Release that Man

When Karen cooked the dinner for her family, she did not let Ye Shuang help her anymore, but his previous performance had already greatly earned her approval. Even though Xia Cheng did feed her some negative impression about Ye Shuang, Karen found it difficult to be hostile toward a man who was so handsome and considerate.

…

Karen’s husband was a conductor, and her son was in university. The couple looked cultured and refined while their son was outgoing and sunny. From the way they interacted with each other, this was a real happy family. After dinner where she got to know Karen’s family, Ye Shuang decided to plant her target on the son who apparently was ‘Xia Cheng’s good friend’.

No matter what, she really could not figure out the possible relationship between a university student and someone like Xia Cheng. Ye Shuang thought the son might just be a cover to distract from the relationship between Xia Cheng and Karen, but she later thought that to be unlikely. This was Karen’s son—he would not have worked with an outsider to trick his own mother.

“I hear Mrs. Karen’s son is good friends with Mr. Xia Cheng.” Ye Shuang put down his fork and wiped his lips. He picked up the water glass and smiled. “I’m surprised Mr. Xia has such a good friend overseas. How did they meet? I’m sure it’s an interesting story.”

Karen froze slightly but quickly covered it up. She then looked to her son. The boy was much worse at improv than his mother. With an unnatural expression, he explained, “Er… we met during a club activity. Xia Cheng happened to be in France, and we had a tennis competition. He came to watch the competition, and then… em, you know, we talked for a while and then became friends…”

“Mr. Xia, you’re also interested in tennis?” Ye Shuang continued her assault and even turned to smile at Rong Su. “One day, we should find a chance to play with Mr. Xia.”

“It’s just a hobby of mine.” Xia Cheng was more experienced than the mother and son. He said easily, “My hobbies are wide-ranging, but because of work, I’m not good at any of them. Out of interest, I occasionally go and watch competitions.”

Ye Shuang noticed that when Xia Cheng answered her, Karen and her son were distracted like they wanted to know how Xia Cheng would answer. However, the evil Ye Shuang purposely changed to Chinese when she talked to Xia Cheng. She even pulled Rong Su into it, and to be courteous to Rong Su, Xia Cheng had to use Chinese to answer. Karen and her son, who could not understand them, were in pain.

“His skill must be very good if you became such good friends with him after watching a match.” Ye Shuang sighed to Rong Su. “I wonder if we have the chance to witness such skill in the ring.”

Xia Cheng cleared his throat and turned to look at Karen and her son like he was asking them for help. However, all he received was a confused look from the two—they had no idea what the conversation was about.

Thus, Xia Cheng could only rely on himself. “I hear your schedule will be a bit tight, Miss Rong, so I fear there will not be any chance for that.”

Ye Shuang nodded to show her understanding and then sighed. “Looks like your relationship with Mrs. Karen is better, Mr. Xia, because you even know about the working schedule of LPA…”

Rong Su lifted her head in confusion. “That’s right. I haven’t even gotten the official work schedule yet. How do you know more than me?”

“…I’m just guessing.” Xia Cheng wiped his lips and nodded politely. “I’m full already. Enjoy your meal.”

“Xia, are you really full already? Do you not have much of an appetite today? Is it because the dishes aren’t good enough?” Karen was worried.

In his heart, Xia Cheng was cursing. He looked at Karen, who had just thrown him under the bus. Before he could say anything, Brother Shuang used perfect French to explain for him. “Don’t worry, Mr. Xia has been dieting recently.”

At that moment, Xia Cheng had had enough!

After dinner, the host stayed to chat while Ye Shuang led the group of girls to the garden to chat. Xia Cheng wanted to join the latter, but his presence was too lacking with Brother Shuang around. After being ignored a few times, and the reality that Rong Su’s eyes would stay on him for less than two seconds, he thought about it and decided to return his room to lick his wounds. Then, he needed to change his plan of ‘nurturing a relationship after being under the same roof for a long time’. First, he needed to eliminate Ye Shuang…

…

“Other things aside, I am very impressed by Mr. Xia’s spirit.” After Xia Cheng finally left, Ye Shuang turned to his direction and lamented.

