Chapter 71

Chapter 71

A crisp "slap" echoed through the slightly quiet car interior.

Chu Hengyi, who was driving, looked bewilderedly at the rearview mirror—even though he was caught off guard by this "heavy blow," he still remembered Ye Mingzhao's reminder—watch the road carefully.

After slapping him, Ye Mingzhao finally felt a sense of relief.

He leaned back comfortably in the passenger seat: "Even if it's a 'wild man,' that 'wild man' was brought by you. I'm just the innocent bystander caught in the crossfire."

"So, Mr. Fish, about that slap you just gave me..." Chu Hengyi curiously began.

Ye Mingzhao pretended to tilt his head, putting on an obedient expression as if listening intently.

Then Chu Hengyi continued, "...Did your hand hurt?"

Ye Mingzhao: "..."

The car fell silent for a moment. Ye Mingzhao looked at Chu Hengyi with a loving expression: "Don't you have anything else you want to ask?"

"I do," Chu Hengyi quickly replied, "but I'm afraid you'll get angry and slap me a few more times."

Ye Mingzhao: "........"

Chu Hengyi seemed to have unlocked some hidden potential. Without waiting for Ye Mingzhao to respond, he continued on his own: "I'm not afraid of you hitting me. I'm afraid my head is too hard and might hurt your hand."

Ye Mingzhao: ".............."

Ye Mingzhao sneered: "I don't think your head is hard; it's just stubborn."

Chu *Stubborn* Hengyi nodded modestly: "That's why I'm afraid you'll get angry."

Chu *Stubborn* Hengyi, fearing Ye Mingzhao might not understand, paused and further explained: "My head is tough, but your palm is soft."

Chu Hengyi wasn't lying. He genuinely felt the soft touch of Ye Mingzhao's palm when it delivered a loud but gentle slap to the back of his head.

Even the palm was warm.

This time, Ye Mingzhao was truly speechless.

He reclined the seat, covered his face with a tissue, and closed his eyes to rest.

Chu Hengyi knew that Ye Mingzhao had stayed late at the celebration party the night before, returned to the hotel, and chatted with him for over an hour. He hadn't slept much before having to get up early to catch a flight. Seeing that Ye Mingzhao didn't want to talk, Chu Hengyi quietly turned up the car's temperature and drove more smoothly.

The car drove back to the Ye family in silence.

As soon as Ye Mingzhao and Chu Hengyi entered the house, they were stunned by a bustling crowd of guests in the living room.

"I've always said Zhaozhao was a bright kid from the start. He learns everything quickly and never gives his parents any trouble. Who would have thought he'd be so successful after switching to acting? His first leading role earned him the Best Supporting Actor award. Truly, a genius shines no matter where they go. Five of Characters—"

"I win!" Mrs. Ye, sitting elegantly at the mahjong table, pushed her tiles forward with grandeur: "A closed hand of all one suit."

"Ah, how come you're winning again? It must be the joy of your family's good news. With Zhaozhao winning the award, your luck is on fire too." Before the words finished, the mahjong players accompanying Mrs. Ye noticed Ye Mingzhao and Chu Hengyi standing at the door.

"Ah, our star Best Supporting Actor is back~ Let's see what the *Golden Phoenix Award* for Best Supporting Actor looks like!"

Hearing this, Mrs. Ye, who had her back to the door, also turned around: "You're finally back. Why so late?"

At these words, Chu Hengyi blinked, feeling guilty.

Ye Mingzhao smiled and said, "There was a traffic jam on the way."

After saying that, prompted by a group of aunts and older female relatives, he took out the Golden Phoenix Award for Best Supporting Actor from his suitcase.

An aunt in a black cheongsam eagerly took it. She placed the trophy on the mahjong table, immediately attracting everyone to gather around and admire it.

Ye Mingzhao looked around at the people in the house and whispered to his second brother, Ye Mingxi, "Why are there so many people at home?"

Ye Mingxi grinned and said, "It's all because you snagged the Best Supporting Actor award. Mom said we should celebrate properly."

So she invited her group of close friends over to play mahjong.

As he said this, Ye Mingxi sneakily added, "Dad also invited a few uncles to play golf."

As for the eldest brother, Ye Mingchen, he also planned to meet up with some classmates and friends. Unfortunately, Dad was playing golf, Mom was playing mahjong, and there was a pile of work at the company. So, he, as the acting CEO, had to work overtime.

Ye Mingzhao was speechless: "..."

Ye Mingzhao turned to look at Chu Hengyi.

Chu Hengyi remained unfazed: "Why are you looking at me? It's not like I made Ye Mingchen work overtime."

Hearing this, Ye Mingxi couldn't help but defend his eldest brother: "But you dumped all your work on him."

"Didn't you?" Chu Hengyi retorted confidently. "Besides, I'm not even an employee of the Ye family business. Returning responsibilities to their rightful owner can't be called 'dumping,' can it?"

Ye Mingxi: "..."

The three brothers stood at the door, bantering back and forth, while in the living room, Mrs. Ye's group of friends had finished admiring the gold-plated trophy. They griped about the Golden Phoenix Awards being stingy, not even providing a gold trophy, while congratulating Ye Mingzhao on his successful debut.

