Just then, Xiao Ran returned to the private room, followed by waiters bringing in the dishes.
Xu Mu glanced at Xiao Ran, who stood behind Ye Chen. "Why aren't you sitting down to eat?"
Xiao Ran froze for a moment, then smiled lightly. "I'm not hungry."
[Favorability +5]
Above Ye Tong's head, the same Favorability text appeared.
"You should sit down too," Ye Tong said kindly. "There's so much food, just the four of us can't finish it."
"My sister told you to sit, so sit," Ye Chen added, turning to glance at Xiao Ran.
"Yes." Xiao Ran nodded slightly and quietly sat down.
She stole a glance at Xu Mu — another Favorability marker appeared above her head.
[Favorability +6]
And the same again appeared above Ye Tong's head.
"By the way, Brother," Ye Yu asked curiously, "what have you been doing all these years? Looks like you've made a lot of money."
Mainly, she just thought Ye Chen was putting on airs. Even her brother-in-law, a real elite second-generation heir, never acted so pretentious.
"I've been doing business overseas all these years," Ye Chen said mildly. "I've accumulated some wealth."
"More than my brother-in-law's family?" Ye Yu teased.
"The Xu family still has a long way to go," Ye Chen said flatly, giving Xu Mu a sideways glance.
Xu Mu smiled faintly. "Our Xu family only does small business."
But inside he cursed — if Ye Chen looked down on the Xu family so much, why did he later seize it for himself in the original plot?
Ye Yu also pouted. She couldn't understand why Ye Chen was acting like such a snob — just because he'd been abroad, he thought he was superior.
The meal was quiet.
Normally, Ye Yu would liven things up, but today she was displeased with Ye Chen.
It proved that old saying — some people are best admired from afar, not up close.
Before meeting him, she'd missed him a little — he was, after all, her brother.
But now that she'd actually seen him, reality was far from her imagination.
In her eyes, Xu Mu was the real kind of brother figure she admired.
With Ye Yu silent, Ye Tong, who was naturally reserved, didn't talk much either.
With Ye Chen present, Xiao Ran didn't dare to speak freely.
And Xu Mu, already at odds with Ye Chen, had no desire to chat.
The dinner ended hastily.
Ye Chen wasn't in a rush; he had time and opportunity.
His goal today was just to tell Ye Tong they weren't blood-related — planting a seed for what came next.
When Xu Mu and the others headed downstairs to leave,
Ye Chen spoke coldly as Xu Mu unlocked his car: "Xu Mu, let's talk alone."
Hearing that, Xiao Ran quietly stepped back, while Ye Tong pulled Ye Yu into the car first.
"What do you want?" Xu Mu asked, hands in his pockets.
"I don't think you deserve Ye Tong," Ye Chen said, face like ice.
"Whether I do or not isn't for you to decide," Xu Mu replied, frowning. "Ye Tong knows in her own heart."
"If you'd just leave her, I'd be very pleased," Ye Chen said, eyes narrowing slightly.
He genuinely wished Xu Mu were the good-for-nothing playboy the rumors described.
If that were true, he could have killed Xu Mu outright and walked away as the 'hero who saved the beauty.'
Unfortunately, Xu Mu was a good man — at least, he treated Ye Tong well.
If Ye Chen acted rashly, Ye Tong would only resent him.
"Whether you're happy or not — what the hell's that got to do with me?" Xu Mu sneered. What a show-off, he thought.
Then he suddenly pointed toward Xiao Ran and deliberately raised his voice:
"If you let Xiao Ran come with me, I'd be pretty happy too!"
"Fine! I'll give Xiao Ran to you — just leave Ye Tong."
Ye Chen didn't even hesitate, nor did he care about Xiao Ran's feelings.
In his eyes, no one could ever compare to Ye Tong.
Xiao Ran heard it clearly, and her fists clenched involuntarily.
She had once idolized Ye Chen, devoted herself to him out of gratitude —
because he had once saved her life.
But now, the image she held of him began to crumble.
Xu Mu's earlier words echoed in her mind — Ye Chen truly didn't care about her at all.
Xu Mu, on the other hand, had always helped her.
Beyond healing her injuries before, he'd even sent her medicine a few days ago, and she had almost fully recovered.
A thought began to form in her heart — Xu Mu was better than Ye Chen.
"You're insane," Xu Mu said coldly and walked back to his car.
"Xu Mu," Ye Chen called after him softly, "you'll agree, eventually."
"Brother-in-law! What happened? Did Ye Chen make you angry?"
When Xu Mu got into the car, Ye Yu immediately asked. She had seen from inside how angry he looked.
Ye Tong also held his arm. "What's wrong?"
Xu Mu hesitated for a moment, then said directly, "Ye Chen's a bastard — he told me to divorce you."
He didn't spell out everything; saying too much would only seem forced.
"What?!"
Ye Tong's eyes went wide, and Ye Yu covered her mouth in disbelief.
They both trusted Xu Mu completely now.
Ye Chen had gone to such lengths to bring them here just to reveal there was no blood relation.
Now, hearing that he wanted Xu Mu to divorce Ye Tong — his true intentions became obvious.
"I knew it!" Ye Yu fumed. "Ye Chen has liked Sister since we were kids. But I didn't expect him to be this twisted — the moment he learned you weren't related, he wanted to take her for himself!"
Her fists clenched tight. "I can't stand this! I'm going to curse him out right now!"
"Don't. Let's just go home first," Xu Mu said, locking the doors and driving away.
Ye Chen felt nothing for Ye Yu — and if provoked, he might even harm her.
For now, Xu Mu needed to see what Ye Chen's next move would be.
In the original story, the villain Xu Mu's ashes had been scattered by Ye Chen.
Ye Chen had helped Ye Tong and Ye Yu solve their major problems,
and Ye Yu, who once hated the villain most, instantly fell for her heroic brother.
But now, the plot had changed — Ye Chen wouldn't win them over so easily.
Hopefully, he wouldn't stoop to the same despicable tricks Fang Chu once did.
Back home, Ye Yu pulled Ye Tong into her room, complaining bitterly about Ye Chen.
But Ye Tong, kind as always, still held onto hope. She told Ye Yu there might be some misunderstanding — they could ask him next time.
Xu Mu was about to speak when he suddenly noticed that Chai Wang's transfer had arrived.
He immediately contacted the Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts customer service and sent over 24 billion,
leaving himself with ten billion cash on hand.
"Dragon King, what should we do next?"
Xiao Ran was driving Ye Chen out of the city, though her mind was drifting.
For the first time, she began to doubt herself.
Had following Ye Chen and serving him so devotedly really been the right thing?
If she did it because he once saved her life — then hadn't Xu Mu saved her too?
"Continue investigating the Ye family," Ye Chen said, gazing out the window.
"I have a lot to do now… Stop the car."
They had already driven beyond the city. Xiao Ran immediately pulled over. "What's wrong?"
"There's a martial artist training under the highway. Let's take a look."
Ye Chen got out and stood by the roadside, looking down toward the trees.
A woman in sportswear, her hair tied in a ponytail, was drenched in sweat.
It was Xu Ningbing.
She noticed someone watching her and turned around.
"So big…" Ye Chen muttered under his breath, his eyes falling on the stretched fabric where the words Dragon Nation were nearly distorted.
"As expected, Yang City truly hides dragons and crouching tigers."