Congratulations on Breaking Free, Second Brother

Ye Chen felt more than hurt now. He was a little angry, too.

Only a little, because the hurt still outweighed everything else.

He felt as though Xia Zhe took him for a fool. Yes, Xia Zhe looked like he'd been forced into something—Ye Chen could even make out the hickeys on his neck.

But Ye Chen knew exactly how those hickeys had gotten there. So did Xia Zhe.

Looking at the marks on his lover's body, Ye Chen found the whole thing bitterly ironic.

Ye Chen said nothing. He simply pulled out the photos he had taken today.

Xia Zhe's expression changed. "Ye Chen, you followed me? So you never trusted me after all."

"I told you I was forced."

"Right. Forced to smile that happily. That's a new one."

Xia Zhe knew he couldn't admit the truth now. "What was I supposed to do? I couldn't fight him off."

"If you don't believe me or care that I'm hurt, then there's no point in us being together."

"Fine. That suits me. Let's break up."

Xia Zhe had been the one to bring up breaking up, but when Ye Chen agreed, he froze.

"What did you say?" Xia Zhe asked in disbelief.

"We're breaking up. That's it."

"No, Brother Ye, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it." Xia Zhe panicked, tears streaming down his face.

"Please, Brother Ye, I don't want to break up with you. Do you... do you find me disgusting now?"

"If you do, I can just watch you from afar. I really do like you."

The more Xia Zhe said, the worse Ye Chen felt. Those words used to make him happy. Now they sounded unbearably hollow.

He really had thrown his heart away on someone who didn't deserve it.

Ye Chen was trying to spare Xia Zhe some dignity, but Ye Qing had no such intention. He was sick of listening from inside, and the two of them were still talking.

He opened the door and stepped out. "My second brother already said he's breaking up with you. Didn't you hear him?"

"That makes you his ex now."

"Haven't you heard the saying? A good ex might as well be dead."

Ye Qing's barrage left Xia Zhe stunned. When he came to his senses, he whipped around to face Ye Chen. "Ye Chen, you brought them here to laugh at me?"

"If anyone's the joke here, it's me," Ye Chen said.

Ye Qing went a step further and played the recording from today.

[I can't believe my second brother. Why is he dragging out a breakup?]

Halfway through, Ye Qing saw how pale Xia Zhe had gone and stopped the recording. "I don't think you want to hear the rest."

The other three members of the Ye Family hadn't heard the recording at noon. Now that they had, they couldn't help looking at Ye Chen's head.

Ouch. That was pretty rough.

Xia Zhe had nothing left to say. He truly hadn't expected Ye Chen to go this far.

"You... how could you do this to me?" He had never imagined Ye Chen would treat him this way.

Ye Qing stepped in front of Ye Chen. "Stop. Don't even think about saying anything else to my second brother."

"Can't you just leave without making a scene?"

"Now, please pack your things and get the—"

[See how polite I am? I said please, and I didn't even finish that last word.]

The Ye Family: Wow. So polite. The word needs a whole new definition.

Ye Mother had been ready to step in. She had her own ways of dealing with someone as manipulative as Xia Zhe.

But Ye Qing had fired off words like a machine gun.

Well, there was nothing left for her to do.

With the whole Ye Family there, Xia Zhe didn't dare stay. He could deceive Ye Chen, and he had even managed to pull a few tricks when he visited the Ye Family.

But that had only worked while Ye Chen still liked him and was willing to protect him.

Without that, he was nothing to the Ye Family.

He regretted going home with Ye Chen when Ye Chen had asked. At the time, he had wanted to make more money.

If he had refused, maybe the two of them would still be together now.

But regret couldn't change anything. Beneath it, Xia Zhe felt a sadness he couldn't explain.

He didn't know why he was sad. Was it because he had lost someone who would earn money for him?

He remembered what Ye Qing had said before he left. "I don't get it. My second brother treated you so well. Why didn't you like him?"

"Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying I wanted you two together." I genuinely don't understand.

Ye Qing also wanted to plant a seed in Xia Zhe's mind. If the person Xia Zhe liked turned out to be worse than Ye Chen, who knew what Xia Zhe might do?

He held a grudge. Xia Zhe had treated his second brother terribly.

If his second brother hadn't wanted to let it go, did Xia Zhe really think he could have walked away so easily?

His second brother was still too softhearted.

Once Ye Chen's situation was settled, the rest of the Ye Family went home, leaving him alone with his grief.

Before leaving, Ye Qing said to Ye Chen with heartfelt sincerity, "Second Brother, congratulations on breaking free!"

Ye Chen felt even worse.

As for the rest of the Ye Family, they all agreed: they could hardly bear to watch.