83: Speak softly

"Stop being so lovey-dovey! Let's go buy things quickly. Xiao Gu is still waiting for us to bring ingredients for dinner," Ye Sixue urged.

"Who is she?"

Li Xuening glanced at Ye Sixue beside her, a little surprised. Why was she here?

"She's my cousin? I only found out today," Ye Xi said with a smile, nodding.

"Cousin? Then you..."

Li Xuening was utterly shocked. She had thought Ye Xi came from an ordinary family, never expecting her to have such a prominent background, even being a perfect match for her.

"Never mind that for now. My mom is still waiting for us to buy ingredients for dinner, and my mom really likes you, you know."

Ye Xi gently patted Li Xuening's long leg. Today, Li Xuening was wearing black trousers, and her overall outfit was quite conservative.

"Baby, stop touching me. Tonight, when I'm naked, you can..." Li Xuening whispered into Ye Xi's ear.

"Can you not say such mushy things?" Ye Xi blushed and lowered her head.

"You said before that you liked me to be a bit conservative in public, so I dressed like this," Li Xuening said, gently flicking Ye Xi's nose with her finger.

The three of them went into the supermarket, bought some meat and vegetables, and then hurried home.

"Mom, we're back."

Ye Xi knocked on the door, and Ye Yaqin quickly opened it.

"Hello, Auntie."

Li Xuening was very excited. Ye Xi's mom was her mom, but she wondered if she would be easy to get along with.

"Hello, you're Xuening, right? My daughter often talks about you. She seems to like you very much."

Ye Yaqin looked at the girl in front of her with great joy.

The girl's beautiful hair was meticulously styled, her slender waist was almost too delicate to grasp, forming a perfect curve with her full chest and rounded hips, exuding the charm of a mature woman with every gesture.

"Auntie, I bought you a small gift. Please don't mind if it's not suitable," Li Xuening said, handing the gift to Ye Yaqin.

"You're here, that's enough, why bring a gift?" Ye Yaqin took the gift with one hand and held Li Xuening's hand with the other, pulling her into the courtyard.

The group entered the courtyard, found some stools, and sat together chatting. After exchanging pleasantries, Ye Sixue asked, "Oh, by the way, where's my brother?"

"He just said he was going for a walk in the village and would be back soon."

Seeing Ye Sixue look a bit anxious, Ye Yaqin added, "The village isn't big, and he's a grown man out there, so there won't be any problems."

...

Meanwhile, Ye Sirui walked to a secluded, desolate area and answered his phone.

"Grandpa, we've already met Xiao Gu. She's really nice, gives off a vibe of getting younger with age, and she's super beautiful."

Grandpa Ye on the other end of the phone was also quite excited, snorting, "That's nonsense. Don't you know how many suitors your Xiao Gu had back then?"

"I just took a few photos with Xiao Gu. You haven't seen her in so many years, do you want to see them?" Ye Sirui chuckled.

"Isn't that obvious? Send them over quickly. Your dad is here, and he really wants to see them," the voice on the other end became more anxious.

"Oh, and one more thing. All the information you provided about Ye Xi before was fake. She's a girl, okay? The things you gave me were completely off-base," Ye Sirui's voice carried a hint of complaint.

"That's impossible. Our Ye family's intelligence agency has hardly ever made a mistake," Grandpa Ye frowned slightly on the phone.

"What should we do about this situation now? Grandpa, can you really bear to let her and her daughter stay in this poor, remote place forever?"

Ye Sirui snorted inwardly. Grandpa, that old tsundere, had long wanted them to come back, but he didn't want to lose face.

However, seeing the resolute attitude of Ye Xi and her mother before, it was difficult for either side to persuade them, making the matter somewhat tricky.

"It's too early to talk about that. How much do you know about that girl? How capable is she? Do you think she can take on some family business?" Grandpa Ye quickly changed the subject.

"Her? Of course, her abilities are trustworthy. Let me tell you, last time my sister and I came home for the welcome banquet..."

For the next few minutes, Ye Sirui embellished the events of last time and recounted them to Grandpa Ye.

"Is she really as amazing as you say? I think you're pulling my leg," Grandpa Ye said, listening to Ye Sirui's boasting, looking unconvinced.

"Grandpa, how could I pull your leg? There were a lot of people there at the time, you can just have someone investigate, and they'll find out everything clearly. In short, my cousin is a genius, you don't know..." Ye Sirui continued to praise her enthusiastically.