“What spirit? Spirit of shamelessness?” Su Zheng stuck out her tongue. “Everyone knows that he has been fired by Tian Wang Media and his items have even been detained. Even those from the outside know that it must have been because he was involved in some shady things… He still dares to lean so close to Su Su—is he not afraid that Su Su will not give him face?”

“That is exactly what impresses me.” Ye Shuang smiled. “To be successful, one has to be shameless. If one thinks too highly of oneself and will not bend to others, only wanting to get benefits from others without giving away some of one’s own… Those who think too highly of themselves will normally be ignored and isolated by others. I have yet to see the other abilities that Xia Cheng is good at, but at least he is very good at being a pestering nuisance.”

That also depended on acting. No matter what, one had to come up with a way to get close to the target. Only after that, that Xia Cheng had the chance to turn his life around. If he could use this chance to really revive his career… in comparison to a beautiful future, what was a little humiliation now?

Furthermore, Rong Su could not really turn him away. After all, Vincent had already said at the beginning, the opportunity was due to Xia Cheng’s close relationship with Karen. Rong Su looked at Su Zheng and then at Ye Shuang. She was confused. “Do you guys not like Xia Cheng? Then why do you insist on staying with him?”

“To save the accommodation fee,” Su Zheng answered readily.

Rong Su silently rolled her eyes. Qiu Yu, who had been listening quietly, suddenly chimed in to contribute, “But Mr. Xia does share a good relationship with Liam. Mrs. Karen is normally busy with work, and most of the time, it is Liam who brings Mr. Xia around the country.”

Liam was Karen’s son. When she heard that, Ye Shuang turned to look at Qiu Yu. The latter was quiet and did not look different from her usual self, but because her expression was so normal, Ye Shuang felt that something was unnatural.

Technically speaking, Karen had been threatened by Xia Cheng, so her son should not have such a good relationship with him. First, the age was not compatible, and they came from different countries. There should not be many shared conversation topics between them. Secondly, it was the difference in gender… As his own mother’s close male friend, shouldn’t he suspect something between them? Yes, their relationship might be innocent, but for the sake of avoiding suspicion, Liam should not be closer to Xia Cheng than his own father.

Ye Shuang just thought that there was a problem, but she could not figure what, so other than probing them, she did not go further than that. Ye Shuang did not find out anything, but Qiu Yu had casually confirmed Ye Shuang’s suspicion. Ye Shuang did not believe that Qiu Yu was merely adding that as a casual observation

Su Zheng looked at Ye Shuang and Qiu Yu. Then she pulled on Ye Shuang’s sleeves. “Brother Shuang, is it our future colleague?”

“…No.” Although she said that, this girl was really not simple.

Rong Su was confused. “Isn’t Brother Ye an actor? When did you become a translator like Xiao Yu?”

“Xiao Su is mistaken,” Ye Shuang explained. “Furthermore, I’m not really an actor. My real job is… er… a human resource manager.”

Su Zheng was impressed. That was a beautiful way to describe a shady head hunter.

…

After their chat, Ye Shuang returned to her room, leaving the three girls to chat among themselves. After she logged into the chatting software, Han Chu’s profile started to blink. She opened it, and the message said, “Male?”

Other people might not get it, but Ye Shuang understood it too well. Since Han Chu was online, she quickly replied, “How did you find out, Brother Han? I’m at Karen’s home.”

“Rong Su told Qian Qianxiang, and Qian Qianxiang called me to warn you.” Han Chu was a quick typist. He explained his source and then without waiting for Ye Shuang’s reply, he added, “What did you tell Xiao Su?”

The sudden change in topic flustered Ye Shuang. After pulling back to reality, Ye Shuang replied a bit late, “I didn’t tell her anything, but she was curious about your reason for staying back in San Lin City. She said that your reason couldn’t be explained in a logical manner.”

“…Then should I tell her that I’m staying back to study an alien lifeform?”

For some reason, even though it was an emotionless string of words, Ye Shuang could read the mocking intention behind it.

What was the meaning of alien lifeform? And what was the meaning of study?

Why didn’t he just come right out and threaten her by exposing her secret? Ye Shuang swallowed two drips of blood and very cleverly replied, “I understand, I will find a way to give her an explanation when I return.”

“Good, remember, the explanation has to be logical!” Master Han Chu ordered directly.