Lin Anning was currently standing with her two young sisters, laughing and chatting with a group of young gentlemen.
A young gentleman beside her, feeling jovial, reached out to put his arm around her shoulder. Lin Anning had intended to dodge, but catching sight of Ye Jinghuai’s displeased expression from her peripheral vision, she didn't move. A surge of vindictive pleasure washed over her.
*Look! If you don't like me, others do. It's too late to regret it now that you've lost me.*
As the person in charge of the Ye Corporation, Ye Jinghuai naturally didn't recognize these idle young masters. However, the young masters immediately recognized Ye Jinghuai.
“Anning, isn't that the second young master Ye? Aren't you going over?”
A man beside her nudged his chin towards Ye Jinghuai. Everyone in their circle knew that the second young lady of the Lin family was infatuated with the second young master Ye.
“I've given up on him. Whatever happens to him from now on has nothing to do with me,” Lin Anning replied, feigning indifference.
“That’s right! There are plenty of fish in the sea!” another man, slightly flippant, interjected.
“Let’s not talk about others. Let's go up! You have to show me a good time today,” Lin Anning said loudly on purpose.
“It’s our pleasure!”
Over there, the group of men and women was in high spirits. Ye Jingzhi, however, recognized several of the young masters among them.
“Brother, those are all famous playboys in the capital. They’re fun-loving and have no scruples. Should we warn Sister Anning?”
Ye Jingzhi felt that regardless, she was the younger sister of his sister-in-law. Since he saw it, he couldn't just say nothing.
“She’s much older than you, does she need you to worry about her?”
Ye Jinghuai’s mind was only on how it concerned him; if anything happened, it would be her own responsibility.
“I was just afraid she wouldn't know!” Ye Jingzhi, not having experienced the harsh realities of society, still had rather simple and direct thoughts.
“I’ll remind you, you might want to help, but they might not appreciate it. You should go out more often,” Ye Jinghuai said pointedly.
“Go out where? I love going out! It’s just that now that I have Nuannuan, I stay home every day. You don’t let me take Nuannuan out to play, second brother.” Ye Jingzhi’s mind immediately went off on a tangent at the mention of this, filled with grievances.
Ye Jinghuai, who had intended to teach his brother a lesson, lost his desire to do so after their conversation was derailed within a few sentences.
“Second brother, shouldn’t we warn her? If something really happens later, and they ask about us being present, what will Sister-in-law think?”
Ye Jingzhi wasn’t being overly altruistic; the main reason was that the Lin and Ye families were old acquaintances and in-laws. If they knew that the two of them were there and did nothing, it would be hard to justify.
Ye Jinghuai also realized he had forgotten about the Lin family connection, as he had been focused on Anning being furious.
He reached up and rubbed his temples in exasperation, then instructed Han Rui.
“Go and tell the second young lady of the Lin family that those people are not good people, and she should be careful herself.”
“Yes, boss.”
Not long after, Han Rui did not return, but Lin Anning, with a smug expression, arrived.
“Mr. Ye, I am an adult, not a child. I can judge for myself what kind of friends I make. If you have this much free time, you should focus it on your daughter!” Lin Anning said, her tone full of disdain.
“Oh, and I don’t like you anymore, so what I do and who I make friends with has nothing to do with you!” After saying this, she turned and left with great satisfaction, a triumphant smile like a queen on her face.
Ye Jinghuai felt a pain in his stomach, and Ye Jingzhi beside him had a constipated expression.
“Brother, I was wrong. I’m sure now that she has a problem with her brain. I won’t follow you tomorrow.”
“I was wrong. I shouldn’t have gone out today.”
Just then, their driver arrived. Ye Jinghuai, fuming, got into the car and slammed the door shut.
Lin Anning watched Ye Jinghuai’s angry gesture of slamming the car door, feeling a sense of smugness. Indeed, letting go was a wise decision.
As soon as she got home, Nuannuan snuggled up to her softy.
“Nuannuan, why aren't you asleep yet? It's so late.”
Ye Jinghuai knew Nuannuan’s usual bedtime and thought she would have already been asleep, so he was surprised to see her still awake.
“Miss Nuannuan refused to sleep, saying she was waiting for you to come back,” Granny Wu said helplessly from the side.
“Nuannuan wants to wait for Daddy.”
Nuannuan’s round eyes had now become semicircles. Wearing adorable Totoro pajamas, she clung stickily to Ye Jinghuai’s embrace.