"You say that, and I do want to meet her now," the other end of the phone was silent for a moment.

"Grandpa, I remember that Tianhui Department Store in our family has suffered huge losses in recent years. You were planning to cut it off, but I actually think this matter isn't that simple. How about letting my cousin try to take on this business?"

When Tianhui Department Store was mentioned, a cold glint flashed in Ye Sirui's eyes. Under normal circumstances, a large department store like Tianhui Department Store would have an annual net profit of two billion, but in recent years, it hadn't been profitable and had even incurred losses.

At first, he thought it was due to intense pressure from competitors, but after his careful investigation, it turned out that there were internal corruption issues among the shareholders.

He was now thoroughly investigating the matter, constantly looking for evidence of bribery and corruption among the shareholders, but these old foxes were also extremely cunning, hiding their tracks in various ways, even resorting to murder to silence witnesses. This made it impossible to obtain evidence for a while.

"Selling it off is cutting your losses in time. If you let her take over, the losses might be even greater. Billions are not a small sum, and you said she hasn't even graduated yet. How could she be competent enough?"

Grandpa Ye felt that his grandson was being unreasonable.

"Grandpa, you can't say that. You weren't optimistic about my business ventures before, and look at me now? Even a genius without experience can achieve astonishing success."

"Also, according to what I understand, she previously worked as a secretary for a subsidiary of the Li Group and also assisted in handling major projects. She might not be a novice, and besides, I'll be assisting her this time, so it might not fail."

According to Ye Sirui's plan, he would resolve all the difficulties and let Ye Xi take the credit. If the matter was perfectly resolved and she achieved this success, Ye Xi might be able to return to the Ye family.

More importantly, he could allocate some shares to Ye Xi and her mother. Even a small portion of shares could transform the two of them from sparrows into phoenixes, completely escaping their humble origins.

In his opinion, doing all this was also compensation from the Ye family for their mother and daughter being away for so many years.

"Alright, if you think it's feasible, then go ahead and do it. I am indeed getting old, and the prosperity of the family depends on you younger generations," Grandpa Ye's voice on the phone was solemn.

"Thank you, Grandpa. We'll try our best not to disappoint you." Ye Sirui was overjoyed. Grandpa didn't object, which meant this matter really had potential.

"After this matter is done, if they want to come home, let them come home for a visit," Grandpa Ye hesitated for a long time before finally speaking.

...

By the time Ye Sirui returned to Ye Xi's house, the others were already busy in the kitchen.

"I'll wash the vegetables." Ye Yaqin looked at the busy figures in the kitchen, her face full of happiness. After all, her niece and daughter-in-law were both wonderful.

"Xiao Gu, I've already washed the vegetables," Ye Sixue said, scratching her head with an embarrassed smile.

Ye Yaqin looked for something new to do and said with a smile, "Then I'll chop the vegetables."

"Auntie, I just finished chopping the vegetables, and the meat too. You can just watch from the side and tell us if we're doing anything wrong? Just direct us," Li Xuening said with a lowered gaze and a smile.

"Look at her, she can do everything. As a girl, you should learn more in the future, understand? Don't always let others take care of you," Ye Yaqin said, stroking Ye Xi's hand.

Ye Xi looked at the two busy people, feeling a bit speechless. "You two are making me look useless."

"Auntie, Xiao Xi is usually very diligent and good at managing the household, and her cooking is super delicious. But let us cook this meal today," Li Xuening said, smiling at the two of them.

Just as the meal was ready, Ye Sirui also rushed home. Seeing Li Xuening, his former business partner, wearing an apron and acting as a housewife, he was slightly surprised.

"Hello, President Li."

"Hello, President Ye."

As Li Xuening was still busy, the two didn't shake hands, simply nodding a brief greeting.

Ye Xi couldn't help but complain, "At home, don't use so many business titles. It sounds too distant. We might all be relatives in the future."

"Hmm, I'll pay attention next time. I just couldn't change the habit of addressing you right away," the two said, smiling and nodding.

Since the sun was warm and not scorching today, everyone worked together to move the living room table to the courtyard, then sat around it to enjoy the delicious food.

"Xiao Gu, Ye Xi cousin, try this dish. How is it? I made it," Ye Sixue happily served food to everyone.

