Chapter 944: This is Too Hard (Ye Wenxin)

Young Master Lü seemed to have something to say, but Sister Hong grabbed a steamed bun and stuffed it into his mouth.

The other siblings laughed at his pitiful expression.

“Serves you right! Who told you to always speak without thinking!”

Although Young Master Lü wasn’t the youngest or the only boy, he seemed to hold the lowest status in the Fang family.

He turned his puppy eyes to Ye Wenxin, hoping she would speak up for him.

“This bun is delicious,” said Ye Wenxin, ignoring him. She picked up a vermicelli-stuffed bun and took a bite. Young Master Lü chewed on the plain bun, sulking.

The homely atmosphere continued as Sister Hong got busy caring for her youngest sister, showing her most genuine side.

The storyteller increasingly felt that Sister Hong matched his tastes and couldn’t take his eyes off her.

Fei Chai noticed and laughed, patting his shoulder. The two began whispering to each other, plotting how to interact more with their respective crushes.

Han Shanxue, sitting nearby, glanced over at the storyteller, then at Fei Chai, and finally at their crushes, Sister Hong and Ghost Mother.

But she noticed something strange. Sister Hong and Ghost Mother had their eyes fixed on Ye Wenxin. Thinking maybe something was interesting about her, Han Shanxue couldn’t help but stare at Ye Wenxin as well.

But Han Shanxue’s gaze was too cold and direct. Ye Wenxin was already used to Ghost Mother watching her and Sister Hong’s appraising look. Only Han Shanxue’s stare made her feel uncomfortable.

“Miss Han, why are you staring at me?”

Han Shanxue pointed at the fried dough stick in front of Ye Wenxin as a cover.

“Ah, so you want this.” Ye Wenxin awkwardly passed the plate over. Sister Hong and Ghost Mother quickly averted their gazes.

Even more curious looks from the younger children replaced the three stares. It was pure torment. Nothing was unusual about her right now, yet she still drew attention.

After the meal, Sister Hong intended to take Ye Wenxin to the Treasure Pavilion to write the protective charm on Qian Duoduo.

Ye Wenxin readily agreed. If possible, she wanted to have dinner there, too, so she wouldn’t have to visit the Six Academy.

And that was what Ye Wenxin thought would happen—until the storyteller nudged Young Master Lü.

Young Master Lü looked like he’d just been threatened into doing something. He pouted yet still did what the storyteller wanted.

“Sister, since you’re taking it easy nowadays, why not come to Six Academy with us and visit the dean?”

“Master is there? Then I really should stop by.” Sister Hong immediately smiled, her voice filled with respect for Dean Long.

“The Treasure Pavilion’s matter is more urgent, though. Why don’t you all head there first? I’ll catch up later.” Thinking of Qian Duoduo, Sister Hong prioritized the more important task.

Young Master Lü, afraid Sister Hong might find out he’d been getting into fights over a girl, was about to nod when he caught the storyteller grinning menacingly behind her.

“But I’ve got a painting contest this morning!” he forced out, continuing his hapless act. “Sister, it’s been ages since you’ve gone out with me.”

As Sister Hong was always busy with work, it had been a long time since she’d gone out to relax with her siblings. Hearing that her least promising little brother was competing today, Sister Hong wavered.

Ye Wenxin sensed things were heading in the wrong direction and shot Young Master Lü a fierce look. But he misunderstood her, thinking she was also in on the plan to trick Sister Hong into visiting Six Academy.

So he pinched himself hard and squeezed out a few tears.

“Please, Sister? It won’t take long. Besides, it’s still early. Your boss is probably not even awake yet.”

That line didn’t affect Sister Hong much. What did catch her attention, however, was Ye Wenxin’s intimidating expression. She thought Ye Wenxin was trying to nudge her into going and nodded.

In the past, she would’ve put her boss’s needs first, no matter what. But now, if Ye Wenxin wasn’t eager to go over that early, there was no point in going alone either.

Young Master Lü looked stunned, the storyteller and Fei Chai high-fived, Ghost Mother had a complicated expression, and Han Shanxue didn’t look surprised.

Only Ye Wenxin was visibly defeated, feeling like an abandoned child. The heavens seemed determined to torment her, refusing to let her rest.

Having no excuse to escape, she braced herself and headed out with the others. When she calmed down and considered it, she realized avoiding Long Qingyue might lead to an even worse outcome.

She took a deep breath, trying hard to erase the memories of Long Qingyue manipulating her so she wouldn’t act unnaturally later. She could imagine Long Qingyue was Ghost Mother, and she’d have nothing to fear.

After hypnotizing herself like that, Ye Wenxin and the group soon arrived at Six Academy.

It was only around 9 a.m. by Earth’s time, yet the place was crowded ten times more than a few days ago.

Ye Wenxin found it strange, so she asked a random person nearby and finally learned why.

Yesterday, Yu Xian had gone out of his way to spread the word, making sure more people would witness his former good buddy’s humiliation today.

“That’s the Seventh Prince’s child.”

“And that’s the young general.”

“Heavens, is that the Protector Duke?!”

Recognizing who the onlookers were, Young Master Lü’s face turned pale. He had known he would lose today, so he hadn’t taken it too seriously.

But with so many big names watching, and considering he had a bit of a reputation in ink painting, Young Master Lü suddenly felt he couldn’t afford to lose face before this gallery.

Sister Hong noticed that something was off, too, but what caught her attention was this “Miss Yue” everyone was talking about.

“She’s the young master’s sweetheart,” Ye Wenxin said, confident that one line would send Sister Hong into a rage.

Unfortunately, what she expected didn’t happen. Instead, Sister Hong looked like she couldn’t wait for Young Master Lü to find a proper girl to settle down with.

Ye Wenxin’s hope of using Sister Hong to teach Young Master Lü a lesson shattered. Her breath felt trapped in her chest, unable to go in or out.

After their friendship boat capsized, Ye Wenxin became less and less certain about how she felt toward Long Qingyue. But one thing she did know was that she would stop at nothing to destroy those who dared to be with Long Qingyue.

She wasn’t sure if Liu Churan’s obsessive impulse had rubbed off on her or if Long Qingyue had already become far more important to her than she dared admit.