Release that Man

The arrival of Brother Shuang meant the dimming of the spotlight for the normal males. Ye Shuang entered the room behind Fang Mo, and the moment she did so, she attracted the resentment of all the males in the room, the most direct source coming from Mr. Fang.

To be honest, with the Ye family’s financial status, no matter how much Mother Ye wished to pamper her precious son , the clothes that she had bought for him could not be considered high-end. Even among branded goods, there was a hierarchy as well. Some were worth several hundred, and others were worth more than several hundred thousand, but they were all categorized under the umbrella term of ‘branded goods’.

However, there were still difference between them. For example, the real high-end goods were hand-sewn, like the shirt Mr. Fang was wearing. It was specially tailored according to his build and was definitely more comfortable and form-fitting than those mass-produced.

If this was a contest purely between their garments, the difference between Ye Shuang and Mr. Fang was like a common rock versus precious gold. However, in terms of personal charm, Ye Shuang, even in her common top, looked far more impressive than Mr. Fang based on her attitude and looks. The difference between the two was so large that there was simply no hope of bridging the difference.

All the male creatures in the room were thus transformed into background decoration once Ye Shuang entered. Mr. Fang could not understand why Fang Mo had the courage to stand beside a creature such as Ye Shuang. His mood only worsened when he noticed the expression of disbelief on Ruan Yuan’s face as she stared at Ye Shuang with her lips open.

“Who invited this?” Since Mr. Fang wasn’t in a good mood, the tone he employed wasn’t that friendly either.

Fang Mo looked at Ye Shuang and the latter smiled. Suppressing the feeling of discomfort from the memory influx, she explained, “I am Ye Shuang’s boyfriend. I’m sorry, we ran into some unruly customers on the way here, so I had her little brother take her home first, and I’m here to apologize on her behalf for her sudden departure.”

He has a girlfriend already… Such a waste, thought the girls.

He has a girlfriend already… Thank God, thought the boys.

Mr. Fang’s expression lightened slightly. He huffed and forced out several nods. “Understood, if there’s nothing else, you can go now!”

After all, that woman has been nothing but trouble as well. Not only stealing all my thunder, she has also turned both of my friends on me.

Since she had done everything that she had set out to do, Ye Shuang smiled and nodded at Fang Mo before she turned to leave. However, before she could exit the room, Fang Fei, who had joined the group of socialites on the sofa, suddenly said, “We haven’t met Mr. Ye for several days already. Since Mr. Ye is already here, why don’t you join us for a while?”

“…” Ye Shuang tossed Fang Mo a look after her initial shock, a look that the latter answered with an awkward smile. Your sister still hasn’t given up‽

Actually, this had nothing to do with giving up or not. Every human being had the tendency to get close to things that they like. Even though Fang Fei had been given a good talking to by her brother and knew that there was not a future for her and Ye Shuang, she was not forbidden from being friends with him and greeting him when they met each other, right?

Fang Fei did not think she had stepped out of line. She was rather open with the fact that she liked looking at handsome men, so what was wrong with that?

Ye Shuang turned to Fang Mo with a half-smile. “What is Brother Fang’s opinion of that?”

Fang Mo rubbed his temples and felt like sighing. In the end, he agreed with Fang Fei’s suggestion. Ye Shuang’s girlfriend had left, and as both the female Ye Shuang’s boyfriend and Fang Mo’s friend, it would seem impolite to just leave like that.

Therefore, Ye Shuang and Fang Mo were invited to sit. Once Ye Shuang sat down, the two guys from the capital who had learned a new skill sidled over to her and asked with gushing passion, “How about some karaoke? Some beer? Or let’s play some dice, how about a game of points…”

…

Half an hour later, the two guys, who finally understood the meaning of the term “not to accept defeat until at the end of one’s rope”, watched the new generation’s gambling god leave the scene with Fang Mo. Looking at the ease with which their opponent left the field, the two unlucky bastards whose pockets were now lighter than air shared a look with each other before both sighed in unison. Thankfully, they didn’t lose until they had to surrender their underwear!

No wonder they’re a couple, at least their dice skills match each other perfectly.

In contrast to the heavy discussion in the room after Ye Shuang left, Ye Shuang was unusually quiet as she followed Fang Mo to his car.

