Ye Tiancheng forced a smile, subtly returning the gaze of the little fox, then said to Ding Jiaqi, "Making money? What's troublesome about that? Not troublesome at all. Please."
He was clearly creating distance. Ding Jiaqi stiffened slightly, then told herself that she and Ye Tiancheng didn't have a foundation of affection yet, and it was good that Ye Tiancheng wasn't going to be overly attentive just because a woman showed interest. She didn't say much more, just nodded, and followed Ye Tiancheng and the little fox towards the book cafe.
With Ding Jiaqi present, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox became much more subdued.
After the book cafe opened, before Ding Jiaqi could say anything, Ye Tiancheng pushed the little fox forward to entertain Ding Jiaqi. He then used the excuse of needing to make some preparations before opening and immediately slipped away.
The little fox had already anticipated that this woman's outcome wouldn't be good. Once Ding Jiaqi tried to show any favor towards Ye Tiancheng, she would surely be rejected and leave dejectedly, perhaps never to appear again.
Furthermore, this woman clearly wasn't here for him, and it wasn't his problem. The little fox didn't particularly want to deal with her. After settling her in the reading area, he also slipped away.
Fortunately, Ding Jiaqi's attention was entirely on Ye Tiancheng, so she didn't pay much attention to anything else and didn't feel neglected.
However, Ding Jiaqi's attitude towards the little fox was quite good. Although, on the surface, the little fox and Fatty were the only official employees of the book cafe, they were actually management. Ye Tiancheng's public statement was that the little fox was his younger brother. Ding Jiaqi, wanting to make a good impression on her beloved's brother, certainly hoped to leave a good impression on him.
So, when the little fox served her, Ding Jiaqi would thank him every time.
In this day and age, it wasn't common for people to thank service staff. Even knowing they were management, the boss's relative, it depended on the situation. This was just a small book cafe, and no one could guess that Ye Tiancheng was not only the owner of the book cafe but also Hou Mingzhu's son-in-law through marriage.
With Ye Tiancheng's current assets, even if he remarried Hou Mingzhu, it would still be considered a marriage into her family. However, given the relationship between Ye Tiancheng and Hou Mingzhu, they wouldn't dwell on such matters now.
After the little fox slipped away, he found Ye Tiancheng, who had already been hiding, and said, "Brother, you said she came for me. This is clearly for you."
"She didn't even look at me much; her attention was all on you. Alas, another case of unrequited love."
Ye Tiancheng knew he couldn't hide anymore and said with some gritted teeth, "After work today, I'm going to buy rings. I must buy them!"
The little fox was confused and found the topic a bit abrupt. He asked, puzzled, "Buy rings? Why bring up buying rings all of a sudden?"
Ye Tiancheng said helplessly, "Although my wife and I have remarried, the wedding hasn't happened yet, so my wedding rings are still being custom-made. I don't have rings, so I can't prove I'm not single."
"If I had rings, when I walk out, people would see them and know I have a partner, and they wouldn't bother me."
"I'm a married man with a daughter who's already grown up. Now that we've remarried, I can't go back to being a magnet for attention. It's better to make these people retreat."
The little fox then understood Ye Tiancheng's meaning. He hadn't thought of it initially because he himself was still single, and due to his amnesia, he was indeed lacking in some aspects.
However, the little fox's thoughts weren't as optimistic as Ye Tiancheng's. "Brother, don't take this as me discouraging you, but I don't think this matter will be easily resolved. If being married was enough to ward off stray women, why would there be so many mistresses in the world?"
Ye Tiancheng was speechless. Didn't he know that too? If being married was enough to deter all other women in the world, Ye Tiancheng wouldn't have had so many admirers around him before.
But Ye Tiancheng didn't intend to tell the little fox this, nor did he believe that rings would be completely useless.
"You can't say it like that. Having rings is always better than not having them. I believe most women in this world probably don't want to be mistresses, right?"
Although it was true that if a man's charm was great enough, whether it was wealth, power, or looks, even if he excelled in one aspect or had a high overall score, there would always be women who wouldn't mind moral issues and would willingly flock to married men.
After all, even in ordinary families, those whose conditions weren't superior, whose overall scores were even below average, could still be targeted. Not to mention that Ye Tiancheng now appeared to be a good prospect.
As long as he didn't venture into the circle of the wealthy elite, Ye Tiancheng currently owned a book cafe with good business, had his own career, and could open a shop, indicating a decent family background. Moreover, he was good-looking, above average, and could be considered handsome. He wasn't particularly old either, only in his twenties.
Such conditions were enough to be his capital for attracting attention.
Ye Tiancheng acted on his thoughts because he felt the matter was urgent and couldn't be delayed.
Ding Jiaqi had already mustered the courage to approach him. Such things, once they happened, would happen countless times. Ye Tiancheng wasn't someone who hadn't been approached by women other than his wife before; he had experience with this.
