Chapter 16: Being Her Male Companion

Hearing Ye Xuan say he was going to handle it himself, Yang Bingyu’s brows instantly knitted into a tight knot.

"How are you going to treat such severe injuries yourself! Come on, hurry up and go to the hospital with me!"

Seeing Yang Bingyu looking so anxious, Ye Xuan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He gently grasped her wrist and said with a serious expression, "Bingyu, don’t worry. I wouldn’t joke around with my own body. These injuries really are nothing, so you don’t need to be so worried about me."

Right now, Ye Xuan carried far too many burdens. Even if he wanted to die, he had to keep living well for the sake of Group Four and his fallen brothers.

"Are you sure you’re okay? You’re bleeding." Yang Bingyu looked at Ye Xuan with a worried face, still not dismissing the idea of taking him to the hospital.

Ye Xuan looked down at his wounds. Most of them were superficial and had only bled a little when he was first cut; they had almost completely scabbed over by now. Only a few deeper gashes were still seeping blood, but the bleeding wasn’t heavy.

"I’m really fine. Why are you still up so late? Is something the matter?"

It was nearly midnight. If Yang Bingyu still wasn’t asleep by this hour, could she have run into some trouble?

Hearing Ye Xuan’s question, Yang Bingyu finally remembered she still had something to tell him. She stuck her tongue out in mild embarrassment and said, "Grandpa has already finalized the collaboration with the Lin Family to jointly develop the natural gas project. The company is planning to host a partnership banquet, tentatively scheduled for this Friday night at Lanshan Hotel."

After receiving Ye Xuan’s approval, Elder Yang had immediately rallied the company’s staff to begin planning the collaboration. The Lin Family was currently stressing over how to face Su Xiaobai’s wrath when the Yang Family extended an olive branch. Naturally, they were a hundred percent willing. Regardless of how much profit this collaboration would bring, they agreed to it first and foremost.

When Su Xiaobai heard the news of the two families collaborating, he was furious. He had originally wanted to force Lin Aoxue to yield by pressuring the Lin Family. Now that the Yang Family had intervened, his entire plan had completely fallen through.

"This is a matter between your two families. It doesn’t seem to have much to do with me, does it?" Ye Xuan said. Thinking of Lin Aoxue, his eyes dimmed. Since the Yang Family had already decided to help her, he had nothing left to worry about. As for the banquet, that was business between the two companies. It had very little to do with him.

For some unknown reason, thinking about Ye Xuan and Lin Aoxue’s past relationship left a faint trace of displeasure in Yang Bingyu’s heart. She frowned slightly, unable to understand where this feeling was coming from.

"What’s wrong?" Seeing that Yang Bingyu’s expression looked a bit off, Ye Xuan asked with concern.

His voice interrupted her thoughts. She shook her head, temporarily tossing the messy thoughts aside. "As the eldest daughter of the Yang Family, I’ll naturally be attending the banquet. And... I want you to be my date. I was wondering if you’d be willing."

Before she met Ye Xuan, Yang Tian had always been Yang Bingyu’s date to such banquets. This time, whether it was to deliberately spite Lin Aoxue or for some other reason, she just wanted Ye Xuan by her side.

"Can I refuse?"

In the past, due to his special identity, Ye Xuan rarely attended public events. Later, after he married Lin Aoxue, the Lin Family forbade him from attending. Now that Yang Bingyu was suddenly asking him to attend a joint corporate banquet, he really wasn’t too keen on going. First, he wasn’t used to it. Second, as the former live-in son-in-law of the Lin Family, there was no telling what the Lin Family members would say when they saw him there.

"No, you can’t. Even if you aren’t my date, as my bodyguard, you still have to attend the banquet." Yang Bingyu flatly rejected his refusal. The more he didn’t want to participate, the more she insisted he go.

First, it was to spite Lin Aoxue, and second, it was to slap the faces of those in the Lin Family. Back then, every single snob in the Lin Family had looked down on Ye Xuan, even openly telling outsiders that he was a spineless coward who mooched off a woman. If Ye Xuan were to show up at the banquet as her date, the expressions on the Lin Family members’ faces would probably be uglier than if they had swallowed a fly.

"Since you’ve put it that way, what else can I say?"

How could Ye Xuan not know what Yang Bingyu was thinking? Knowing that refusing was useless, he stopped arguing. Besides, she was right. As her bodyguard, willing or not, he had to attend the banquet. Moreover, Ye Xuan had a selfish motive of his own. He was curious to see exactly what kind of expression Lin Aoxue would make when she saw him as Yang Bingyu’s date.

"Then it’s settled! Don’t back out when the time comes!" Seeing Ye Xuan agree, Yang Bingyu felt a surge of joy, her face showing unconcealable happiness.

"Got it, I won’t back out," Ye Xuan promised helplessly, looking at Yang Bingyu’s expectant eyes.

With the matter of her date settled, Yang Bingyu could finally relax completely. Drowsiness hit her, and she couldn’t help but yawn.

"Ah, I’m simply too tired. I won’t chat with you anymore. Goodnight."

She stretched as she said goodnight and headed toward her room. Because she was wearing a nightgown, stretching caused the hem of the dress to hike up halfway. Ye Xuan looked at her long, straight, fair legs, and his throat tightened suddenly.

"See no evil, see no evil," he thought.

Realizing he was having inappropriate thoughts about Yang Bingyu, Ye Xuan quickly averted his gaze and thought about other things to distract himself.

It wasn’t until 2:00 AM that White Snake finally returned to Yunju Mountain Villa.

"Dragon Chief, I’ve investigated it clearly. The mastermind behind this attack is the young master of the Long Family in Jianghai City, Long Tian." After speaking, White Snake handed a file on Long Tian to Ye Xuan.

Ye Xuan flipped through it briefly and raised an eyebrow when he saw Long Tian’s photo. This Long Tian was the same rich kid he had taught a lesson at the bar.

"You handle this matter. It’s time for the Long Family’s status in Jianghai City to change."