Yun Pei only looked away after the Maybach had driven far off. He turned and opened the front gate to head inside. The weather was scorching, and the garden was quiet, with not even the servants around.

As soon as he stepped into the villa, the cool air enveloped him, instantly dispelling the heat he had brought in from outside.

However, the temperature inside felt a bit too low for Yun Pei. Not wanting to linger in the living room, he bent down to change his shoes, intending to head upstairs.

The living room was empty, not a single person in sight.

Yun Yuexian’s movie was scheduled for release in August, and he had already started promoting it. With his other pre-scheduled engagements, he was bound to be busy for a long time. As for Yun Haowei, he was probably at the company, likely not coming home for lunch, which was just as well—it saved Yun Pei from having to deal with his barrage of questions.

Earlier, Yun Pei had checked his phone and noticed a dozen missed calls from Yun Haowei, along with several messages asking about his whereabouts. He had missed them all because he had put his phone on silent.

“You finally remembered to come home, huh?”

Just as Yun Pei was about to wheel himself toward the elevator, a voice laced with sarcasm came from the direction of the stairs.

He looked up and saw Huo Lijuan standing on the staircase. When she noticed his gaze, she sneered and walked down the stairs, stopping right in front of him. She gave him a once-over with a strange, judgmental look.

Feeling uncomfortable under her gaze, Yun Pei frowned slightly.

“I thought you had some real abilities,” Huo Lijuan said mockingly. “You didn’t come home last night, but you still couldn’t manage to climb into President Qin’s bed, huh?”

It took Yun Pei a moment to realize what she was insinuating, and he was immediately disgusted by her twisted assumption about their relationship. His face turned cold. “Just because you’re filthy doesn’t mean everyone else is as filthy as you.”

“You…” Huo Lijuan was infuriated by his blunt insult. “Yun Pei, I’m your stepmother! How dare you speak to your elders like that!”

“So, you do know you’re an elder,” Yun Pei replied, his gaze fixed on her. Even seated in his wheelchair, his posture was straight, and his aura was just as imposing as hers. “Yet you still spout nonsense like ‘climbing into someone’s bed.’ Have you ever considered whether such words are appropriate to say to someone younger?”

“Am I wrong?” Huo Lijuan sneered, recalling how her son had been embarrassed the night before. “You’re taking advantage of your brother’s connection to President Qin, shamelessly trying to cling to him, and yet you’re afraid of others talking about it?”

“Clinging to him?” Yun Pei’s eyes were filled with sarcasm. “Are you talking about yourself?”

“Yun Pei!” Huo Lijuan gritted her teeth. After all these years, this brat still used the same old event to mock her, reminding her repeatedly of how she had climbed her way up through less-than-honorable means.

Though it was a long-forgotten matter, in the circles of the wealthy, people only cared about benefits, not origins. When they saw her, they respectfully called her Mrs. Yun. But this brat, like a thorn, constantly pricked at her, never letting her forget.

She took a deep breath to calm herself down, not wanting to lose face in front of him. “At least I had the ability to climb up. Unlike you, Yun Pei, dragging around a pair of useless legs. No wonder no man wants you.”

With that, she gave a smug smile and adjusted her hair. “After all, who would want a bed partner that can only lie there like a dead fish, unable to even strike a decent pose?”

Her voice dropped to a nasty whisper, “I wonder if Qin Mingyuan can even get hard in front of you. Maybe he has some hidden issues. Pairing him with someone like you seems just fitting…”

“Ah! Yun Pei, what are you doing?!” Huo Lijuan screamed as Yun Pei suddenly grabbed a fistful of her hair, pulling hard.

His expression remained cold as he tightened his grip. “Say one more word about him, I dare you.”

“Yun Pei! Let go! You little bastard, let go!” Huo Lijuan shrieked in pain, her scalp burning. She flailed her arms wildly, trying to scratch him.

Yun Pei blocked her hand before it could reach his face and yanked her hair down harder, forcing her body to bend lower, nearly bringing her to her knees before him.

“Ah! Yun Pei, you… Ah!”

“What’s going on?! What’s happening here?!”

“Master Yun, please let go of Madam!”

Hearing the commotion, the housekeeper and some maids rushed out from the kitchen, startled by the scene. They quickly intervened, some pulling Huo Lijuan back while others tried to stop Yun Pei.

Yun Pei had no intention of doing any serious harm. As soon as the housekeeper came to pull him away, he released his grip, watching as Huo Lijuan staggered back a couple of steps. Her hair was in disarray, her clothes askew from the struggle, with not a trace of her usual dignity.

“You little—”

“Madam, calm down! Please!”

Seeing that she looked like she was about to lunge at him again, the housekeeper hurriedly stepped in to stop her. If they started a physical fight, Mr. Yun would surely be furious, and they would be the ones to suffer the consequences.

Huo Lijuan hesitated, fury still simmering, but after being held back, she regained a bit of her composure. Her eyes flickered as she covered her face and began to cry, leaning against the maid in a pitiful state.

“Xiao Pei, I was just… just worried about where you were last night. I was afraid something had happened to you, so I asked a few questions. How could you treat me like this?”

Her sobbing was pitiful, and given the earlier scene, most people would naturally side with her. The housekeeper’s expression revealed a hint of disapproval, though, as a servant, she didn’t voice her opinion.

But Yun Pei could already predict how this would be relayed to Yun Haowei. His expression turned cold, completely indifferent. “Is that so? How about I repeat your earlier words to President Qin and see if he thinks you were ‘worried’ about me?”

Huo Lijuan’s sobbing abruptly stopped, panic flickering in her eyes. She had been so enraged that she had spoken without thinking. If those words reached Qin Mingyuan’s ears, it could spell disaster for the entire Yun Corporation.

