The little fox wasn't faring much better.
Stumbling upon such a scene, even if unintentional, was incredibly awkward and put one in a difficult position.
Ye Tiancheng sighed again and finally spoke, "Forget it, let's eat first. We can talk about anything later."
Long Miaomiao's brow furrowed slightly, but she ultimately didn't protest.
She sensed that Ye Tiancheng was in a bad mood again, but she didn't understand the main reason. Instinctively, she didn't want to displease him, so she decided to say nothing.
The little fox cautiously replied, "Okay, alright."
He took the food he had brought to the bar where Ye Tiancheng was sitting and placed it on the counter.
Since everyone was present, they could eat at the bar.
After placing the food, the little fox tried to slip away, but Ye Tiancheng grabbed him. "Where are you running off to? Sit here and eat with us. If you don't want to eat, just chat with us."
The little fox felt like crying.
He suspected that Ye Tiancheng didn't want to accept Long Miaomiao but didn't know how to refuse her gracefully. Furthermore, he didn't want to be alone with Long Miaomiao in this situation, so he was keeping the little fox around to act as a ridiculously bright third wheel.
However, looking at Long Miaomiao's reaction.
Long Miaomiao didn't seem to understand these nuances at all. She probably didn't think of herself as a third wheel, nor did she find the little fox's presence bothersome.
As long as she didn't look, she could pretend he didn't exist.
What was this strange turn of events? Why had things become like this!
Ye Tiancheng picked at the food on the bar, opened a few items he had asked the little fox for earlier, and began to eat. The little fox, still held by Ye Tiancheng, didn't dare to move around. He went to the refrigerator, got some drinks, and sat with Ye Tiancheng to have a drink.
As for eating, the little fox really couldn't stomach any more.
He had just eaten his fill and had no room in his stomach. He could only reluctantly accompany Ye Tiancheng with drinks.
While drinking, the little fox sat beside Ye Tiancheng, occasionally glancing subtly to his left at Ye Tiancheng, then to his right at Long Miaomiao, wondering what the two of them would do.
As he thought this, he couldn't help but worry.
The little fox naturally understood what Ye Tiancheng was concerned about. He was well aware of how much they relied on Long Miaomiao's help.
If Ye Tiancheng and Long Miaomiao suddenly fell out, what would they do then?
The little fox became vigilant.
Ye Tiancheng ate slowly, not rushing to speak. Since he wasn't speaking, the little fox wouldn't speak at such a moment either. Long Miaomiao felt it would be disruptive to interrupt Ye Tiancheng while he was eating, so she also ate quietly beside him.
Ye Tiancheng remained quiet, and after eating most of his food, he finally looked at Long Miaomiao.
"Miaomiao, I will pretend I didn't hear what you said earlier, and you shouldn't bring it up again. You cannot be my wife, and I absolutely cannot agree to you becoming my wife."
Long Miaomiao's expression immediately showed clear eagerness and confusion.
She pressed, "Why can't I? Am I not qualified?"
The little fox listened, finding it almost unbearable to watch.
Did she even need to ask?
Long Miaomiao was certainly not qualified.
The little fox felt that he was the one who should genuinely be confused.
It wasn't a secret that Ye Tiancheng had a wife, and Long Miaomiao wasn't unaware of this. Although Long Miaomiao hadn't met Hou Mingzhu in person, she had at least met the fake Hou Mingzhu and knew for a fact that Ye Tiancheng was married.
Under these circumstances, what right did Long Miaomiao have to say such a thing?
Didn't she understand what such words implied?
Long Miaomiao wanted to become a third party between his elder brother Ye Tiancheng and sister-in-law Hou Mingzhu.
The little fox felt that his elder brother, a man like him, would never agree.
If Ye Tiancheng were willing, truly willing, why would he remarry Hou Mingzhu? Ye Tiancheng wasn't someone who was naturally devoted and had always been faithful. Ye Tiancheng's current situation could at most be described as a prodigal son returning.
However, since Ye Tiancheng had turned back for Hou Mingzhu, where was there room for anyone else?
The little fox couldn't bear to listen and took the initiative to interject.
He said to Long Miaomiao, "Do you even need to ask about something like this?"
"My elder brother is already married, and he has a good relationship with sister-in-law. They even have a daughter. In this situation, how can you be my elder brother's wife?"
"Of course, my elder brother would never abandon sister-in-law to be with you."
"We were all fine before. You suddenly bring up something like this, so how can we get along in the future? Don't you understand what this means? You truly cannot be my elder brother's wife. My elder brother has a wife!"
Long Miaomiao's expression remained one of pure confusion.
"So what?"
The little fox was speechless and utterly choked by Long Miaomiao's response. "You still say 'so what'? Have you truly not understood?"
Long Miaomiao's face showed a thoughtful expression, and after a long pause, she spoke again, "I think I understand what you mean. You're saying that Tiancheng already has a principal wife, right?"
"I know about that."
Both Ye Tiancheng and the little fox looked at her with a mixture of speechlessness and disbelief.
