Chapter 53: The Fastidious White Moonlight in an NP Story (22)

Chapter 53: The Obsessively Neat White Moonlight in a Harem Novel (Part 22)

"A pervert?" A pervert who loves his own brother?

Yun Yan grinned, revealing a row of stark white teeth. He took it as a compliment.

"Yes, I am a pervert. Thank you for the praise. Not only do I love him, but I will also possess him. Sooner or later, he will be mine."

Lan De was appalled by Yun Yan's brazenness.

"And you're proud of it? Aren’t you afraid Yun Jinqiu will find out?"

"Of course I am. Why don’t you go tell him yourself? See if he believes you." Yun Yan sneered mockingly. He actually wished someone would tell Yun Jinqiu—that way, he could lay his cards on the table.

"...You’re insane." Lan De slammed the table and stormed off.

The negotiation ended in discord.

Yun Jinqiu sat in his office, listening to Gu Sheng report the latest developments between Yun Yan and Lan De. He chuckled lightly, unconcerned.

"Let them keep fighting. He Yuan is a pushover, but Lan De isn’t. It’s time Yun Yan learned a lesson."

"Understood," Gu Sheng nodded.

Time passed slowly, and over half a month went by. Lan De couldn’t hold on any longer. If possible, he even considered returning to his home country. In Huaguo, he was in unfamiliar territory, making it hard for him to act freely. Even his counterattacks were constrained and lacked impact. But if he returned now, wouldn’t that mean admitting defeat?

After much hesitation, Lan De had no choice but to reconsider his options.

As the saying goes, even a mighty dragon cannot crush a snake in its own haunt. In M Country, Lan De could go all out, but in Huaguo, he had to accept his fate.

Thus, a second negotiation soon took place.

Yun Yan arrived as agreed, looking at Lan De with disdain.

"What, still not giving up?"

Lan De remained silent for a moment.

"This level of setback isn’t enough to make me give up, but we can discuss cooperation."

"Cooperation?" Yun Yan frowned. In truth, both sides had suffered heavy losses during this period. After all, the Yun Corporation didn’t belong to him alone—he couldn’t exhaust all his resources just to fight Lan De. To make Lan De back down, he had already lost hundreds of millions. His father was starting to suspect him. Though he appeared unruffled on the surface, he knew he couldn’t afford to be reckless any longer.

If Lan De could retreat in the face of difficulty, that would be ideal. But if he refused, Yun Yan wouldn’t let him off easily.

"How do you propose we cooperate?" Yun Yan asked indifferently.

"You want Yun Jinqiu, don’t you? I can help you," Lan De said, his eyes darkening.

"Help me? How?" Yun Yan scoffed.

"Do you really think you can get Yun Jinqiu all by yourself?" Lan De snorted coldly. "Yun Jinqiu is far more cunning than you think."

"Of course I know that," Yun Yan lifted his chin slightly. "I understand him better than you do."

"Oh? Is that so?" Lan De’s eyes filled with mockery. "Then guess—does Yun Jinqiu know you like him?"

"Of course not," Yun Yan replied confidently.

"He can’t possibly know. I’ve hidden it well." His relationship with Yun Jinqiu had been like oil and water since childhood—Yun Jinqiu hated him, and he hated Yun Jinqiu. Yun Jinqiu would only see him as an enemy; why would he suspect Yun Yan had feelings for him?

As he spoke, Yun Yan’s eyes couldn't help but show a hint of bitterness.

"No, you’re wrong," Lan De nodded slightly. "He knows. He knows you like him."

Yun Yan frowned. "Impossible."

"Why is it impossible? You’re just too foolish to notice." Lan De sighed softly. "Even I, an outsider, can see that you like him. How could someone as sharp as him be completely unaware? You think you’ve hidden it well, but the truth is, he simply doesn’t care about you."

Yun Yan’s breath caught at these words, but he still shook his head firmly. "Impossible. He can’t possibly know I like him." Though he said this, his thoughts were already in turmoil.

Was Yun Jinqiu truly unaware?

Lan De chuckled lightly. "He dislikes me, and he dislikes you too. That’s why he’s using you to deal with me—he wants us to destroy each other so he can finish us off in one sweep."

Yun Yan clenched his fists silently.

Lan De cast a casual glance at Yun Yan. To win him over, he decided to be frank.

"Actually, Yun Jinqiu and I aren’t in the kind of relationship you imagine. I’ve been pursuing him for a while, but he always rejected me. It’s only recently that he started responding to me, but I can tell he has an ulterior motive. Don’t you have an old saying in Huaguo? 'Unwarranted kindness is always deceptive.' Though he hasn’t been overly kind to me, he has been much more amiable lately. Don’t you think your hatred for me is his doing?"

Yun Yan finally understood.

Lan De continued, "At first, I was willing to oppose you for his sake. After all, you’re a pervert. But since he’s scheming against me, it means he has no feelings for me. And if there are no feelings, I no longer need to go easy on him."

"Go easy on him?" Yun Yan laughed coldly. "If you’re not going easy on him, what do you plan to do?"

Lan De fell silent for a moment.

"It’s hard to get him. He’s a man with strong convictions, and that’s part of his charm. I’m not confident I can capture him alone, so we should cooperate. Share him."

