Ding Jiaqi paid with sobs. Before the fat man could even apologize, she turned and fled, leaving the place without the face to stay any longer.
No one had expected the story of a handsome man and a beautiful woman, a romantic encounter, to end this way.
Meanwhile, hearts were broken all over the book café.
"I didn't expect Boss Ye was already married. Married young, too. I wonder what kind of woman could capture Boss Ye's heart and be worthy of him."
"I really love Boss Ye's type. My unrequited love, sob sob..."
"Boss Ye is so handsome! He openly declared his marital status without hiding it, and yet flirts with other women outside. What a perfect man! I wish my future partner could be like Boss Ye."
"Boss's brother and Boss Ye are family. The brothers surely won't be too different. Since Boss Ye is already taken, let's set our sights on his brother. We can't miss a second chance!"
"But who is Boss Ye's wife? The book café has been open for a while. Has she ever appeared? She doesn't even visit the shop her own husband runs?"
Amidst the discussions of the female customers, Ye Tiancheng quietly departed, a bead of cold sweat trickling down his forehead.
He hoped they would just talk about it and not investigate further or cause trouble when they got home, especially not online. Given Ye Tiancheng's status, this would surely lead to problems.
Even if they insisted on investigating and discussing, it wasn't entirely impossible, as long as it was later. Once he got the fragment and left, he wouldn't care about the consequences.
As everyone was still discussing, Hou Mingzhu arrived fashionably late. Compared to a delicate beauty like Ding Jiaqi, the young lady Hou was a truly radiant beauty.
Her entrance immediately drew everyone's attention, making people unable to help but stare at her and talk about her.
"Another great beauty! I wonder if she's here for the boss or the boss's brother."
"Maybe she's not here for the bosses at all. It's not like all the good fortune falls on the bosses. Such a top-tier beauty!"
"Perhaps she's just here to read and drink coffee. Don't think so sordidly."
"But look at her attire. Everything from head to toe is designer, with haute couture jewelry. Why would she come to a place like this to read and drink coffee?"
Amidst this new round of chatter, Hou Mingzhu walked to the counter. The little fox and the fat man behind the counter, upon seeing Hou Mingzhu, immediately greeted her with keen awareness.
"Sister-in-law is here! I'll go call Big Brother!"
"Hehe, hello, Sister-in-law!"
Hou Mingzhu smiled and nodded at the little fox and the fat man, acknowledging their greeting. "I'm here to pick up Tiancheng. It must be hard work for you two to help him here."
"It's not hard, not hard at all! I'll go call Big Brother out!" The little fox waved his hand with a smile and slipped away to find Ye Tiancheng.
The fat man also said to Hou Mingzhu, "This is nothing difficult. Sister-in-law, you're too kind. We do this willingly, and it's only right. You always take such good care of us, so helping out a bit is nothing."
"Would Sister-in-law like to sit down in the shop for a while? I'll ask someone to bring you coffee and dessert?"
Hou Mingzhu smiled and said, "No need. When Tiancheng comes out, we'll be leaving together. I'll trouble you both a bit more today."
The fat man understood that Hou Mingzhu was referring to the matters of the shop and taking care of Ye Qingcheng later. Of course, he nodded without hesitation.
"No problem, we've got this!"
Ye Tiancheng soon came out from the back, a smile on his face. The customers in the shop saw Ye Tiancheng smiling so brightly for the first time. Although he often smiled when he was at the shop, it was a polite smile due to running the business. This was a genuine smile, and it was different.
Someone whispered nearby, "Seeing such a smile, I feel even more smitten with Boss Ye. Even though he's married, I think I still have a chance!"
"A few peanuts and you're drunk? If you can't drink, eat more dishes! You have a chance? You don't!"
"I didn't expect Boss Ye's wife to be so beautiful. No wonder Boss Ye was so indifferent to that woman before. If it were me, with such a beautiful wife at home, I wouldn't look at other women either."
"And she must be very rich, look at her limited edition handbag and that necklace! She's a rich woman!"
"Can't compare, can't compare! It seems I have no chance to poach Boss Ye's wife's corner this lifetime."
"Wow! You're still thinking about poaching? With Boss Ye's steadfastness before, his heart was as cold and hard as iron, except for his wife. Who would dare to run into a dead end?"
"I wonder if that woman before still has the face to strike up a conversation with Boss Ye after seeing Boss Ye's wife."
Ye Tiancheng and Hou Mingzhu, the center of everyone's discussion, paid no attention to the surrounding gossip and comments.
Ye Tiancheng said to Hou Mingzhu, "I thought you would be a little later. I didn't expect you to come so early."
Hou Mingzhu's lips curved slightly, and then she said meaningfully to Ye Tiancheng, "Didn't someone specifically ask me to come over and declare my territory? So I came early."
The little fox, who came out with Ye Tiancheng, chuckled, "Then Sister-in-law, you actually came a bit late. You don't know, but just a while ago... mmm!"
