Translator: ShiriChan
Editor: phizzlepop
The day went no differently from usual, passing by in the blink of an eye.
When Ye Ming thought about how he’d have to go back with Shen Ye this evening, a dreary look appeared in his eyes. He couldn’t let things go on like this. He hadn’t taken his revenge yet, but was always stuck by Shen Ye’s side.
Just when Ye Ming was struggling with indecision, a colleague next to him suddenly stood up and greeted, “President Shen, you’ve come.”
Ye Ming was startled and suddenly raised his head.
Shen Ye had actually come directly to Ye Ming’s office. He strode up to Ye Ming, and smiled as he said, “I’m attending a banquet this evening. You and I should go together ba.”
He said this in front of everyone without hiding it in the slightest. His tone was natural and relaxed, but everyone was extremely shocked. Shen Ye had never brought a female or male companion with him to a banquet before. At most, he’d bring his assistant… however, no one actually believed that Ye Ming would be going as Shen Ye’s assistant. That would be much too ridiculous!
If not as an assistant, then as a male companion?
Ye Ming’s gaze slightly sank. He ignored the judgemental looks of surprise around him, and walked over directly to respond, “Okay.”
It wasn’t until they got back to his car where no one else was around that Ye Ming turned his head to look at Shen Ye with a solemn gaze, and finally said, “President Shen, what is all of this?” He’d decided to come out and directly ask about Shen Ye’s abnormal behavior.
Wasn’t this kind of treatment a bit over the top for a mere substitute?
Shen Ye turned his head slightly, staring down at Ye Ming’s face as the corners of his lips quirked up, “I’m treating you a bit better. Don’t you like it?”
Ye Ming sneered, “Why are you treating me better?”
The glint of humor in Shen Ye’s eyes seemed to become denser. He slowly opened his mouth and murmured, “As for the reason, don’t you already know it?”
Ye Ming was startled, and suddenly remembered the incident with the photo last time. A sad, helpless look appeared in his eyes, and he made a snide remark, “You’re doing it for that person? You’re going to treat me well just because I look like him?”
Shen Ye approached him, and grabbed his chin, kissing his lips with a frosty look in his eyes, “Yes, because you’re so similar to him, I’m willing to spoil you… but, you won’t leave me and betray me like he did, will you?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Ye Ming met Shen Ye’s gaze. For a moment, he felt as though Shen Ye had already seen through him. But, when he took a closer look, he couldn’t glean a thing. His heartbeat was a little fast. Because he was nervous, his hair stood on end, while his body was stiff.
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A furious look appeared in Ye Ming’s eyes.
Shen Ye, however, appeared to be in a good mood. He loosened his grip, and pulled the seat belt over to help Ye Ming buckle up. His expression seemed to soften a bit as he said, “What’s so bad about following me?”
Ye Ming turned his head to the side, as if he didn’t want to see Shen Ye at all.
Shen Ye laughed, and turned the key to start the car. The car soon sped away.
………………
The evening charity dinner was held in a five-star hotel. Many celebrities and those among the upper echelons of society were in attendance, and there was no shortage of stars. When Shen Ye entered the hall, many people greeted him politely.
When Ye Ming arrived at this event, he also saw a lot of familiar faces, but… there was no one who’d recognize him. Most of them were just general acquaintances, with the occasional person he’d had a good relationship with. No one would go against the Shen family now for the sake of someone “on the run” who’d actually been dead for ten years.
Friendships were fickle things. Han Xu, who’d attempted to murder Shen Ye before disappearing ten years ago… had long since faded from their memories. It wasn’t even something worth chatting about after a meal over some tea anymore.
The one who still remembered him was actually Shen Ye, who used to love him the most, but now hated him the most.
Ye Ming felt a little downcast. He walked to a corner of the balcony, frowning as he contemplated how he could approach Shen Dayao, or… how he could uncover some evidence of Shen Dayao murdering him back then.
While Ye Ming was zoned out, a gentle, low voice suddenly sounded next to him, “Need a drink?”
Ye Ming turned his head, and saw a mature, handsome face. His expression froze for a moment.
He didn’t expect to meet Zheng Sen here.
Zheng Sen was also looking at Ye Ming. In the moonlight, the young man’s face looked even more like Han Xu’s…
In fact, right when Ye Ming and Shen Ye had first come in, he’d noticed him. No one knew what a huge shock that had been for him. This was the first time Shen Ye had ever brought someone along to such an occasion, and it was someone so similar to Han Xu, to boot.
Perhaps most people no longer remembered what Han Xu looked like anymore. They only faintly remembered that an ungrateful adopted son of the Shen family had tried to murder Shen Ye and fled when it resulted in failure. But, Zheng Sen would never forget. He’d never forgotten what Han Xu had looked like, and that single look at Ye Ming had left him greatly shaken.
And he was also one of the very few people who knew about Han Xu and Shen Ye’s actual relationship.
At the time, Han Xu and Shen Ye’s relationship had been kept very secretive and was never made public. But, Zheng Sen had harbored a crush on Han Xu for several years, and was also one of Han Xu’s classmates and good friends. So, when he abruptly confessed to Han Xu, Han Xu had rejected him and candidly revealed that he was in love with Shen Ye.
Zheng Sen had been rejected while simultaneously learning that Shen Ye was the person that Han Xu liked, but he would never forget the gentle look that had been in Han Xu’s eyes when he’d mentioned Shen Ye. He was truly in love with the man who was supposed to be his younger brother.
Zheng Sen had been reluctant to accept this at first. But eventually, he gave up. If Han Xu really loved Shen Ye, then he hoped that he could achieve everything he wanted. He was willing to just be his friend.