The little fox asked incredulously, "You can accept that?"
Ye Tiancheng, however, felt that the meaning conveyed by Long Miaomiao's words was strange. Was there some misunderstanding between them?
Long Miaomiao looked earnestly at Ye Tiancheng and the little fox and said, "I know Tiancheng already has a principal wife, but I also want to be Tiancheng's wife. However, I cannot be a concubine."
"I won't force Tiancheng to divorce his wife and remarry me. If he did that, he wouldn't be likable, nor would he be a good match."
"After I enter the household, I won't insist on the position of the principal wife. I'll settle for being a co-equal wife. That's not too much to ask, is it? I think I should be worthy of the position of a co-equal wife?"
After Long Miaomiao finished speaking, the entire room fell silent.
Ye Tiancheng and the little fox exchanged glances, and for a moment, neither knew what to say.
At that moment, they both understood Long Miaomiao's intention.
But understanding it didn't mean they could accept it. Secondly, they were utterly speechless and dumbfounded.
Originally, Long Miaomiao didn't seem like someone with moral issues.
No wonder she would say such a thing.
From the perspective of modern people's values, if a man were to have multiple wives and concubines, few women could accept it, except for those who were severely conditioned or deliberately misled and didn't understand the true principles.
Let alone women, even many men leaned towards monogamy.
However, despite Ye Tiancheng and the others being unable to accept or understand the concept Long Miaomiao presented, they instantly understood where the difference in their perspectives lay.
They were all modern people living in the present day, but Long Miaomiao had lived for an unknown number of years, at least a thousand years, and she wasn't someone who liked to wander outside. She spent most of her time in seclusion, so she hadn't been able to fully comprehend the changes in society.
Even after coming out, she had been following Ye Tiancheng around, with no time to understand much.
Later, Long Miaomiao followed that black vortex with Ye Tiancheng and the others to a desolate place, a completely isolated space, which further limited her opportunities to understand external matters.
Therefore, Long Miaomiao's views on certain matters remained in the more conservative past. While people today practice monogamy, people in the past did not.
To be precise, people in the past also practiced monogamy, but in its entirety, it was actually a system of one husband, one wife, and multiple concubines. A man could only have one principal wife, but as long as conditions permitted, he could take as many concubines as he wished.
As for the co-equal wife Long Miaomiao mentioned, although not the principal wife, she was not significantly inferior, being able to stand on equal footing with the principal wife in most matters.
Given Long Miaomiao's status, it was considered a compromise for her to become a co-equal wife.
Ye Tiancheng dared not accept such a situation. On one hand, he did not want to fail his wife Hou Mingzhu. He had promised Hou Mingzhu that he would live well with her from now on, so no matter where Hou Mingzhu was, Ye Tiancheng's feelings would never change.
On the other hand, even if Long Miaomiao was willing to compromise herself, Ye Tiancheng genuinely did not want to let down another girl.
Especially since Long Miaomiao had helped him.
Ye Tiancheng looked at Long Miaomiao with utter helplessness.
He said to Long Miaomiao, "I don't know why you suddenly have this idea, but this is something that requires careful consideration, and I am absolutely not worth you doing this."
"Moreover, even taking a co-equal wife is not permissible."
"I am not acting on impulse. I have thought this through and am seriously proposing this to you," Long Miaomiao said sternly to Ye Tiancheng, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Why are you unwilling to marry me as a co-equal wife? Even if I'm willing to compromise, you still won't? You don't like me? I'm not good enough for you?"
Ye Tiancheng waved his hands repeatedly, his head aching terribly.
"Of course not. You are good enough for me, and I don't dislike you, but it's not that kind of liking. It's just liking as friends."
Seeing how troubled Ye Tiancheng was, the little fox tried to help his elder brother.
He said from the side, "Yes, yes, we are all friends. It's so awkward for you to suddenly bring up marriage. Moreover, my elder brother really cannot marry you as a co-equal wife?"
Long Miaomiao's gaze fell on the little fox.
She asked the little fox, "Why not?"
The little fox felt the same headache as his elder brother.
"Because... because marrying a co-equal wife is illegal! Times have changed. You might not understand. In the past, people could only marry one principal wife but could take many concubines, and at most one co-equal wife. But in our current society, it's monogamy!"
"If my elder brother marries you, even as a co-equal wife, it's not allowed because taking concubines is not permitted now, and neither are co-equal wives. Regardless of the title, legally, this would be considered bigamy! Bigamy is a crime! Do you know that?"
Long Miaomiao lowered her eyes, frowned in thought, and murmured, "Bigamy?"
The little fox quickly said, "Yes! It's bigamy!"
"I'm not lying to you. If you don't believe me, you can go to any bookstore and look up the marriage law. It's mentioned there, and you can definitely find it!"
Long Miaomiao didn't say whether she believed him or not.
She also didn't indicate whether she accepted this explanation.
However, she finally stopped talking, stopped asking questions, and directly left the bar, returning to her room alone.