Chapter 46: Secretly Photographed

"I—I’m fine! It’s getting late. You should get some rest. Goodnight!" Yang Bingyu swatted Ye Xuan’s hand away, stammered a goodnight, and fled back to her room as if escaping from him.

Ye Xuan watched her retreating figure in total confusion. He wondered what Yang Zhennan had told her that afternoon. Why did Yang Bingyu act like a frightened mouse whenever she saw him?

"Phew! Ye Xuan, you idiot! You’re so dense! Can’t you see what’s wrong with me?" Back in her room, Yang Bingyu sat on her bed and aggressively kneaded a stuffed bear, pretending it was Ye Xuan as she grumbled indignantly.

Recalling their intimate moment just now, her face flushed red all over again. She patted her cheeks and muttered to herself, "Yang Bingyu, get a grip! He just touched your forehead, that’s all. What’s there to be embarrassed about? You’re the eldest daughter of the Yang family! It’s his honor that you like him. Have a little confidence in yourself!"

Sometimes, when people lack confidence, they try to mask it with a facade of bravado. While it might be convincing at first glance, the truth always leaks out eventually.

Sure enough, not long after her pep talk, Yang Bingyu deflated. Hugging her stuffed bear, she lay on her bed with a frown, her mind racing with wild thoughts.

"Does Ye Xuan actually like me?" she wondered. "What if I like him, but he doesn’t like me back? Wouldn’t that be super awkward?

"But why wouldn’t he like me? I’m pretty, cute, and kindhearted—way better than Lin Aoxue, okay? Besides, he said it himself: I’m very important to him, and he would protect me with his life. Why would he say something like that if he didn’t like me?

"Then again, he’s still pining for Lin Aoxue. He can’t possibly like both of us at the same time, right? That would make him a total scumbag."

Just like that, Yang Bingyu lost sleep.

Early the next morning, Ye Xuan was startled by her panda-like dark circles, wondering what she had been up to last night to look so exhausted. "Bingyu, what’s wrong? Did you not sleep well?"

Extremely drowsy, Yang Bingyu shot him a resentful glare. "It’s all your fault. I’m so exhausted."

Ye Xuan was baffled by her accusation. Why was she blaming him for her lack of sleep?

Did he make too much noise practicing martial arts last night? That shouldn’t be the case. Although his room was next to hers, the soundproofing at Yunju Mountain Villa was excellent. Even if he threw a massive rave in his room, Yang Bingyu wouldn’t hear much of a peep.

"How about you go back to sleep for a bit? The press conference isn’t until this afternoon anyway." Seeing that she was practically sleepwalking, Ye Xuan couldn’t help but smile. This girl actually had a rather cute side.

"No way. I promised I’d go with you to the hospital to see White Snake today. A person must keep their word." Stumbling over to the dining table, Yang Bingyu slumped over it and waved her hand weakly.

White Snake had gotten injured protecting her, and she felt incredibly guilty about it. Furthermore, due to the recent media uproar, she had been trapped inside Yunju Mountain Villa and hadn’t been able to visit him at the hospital. She had specifically made plans with Ye Xuan yesterday to visit him this morning, so she absolutely could not break her promise.

"Alright then. It’s quite a drive to the hospital anyway, so you can sleep in the car." Seeing her resolute attitude, Ye Xuan didn’t try to dissuade her. He figured he would just drive a bit slower later to let her rest on the way.

As soon as the news of the press conference was released yesterday, the throng of reporters swarming the entrance of Yunju Mountain Villa dispersed today, saving their energy for the afternoon event.

For the first time in days, Yang Bingyu could walk out her front door openly. Looking at Yunju Mountain Villa, which had returned to its former tranquility, she stretched her arms in deep satisfaction. "Sigh, our home is finally peaceful again. Those reporters were honestly like flies—annoying to death."

Ye Xuan nodded in agreement, completely sharing her sentiment. Over the past few days, these reporters had severely hindered his plans.

To begin with, he didn’t trust Zhu Hui and the others sent by his superiors, and White Snake was hospitalized with injuries. This put him at a huge disadvantage in investigating the mastermind behind the scenes. After nearly a month of digging, he had only uncovered a few meager clues. The person manipulating public opinion was hiding extremely well; every suspect he unearthed turned out to be merely a pawn, not the true puppet master.

Once the press conference was held this afternoon and the public uproar was suppressed, he vowed to drag out the culprit pulling the strings.

Yang Bingyu had barely slept a wink all night. Her mind was so groggy that she fell asleep the second she got into the car. Even though Ye Xuan drove as slowly as possible, she was still sound asleep when they arrived at the hospital.

Looking at her sleeping soundly, Ye Xuan smiled helplessly. Not having the heart to wake her up, he simply scooped her into a bridal carry and brought her upstairs.

In truth, Ye Xuan didn’t think much of it. He merely viewed her as a little sister who needed looking after.

However, to outside observers, it looked entirely different. The scene of him carrying her was coincidentally spotted by the two brothers, Lin Yexing and Lin Jiaxing. The duo immediately pulled out their phones and started snapping pictures, SNAP SNAP SNAP.

"Cousin, guess what we just saw?" After returning to Mrs. Lin’s hospital ward, Lin Yexing and Lin Jiaxing looked at Lin Aoxue with immense schadenfreude, their attitudes incredibly haughty.

Lin Aoxue was busy packing Mrs. Lin’s belongings and had absolutely no desire to entertain them. She spared them a brief glance before lowering her head and continuing her work.

"It sure was generous of you to agree to the Yang family’s press conference, hoping to clear up the relationship between Ye Xuan and Yang Bingyu. Yet, here they are, putting on a sickeningly sweet public display of affection. Tell me, if I post photos of them online, what kind of headlines will the news run with?" Seeing that she was ignoring them, Lin Jiaxing wasn’t deterred. He brandished his phone and spoke in a mocking, passive-aggressive tone.

Hearing this, Lin Aoxue instantly stopped what she was doing. She spun around and lunged to grab Lin Jiaxing’s phone.

The latter had anticipated her reaction. He immediately hoisted the phone high above his head and teased maliciously, "Aww! Trying to snatch my phone? Too bad you can’t reach it, haha!"

"Lin Jiaxing! That’s enough!" Lin Aoxue was furious, glaring at him as she scolded, "I’m warning you, whatever pictures you took of them, you delete them right now! And don’t even think about posting them online! This matter has absolutely nothing to do with the Lin family. Don’t play with fire and get yourself burned!"

Hearing her words, Lin Yexing clicked his tongue loudly from the side and sneered mercilessly. "Say, cousin, if you just want to see the photos, then say so. Drop the whole ’for the good of the Lin family’ excuse, will you? The whole city is gossiping about those two adulterers. Netizens have Photoshopped all sorts of fake images; what difference will our authentic ones make?

"You might be afraid of the Yang family, but we aren’t. Brother Su said that we’re his lackeys now. If anything happens, he’s got our backs. As for these photos, the more you forbid us from posting them, the more I want to post them!"