This time, Ye Shaohua didn’t react much, but Shu Man was completely stunned.
Her words trailed off, and she stood there in a daze for a long time, unable to process what had just happened.
She knew Ye Shaohua was an orphan, with no family left except for a grandfather who had passed away. She also knew that Ye Shaohua envied her for having parents and a brother. So, when Ye Shaoling showed up, Shu Man had genuinely been happy for Ye Shaohua.
But now, she was confused. Was this really Ye Shaohua’s biological brother? Was this how brothers acted?
If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn’t have believed it!
“I’m not upset, so why are you?” Ye Shaohua patted Shu Man’s shoulder, then calmly turned to Ye Shaoling. “The head of the Ye family already told me this. You don’t need to repeat it. Now, please leave.”
For some reason, though her tone was as calm as ever, Shu Man could sense a hint of disappointment in Ye Shaohua’s voice.
Shu Man didn’t follow Ye Shaohua back to the lab. Instead, after Ye Shaohua was out of sight, she clenched her fists and, without warning, punched Ye Shaoling square in the face.
The Shu family had declined because their energy had grown too powerful to control. Now that Shu Man could control 30% of her energy, her strength was beyond what most people could handle. Even Ye Shaoling, who had always looked down on Ye Shaohua, hadn’t expected her to have such a powerful friend.
Shu Man flexed her fist and sneered, “Ye Shaoling, you’re going to regret everything you’ve done today!”
Ye Shaoling could only swallow his anger. He glanced warily in Shu Man’s direction before leaving cautiously.
Shu Man caught up with Ye Shaohua and tried to act casual. “You’ve been working in the lab for so long. How about coming to my place for dinner later?”
Ye Shaohua, playing with her phone in one hand, pushed Shu Man’s arm off her shoulder with the other. “I’m fine. I’ve long since lost faith in the concept of brothers.”
Shu Man was relieved to see that Ye Shaohua didn’t seem too upset, but as she watched Ye Shaohua walk back to the lab, she couldn’t help but feel that her words were a bit strange. What did she mean by “lost faith in the concept of brothers”?
Wasn’t this the first time Ye Shaohua had met her brother?
Shu Man scratched her head, thinking she might be overanalyzing things. Then she remembered her newfound ability to control her energy.
“Mom, Dad, I have some great news to tell you,” Shu Man excitedly dialed her parents’ number. “It’s about Shaohua… No, no, Shaohua’s fine, don’t worry about her. What I mean is, I can… No, she’s really okay! I didn’t abandon her, you’ve got it all wrong…”
The call lasted half an hour, and by the end of it, Shu Man was starting to wonder if she was actually adopted.
—
Three days passed quickly, and today was the day Ye Shaohua had agreed to face Meng Yuchen.
Qiu Zifan had grown accustomed to Ye Shaohua’s constant pestering over the past two months—daily texts that drove him up the wall. Eventually, he couldn’t take it anymore and blocked her number.
He had expected her to continue bothering him even after they signed the divorce agreement, but to his surprise, she had been completely silent these past few days. He checked his blocked messages, but there was nothing.
For some reason, this made him feel uneasy. As a man, he was well aware of Ye Shaohua’s timid affection for him.
But that kind of affection had always annoyed and disgusted him.
“We can’t delay this any longer. The Meng family has made it clear that they want the engagement to proceed only after the divorce is finalized. Even though you’ve signed the agreement, there’s still one last step to complete. Even if Ye Shaohua refuses, you need to be firm and make her come today,” Old Master Qiu said, looking at Qiu Zifan. “Otherwise, if she fails today and gets expelled from the Z Alliance, how are you going to finalize the divorce then?”
Qiu Zifan agreed. To avoid any complications, he decided to take the initiative and contact Ye Shaohua for the first time in a long while.
In the past, whenever he called, Ye Shaohua would answer immediately.
But today, the phone rang until it automatically disconnected, and Ye Shaohua didn’t pick up.
This was the first time Qiu Zifan had been ignored, and he was caught off guard.
“Brother, do you think that ugly woman is trying to avoid the divorce? Maybe she knows this is the final step and is deliberately ignoring your calls?” Qiu Ziting, his sister, frowned as she spoke.
That wasn’t impossible. Qiu Zifan’s brows furrowed at the thought.
Annoyed, he called several more times. Finally, after multiple attempts, the call went through.
“Ye Shaohua, come to the city center. I’ll be waiting for you here,” Qiu Zifan said bluntly. “There’s one last step to finalize the divorce.”
Afraid that Ye Shaohua might refuse, he hung up immediately after speaking.
Qiu Zifan arrived early, half-expecting Ye Shaohua not to show up. To his surprise, she arrived quickly.
She walked in without even glancing at him, and the two of them efficiently completed the paperwork.
For some reason, Qiu Zifan felt that the staff were unusually quick. All the documents were prepared in advance, and the entire process, from signing to receiving the divorce certificate, took no more than three minutes.
Even the divorce certificate was handed to them immediately.
If Qiu Zifan didn’t know better, he would have thought someone had arranged this in advance.
As soon as Ye Shaohua stepped out of the building, a black car screeched to a halt beside her.
A handsome figure rolled down the window and, with gentlemanly grace, opened the passenger door for her.
But before getting in, he turned slightly, his imposing face looking directly at Qiu Zifan. “I heard you’re getting engaged to Meng Yuchen? Congratulations, truly.”
With that, he got into the car, closed the door, and drove off with a look of satisfaction.
Qiu Zifan stood there, dumbfounded. Was that… Yun Mo?
How did Ye Shaohua know him? And why did he look so pleased?
Qiu Zifan looked down at the divorce certificate in his hand, feeling a strange mix of emotions.
But then he remembered Ye Shaohua’s plain appearance, her face always hidden behind long bangs as if she were ashamed to show it.
During their marriage, he had been too embarrassed to introduce her to his friends, afraid of their mocking looks.
Online, people even speculated that she had a scar hidden beneath her bangs. Why else would she always hide her face?
