Chapter 17: Only Chi Yuheng is Ye Ran’s Backing
As the head of the household, Ye Hualin immediately wanted to stand up and denounce Ye Ran, but his momentum slowly weakened upon seeing Chi Yuheng’s hand tightly clasping Ye Ran’s.
It was obvious that no matter what he said, Chi Yuheng would protect Ye Ran. Since the Ye family’s business still required help from the Chi family, it wouldn’t be wise to offend him now.
Ming Qingyan shot a glance at her husband. Since he couldn’t step up, she had to.
“Right, speaking of taking care of Xiao Ran, we haven’t properly thanked Yuheng yet.”
Saying this, she turned toward Chi Yuheng. “Xiao Ran has been with the Chi family since he was small, and he has a short temper; he must have caused you a lot of trouble. We plan to bring him back starting tomorrow…”
As soon as these words were uttered, everyone except Ye Hualin and the pre-informed Ye Tingyun was stunned.
Unprecedentedly, Ming Qingyan wanted to bring Ye Ran back without any warning.
“After all, Xiao Ran can’t stay with you for a lifetime. Once you find a girlfriend, it wouldn’t be convenient for Xiao Ran to stay there…”
Ye Ran understood the meaning behind Ming Qingyan’s words: even in the Chi family, he was redundant.
So what was he?
An object to be sent back and forth?
Ming Qingyan had laid so much groundwork, and seeing the timing was about right, she finally cut to the chase. “Yuheng, you know our two families are old family friends. Previously, your grandfather and Xiao Ran’s grandfather set an arranged marriage. Because both children born were boys, the marriage could only be called off. Now we know there was a switch, and Shengsheng has already been recognized and brought back.”
“We’ll find some time in the next few days for your uncle and me to visit the Old Master and settle your marriage as soon as possible. I think it’ll be appropriate for you two to marry once Shengsheng returns after graduation.”
Ming Qingyan signaled the others at the table, raising her voice. “Right?”
No one else responded; only Ye Hualin cooperated with his wife and said “Yes, yes” twice.
“Or you two can add each other on WeChat first to chat and nurture some feelings.”
Ming Qingyan seemed to have planned everything out. Ye Ran knew that in Ms. Ming’s plan, he was once again playing the role of a tool.
On the surface, it seemed she was thinking for them, but the calculation hidden in her eyes pierced Ye Ran’s heart like a needle.
What birthday? Asking Chi Yuheng over to “thank” him? It was all just a preamble to Chi Yuheng marrying Qiao Yousheng.
So this was the development of the “new plot”?
It was trying every way possible to tell Ye Ran that he was destined to be a “transparent person,” that no one cared, using these things to provoke him, turn him “black,” and make him target the Ye family and Qiao Yubai.
Heh.
Ye Ran sneered.
Even though he knew it was the plot at work, he was truly hurt.
This feeling really made one want to cry.
His shoulders gradually slumped as if he had lost the strength to support himself.
Right then, that hand holding him suddenly tightened a bit more.
It wasn’t a grip so forceful that it caused discomfort, but one with just the right amount of pressure, as if it were silently conveying something.
Ye Ran was startled and instinctively looked up, bumping into Chi Yuheng’s deep gaze.
It was like giving affirmation, yet also like offering comfort.
The warmth coming from that palm seeped bit by bit into Ye Ran’s cold fingertips, dispelling a trace of the chill.
Chi Yuheng turned his head, his gaze sweeping over Ming Qingyan and the others. “There’s no need for Ms. Ming to worry about my marriage. I am the heir of the Chi family; I have the final say in the entire Chi family. My control over my own marriage is the same as my control over all projects of the Chengyi Group.”
These words were like a heavy bombshell exploding in the dining room.
Ming Qingyan opened her mouth but couldn’t make a sound.
If Chi Yuheng had simply said he didn’t want an alliance with Qiao Yousheng, they could still use the “childhood marriage” set by the Old Master as an excuse.
Chi Yuheng becoming the Ye family’s son-in-law would bring substantive benefits that were far beyond measure.
But Chi Yuheng had completely shattered their expectations, bringing up the projects of the Chengyi Group for emphasis—he didn’t intend to leave them any way out.
Because the Chi family had the absolute say in the business world of Jing City; in other words, if the Ye family’s company wanted to stay in Jing City, they shouldn’t harbor any other thoughts.
