281: Chapter 281 If

Ye Cheng was pulled back from her thoughts by Jiang Ye's voice. Instead of answering his question, she gazed absently in the direction Wen Ruan had left and asked softly in return:

"Jiang Ye, a thought suddenly occurred to me."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Tell me... what if, back then at the school gate, you hadn't taken an interest in me, but in her instead... how would things be between you two now?"

"???"

The expression of pleasant surprise on Jiang Ye's face instantly froze, and his eyebrows shot up high.

Seriously, sister? We're in a great mood right now, and you suddenly throw out a life-threatening question comparable to "Who would you save first if your mom and I fell into the water?" What's the point of this?

Are you a professional mood killer or something?

Before he could figure out how to dodge this dangerous topic, Ye Cheng seemed to sink back into her own thoughts and continued speaking in a low voice:

"Wen Ruan... at the end of last year, someone introduced her to a boyfriend. I heard he's in his forties and is a small business owner. They were together for... maybe half a month? Then that man's wife brought a group of people to the school to find her. It was quite a nasty scene. I don't know how it was resolved in the end."

She paused, her tone carrying a hint of lament: "Not long after that incident, she found another one. Apparently, he's some nouveau riche in the construction business. But it's only been a month... and she's been dumped again. Now she's asking around everywhere, desperate to find the next one."

Ye Cheng looked up at Jiang Ye with a complicated gaze: "Jiang Ye, tell me, if back then... she had been a bit more proactive, then you two..."

Jiang Ye swallowed the retort that was on the tip of his tongue.

No wonder...

He remembered that two months ago, Wen Ruan would still blush because of his gaze after getting into the car; she didn't dare to speak too directly, and her features still held the innocence and a touch of pride of a schoolgirl.

In just two short months, after experiencing two such sordid relationships that both ended in a complete mess, it was no wonder her aura had changed so much. That original coolness and simplicity had been almost entirely ground away by reality.

If that was the case, then this Wen Ruan wasn't very suitable to be groomed as a "long-term employee."

After all, he wasn't exactly short on money now. There was no need to keep a girl around who had a complicated mind and had already grown accustomed to the "quick money" transaction model.

Hmm...

Compared to rescuing someone from the mire, he still preferred to personally tra—cough, groom! Grooming from scratch!

Jiang Ye quickly made a judgment in his mind, casually selected Task Reward B, and turned to look at Ye Cheng.

The first wife seemingly asked "What if you and Wen Ruan were together back then," but in reality, she was using Wen Ruan as a mirror to examine her own life trajectory.

She was wondering: if she hadn't met Jiang Ye by a twist of fate, would her destiny have been the same as Wen Ruan's, or even worse?

Even... at some fork in the road, would she have slid into a similar abyss as Jin Lulu and Sheng Jin?

The prompt for [Random Rare Item *1] flashed by. Jiang Ye didn't pay attention to what exactly he had drawn; instead, he reached out, opened his palm, and held it out in front of Ye Cheng:

"Cheng Cheng, if I said there are no 'what ifs' in loving me, and once missed it's gone, would you be sad?"

"...?"

Ye Cheng was slightly taken aback and looked at him.

"If 'what if' is used as an excuse, doesn't that prove the love is a bit weak?"

Jiang Ye's voice was deep and magnetic. Long practice had allowed him to perfectly master the "bubble voice" technique:

"If I said there are no 'what ifs' in loving me, if you truly love me then take a leap of faith, what else are you thinking about? What else are you afraid of? Quickly take my hand..."

"..."

Ye Cheng looked down expressionlessly, glanced at the paw held out in front of her, then lifted her eyelids to look at Jiang Ye's "I am very soulful" face. The corner of her mouth twitched slightly:

"Buddy, are you singing a song here? Out of material? Starting to force it?"

"Cheng Cheng, I want to tell you that there aren't that many 'what ifs' in this world."

Jiang Ye smiled, his expression still soulful and his gaze deepening: "Me, Jiang Ye, and you, Ye Cheng—we met, and that is a fact! We should cherish the present and look to the future, rather than drowning in those illusory hypotheses..."