Therefore, it was better to resolve this kind of trouble early. Although he could handle it with a cold shoulder, there were people sent by Hou Mingzhu in the shop. If they gossiped and told Hou Mingzhu, causing her to misunderstand, what then?
So, Ye Tiancheng called Hou Mingzhu. Hou Mingzhu was having breakfast when she saw Ye Tiancheng calling her shortly after he had left.
Hou Mingzhu put down her cutlery, picked up her phone, and answered, "Hello, Tiancheng, didn't you just leave not long ago? Why are you calling me? Is something wrong?"
Ye Tiancheng said to Hou Mingzhu, "Mingzhu, it's like this. Are you free this afternoon?"
"This afternoon? Let me think." Hou Mingzhu listened to Ye Tiancheng and seriously considered her work schedule.
"I have some work, but it's not very important. I can handle it quickly and free up some time."
Hearing Hou Mingzhu say this, Ye Tiancheng felt relieved and said, "Can you come to the shop this afternoon? I want to ask you out to browse jewelry stores. Let's buy a pair of rings."
Hou Mingzhu was somewhat bewildered and said, "Why do you suddenly want to buy rings? Aren't our wedding rings already being custom-made?"
Then, Hou Mingzhu heard the little fox's voice from the phone, "Haha, Sister-in-law, it's because Big Brother is virtuous, but he can't prove he's single and finds the 'wild butterflies' outside troublesome, so he wants to ask Sister-in-law to come over and declare your ownership."
Hou Mingzhu was speechless for a moment. She understood what was happening almost immediately, but she was still happy that Ye Tiancheng was being so proactive.
So, Hou Mingzhu said to Ye Tiancheng, "So that's what it is. Then don't worry, Tiancheng. Since I've agreed to remarry you, I trust you. I trust you won't mess around outside. As long as you guard yourself, you're guarding our home."
But Ye Tiancheng didn't think so. "That's what you say, but it doesn't sound good if it gets out. Someone will gossip, and then they'll spread it to you, causing you trouble. Even if you know it's false, won't you feel uncomfortable hearing it?"
"And this is also troublesome. It's better to make them retreat, which saves a lot of trouble."
"It's better to tell them not to focus only on me, a married man with a wife and daughter, but to look at high-quality single men like the little fox."
Then, the little fox's exclamation came from the phone, "Wow! Sinister! Brother, how can you shift the blame!"
Ye Tiancheng said to Hou Mingzhu, "Actually, my situation is minor. The little fox makes me look dim. A large portion of people come for the little fox. It's just that perhaps because he's too popular, some people who find him difficult to pursue then settle for looking at me."
"Once they know I'm married, they'll know they should focus on handsome men like the little fox."
Hou Mingzhu pursed her lips and smiled, "Is that so? But in my eyes, you're more handsome."
Ye Tiancheng also smiled, "We're an old couple. You're seeing with the eyes of love. I can only listen to your praise. I know in my heart that I'm definitely not as good-looking as the little fox, haha."
Hou Mingzhu finally agreed to Ye Tiancheng, "Anyway, I'm telling the truth. If that's the case, then I'll finish my work early this afternoon and come to find you. We'll go buy rings together, and I'll also make a trip to the shop so that everyone knows you're married and it's not a lie. Is that okay?"
"Yes, yes, that would be great. Thank you, wife. After buying the rings, we can also go on a date, have a candlelit dinner outside or something." Ye Tiancheng said with a grin.
Hou Mingzhu felt a bit shy, but she definitely wanted to go, and it was a tacit agreement. However, she said, "If we go out on a date and have a candlelit dinner, won't Qingcheng be left alone at home?"
Ye Tiancheng said, "How can Qingcheng be left alone at home? Aren't Fatty and the little fox still here? We don't go out on dates every day. It's nice to ask them for help occasionally and enjoy our private time."
Thus, Ye Tiancheng made arrangements with Hou Mingzhu to go out to buy rings in the afternoon and then go on a date in the evening.
The little fox, who had overheard the entire conversation, could only shake his head helplessly. "It seems that the woman who came for you today will be heartbroken on the same day."
"I just hope she's not someone who will pester me and can truly retreat once she knows I have a partner." Ye Tiancheng shook his head, clearly not considering such romantic attention a fortunate thing.
If he were unmarried and single, it would be one thing. But now that he had reconciled with Hou Mingzhu and remarried, and they had just remarried, causing trouble would hurt Hou Mingzhu's feelings. He couldn't do such a thing.
Ding Jiaqi, who had mustered the courage to strike up a conversation with Ye Tiancheng this time, had made a series of preparations. She had even bought movie tickets for the evening, intending to ask Ye Tiancheng to watch them together.
Unfortunately, she didn't know that her plans were destined to be in vain. She sat in the book cafe from morning until afternoon, but she never found an opportunity to speak with Ye Tiancheng.
Ye Tiancheng would slip away after only a few words, always finding excuses to escape, and it would be Fatty or the little fox who would end up dealing with Ding Jiaqi.