Chapter 9: Great Upheaval

On a suburban street in Jianghai City, a modified Mercedes-Benz sped through the night. Given the late hour and the remote location, there was no other traffic in sight.

Inside the car, Lin Aoxue sat in the passenger seat, the cold wind whistling through the open window and whipping her long hair around her face.

Yang Bingyu, who was behind the wheel, furrowed her brows. She slipped a hair tie off her wrist and handed it over. "Tie your hair up," she demanded coldly. "It’s distracting me."

She didn’t even spare Lin Aoxue a glance as she spoke. Clearly, she was furious with her. Lin Aoxue was sitting on a true piece of gold-inlaid jade without even realizing it—what an absolute waste! Yang Bingyu was tempted to spill everything, to tell this woman about all the sacrifices Ye Xuan had silently made for her, just to see her drown in regret and sorrow. But she held her tongue. She wanted Lin Aoxue to slowly realize the truth on her own. Only then would the pain and remorse cut deeply enough to leave a permanent scar.

Lin Aoxue turned her head and looked at Yang Bingyu with a complicated expression. "Why did you take me away?" she asked, her voice slightly hoarse.

Yang Bingyu let out a cold laugh. "Don’t flatter yourself. I only took you away to piss off Su Xiaobai. Did you actually think I was trying to save you?

"You’re dead wrong. I would’ve loved nothing more than to see him ruin you tonight!"

The harsh words made Lin Aoxue’s eyes well up with tears once more. "Stop the car! Let me out!"

"You want to get out?" Yang Bingyu sneered. "Think carefully. We’re in the suburbs. You won’t be able to hail a cab for another twenty kilometers! Can you really walk back in those high heels?" Pausing for a moment, she added with a malicious smirk, "Oh, right, I forgot to remind you. Wild wolves roam the outskirts of Jianghai City! A fragrant woman like you would make the perfect midnight snack for them!"

Lin Aoxue’s beautiful face instantly drained of color. She gripped the hem of her gown so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

Suiting actions to her words, Yang Bingyu pulled over to the side of the road and mocked, "As you wish. The car is stopped. You can leave now!"

"Why are you all treating me like this!" Tears streamed uncontrollably down Lin Aoxue’s face. Burying her face in her hands, she wailed, "What did I do wrong? Why is everyone targeting me?! Tell me! What did I do wrong?!"

Like a broken dam, her tears could not be stopped. The emotions she had kept bottled up for days finally erupted. They always said tears were a woman’s greatest weapon, and it proved true.

The irritation and anger in Yang Bingyu’s heart were significantly doused by the crying, though her tone remained uncompromising. "You were definitely in the wrong. You shouldn’t have hurt Ye Xuan like that. The fact that he came here looking for you proves that you still hold a place in his heart. But what about you? How did you treat him?"

Hearing this only made Lin Aoxue cry harder. "I didn’t... I didn’t... He betrayed me first!"

She had never been a fragile or weepy woman, yet since divorcing Ye Xuan, she had shed more tears than in the past twenty-odd years of her life combined. Perhaps it was just in her head, but Lin Aoxue felt as though the heavens had abandoned her ever since the divorce. Good fortune never seemed to shine her way anymore. But the hardest pill for her to swallow was the idea that Ye Xuan was being kept as Yang Bingyu’s toyboy. Even so, she flatly refused to admit that she still harbored feelings for him.

Having hidden outside the banquet hall from the very beginning, Yang Bingyu had naturally heard everything Lin Aoxue had said. She shot the crying woman an indifferent glance. "Ye Xuan and I aren’t what you think. He and White Snake are simply my bodyguards."

"Wh... what?"

Lin Aoxue’s sobbing came to a sudden halt. She lifted her head, staring at Yang Bingyu in a daze. "You’re saying... Ye Xuan is just your bodyguard?"

Yang Bingyu sneered. "Do you honestly think I have any reason to lie to you?"

Lin Aoxue fell silent.

She was right. Yang Bingyu had absolutely no reason to deceive her. No matter how you looked at it, Lin Aoxue misunderstanding Ye Xuan wouldn’t bring any trouble to Yang Bingyu. As for any damage to her reputation, Yang Bingyu didn’t seem to care in the slightest. If she did, she could have easily explained herself in front of everyone back in the banquet hall.

Still, Lin Aoxue refused to believe it. Gritting her teeth, she demanded, "But I saw you two holding each other with my own eyes! How do you explain that?!"

Yang Bingyu gave her a look of utter disappointment and let out a cold laugh. "Believe what you want!" Completely out of patience, she restarted the engine. "You’d better figure out how you’re going to explain this mess to the Lin family when you get back!"

At the mention of her family, Lin Aoxue’s face turned deathly pale again. Before she left, the old matriarch had given her strict orders. With things ending up in such a disaster, how was she supposed to report back?

Seeing her reaction, Yang Bingyu scoffed. "A woman willing to let others dictate her fate... how pathetic!

"If you’re so terrified, why don’t I take you to a hotel so you can wash up, and I’ll call Su Xiaobai over?"

Her words dripped with thick sarcasm. Perhaps spurred by the provocation, Lin Aoxue gritted her teeth. "Take me back to the Lin family!"

Meanwhile, Ye Xuan had already returned to Yunju Mountain Villa.

Since Yang Zhenguo had gifted the estate to him, all the members of the Yang family—save for Yang Bingyu—had relocated to another villa complex. At that moment, Ye Xuan was the sole occupant of the massive manor.

He sat under the moonlight, holding a very old wine gourd in his hand. It was hard to tell what kind of liquor it was, but the pungent aroma was strong enough to put off almost anyone. Yet, for some reason, Ye Xuan was exceptionally fond of it. He took a deep, heavy swig, feeling a fiery burn spread through his chest.

"Old man, your great-granddaughter has truly broken my heart, and you’re not even going to come out and do something about it." Ye Xuan shook his head with a bitter smile. "If she weren’t your great-granddaughter, I really would’ve given her a severe scolding."

Coincidentally, Lin Aoxue’s great-grandfather shared the same name as Yang Bingyu’s grandfather—they were both named Zhennan. Although the two old men were a generation apart, Ye Xuan couldn’t shake the feeling that their shared name was no mere coincidence.

"It’s for the best. With your great-granddaughter being so heartless, it at least helps sever my only remaining attachment." Ye Xuan stood up and brushed the dirt off his clothes. "Now, I can focus on my other affairs in peace."

Just then, a dark silhouette darted through the moonlight with a faint SWISH. It moved incredibly fast, nearly imperceptible to the untrained eye. The arrival was none other than White Snake. He stopped behind Ye Xuan and reported respectfully, "Dragon Chief, Miss Bingyu has returned!"

Yang Bingyu had no idea that White Snake had been secretly tailing her from start to finish. This, too, was on Ye Xuan’s orders.

Still facing away, Ye Xuan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "That girl is just too similar to Chen Hao. Their warm, fiercely loyal personalities are like two peas in a pod."

How could he not know that Yang Bingyu had sneaked after them to vent his frustrations on his behalf? While he found it amusing, it also left a warm feeling in his heart.

White Snake mirrored his smile before his expression quickly turned solemn. "Dragon Chief, Vermilion Bird Chief contacted me tonight."

Upon hearing this, Ye Xuan finally turned around, his brows furrowing tightly. "What’s going on?"

White Snake said gravely, "The Qilin Group has made a move against the Vermilion Bird Team! A massive upheaval is about to happen... at the borders!"