Before the little fox could finish speaking, Ye Tiancheng covered his mouth with his hand. "You talk too much. Nothing happened, it's all resolved!"
Hou Mingzhu found it amusing. She knew that before she arrived, Ye Tiancheng had already dealt with some troublesome matters. However, unfortunately, in front of so many people and under their watchful eyes, and with Ye Tiancheng being so upright now, she figured nothing could have succeeded, and they had returned defeated.
Ye Tiancheng glared at the little fox and then turned back to Hou Mingzhu. "Don't mind him. He's just a chatterbox. It's like his personality changes with every memory loss."
"Shall we leave now?" Ye Tiancheng looked at Hou Mingzhu's expression and suggested.
Hou Mingzhu didn't comment on the excitement she had missed earlier, nor did she inquire further at the moment. Instead, she nodded at Ye Tiancheng and said, "I've been waiting for you. Weren't we going to buy rings?"
"Even if it's a temporary replacement, we can't choose a bad one. We need to pick carefully. We have a date tonight, so if we don't leave soon, we won't have enough time."
Ye Tiancheng immediately took Hou Mingzhu with him, putting the book café matters behind them, and left with his wife.
The crowd left behind, especially the customers in the book café, were truly in an uproar, with all sorts of discussions.
"Boss Ye is so bold. I thought he was angry at that woman before, since he said the wedding ring was still being custom-made. But he really called his wife to go pick out rings."
"He even specifically called his wife over to declare his territory. I'm so heartbroken, my heart is shattered into pieces!"
"They seem to be very much in love. Boss Ye's wife must trust him a lot. Because Boss Ye's brother can joke with Sister-in-law like that, and Boss Ye's wife didn't get angry with Boss Ye because of it, she must trust Boss Ye a lot."
"If my husband were like Boss Ye, I would also be so at ease. But men like Boss Ye are truly luxury items, a rare species, so hard to find!"
"So Boss Ye's wife is really lucky. Boss Ye, my ideal type!"
The little fox and the fat man, left behind, exchanged glances and sighed at the cacophony of girlish hearts.
The little fox hadn't seen Ye Tiancheng's past, but the fat man had been with Ye Tiancheng for a long time and knew more. Thinking about the female customers' remarks, he thought it was fortunate they only saw the current Ye Tiancheng. If they had encountered the past Ye Tiancheng, they surely wouldn't have said these things.
However, Ye Tiancheng was indeed popular everywhere, unlike him, who found it so difficult to find a partner.
Another customer's coffee was ready. The little fox happened to be free and brought the coffee to the customer.
The female customer who ordered this coffee saw the little fox approaching with the coffee and couldn't suppress her gossipy nature. "Little handsome guy, can I ask you something?"
The little fox gently placed the coffee cup in front of her and tilted his head slightly upon hearing her. "Yes? What is it, customer?"
The female customer asked gossipy, "Was that really Boss Ye's wife just now, your sister-in-law? Is Boss Ye really married?"
The little fox smiled politely and replied, "Of course, it's true. My Big Brother and my Sister-in-law have been together for a long time."
To others, this would not suggest Ye Tiancheng's past romantic entanglements, nor would they guess that Ye Tiancheng and Hou Mingzhu had been married, divorced, and remarried. They would simply assume that Ye Tiancheng and Hou Mingzhu had been in a long-term relationship, which eventually culminated in marriage and a strong bond, not easily shaken by others.
Seeing the female customer's wide eyes, the little fox smiled playfully and winked at the customer, joking, "My Big Brother is indeed married, so customers, please stop staring at my Big Brother."
The female customer, seeing the little fox speak like this, also joked, "If not staring at your Big Brother, then who should I stare at?"
The little fox winked and said, "I can reluctantly allow you to stare at me. Am I not good-looking enough? But you can only admire from afar. I don't plan to date, haha."
"Alright, here's your coffee. Please enjoy. Be careful, it's hot. Have a pleasant day. If you need anything, I'm always at your service."
After speaking, the little fox picked up the tray and left the coffee area.
Returning to the counter, the little fox's gaze involuntarily drifted to the flower shop next door, which was indeed their destination.
Unlike before, when they had array formations to assist them, obtaining the Fuxi Qin fragment would not be so simple. Although the little fox didn't remember the details of this matter well, he had only heard Ye Tiancheng and the others mention it.
However, in the current situation, it was more than just not simple. Moreover, the fragment might be in someone else's shop. They couldn't just barge in and rummage around, so they could only proceed cautiously.
Originally, Ye Tiancheng had considered that if he went to the flower shop every day, it would seem strange. The main reason was that the business of the flower shop next door was as good as their book café's, which was clearly a strange phenomenon. However, the reason was similar to their book café's.
The difference was probably that the owner of the flower shop next door was an exceptionally beautiful and charming woman. This clearly increased Ye Tiancheng's difficulty in finding the fragment. If Ye Tiancheng frequented her shop, how many misunderstandings would that cause?