Chapter 485: Chapter 485: Alienating You and Me

The room’s atmosphere seemed to freeze at that moment.

Ella blinked her eyes.

His gaze suddenly softened and became fiery.

She was startled and quickly avoided his gaze, turning her head in another direction, not daring to meet his eyes again.

“Cough, cough, cough…”

She covered her throat with one hand, pretending to cough, trying to divert attention.

The next second, a glass of water appeared in front of her.

The man’s deep and slightly hoarse voice reached her ears, “If your throat feels uncomfortable, drink more water.”

“…”

She glanced at it, then lifted her hand to push his away.

“No, I’m not thirsty.”

The man didn’t insist that she drink.

He placed the glass on the bedside table, then naturally got onto the bed.

Ella felt the bed sink beside her and quickly turned her head.

“What are you doing?”

Ye Jiuqing paused slightly while lifting the covers, glanced at her, and continued with his actions.

“Going to sleep, what else can I do? You said not to force you into anything, so I’ll just sleep peacefully.”

“…”

“Are you really planning to sleep here tonight?”

Ella’s mind was still somewhat disoriented.

Even though she didn’t oppose it, she found it difficult to accept.

After sleeping alone for over twenty years, suddenly having a man beside her was something she wasn’t used to.

However, the man lay down right in front of her efficiently.

For a moment, she almost suspected the bedroom belonged to him.

He slept as if it was the most natural thing.

Annoyed, she reached out a foot and kicked him in the waist.

“Can’t you sleep in another room? This isn’t the only one.”

She was still speaking kindly and calmly to him.

Ye Jiuqing touched his waist and said, “That kick, are you trying to ruin your future happiness?”

Ella immediately replied, “My happiness isn’t just dependent on you.”

The happiness she mentioned wasn’t the same concept as his “future happiness”; she hadn’t given it much thought.

She was feeling incredibly frustrated.

Just the thought of sharing a bed with him made her uneasy all over.

Ye Jiuqing squinted slightly at her words, “What did you say?”

Ella didn’t argue further, “I said, can you sleep in another room? I’m not used to having someone in my room.”

Suddenly, her wrist was grabbed tightly, and she was pulled forward forcefully.

“Uh…”

She plunged headfirst into a solid chest.

Her chin smashed right against his hard chest.

“Hiss, it hurts…”

Ye Jiuqing saw her frowning and for a moment regretted using such force.

“Ye Jiuqing, you did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

Ella raised her hand to touch her chin, angrily scolding.

“Sorry, I didn’t do it on purpose, let me see…”

As he reached up, she brushed his hand away.

“I think you did it intentionally, it hurts so much, thank goodness my chin is naturally beautiful, otherwise it would’ve been broken by you.” She glared at him angrily.

As she spoke, she made a fist and punched him in the chest.

“Hiss…”

However, the one who got hurt was her own hand.

“Why are you so hard!” she complained.

Ye Jiuqing: “…”

She wanted to get up from him, but as soon as she prepared to rise, he held her waist and pressed her back down.

Before she could react further, he suddenly flipped her over, pinning her underneath.

This close proximity was getting more and more excessive.

Previously, hugging and snuggling were tolerable; now, the intimacy was clearly escalating.

And it was a significant escalation.

The man’s slender fingers gently pinched her chin, lifting it, and in a deep voice he said, “You just said your future happiness isn’t solely provided by me, so do you have another man? Who is he?”

Ella listened to his words, confused, “What man? What are you talking about?”

As she spoke, she reached out to push him, but after several attempts, the man before her remained unmoving.

She simply gave up and resigned herself.

Then she heard a rather ridiculous statement.

He said, “Another man touched you?”

Ella paused, then finally understood the meaning of his words.

“Don’t randomly accuse me, I am more self-disciplined than you.” She rolled her eyes.

Turns out, his idea of happiness wasn’t the same as hers.

Upon her words, Ye Jiuqing’s expression finally relaxed.

He smiled slightly and said, “Good. But let me correct one thing: I’m also very self-disciplined.”

“So? Are you saying you were a virgin before that time?”

Ella looked at him, speaking without blushing or batting an eyelash.

In that aspect, he indeed fell short of her.

However, men always want to save face, even if embarrassed, they’ll never show it.

He replied with three words: “Isn’t that fine?”

Instantly, the whole room was filled with her hearty laughter.

“Hahaha…”

The man hearing her laughter, frowned slightly, “Is it that funny?”

Ella took a moment to respond, “It’s alright, no wonder last time you were so rough, lacking in technique, now I understand.”

She never thought she would one day hear him admit it directly.

Ye Jiuqing was speechless: “…”

But he didn’t continue discussing the matter with her.

As she began to ask him to release her, he suddenly said, “You haven’t answered my earlier question.”

“What question?”