Ye Cheng watched him struggle to organize his words to comfort her. The corner of her mouth lifted slightly for a moment, but then it turned into a bitter smile.

"Jiang Ye, I understand what you mean. I get the logic."

She waved her hand, interrupting him: "But... thinking about Wen Ruan's situation still leaves my heart a bit messy... I can't quite explain the feeling."

She took a deep breath, stood up, and picked up her bag: "Forget it, let's go back first. I want to go back to my room alone... stay quiet for a while and think it over properly."

"...?"

Jiang Ye swallowed the entire string of comforting rhetoric he had prepared and looked Ye Cheng up and down suspiciously.

Something's wrong!

Girls have delicate emotions and are prone to overthinking; that's normal.

Both Ye Cheng and Wen Ruan had been in his car and were from the same school, so some associations were understandable.

But...

With her psychological resilience and her "who cares" cool attitude, there was no way she would become this emo just because of a few words from Wen Ruan and some "what if" hypotheses, right?

"Comrade Xiao Ye..."

He rubbed his chin, his eyes narrowing slightly: "You wouldn't happen to be afraid of me dragging you home to 'use your feet,' so you're pretending to be in a bad mood in advance to shut me down with these words, are you?"

Ye Cheng blinked, her expression unchanging, her tone becoming even more dejected by two degrees:

"Jiang Ye, that you would think of me like that... I'm really... very sad. I was originally thinking that since I'm leaving soon... maybe today I could... um... satisfy that little wish of yours. But now, I'm not in the mood at all."

Jiang Ye: "..." (Staring at Ye Cheng's face, trying to find any trace of acting)

Ye Cheng: "..." (Her eyes dim, letting out a light sigh)

Jiang Ye: "..." (Staring—)

Ye Cheng: "..." (Struggling to maintain the dejected expression, lowering her head slightly, her shoulders slumping gently)

Their eyes met, and they remained in a stalemate for over ten seconds.

Jiang Ye suddenly nodded, showing a very understanding expression: "Fine, fine, I get it. You really can't force it when you're in a bad mood. I respect your feelings."

He stood up, grabbed his coat, and said considerately: "Seeing your current state, you indeed need some time alone. How about this: let's not leave together, so you don't get annoyed looking at me. Take a taxi home yourself and adjust your mood. I'll drive back."

Ye Cheng lifted her eyes, glanced at him, and sighed softly, her tone carrying a hint of exhaustion and helplessness:

"Alright... thank you for understanding. My heart really is in a mess; I want to be alone and quiet."

Saying that, she turned and walked toward the Starbucks entrance, her back looking incredibly desolate.

"Yeah, okay."

Jiang Ye nodded at her back, then as if suddenly remembering something, he muttered an addition:

"Sigh, what a pity. The year-end bonus is only valid until today. I don't know if Cheng Cheng can get herself sorted out... I even had the hundred thousand in cash and the phone ready. Such a pity..."

"..."

Ye Cheng, who had already taken two steps, had her ears twitch, and her footsteps halted.

In the next second, she suddenly spun around and walked back quickly to grab Jiang Ye's arm. The expression on her face instantly switched from the previous loneliness, sadness, and need for peace to a bright, sweet, and tender mode:

"Oh, Hubby~! Look at you, you're not considerate at all! My heart is all messy and I feel terrible~! Come on, let's go home! Give your Cheng Cheng a good chest rub to soothe her spirits!"

Jiang Ye: "..."

Damn!

It really was a freaking routine! You're treating me like Lin Wanxing, aren't you?

Worrying about this woman was truly unnecessary!

With Ye Cheng's psychological resilience and optimistic, open-minded nature, it would be a miracle if she could actually be trapped by those empty "what ifs" and someone else's misfortune!

He threw his arm around her waist and gave a huff of annoyance:

"A chest rub, is it? Fine! Let's go home! Hubby will give you a good rub. In case you've been poisoned, I'll even help you suck out the toxic blood while I'm at it."