CHAPTER 296: CHAPTER 296

Yu Dingding’s face turned slightly pale, "If you want to do something, fine, but buy me a bottle of sleeping pills first."

Ye Chen was so angry that the veins on his forehead bulged: "At least there should be give and take in that kind of thing, what’s the point if you just take sleeping pills and sleep through it!"

Indeed, recently Yu Dingding refused to let him touch her.

Even though she had recently agreed to obediently return to the villa with him, and even though they flirted and bickered outside,

once they were in bed, Yu Dingding’s reactions were particularly intense.

No matter if Ye Chen was pouring out all his tenderness just a second before, at the most critical moment, Yu Dingding would still desperately resist him, even resorting to self-harming behaviors.

However, no matter how much he reflected on it, he felt that there was absolutely nothing wrong that day.

But why has Yu Dingding changed like this?

Facing Ye Chen’s nearly irate questioning, Yu Dingding just coldly looked away: "If you think it’s meaningless, then don’t bother me. If you want to bother me, then prepare the sleeping pills."

Ye Chen looked at the woman’s alienated and indifferent profile, his anger instantly turning into grievance.

He didn’t understand. He had almost turned into her servant for Yu Dingding’s sake, yet how could she remain so indifferent?

Even needing sleeping pills only then being able to be with him...

When their conversation reached a deadlock, Fu Youhan’s voice came over.

"What are you talking about? The smell of gunpowder has even reached outside."

Hearing Fu Youhan’s voice, Ye Chen’s dejected expression slightly receded.

"Nothing much, just talking about some unimportant things."

Ye Chen even smiled and greeted Jiang Moxi, "Heard you severed ties with the Jiang Family today, let’s open a good bottle of wine later to celebrate."

Jiang Moxi responded with a faint smile and then turned to chat with Yu Dingding.

As the women got chatting, Fu Youhan and Ye Chen sat on the side smoking together.

Ye Chen looked playfully at Fu Youhan: "Seeing you and Xiao Moxi like this, you should be about letting her officially claim the empress’s position, right?"

Fu Youhan exhaled a puff of smoke: "We’ll see."

Actually, between them, it had always been Jiang Moxi refusing to make the relationship public.

Ye Chen didn’t know this and thought Fu Youhan was taking full advantage without even giving Jiang Moxi a proper status, so he couldn’t help but taunt him.

"Brother Han, I really don’t know whether to praise you for being downright clear about being a jerk, or for your good fortune in finding a woman willing to be with you without any official status. Unlike me, I want to give someone a title, but they don’t even want it."

Speaking to this last point, Ye Chen’s gaze landed on Yu Dingding, who was chatting and laughing with Jiang Moxi not far away.

At a glance, Yu Dingding really seemed no different from before, still figuring out ways every day to have conversations.

But Ye Chen could feel that something about Yu Dingding had changed.

It wasn’t just her unwillingness to have intimate interactions with him, it felt as though her heart had completely frozen towards him.

That feeling made Ye Chen feel terrible.

That’s why he had arranged to have dinner with Fu Youhan, on one hand to seek advice on how Fu Youhan managed to win over Jiang Moxi, and on the other hand to see if Yu Dingding’s mood would improve after meeting Jiang Moxi, to see if she could accept him.

Fu Youhan cast a brief glance at Ye Chen, then his gaze settled on Jiang Moxi: "You went too far before. When Xixi and I are together, there’s no one else around."

"Which eye of yours saw me with someone else?"

Ye Chen continued, "Of course, there are some occasions where I bring An Yang with me. But as you know, An Yang and I are just putting on an act, and it ends once the curtain falls!"

"What about Qin Shuang?"

When Fu Youhan asked, a trace of sorrow flickered in Ye Chen’s eyes.

"Shuangshuang is already engaged, what could possibly happen between her and me?"

"Do you even believe what you’re saying yourself? I really don’t get you, being so manipulative despite your sickness, what’s so good about you?"

Fu Youhan had seen Qin Shuang and couldn’t say she was very beautiful; she looked frail and vulnerable, as if a breath of wind could knock her over, and she was full of schemes.

Fu Youhan had a very poor impression of Qin Shuang, so he really didn’t understand what Ye Chen was so obsessed with.

Ye Chen told him, "Brother Han, do you remember when I was in junior high, one winter break my mom took me back to Emperor City for fun, and I, along with some cousins, went ice skating on the lake when I accidentally fell in. My big cousins were so scared they ran home to get help, but it was Shuangshuang who risked her life to save me!"

Thus, Ye Chen’s feelings for Qin Shuang were mixed with a life-saving grace.

But Fu Youhan found it incredible, "Are you sure the one who saved you was Qin Shuang?"

Fu Youhan pictured Qin Shuang’s emaciated frame in his mind and felt she wouldn’t have had the strength to pull Ye Chen ashore.

Especially since it was freezing cold at that time, if that sickly girl had gone into the water to save Ye Chen, the grass on her grave would be quite tall by now.

But Ye Chen said, "When my cousins came back with people, Shuangshuang was sitting right beside me, and there was no one else around. If not her, then who could it be?"

Ye Chen also explained, "Shuangshuang just throws little tantrums occasionally; in reality, she is still very kind-hearted and simple."

Listening to Ye Chen’s confident manner, Fu Youhan had no more to say.

Meanwhile, Jiang Moxi asked about Yu Tongshu’s situation.

Yu Dingding said, "The first electrode plate surgery has been completed, and there might be two more needed."

When speaking of Yu Tongshu’s surgery, Yu Dingding was mostly filled with emotion.

"Moxi, do you think I have committed too many wrongs and thus brought such misfortune upon my father?"

Jiang Moxi took out a separately packaged oatmeal biscuit from her pocket and handed it to Yu Dingding, "What could you possibly do wrong? Don’t doubt yourself; in my eyes, you’re already very kind."

Yu Dingding took the biscuit and also smiled, "Yeah, I think I’m quite kind too. When I was a child, I even saved a drowning boy!"

"How handsome was the boy?" Jiang Moxi asked curiously.

"His face was all purple from the cold, it was hard to tell whether he was handsome or not. But he was wearing luxury brands, likely a rich second-generation," Yu Dingding laughed.

"What happened afterwards? Did the boy show any gratitude when he woke up, like offering himself in return or something?" Jiang Moxi knew Yu Dingding was in a bad mood, so she deliberately changed the subject.

But Yu Dingding seriously replied, "No, my dad called me to come home for dinner, and after I rescued the person, I went home."

"That boy must be an idiot then, not even seeking out his lifesaver."

Jiang Moxi casually joked, making Yu Dingding laugh heartily.

As the conversation reached this point, the waiter served the hot dishes. Ye Chen, inviting them to eat, also asked Yu Dingding and Jiang Moxi, "What are you chatting about so happily?"

Jiang Moxi said, "We’re discussing an idiotic boy!"

Ye Chen looked puzzled, feeling as if Jiang Moxi was somehow insulting him.