Chapter 41: Eight

On the way to the hotel by car, Ye Shen called her chief secretary and instructed her to pull Ye Can’s hospital records from two days prior—the day after Ye Can had driven into the sea, her one and only admission for checks.

Ye Shen had already reviewed these records once before. When her secretary sent them over again, she pored over the tablet screen, scrutinizing every detail.

Routine tests and CT scans all showed Ye Can to be in perfect health. What worried Ye Shen now was her sister’s mind. She hesitated several times over whether to contact the neurologist who’d long handled Ye Can’s condition, but staring at the normal reports, she tamped down the urge. Better to wait until I see her in person, she decided.

Ye Shen’s visit was unannounced. It wasn’t until they were nearly at the hotel that she called Tong Lin. “Where’s Ye Can?”

The sudden call from the big boss left Tong Lin momentarily stunned. She glanced at the closed bedroom door, a bad feeling surging through her. “Director Ye… Miss Ye Can… she’s resting in the hotel bedroom.”

Ye Shen nodded. “Keep an eye on her. I’ll be up in a moment.”

With that, she hung up briskly.

Tong Lin sat on the sofa, staring at the ended call on her phone, her big round eyes like copper bells bulging in confusion. Up? Now? While Ye Can and Lin Zixi are sharing a bed?

Did Ye Shen just talk to Lin Zixi yesterday, and now she’s here to break up the lovebirds?

A rich heir falls for a humble Cinderella, only for the powerful matriarch to swoop in and tear them apart?

Just as the sweet romance seemed poised to veer into tear-jerking drama, Tong Lin reeled from the abrupt plot twist. She was still mulling over the story’s direction when Ye Shen knocked on the door.

Tong Lin took another look at the bedroom door, drew a deep breath, and rose to let her in.

Ye Shen strode inside in a dark overcoat, her high heels clicking sharply. “Is Ye Can still asleep?”

Tong Lin bowed her head, standing rigidly to the side. “Yes, still sleeping.”

Ye Shen glanced at the bedroom door, hesitating before deciding against knocking. She shrugged off her coat, handed it to Tong Lin, and sank onto the sofa.

Her main goal this time was to take Ye Can to the hospital for a checkup—after all, her sister had just tried to end it all by driving into the sea.

But suggesting it outright might spark backlash. On the drive over, Ye Shen had run through countless scenarios, none of which let her force the issue.

She dreaded a repeat of two years ago, when Ye Can had attempted suicide in the living room. If her temper flared and history repeated, it would be a disaster.

Ye Shen frowned, lost in troubled thought, looking utterly vexed. Tong Lin watched, heart pounding.

Just reported to her about Ye Can and Lin Zixi shacking up, and she rushes over like this. She must not approve.

Tong Lin started worrying for Ye Can. Finally some romantic progress after that fateful encounter, and now the lovebirds get split up? High society romances are brutal—those novels weren’t kidding.

After pondering for a while, Ye Shen’s gaze landed on Lin Zixi’s luggage in the spacious living area. “Whose is that? Miss Lin’s?”

If she remembered right, Tong Lin’s report had mentioned Ye Can wanting to live with Lin Zixi.

Ye Shen whipped her head toward Tong Lin, incredulous. “Ye Can told you to move it? You brought Lin Zixi’s stuff here right after the hospital?”

Tong Lin nodded, her expression wooden as ever.

Ye Shen drew a deep breath, patting her chest to steady herself before asking, “So where’s Lin Zixi? In there with Ye Can?”

Tong Lin nodded, adding, “They’ve been in there together since we got back.”

Ye Shen nearly exploded on the spot. She took several deep breaths to calm down, then pointed at the bedroom door and grilled Tong Lin. “After they went in, did they do anything strange? Any weird noises?”

Tong Lin shook her head, but remembered the candy and recounted it in full detail. “Miss Ye Can seemed to pin Miss Lin down for a bit, forcing her briefly. But Miss Lin resisted a little, then seemed soothed…”

Ye Shen’s face cycled through a rainbow of emotions. “That’s it? Nothing else?”

Tong Lin shook her head. “Nothing. Miss Ye Can wouldn’t let me into her room, so I guarded outside.”

Ye Shen rubbed her temples, feeling her wild thoughts spiraling into chaos.

Separated by just a door, her not-yet-eighteen-year-old sister was sharing a bed with a mature woman she seemed to adore—and Ye Shen had shown up at the most awkward moment.

She’d come to coax Ye Can to see a doctor, to check if there was something wrong with her head.

The situation was absurd. Ye Shen grew restless.

She stood and paced the living room irritably, debating whether to come back another day or knock right now.

Ye Can wasn’t of age yet; she wouldn’t go too far. But her special treatment of Lin Zixi was obvious.

