Yan Sui leaned in and kissed Meng Ting’s slightly flushed cheek, then said with even more certainty than Meng Ting, “Yes, that makes perfect sense, you absolutely should watch.”
Meng Ting’s eyebrows arched. He turned back and rewarded Yan Sui with kisses on both cheeks before shifting over to make a little room for Yan Sui. Once Yan Sui sat down, Meng Ting threw his arms around Yan Sui’s waist and snuggled against him.
“Are you done with your work?”
“Mm,” Yan Sui rubbed Meng Ting’s hair and nodded. His gaze swept over Meng Ting’s computer screen. Meng Ting had only written five lines tonight, and his own name took up a third of that. Meng Ting’s distraction was truly extraordinary.
Unaware that Yan Sui had noticed this detail, Meng Ting lingered his hands on Yan Sui’s waist for a few more moments before reluctantly letting go. “So, are you going to cook noodles for me?”
“Yes,” Yan Sui said, taking Meng Ting’s hand and pulling him up. They went downstairs together.
***
Having enough to eat and drink, then with a bit of exercise before bed, it was a wonderful and blissful day for both Meng Ting and Yan Sui.
However, Yán Yunsheng and Su Siyu in Licheng felt no such contentment. They too might once have known happiness, but they had failed to restrain the wild beast of desire within them, step by step reaching a point of no return.
Yán Yunsheng had many sons and daughters, and the Yán family was ranked second in Licheng. Counting both direct descendants and collateral branches, they had many members. But now, all of them would suffer along with Yán Yunsheng. As the saying goes; when a wall crumbles, everyone rushes to push it over. There was no need for Yan Sui to take further action; the families in Licheng that Yán Yunsheng had once ostracized would tear him apart themselves.
Yán Yunsheng spent the entire night sleepless, convinced that Yan Sui had another deadly move waiting to be played.
Looking back over the years, he had led the Yán family from an unknown, lowest-tier family to its current position, second only to the four top-tier wealthy families. He had used every ruthless tactic imaginable along the way, staining his hands with countless lives.
Those dark secrets of the past should have remained buried, beyond Yan Sui’s reach. Yet Yan Sui had repeatedly defied his expectations, fueling his anxiety. He feared those old sins might be unearthed and weaponized against him.
“Go and have people keep an eye on Su Siyu. Don’t let him escape.”
It was Su Siyu’s arrival in Licheng that led him falling into Yan Sui’s trap. Even if he were to go down fighting, he wouldn’t fail to settle accounts with Su Siyu.
In truth, Su Siyu had considered fleeing, but Nian Wu, who was with him, dissuaded him. This was Licheng, after all. How could Su Siyu possibly escape Yán Yunsheng’s sphere of influence on his own, especially now that Yán Yunsheng was in such dire straits?
“We can’t run. Right now, only the Xu family can save us.” Even if the Su family in Haicheng still wanted to save Su Siyu, their reach couldn’t extend this far. Being in Licheng, it was true that only the Xu family could save them. Nian Wu wasn’t wrong about that.
Su Siyu stared blankly for a long moment, stunned. He hadn’t expected Nian Wu to remain loyal to him, still looking out for his best interests. He still looked down on Nian Wu’s appearance and demeanor, but in that moment, he felt a long-forgotten warmth stirring within him.
“Brother Nian, thank you,” Su Siyu said, his voice thick with emotion. He stood up and embraced Nian Wu, feeling the man’s body stiffen instantly. A faint smile played on Su Siyu’s lips, but it quickly faded.
After a moment of silence, he said, “This is the only way now…”
As Nian Wu had pointed out, he couldn’t escape, but he couldn’t just wait for death either. Someone like Yán Yunsheng would undoubtedly take his anger out on him.
“Yan Sui, that’s Yan Sui… why do I feel like…” A flash of regret crossed Su Siyu’s eyes. After suffering so many setbacks, how had he suddenly become so foolish, daring to scheme against Yan Sui?
He felt like he should grasp onto something, but a thick fog always obscured his vision, preventing him from seeing the situation clearly.
Su Yang hadn’t matured yet, and Yán Yunsheng was no match for Yan Sui. Even relying on his prior knowledge, he wouldn’t be able to defeat Yan Sui. After everything he’d been through, he no longer wanted to fight anyway. Once he left the Xia Country, the world was vast. There was no need to waste his life locked in this endless struggle.
Perhaps by distancing himself from them, he could finally live a different kind of life.