“What’s wrong?” After crawling into the driver’s seat, Fang Mo poked his head out when he realized that Ye Shuang had not climbed in.

It’s nothing really, I’m just wondering whether I should ask you to take me home or to a hotel?

It was then that Ye Shuang realized she could not ask Fang Mo to send her back to the Ye family’s home; she could not find a valid reason to explain how she was cohabiting with her fiancé at her parent’s house. However, she didn’t have the forethought to ask Little Brother Ye bring her male identity card with him, so even if she went to a hotel, she would not be able to check into a room.

After some thought, Ye Shuang raised her head with faux calmness and said, “I just remembered that I need to take a look at the apartment that my girlfriend recently obtained. She did mention needing Brother Fang’s help to arrange the details of furnishing. If it’s not too much trouble, can Brother Fang drop me there tonight?”

That apartment, if I’m not mistaken, was ruined by An Zining. Fang Mo hesitated before saying, “You can go there tomorrow morning; I don’t think you can spend a night there.”

“I don’t mind, pretty sure I can sort out a makeshift bed.” Ye Shuang rubbed her temples. The pressure from the memory influx was increasing, and she was feeling more uncomfortable. Of course, it could also be due to the fact that she was not sleeping when the influx occurred. Staying awake while receiving the influx meant doubling the pressure on the processing power of the brain, so feelings of discomfort were to be expected.

Fang Mo had also noticed how bad Ye Shuang looked under the light of the parking lot. He did not notice it before because the lighting in the KTV room was rather dim. Upon closer inspection, Ye Shuang did look rather pale. Aiming to get his friend a place to rest as soon as possible, Fang Mo nodded in a hurry. “Then, get in. I’ll drive you there, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll drive you to a hotel.”

Ye Shuang sighed in relief and uttered in sincere appreciation, “Thank you.”

For once, Fang Fei did not make any trouble. She probably saw how pale Ye Shuang looked as well, so she sat quietly in the passenger seat beside her brother, giving their passenger in the backseat the peace he needed to rest.

They soon reached the apartment building. Fang Mo unfastened his seatbelt and told Fang Fei to wait in the car before accompanying Ye Shuang up the stairs. After keying in the password and opening the door, they saw Ye Shuang’s new home, which looked like it had just been ransacked by burglars.

One thing commendable about An Zining’s people was they were indeed efficient. They had broken every single piece of furniture that could be lifted off the ground. Other than the walls, which had not been taken down due to the lack of tools and not due to lack of trying, the place was no different from an abandoned shack. She truly did not intend to leave anything for the mistress. Of course, the mistress would not have kept most of the furniture anyway; as long as the breadwinner was still alive, they could always get a new set of furniture.

“How about we go to a hotel?” Fang Mo suggested again. He really did not think this place was habitable by any standard.

Ye Shuang wandered in with a shrug. Fang Mo followed after a moment of hesitation. He saw Ye Shuang singlehandedly pull up the television cabinet that blocked the door to the bedroom and use his leg to kick away the hardwood table that blocked his way. After entering the bedroom, he lifted the large cupboard that had collapsed on top of the bed with so much ease that it felt like the several-hundred-kilogram cupboard was made of paper.

I should not have been worried for the man.

Ye Shuang retrieved a slightly unused bedspread from the cupboard. Thankfully, An Zining’s group had focused on the larger pieces of furniture, so most of the smaller items such as this one were practically unharmed. After some fluffing and nudging, a presentable king sized bed appeared in the room.

Ye Shuang yawned before turning to smile at Fang Mo. “I’m not that bad of a homemaker, am I?”

Fang Mo’s lips curved into a smile. He examined the ruined room before his eyes settled on the only piece of furniture that was presentable. “I suppose so. At least I’m sure you’ll be able to survive anywhere. But if you want to move into this place, it’ll have to be refurnished. Tomorrow, I’ll have the moving company come to remove all the rubbish and put in a new flooring. After that, we’ll move in the new furniture…”

He did not ask Ye Shuang to look through the chaos to see whether there was any stuff he wished to recycle. After all, Fang Mo had received the note from An Zining, and since the budget was bottomless, he was not going to skimp.

