Chapter 29

Peel an apple to eat.

He struggled with a fruit knife for ages before finally peeling an apple the size of an adult's fist down to the size of a baby's fist.

Tang Mingxi fell silent for a moment as he looked at the finished product in his hand.

Why was this apple's peel so thick? :)

It definitely wasn't because he was clumsy. :)

Ye Heng was asking Ye Yue about her recent condition when he suddenly felt someone tug at the corner of his clothes.

He turned around and saw Tang Mingxi holding out an... apple core.

Ye Heng: ...

"You can throw an apple core into the trash after you're done eating it."

Tang Mingxi said, "This is the apple I peeled."

Ye Heng: ...

Tang Mingxi argued, "The peel on this apple was just too thick."

Saying something so against his conscience made Tang Mingxi blush. Embarrassed into anger, he snapped, "Eat it or don't! It's not like I peeled it for you anyway!"

Ye Heng sighed and placed Tang Mingxi's apple core onto a plate.

Then he took a fresh apple and peeled it in a few quick strokes. The peel came off thin, spiraling around and around as it fell into the clean trash can.

After that, he cut the apple into small pieces, placed them on a plate, stuck toothpicks into them, and handed it to Tang Mingxi.

Tang Mingxi: (.)

Ye Heng's voice was icy. "If you want to eat one next time, just call me. Don't waste food."

Who was wasting food?! He'd worked so hard peeling it, okay?!

Dog of a man! Ungrateful bastard! No appreciation for kindness!

Fine. You've successfully made me angry. :)

Tang Mingxi flared up at once and stubbornly refused to eat the apple Ye Heng had peeled.

"I'm not eating it!"

Tang Mingxi hugged his phone and ignored everyone.

One look at him was enough for Ye Heng to know that he was most likely messaging Wang Min to complain about him. He could not be bothered to care.

When he turned his head, he saw Tang Mingxi's peeled "apple core" sitting alone on the other side of the plate. After staring at it for a while, he picked it up as if possessed and took a bite.

It was quite sweet.

The next second, he heard Ye Yue chuckle. "Why are you bullying my sister-in-law, brother? You obviously like him so much."

Her voice was soft, but it exploded in Ye Heng's heart like a thunderclap on level ground.

But Ye Heng quickly came back to his senses.

"I don't." Ye Heng frowned, displeased. "Don't talk nonsense."

"You do." Ye Yue ate a piece of apple and muttered, "I may not be able to see, but I can feel it. You're obviously very good to my sister-in-law."

Tang Mingxi's anger lasted a long time. This time, even Wang Min's campaign of condemnation could not help.

The WeChat chat screen was paused on Wang Min's message: "Baby, you didn't do anything wrong! It's all the apple's fault! How can an apple grow peel? Apples having peel is fucking ridiculous! Don't be mad, baby..."

Tang Mingxi: [I can't be coaxed back. (.)]

Wang Min had a sudden idea. [Xixi, I'm going to visit my grandpa this afternoon. Want to come with me? He has an estate where we can ride horses and relax.]

The prospect of horseback riding greatly piqued Tang Mingxi's curiosity. He had never ridden a horse before, so he immediately accepted Wang Min's invitation for the afternoon.

For the next two hours, Tang Mingxi acted as a beautiful and expensive vase in the hospital room. He spoke only when necessary, and whenever he did speak, it was only to Ye Yue.

He ignored Ye Heng completely, broadcasting from every possible angle that he was about to stay angry for a very long time.

Once the visit was nearly over, Tang Mingxi could not be bothered to say goodbye to Ye Heng and left first.

As he was leaving, he overheard a few words between Ye Heng and the attending physician, Liang Fei. It sounded like Ye Yue's illness was difficult to treat; she even needed a bone marrow transplant?

But at that moment, Tang Mingxi's mind was fully immersed in the joy of getting to ride horses that afternoon.

He did not pay attention to anything else.

Wang Min's family had risen to prominence late, but in less than ten years, they had established a firm foothold in Ningcheng.

