That’s right, in Yin Tianyu’s mind, Ye Shaohua was still being completely played by their group.
He also realized that Ye Meng was different from Ye Shaohua.
And because of that, he was slowly starting to be drawn to her.
Seeing that so many people in Qingcheng’s black market actually knew about Ye Meng, a feeling of pride welled up inside him.
Just then, his phone buzzed in his pocket.
He glanced at it. It was his agent calling, so he hung up directly.
But his agent must have had something urgent, because even after being hung up on, he kept calling persistently.
Frowning, Yin Tianyu answered and said in a low voice, “What is it?”
“Tianyu, news about you and Ye Meng is blowing up all over the internet right now. The company has already made a statement. Do you want to come out and clarify?” His agent’s voice was a bit urgent. “And also, if Ms. Ye over there finds out…”
Most of Yin Tianyu’s fanbase right now consisted of “girlfriend fans,” so having news about Ye Meng surface right now wasn’t good.
Especially since there were actually photos of them holding hands.
His agent also knew that Yin Tianyu was technically still in a relationship with Ye Shaohua. If Ye Shaohua exposed that, and the fact that he was two-timing, he’d be finished.
“Don’t worry about Ye Shaohua,” Yin Tianyu said, with no intention of clarifying. He simply said, “Relax. She’s about to be so swamped with her own problems that she won’t have any time to deal with this.”
Hearing Yin Tianyu say that, his agent felt a little more at ease.
Yin Tianyu had always been someone with his own ideas.
“Alright then, just be careful on your end,” his agent reminded him. “Remember, don’t let the paparazzi catch any more scandals.”
With that, he hung up.
“What’s wrong?” Ye Meng was holding a piece of rough stone and leaned her head closer. “I thought I heard your agent’s voice?”
“It’s just a small thing. Let’s head over there,” Yin Tianyu said with a smile. Instead of mentioning the scandal news, he pointed in a direction. “That should be where the rough stones from Continent F are. For someone to get their hands on this kind of shipment, the person behind this trading venue must be no joke.”
Yin Tianyu knew this, and of course Ye Qing knew it too.
But he didn’t say anything. He just glanced at Yin Tianyu and silently agreed with the direction he pointed.
Ye Meng also turned her head, stopped worrying about what the agent’s call was about, and headed that way.
As she held the rough stone, an obvious confidence and arrogance shone in her eyes.
Meanwhile, Ye Shaohua had just arrived at the entrance of the trading venue.
Almost everyone who came here brought people with them—either a bunch of bodyguards and gambling masters, or they were second-generation heirs tagging along with their fathers or elders to see the world. Someone like her, coming alone, was a rare sight.
Yun Qinghe had been about to leave, planning to leave the place in Zhuo Ping’s care.
He never really liked crowds, and the people who came to visit him knew that. After paying their respects, they’d politely leave without bothering him further.
“Boss, isn’t that Miss Ye?” Zhuo Ping had been deeply impressed by Ye Shaohua since last time.
He spotted her in the crowd right away.
She was playing with a stone, looking quite amused.
Yun Qinghe’s footsteps, which had been ready to leave, suddenly stopped. He looked in the direction Zhuo Ping was pointing and, without any surprise, saw that intrigued figure.
“You came here all by yourself?” The entire underground black market trading venue was huge.
It could easily accommodate a huge pile of rough stones and tens of thousands of people without feeling crowded, and it even had two floors.
Ye Qing and his group had already wandered off somewhere. According to the information Yun Qinghe had received, Ye Qing had already written her off as a lost cause, so why would he care about her anymore?
It was easy to guess that she wasn’t here with Ye Qing and the others.
She had come alone.
A woman, coming alone to a chaotic place like this.
Even though Ye Shaohua was known as the “female tyrant” in the underworld, Yun Qinghe couldn’t help but frown.
After all, he knew exactly how many enemies Ye Qing had. He also knew that Ye Shaohua and the others had been repeatedly and badly screwed over by those very enemies.
If those people found out that Ye Shaohua was here, completely alone, and they couldn’t touch Ye Qing and his crew, they would definitely go after her instead.
“Yeah, just taking a look,” Ye Shaohua said, not surprised to see Yun Qinghe. She just smiled carefreely. “The company’s cash flow is a little tight right now, so I figured I’d come here, try my luck a couple of times, and turn around some funds.”
“You know how to gamble on rough stones?” Zhuo Ping looked at her with a hint of doubt.
It wasn’t that he didn’t believe her, but Yun Qinghe had only recently arrived in Qingcheng, and the whole gambling-on-rough-stones thing had only started here about a week ago.
A lot of people probably didn’t even know that Qingcheng had such a place for it yet.
Ye Shaohua just smiled and didn’t answer.
Here it comes, here it comes again…
Zhuo Ping couldn’t help but shiver. It was that look in her eyes—cold and piercing…
“Are all these rough stones yours?” Ye Shaohua was on the first floor, not going upstairs. She took a few glances at the piles of stones, then suddenly turned her head and asked Yun Qinghe.
Yun Qinghe didn’t hide it. “That’s right. Feel free to pick any stone on this floor. No charge for you.”
Those words made the venue manager take another look at Ye Shaohua.
He quietly wondered who exactly she was. Not only was Yun Qinghe personally accompanying her, but she could also pick any stone for free.
But thinking was one thing; the look on his face remained very respectful.
Ye Shaohua finished touring the entire first floor, then picked out a stone and said to Yun Qinghe, “I still have to pay for it… mm, this one.”
Yun Qinghe didn’t have any particular opinions about the rough stones. His business interests were vast, and he saw nothing wrong with the stone Ye Shaohua had chosen. However, when he heard her say she wanted to pay for it, he frowned slightly, a hint of displeasure in his expression.
“Are you sure?” The manager, who had been following the two of them and hoping to curry favor with Ye Shaohua, saw the stone she had chosen and couldn’t help but offer a reminder. “Miss Ye, this rough stone looks like it might be a dud. And it’s expensive too. Not worth it.”
He was about to say more when, from behind them, a sudden, loud voice rang out. “Ye Shaohua, what are you doing here? You’re picking out rough stones too?”
Ye Shaohua tilted her head slightly and saw Ye Meng looking utterly astonished, with the nation’s richest man standing right beside her.
Ye Meng had originally come over because of Yun Qinghe.
She had been there for a while and noticed that all the influential people here, including the nation’s richest man beside her, had to go see Yun Qinghe first. That told her his status was no small matter.
But what she didn’t expect was that after quietly making her way over, she would find Ye Shaohua here.
Seeing Yun Qinghe, who usually seemed indifferent to everyone, accompanying Ye Shaohua didn’t put her in a very good mood.
But as she walked closer and saw the rough stone in Ye Shaohua’s hand, a strange, pitying look appeared on her face. “That’s the stone you picked?”
