His face still wore a smile as he casually called out her name, "I’ve heard that Jiuliang has been seeing Mr. Li Fifth quite often lately. I wonder how much Jiuliang knows about Mr. Li Fifth, hmm?"

Ye Jiuliang chuckled lightly, "If Master Xiao has something to say, just say it."

"Nothing much." Xiao Lingchen smiled faintly, "I just wanted to remind you, some people are not as simple as they appear."

"Are you referring to yourself, Master Xiao?" Ye Jiuliang’s eyelids lowered slightly, her eyes brimming with veiled sarcasm.

Xiao Lingchen averted his gaze, looking ahead, "It seems Jiuliang trusts Mr. Li Fifth quite a lot. Could it be true, as the rumors say, that Jiuliang has fallen for Mr. Li Fifth?"

Repeated probing, how could Ye Jiuliang not hear it?

She lifted her hand, picking a fallen leaf off her shoulder, twirling it between her fingers, her eyes and brows revealing a carefree attitude, "What if I like him? That’s nobody else’s business."

Her voice was cool and crisp, laced with a hint of defiance.

"Why does Master Xiao keep probing me? Is there a point?"

A gentle breeze passed by, unable to disperse the tense air.

After a moment’s hesitation, Xiao Lingchen spoke in a calm voice, "Is he really that great?"

"Huh."

Ye Jiuliang chuckled, her red lips slightly parting, "At least in my eyes, he is the best."

The greatness of her Li Mochan, she knew well enough, no need to explain to others.

With a flick of her finger, the withered leaf twirled through the air.

As the leaf touched the ground, a cold voice slowly pronounced, "I’ve always been protective of my own, so don’t badmouth him in front of me. I can’t help but take action."

Xiao Lingchen’s brows furrowed slightly, watching her receding figure intensely, his hands at his sides clenched and then relaxed, relaxed and then clenched again.

Can’t help but take action?

Is he that fond of him?

...

Detained by unexpected affairs, Li Mochan and Feng Yi were late in arriving.

Along the way, Feng Yi was nearly frozen to death by the low pressure emanating from Mr. Li.

No sooner had they entered the resort than they were surrounded by a crowd of guests.

Feng Yi, accustomed to such scenes and recognizing many of the people, inevitably engaged in pleasantries.

In contrast, Li Mochan exuded a coldness that kept others at bay, with no one daring to approach him carelessly. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

The Mr. Li Fifth of the capital was famously unpredictable, better not to risk offending him by trying to curry favor improperly.

Leaving Feng Yi behind, Li Mochan went straight off.

"Mohan."

Su Yishan followed, hesitating for a long time before calling his name for the first time, her heart fluttering nervously.

"Mohan, Uncle Li is asking for you," she said gently.

Li Mochan paused mid-step, his dark eyes hardening into ice, chilling to the bone, "You and your father are of my generation. Who allowed you to call me by name?"

What if his little wolf cub heard? There might be misunderstandings.

Meeting the chill in his eyes, Su Yishan’s face turned pale, "I..."

She couldn’t call him by name, so why could Ye Jiuliang?

Worried about his little wolf cub, Li Mochan quickly walked away.

A light breeze blew over the lake, causing the water to shimmer.

Watching the man’s tall figure recede into the distance, Su Yishan fought to hold back the tears welling up in her eyes, letting them fall silently.

Clenching her white teeth onto her lip, Su Yishan lifted her hand to wipe away the tears, a trace of venom flickering in the depths of her eyes.

She was determined to see what made Ye Jiuliang so special. With Elder Mr. Li on her side, what could Ye Jiuliang use to compete against her?

After searching around and finding no one, and with no answer on the phone, she reluctantly asked a few bodyguards and got a direction.

Where had he run off to? Li Mochan looked around, trying to spot that familiar figure.

"Li Mochan."

A crisp voice resounded from above, and as Li Mochan looked towards the source, the visage of a woman with a smile as content as blossoms broke into his view.

Ye Jiuliang sat atop a tree, her legs dangling leisurely in the air, utterly carefree.

"How did you get up in the tree?" Li Mochan watched with his heart in his throat, terrified she might accidentally fall.

Ye Jiuliang’s eyes curved in a smile, "Just watching the fun."

"Come down," Li Mochan said as he looked up at her, his deep voice full of helplessness.

Ye Jiuliang’s eyes twinkled, "Then you’d better catch me well."

Before her words even finished, she leaped boldly, her daring act sending Li Mochan into a cold sweat.

With a quick stride forward, his long arms firmly caught the mischievous little wolf cub.

Li Mochan looked down at the person in his arms, his reprimanding tone revealing an indulgent affection, "Why are you so naughty? Why didn’t you answer your phone, hm?"

He had only been away for a moment, and she had already climbed a tree.

Ye Jiuliang leaned in and kissed the corner of his lips, "My phone was dead, so I left it in the room to charge. It was so boring without you."

With that, she jumped down from his embrace.

The fur was too pleasant to touch, and Li Mochan couldn’t help but chuckle, flicking her forehead lightly, "Are you hungry?"

"Do you have something tasty?" she asked.

Li Mochan reached up to remove a leaf from her hair, teasing her appetite, "Takoyaki, do you want some?"

"Did you buy it?" Ye Jiuliang’s eyes gleamed as she looked at him.

Li Mochan said, "Didn’t you say you wanted it this morning?"

Meaning he had bought it, Ye Jiuliang eagerly asked, "Where is it?"

"I had Wei Bei take it to the room," he replied.

"Then what are we waiting for?" she said, pulling him to leave quickly.

Before reaching their room, they encountered some people with a "clash of auras."

"Uncle Five, Grandfather is looking for you," Li Jingqi said with downcast eyes, appearing utterly docile like a tamed little lamb before Li Mochan.

Ye Jiuliang clicked her tongue, her lips curving into a playful smile.

Mohan’s deterrence in their home seemed to be much stronger.

Just look, such an "obedient and polite" child.

Li Jingqi stole glances at Ye Jiuliang standing next to Li Mochan, his thoughts a complex whirl.

As Li Mochan was about to speak, the person beside him beat him to it, "You go ahead, I’ll have a look around."

Li Mochan frowned but handed over his phone to Ye Jiuliang in front of Li Jingqi, "Don’t run around everywhere."

Ye Jiuliang took the phone and stuffed it into her pocket, "Got it."

After Li Mochan left, Li Jingqi cast a complex look towards Ye Jiuliang at the end.

Could the rumors be true? Was Ye Jiuliang really in that kind of relationship with Uncle Five?

Ye Jiuliang had just begun to walk away when she caught sight of two familiar figures entering the Bamboo Forest, one after the other, from the corner of her eye. She raised an eyebrow.

By chance, she knew both the man and woman.

What were Li Jingqi’s mother and Li Jingjie’s father doing in the Bamboo Forest?

Her gaze darkened, and she turned to follow after them.

A vast Bamboo Forest stood before her, lush and green, apparently several years old.

"Shaohui, we had an agreement. When exactly are you going to fulfill your promise?"

The woman’s voice carried a hint of anger and a rush of emotion.

From the shadows, Ye Jiuliang recognized the voice as Li Jingqi’s mother. By seniority, Li Shaohui was the eldest son of the Li Family, and Fang Hui should address him as Uncle, but now she called him by name, which indeed had some implications.

Li Shaohui’s brows furrowed, his face bearing some resemblance to the old Mr. Li, showing displeasure, "I’ve promised you something, and of course, I’ll give it to you. But if you keep pressing me like this, don’t blame me for not respecting our past relationship."