But, how had things become like this afterwards…?
Han Xu’s love was real, while Han Xu’s betrayal was also real. But, most likely, no one would ever find out the reason for all of this, because Han Xu would probably never come back.
“What’s your name?” Zheng Sen smiled at Ye Ming and asked.
There was a complicated look in Ye Ming’s eyes. The moment Zheng Sen had appeared just now, an idea he shouldn’t have had popped up in his head. He’d thought… if it was Zheng Sen, maybe he’d be willing to help him.
However, he’d already rejected Zheng Sen’s confession back then. Could he just take advantage of him like that after being reborn ten years later?
Ye Ming avoided Zheng Sen’s gaze somewhat awkwardly. He kept his eyes on the ground, slightly pursing his thin lips, before he said, “My name is Tao Xu.”
Zheng Sen’s gaze darkened, and he slightly tightened his grip on his glass. So similar… he suddenly understood why Shen Ye wanted to keep such a person by his side. They really were too alike, so similar he could be mistaken for the actual person himself.
Even he couldn’t help but want to know more about him even though he knew very well that this person in front of him wasn’t Han Xu.
Zheng Sen usually didn’t like to stick his nose where it didn’t belong, but since he’d seen Ye Ming’s face today, he couldn’t bear to see him stay with Shen Ye without knowing a single thing. This was too unfair for Ye Ming, and wasn’t a good thing for him.
If he got too close to the present-day Shen Ye, he was bound to get hurt. Shen Ye was the one person who hated Han Xu the most in this world. His love and his hatred were like a double-edged sword.
Zheng Sen’s gaze was gentle and filled with pity. He sighed and said, “How long have you and President Shen known each other?”
Ye Ming didn’t know why Zheng Sen was asking him this, but being with Zheng Sen inexplicably made him feel more relaxed, and he wasn’t as guarded. He said softly, “About two months.”
Zheng Sen nodded and fell silent. If he said what he wanted to out of the blue, it’d be rather inappropriate, but he couldn’t watch Ye Ming go on like this from the sidelines without lifting a finger. He stared at Ye Ming’s profile, and for just a moment, he seemed to see Han Xu appear in front of him…
Zheng Sen lowered his head and stared at the side of Ye Ming’s face. After a pause, he said, “Then what’s the relationship between you and President Shen?”
Ye Ming’s face stiffened for a moment. A look of embarrassment and pain flashed through his eyes, but he was unwilling to say much more, “I have something else to do. Apologies, but I’ll be taking my leave first.”
Zheng Sen noticed the helplessness and grief in Ye Ming’s eyes. Seeing him keep mum about it, he suddenly realized that maybe Ye Ming wasn’t with Shen Ye voluntarily at all. Right… how could Shen Ye treat someone so similar to Han Xu well?
Maybe… this person had been harmed and coerced into this.
Zheng Sen suddenly reached out and grabbed Ye Ming’s wrist, looking at him with a sincere gaze as he said, “I don’t have any bad intentions. You… If you encounter any difficulties, maybe you can come and talk to me about it.”
Ye Ming turned to look at Zheng Sen, and chuckled at himself. He suddenly couldn’t control himself. He really wanted to confide in someone. There were too many secrets buried in his heart, and too much pain, almost too much for him to bear.
But… was Zheng Sen actually the right person? Or was he just feeling vulnerable and selfishly wanted to find someone to rely on? He couldn’t accept Zheng Sen’s help and drag him into this whirlpool of hatred.
Ye Ming slowly calmed himself down, returning to a state of indifference. He said, “Thank you for your kindness, but I’m not having any difficulties.”
Zheng Sen met Ye Ming’s profound and seemingly indifferent gaze, and found that he couldn’t pull himself away. Even his gaze was just like Han Xu’s.
Ye Ming frowned slightly as he forcefully shook off Zheng Sen, just about to leave!
Zheng Sen watched as Ye Ming turned around, and felt as though he was watching Han Xu leave, his overwhelming sorrow and powerlessness almost swallowing him whole… Zheng Sen suddenly took two steps forward, and grabbed onto Ye Ming’s shoulder, pressing him against a wall in the corner. He stared into his eyes.
Zheng Sen’s face was a bit too close to his. Ye Ming looked at his face. Seeing this familiar and handsome face, his eyes began to sting a little.
He couldn’t stay here any longer. He couldn’t.
Zheng Sen couldn’t hide his shock. Why was it that he was obviously a different person, yet could still give him this kind of feeling… he felt that he was indeed overstepping his bounds. It was normal for Ye Ming to misunderstand him. He probably appeared like someone who was even worse than Shen Ye.
While he was hesitating, he suddenly heard an extremely cold voice come from behind him.
“President Zheng, you’d best let go of my person.”
The editor has something to say: mini-scene of bloody slaughter ah
P.S. dying but will try to release another ch tomorrow
Ohohoho ( ´◒
*)<div>Things are getting spicier, and we finally get to meet the little helper of this world. Lighting a candle for the innocent Zheng Sen </div><div>Thanks for the chappie! (*ﾉ´∀)ﾉ♡Eh? Why did my comment look like that, sorry in advance ( ´꒳` ; ) idk what i did
Maybe all the emoji played some tricks?
it does looks nice tho OoO Lmao
Second male lead, voila!
I wonder if the 2ML is also the same guy in every world. He’s always unbearably kind to Ye Ming and always 20% as hot at 1ML lol
yes, the drama Iv’e been waiting for is here /rubbing hands.jpg HEIHEIHEI
Thank you for the chapter!~ 💕
So many cannon fodders ugh