Seeing the genuine remorse on Su Siyu’s face, Nian Wu carefully chose his words. “Perhaps you could try approaching Yan Sui with… sincerity.” Telling Yan Sui everything he had revealed to Yán Yunsheng, using that as leverage for his freedom. It was a slim chance, but it might be his only hope.
However, Su Siyu still shook his head, his expression instantly turning sinister. “No, never!”
Nian Wu fell silent, saying no more. Su Siyu’s stubbornness was far deeper than he had initially thought. His regret contained more elements of bullying the weak and fearing the strong[mfn]T/N: It means that SSY wouldn’t feel genuine regret if his opponent wasn’t as strong as YS and could crush him to death.[/mfn].
***
But just two days later, before Su Siyu could even find an opportunity to contact the Xu family, Yán Xue’er, Yán Yunsheng’s granddaughter, discovered him first. Her words were particularly venomous.
“You vixen[mfn]狐狸精 (hú li jīng): (Chinese mythology) hulijing; fox spirit; (figurative, derogatory) woman of easy virtue; woman who seduces a married or otherwise romantically involved man; homewrecker; vixen; fox spirit―seductive woman; seductive and lascivious woman. Superstitious people believe that foxes can cultivate into spirits and transform into women to seduce people. It refers to women who seduce and tempt men.[/mfn]! You’re the one who seduced my grandpa, aren’t you? You made him turn against the Yan family for your sake. My grandpa is nearly seventy years old—how shameless can you be!” Yán Xue’er paused to catch her breath before continuing her tirade.
“You even look like a fox spirit! If you’re going to seduce someone, couldn’t you pick someone else? My grandpa has a wife, children, and grandchildren… You, you’re truly disgusting!”
Su Siyu’s face alternated between blue and pale, but he still endured the abuse without a word. He had heard worse things than this before.
“You’re my cousin’s former… fiancée, aren’t you?”
Yán Xue’er wasn’t the only one who came to confront Su Siyu. Xu Siya from the Xu family was also present. Seeing Su Siyu’s humiliating restraint, she naturally couldn’t help but compare him to Meng Ting. After scrutinizing him for a while, she remarked with a hint of amusement, “Compared to my cousin-in-law, you’re miles behind.”
“Exactly! My cousin-in-law is Meng Ting… no, he should be called Xiao Zinuo now. He’s the youngest direct descendant of the Xiao Family, born into a prestigious lineage, and a perfume master. Look at yourself—what do you have besides a pretty face?”
Moreover, Su Siyu’s face, after all the time spent hiding and fleeing, wasn’t as attractive as it once was. At least in Xu Siya’s eyes, he truly couldn’t compare to the Meng Ting she remembered.
Su Siyu could endure Yán Xue’er’s words, but Xu Siya’s remarks nearly pushed him over the edge.
It wasn’t just Xu Siya comparing him to Meng Ting; Su Siyu himself often made the same comparison. He was certain that Meng Ting had once been like him, yet why had Meng Ting managed to change his fate while Su Siyu was doomed to eternal ruin because of Meng Ting’s transformation?
“Of course, the most important thing is that my cousin adores my cousin-in-law,” Xu Siya said, observing Su Siyu’s mottled pale and flushed face. She smiled with a slight sense of accomplishment, then stepped back to let Yán Xue’er continue.
“This is my Yán family’s house! You vixen, get out of here! Don’t dirty our place!”
While Yán Yunsheng might momentarily refrain from taking his anger out on Su Siyu, Yán Xue’er couldn’t tolerate it. They themselves were on the verge of losing their own home, and yet such a beautiful villa was given to a seductive fox spirit? How was that possible?
Su Siyu’s expression froze at her words. Finally, he nodded. “Alright.”
He had been desperately searching for a way to escape Yán Yunsheng’s clutches. Even if Yán Xue’er and Xu Siya’s insults were terrible, they were still inadvertently helping him.
He and Nian Wu quickly packed their belongings and left the villa. Nian Wu might still have some money left, but Su Siyu remained penniless. The promises Yán Yunsheng had made to him had gone awry before any of it reached his hands.
Now, his only option was to risk returning to Haicheng, ask his father for money, and have him arrange for him to leave the country.
As Xu Siya watched Su Siyu and Nian Wu hastily depart, she nudged Yán Xue’er’s arm and whispered. “I think he’s more than just your grandpa’s lover. Do you think kicking him out like this might cause trouble?”
Although Yán Xue’er was quite favored in the Yán family, she wasn’t at the point of being able to interfere with her grandfather’s people.