Ye Shuang suddenly remembered the extra income that she had managed to procure that night. “Oh right, here is a cheque for 200,000 given by Chen He. Consider it the down payment.”

Even though she had changed into a different outfit, Ye Shuang had decided to keep any important items like her phone, wallet, and the cheque on her person, or else with Little Brother Ye’s clumsiness, he would definitely lose them somewhere.

Fang Mo accepted the cheque readily after a glance at it. As he turned to leave, he was reminded of something. “By the way, about An Zining… You have to be careful, and relay this to your girlfriend, try to not get too involved with those two families’ business.”

Huh? Why?

Fang Mo left after he gave the warning. Ye Shuang thought about it for a while but still could not understand what he meant by that. It was not her intention to meddle in the divorced couple’s business, but her post as a personal assistant meant that she would have increased interaction with both parties.

Is that sudden sentence a warning or a reminder? If it’s a reminder, I’ll just be even more careful in the future, but if it’s a warning… then does this mean I’ve already unwittingly dragged myself into this pool of messiness‽

Even though Fang Mo treated Ye Shuang sincerely as a friend, certain things could not be explained too openly. Knowing too much could be a curse. Furthermore, ‘I promise that I won’t tell’ had been proven to be a bold-face lie. Once the seal of the secret had been broken, it was only a matter of time before the whole world found out.

The more she thought about it, the more confused she became. Ye Shuang could feel her head getting heavier from the confusion and memory influx. When the light-headedness upgraded to pain, Ye Shuang decided to give up on contemplating this question. She peeled off her clothes and wrapped herself up in bed. F*ck! Welll, no worries, the one-month contract will be over soon. If the husband and wife want to kill each other after that, it won’t be my problem anymore…

Ye Shuang lazed in bed until the 11 am next morning. After a good night’s sleep, the headache had receded. She went downstairs to purchase some toiletries, and after fixing the broken faucet in the bathroom, a refreshed, handsome man soon returned to the world.

When she arrived at An Zining’s place, her boss had already finished the physical check-up. The confirmation of her pregnancy ruined An Zining’s mood, and she had locked herself up in her bedroom since returning from the hospital.

The person who came to answer the door was Brother Wong. He looked through the cat’s eye and thought he would see the female Ye Shuang, so he was shocked when he saw the handsome man standing at the door. Brother Wong, who didn’t know about the rotation deal between Ye Shuang and Han Chu, was shocked before he asked in alarm, “Who is it? What do you want?”

This is weird. This residential area should be quite safe. They would not let in any stranger without the necessary documents. Even the deliveryman has to call the resident to confirm their identity before they are let in… Unless, the guard on duty today is a woman‽

Ye Shuang explained patiently, “I am Ye Shuang. I…”

… told Sister An I will be rotating shift with the female Ye Shuang.

“You think I’m stupid‽” Brother Wong interrupted her angrily. “I know Ye Shuang, and if you want to disguise as her, shouldn’t you at least get the gender right‽”

An Zining happened to hear this sentence when she exited the bedroom. She enquired after the situation and nodded, explaining, “Ye Shuang did mention that she will be on rotation shift with her boyfriend; his name is also Ye Shuang. Let him in then.”

Two ‘Ye Shuang’s‽ Brother Wong was startled before finally opening the door.

An Zining planted herself on the sofa and was about to examine the newcomer, but she was completely stunned. Isn’t this man a little bit too good looking?

However, An Zining was ultimately a married woman; her self-control was much better than single girls. After the initial shock, she quickly recovered. However, the smile on her face did grow brighter. “You’re here to change shift? I believe your girlfriend has informed you about the details of the job already, so I won’t repeat myself. However, I do need to ask you something.”

Ye Shuang nodded. “Ask away.”

The magnetic voice was mellifluous to her ears, and An Zining’s expression softened for another few degrees. “If I wished to hire your girlfriend to follow me overseas… what would your opinion be?”

Ye Shuang was confused.

“I mean…” An Zining’s expression hardened with conviction. With one hand on her stomach, she explained without pause, “I wish to have the baby overseas, but I don’t want anyone to find out, including my own family…”

Before Ye Shuang could figure out how An Zining knew about her own pregnancy, the mention of going overseas made Ye Shuang reject it directly. “I’m sorry, but I will not allow it!”