The eighth piece of gossip: what juicy melon? Take eight bites

Still, Ye Mo had thought Ruan Xianyue didn't particularly like her. After all, ever since she had arrived at the Ye household, Ruan Xianyue had barely spoken to her, and her attitude had been neither warm nor cold. But now it seemed...

Perhaps she was simply socially anxious?

Chapter 8: The eighth piece of gossip: what juicy melon? Take eight bites

At dinner, Ye Mo finally met her newfound eldest brother.

Ye Lin looked steady, cultured, and refined. He wore an iron-gray suit and thin gold-rimmed glasses, and he was very tall. Just standing there, he brought one description to mind-"a scoundrel in gentleman's clothing."

"Sorry, something urgent came up at the company, so I'm late." Ye Lin began by apologizing to Ye Mo. Looking at her, he asked with a smile, "You must be Momo? You really do look like Mom."

Ye Mo smiled back and greeted him. "Big Brother!"

Ye Zhipeng asked him, "Didn't I tell you to come home early? And look at you, only getting back now. You've kept Momo waiting for ages."

Ye Lin apologized. "I really didn't mean to. I was planning to come back around noon, but something came up at the last minute, and I really couldn't get away..."

[A Ye Corporation employee died suddenly a couple of days ago. His family has been making a scene with banners outside the company these past two days...]

Thank goodness for 888. As soon as Ye Lin finished speaking, 888 immediately shared the news inside her head. [That family came again at noon today and splashed red paint outside the Ye Corporation building. That's why your eldest brother got home so late, host!]

[But...]

888's tone grew rather gossipy. [What your eldest brother doesn't know, host, is that the family was actually sent by Ye Corporation's rival. Their goal is to ruin Ye Corporation's reputation!]

[But this is only the business warfare happening out in the open. The real business warfare happens where nobody can see!]

888 sounded extremely solemn. Ye Mo instinctively perked up, expecting it to reveal some incredible example of real business warfare. Then she heard 888 say gravely:

[In fact, that rival has already bought off Ye Corporation's cleaner and had her pour boiling water into the money trees on every floor of Ye Corporation every day... so, starting last month, the money trees at Ye Corporation have been dying one after another!]

[Sigh, now Ye Corporation's employees are all wondering whether the company has run into something evil. They think the money trees are dying for some unscientific reason!]

Ye Mo: [...]

[That's what you call real business warfare?] she asked 888.

888: [That's right. Real business warfare is always plain, unadorned, and unexpected!]

Ye Mo: [...That certainly is pretty unexpected.]

888: [Host, you have no idea how down-to-earth business warfare is in your world. There's stealing people's official seals, and producers trading insults on Weibo...]

Ye Mo: That really is down-to-earth business warfare.

Meanwhile, Ye Zhipeng and his son were also discussing company matters.

Ye Lin didn't like bringing company business home, but since Ye Zhipeng asked, he explained everything one matter at a time.

"We'd already agreed on the compensation, and the family was perfectly satisfied. But now they've suddenly gone back on their word. Not only are they making a scene at the company's entrance, they've also gone online to find reporters to 'expose the truth'..." Ye Lin's tone was rather cold.

Ye Zhipeng commented, "Someone else is clearly behind this."

Ye Lin nodded, his voice slightly heavy. "I have a pretty good idea which family is behind it. Only the Fan family would be this disgusting..."

But this wasn't the biggest problem their company currently faced. After all, troublesome as it was, it could still be resolved

; what truly left them scratching their heads was another problem.

"You're saying the company's money trees have been withering and dying for no reason lately?" Ye Zhipeng's surprised voice reached her.

Having just discussed this with 888, Ye Mo caught the key words and instinctively pricked up her ears. Then she heard Ye Lin say:

"Yes. Starting last month, the money trees on every floor began dying one after another... security checked the surveillance footage but didn't find anything wrong. It's left everyone at the company on edge. They're all wondering whether the place is haunted, and the atmosphere at the company has become rather strange."

