Chapter 482: Not Business

Chapter 482 Not Official Business

Upon hearing this news, Li Mingxiang was stunned.

A while later, Ye Xiaoxiao arrived with her acupuncture tools to perform the daily treatment for Mr. Yan. It was a fixed schedule, but today, because of Li Mingxiang's presence, they'd already lost considerable time.

Li Mingxiang stood up. "Mind if I observe?"

Ye Xiaoxiao glanced at Yan Yuqin. "If Mr. Yan doesn't mind, it's fine."

Yan Yuqin didn’t consider his treatment private, though some doctors might mind. Since Xiao Xiao didn't mind, he allowed Li Mingxiang to stay and observe.

Li Mingxiang wasn't familiar with acupuncture. Watching the slender needles move in and out of Yan Yuqin’s head, she initially had to look away.

But Yan Yuqin didn’t feel uncomfortable at all—on the contrary, he found it quite relaxing.

Over time, the daily acupuncture sessions had gotten much shorter.

After finishing, Ye Xiaoxiao withdrew the needles, while Li Mingxiang, who'd watched in awe, also stood up.

"Grandpa Yan, rest well. I’ll visit you another day."

After the treatment, Yan Yuqin felt extremely comfortable and relaxed, though he grew sleepy. Thus, he didn’t press her to stay.

"Alright, it’s about time for me to rest now anyway."

A nurse arrived to care for the elderly man, and after quickly going over his temperature checks, Ye Xiaoxiao gathered her things and left.

Li Mingxiang walked out of the ward with Ye Xiaoxiao, but this time, it was her turn to be speechless.

"You’re a Jing University alum? Hanchuan never mentioned that before."

Ye Xiaoxiao replied, "I’ve already graduated. He probably didn't see the need to mention it."

Besides, it was strange—unless someone specifically asked, who would voluntarily announce which school they attended? So in Ye Xiaoxiao’s mind, it was perfectly normal that Li Mingxiang hadn’t known.

Li Mingxiang had previously investigated Xiao Xiao’s background but hadn’t uncovered anything substantial.

She only knew that Ye Xiaoxiao had once grown up in the government compound, but later left due to certain circumstances.

Li Mingxiang speculated that it must have been because they were both from prominent Beijing compounds that Lu Hanchuan had come to know her.

Lost in thought, Li Mingxiang stumbled on her way out, and would've fallen if Ye Xiaoxiao hadn't caught her.

"Watch your step."

"I'll be going now—no need to see me out."

Li Mingxiang forced a smile and hurried off after leaving the courtyard.

Ye Xiaoxiao didn’t know what had happened and didn't overthink Li Mingxiang's quick exit.

While things remained peaceful on Ye Xiaoxiao’s end, the same couldn’t be said for Li Mingxiang. After returning, she thoroughly investigated the island retreat.

She discovered that despite its mediocre environment, over the past five months, several big shots had been visiting.

People who were usually impossible to meet were now voluntarily showing up.

To Li Mingxiang, it seemed unbelievable.

From Yan Yuqin's demeanor, these people were likely all here for Ye Xiaoxiao.

The difference between Li Mingxiang and other young girls was that she'd matured enough to understand that no matter what kind of emotions were involved, self-interest comes first.

So after realizing that Ye Xiaoxiao was someone special, she began shifting her view of Xiao Xiao from a love rival to someone worth cozying up to.

As a result, Ye Xiaoxiao kept getting gifts from Li Mingxiang.

It left her totally baffled. "What's going on with Li Mingxiang? Why does she keep giving me things?"

Lu Hanchuan hadn't picked up on it.

"Li Mingxiang—has she been coming around so much lately?"

"A few days ago, she gave me a scarf, and yesterday, she gave me hand cream."

Ye Xiaoxiao hadn’t used any of the gifts, but she thought the sudden shift in the other woman’s behavior was weird.

Lu Hanchuan: "..."

Thinking about it, it added up. Lu Hanchuan knew Li Mingxiang well enough—her sudden shift in attitude was likely because she saw something to gain by befriending Xiao Xiao.

"I’ll talk to her. You don’t have to entertain her."

Even if Li Mingxiang had no ill intentions, Lu Hanchuan wasn't keen on Xiao Xiao being around her.

Ye Xiaoxiao: "I’ve been swamped lately and haven’t seen her much."

Besides, as the sanatorium became more formalized, security at the entrance grew stricter, keeping random people out.

Ye Xiaoxiao’s interactions with Li Mingxiang were bound to taper off.

As for the gifts, Ye Xiaoxiao didn’t want to keep them. "If you have time, could you return these for me?"

Lu Hanchuan nodded. No one knew how he did it, but after he took the gifts away, they were never seen again.

And Li Mingxiang stopped sending Ye Xiaoxiao things.

…

By May, Kong Xuelan next door was already showing heavily.

Xiao Xiao’s belly had also grown noticeably, and her favorite pastime now was sitting in the yard to soak up some sun.

The island’s UV rays were strong, so Ye Xiaoxiao had a large sunshade set up in the yard and bundled up completely.

Aunt Zhao was extra careful with Xiao Xiao, reminding her every day not to go out at noon.

When Xiao Xiao was in the yard, she could still chat with Kong Xuelan next door.

The weather wasn’t too hot yet, and both women had come to love the warmth of the sun.

Kong Xuelan would deliver first, and her belly looked much bigger.

Fortunately, Kong Xuelan’s mother was now at home taking care of her, so she'd be fine.

Kong Xuelan’s mother was a sweet-looking older woman, and Ye Xiaoxiao had gotten to know her well.

Xu Hui came out of the house to call Kong Xuelan for dinner.

"Let's go eat. It's your favorite lotus root and pork rib soup."

Xu Hui also looked at Xiao Xiao, "Dr. Ye, would you like to join us for a bite?"

Xiao Xiao sat up from her deck chair, "No thank you, Aunt Xu, but I'll pass."

Aunt Zhao had already made dinner, and Xiao Xiao's and Kong Xuelan's tastes were different.

Now that she was further along in the pregnancy, certain smells of foods she didn't like could make her nauseous.

Xu Hui then helped Kong Xuelan inside.

Just as Ye Xiaoxiao was about to get up, a familiar figure suddenly entered the yard.

"Changyuan, what brings you here?"

Ye Changyuan hadn’t given prior notice, but having visited Xiao Xiao’s place before, he knew his way around this time.

Seeing Xiao Xiao trying to stand, Ye Changyuan stopped her.

"Don’t move. I heard about your pregnancy and came specifically to see you."

Ye Changyuan was carrying several bags of things.

"You brought so much stuff?"

Ye Changyuan: "It's all from home. I went back a couple of days ago."

He then added, a bit annoyed, "If not for my family mentioning it, I wouldn't have known you were pregnant."

Ye Xiaoxiao showed him inside, "Really? I didn’t tell you?" she said.

Ye Changyuan: "..."

He was sure she was doing this on purpose.

Aunt Zhao came out to get something.

Ye Xiaoxiao invited Ye Changyuan to sit and have some tea, but he remained standing and said awkwardly, "I just came to drop these off first. I still have some things to do, but I’ll come back later."

Ye Xiaoxiao looked at him intently, "It’s not army business, is it?"

Ye Changyuan: "...No."