Chapter 175: One Gaze Does Plenty
Translator: Lonelytree Editor: Millman97
Even though Fang Mo was a good friend, Ye Shuang did not plan to sacrifice herself to help him with his problem. Normally, Ye Shuang would only lend her aid during two situations: the problem was minor, or the issue was a life or death situation. For example, if a friend asked for her help to deal with a one-time problem, the problem was minor. Since it would not affect her that much, she would not mind giving a helping hand.
A life or death situation did not require much explanation. A normal person would help when a person’s life was on the line. However, if this was something like this issue with Fang Fei, Ye Shuang decided to stay away from the mess. The issue was not really marrying An Zixuan or not but how to escape from the main company’s control. If she intended to intervene, she would only make things worse by complicating it.
This was because Ye Shuang had no clout within Noah Corporation, so the help that she could provide would not have helped the situation but would have gotten her involved in the mess. As long as the Fang siblings did not clarify the situation with the elders from the main company, Ye Shuang had no means to help.
Once or twice might be doable, but what if she kept getting dragged into this issue‽ Would she be expected to marry Fang Fei herself in the end‽
Fang Mo also knew it was unfair to get Ye Shuang to intervene, so he merely vented. After venting, they parted.
After that, Ye Shuang continued to receive updates on the couple from other people. In any case, things were not looking so positive. There was no discussion for a breakup, and Fang Fei was seen interacting with An Zixuan at other social events.
“Why are you following Fang Fei and An Zixuan’s movement so much?” Yao Zhixing was asked out by Brother Shuang for dinner. After giving the latest update, he asked, “Looks like the good news between the two is imminent; don’t tell me you want to make a case on them?”
Ye Shuang was searching for a meatball inside the steamboat. Her chopsticks almost fell when she heard that. She looked at Yao Zhixing with widened eyes. “They’ve announced their engagement or marriage‽”
She did not think so. A few days ago, Fang Mo still sounded so defeated on the phone, like he was still trying to change the main company’s decision. There was no reason for him to suddenly change his mind.
Yao Zhixing laughed. “Do they need an announcement‽ Everyone can see that this is an arranged marriage. They are each other’s date at parties, pay visits to the other’s elders, ‘meeting accidentally’ at events in every two or three days… If those are not signs of an arranged marriage, what is‽”
Ye Shuang did not know whether to laugh or cry. Of course, it was wrong to assume everyone was blind; Fang Mo thought that dragging this out would eventually get those at the headquarters to change their mind, but he had no idea this was already sending signals to everyone else.
“Actually, I think they’re quite a fitting pair. One came from a multi-tiered organization, and the other is the lynchpin for the local electronics scene. Even though Noah Corporation is huge, Fang Mo is only the boss for a branch company; even though the An family is only a local business, they are one of the top companies locally…”
Yao Zhixing toyed with the pair of chopsticks and commented with a smile, “If they get married, it’s quite an equal marriage. It’s rare to find that these days.”
Ye Shuang choked before she shook her head. “You might be right, but the bride’s family will not approach this so calmly. For example, Fang Mo, he will not allow his sister to marry An Zixuan.”
“What can he do?” Yao Zhixing glanced at Ye Shuang. “Arranged marriages are a consideration of both families and not the individual. If he’s that capable, then get his sister married before the arranged marriage becomes a thing. After all, not only An Zixuan has problem. At worst, An Zixuan’s problem can be called a special interest, but other people might have personality deficiencies… Wait a minute, Fang Mo has already told you about this‽”
Yao Zhixing suddenly realized, when Brother and Sister Shuang came to him about this, the signs between Fang Fei and An Zixuan were not that obvious yet. So, they already knew about this from other party?
“After all, we’re friends. I just happened to hear him say something about it. However, I cannot do much to help, so I can only look for updates from the sidelines,” Ye Shuang admitted with a smile.
Yao Zhixing stared at her and finally nodded after confirming she had no intention of intervening. “Don’t get yourself involved; it’s not worth it.”
His friend’s handsomeness was a problem. Even Yao Zhixing realized that if this face appeared before An Zixuan a few more times, whether he would be able to help or not was another issue, but he’d definitely able to make things more complicated. Ye Shuang smiled.
The two continued the dinner and turned to other topics.
It would be New Year’s Eve in a week. After this dinner, the next time she met Yao Zhixing, it would be after New Year. After Christmas and New Year, every company would be busy with year end accounting. Since this year’s New Year was slightly early, the work was piling up.
