"These rice noodles are so thin and delicious!" Ye Yuning said while eating. "I don’t know which place’s specialty this is, but it’s really good." "It’s from Lingcheng," Xiao Linye replied. "Ah, from your hometown?" Ye Yuning exclaimed in surprise. She had been to Lingcheng on business trips before but never knew they had this particular food. "This is Lingcheng’s breakfast," Xiao Linye explained. Ye Yuning was speechless. No wonder! After all, every time I went there, it was already past ten in the morning, so I went straight to lunch and came back in the evening. While they were talking, Ye Yuning’s phone buzzed. She took it out and saw a message from Chen Wei: "Boss, the Qin Family has sent a notice asking you to visit them tomorrow." When Ye Yuning saw this message, the good mood she had just regained evaporated. Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn 𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕·𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚎·𝚗𝚎𝚝 She took a deep breath and quickly typed on her phone: "Tell him to drop dead!" Before she could send it, another message from Chen Wei arrived: "Boss, you can’t be impulsive right now!" Ye Yuning was speechless again. Chen Wei really is a qualified assistant. She lets me be capricious when the time is right, but clearly, this isn’t one of those times. After all, the Qin Family’s current actions clearly carry an element of revenge against me. If the Young Master of the Qin Family were to join forces with the Xiao Family to deal with me now, I would definitely not stand a chance. Seeing Chen Wei’s message, Ye Yuning deleted "Tell him to drop dead!" But agreeing to go to the Qin Family... I can’t bring myself to do that either! After thinking it over, she replied, "Tell them I’m on a business trip and not in Upper City!" That was the most roundabout answer I could give for now. In my current state of mind, I definitely can’t face Qin Jinchuan directly. This is different from the conflict with the Xiao Family! With the Xiao Family, at worst, it was just unpleasant cooperation. But Qin Jinchuan is out for revenge, and I’m someone who fights back. A meeting now would be like fire meeting gunpowder. She put her phone away. Ye Yuning furiously stuffed a small meatball into her mouth, chewing with such force that her teeth audibly ground together. Xiao Linye raised an eyebrow at her. "What’s wrong?" She was fine just a moment ago. How did she get so angry after just one look at her phone? "Nothing’s wrong!" Ye Yuning snapped. She said nothing was wrong, but she bit into the meatball in her mouth with excessive force. The force was such that it seemed she wished she were chewing on Qin Jinchuan himself. Xiao Linye watched her try to compose herself. "If there’s something you can’t solve, tell me, okay?" he said gently. "There’s nothing I can’t handle. Don’t worry about it," Ye Yuning replied dismissively. In my view, if it’s a problem I can’t solve myself, surely Xiao Linye wouldn’t be able to handle it, right? He’s just a business manager for the Xiao Family; his status is limited to within the Xiao Family! Thinking about Qin Jinchuan’s revenge, Ye Yuning looked at Xiao Linye, a hint of worry in her eyes. My initial dealings with the Xiao Family had been muddled. But at this moment, I’m suddenly clear-headed! My marriage to him had been a matter of convenience, a way to take revenge on Zheng Cai and free myself from the Qin Family. Qin Jinchuan isn’t a fool, and now he’s starting to retaliate. If he found out that the person I married back then was Xiao Linye, would he...? Thinking of Qin Jinchuan’s insidious nature, a flicker of deep concern crossed Ye Yuning’s eyes. 「After dinner, they returned to Shanyu Pavilion.」 Ye Yuning’s mood was visibly low. On the way back, I kept thinking about it and decided I should leave the Xiao Family as soon as possible. "What are you thinking about?" Xiao Linye asked, embracing her from behind. She was enveloped in his warm embrace, his unique, crisp scent surrounding her, soothing her agitated heart. She sighed. "Life in Upper City hasn’t been easy for you all these years, has it?" "Why do you ask all of a sudden?" "The pace of work in Upper City is incredibly fast. Many people spend half their lives there without gaining a foothold." And yet, Xiao Linye achieved his current status at the high-pressure Xiao Family in just five short years. It was only now that I truly realized the endless future troubles I had caused by rebuffing the Qin Family in such a manner back then. At that time, I was all alone, with nothing to lose! I even wished the Qin Family would deal with the Ye Family. But the thought of Qin Jinchuan’s malicious grasp extending to Xiao Linye made my heart clench with anxiety. Xiao Linye wanted to bury his face in the crook of her neck, but she was too short. When he lowered his head, his chin could only rest on the crown of her head, which he rubbed gently. "Not every person who works hard gets rewarded accordingly," he murmured. Ye Yuning turned around, her hands encircling his lean waist. "That’s why I think it hasn’t been easy for you." Others might only see Xiao Linye’s current status in the Xiao Family. However, I acutely feel that for an ordinary person to achieve such a position in a place like Upper City, they must have endured hardships incomprehensible to most. Xiao Linye chuckled softly. He cupped her small face and gently pecked her lips. "Feeling sorry for me?" Ye Yuning’s eyes welled up, her tear-filled gaze appearing especially endearing under the orange light. Without waiting for her to respond, Xiao Linye stroked her cheek, deepening their passionate kiss.