HuMing's words left Ye Feng stunned.
He hadn't expected his daughter to share such a personal matter with this young man.
Ye Feng knew that what he had done in the past had wronged his daughter, but after all, this was a family issue. How could she discuss it with an outsider?
"Dad, can we go now? It's so hot outside, I want to go home."
A little boy came up the stairs, looking at Ye Feng impatiently, clearly not wanting to stay any longer.
Ye Feng frowned and scolded him.
"Shut up! You haven't even seen your sister. Why are you in such a hurry to leave?"
"I don't want to see her! If she comes back, she'll take all my stuff! I'm not giving her anything!"
The boy voiced his displeasure with the idea of Ye QiuXue returning.
He didn't care about Ye QiuXue's feelings and said it without hesitation.
HuMing, standing at the door, glanced at the boy and said,
"See? Some family conflicts are inevitable. You can't even control your own son. I'm afraid he'll be a headache for Ye QiuXue."
"I'm telling you again, this is our family matter!"
Ye Feng was growing increasingly irritated with the young man before him, but after their last confrontation, he realized he wasn't a match for HuMing.
He could only stand at the door, unable to see his daughter.
"Then you can just wait here."
With that, HuMing slammed the door shut, showing no concern for the man's feelings.
Seeing this, Ye Feng was left fuming but powerless.
He glared at his son, his eyes filled with frustration and disappointment.
"You're really stupid! The person inside is your sister. Even though she wasn't born by your mother, she's still my daughter, and you two are siblings! Getting along with your sister could be beneficial to you!"
"I don't care! Mom said she'll steal you from me!"
"Your mother's talking nonsense!"
HuMing ignored the sounds from outside, crossing his arms and closing his eyes to rest.
After some time, Ye QiuXue's bedroom door finally opened.
She stepped out, sporting a pair of twin braids, completely different from her usual high ponytail style. The look was casual yet relaxed.
HuMing was visibly stunned by her new appearance.
In his impression, Ye QiuXue had always worn a single high ponytail. Seeing her with a different hairstyle genuinely surprised him.
"W-why are you staring at me like that?"
Ye QiuXue noticed HuMing's gaze and nervously stammered her question.
"Of course, I'm staring because you look nice."
"You... you're sick!"
"You have any medicine?"
Ye QiuXue hadn't expected HuMing to compliment her so directly. Wasn't this just an outright way of saying she looked pretty?
She bit her lip, unsure how to manage her expression for a moment.
But HuMing stood up, pointing toward the door, and said, "Your dad's waiting for you outside."
Hearing this, Ye QiuXue's expression darkened. She looked at the closed door, knowing that behind it stood the person she least wanted to see.
Seeing her reaction, HuMing waved dismissively and continued, "If it's inconvenient for you, I can go myself. Honestly, staying home to rest might be good for you. With everything going on at school, and now the orphanage, it's exhausting."
"I'll go. Why wouldn't I go? It's not like I'm afraid of him. Besides, where I choose to go is my business. Why should I hide from him?"
Ye QiuXue's tone turned colder, and her gaze lost its earlier softness.
Seeing her determination, HuMing didn't try to stop her again. In his view, as long as Ye QiuXue wanted to go, that was enough.
Ye QiuXue opened the door, and Ye Feng and his son stood in front.
The little boy was engrossed in his phone, which emitted canned laughter, while Ye Feng sat beside him, lost in thought.
However, when he heard the door open, Ye Feng quickly snapped back to reality.
"QiuXue, finally, I get to see you. Come, this is your younger brother, Ye Hao."
Ye Hao remained seated, ignoring Ye Feng's words, while Ye QiuXue looked on coldly. For some reason, she found the scene before her bitterly ironic.
Seeing that Ye Hao was still focused on his phone, Ye Feng angrily snatched it from his hands. Ye Hao stood up, visibly annoyed, frowning as he stared at Ye QiuXue, his expression entirely unfriendly.
"Ye Hao, come, call 'sister'," Ye Feng urged, nudging his son's arm. But Ye Hao had no intention of obliging.
Ye QiuXue wasn't interested in playing along with this family drama.
"If you're done with the performance, Mr. Ye, then please leave. You're not welcome here. And for the record, I'm an only child. Don't try to force any familial ties."
With that, Ye QiuXue pulled HuMing out of the room. This guy had been hiding behind her the whole time, probably waiting to see how she would handle the situation.
But Ye QiuXue grabbed his wrist, shut her door, and headed downstairs without a backward glance.
Watching this unfold, Ye Feng felt like he was suffocating.
His daughter had just held another man's hand right before him!
"Dad, you see? She doesn't care about your goodwill. Just leave her alone."
"Shut up! What did I tell you before we came? If you can make peace with your sister, I'll give you whatever you want! But look at your attitude---you're only making things worse for me!"
"I... I..."
Ye Hao was struck speechless by Ye Feng's scolding, his lips quivering as he sulked and followed his father down the stairs.
At that same moment, HuMing found it rather novel to be pulled along by Ye QiuXue like this. The softness of her delicate, fair skin felt almost like cotton beneath his touch. However, as her pace quickened, HuMing nearly struggled to keep up.
"President, hold on a second!" HuMing, taking the initiative, grasped Ye QiuXue's wrist in return. She turned around, her face expressionless.
"I can tell you're angry about his appearance. You say you don't care, but your actions are giving you away."
"I hate him!" her fists clenched, Ye QiuXue's fury plainly etched across her face.
"Why did he bring his son here? Is he trying to show me how happy they've been all these years?"
"What right does he have to treat me like this?"
HuMing noticed hurried footsteps approaching from behind, and Ye QiuXue glared fiercely at the two people following them, her face full of hatred.
Ye Feng felt a wave of panic as his daughter stared him down like that, but he still believed, as her father, it was his duty to offer some advice.
"QiuXue, I know you don't want to see me, but I still need to say this---don't bring boys home so casually. It's not good for your reputation."
"Oh? Is that so?"
Ye QiuXue responded coldly as she wrapped her arm around HuMing's, pressing their arms closely together.
"Stop this nonsense! He's just an outsider!" Ye Feng frowned, instinctively stepping forward to pull them apart.
But before he could, something shocking happened, leaving everyone stunned.
Ye QiuXue stood on her toes and planted a quick, delicate kiss on HuMing's cheek.