Chapter 1411: Chapter 1411: The Desperate and Resentful Woman (1)

“Of course, that’s a normal reaction. So there’s really no need to overthink it. Next time, when you’re at a regular dinner party with other women, you don’t have to be so honest and report everything back to her. That’ll only make her overthink things and could create friction in your relationship. Sometimes, a few harmless lies are part of how men and women get along,” Du Qingyu shared her thoughts.

“She doesn’t like me lying to her.” After a pause, Ye Qilan sighed, “Marriage is more complicated than I imagined, and women are more complicated than I imagined.”

“Why else do you think so many people want to escape from the fortress of marriage? I’ve been through it myself, so I understand how you feel,” Du Qingyu said with a soft laugh.

The two chatted while eating, and the atmosphere was pleasant.

Just as they were about to finish their meal, Du Qingyu noticed someone taking pictures secretly. One glance at the way the person was snapping photos, and she knew it was a paparazzo.

She leaned closer to Ye Qilan and whispered, “There’s a paparazzo secretly taking pictures of us. Should we go confiscate their camera?”

Ye Qilan turned to look in the direction of the paparazzo. Before Du Qingyu could stop him, it was too late—the paparazzo, alert and quick, bolted as soon as Ye Qilan turned his head.

“Great, now we’ve scared them off, and we’re definitely going to end up on the entertainment news again,” Du Qingyu said irritably.

“It’s no big deal, no need to make a fuss.” Ye Qilan settled the bill and left the restaurant with Du Qingyu.

After seeing Du Qingyu off and putting her in the car, Ye Qilan returned to his office. It wasn’t long before photos of him dining with Du Qingyu appeared online. The most prominent picture was a candid one taken at just the right moment—when Du Qingyu mentioned the paparazzo to him.

From the deliberately angled shot, the photo made them look incredibly intimate, as if they were kissing at first glance.

After seeing the photo, Ye Qilan’s first reaction was to call Su Hongxing.

At that moment, Su Hongxing was also looking at the photos online, growing more and more upset as she scrolled. She had only just told Ye Qilan not to let other women take advantage of him, and yet here he was, promptly caught in such an ambiguous photo.

As she scolded Ye Qilan inwardly, he called her.

Unwillingly, she answered the phone, “What’s up?”

“Honey, the photo circulating online is purely a matter of angles. I swear, Du Qingyu didn’t even touch a single strand of my hair!” Ye Qilan, afraid of being misunderstood, wasted no time explaining.

Su Hongxing replied lazily, “Oh, really?”

“Of course. I take matters of relationships very seriously. I’d never touch any woman other than you. You’ve got to trust me, not those baseless rumors. And that paparazzo only showed up because I tipped them off. Funny thing is, after Du Qingyu noticed the paparazzo, she leaned closer to comment on it—that’s the exact moment the photo was snapped, making it look romantic. I’m starting to suspect this might be her usual trick…”

Ye Qilan rambled on and on, but his point was clear—this was all Du Qingyu’s fault, and he bore absolutely no blame.

Su Hongxing faintly curled her lip. This sly old fox, Ye Qilan. After all that rambling, he’d thoroughly shifted the blame onto Du Qingyu, accusing her of deliberately setting up this “kissing photo.”

Seeing that Ye Qilan showed no signs of stopping, she interrupted him, “My ears are getting calluses from listening to you. Can you stop being so verbose? That’s it, I’m hanging up.”

“Honey, don’t you miss me? While I was eating with Du Qingyu just now, I was thinking about you the entire time. It’s the only way I could finish my meal…”