Chi Yuheng squeezed Ye Ran’s finger, his tone carrying a trace of unobservable protectiveness. “If you don’t want to come back, then don’t. No one can force you to do anything you don’t want to do—including them.”
Only Chi Yuheng was Ye Ran’s backing.
…
Coming out of the Ye house, the sunlight was still so piercing that one couldn’t open their eyes.
The driver opened the car door, and Ye Ran sat directly in the back row, his movements carrying a hint of unobservable fatigue.
Perhaps because the afternoon sun was a bit venomous, it made his whole person appear listless.
Chi Yuheng instructed the driver, “Lower the air conditioning by two more degrees. Don’t let the vent blow directly at him.”
The driver adjusted as told, and the cold air slowly dispersed in the car, carrying a refreshing chill.
Ye Ran, who usually couldn’t stay still like a little monkey, sat obediently this time. His originally tense shoulders gradually relaxed. He turned his body slightly, leaning his head lightly against the car window, his gaze somewhat unfocused as he watched the streetscape receding rapidly outside.
Seemingly soothed by this coolness, drowsiness hit, and the scenery outside the window gradually blurred.
Perhaps because the window was a bit cold, or perhaps because of the occasional slight jolts of the car, Ye Ran’s body began to slide sideways unconsciously.
First, his shoulder slowly left the window, then his head gradually tilted toward the rear seat. Chi Yuheng had been looking out the window, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over to the side.
He saw Ye Ran’s head tilt toward him again, his hair swaying lightly with the movement, until finally, with a soft thud, he leaned softly against Chi Yuheng’s shoulder.
He slowly turned his head, looking at Ye Ran leaning on his shoulder, and the corners of his lips curved up almost imperceptibly.
He instinctively adjusted his sitting posture slightly to make his shoulder more stable, so Ye Ran could lean more comfortably.
The car jolted a bit while driving forward, and Ye Ran was also bumped, his body about to fall to the other side.
Chi Yuheng, almost instinctively, raised his hand and with a large sweep, steadily caught the back of Ye Ran’s neck, pulling him back to his side.
The driver, Lao Wang, saw this scene through the rearview mirror and felt emotional in his heart. The Boss was truly good to the Little Young Master; if you didn’t know better, this posture alone made them look like a couple.
Ye Ran had a dream. In the dream, he was about four or five years old, wearing a lake-blue little dress.
The hem fell to his knees, the fabric rubbing against his skin with a strange itchiness.
He wanted to tear the dress off his body but couldn’t move it no matter how he pulled.
There was no one to play with him at home. The front door was open, and he ran out. It was a bit cold outside, but he didn’t want to go back; he didn’t want to go back to that house to see the parents who treated him as a girl and the brother who laughed at him.
He didn’t know how long he ran, but Ye Ran was tired. It had just rained, and the road was wet; his little dress was covered in mud spots, looking filthy.
Ye Ran walked aimlessly. He thought of the human traffickers in TV shows who kidnapped children and sold them to the mountains; some were even given to fools as “child brides.”
He wondered if he would be kidnapped.
But he wasn’t a girl; he couldn’t have babies when he grew up.
If he were kidnapped, would his hands and feet be broken and he be dragged to the street to beg?
Ye Ran became afraid. He didn’t want that; compared to having his limbs broken to be a little beggar, he was more willing to “have babies.”
Truly unable to walk anymore, he saw a house with a similar exterior to his own, only it was much larger.
Ye Ran ran in. In the small garden, there was a woven rattan lounge chair. His little short legs were already so soft they were wobbling, and he barely had the strength to pull his dress hem.
He stared at that lounge chair for two seconds and climbed up. The cushion carried the warmth of the sun, wrapping around his tiny body, and even the fear in his heart faded a little.
With a creak, the door opened, and a youth walked out.
Ye Ran stared at the youth for a while. His figure was much taller than his own. Standing by the lounge chair, the sunlight fell on his hair tips, plating them with a shallow golden glow.
The youth’s brows and eyes were very clear and handsome, his gaze as clean as the sky after rain, without the slightest malice.
Ye Ran saw the nameplate on the youth’s school uniform had three characters: Chi Yuheng.
But he was small and didn’t know how to read those three characters yet.
The youth stared at the little person on the lounge chair with interest for a few seconds, then a clear, youthful voice sounded: “Little sister, you can’t sleep here. You’ll catch a cold easily.”
Ye Ran, who had let down his guard, was startled. An angry, doll-like voice instantly exploded: “Who’s a little sister? I’m a boy!”
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