Chapter 207

“I mean, how can you cultivate now?”

Oh, crap, where’d I slip up?

“Who told you?”

“My sister. She tested you. You must’ve felt it, right?”

Fine, they know.

“Alright, it’s no big deal. By the way, aren’t we eating? Why’s this feel like a tea party?”

Ye Ziyue smiled. “Nothing much, just that chatting with you feels nice. No matter the topic, it’s always interesting. Even just casual small talk feels great.”

“What, you got no one to talk to and you’re bored?”

“Be refined. Why so crude? Careful, or no woman will like you.”

Chen Fan didn’t care. Dropping the act, since things had changed, he’d just go with the flow. This segment didn’t affect the plot much anyway.

…

As for what happens next? Chen Fan had long stopped bothering to think about it. It wasn’t just this female lead whose character had gone off track—others had veered so far they’d left Earth behind.

Thankfully, the plot hadn’t changed much for now, so it was stable enough.

“It’s fine, really. In this world, no one has to love anyone. Anyone can live just fine without someone else. Just take care of your family and the people around you—that’s enough.”

After saying this, he lowered his head and took a bite of his steak.

At that moment, Ye Ziyue suddenly understood something some people in the group chat had analyzed. If you saw Chen Fan acting arrogant or smug, no doubt about it—he was playing the villain.

But if you saw him occasionally say something serious or profound, that was his original self. You had to cherish those moments because they were rare. It might be his personal interest, or maybe he was just bored and teasing you.

Whatever the reason, when it happened, you had to record it and send it to the group.

Such scenes were rare.

Ye Ziyue turned on her recorder and asked, “So, do you like Zhu Yeqing?”

“Hahaha, I thought you’d ask about Lin Qingyue.”

“No, I just feel like she’s the girl who’s been with you the longest.”

Chen Fan said, “I like her, yeah. Really like her. If we weren’t in this world, maybe we’d get married and have a bunch of kids.”

Ye Ziyue suddenly felt a bit envious of Zhu Yeqing.

“Then … besides Zhu Yeqing, who else do you like?”

“Cao Zijin, of course. My wife. If I don’t like my wife, who would I like?”

Ye Ziyue said, “Didn’t you two meet through a blind date?”

“Yeah, but who says you can’t like someone from a blind date? She’s such a big star, following me around, enduring so much. How much do you think she’s put up with? Every day, I see people bashing her under her Weibo posts.”

Ye Ziyue asked, “And you?”

“I’m waiting for her to tell me she’s upset. But she never does. Every day, she’s all smiles, telling me fun stories, always thinking about me. Give me one reason not to like her.”

Ye Ziyue fell silent.

“Is there anyone you’d go all out for like that? Doesn’t have to be a lover—even friends or family count.”

“There is … my family’s worth it.”

Chen Fan nodded. “Yeah, I get it. That’s why I said we’re on opposing sides. No matter what, Ye Aotian is your family, and he’s my mortal enemy. So, let’s be friends in private, but on the surface, it’s still a fight to the death.”

Chen Fan ate slowly, as if he was seriously contemplating his life, savoring the moment.

“What about Ghost Mask?”

Chen Fan said, “Ghost Mask? You mean Li Hanxue. She has a name, don’t call her Ghost Mask.”

“I know, Li Hanxue. What do you think of her?”

“She’s great. I see her as a little sister. But if she could be my wife, that’d work too. I’m a guy—guys don’t complain about having too many girlfriends, right?”

“You? With that many? Can you even handle them?”

Heh.

Chen Fan said, “Let me tell you something. You can hit a man, you can yell at him, but you never mock him, got it? That’s an insult, and it’s slander. I’m a tough guy—who do you think you’re looking down on?”

Ye Ziyue adjusted her hair and said, “Eat your food. It’s getting cold.”

Casually, she sent the recording to the group chat.

The group quickly opened it. Zhu Yeqing sent a crying emoji.

“I thought Young Master never liked me, but turns out, he loves me so much.”

Cao Zijin said, “I think I need to cry too, but why does this feel so weird? This guy somehow makes being a playboy sound so pure and refined.”

Some people in the group listened to the audio.

Ghost Mask sent a skull emoji and then vanished, proving she’d heard it.

No one knew what Li Hanxue was thinking.

“It’s kind of enviable. Your group feels so harmonious, like a big family.”

Wu Meiniang suddenly dropped this line, and the group chat went silent.

Wow, how did this genius grow up? How do you see us as harmonious? Believe it or not, if the story allowed it, only one female lead would survive in this novel. No way would two be allowed to live.

Joking aside, in a world of beauties, only one gets to survive, okay?

“What are you guys doing after eating?”

Ye Ziyue typed, “I’m heading home after we’re done. Not planning anything else. I just wanted to treat him to a meal.”

“Oh, that’s good.”

Ye Ziyue said, “Cao Zijin, you don’t think I like Chen Fan, do you? Stop it. He’s only your type.”

Zhu Yeqing sent an angry emoji. “If the Ye family is looking to die, just say the word. Believe it or not, I could wipe out your entire family single-handedly.”

That wasn’t an empty threat—Zhu Yeqing really had that kind of power.

“Just kidding. Chen Fan’s a good guy. I’m pretty jealous of you all.”

With that, she put down her phone, said goodbye to Chen Fan, and left.

Her heart felt heavy.

Honestly, she was jealous—jealous of this little circle. They could genuinely have fun together, joking and laughing every day without schemes or conspiracies. But for her, in her family, things had reached the point where siblings might even face each other with swords.

Maybe she understood now what was written in the diary: the Ye family’s rules were wrong. This method didn’t raise a family head—it created a cruel villain.

But it was also because of this that most of the plot revolved around the Ye family, right?

“Hey, you’re leaving just like that?” Chen Fan called out.

Ye Ziyue said, “If I don’t go, what else is there? I already treated you to dinner.”

“Isn’t today your birthday?”

“You … how did you know?”

“You’re a member here, right? I saw it when you used your card. It’s your birthday. Come on, sit down. You’re not planning to spend your birthday alone, are you? That’s no fun. Birthdays are for being happy, right?”

This time, Chen Fan decided to let the girl indulge a little.

Poor thing—sometimes, she even had to spend her birthdays alone. Life was tough for her. Her mother died in a power struggle, and she’d even been crippled. If her father wasn’t the family head, she wouldn’t have made it this far.

A little warmth was like poison to her.

“You … you’re kind of mean. I don’t like you.”

She said this, but for once, tears welled up in her eyes.