Chapter 78: He Is Lying

Lin Aoxue’s face turned red at his words. She gave Ye Xuan a gentle push and complained coquettishly, "Who asked you to come over in the middle of the night? It’s already good enough that I didn’t hit you hard."

Ye Xuan’s arm around Lin Aoxue’s waist suddenly tightened. He leaned his head close to hers and asked with a wicked smirk, "Hit me hard? I’d like to see how you’re going to hit me hard."

With that, he lowered his head and kissed her lips.

After a night of intimacy, their feelings for each other grew rapidly. If the circumstances allowed it, Ye Xuan would have dragged Lin Aoxue to the Civil Affairs Bureau to remarry her right then and there.

Early the next morning, Ye Xuan was awakened by a call from Yang Bingyu. Feeling a bit helpless, he pressed the answer button. "Bingyu, what’s wrong?"

Hearing Ye Xuan’s slightly hoarse voice, Yang Bingyu’s expression flickered. When she woke up that morning and found him missing, she had called him immediately without a second thought. But once the call connected, she didn’t know what to ask.

In truth, Yang Bingyu didn’t even need to guess to know that Ye Xuan was with Lin Aoxue at this moment. However, still clinging to a sliver of hope, she hesitated before asking, "I woke up and realized you weren’t in your room, so I wanted to call and ask where you went."

Ye Xuan glanced at Lin Aoxue in his arms. His grip on the phone tightened slightly as he lied, "I suddenly got some news last night. There was an emergency on my end, so I left before I had time to tell you.

"It’s mostly handled now. I’ll head back a little later, so don’t worry."

Hearing Ye Xuan’s words, Yang Bingyu immediately broke into a happy smile. "Okay, then I’ll wait for you to come back so we can have breakfast together."

Ye Xuan gave a soft hum of agreement before hanging up.

"Don’t frown. It makes me worry," Lin Aoxue said softly, reaching out to gently smooth Ye Xuan’s brow.

She knew Ye Xuan didn’t want to hurt Yang Bingyu, and she also knew he definitely had his own unspoken difficulties. She believed he would be true to his word—in three months, the dust would settle on everything.

"Xue’er, how do you think I should face Bingyu?" Ye Xuan grasped Lin Aoxue’s hand, kissed it gently, and asked with a hint of helplessness.

Ever since Yang Bingyu confessed her feelings to him, she no longer bothered to hide her affection. This was a bit much for Ye Xuan to handle, and he didn’t know how to treat her. He was afraid that rejecting her outright would break her heart, worrying she might break down from back-to-back blows. But not rejecting her and dragging things out like this wasn’t a solution either.

"Personally, I obviously hope you won’t have any further entanglements with Yang Bingyu, but ultimately, how you treat her is up to you." Lin Aoxue didn’t hide anything and directly voiced her thoughts.

She and Yang Bingyu had been at odds since the past, and now they had fallen for the same man. How could she tolerate that? Giving Ye Xuan three months to resolve things was already incredibly generous of her. If their positions were reversed, Yang Bingyu probably wouldn’t even give her three days.

"Sigh, alright." Ye Xuan let out a sigh, gently kissed Lin Aoxue’s forehead, and then got up. "I have to go. It’s still early, so you can sleep a bit longer. I’ll come find you when I have time."

Watching Ye Xuan get dressed, Lin Aoxue felt incredibly reluctant to let him leave and hugged him tightly from behind. "Can’t you just tell her about us now? Why do we have to wait three months?"

Lin Aoxue was actually in a panic. She feared that in three months, Ye Xuan’s feelings for her would change. She was afraid he would fall in love with Yang Bingyu during this time.

Ye Xuan paused buttoning his shirt, turned around, and hugged her back. "Be good. I promised you that I’ll handle everything in three months. Just bear with it a little longer, okay?"

Looking at Ye Xuan’s earnest eyes, Lin Aoxue finally nodded. She hoped that this time, he wouldn’t let her lose.

When Ye Xuan returned to Yunju Mountain Villa, Yang Bingyu was indeed sitting in the dining room, waiting for him to have breakfast.

"You’re back? How did things go? Are you tired?" Hearing the noise, Yang Bingyu immediately stood up from her stool, ran over to him with a beaming smile, and affectionately linked her arm through his.

"Yeah, it’s handled," Ye Xuan said mildly as he changed his shoes.

Suddenly, a waft of perfume drifted into Yang Bingyu’s nose. Her expression changed instantly, and her smile became extremely forced. It was Lin Aoxue’s favorite perfume.

Ye Xuan had lied.

At this realization, a dull ache instantly flared in Yang Bingyu’s chest. She stumbled and almost fell.

"Careful." Seeing this, Ye Xuan grabbed her and gently cautioned her.

Yang Bingyu looked up and stared into Ye Xuan’s eyes for a long time, leaving him thoroughly baffled.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?" It made Ye Xuan want to go check a mirror right away to see if he hadn’t washed his face properly that morning.

"N-no, it’s nothing. Let’s eat breakfast first; if we wait any longer, it’ll get cold." Yang Bingyu shook her head and looked away.

She forcibly suppressed the suspicions in her heart, managed to squeeze out a smile, and pulled Ye Xuan toward the dining room. No matter where Ye Xuan went last night or whose side he spent the night by, at the very least, a single phone call from her this morning had brought him obediently back to keep her company. That was enough. As long as he was still hers, it was enough. Yang Bingyu comforted herself in her heart.

Ye Xuan naturally noticed Yang Bingyu’s discomfort, but he didn’t have the time to worry about it. Three months was actually a very short period. It would be incredibly difficult for him to clean out everyone in Jianghai City who posed a threat to Yang Bingyu. He had to hurry.

Both of them found the breakfast dull and tasteless, as they were each preoccupied with their own thoughts. In the end, Yang Bingyu was the first to lose her composure. She was afraid that if she stayed with Ye Xuan any longer, she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from confronting him about his lie. Hurriedly saying, "I’m full," she wiped her mouth and left the dining room.

Back in her room, Yang Bingyu stared at the three characters "Lin Aoxue" on her phone screen, hesitating over whether to ask her out for a talk. Just as she was wavering, a call from an unknown number suddenly came through, startling her so much she nearly dropped her phone. After steadying her nerves, she finally answered the call.

"Hello, who is this, please?" After the polite inquiry, Yang Bingyu waited for the other party’s response.

"Well, Sister Bing, long time no see! Have you missed your little brother?"

Yang Jie’s voice suddenly came from the other end of the line. Hearing it, anger flared up instantly in Yang Bingyu’s heart. This bastard actually dared to call her!

"Yang Jie, you bastard! You still have the nerve to call me? Doesn’t your conscience hurt after what you did?"

Hearing Yang Bingyu’s questioning, Yang Jie burst into loud laughter on the other end.