Chapter 14: The Unwanted

“Young Master Ye.”

A tall, burly man respectfully called out to Ye Hongxiao, then stepped forward with a smile, pulling out a cigarette and offering it. “I was just about to visit your private room, so why are you out here?”

Ye Hongxiao dodged him, his tone cold and distant.

“Chen Fourth, do you know what consequences you face for forcing someone against their will and illegal detention?”

“Oh, Young Master Ye, how could I do such things? I just wanted to invite Miss De upstairs for some tea,” Chen Fourth waved his hand, signaling his men to release De Ling.

Freed, De Ling hurried to the man lying on the ground. The man’s face was battered beyond recognition, but after a careful glance, she breathed a sigh of relief.

It wasn’t Wang Siyang.

She stood up and turned around, finally catching the frost-cold glint in Ye Hongxiao’s eyes.

Ye Hongxiao gave De Ling a cold glare and sneered lightly, “Thoughtless.”

“Sister De Ling, how did you offend them? How do you even know people like that?” Song Zigu stoked the fire as he asked De Ling. “They look so fierce, not like good people at all. You... you don’t owe them money, do you?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Hongxiao’s expression visibly darkened.

Song Zigu tried to reach for De Ling, but she evaded him.

Passing by them, De Ling quietly thanked them and headed straight for the private room.

She had barely taken two steps when she heard Ye Hongxiao’s voice behind her.

“To beat a dog, you must first know its master. Chen Fourth, even if you’re something I, Ye Hongxiao, don’t want, it’s not for someone like you to covet. Understand?”

It felt as if a needle was piercing her heart, the pain spreading through her body, making it impossible to take another step.

Yes, she was something Ye Hongxiao didn’t want.

In his eyes, she was merely an unwanted thing.

De Ling didn’t know how she made it back to the private room. At the door, she saw Lin Shanni looking for her. She collapsed into her embrace, feeling her eyes sting with unshed tears.

“Shanni, why is living so exhausting?”

Lin Shanni patted her back and sighed, “De Ling, when emotions get mixed with other things, the end is only estrangement.”

De Ling understood what Lin Shanni meant.

Her beginnings with Ye Hongxiao weren’t pure, nor were they with Wang Siyang. She was never good at managing relationships, which was why her life was so hard.

Later, Ye Hongxiao and Song Zigu didn’t return to the private room. De Ling overheard Lu Feng and others teasing.

“Brother Ye hasn’t had much fun these years. Now that Zigu’s back, he should loosen up a bit.”

Others joined in, jeering, “Zigu looks so delicate, I wonder if he can handle Brother Ye?”

Their lewd jokes and loud laughter paid no attention to De Ling, the ex-girlfriend still present.

Since she wouldn’t see Ye Hongxiao tonight, De Ling didn’t want to stay and listen to their nonsense. She told Lin Shanni goodbye, grabbed her bag, and left.

Unexpectedly, just as she stepped out of the Xingyue Hotel’s main entrance, Ye Hongxiao, who had gone out but returned, appeared.

De Ling was momentarily stunned but stepped forward to meet him.

“President Ye, do you have a moment?”

Ye Hongxiao’s black shirt collar was undone, and on the lapel was a faint pale mark. So close, De Ling could even see the subtle pearly shimmer within it, glistening under the lights.

It was the foundation Song Zigu commonly used, a flagship product from a major brand.

De Ling knew this because she had once bought it herself, but after using it, the foundation had rubbed onto his jacket, which he had resented for a long time.

Perhaps her expression was too sorrowful, for once Ye Hongxiao refrained from mocking her. “I think I told you before, no business talk outside work hours. Excuse me.”

De Ling blocked his way. “But your work hours are so hard to catch. It’s difficult for me to see you...”

Even she felt the plaintive tone in her own words. She wanted to explain, but she saw Ye Hongxiao’s gaze darken gradually. He stepped closer, lowering his head to look at her; his breath carried the familiar scent of his cologne, and her heart raced wildly.

Ye Hongxiao’s face drew nearer and nearer, and De Ling hastily closed her eyes.