People in Huaxia talked about believing in science, but whenever they encountered something even slightly unscientific, they still inevitably began to mutter.

After hearing him out, however, Ye Zhipeng frowned.

Most businesspeople were superstitious, and Ye Zhipeng was naturally no exception. He had carefully selected the company's money trees himself, and had even left them at a temple bustling with worshippers to be "steeped" in its atmosphere. He treasured them dearly.

And now, these money trees had actually begun withering and dying for no reason.

Ye Mo thought, [My newfound dad should be able to figure out that someone's behind this, right...]

Then she saw Ye Zhipeng adopt a solemn expression and say earnestly, "...Money trees withering and dying is no good omen. Why don't we find a master to drive out the evil?"

Ye Mo: "..."

She carefully scrutinized Ye Zhipeng's expression and discovered that he was actually serious.

Falling silent again, Ye Mo thought, ...Is Ye Corporation really one of the world's top hundred companies? Won't it go under at this rate?

Just as Ye Mo was pondering this, she heard Ye Zhipeng say, "That Master Wu from before was quite good. Two million will get him to perform a ritual... let's entrust this matter to him too."

Ye Mo's ears abruptly pricked up again.

"Dad," she suddenly called, looking at Ye Zhipeng with a beaming smile and sparkling eyes.

Ye Zhipeng looked at her. "What is it, Momo?"

Ye Mo asked curiously, "You're hiring that Master Wu to solve the problem of the company's money trees dying for no reason, right? Then if someone else could solve it too, would you pay them two million as well?"

Ye Zhipeng raised an eyebrow at her and asked with interest, "Who is this someone else you're talking about?"

Looking bashful, Ye Mo silently pointed at herself.

"Momo, are you saying this someone else is you?" Ye Lin asked with a smile as he watched her gesture.

Ye Mo nodded, looking at Ye Zhipeng earnestly and expectantly. "Dad, didn't I tell you? I've studied fortune-telling under someone, so I can help with the money trees too!"

She said sheepishly, "It's just, if I solve the problem with the money trees, could you give me that two-million payment too?"

Ye Zhipeng looked at her. "Can you really solve this?"

Having already learned the whole chain of

events

from 888, Ye Mo naturally nodded without the slightest hesitation and said with absolute certainty, "I can! I can definitely solve this!"

Unaware of what had happened earlier that day, Ye Lin looked curiously at his visibly hesitant father, Ye Mo's words still echoing in his mind.

Fortune-telling? He mulled over those words. Does she mean what I think she means?

Meanwhile, Ye Zhipeng studied Ye Mo, seemingly hesitant. Ye Mo looked at him with eager anticipation, her expression utterly well-behaved, trying very hard to persuade him. "Dad, as the saying goes, don't let fertile water flow into someone else's fields. Why not leave this to me?"

Ye Zhipeng stared at Ye Mo for several seconds. Just as she thought he was going to refuse, he suddenly smiled. "Since you put it that way, Momo, I'll leave this to you! Dad has faith in you!"

At his words, Ye Mo's eyes lit up, and she declared resoundingly, "Dad, you can leave this to me without a worry!"

Seeing this, Ye Lin's expression turned somewhat thoughtful.

That night.

After dinner, Ye Mo saw Shen Yan off. As he was leaving, Shen Yan looked at her, wanting to speak but holding back. He was clearly somewhat uneasy about leaving her at the Ye household.

Ye Mo looked at him, feeling rather surprised, and asked, "Are you worried I'll feel uncomfortable in the Ye household, or that someone here will bully me?"

She smiled and said with a little pride, "Do you think I'm the sort of person who lets others bully her?"

Shen Yan: Absolutely not!

Ye Mo smiled. "Don't worry. Didn't you say before that I'm a weed? Weeds can take root and grow even in the harshest conditions. Besides, how could the Ye household's environment possibly count as harsh?"