Chapter 20: My Man

"What? Thinking about that woman Lin Aoxue again? Ye Xuan, don’t tell me you’ve actually fallen in love with her?"

Sitting opposite Ye Xuan, Yang Bingyu saw right through his thoughts and asked with a hint of displeasure.

To be honest, she really couldn’t understand Ye Xuan’s attitude toward Lin Aoxue. Obviously, his status was far nobler than hers. Yet, he insisted on acting incredibly humble in front of Lin Aoxue. He couldn’t even admit that he had stepped in to help the Lin Family, going so far as to do it through someone else.

If he revealed his true identity, the Lin Family wouldn’t treat him like this. They would absolutely worship him like an Emperor; they wouldn’t dare utter half a word of mockery.

"That’s not it. I’m just a bit tired," Ye Xuan replied. "Stay here, I’m going to the restroom."

Yang Bingyu’s question left Ye Xuan somewhat lost for words, so he found a random excuse and left the private room.

He wondered if he had fallen in love with Lin Aoxue.

Perhaps he had.

After all, when it came to romance, Ye Xuan was virtually a blank slate. Before marrying Lin Aoxue, he had never even had an official girlfriend. One could say she was his "first love." Plus, Lin Aoxue possessed top-tier looks and a stunning figure. It would be hard for any man not to fall in love with her after spending day and night together for five years.

Ye Xuan didn’t deny this fact. Love was love; there was nothing to hide.

However, his love for her ended here. They were now in the past. Ye Xuan was not the type of lovestruck fool to silently sacrifice for someone who had kicked him to the curb.

After washing his face with cold water in the restroom, Ye Xuan was just about to smoke a cigarette to calm his nerves when he heard Lin Aoxue’s voice around the corner.

"President Liu, as you know, we recently signed a contract with the Yang Group to jointly develop the land in the East Suburb. Because of this, our schedule and funding might be slightly strained. As for our cooperation with Jiasheng, I’m afraid it will have to be postponed."

Ye Xuan’s hand paused as he lit his cigarette. Out of habit, he stuffed it back into his pocket. Lin Aoxue absolutely hated the smell of smoke, so Ye Xuan never touched cigarettes in front of her.

Just as he tucked it away, Lin Aoxue and her group bumped right into him.

There were about five or six people with Lin Aoxue, including her secretary. It seemed they were discussing business. Seeing Ye Xuan, Lin Aoxue was visibly surprised. Her beautiful eyebrows furrowed, and a flicker of complex emotion flashed in her eyes.

"Why are you here?"

Right after asking, she immediately realized the answer. He was now Yang Bingyu’s bodyguard, and since Yang Bingyu was a regular at this Japanese restaurant, it was perfectly normal for him to be here.

"President Lin, who is this?" Before Ye Xuan could answer, a middle-aged man standing next to Lin Aoxue interjected with a smile.

"He’s just an irrelevant person. There’s no need to pay him any mind. President Liu, let’s just go eat."

He had thought she would at least say "my ex-husband" or "a friend." But the phrase "an irrelevant person" made his heart twinge. His newly calmed emotions grew incredibly complicated once again. No matter what, he had lived under the same roof with her for five years. Even a cold stone would have warmed up by now, wouldn’t it?

He wondered if Lin Aoxue truly hated him that much.

Ye Xuan stood rooted to the spot, his eyes downcast. His bangs shadowed his eyes, hiding his expression from her.

She had actually wanted to introduce him as her ex-husband just now, but the words had suddenly changed when they reached her lips. As soon as the words left her mouth, Lin Aoxue felt an immediate wave of regret. For some unknown reason, she didn’t want to truly become strangers with Ye Xuan. She even held a faint hope that Ye Xuan might pursue her again and return to her side.

Realizing this thought, Lin Aoxue panicked. Not daring to look at him any longer, she hurriedly brushed past him.

Her impatient departure wounded Ye Xuan’s heart all over again. He stood there for a long time before finally releasing his tightly clenched fists.

"You’re back? What..."

Yang Bingyu had been about to ask what took him so long, but upon seeing his gloomy face, she abruptly stopped.

"Did you run into Lin Aoxue?"

Hearing this, Ye Xuan’s eyes paused for a moment, and then he nodded.

"Damn it, that woman haunts you like a ghost. You run into her everywhere you go!" Yang Bingyu flared up. She slammed her utensils down with a CLACK and spoke indignantly. "Did she say something to you again? Don’t worry, I’m going to go find her right now and tell her to stay far away from you from now on."

Seeing that Ye Xuan’s mood was even worse than before, Yang Bingyu was furious. She shot up from her seat, ready to go settle the score with Lin Aoxue.

Ye Xuan quickly stopped her. "Don’t go. It has nothing to do with her."

"Ye Xuan! How can you still protect her at a time like this? You treat her so well and silently help her behind the scenes, but how does she treat you? That woman isn’t worth your affection at all. Can you stop being so stubbornly blind?"

Yang Bingyu felt like she was going to explode from anger—not because of Lin Aoxue’s ingratitude, but because of Ye Xuan. She had been holding in her frustration ever since Ye Xuan made the Yang Family cooperate with Lin Aoxue last time. Today, it completely erupted.

Hearing Yang Bingyu’s words, Ye Xuan opened his mouth to defend himself, but found he had nothing to say.

"Come on, we’re going to lay our cards on the table with Lin Aoxue right now. From now on, we’ll go our separate ways, and no one will get in anyone’s way!"

Yang Bingyu walked over to Ye Xuan, grabbed his arm, and dragged him toward the door. But as soon as she opened the private room’s door, they bumped into Lin Aoxue once again. Even the infuriated Yang Bingyu was stunned by this turn of events.

Lin Aoxue had only come out to wash her hands; she hadn’t expected to run into Ye Xuan again. Her eyes couldn’t help but fall on Yang Bingyu’s hand gripping his arm, and a wave of jealousy instantly welled up in her heart.

By reflex, Ye Xuan tried to pull his hand away, but Yang Bingyu refused to let him. She even intertwined her fingers with his, dragging him over with a rapid CLICK-CLACK of her heels to stand right in front of Lin Aoxue.

"What is this?" Staring at their intertwined fingers, Lin Aoxue asked with a deep frown.

"Well, just as you see, Ye Xuan and I are together now. Lin Aoxue, I don’t care what happened between you two in the past, but since you’re divorced now, I’m asking you to stay far away from my man. After all, I really don’t like my man’s ex-wife hovering around him all day long!"

To spite Lin Aoxue, Yang Bingyu deliberately raised their joined hands and waved them in front of her face.

Seeing their tightly clasped hands and hearing Yang Bingyu repeatedly call him "my man" made Lin Aoxue’s heart sting as if it were being pricked by needles.

Her eyes grew hot, and tears instantly welled up. But, naturally proud and strong-willed, she forced her tears back, refusing to show even the slightest hint of weakness.