"Share? That’s impossible," Yun Yan refused without hesitation.

"Do you think I want to share with you?" Lan De frowned. "But neither of us can keep him contained alone. If we work together, we might stand a chance. You handle things inside the Yun family, and I’ll handle the outside. Combining internal and external efforts, we’ll find a way."

Yun Yan fell into deep thought. Lan De’s words made sense—he truly couldn’t get Yun Jinqiu on his own. The suggestion was tempting, but Yun Yan couldn’t bring himself to share Yun Jinqiu with Lan De.

"Fine, I agree," Yun Yan said, glancing sideways at Lan De. He planned to get rid of Lan De once everything was over.

Lan De wasn’t surprised by Yun Yan’s agreement. He nodded in satisfaction.

"That’s more like it," Lan De smiled slightly. "Cooperation leads to mutual benefit."

Yun Yan: "..."

Lan De stood up. "I’ll take my leave now."

"...See yourself out." Yun Yan lowered his eyes, hiding the thoughtful look in his gaze.

Yun Jinqiu... Do you really know I like you? And are you using my feelings for you to eliminate the people you dislike?

...

Yun Jinqiu, sitting in his office, suddenly sneezed.

Gu Sheng asked worriedly, "Mr. Yun, did you catch a cold?"

Yun Jinqiu shook his head and coughed lightly. "Probably not." Maybe someone was talking behind his back.

"The temperature fluctuates greatly between day and night lately. Mr. Yun, please remember to dress more warmly," Gu Sheng couldn’t help but remind him.

"Understood," he said casually.

That evening, Yun Jinqiu returned to the old Yun family residence. He lived alone at the seaside villa and no longer frequented it. At first, Yun Yan had been pleased that Yun Jinqiu was finally coming back home. But now, as he watched Yun Jinqiu enter, his feelings were complicated.

As soon as Yun Jinqiu entered, he saw Yun Yan sitting on the sofa. He intended to walk past without a word, but Yun Yan stopped him.

"Where’s Lan De?" Yun Yan asked.

"Him?" Yun Jinqiu lightly raised his eyelids. "He's home, of course."

"Home? Shouldn’t he be with you?" Yun Yan’s eyes darkened.

Yun Jinqiu avoided the question. "Whether he’s with me or not—what does that have to do with you?"

"Do you still remember He Yuan?" Yun Yan said meaningfully.

"Of course I remember," Yun Jinqiu shot him a glance.

"If Lan De continues to stay by your side, he’ll meet the same fate as He Yuan."

Yun Jinqiu’s expression darkened. "How dare you."

"What makes you think I wouldn’t?" Yun Yan gave a dark, gloomy laugh. "I intend to destroy the things you care about."

"You’re mistaken—I don’t care about him at all," Yun Jinqiu said nervously.

"Is that so?" Yun Yan watched him, then slowly stepped back. He thought he already had his answer. Yun Jinqiu might not know that Yun Yan liked him, but he was indeed trying to use him.

"Even so, I don’t believe you. I won’t let him go," Yun Yan said before turning to leave.

"Don’t you dare!" Yun Jinqiu snapped sharply.

After Yun Yan left, the corners of Yun Jinqiu's mouth lifted slightly.

In the days that followed, Yun Jinqiu instructed Gu Sheng to continue observing Yun Yan’s movements.

Yun Yan and Lan De were still fighting to the death, but Yun Jinqiu noticed something odd—their losses were much less than before. Many conflicts seemed loud but caused little real damage. From an investor’s perspective, it was really not right.

Yun Jinqiu had Gu Sheng investigate what had happened between Yun Yan and Lan De, but the search yielded nothing. No one would have guessed that the two had made peace, with Yun Jinqiu as their shared goal. Unable to find a clear reason, Yun Jinqiu could only assume Yun Yan was trying to cut his losses. Given Yun Yan’s years of experience in business, such a move wouldn’t be surprising—but it didn’t align with Yun Jinqiu’s plans.

Perhaps he should add more fuel to the fire.

The next morning, Yun Jinqiu called Lan De in front of Yun Yan, inviting him to dinner that evening.

Yun Jinqiu hung up and turned to Yun Yan, pretending to be startled. "Why are you here?"

"Who were you talking to?" Yun Yan asked.

"No one important," Yun Jinqiu replied evasively. "Just an ordinary person."

"Lan De, wasn’t it?" Yun Yan let out a mocking laugh.

"What if it was? What if it wasn’t?" Yun Jinqiu retorted.

"Nothing," Yun Yan said with a slight nod. "But he’ll pay the price for his actions."

Yun Jinqiu frowned. "Pay how? What are you planning?"

"You’ll find out soon enough. It won’t be long," Yun Yan replied coldly before leaving.

Time passed quickly. As sunset painted the sky in brilliant hues, Yun Jinqiu arrived punctually at the restaurant.

Inside the lavishly decorated private room, Lan De looked pleasantly surprised. "This is the first time you’ve invited me to dinner."

"Really? I don’t quite remember," Yun Jinqiu said vaguely.

Lan De poured Yun Jinqiu a glass of juice. After spending time together, he knew Yun Jinqiu preferred juice over coffee.

"This is freshly squeezed orange juice. Try it," Lan De said.