Chapter 206: A Troubled Heart
To be honest, Yu Linna was a nervous wreck. She was panicking just sitting there. Ye Zhiyun, on the other hand, seemed perfectly composed. She continued to say what needed to be said and sip her tea, the picture of calm. When she had first come downstairs and seen the pained expression on Yu Linna’s face, she’d assumed that brat Li Muqing was bullying her. But one look at Li Muqing’s harmless face and she dismissed the ridiculous idea. He was, after all, a block of wood.
Still, she had a nagging feeling that Yu Linna was particularly on edge today. What was she so nervous about?
“What’s wrong? You seem a little unwell today. Do you want to head back first?”
“Ah… No, no, I’m fine! Perfectly fine, haha…”
That was what she said, but in truth, her heart was bitter. She didn’t dare act too casually in front of Li Muqing, terrified that Ye Zhiyun would hold a grudge against her.
Li Muqing was probably the most perplexed of all. He couldn’t for the life of him figure out why Yu Linna, who had been willing to talk to him just moments ago, had suddenly clammed up. What had he done wrong?
Just then, Ye Zhiyun’s phone rang. She stood up and walked outside with it.
“I have to take this. You two chat for a bit.”
Yu Linna was dumbfounded. What did she just say? She told them to chat? Was this the real Ye Zhiyun? Shouldn’t the Ye Zhiyun of old be glaring daggers at her by now? What was this new tactic?
A series of question marks flooded Yu Linna’s mind. She could not comprehend this at all.
“Miss Linna, I get the feeling you’re really afraid of her.”
“You talk too much.”
“Hahaha, you’re really interesting. You must have done something to get on her bad side.”
“…”
It’s all because of you, Yu Linna wanted to scream.
Ten minutes passed, and Ye Zhiyun still hadn’t returned from her call. It seemed to be a long one, and she wouldn’t be back anytime soon. With nothing else to do, Li Muqing struck up a conversation with Yu Linna, mostly asking questions while she answered. During this time, Li Muqing actually seemed quite at ease.
“Miss Linna, have you switched to writing novels now? What’s your pen name?”
“My pen name is Shion. You can look up my work if you’re interested.”
“Great! I’ve been pretty bored lately, so it’s the perfect time to read a novel. You’re quite amazing, you know. An actress and a novelist—so multitalented.”
“Alright, that’s enough praise.”
“I’m not praising you, I’m just telling the truth.”
“…”
This block of wood, Li Muqing, had finally managed to say a few nice things to her. As a girl, Yu Linna had to admit she quite liked hearing them.
After all, who didn’t want to be praised to the heavens, enveloped in sweet words?
“Even if you’re telling the truth, it’s not going to make me happy.”
“Girls are such complex creatures.”
“What, you’re not going to give me what I want?”
“Of course I will. Whatever you say, goes. By the way, Miss Linna, if you need any resources, I can help connect you with some people, maybe find an opportunity to get your work adapted for the screen.”
“That won’t be necessary, but thank you.”
“Don’t be so polite. What’s there to be formal about? Aren’t we friends?”
Li Muqing’s silly grin made her want to punch him, but when he said things like that, she found them quite pleasant to hear. Women truly are complex creatures, she thought.
The two continued to chat, one sentence at a time, and the conversation flowed quite smoothly.
Just then, Ye Zhiyun finished her call and came back inside. The moment she entered, she saw Yu Linna and Li Muqing chatting happily, laughing and talking. Yu Linna was like a completely different person from the girl who had been sitting stiffly beside her earlier.
For reasons she couldn’t explain, her heart twisted with a sharp sting.
Seeing Nana getting along so well with someone else, her first reaction was pain, which was immediately followed by a surge of anger. The fury was difficult to suppress. Though Ye Zhiyun tried her best to control herself, she still walked over and sat down heavily beside Li Muqing, glaring at him as if she wanted to tear him to shreds.
Li Muqing felt the pressure mount. What was happening? Why was Ye Zhiyun throwing a tantrum again?
“Zhi-Zhiyun? What’s wrong? Are you angry? Who upset you?”
“You.”
“Huh? Me? What did I do?”
“Stop asking stupid questions. I said it was you, so it was you.”
Ye Zhiyun’s aura was menacing, her gaze sharp enough to kill. She looked as if she were about to flay him alive.
Yu Linna sat across from them, head down, trembling, not daring to make a sound.
She knew it. It was a mistake to act so friendly with Li Muqing in front of her. Ye Zhiyun was definitely furious. She was going to make her pay for this later. It’s over, it’s over, I’m toast. She hadn’t forgotten how, when they first met, Ye Zhiyun had given her no end of trouble over Li Muqing.
“Nana,” Ye Zhiyun called out, her voice deceptively calm.
“Here, Elder Sister Ye.”
“…”
What the hell? Ye Zhiyun thought. Has this girl lost her mind?
“It’s about time we headed back.”
“Huh? So early?”
“You don’t want to go? Are you hoping to stay and have dinner with him?”
“No, that’s not it at all…”
Head bowed, hands pressed against her trembling thighs, Yu Linna felt an immense pressure.
This was the terror of hell. How had Ye Zhiyun become so frightening? She didn’t remember her being this terrifying when they first met. Back then, she hadn’t been afraid of her at all. Why was she so scared now? It made no sense.
