Master Huang was resolute even before drinking, leaving Ye Tiancheng with no other options. He eventually prepared a red envelope of two thousand yuan and managed to press it into Master Huang's hand.
"I can't possibly accept this two thousand yuan. As a friend, how could I possibly take your money? This will make it impossible to be friends in the future."
Unexpectedly, Master Huang was quite righteous. After Ye Tiancheng insisted for a long time, he finally managed to give the money to Master Huang. He believed that with these two thousand yuan, Master Huang's life would improve considerably. At least he could find a hotel to stay in for a while, instead of being forced to hide in an unfinished building. Otherwise, he would surely develop skin problems over time.
After bidding farewell to Master Huang, Ye Tiancheng wanted to see Hou Mingzhu but was afraid to. He feared angering Hou Mingzhu, which could easily jeopardize his promise to see his child one last time.
Feeling conflicted, he couldn't resist having a bit of rice wine with Fatty after dinner. He didn't expect to get drunk from just a little.
As they left the tavern, Liu Lanying came to pick up Ye Tiancheng. She had been worried about Ye Tiancheng's whereabouts all day and had been questioning Fatty, finally tracking Ye Tiancheng down.
"Fatty, leave Brother Ye to me. I'll take good care of him. You don't need to worry."
Regardless of whether the marriage was real or fake, Liu Lanying was now his sister-in-law. Fatty quickly handed her over. It was too late to return to his hometown that day, as the distance was too great. Therefore, they had to find a hotel to stay in temporarily.
"I can't bear to watch my daughter grow up. I'm in so much pain. I want to drink. I haven't had enough. Give me more wine."
Ye Tiancheng was drunk, which explained his talkativeness. Normally, no matter how many worries he had, he could endure them and would never voice them so boisterously, fearing he would burden others.
However, this time, when Ye Tiancheng got drunk, Liu Lanying discovered something. It turned out that Ye Tiancheng was not as cold-hearted as he seemed. He did have someone in his heart, just not her.
The person in Ye Tiancheng's heart was Hou Mingzhu and their newborn daughter. As for herself, she didn't even know where she ranked. Thinking about this made her feel a bit sad.
But Liu Lanying was a virtuous woman. For the sake of the person she loved, she was willing to make sacrifices and wouldn't dwell on other matters. As long as the person she loved was happy, that was enough.
"Brother Ye, don't be sad. You are a good person. Heaven will surely help you. Even if you can't be with your daughter now, Heaven will let you be together. These are just temporary difficulties. Don't be sad anymore."
Liu Lanying wiped Ye Tiancheng's face, poured him water, and gave him a hangover remedy. She finally managed to coax him to sleep. Looking at Ye Tiancheng sleeping, Liu Lanying felt weary too, but she felt she could persevere.
Since she had chosen to love someone, she had to be willing to give. Retreating at the first sign of difficulty was not the kind of love Liu Lanying desired.
The next day, when Ye Tiancheng woke up, he received a message from Hou Mingzhu saying she was going abroad that day. She provided Ye Tiancheng with the address and time and then stopped replying.
Ye Tiancheng had no choice but to go according to the time and address. Even if Hou Mingzhu was deceiving him, there was nothing he could do. He owed her, and he would never be able to repay it. Furthermore, he had no reason to bargain.
When Ye Tiancheng arrived, he just caught up with the security check. He finally saw Hou Mingzhu and the child.
"I'm so sorry, Hou Mingzhu. There was traffic on the way. I tried my best to rush here, but then there was a car accident, and the traffic was blocked for a long time, which is why I'm only arriving now."
Ye Tiancheng's face was red from exhaustion, and he was panting. However, Hou Mingzhu's gaze was calm. She showed no displeasure at Ye Tiancheng's lateness. Her reactions indicated that Hou Mingzhu was simply a very composed person.
"It doesn't matter. If you don't get to see your daughter, it's fate. I'm taking the child abroad anyway and won't be back for a while. If you want to see her, then see her. I don't want to deprive you of your right as a father."
Ye Tiancheng glanced at his infant daughter in the nanny's arms. The little girl was sleeping. She had only been born recently but already had the appearance of an older child.
"The child is still so young. Can't you wait a few more days? Can such a young child really fly on a plane?"
In fact, no matter what Ye Tiancheng said, he hoped that his daughter would leave his side and find solace. Now that the child was about to leave him, Ye Tiancheng felt indescribably miserable; he even wished he could die.
"If you continue to question me, our relationship might become even worse. I was originally thinking that even if we were far apart abroad, if you really missed your daughter, I could video call you. It's best if you consider this carefully and don't offend me."
Hou Mingzhu's words were like imperial decrees. Ye Tiancheng dared not offend her. Even with his current polite demeanor, Hou Mingzhu might still fly into a rage. Ye Tiancheng quickly adopted an even more humble attitude.
"Alright, I won't ask any more questions. I'll listen to whatever you say. As long as you're happy. Like you said, although we'll be far apart, I hope you'll let me see our daughter occasionally, considering I'm her father. I hope you can understand a father's feelings. If this happened to you, you wouldn't want to be separated from your daughter either."
