan had no other intentions towards Ye Zhi, Cen Ya's expression improved considerably.
"Since you're so concerned, I'll find a way to have my mother arrange a meeting with the Qi family to inquire."
"Can the Duchess arrange a meeting with the Qi family?" Ou Minghan was somewhat surprised.
"Of course! My mother came to the capital many years ago, and the people in the capital were all respectful to her. Even now, they have to give our family some face!" Cen Ya said casually.
Seeing Cen Ya's confidence, Ou Minghan's eyes darted, "Why don't we have your mother host a banquet? Besides inviting Qi Xuan, we can also invite many young and beautiful daughters from prominent families. Since Qi Xuan is still single, we can try to set him up with someone, make friends with him, which is better than him siding with Ye Zhi!"
"Okay," Cen Ya readily agreed, "I'll discuss it with my mother."
"If possible, let's also invite Ye Zhi to the event, so she can witness all of this firsthand and see if she can still be with Qi Xuan!"