Seeing Ye Sixue about to serve him, Ye Sirui shook his head and smiled, "Sister, I'm tired of these dishes. You only know how to make these few. Can't you try something new?"

Ye Sixue kicked Ye Sirui, pouting and grumbling in dissatisfaction, "Can you not undermine me? You're tired of it, but don't you still eat it every time I make it?"

Ye Yaqin smiled and chimed in, "Having a few signature dishes is enough. Society is so convenient now; you don't need to learn how to cook many dishes to be a chef."

"Exactly, exactly," Ye Sixue quickly nodded.

Ye Xi put a chopstick full of fish-flavored shredded pork into her mouth, savoring it, and praised, "Cousin still has a talent for cooking. It's really quite good."

Li Xuening took a bite, also nodded, and smiled at Ye Sixue, "It's really good. If anyone marries you in the future, they'll truly have found a treasure."

"Stop praising me, you're making me shy," Ye Sixue said coquettishly, her pretty face flushed.

Witnessing this scene, Ye Sirui almost burst out laughing. He had never expected that his usually quiet sister could have such a lively and adorable side.

This made him realize that in a business environment, aloofness always had to suppress cuteness. Now, she was probably just returning to her true nature.

"Everyone, try my signature dish."

Before she finished speaking, Li Xuening was already serving food into everyone else's plates.

"Delicious!" Everyone nodded in agreement.

Time flew by, and in the evening, Ye Sirui and Ye Sixue left early due to urgent matters, leaving only Ye Xi and the two others chatting in the courtyard.

"So that's how you two met? That's quite a fate," Ye Yaqin said, cupping her face and looking at the two beautiful young women.

"Yes, it's quite a fate."

Ye Xi chuckled. The love story she shared with her mother was, of course, carefully fabricated beforehand. After all, she couldn't very well tell her mother that Li Xuening brought people to beat her up.

"There are just enough rooms in the house. Three rooms for the three of us, perfect!"

Ye Yaqin clapped her hands enthusiastically, feeling more and more youthful under the influence of Ye Xi and the other girl.

"Can I call you Mom?" Li Xuening lowered her head, feeling shy.

Ye Yaqin thought about the relationship between the two children, feeling a little excited inside, then nodded.

"Mom, do you know? You're truly so young. I don't know how you maintain yourself. If you and Xiao Xi walk together, people might not even think you're mother and daughter," Li Xuening's eyes flashed with curiosity, but more so with joy.

"I don't really do anything special for maintenance, just try to be happy usually."

Ye Yaqin was actually quite shocked. The cosmetics her daughter gave her had an instant effect with just a tiny bit. If this product were introduced to the market, it would be unimaginable.

Late at night.

Ye Xi lay alone in bed, looking at her phone. The two were chatting.

Ye Xi: [I'll control myself for one night. My house isn't soundproof. When we get back, I'll play with you however you want, okay?]

Li Xuening: [No! I'm craving your body right now, super, super much. When Mom is completely asleep in the middle of the night, I'll come find you. Don't lock your door from the inside.]

Ye Xi: [I won't let you in.]

After typing, Ye Xi walked to the door and locked it. If her mother heard those unbearable sounds, she would surely die of shame.

After an unknown amount of time, when Ye Xi slowly opened her eyes, all she saw was endless darkness.

Suddenly, she felt a soft body in her arms. She lightly sniffed the other person's unique scent and quickly realized who it was.

"Baby, you're awake. How does it feel?" Li Xuening opened her phone under the covers. In the glow of the phone screen, Ye Xi saw her extremely beautiful face.

Ye Xi whispered, "How did you get in? I locked the door."

Li Xuening said with a mischievous smile, "I knew you wouldn't let me in, so I prepared a key in advance."

Ye Xi saw that she could no longer stop Li Xuening, and she herself felt a bit of longing, so she whispered, "Let's be quiet. Don't be too excessive."

Li Xuening kissed her cheek and said dotingly, "You should be the one to be quiet. You make more noise than I do. As long as your voice isn't heard, mine won't be heard either."

Ye Xi was about to retort, but after thinking carefully about past situations, it seemed her voice was always louder.

"Baby, I'm going to love you fiercely. You can't escape tonight."

Before she finished speaking, Li Xuening's slender, jade-like leg was already lightly pressed against Ye Xi, and then her graceful body also leaned down.

Under the covers, their two bodies were pressed tightly together.