"To win Best Supporting Actor in your first drama, our Zhaozhao is a real talent."

"What are your plans next? Do you want to continue acting?"

"You're not that young anymore. When do you plan to get a girlfriend? My niece just returned from studying abroad. She's 22, very pretty, and has a lively personality. Would you like to meet her? Young people have so much in common; even just making friends would be great!"

Hearing someone trying to play matchmaker for Ye Mingzhao, Chu Hengyi's already dark expression grew even darker.

Ye Mingzhao still wore his harmless smile and deflected, "I've just entered the industry and am focusing on my career. I'm not planning to get a girlfriend yet."

Chu Hengyi immediately chimed in, "Actors can't just start dating at a young age. Fans wouldn't accept it."

The woman disagreed, "Our kind of family doesn't rely on being idols to make money—"

Before Ye Mingzhao could react, Chu Hengyi was so angry that the veins on his forehead were about to pop: "But career should still come first."

Everyone quickly noticed Chu Hengyi's unusual behavior. They didn't know about his subtle feelings and thought that, as the real young master of the Ye family, he couldn't stand them fawning over Ye Mingzhao, the adopted son.

The woman who had been chattering away, trying to introduce her niece to Ye Mingzhao, awkwardly stopped talking and abruptly changed the subject: "But Mingyi is right. Young people nowadays prefer to focus on their careers. My niece is the same, already in her twenties and not dating. We elders are all worried!"

Ye Mingzhao finally spoke up: "Focusing on your career while you're young is important, but so is finding love. I think both career and marriage are important in life, but the focus changes at different stages. Right now, I want to focus on building my career and consider family later when I'm more stable."

Hearing Ye Mingzhao's words, the group of friends in the living room immediately agreed: "That makes sense. Young people should strive while they're young. At least they won't have regrets..."

"Yes! Yes! If you don't work hard when you're young, you'll regret it when you're old."

"I think young people nowadays are very open-minded. My child is already in their thirties, not married or dating. Whenever I ask, they just say they're busy with work..."

The group chatted away, and the previously awkward atmosphere in the living room gradually became lively again.

Seeing this, Ye Mingzhao excused himself to go back to his room to unpack his luggage, said goodbye to Mrs. Ye, and then went upstairs with his suitcase.

Chu Hengyi followed behind, looking visibly upset.

Back in his room, Ye Mingzhao put down his suitcase, casually grabbed a sticky note from the table, tore off a piece, and with his slender hands, skillfully folded it. In a moment, a delicate and small paper frog lay quietly in Ye Mingzhao's palm.

"For you," Ye Mingzhao extended the paper frog in his palm towards Chu Hengyi.

Chu Hengyi raised an eyebrow: "Is this to make me feel better?"

Ye Mingzhao nodded.

Chu Hengyi chuckled, testing his luck: "You think this will make me feel better?"

Ye Mingzhao made a show of taking it back: "If you don't want it, forget it."

Before he could finish speaking, Chu Hengyi swiftly snatched the paper frog from Ye Mingzhao's palm. He moved so fast that Ye Mingzhao only saw a blur.

Watching Chu Hengyi carefully cradle the tiny paper frog in his large, bronze hand, Ye Mingzhao laughed: "No one’s going to snatch it from you."

"If I don't grab it, the opportunity that should have been mine might slip away," Chu Hengyi said with a double meaning: "Since childhood, nothing has ever been naturally mine. Fate hasn’t been kind to me; it only takes away what was meant to be mine."

This was the first time Chu Hengyi had expressed his feelings about his experiences in front of Ye Mingzhao.

Ye Mingzhao seized the moment to ask: "Now that you've returned to the Ye family, found your family, and regained everything you once lost, will you cherish these people and things that have been returned to you?"

"What if I desire more?" Chu Hengyi looked intently at Ye Mingzhao.

Ye Mingzhao didn't avoid Chu Hengyi's gaze but didn't directly answer his question either: "You said it yourself—if you want something, go ahead and take it."

Chu Hengyi pressed on: "If I take it, will it be mine?"

"Who knows!" Ye Mingzhao said carelessly: "You said it yourself, fate is unpredictable. How can anyone be sure of what will happen in the next second?"

Chu Hengyi stared at Ye Mingzhao for a while, then suddenly smiled: "Alright then!"

He carefully placed the paper frog in his shirt pocket: "So you're saying you don't mind if I go and take it myself?"

After a long journey, Ye Mingzhao felt dusty and sticky all over. He took a set of soft and comfortable home clothes from the wardrobe, walked slowly to the bathroom, turned the doorknob, and without looking back, said: "We can talk about it after you've taken it."

The bathroom door closed gently. Soon, the faint sound of running water could be heard from inside.

Chu Hengyi leaned against the door frame, his gaze fixed on the closed bathroom door. His eyes were intense, as if they could penetrate the door and see the scene inside.

But in reality, Chu Hengyi could see nothing. Just like his rebirth, he still couldn't figure out Ye Mingzhao's thoughts.

Chu Hengyi reached out and touched the small frog close to his heart. Despite this, he still knew one thing.

That is, although Ye Mingzhao repeatedly said to let him fight and take, the paper frog close to his heart was folded and given to him by Ye Mingzhao himself.