Di Mingjue sat up in bed and straightened his body, adopting an attentive posture.
"Big brother took me to meet his friends this afternoon," Ye Ziyu said.
"Friends?" Di Mingjue suddenly recalled them leaving together in the afternoon. "Male or female friends?"
"A female friend. But perhaps not in the way you might imagine," Ye Ziyu didn't know how to explain.
She herself didn't understand why Ye Shaoting had brought her to meet someone who had already passed away, and to recount her past.
Di Mingjue looked bewildered, gazing at the equally solemn Ye Ziyu. He reached out and caressed the back of her hand. "How is it different? Is it a lover?"
"I met someone who has already passed away," Ye Ziyu explained. "That girl was named Wen Qian. She harmed herself due to the immense inner turmoil from being rejected by the person she loved."
Wen Qian?
A familiar name.
Di Mingjue recalled it seriously, but his memory grew hazy.
Seeing him lost in thought, Ye Ziyu shook his arm in return. "What are you thinking about? Do you know Wen Qian?"
"No, I don't," Di Mingjue replied immediately. "I just find the name quite familiar."
"She was a very beautiful woman," Ye Ziyu said with emotion. "It's truly a shame, and she was the one my big brother loved."
Sensing the emotional entanglement, Di Mingjue pulled Ye Ziyu into his arms.
He drew the blanket over them, his thumb gently stroking Ye Ziyu's arm. "Relax, don't let unimportant things trouble your emotions."
She didn't want to either, but Wen Qian's appearance and Ye Shaoting's demeanor made her feel a subtle connection to it.
Perhaps it was that question; the angle from which Ye Shaoting had asked it had made Ye Ziyu internalize it, leaving an indelible mark on her mind.
Di Mingjue helped Ye Ziyu lie down in bed, turned off the lights, and lay beside her.
Ye Ziyu's cheek rested against his chest, listening to the rhythmic thumping of his heart.
"Sleep now. Other people's affairs are just things we hear in passing; we need to focus more energy on our own lives," Di Mingjue's gentle voice guided her away from her inner turmoil.
No longer dwelling on bothersome thoughts, Ye Ziyu curled up in Di Mingjue's embrace and gradually drifted off to sleep.
In the adjacent room, Ye Shaoting stood by the window, gazing out at the night, his emotions unable to settle.
...
The banquet hosted by the Song family was scheduled for the evening. In the afternoon, Ye Ziyu, under Ye Shaoting's guidance, began preparations with hairstyling and changing into a gown.
Once everything was ready, Ye Ziyu accompanied the four sons of the Ye family to the Song family banquet.
The grand event was held at the most luxurious hotel in Sijiucheng. The hotel lobby was entirely commandeered by the Song family for the night, and only those with invitations were allowed entry.
Reporters, having caught wind of the event, lined the hotel entrance. Cameras were positioned on both sides of the red carpet at the lobby entrance, like sunflowers, following the vehicles appearing at the front of the carpet and the people within them.
Ye Ziyu, seated in the car, looked nervously at the dense crowd of reporters outside the window.
She disliked attending such events, especially having to represent the Ye family tonight. It was inevitable that she would have to meet people and engage in pleasantries.
"Don't be nervous. Just stick with me later," Ye Chenhan sat in the same car as Ye Ziyu, with Ye Shaoting driving.
Ye Yubin was in another car with Ye Jiaxu.
The car stopped at the beginning of the red carpet. The driver was the first to exit, opening the rear door.
Ye Shaoting, closest to the door, stepped out first. Ye Chenhan then walked around the back of the car, exiting and extending his hand to help Ye Ziyu alight.
While the banquet was hosted by the Song family, the most anticipated and curious figure of the night was undoubtedly Ye Ziyu.
The moment she stepped out of the car, cameras were instantly hoisted onto shoulders, creating a uniform flash, and the dazzling strobe lights made it difficult for Ye Ziyu to open her eyes.