Even before her illness, Ye Shen could never enter Ye Can’s room. And sharing a bed? That hadn’t happened since Ye Can was ten.

Ye Shen felt deeply conflicted.

On one hand, she was thrilled that Ye Can was acting like a normal girl with someone she liked. On the other, she couldn’t help envying Lin Zixi—this woman she’d met only once was closer to Ye Can than her own blood sister.

Her jumbled thoughts tore at her, making her footsteps grow louder.

She paced between the bedroom door and the outer room’s tea table, the faint clicks carrying into the bedroom.

Ye Can had been lying on her side beside Lin Zixi, admiring her peaceful sleeping face amid steady breaths. But Ye Shen’s pacing disturbed Lin Zixi in her sleep; she frowned uncomfortably, on the verge of waking.

Ye Can’s temper ignited instantly. She lifted the hand covering Lin Zixi’s eyes, slipped quietly out of bed, ready to chew out whoever was pacing outside.

But her movement made the soft bed tremble. Lin Zixi, already restless, woke fully. Still groggy, cocooned in the covers, she mumbled, “Ye Can…”

Seeing her awake, Ye Can scrambled back atop her, peering down. “You’re up?”

Lin Zixi lifted her lids, giving a dazed glance and nodding. “Yeah.”

Ye Can beamed at her obedience. “How’d you sleep? Good?”

Lin Zixi forced a smile. “Not great. Had a nightmare.” Hard not to, wrapped up like a mummy.

Ye Can blinked. “You had a nightmare with me holding you?”

Lin Zixi sighed in exasperation at her logic. “No, it’s because you wrapped me so tight I could barely breathe. Don’t do that again. Get up and let me out.”

Ye Can murmured an “oh,” climbed off, and knelt to unwrap the layers of bedding. Lin Zixi’s shoulders ached from the binding; once free, she rubbed them.

Ye Can eyed her warily. “Did I crush you?”

Lin Zixi nodded, kneading her shoulder. “Don’t ever do that again, or I’ll get mad.”

Ye Can grumbled defensively. “I was just scared you’d run…”

Lin Zixi shot her a look. “Ye Can, when I say no, it’s no.”

Ye Can nodded. “Fine, fine, no more messing with you like that. Hey, you hungry? Want something to eat?”

Lin Zixi shook her head, slid out of bed, slipped on Ye Can’s bedroom slippers, and headed out. “I’ve got script pages unfinished. Gotta work.”

Ye Can hopped down and trailed after her.

Lin Zixi twisted the bedroom doorknob, one hand on her shoulder, the other pushing the door open. The moment she looked up, she locked eyes with Ye Shen’s inscrutable gaze and froze.

Ye Can rushed out barefoot behind her. “Why work now? Eat first, right?”

Lin Zixi, standing in the doorway, glanced at mumbling Ye Can, then at Ye Shen brooding in the living room like storm clouds. Her temples throbbed. For a split second, she considered faking a faint and crawling back to Ye Can’s bed.

Rejected her offer yesterday, and now she catches me living here with Ye Can. Can’t look anything but scheming.

Lin Zixi sighed inwardly and stood frozen.

Ye Can bustled up, grumbling. Seeing she wasn’t moving, she coaxed, “Changed your mind? Wanna eat now, yeah? I’ll have Tong Lin order food.”

From the moment she appeared, Ye Can’s world was all Lin Zixi. Ye Shen, who’d waited half an hour in the outer room, finally snapped. “Can!”

Ye Can had noticed her and whipped around, glaring fiercely. “What do you want?”

Ye Shen faltered under the stare, losing her nerve. “I… I just came to check on you. You’ve been out two days; I was worried.”

Ye Can stepped forward, shielding Lin Zixi, and snarled at Ye Shen. “Didn’t I tell you to leave me alone? Why go home? It’s just a place to crash. I can live anywhere! Why go back?”

She bombarded her aggressively. “And I said don’t come unless I say! I didn’t invite you—why show up? Why don’t you listen?”

Hands on hips, Ye Can scolded, “And you come, fine, but why pace back and forth? Don’t you know your heels are loud? You woke my person up! How’d I end up with such a disobedient servant? Do that again, and I won’t keep you!”

Ye Can racked her brain for modern terms. “Yeah… I’ll fire you! Keep it up, and you’re fired for real!”

The other two stared at Ye Can oddly. Ye Shen, at her limit, raised her voice slightly. “Can, listen—I’m not your servant. I’m your sister, your blood sister, eighteen years older!”

Now Ye Can’s eyes widened. She gaped at Ye Shen like she’d told a bad joke. “You kidding? Why play my sister out of nowhere? Servant suits you fine.”

“Get real—my sister’s been dead for years.”