"There's no need." Qi Xuan directly declined.
Ye Zhi looked disappointed.
"By the way, let's eat together." Qi Xuan said naturally.
Just as Ye Zhi was about to agree, her phone rang. Seeing that it was Liu Lingyu calling, she immediately answered.
"Mom, what's wrong?" Ye Zhi asked.
"Xiao Zhi, can you come home quickly?" Liu Lingyu said, sounding flustered. "Your brother is in trouble..."
Ye Zhi's pupils contracted sharply.
After a brief chat with Liu Lingyu, Ye Zhi hung up the phone. She walked up to Qi Xuan and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, something's come up and I need to go home. I can't eat with you."
"It's alright," Qi Xuan nodded. "Go handle your family matters first."
Ye Zhi hummed in response, her expression grave as she turned to leave.
"Ye Zhi." Qi Xuan suddenly called out to her.
Ye Zhi turned back blankly.
He suggested, "Let my driver take you. You can think things through on the way."
Ye Zhi's expression faltered. Had he noticed she had something on her mind?
Indeed, if she drove herself now, she would inevitably be lost in thought on the road, which was unsafe.
"Okay, thank you." Ye Zhi agreed, not refusing.
Soon, Ye Zhi was in the car, heading towards the Ye family home.
Actually, this incident wasn't that big of a deal. Yesterday, Ye Yu Zhe, under the guise of a class outing, had stayed out all night. However, he hadn't gone on an outing; instead, he had gone to a bar.
At the bar, he had gotten into a conflict with someone, and they had ended up fighting, then being taken to the police station.
At the police station, Ye Yu Zhe stubbornly refused to give his family's contact information. It wasn't until recently that he finally broke down and honestly provided their home phone number. Afterward, Ye Yong Xian went to pick him up.
Ye Zhi wasn't sure if she should praise Ye Yu Zhe for his backbone, for holding out for so long.
However, she had come to realize one thing.
Ou Ming Han had already made a move against Ye Yu Zhe. Even though Ou Ming Han was currently preoccupied with competing for interests with other investors, he hadn't abandoned his disgusting little tactics.
The so-called friends around Ye Yu Zhe definitely had people arranged by Ou Ming Han. Unable to bring down the Ye family through Ye Qin Ya, he intended to corrupt Ye Yu Zhe.
Fortunately, it was discovered early, and the situation wasn't serious yet. But she needed to figure out how to deal with this.
Before long, Ye Zhi arrived back at the Ye family home.
As soon as she entered, she heard a fierce argument.
"I told you I don't like studying, but you keep forcing me! I still don't like studying! Besides, our family is so rich, I'll never spend it all in this lifetime, so why should I study so hard?"
"You, you little brat, you prodigal son! If you keep this up, the family fortune will be gone sooner or later! I'll beat you to death today, so you don't cause trouble in the future!"
Seeing Ye Yong Xian preparing to let Ye Yu Zhe experience what fatherly love like a landslide felt like, and Liu Lingyu standing by anxiously, not knowing what to do, Ye Zhi stepped forward, intending to mediate.
But before she could even speak, she saw Ye Yu Zhe running away and saying indignantly, "How can the family fortune be spent? Big sister is so good at making money, let her earn it! Even if I cause trouble, big sister can sort it out!"
Ye Zhi: ...
Where's the broom? Where's the mop? She was determined to give Ye Yu Zhe a complete childhood today!
Upon seeing her, Ye Yu Zhe's eyes lit up. "Big sister! Come and save me!"
Saying that, Ye Yu Zhe dodged behind Ye Zhi. Ye Zhi raised her hand and smacked Ye Yu Zhe hard on the head!
Ye Yu Zhe cried out in pain and looked at Ye Zhi incredulously. "Big sister, you..."
With this delay, Ye Yong Xian caught up to him. He directly pinned Ye Yu Zhe down and ordered a servant to get a rope to tie Ye Yu Zhe up.
"Ye Yu Zhe, do you know you were wrong?!" Ye Yong Xian asked with a dark expression.
"Let me go! Let me go!" Ye Yu Zhe struggled indignantly. "What did I say wrong? Is our family not rich, or is my big sister not capable?"
Ye Zhi: ... I really thank you!
"Since you know your sister is so capable, why don't you learn from her?" Ye Yong Xian asked, his nose almost smoking with anger.
"Isn't it enough to have big sister in the family? Why do I have to become like big sister?" Ye Yu Zhe said stubbornly. "I already said, I don't like studying, I have no interest!"
Ye Zhi suddenly calmed down.
She had previously considered taking Ye Yu Zhe under her wing. However, his words reminded her.
Ye Yu Zhe didn't need to become another Ye Zhi; what he needed was to find his own path.
The reason he was developing into a dandy now was simply because everyone around him was like that, and he had never experienced hardship in life.
Ye Zhi also gradually came up with an idea.
Seeing Ye Yong Xian was so angry that he had taken out his belt, preparing to teach his disobedient son a lesson, Ye Zhi spoke up to stop him. "Dad, wait a moment."
Ye Yong Xian stopped. Ye Zhi walked forward. "Ye Yu Zhe, if you don't want to study, what do you want to do?"
"Hmph! I'll do whatever I want, and you don't need to manage me!" Ye Yu Zhe turned away stubbornly.
"So, you haven't figured it out yet?" Ye Zhi asked.
"I'm not talking to you! You traitor, I trusted you so much, and you even tipped them off..." Suddenly realizing he had said too much, Ye Yu Zhe quickly shut his mouth in anger.
"How about this, let's make a bet," Ye Zhi said calmly. "As long as you win, we won't interfere with whatever you want to do in the future. You can spend the family money however you like, do whatever you want, and no one will stop you. However, if you lose, you must comply with the family's arrangements and stop causing trouble!"
"Really?" Ye Yu Zhe looked at her suspiciously. "Do you mean what you say?"
"I am speaking to you now as the founder of Taoxun," Ye Zhi said solemnly. "If you don't believe me, we can sign a bet agreement."
"Okay!" Ye Yu Zhe's interest was immediately piqued. "Tell me, what are you betting on?!"
"I want you to go to a construction site and carry bricks for a month," Ye Zhi said lightly. "And for this month, you'll eat and sleep at the construction site. The Ye family won't give you a single cent, nor will they provide any assistance. As long as you can stick it out, you win. If you can't persevere and quit midway, you lose."
"What?! You want me to carry bricks? Are you still my sister?!" Ye Yu Zhe was furious.
"Just say you're scared," Ye Zhi said with a slight curl of her lips. "Then you'd better listen to the family's arrangements and stop trying to resist!"
"Who says I'm scared! I'll go if I go!" Ye Yu Zhe said indignantly.
"Good, you have backbone!" Ye Zhi praised and clapped her hands. Then, she actually drafted a bet agreement, printed two copies, and presented them to Ye Yu Zhe.
Seeing Ye Yu Zhe seemed to be hesitating, Ye Zhi slightly curved her lips. "Ye Yu Zhe, you still have a chance to regret this."