“We’re leaving already? But it’s still so early…” Li Muqing ventured, breaking into a sweat as he tried to get them to stay. But a single ferocious glare from Ye Zhiyun made him swallow the rest of his sentence.
“Can you shut up now, blockhead? My time is precious.”
“Er, alright. Be careful on your way home.”
“Hmph.”
With a cold snort, Ye Zhiyun seized Yu Linna’s hand, forcefully pulling her to her feet and marching her outside. The display left Li Muqing rattled. Had his childhood friend always had such a temper?
Ye Zhiyun was certainly on edge today. She had been calm when they first arrived at Li Muqing’s house, but ever since she’d returned from her phone call to find the two of them chatting in the hall, she had become inexplicably agitated, her good mood replaced by a volatile temper. It was as if she were afraid—afraid that something of hers was about to be stolen away.
And the pitiful Yu Linna had no idea what she had done. Ye Zhiyun’s grip hurt, but she didn’t dare say so, choosing to endure it in silence. What could she possibly say? At a time like this, silence was the only option.
Ye Zhiyun forcefully grabbed her, spun her around, and stared into her eyes. Yu Linna’s gaze darted away, not daring to meet hers.
“Look at me,” Ye Zhiyun commanded.
Yu Linna had no choice but to turn her head and face her directly.
“Do you think I’m being unreasonable?”
“…”
“Not talking?”
“No, I don’t think that.”
“You still won’t tell me the truth. Is it really that hard to just be honest with me for once?”
“…”
Since when had Yu Linna become so unwilling to speak the truth, so reluctant to show her true self? As time went on, she only closed herself off more and more. It had probably started back then, at that train station.
But…
Who cared about that right now? Today, Ye Zhiyun just wanted to vent, and her target was Yu Linna.
Ye Zhiyun grabbed the collar of Yu Linna’s shirt and yanked her close.
“From now on, you are forbidden to speak to Li Muqing.”
“…As you command.”
“If I see you do it, you’ll face the consequences.”
“Mm…”
Only then did Ye Zhiyun release her, pushing her aside.
Yu Linna felt deeply wronged. This is too much, she thought. All I did was exchange a few words with him. Does she have to be like this? This Ye Zhiyun was the same as ever—completely unreasonable, utterly domineering.
I know you like Li Muqing, but you don’t have to treat me this way.
Yu Linna’s heart ached, but she didn’t dare voice her feelings. She just felt a profound sense of misery.
She decided then and there that from now on, if she was going to talk to Li Muqing, she would have to do it when Ye Zhiyun wasn’t around.
As time passed, Ye Zhiyun’s anger slowly faded. Gazing at Yu Linna’s wronged expression and her delicate lips, she was struck by a strange urge to press her own against them, to taste the mouth that had been chatting so happily with Li Muqing.
The thought startled her. They were both girls. What was she doing?
She was becoming stranger and stranger.
Ever since she had given up on her feelings for Li Muqing, her heart had been growing more and more peculiar. What was wrong with her? She used to hate her, so why had things become like this?
The Ye Zhiyun of the past and the Ye Zhiyun of today—she couldn’t even tell them apart anymore.
“Let’s go home,” Ye Zhiyun finally uttered after a long silence.
For the rest of the way, neither of them said another word.
…
Ever since word got out that the great Miss Ye would be staying in Shanghai for a while, the city’s business world had been buzzing. Many were contemplating whether they should try to curry favor with her. After all, she was a scion of the Ye family, a prominent figure in her own right. Befriending her could only bring benefits, never harm. But in the shadows, there were also those with ill intentions.
“Miss Ye has been seen out and about with a blonde girl recently. Sometimes they stay home, but when they go out, their preferred destinations are snack streets and shopping malls.”
“Miss Ye knows a thing or two about fighting, and it’s highly unlikely the Ye family hasn’t arranged for bodyguards to protect her in secret. This is Shanghai, after all.”
“So what do we do?”
“We’ll start with the person closest to her. See, there’s a girl always by her side, probably a friend. From my observations, this girl has zero combat ability—a total weakling. I think she’d be an excellent target.”
“As expected of you, Boss. So clever.”
“Well, how else would I be your boss?”
In the shadows, some schemed to win Miss Ye’s favor, while others plotted against her. Ye Zhiyun paid none of this any mind; she didn’t have the time.
Meanwhile, the acquisition of Yu Linna’s copyrights had stalled. News that someone was trying to buy the rights to Shion-Sensei’s work had begun to spread, and several companies were growing restless, ready to make their move. Among them were people from the Caibi Company, who were preparing to take the initiative.
They had thoroughly investigated Shion-Sensei’s work and her few text-based interviews, and had devised a strategy. They ultimately decided to approach her with an offer to adapt her work without altering a single word of the original text. For an author, every word they write is a treasure. If a company promised not to change a thing, the author would, more or less, be tempted.
As for Li Jing, she had talked until her mouth was dry, but Yu Linna remained unmoved, insisting that the rights were not for sale. Frustrated by Yu Linna’s stubbornness, Li Jing finally gave up on the negotiations.
At that moment, the people from Caibi Company were boarding a plane to Shanghai.
