Something fishy!

She was too obedient, doing whatever she was told.

Something fishy was going on, Chi Ye thought.

But he waited a long time and saw nothing else from Shen Zhiyi. She really was eating very earnestly, though all her movements seemed to be driven by muscle memory alone.

"Shen Zhiyi," Chi Ye called softly.

Shen Zhiyi looked up at him, her face expressionless and her eyes dull. Anyone would have felt their hair stand on end under a stare like that.

Chi Ye could not figure out what was wrong with her, but seeing her eat obediently without needing him to coax her did save him some effort.

"All right, you've finished eating. You can go back to sleep now."

He had barely finished speaking before Shen Zhiyi laid her pillow flat, lay down, and closed her eyes, sleeping peacefully. Chi Ye had just finished gathering the dishes when he turned around and saw that she was already asleep.

With a soft chuckle, he picked up the tray, left the room, and gently pulled the door shut.

Seeing him come downstairs, the butler hurried to ask,

"How was it? Did the young lady enjoy her meal? Is there anything we need to change about the food?"

Chi Ye handed him the tray and scoffed.

"You're certainly anxious. She didn't say anything, but you have plenty to say."

Only then did Chi Ye sit down at the dining table to eat his own lunch. The butler went into the kitchen, humming a tune.

The young lady had cleaned her plate. It looked as though nothing needed changing. Ah, the young master had finally been willing to bring a girl home.

That meant he could make lots of food in the future, and then this house would feel more lived-in. The young master would no longer be lonely.

Chi Ye, sitting nearby, had not thought nearly as far ahead as the butler.

It was just that, not long after leaving earlier that day, he had received the information Assistant Fang had investigated. What it said was very simple, but reading it felt rather upsetting.

It turned out that Shen Zhiyi was already homeless.

He could not help thinking of Shen Zhiyi jumping into the river yesterday. Too many mysteries surrounded her, leaving Chi Ye unable to see through her.

Why had everything in her home been covered up? Why did she stay home for ten days or half a month at a time without going out?

Why had her family never appeared? Why could she take three hundred thousand yuan, turn around, and end her life just like that?

There were far too many questions Chi Ye could not figure out. After thinking for a while, he decided to have Assistant Fang investigate.

He could not possibly ask Shen Zhiyi directly, because their relationship was rather awkward now. They could not really be called friends.

Yet they could not be called strangers either, having actually spent more than half a month together. Having Assistant Fang investigate directly would be more convenient, and it would keep him from fumbling around in the dark.

Besides, Shen Zhiyi would not tell him these things. Even getting one extra sentence out of her took effort.

Liu Muyan had only just finished telling Chu Yannan off, only to see him that evening at a dinner between their two families. The families were longtime friends, and Liu Muyan's mother and Chu Yannan's mother were best friends as well.

So back when the childhood betrothal had been arranged, those two had made the decision.

The dinner was nearly over, and the conversation at the table had already turned to trivial matters. Just then, Chu Yannan's mother, Ling Shuang, looked at the two children and could not help smiling as she said,

"Speaking of which, both children have grown up now. Look at them sitting together. What a perfect match."

At that, both families looked at Chu Yannan and Liu Muyan, only to see a gap of nearly two seats between them, neither looking at the other.

Ling Shuang smiled awkwardly, then said to Liu Muyan's mother, Lan Fei,

"Twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye. Yannan is a year older than Muyan. In another year, he'll be old enough to register his marriage.

"How about this? Should we find a time to hold an engagement banquet for the children first?" Ling Shuang had drunk some wine earlier, and she grew rather excited as she spoke.

Lan Fei smiled.

"That's true. Besides, everyone outside the family is waiting, and the two get along well. It would be good to settle things early."

Chu Yannan looked deeply displeased. Why had they never asked his opinion? He did not want an arrangement like this at all.

He had his own pursuits and someone he liked. He only saw Muyan as a younger sister. Why did they insist on making him marry her?

Liu Muyan was quite unaffected by these remarks. She was just a little curious and wanted to ask Chu Yannan where his older brother was, and why he had not joined the family dinner tonight.

Turning her head, she saw that awful look on Chu Yannan's face. She secretly rolled her eyes, then looked at Ling Shuang and asked,

"Godmother, why didn't Yannan's older brother come tonight?"

Ling Shuang replied, "Yanqing is away on business. He'll be abroad for about a month this time. I was going to call him, but with the time difference, I decided not to disturb him.

"But he's such a workaholic. He practically wants to spend his life with his work. We've tried telling him not to push himself so hard, but he won't listen at all."

Liu Muyan nodded, then smiled. "He's easing the burden for you. Otherwise, you and Godfather wouldn't be able to travel so leisurely all the time. I'm so envious."

Ling Shuang and Mr. Chu laughed heartily. Indeed, they were proud of their son. But Chu Yannan, sitting nearby, had not heard their conversation at all.

Seeing Liu Muyan smiling so happily, he assumed she was discussing the engagement arrangements. He sprang to his feet and said loudly,

"I don't want to get engaged!" Then he turned his gaze to Liu Muyan and said, his face full of anger,

"Liu Muyan, let me make this clear right now. I will never like you, so give up on that idea."

Silence fell over the table. The smile vanished from Liu Muyan's face, and her teeth ground together.

She and her godmother, Ling Shuang, had been talking about his older brother. What did that have to do with Chu Yannan? What a killjoy.

Ling Shuang stood up, grabbed Chu Yannan, and said angrily,

"Yannan, what are you doing? Why would you say something like that? Apologize to Mumu right now!"

Chu Yannan refused. He simply stared at Liu Muyan and said, stressing every word,

"No, I won't. I don't like Liu Muyan. I only see her as a younger sister. I agree to the engagement you're talking about. I will never marry Liu Muyan in this lifetime."

Lan Fei and Mr. Liu already looked extremely displeased. Had the other party not been the Chu Family, had it not been Lan Fei's close friend, Mr. Liu would never have agreed to this marriage in the first place.

She was his precious daughter. Letting that boy marry her was already giving him more than he deserved.

Yet now she was being humiliated by Chu Yannan like this!

Liu Muyan said nothing, because someone would naturally deal with this. All she needed to do was play the victim.

Sure enough, Chu Yannan did not get to act arrogant for long before Ling Shuang and Mr. Chu gave him a thorough dressing-down. In the end, his cards were frozen, and he was forced to apologize to Liu Muyan.

Pretending to be a little upset, Liu Muyan waved a hand and said,

"It's all right. I understand Yannan. Let's not discuss the engagement for now. He's in a bad mood, so we'd better not make him angry."

Her words directed their anger back toward Chu Yannan. They had just finished one round of scolding, and now the second followed immediately.

After everyone had left, Liu Muyan looked at Chu Yannan and said,

"Come to the greenhouse. We need to talk."

Chu Yannan's expression was utterly foul, but they really did need to have a proper talk about what had just happened.

So the two headed to the Chu Family's greenhouse. This dinner had been held at the Chu residence. They had only just entered the greenhouse in the courtyard when the villa's front door opened, and a black car stopped in the courtyard.

The car door opened, and Chu Yanqing stepped out. Catching sight of the two figures, he pushed up his glasses, which obscured his eyes so that they could not be clearly seen.