Release that Man

Fang Mo came over because he saw everyone grouping up together. He came to invite them to join the lucky draw. However, he was surprised to hear such giant news; he had not even resolved the situation, and An Zixuan had already released the news their families were already preparing for the marriage. The scariest thing was, the man sounded like he was willing to marry his sister‽

What is this man thinking‽… No wait, the question now is not whether An Zixuan is willing to marry her or not, but the two people concerned haven’t agreed to anything, right‽

Fang Mo was caught in a heavy conundrum as his friends turned around to look at him in shock. They moved their gaze away from An Zixuan to look at him, with the intention to check out the authenticity of An Zixuan’s claim.

What could Fang Mo say? Admitting it meant throwing his sister’s future away; not admitting it would ruin the relationship. Forcing a smile, Fang Mo could only pretend not to hear anything and try to move the topic of conversation away. “It’s time for the lucky draw, how about we go try our luck?”

Mr. Xu’s group naturally knew what that meant. Looks like it’s still not set in stone yet.

“Humph!” An Zixuan scoffed and finished the rest of his wine. He did not say anything else and moved to the sofa to sit down. He was trying to help Ye Shuang when he saw the difficulty that he found himself in. When Mr. Xu’s group asked that question, An Zixuan was afraid that he might implicate Ye Shuang or give others the impression that he was interested in him, so without giving it much thought, he dragged Fang Fei to take the fall. Why would he be afraid of implicating Ye Shuang? Why would he care so much for someone he just met?

An Zixuan could not really tell; it was his subconscious telling him to do so. Perhaps it was the gentleness in the man’s eyes, perhaps there had not been someone who looked at him with such kindness already, perhaps he felt like the man should not be dragged down by mundane gossips…

In any case, by the time he recovered, the words had already left his lips, and they could not be taken back. Since Fang Mo showed no intention of fixating on this issue, he naturally skipped over it as well.

…

The party stopped for the lucky draw and special performances. The host joked with the normally-serious team leaders, calling them to the stage to sing or something. Even Fang Mo was pushed to the stage once. Ye Shuang looked at the proceedings with a detached gaze. They still knew not to make jokes about the guests out of politeness. What if they pushed a guest to the stage and they had nothing prepared—how were you going to settle that?

However, some of the guests still gave face to get on the stage to give a performance. Naturally, they would get thunderous applause from the audience. It was mostly young people who attended parties like this, and Mr. Xu’s group came for relaxation, even though there was not much chance to expand their connections. But perhaps because there was nothing business-like about this, they were able to have a good time. Furthermore, the party was silently placing them as the center of attention. That feeling of being adored was something that could not be experienced at other functions.

“Aren’t you going to take to the stage‽” Fang Mo asked Ye Shuang after he finished talking with someone else.

Ye Shuang thought about it and sighed. “I can’t think of a skill that can be brought to the stage.”

She knew fighting, cooking, foreign languages, and driving… How was she going to make a performance out of those‽

“You can sing or dance.” Fang Mo laughed. “But it’s okay if you’re not interesting. If you turn this company party into a private fan meeting and someone leaked the footage online, then I’ll have to increase the bonus for the members of the customer service team.”

Ye Shuang did not mind that Fang Mo used her as a joke; after all, it was in good cheer. Nothing would really happen if the video was put online—the public already thought she was endorsing Noah Real Estate, so coming to the company party was understandable.

An Zixuan did not come closer for the rest of the night. Most of the time, he stood to the side alone. Occasionally, he would answer when he was talked to, but attitude wise, he could not be described as friendly. Therefore, after some exchanges, since Mr. Xu’s group was merely giving him face, after finishing the mission of talking to the man, no one was willing to go interact with him.

When the party ended, Ye Shuang turned to take one last glance. An Zixuan and Fang Mo stayed back to discuss something. It probably had everything to do with Fang Fei. Since she had no intention of mixing into this mess, she thought about it and finally decided to pretend to not notice anything and bade everything farewell with a smile.

…

The next day, Ye Shuang was lazing around at home when Fang Mo called to ask her out. In consideration for Ye Shuang, Fang Mo chose a more secluded place. When she stepped through the door, she was lead by the waitress into the private room where the privacy was heavily protected.

“Yesterday, wine; today, tea?” Ye Shuang walked in and smiled when she saw Fang Mo. When she removed the hat, scarf, and sunglasses, the waitress who led the way felt like the room had been lit up. The big brother that the online world was looking for everywhere had materialized before her‽

Fang Mo frowned. When he saw how excited the waitress was when Ye Shuang showed himself, he said, “Please leave us now, and close the door. There’s no need for service if no one press on the service bell.”

