Ye Yuning’s world was in chaos. With Qin Jinchuan and Xiao Qiye in her life, everything had been turned upside down, and her entire focus was on Xiao Linye. Facing Xiao Shuo’s repeated pestering about his so-called ’Uncle Qi,’ Ye Yuning had gone from being speechless to completely out of patience. "Don’t worry, I won’t end up with your Uncle Qi. He’s the Xiao Family’s limited edition; how could I snatch away what you all love?" Ye Yuning’s words were laden with sarcasm. Right now, all she could think about was how to resolve the matter with Qin Jinchuan at noon. Now that Xiao Shuo had brought up Xiao Qiye again, these two men were the biggest sources of turmoil in her life. If she got the chance, she wanted nothing more than to fiercely vent her dissatisfaction with both of them. However, Xiao Shuo was relentless. "Swear to me, you don’t have feelings for my Uncle Qi!" Regarding this issue, she had already scolded him and argued heatedly with him. Yet, this guy still had to push it...! Orıginal content can be found at 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡⁂𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⁂𝘯𝘦𝘵 Ye Yuning pointed a finger to the sky. "I swear to the heavens, I, Ye Yuning, will absolutely not develop feelings for your ’limited edition’ Uncle Qi. If I ever covet your perfect Uncle Qi, may I be struck by lightning! Satisfied?" She emphasized the words ’limited edition’ with particular force. Hearing this, he felt a little better. However, before he could even turn around, a "BOOM!" followed by a sharp "CRACKLE!" of lightning sounded from outside the window. The bright flash illuminating the room made both Ye Yuning’s and Xiao Shuo’s faces stiffen. It actually thundered! And not just thunder, but lightning too—it was as if the heavens were about to strike someone down. Xiao Shuo turned to look at Ye Yuning. Her lips twitched as she spat out two words, "Strike you!" "It’s a natural phenomenon. You’re not actually going to link this to retribution, are you?" Ye Yuning sneered. Even if it were retribution, it shouldn’t be aimed at me, right? Still, this ’natural phenomenon’ is truly something else, thundering so perfectly timed with my oath. It’s as if the heavens are blind! Xiao Shuo left in a huff. Once alone, Ye Yuning felt even more incensed. She picked up her water cup, intending to drink some to cool her temper. But the cup was empty; there wasn’t any water at all. "How utterly ridiculous!" she muttered angrily, then stood up to get some water. The weather seemed bad today; outside, the sky was so heavily overcast it looked like a torrential downpour could begin at any moment. Returning after fetching water, she saw her phone screen, which was on her desk, light up. She walked over and saw it was a message from Xiao Linye. A simple line: [Are you afraid of thunder?] Does this man really think I’m a child? How could I possibly be afraid of thunder? I’m not even scared of ghosts, let alone thunder! Ye Yuning quickly typed "Not afraid" on the screen and was about to send it when Tang Xi’s earlier advice about men flashed through her mind. She had said: Men like women who seem delicate? So...? She deleted the words "Not afraid" and instead sent: [That really made me jump just now, but I’m not scared anymore.] She worried that if she simply said she was scared, Xiao Linye would come rushing over to the office! But seeing the message she’d sent, Ye Yuning herself got goosebumps. Apologies, but she just couldn’t pull off being delicate! This kind of soft, seemingly spineless act... she couldn’t quite grasp why men had this ’protective instinct.’ Thinking of the words ’protective instinct,’ she immediately thought of Qin Jinchuan. Why was Qin Jinchuan targeting her? Or was it precisely because she was too confrontational? Did that, therefore, provoke his male combativeness all the more, making him want to completely annihilate her? Combativeness, protective instinct! These two things were at completely opposite extremes. Ye Yuning carefully pondered these two extremes, and a rather cringe-worthy idea gradually began to form in her mind. Do all men truly possess a protective instinct, or is it more a case of ’to each his own’—a preference some have and others don’t? While she was mulling this over, another message from Xiao Linye arrived: [Do you want me to come and keep you company at work?] Seeing this message...! Even as things stood, she was worried she might negatively affect Xiao Linye. If he really came to keep her company at work, she truly dared not imagine what things would escalate into. She quickly replied: [Don’t come. I can manage by myself. It was just that the thunder was so sudden; I’m not really scared.] Afraid that Xiao Linye might actually come, she had typed out a lengthy explanation. Her world was already in turmoil; she didn’t want to endure anything more that felt like it was on the verge of collapse. After she sent the message, Xiao Linye didn’t reply. After some thought, Ye Yuning called Tang Xi. The other end seemed busy, as the call was only picked up after ringing for a long time. "Sweetie." Hearing Tang Xi’s cloyingly sweet voice, Ye Yuning shuddered. Do men really go for this type? But isn’t this way too corny? I’m sure Xiao Linye wouldn’t kind of thing. "I have something to ask you." "When you’re facing the most obstinate type of man, what’s the best way to handle him?" she asked directly. Tang Xi paused for a moment upon hearing this, then uttered a single word: "Cry!" Ye Yuning’s lips twitched. That... really didn’t seem to be her strong suit. After all, she hadn’t shed a single tear even when facing such terrible adversity in the past; how could she possibly cry so easily now? But if crying truly was the quickest way to resolve these troubles, then it was undoubtedly the simplest method.