Ella didn’t instantly remember what he was referring to.

Ye Jiuqing patiently repeated, “I said earlier, I want to live well with you, do you believe me?”

Upon hearing his words, Ella swallowed, blinked, knowing full well that if she didn’t answer him today, he certainly wouldn’t let her go, so she quickly responded three times she believed.

“Believe, believe, believe.”

“Alright, now let go of me, I want to sleep, I’m very tired.”

She had to get up early tomorrow to attend a conference at the company in another city.

Ye Jiuqing asked, “Are you not planning to kick me out anymore?”

“If I kick you, will you leave?”

His answer: “No, I won’t.”

Then, what’s the point of her making the effort?

Let him sleep wherever he wanted.

Her quick change in attitude impressed him.

Just earlier she was vigorously opposing, now she had relaxed and compromised.

Ella never bothered with matters that couldn’t be resolved, moreover, since he managed to stay in her home and even in her room, he surely had plans.

She was also too lazy to waste more time bickering with him, besides, she was genuinely tired and exhausted, with no energy to argue.

After Ye Jiuqing let go of her, he saw her place a pillow in the middle.

“This is the boundary; don’t cross this pillow, or else you’ll sleep on the floor.”

After saying that, she took the blanket, rolled herself into it, and went to sleep.

“…”

Ye Jiuqing looked at her exposed head, sighed helplessly, then turned around and switched off the room lights, leaving only a small nightlight on.

Afterward, he lay on the bed filled with a faint floral scent.

It was a strange feeling, but the scent was familiar.

Yet he didn’t oppose this feeling.

Soon, a soft sound of sleep reached his ears.

The person who had been vehemently claiming discomfort was now fast asleep, soundly.

He gently turned over, lying on his side, gazing at the petite figure facing away, and eventually drifted off to sleep himself.

——

The next day.

Dawn, like a sharp sword, pierced through the night, ushering in the rising sun.

A ray of sunlight shines through the window.

On the light green sheets, a couple is clearly seen embracing each other.

The glimmering light seems to shyly hide away, as if it caught sight of something it shouldn’t have.

Ella was awakened by her own alarm.

She reached out to grab her phone, but as she was feeling around, something seemed off.

It felt like she was hugging something that wasn’t her pillow.

Her pillow was not this hard, and it definitely didn’t have warmth.

She opened her eyes and saw a face right up close.

“Ah!”

She let out a scream and pushed the person away, springing up from the bed like a coil.

Ye Jiuqing, still in his dreams, was startled awake by her earth-shattering shout.

He looked at her through sleepy eyes, his voice raspy as he said, “It’s early morning, why are you screaming like a ghost?”

Ella was initially bewildered, but upon hearing the familiar voice and seeing the familiar face, the tension in her heart instantly eased.

Then, like a kite with its string cut, she collapsed heavily back onto the bed.

It scared her to death…

She almost forgot about last night’s events.

In all her twenty-something years, she had never woken up to find someone in her bed. Her heart almost jumped into her throat a moment ago.

…

When she came out of the bathroom after freshening up, she saw someone lounging against the bedhead in loose pajamas.

The exposed collarbones were so alluring, and the clear muscle lines made someone instinctively glance twice.

Paired with that face, it was practically… a temptation to commit a crime!

She glanced at him and clicked her tongue, “It’s early morning, who are you trying to seduce?”

Ye Jiuqing watched her sit down at the vanity, his voice slightly hoarse as he said, “Besides you, who else is in this room?”

Ella took a bottle of toner and poured some into her hand.

“You can only see me, but there are so many you can’t see.” She said.

Ye Jiuqing got out of bed, intending to head to the bathroom, but paused at her words.

“…”

He was momentarily speechless.

When he walked out of the bathroom, she had already disappeared from the room.

After getting dressed and going downstairs, he still didn’t see her.

“Aunt Tao, where is she?”

The housekeeper approached him and said, “Young Master Ye, the second young lady has already left.”

Aunt Tao only found out about Ye Jiuqing’s true identity yesterday.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have cooperated with him, letting him move into the second young lady’s room.

She left so early?

“Did she have breakfast?” he asked.

Aunt Tao replied, “I packed it for the second young lady; she’s eating in the car.”

In such a rush to leave, not even having breakfast at home—could she be avoiding him again?

Aunt Tao explained, “The second young lady is on a business trip today, she might be in a hurry and didn’t have time to eat at home.”

Upon hearing this, Ye Jiuqing frowned—business trip?

She didn’t mention this to him.

Aunt Tao said nothing more, noticing his displeased expression, only asking, “Young Master Ye, would you like breakfast now?”

…

Meanwhile, Ella was in the car, eating the breakfast prepared by Aunt Tao.

Then, her phone rang on the armrest.

