Because the current situation is special, they not only have to cooperate to find the Fuxi Qin fragments, but Su Muxian also came to Ye Tiancheng for some unknown reason, which looks very suspicious.
The matter of gathering the Fuxi Qin fragments is very important. If Ye Tiancheng is attacked from both sides, he will be very passive.
Ye Tiancheng had to admit that he had quite a few weaknesses. His wife, children, and brothers were all his vulnerabilities, and the little fox was also among them. After all, they had known each other for a long time, spent a lot of time together, and experienced dangers together. Ye Tiancheng and the little fox truly had feelings for each other.
Hou Mingzhu and Ye Qingcheng needed protection, and so did the little fox.
Especially the little fox, if someone were to attack him based on his identity, causing internal division, it would be very troublesome, as it was entirely possible.
Ye Tiancheng did not want their small group to break up, so he had been intentionally or unintentionally maintaining it. However, the situation was truly complex. The little fox's identity was not something that Ye Tiancheng could simply resolve by saying he trusted him.
The attitudes of others in the team towards the little fox were also very important and could easily lead to misunderstandings. Ye Tiancheng had to be cautious.
The problem was clearly present because Fatty did not trust the little fox enough. After learning about the little fox's identity issues, Fatty's mindset was clearly difficult to match Ye Tiancheng's, and it even showed on the surface. However, Fatty still trusted Ye Tiancheng, so he could barely maintain a calm demeanor.
In such a situation, if Ye Tiancheng did not take other actions to maintain it, the team's disintegration might just be a matter of time, or it might never happen.
However, in comparison, Ye Tiancheng preferred to nip all bad possibilities in the bud.
Fortunately, the effect was good. As long as Ye Tiancheng could appease the little fox, the overall problem would not be significant. After all, the entire team was centered around Ye Tiancheng. As long as Ye Tiancheng could control everyone, and others were centered around Ye Tiancheng, no matter how much they said to each other, they would not become estranged.
After Ye Tiancheng finished talking with the little fox, the little fox truly devoted himself to carrying out the tasks Ye Tiancheng had assigned.
In fact, the little fox was quite adept at setting up these protective measures, as Ye Tiancheng had troubled him with them many times before. The little fox had studied them and had a good talent, so he was naturally skilled in this area.
However, if these were to be used on others, what the little fox knew would be sufficient for now.
But now, Ye Tiancheng wanted the little fox to use them on Hou Mingzhu, and if nothing unexpected happened, Ye Qingcheng would also need a set. The protected targets had become sister-in-law and niece, so the little fox could not help but be more attentive, wanting to do a better job.
The little fox's execution was quite strong. He read books all night, and the next morning, when he was called out for breakfast, dark circles had already appeared under his eyes, indicating a lack of sleep.
Hou Mingzhu was surprised when she saw the little fox like this.
"What do you want to eat?" Hou Mingzhu asked the little fox what he wanted for breakfast, preparing to get it for him, and asked him with concern, "Little fox, did you not sleep well last night? What's wrong with your eyes? You have dark circles."
The little fox rubbed his eyes, looked at what was on the dining table, and said, "I'll be fine after I have some porridge. I'll serve myself. Sister-in-law, you eat. Don't bother yourself."
Hou Mingzhu said, "What's the trouble with that? Take it and eat."
Without giving the little fox a chance, Hou Mingzhu served a bowl of porridge and placed it in front of the little fox. She also moved some small dishes closer and got him a boiled egg.
The little fox could only accept Hou Mingzhu's kindness and thanked her.
Hou Mingzhu waved her hand and said it was nothing.
If it were the Hou Mingzhu of the past, it would have been truly difficult to believe that she could do so well in these aspects. However, Hou Mingzhu was now very accustomed to doing these things.
After the little fox sat down with the porridge, he answered Hou Mingzhu's second question, "I was busy reading last night, so I didn't sleep well, which is why I'm like this. I'll find a chance to sleep well later, and I'll be fine."
When Hou Mingzhu heard the little fox say this, she immediately looked at him disapprovingly and shook her head, "Books can be read anytime during the day. Staying up late to read is very bad and affects your health. You can't be so willful just because you're young, understand?"
When Hou Mingzhu was younger, she was certainly not someone with a particularly good routine. Even though she had restrained herself a lot now, due to work, her routine was not much better. However, Hou Mingzhu had started to pay more attention, mainly because Hou Mingzhu was already married, and her views on these matters naturally began to change.
Staying up late was bad. Hou Mingzhu had to at least set an example for her daughter and help her develop good habits.