The food and drink were already served, so Fang Mo’s words were trying to say, ‘Do not disturb.’ After the waitress unwillingly left, Ye Shuang walked over to pull the chair out. She sat down and raised her head with a half-smile. “Coming to me for advice on love troubles?”

Fang Mo paused before he laughed. Finally, he shook his head and sighed. “I was planning to get updated on your recent activity, but after what happened yesterday, I really have lost all mood to get concerned about other people.”

Ye Shuang reached out to test the temperature of the tea that was placed before her. The temperature was just right, so she lifted it to give it a sip, signaling for Fang Mo to continue. Fang Mo naturally pushed the food over to Ye Shuang and sighed again. “Last night, Mr. An stayed to have a long conversation with me, and now I don’t quite get what his intention is anymore.”

“What did he say?” Ye Shuang picked up a dainty piece of fried dough and asked with curiously, “Based on what happened yesterday, he planned to cooperate with Noah Real Estate, right‽”

“It’s the complete opposite.” Fang Mo shook his head. “Mr. An hoped that I would give this marriage a second thought, before the thing was concluded, better not release any news to hurt the relationship between two families. If this was someone else who said this, I might think he was paying respect to Fang Fei, but this is Mr. An….”

At this point, Fang Mo sighed helplessly. Ye Shuang thought about it and guessed, “You think he’s also an unwilling party‽”

Fang Mo nodded.

“Actually, I think you’ve focused on the wrong detail.” After a short silence, Ye Shuang continued. “You don’t need to consider how An Zixuan was feeling; you should focus on whether you want let your sister marry someone or not, and if you do, you should focus on whether the man is sincere about spending a harmonious life with your sister. It doesn’t matter what he thinks; the key is what do you think!”

Fang Mo was stunned. He thought about it and realized the man had a point. I haven’t said my sister is getting married, so who cares whether the man wants to marry her or not. In this case, the man didn’t seem interested, but even if he was, I’ll need to stop him.

At the end of the day, it was An Zixuan’s attitude that cornered Fang Mo into this way of thinking. The man had just told the guests about the engagement, and hours later, he told Fang Mo to give it a second thought. This was obviously the man trying to escape from the responsibility. In anger, Fang Mo’s thoughts naturally moved from whether the marriage was approvable to… Damn, this kid dares to look down on my sister!

“But I think An Zixuan is quite clever.” Ye Shuang scratched her chin with interest. Facing Fang Mo’s confused gaze, she explained, “First, he told Mr. Xu and the rest about the engagement with Fang Fei; that way, his sincerity would be shown. Then, he purposely let you know he was not interested in Fang Fei.

“Once you get angered, naturally, you will consider his attitude to decide whether this marriage is acceptable or not… If the marriage really falls through, the problem will be your family’s unwillingness; it will have nothing to do with him. Naturally, he won’t be questioned by his family.”

From how An Zixuan tricked An Zining, it was obvious that even though the man’s tactic was quite underhanded and he could be confused by so-called true love, from the perspective of emotional manipulation, the man did know what to do. It was just like his instinct, and he did not need to come up with a specific plan; he naturally knew how to make use of his opponent’s personality to create a situation that was beneficial to himself.

Even though Ye Shuang had pointed it out for Fang Mo, what could he do‽ Rebel against it? But that would mean he was also willing to let Fang Fei marry into the An family. Neither of them would call it quits, and the fake thing would turn real. An Zixuan was a man—he could still ask for a divorce, but Fang Fei would lose her entire future.

After he thought about it, Fang Mo felt angered. How could this man be so evil‽

Ye Shuang lowered her head to take a sip of the tea. The vapor covered her face, and the mistiness only enhanced her good looks. Fang Mo was struck by inspiration, and he asked probingly, “Do you think there’s a chance for An Zixuan to fall in love with another man‽”

“Like who‽” Ye Shuang asked with the trace of a smile.

Fang Mo was stared at for a long time by that onyx-like eyes before he sighed. “…Forget I said anything.”

He must have been mad to think about it. Regardless of whether An Zixuan would fall in love with another person or not, he did not want a third person to come into this mess. The main problems now were Fang Fei and An Zixuan’s attitude and thoughts; it had nothing to do with anyone else, especially Ye Shuang.

If his friend was really tangled by An Zixuan, even though it would help lessen the danger to his sister, Fang Mo would not feel good about it.