Rose Manor was one of her family's properties. Located in northern Ningcheng and backed by mountains and water, it was a vast private leisure and entertainment area.

Rich second-generation heirs often came here for fun. The requirements for membership were strict, and it was not easily opened to the public.

Sure enough, "sisters" were different from dog men. The moment Wang Min saw Tang Mingxi, she sharply noticed that he was wearing a watch he had never worn before.

His style of dress was completely different from usual, and even his perfume had been changed!

If Tang Mingxi had once been a dazzling, flamboyant sun, then today he was dignified, gentle moonlight.

Sob, no matter how Xixi dressed, he was always ridiculously gorgeous!!

Wang Min grabbed him and showered him with praise, complimenting everything from his hair to the soles of his feet. She praised him until Tang Mingxi felt a little lightheaded, and he soon forgot the unpleasantness with Ye Heng.

Heh, that dog male lead could forget about ruining his mood for going out with friends. :)

Meanwhile, Ye Heng was returning from the hospital and heading to Azure Luo Bay for an on-site inspection when he sneezed lightly.

He Wenfang asked professionally, "President Ye, are you feeling unwell?"

Ye Heng shook his head. He Wenfang did not ask further and simply went over that afternoon's schedule with Ye Heng again.

At one o'clock, they would inspect the Azure Luo Bay site. At three, they would head to Rose Manor with the person in charge of the Azure Luo Bay project for a brief gathering.

Ye Heng was still young and had not yet reached the point where he could strategize in the capital market with his eyes closed. Many gatherings like these were unavoidable.

After the inspection of Azure Luo Bay ended at one o'clock, several people in charge eagerly discussed going to Rose Manor to play golf.

The afternoon gathering was relatively relaxed. Ma Shu, the intermediary arranging the introductions, had even called over several attractive young celebrities, both men and women.

At first, the men were fairly restrained. But upon arriving at Rose Manor, the secluded and private environment gradually emboldened them.

One by one, they revealed their true colors, and their hands began to wander.

Ye Heng had seen plenty of gatherings like this in the business world, so he remained relatively calm.

He was not particularly interested in women, and he was even less interested in men.

Besides, if he really were interested in men, looking across all of Ningcheng, who could possibly be more exquisite and beautiful than the one at home?

The one assigned to attend to him was a boy who had just turned twenty and had not yet graduated from university. He was secretly studying Ye Heng.

Ye Heng had only begun overseeing Mingheng's related businesses this year, so he was not well known in Ningcheng's business circles.

But his face was exceptionally handsome.

Among a group of pot-bellied middle-aged men, the boy had been fortunate enough to be assigned to serve this handsome young man.

It was just that the other man was far too indifferent. He did not smoke, nor did he need a back rub or shoulder massage, leaving the boy awkward and at a loss.

Was it because he was not good-looking enough?

The boy quietly turned sideways and examined his face in the mirror. Gentle and calm, delicate and pleasant—this face should not be ugly, right?

After following him around all afternoon, the boy finally found a chance to approach Ye Heng while they were playing golf at Rose Manor.

He brought him a glass of champagne, only for Ye Heng to refuse coldly. "I don't need it."

The boy's hands paused. Unable to stop himself, he asked in a timid low voice, "Have I done something to displease you?"

Ye Heng glanced at him, then withdrew his gaze.

At that moment, he did not know why he thought of Tang Mingxi.

If it were Tang Mingxi, he would probably have poured the champagne directly over his head, glared at him with those beautiful eyes, and left behind the words, "It's an honor that I even let you drink it."

Then he would storm upstairs and lock the door behind him.

His features had never appeared so vividly in Ye Heng's mind before. Even the slightest expressions had been perfectly reconstructed.

Ye Heng realized that he could no longer quite remember what Tang Mingxi's personality had been like when they first met.

It seemed very different from how he was later on.

Over the past six months, Tang Mingxi's subtle, gradual changes had gone unnoticed even by himself.