The little fox knew that Hou Mingzhu was also concerned about him, so he nodded obediently, "I know. I didn't think too much about it this time. Later, I realized there was no need to be so rushed. But I had already stayed up all night, and after staying up, I couldn't sleep, so I didn't go to sleep."
Hou Mingzhu thought for a moment and then said to the little fox, "The departure arrangements are being made here, and we can't leave today. We might have to leave tomorrow. You should catch up on sleep in your room today, otherwise, you won't have energy. But don't sleep too much, and sleep well tonight to adjust your routine."
The little fox agreed and said, "Okay, I'll listen to sister-in-law."
Ye Tiancheng came out for breakfast and happened to overhear the last few sentences Hou Mingzhu and the little fox were discussing. He walked to the dining table, sat down, and asked, "What's wrong? Did the little fox not sleep well last night?"
The little fox looked at Ye Tiancheng, greeted him, and replied, "I stayed up late reading last night."
Ye Tiancheng immediately understood. He guessed that the little fox was probably busy with something, most likely because he had gone to talk to the little fox last night. The little fox got excited, and after hearing about the task he was entrusted with, he probably couldn't sleep and stayed up all night researching the protective measures for Hou Mingzhu, which is why he was like this.
"It's because of what I asked you to do, isn't it? There's no need to rush that matter. I'm still here, so you can take your time. Besides, you know a lot, and you can use what you know first. Staying up late is not good."
The little fox quickly nodded, "Sister-in-law has already told me off. I'll adjust my schedule right away and be careful next time."
He had grown a bit wiser and didn't make an absolute promise of "never again."
Sometimes, if you're not careful, you might indeed fall into bad habits, but the little fox could at least guarantee that he wouldn't always be like this.
Ye Tiancheng didn't intend to catch the little fox on his wording, so he nodded, "Listen to your sister-in-law."
Ye Tiancheng served himself a bowl of porridge and got an egg. Just as he took a sip and was talking to the little fox, Hou Mingzhu patted him on the back.
He turned his head and heard Hou Mingzhu ask, "What did you and the little fox talk about privately again? It made him stay up all night and not sleep well?"
Ye Tiancheng calmly swallowed a mouthful of porridge and took the blame, "It wasn't me. I didn't pay particular attention to the time yesterday. I just remembered that I needed to make a set of protective measures for you and Qingcheng to prevent anything from happening to you. This is something that would trouble the little fox, so I went to tell him."
"I forgot that this child is honest and I didn't gauge the timing properly."
Because of the little fox's past image, in Ye Tiancheng and Hou Mingzhu's conversations, they often still treated the little fox as a child, so they were more protective and tolerant.
Hou Mingzhu was stunned for a moment and didn't know what else to say.
Ye Tiancheng was worrying about her and Ye Qingcheng's affairs, so Hou Mingzhu couldn't blame Ye Tiancheng too much. Therefore, Hou Mingzhu finally just said, "No matter how important something is, it's not good to always discuss it at night. If your thoughts are too active, it's hard for people to rest at night and fall asleep."
Ye Tiancheng naturally lowered his head and admitted it, but he also said that it wouldn't happen again.
While eating breakfast, Ye Tiancheng started talking to Hou Mingzhu about leaving again. "Mingzhu, I just heard you say that the departure arrangements are being made. Are we leaving tomorrow?"
Hou Mingzhu replied to Ye Tiancheng, "That's the plan for now. It's not convenient to leave directly today. The earliest would be tomorrow. It mainly depends on your wishes. When do you want to leave?"
Ye Tiancheng immediately said, "Then let's leave tomorrow. Dragging it out too long is never good. Staying here is also bothersome. I don't know what moves they will make next. Before we gain the initiative, it's better to make them as passive as we are."
As long as the other party couldn't predict their thoughts and routes, it would be difficult for them to make any arrangements in advance, and they would naturally become the passive party. And once Ye Tiancheng seized the opportunity and gained the initiative, things would be unpredictable.
Hou Mingzhu nodded in agreement.
"Since you've thought it through, I'll make the arrangements accordingly. Let's pack up today and leave tomorrow."
Fortunately, because they were traveling constantly and had money, they didn't carry much luggage. Each time they left, it wasn't particularly difficult. Otherwise, moving each time would be like moving house, which would be too tiring.
Ye Tiancheng said, "Then I'll tell Fatty to get ready too. Little fox, after you finish breakfast, don't just go to sleep. Remember to pack your things first, so you don't have to rush to pack at the last minute when it's time to leave."