She picked it up, glanced at it, pressed answer, and put it on speaker, placing it back on the armrest.

“What’s up?” she asked.

The man’s deep voice came through the phone, “Why didn’t you tell me about your business trip?”

Ella took a bite of her bread, chewed a few times before leisurely saying, “You didn’t ask, and besides, my trip doesn’t affect your life, why would I tell you?”

“Where are you going on your business trip, and for how many days?”

“To HL’s branch, in N City, for two days.”

Ella didn’t hide it from him; there was nothing to hide.

“Are you sure you’re not avoiding me?” Ye Jiuqing asked again.

“Do I have so much free time?” Ella retorted, “Why would I avoid you, I’m not bored enough.”

She was so busy now, there was no time to play hide-and-seek with him.

Moreover, if she really wanted to hide from him, she wouldn’t have told him where she was going.

“…”

Ella thought for a moment and added, “I’m telling you, don’t follow me around like a shadow. If you’re really free, go chat with Helan Tianyu and build some rapport.”

Ye Jiuqing: “…”

“If I’m not mistaken, Helan Yaoyue might come looking for you next,” Ella said.

The man frowned upon hearing this, “And who is Helan Yaoyue?”

Ella gave him a brief introduction, “She’s from the second house, Helan Tianyu’s younger sister, ranking fifteenth among the Helan family’s descendants.”

She understood Helan Yaoyue’s personality well.

Although Helan Tianyu might warn her, once she learned about Ye Jiuqing’s existence, she wouldn’t be able to resist coming to sabotage things.

Since Helan Tianyu already knew about Ye Jiuqing, it was impossible for Helan Yaoyue not to know.

“What’s she coming to me for?” Ye Jiuqing asked puzzled.

Ella finished eating the bread in her hand before answering, “Naturally to try and seduce you, or perhaps to add some fuel to the fire between us.”

Ye Jiuqing: “…”

What kind of messy people are these?

Ella didn’t forget to remind him, “Oh right, whatever you do, don’t refuse to see her.”

“Why?”

“It’s to let this arrogant lady experience a fall from grace,” she said with a smile.

Ye Jiuqing heard a hint of scheming from her laughter.

“Come on, what are you scheming again?”

He always felt it wasn’t anything good, definitely not good for him.

Sure enough, the next second, she said, “Young Master Jiuqing might need to sell a bit of charm, to entice the lady into your web.”

Upon hearing this, Ye Jiuqing’s mouth twitched slightly.

He chuckled coldly, “You really dare to say that!”

“Why wouldn’t I dare to say that? I’m not asking you to sell your body, just a bit of your charm. You don’t even have to do anything, just sit there, and she’ll come to you. Helan Yaoyue has a common trait, she loves handsome men. And you happen to fit her aesthetics perfectly; she’ll definitely fall for you at first sight.”

Listening to her words, he didn’t know whether to be angry or laugh. She made it sound so easy, but it wasn’t her doing it.

“What, you’re not afraid she’ll actually seduce me away?”

Ella replied with two words, “Not afraid.”

“Why?”

“Last night I tried so hard to seduce you, and you were indifferent, let alone Helan Yaoyue. I’m well aware of my own charm, Helan Yaoyue can’t compare to me.”

Ye Jiuqing was amused, “How do you know I was indifferent last night? Wasn’t it you who said no means no without consent?”

“So you admit you were aroused last night?”

“…”

Ah He, who was driving, listened to their increasingly outrageous conversation.

Did he have the privilege to hear such words?

Didn’t he need some kind of VIP access for this?

The second miss really didn’t treat him as an outsider…

“…”

That evening.

A bar called Jianan.

“Are you sure he’ll be here tonight?”

Helan Yaoyue asked as she grabbed a white-haired boy.

Bai Limu coldly pushed her hand away and put some distance between them before replying, “Don’t worry, Miss Yue, you paid, so I won’t give you false information.”

“Jianan is one of Mr. Ye’s properties, and it’s a place he frequents when he returns to F Country. So he’ll definitely show up tonight, but whether you can seize the opportunity is up to your own skill.”

Helan Yaoyue wore a tight black bodycon dress and exquisite makeup, looking fair and beautiful.

She flipped her long hair with confidence, “You don’t have to worry about that, there’s no man I can’t handle.”

She glanced at the men not far away, each staring at her directly.

She touched her face, looking proud.

This face was her greatest asset and confidence.

Bai Limu glanced at her and said blandly, “I’m not interested in you. Since my task is done, I won’t disturb your opportunity, Miss Yue. I hope you achieve your wish tonight, I have to go.”

“…”

Bai Limu didn’t directly leave Jianan but went to an office on the third floor.

This was his workplace.

He took out his phone and sent a message: “The task you gave has been completed.”

Ella, who had just finished work, saw the message and replied, “Thank you for your hard work.”