After official business, there were private business. Even though most families had maids, they would need to prepare the New Year’s Eve feast themselves because the family needed to gather, and the relatives might come to visit.
Yao Zhixing had been very busy lately with many parties and balls, so the dinner with Ye Shuang was like a much-needed breather. The way he seemed to shed a load of pressure during their dinner made Ye Shuang speechless. After they left, they crawled into Yao Zhixing’s car. Ye Shuang wanted to go home directly, but Yao Zhixing had other plans in mind. He did not want to go back so soon. “Shall we go for a round at the abandoned race track‽”
“I don’t think so. I still have work to do.” Ye Shuang sighed. Actually, it was not really work. After Anthony finished his work at An Corps, he had been spending more and more time at the Ye family’s home. If Han Chu did not show up to pick up his pet, it looked like he would be spending New Years at her parents as well.
It was fine if she was in her female form, but it was not that convenient for her to go home in her male form. Therefore, when Ye Shuang was in her male form recently, she could only go back to her own apartment to hide. She had to deal with everything on her own. Since it was getting close to New Year, even the hawkers stopped working, and the closing time for the market moved ahead. If she did not prepare some stock at home, she would be forced to survive on instant noodles.
The more she thought about it, the more she pitied herself. She felt like crying.
“Tsk, you’re still working on a day like this?” Yao Zhixing tutted, suspecting Han Chu of bullying his employee. “How come Xiao Han’s attitude is so different between you and your partner. Did you steal his girlfriend?”
Yao Zhixing still started the car to send Ye Shuang home.
“I hear he is this way when he is dealing with men… Hmm, wait.” Ye Shuang tapped Yao Zhixing’s hand as she looked out the window. “Brother Yao, stop a minute. Isn’t that Fang Fei‽”
It was not rare to find Fang Fei walking on the street, but the rare thing was, she was without accompaniment at a time like this. Well, that was not entirely true because a man who looked like he was looking at his phone was slowly opening Fang Fei’s purse…
Fang Fei obviously did not realize what was happening; she looked too devastated to realize there was a pickpocket behind her. Yao Zhixing saw this and cursed. He pushed the door open and climbed out while Ye Shuang leaned over to press on the honk. It attracted everyone’s attention. Both Fang Fei and the pickpocket turned to look. Ye Shuang rolled down the window to wave. “Fang Fei!”
Fang Fei’s eyes lit up, and she walked toward the car. The pickpocket realized things were going south, so he thought to abort his mission. Right then, Yao Zhixing came over to shout, “Looking for something? How about I help you‽”
The pickpocket saw the two men, one of them was quite handsome and possibly a celebrity, but the key issue was the other man who looked like he was not to be messed with. Therefore, he turned and ran away immediately. Yao Zhixing did not give chase. Since the pickpocket knew to run, he decided to let him go. He was not a police officer, so why should he chase after the pickpocket?
Fang Fei then realized that she was a target. Her phone and wallet had almost been stolen. Yao Zhixing was a famous figure in San Lin City, and he had just helped her, so naturally, she had to thank him. Yao Zhixing was a big brother-type of person, so after a few polite exchanges, somehow, he called Fang Fei to get into his car.
Ye Shuang coughed drily and gave Yao Zhixing, who returned to the driver’s seat, a mocking side-eye. “That was quite awe-inspiring. One gaze, and the man ran away.”
“Of course.” Yao Zhixing also laughed as he tapped on the steering wheel. “Those with eyes will know I’m not to be trifled with when they see my car. Who would purposely look for trouble for no reason‽”
Fang Fei had not seen Brother Shuang for a long time, and with this chance encounter on the street, combined with her own trouble, her emotions were complicated. The man had a girlfriend, and she had a fiancé. What was this? Even if they met, what could she say‽
Yao Zhixing glanced at the rear-view mirror. “Miss Fang, are you going straight home?”
“Hmm? Oh, yes, thank you.” Fang Fei quickly recovered and smiled politely.
So, this young lady isn’t that proud and unreasonable before everyone! Ye Shuang grumbled internally.
Yao Zhixing nodded and started the engine. He made a U-turn and headed for the Fang family’s home. Due to the presence of an unfamiliar person, Ye Shuang and Yao Zhixing took care not to discuss certain topics. They kept their conversation around pointless, harmless topics.
However, Fang Fei was silent on the ride home. She turned to look out the window and lost herself again. When Ye Shuang and Yao Zhixing saw this through the rear-view mirror, they shared a helpless look but did not say anything. Soon, they arrived at Fang Mo’s apartment building.