Yán Xue’er scoffed and pulled out her phone to make a call.
“Grandpa, Siya and I are near the East City Villa. We saw two suspicious figures sneaking out of our villa. We think they might be thieves. We didn’t dare stop them, but nothing inside seems to be missing. Should we still call the police?”
Yán Yunsheng’s forehead veins throbbed at her words. He took a deep breath to calm his tone, though it was still clear he was furious. “No need. I’ll handle it.”
“Understood, Grandpa.”
Yán Xue’er hung up the phone, then reached out and linked arms with Xu Siya. “Ya Ya, you still don’t know me? Do you think I’d let him off so easily?”
Her grandfather had never been interested in women. His entire life revolved around usurping the Yan family’s position. She knew immediately what was going on. Her earlier outburst had been pure venting, a way to blow off steam. But when it came to truly dealing with him, that was a job for her grandfather, Yán Yunsheng himself. Only then would it be satisfying and ruthless enough.
***
Su Siyu and Nian Wu had just arrived at the bus station. Three steps off the bus, they were surrounded by four people dressed in black.
Without a word, the men grabbed Su Siyu and Nian Wu and dragged them toward their car.
“Let go! I can walk myself!” Su Siyu struggled lightly, but the men showed no mercy. His arm was twisted behind his back, the pain is probably worse than if it were broken. He nearly cried out.
But he remembered his status as a wanted man. He was even less willing than them to cause a scene in front of the bustling station, drawing attention.
Su Siyu and Nian Wu were shoved into the car, their heads immediately covered with hoods. Then came a cacophony of noise, followed by silence.
“Brother Nian, are you still there?” Su Siyu asked, his voice trembling. He received no answer from Nian Wu, but instead, a beating.
“This is an order from the Old Master—a lesson for you!”
***
Meanwhile, Yán Yunsheng also received a phone call. He was so furious he nearly smashed his phone.
“What? What do you mean they’ve disappeared? They were right under your noses in Licheng! How could they just vanish?”
Whether Su Siyu’s words could be trusted, Yán Yunsheng still needed to verify it. How could he just let him vanish like that?
Yán Yunsheng calmed himself and thought for a moment before calling Xu Shumin. As before, his secretary who answered, but this time Yán Yunsheng suppressed his irritation and asked the secretary to relay a message. Soon after, he received a reply, and then he hung up.
“Not him? How could it not be him? In Licheng, who else but the Xu Family would dare snatch someone from my, Yán Yunsheng’s, grasp?!”
Yán Yunsheng’s face was flushed with irritation, looking extremely unwell. Yet, the older he grew, the more unwilling he was to accept defeat. How could the family he had poured his entire life’s blood into end like this?
***
While Licheng was embroiled in turmoil, Haicheng had seen its slightly fluctuating disturbances completely subside without a trace after Yan Sui’s return. Even some of the Yan family’s collateral branches had tucked their tails between their legs, filled with extreme regret. How could they have been so foolish as to say such things to Meng Ting?
Yan Sui was not only the legitimate patriarch of the family but also very young, remarkably young. Barring unforeseen circumstances, they, and even their descendants, would have to depend on him for generations. But after this incident, it wouldn’t be so easy for them to approach him again.
On this day, Meng Ting didn’t follow Yan Sui around. Instead, he took Li Lan, who had just arrived in Haicheng, on a tour of his laboratory, even giving him a hands-on demonstration. Li Lan’s jaw was literally hung open in awe from morning till night. It wasn’t just Haicheng that amazed him; everything in the laboratory filled him with wonder and excitement.
However, he wasn’t even considered a beginner yet; it would be a long time before he could actually start working there.
Yan Mingya immediately dropped what he was doing and rushed over when he heard Meng Ting was at the lab. He already knew Meng Ting had created an upgraded version of ‘Yan Ting BestLove‘, and when he learned Meng Ting was planning a four-season edition, his jaw nearly dropped.
“Little Auntie, you’re amazing!”
“Big Boss, you’re truly incredible!” Li Lan, who had been listening nearby for a while, agreed wholeheartedly. Meng Ting was only three years older than him, yet his skills far surpassed Li Lan’s. Looking back, Li Lan realized how naive his previous assumptions had been.
Meng Ting accepted the praise without false modesty, nodding in acknowledgment. “By the way, are you alright now? I’m going to pick up Yan Sui.”
Yan Mingya choked on his breath, nearly causing him to stutter.
Mouth agape, he quickly gathered his thoughts and said to Meng Ting, “You remember the International Fragrance Exchange Conference last time, right…?”