Still, she couldn’t show her fear. She let out a couple of sobs, then said with a vague threat, “You can say whatever you want about me, but would you really drag your brother’s name into this, Xiao Pei? If you feel so strongly, we can invite President Qin to our home, and we’ll all sit down and talk it through.”

Even after last night’s incident, she still thought Yun Yuexian had any leverage over Qin Mingyuan? Yun Pei couldn’t decide if she was being naïve or just plain stupid. She probably still believed that Qin Mingyuan was only using him to provoke them.

“Feel free to try,” Yun Pei said confidently.

Huo Lijuan hesitated, unsure of Qin Mingyuan’s true attitude, and was about to say something more when her phone rang. She glared at Yun Pei before checking the caller ID. Her expression immediately shifted to one of panic, and she instinctively glanced at Yun Pei.

Clutching the phone, she placed it face-down against her chest, trying to appear calm. “Xiao Pei, since you don’t want to talk to me, we’ll wait until your father gets home. Everyone, go about your business.”

Without waiting for a response, she waved the housekeeper and the other maids away, then hurried upstairs, as if something urgent had come up.

Yun Pei watched her disappear at the top of the stairs, his gaze lowering thoughtfully. He couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something off about the way she had looked at him just now, like she was hiding something.

Yawning, he felt tired and cold from the overly air-conditioned room. Deciding not to dwell on it, he maneuvered his wheelchair into the elevator to head upstairs.

—

The trip to and from the Yun Family villa had taken up quite a bit of time. By the time Qin Mingyuan arrived at the office, it was nearly eleven. Most of the employees were heading out for lunch, and a few ran into their boss in the lobby.

Even though it was their designated break time, seeing their boss made them all feel a bit nervous. They greeted him cautiously, mentally reviewing whether they had made any mistakes in their work recently.

Fortunately, Qin Mingyuan didn’t seem interested in causing trouble. He simply nodded and headed straight for his private elevator without saying a word.

“Setting aside how strict President Qin is with work, you have to admit, he’s a very attractive man.”

“Tell me about it. But he’s so cold, it’s intimidating. Guys like him are best admired from a distance—still fun to look at, though.”

Two female employees, watching his tall figure disappear into the elevator, exchanged a couple of wistful comments.

“Hey, check this out!” one of them suddenly exclaimed, nudging her companion with her elbow as she scrolled through something on her phone.

“What the—what’s going on?!”

By the time Qin Mingyuan reached his top-floor office, most of the assistants had gone to lunch, leaving only Zhou Yang behind, waiting for his return. Seeing him enter, Zhou Yang immediately stood up and greeted him, following him into the office.

“President Qin, are you feeling better?” Zhou Yang asked as Qin Mingyuan settled into his chair. He studied his boss’s face and, seeing no signs of illness, added, “Why not take another day off to rest?”

“I’m fine now.” Qin Mingyuan glanced over a few documents on his desk, none of which seemed urgent, so he closed them and looked up. “Why was Yun Pei the one taking care of me last night? And why did he end up coming back with me?”

Zhou Yang hadn’t expected his boss’s first question to be about this and felt momentarily speechless. Remembering the events from the night before, he quickly explained his innocence. “That really wasn’t my doing!”

Qin Mingyuan frowned. If it wasn’t Zhou Yang, was he to blame for it himself?

“Well, actually, it sort of was,” Zhou Yang replied cautiously, glancing at Qin Mingyuan’s expression. “When I came back from handling the auction item, you had already passed out in the garden… and you wouldn’t let go of Yun Pei’s hand. The driver and I had no choice but to bring him along.”

Qin Mingyuan blinked, vaguely recalling that before he lost consciousness, he had indeed grabbed Yun Pei’s hand. Everything after that was a blur.

“You held onto Young Master Yun’s hand the entire way, leaning against him even when we got home. We had no choice but to leave him to take care of you,” Zhou Yang added, keeping his head down. He knew he hadn’t handled the situation perfectly—after all, he had left someone the boss wasn’t very familiar with alone with him.

But based on the way Qin Mingyuan had interacted with Yun Pei, Zhou Yang had assumed there was some level of trust between them.

Qin Mingyuan raised a hand to massage his temple. Just imagining the scene made him feel a mix of awkwardness and frustration, as well as an inexplicable sense of regret.

Though what exactly he regretted, he couldn’t quite figure it out.

“You shouldn’t have left him there alone,” Qin Mingyuan said, frowning slightly.

Zhou Yang blinked, confused. Wasn’t that a bit of an overreaction?

“I mean, what if he had fallen while taking care of me? His legs aren’t fully functional, and I was unconscious. There wouldn’t have been anyone to help him.” After last time at Yun Pei’s house, Qin Mingyuan couldn’t help but worry about something like that happening again.

“Uh…” Zhou Yang was a little taken aback. Was that really the issue here? He had been worried about something entirely different. “But I… left the doctor’s contact info…”

Seeing Zhou Yang’s clueless expression, Qin Mingyuan didn’t bother explaining further. He waved him off. “Go eat. Don’t stand around here.”

Zhou Yang wisely didn’t say more, though he couldn’t help but raise Yun Pei’s importance in his mind. As he left the office, he pondered what had just transpired.

Just as he was reaching the door, Zhou Yang’s phone buzzed. Distracted, he almost opened the door before pulling back to check the message. His eyes widened as he opened the attached link.

“President Qin!” Zhou Yang quickly turned around and hurried back to Qin Mingyuan’s desk, holding out his phone.

Qin Mingyuan, who had already started going through some files, glanced at the screen. The headline was accompanied by a big “breaking news” tag.

#Qin Corporation President and Liang Family’s Prince, Movie Star Liang Zichen, Caught in a Love Triangle Over Yun Family’s Little Master Yun Yuexian?