“I’m sorry, Daddy won’t be this late anymore,” Ye Jinghuai said, feeling both heartache and self-reproach at seeing Nuannuan so sleepy yet still awake.
“It’s okay, Daddy~ Daddy needs to earn money for Nuannuan. Nuannuan is just waiting for Daddy at home. Daddy should focus on his work, Nuannuan will be good!” Nuannuan said considerately.
Ye Jinghuai’s mood had already improved upon seeing Nuannuan. Now, holding Nuannuan, all his anger had dissipated. His own daughter was indeed the most thoughtful.
“But Daddy feels bad for Nuannuan. You can’t stay up so late anymore. Daddy will try his best to come home on time every day.”
“Okay! Nuannuan will be good and won’t cause trouble again~”
Nuannuan’s voice grew weaker, and she gradually fell asleep in Ye Jinghuai’s arms.
Ye Jinghuai lovingly picked up Nuannuan and went upstairs, directly to his own room. He gently placed Nuannuan on the bed, sat by the bedside for a long while, and then got up to go to the bathroom to wash up.
When he came out, Nuannuan had already fallen asleep, sprawled across the bed. Ye Jinghuai shook his head helplessly, got into bed, adjusted the little dumpling, and then slept next to his daughter.
The next day, something did happen after all. Lin Anning had nearly been taken advantage of the previous night; if the Lin family hadn't intervened in time, she would have been violated.
It was also thanks to Ye Jingzhi. After returning yesterday, he still felt uneasy and had told his sister-in-law about encountering Lin Anning. Otherwise, the Lin family would not have arrived so promptly.
Lin Anning was probably also frightened, as she stayed home for several days, not daring to leave her room.
Nuannuan heard about Lin Anning when her parents came to ask Ye Jinghuai to help persuade Lin Anning.
It turned out that after almost being violated, Lin Anning had shut herself in her room at home for a long time. After several days of thought, she realized that she couldn't live so aimlessly in her second life.
Indulging in pleasure would only lead to her downfall; this was not liberation.
She wanted to make her life more meaningful, so she resigned from her position in the orchestra, signed up for the Red Cross, and planned to go to the war zones in the Middle East to help the suffering people there.
Lin Anning's parents couldn't possibly let their daughter go to such a war-torn place. She was a pampered young lady who knew nothing but playing musical instruments. World peace wasn't her concern.
“Jinghuai, I know this has nothing to do with you, but ever since Anning said she didn't like you, her behavior has become increasingly strange. I believe that the one who tied the bell must untie it. If you go and persuade her, she will definitely listen.”
Lin Jiaguo looked at Ye Jinghuai pleadingly, his heart aching for his second daughter.
“Yes, Jinghuai. Anning is a bit willful, and it’s our fault for not raising her properly. But that kind of place is really not for her. Could you help us persuade Anning?” Mother Lin added.
“Dad, Mom, didn’t I tell you not to come to Jinghuai? Anning is already 26. If she makes a decision, she has to take responsibility for it. You can’t watch over her forever.”
Lin Anran knew that her parents had come to find Ye Jinghuai and rushed over from next door to pull them back.
“Jinghuai, I’m sorry. My parents are just too worried about Anning. Don’t worry, this has nothing to do with you; it’s just my parents being overly concerned.”
The Lin family parents had initially approached Lin Anran to intercede. Lin Anran had disagreed at the time, not believing that Ye Jinghuai’s persuasion would have any effect.
“Uncle Lin, Aunt Lin, it’s not that I’m not helping, but it would be useless if I went. Perhaps if I said something, she would want to go even more,” Ye Jinghuai said sincerely.
“I met Lin Anning that night she almost got into trouble. I advised her then not to associate with those people,” Ye Jinghuai said.
Ye Jinghuai looked at the Lin Jiaguo couple and suddenly brought up that night’s events. It seemed out of the blue, but everyone present understood his meaning.
“Alas! We thought wrongly. We apologize, Jinghuai, for disturbing you,” Lin Jiaguo sighed deeply.
After Lin Anning learned that her parents had visited Ye Jinghuai, she went to his house that same day.
“Mr. Ye, I told you last time that what I do now has nothing to do with you, so you don’t need to try and persuade me. I used to only revolve around you, but now I understand the meaning of life.
I want to do something more meaningful, rather than constantly dwelling on trivial romantic affections. I hope you understand, I have truly given up on you!”
Lin Anning felt that she was truly different now. Romantic love couldn't compare to universal love. Even if he wanted to turn back now, it would be impossible between them.