“I checked, and family members are allowed,” Yan Mingya continued, a slightly embarrassed smile spreading across his face. “Um… they said I could go too, but the exchange I’d be attending is different from yours.”
Meng Ting’s exchange was purely for perfumers, while Yan Mingya’s was for perfume companies—entirely separate events.
Meng Ting nodded calmly when he heard this. “Then I’ll ask Yan Sui and let you know.”
He glanced down at his phone screen, which had lit up. “I’m really in a hurry.”
“Alright… alright, I won’t hold you up,” Yan Mingya said helplessly, his expression shifting back to that pitiful, pleading look again.
Meng Ting’s eyebrow twitched slightly. He lifted his chin, stating. “Playing pitiful won’t work. I’ll follow Yan Sui’s decision.”
Yan Mingya was exposed, looking a bit at a loss, while Li Lan, without restraint, clutched his belly and burst into laughter. “Hahaha…”
When his laughter subsided, Meng Ting’s retreating figure was all he could see. Li Lan hurried after him, missing Yan Mingya’s resentful glare.
Yan Mingya himself felt helpless. No matter how cunning he was, he couldn’t possibly use his schemes on his little auntie, Meng Ting. Besides playing pitiful, he couldn’t think of any other tricks.
Moreover, things had been especially busy lately, and Meng Ting had been constantly distracted by Yan Sui. He didn’t even know how much of his time, usually dedicated to perfumery, had been taken up. He was truly at his wit’s end.
[dropdown title=”List of Idiom in Chapter 098″]
牆倒衆人推 (qiáng dǎo zhòng rén tuī): lit. when a wall is about to collapse, everybody gives it a shove (idiom); everyone gives a shove to a falling wall; when a wall falls, everyone pushes it down; everyone will seize the opportunity to attack a person when he or she loses power or influence; everybody hits a man who is down; when a wall falls, everyone pushes it down. From Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin, chapter 69: “他雖好性兒，你們也該拿出個樣兒來，別太過逾了，牆倒眾人推。”, “Although he has a good temper, you should also show some respect and don’t go too far. When the wall falls, everyone will push it down.”. A common saying, which means that once a person loses power or suffers a setback, many people will take the opportunity to attack him and cause him to fall completely.魚死網破 (yú sǐ wǎng pò): lit. either the fish dies or the net splits; the fish are dead, the fishnet is broken; to fight till both you and your foe perish; a life and death struggle (idiom); fight to the death; desperate struggle; mutually destructive conflict; no holds barred; allout confrontation.
自身難保 (zì shēn nán bǎo): powerless to defend oneself (idiom); helpless; to be in trouble oneself (implying someone is thus unable to help others); be unable even to protect oneself; be unable to fend for oneself.
鬼迷心竅 (guǐ mí xīn qiào): to be possessed by a spirit and lose one’s thinking ability; to be (unreasonably) obsessed with something.
海闊天空 (hǎi kuò tiān kōng): the sea and the sky is expansive and boundless; as boundless as the sea and sky; wide sea and sky (idiom); boundless open vistas; bold and unconstrained; (of imagination or a conversation) without restriction or limit; discursive; the whole wide world; chatting about everything under the sun; in open sea and sky; as broad as the sea and sky; unrestrained and far-ranging; endlessly vast. Used to describe an open-minded and unrestrained person, or to describe a discussion or imagination that is boundless and has no center.
執迷不悟 (zhí mí bù wù): to obstinately persist in going about things the wrong way (idiom); to wilfully persist in going about things the wrong way; to refuse to realise one’s error; stubbornly persist in going about things the wrong way; refuse to come to one’s senses; obstinately persist in one’s errors; remain obdurate; not being able to distinguish things clearly and holding on to wrong ideas without realizing it.
欺軟怕硬 (qī ruǎn pà yìng): to bully the weak but fear the strong; bully the weak and give in to the tough.
鬼鬼祟祟 (guǐ guǐ suì suì): furtive; sneaking; stealthy; skulk; refers to sneaky and unfair actions; to describe actions that are sneaky and not aboveboard; or to have other motives and use tricks secretly.
風起雲湧 (fēng qǐ yún yǒng): to surge like a gathering storm (idiom); to grow by leaps and bounds; surging; turbulent; dramatic changes; stormy; tumultuous; rising winds and scudding clouds; rapid development; upheaval; a majestic and powerful momentum; it is also a metaphor for things developing rapidly and with great momentum.
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