Hou Mingzhu gave Ye Tiancheng a smile with an ambiguous meaning. She didn't say much more. After a long while, Ye Tiancheng still couldn't get enough of looking at his daughter.
"That's enough. I need to go through security. Don't worry, I bought first-class tickets, and the child will be well taken care of. It's better for the child to be with me than with you. At least I can provide the child with a better life, and you can't."
Hou Mingzhu's words were quite cutting, but they were also true. Although Ye Tiancheng wasn't destitute and lived a decent life, even owning a small company and being considered a small boss, which was a path towards a comfortable life in the eyes of others, money alone wasn't enough to raise a daughter. More importantly, a stable living environment was needed for the child to grow up happily. However, Ye Tiancheng had too many issues, making it impossible for him to provide a healthy environment for his daughter.
"You have a point, Hou Mingzhu. You've worked hard. Take good care of our daughter. Your bank account hasn't changed, has it? I'll transfer living expenses to you every month."
Hou Mingzhu shot Ye Tiancheng a look, seemingly unable to comprehend. "You're really funny. Do you think I'm short of money? Two children are simple matters. Providing the best life for the children doesn't have a significant impact on me. As for you giving me child support, forget it. I've said it before, I don't want to owe you anything, nor do I want you to have any connection with me. If I'm in a good mood, I'll let you video call the child. If I'm in a bad mood, don't contact me proactively. I get annoyed by people very easily."
Hou Mingzhu had a notoriously bad temper, which Ye Tiancheng knew well. He didn't dare to provoke her further and would just listen to whatever she said.
"I understand. I'll try not to bother you, but when I miss my daughter terribly, I'll send you a message. If you're in a bad mood, you don't have to reply, but please don't get angry with me again. As for child support, I will provide it. It's my responsibility, and it has nothing to do with favors."
After saying this, Ye Tiancheng took out the three names Master Huang had come up with. Hou Mingzhu glanced at them and frowned. To Ye Tiancheng's surprise, Hou Mingzhu didn't tear up the paper directly but seriously considered the names.
"How about this? I think Ye Qingcheng sounds quite nice. Let's go with that name."
Ye Tiancheng had thought their relationship had become so awkward that there was no room for negotiation, and Hou Mingzhu wouldn't allow the child to have Ye Tiancheng's surname. However, everything was beyond Ye Tiancheng's expectations. Hou Mingzhu actually agreed to let the child have Ye Tiancheng's surname. This was too strange.
"You really agree?"
"I won't fuss over names. Besides, I heard from Xiao Pang earlier that you specifically found a master to calculate this name. In any case, it shows some thought. I definitely have to give you face."
While it seemed Hou Mingzhu wasn't entirely heartless, she also didn't seem easy to deal with. Yet, if one were to call her heartless, she also left a sliver of consideration, making her unfathomable.
After the plane took off, Ye Tiancheng's heart felt empty for a moment. From now on, he would have to miss his daughter. Fortunately, Hou Mingzhu had fulfilled his wish by using the name Ye Tiancheng had chosen: Ye Qingcheng, a truly beautiful name.
As soon as Ye Tiancheng left the airport, he received a call from Liu Lanying. Liu Lanying said there was a class reunion. It had been quite some time since the classmates had seen each other after graduation, and she wanted Ye Tiancheng to join them.
"Then let's go together. But I still need to go back to the company to handle some matters, so I might be a little late."
Liu Lanying was overjoyed. She had thought that after spending more time with Hou Mingzhu, Ye Tiancheng would no longer pay attention to her. It seemed the situation wasn't that bad.
"It's fine. The class reunion is scheduled for eight o'clock, and there's still plenty of time. We can go together if you have time. If you're too busy, we can go separately, as long as we arrive at the reunion together."
Liu Lanying was very accommodating now. Knowing that Ye Tiancheng had someone else vying for him, and they hadn't even obtained a marriage certificate yet, their relationship was merely verbal. In reality, Liu Lanying had no right to make demands. Being close to Ye Tiancheng was already good enough.
When Ye Tiancheng returned to the company, he first discussed some work matters with Xiao Pang, which took about half an hour. Then, he went to the construction site to personally oversee some matters.
Ye Tiancheng arrived at the class reunion just in time, ten minutes early. However, his clothes were quite ordinary and had quite a bit of dust on them.
"Liu Lanying, I heard you got married. You didn't invite a single classmate. You're really secretive. Is this your husband?"
The one speaking was Zhu Dandan. If it weren't for Liu Lanying's presence, Zhu Dandan might have been the class beauty. Therefore, she had always harbored jealousy towards Liu Lanying. This jealousy hadn't disappeared after graduation; instead, Zhu Dandan had been quietly following Liu Lanying's latest updates, constantly comparing herself.
"Hello, my name is Ye Tiancheng. I am Liu Lanying's husband. I think Liu Lanying mentioned you, Zhu Dandan, right? The great beauty of the class."
After Ye Tiancheng spoke politely, he saw Zhu Dandan looking at him with a scrutinizing gaze. She crossed her arms, showing no intention of shaking hands with Ye Tiancheng, and tilted her chin slightly upwards, appearing very arrogant. It was unclear where her sense of superiority came from. She then proceeded to question Ye Tiancheng.