Let Them Think I’m Still Naïve

Shan Yuan, once renowned as the Bull Mountain Car God.

Two years ago, to settle a bet, Shan Yuan borrowed a low-end racing car from some rookie and ended up causing a major accident.

He lost a leg because of it, and the other driver died in the wreck.

The incident caused a huge stir in the racing circle.

Some said the car itself had problems.

Others said Shan Yuan was too eager to win and mishandled the vehicle.

But no matter what rumors circulated, Shan Yuan never responded.

After being discharged from the hospital, he fell into a slump for a while, then opened an auto repair shop that also dealt in secondhand cars.

Due to his connections in the industry, Shan Yuan’s shop quickly became a hub for buying and selling used racing cars.

So, the moment Ye Zhiqiu decided to sell the car and cash out, he contacted Shan Yuan.

Shan Yuan was a loyal guy.

He always remembered that after the accident back then, it was because of Ye Zhiqiu that he got immediate treatment at Li Shaojun’s family private hospital.

Otherwise, forget his leg—he might not have even survived.

Therefore, he quickly screened potential buyers and had already selected one and collected a deposit before the car was even delivered.

After dropping the car off at Shan Yuan’s shop, Ye Zhiqiu returned home close to midnight.

The living room lights were still on.

Tao Ruoqing and Ye Zheng were sitting on the sofa watching TV.

They’d probably heard about what happened at the racetrack today from Tang Le.

Too anxious to call him immediately, but too restless to sit still, they were pretending to be casual, waiting for him here.

Ye Zhiqiu pushed the door open and walked in.

Both of them looked over at once.

“How was it today?” Ye Zheng spoke first. “Shaojun rushed over to pick up the car this afternoon, said you wanted to race tonight.”

He chuckled. “Isn’t that a bit too rushed?”

Hearing this, Ye Zhiqiu shot him a cold look.

Only then did Ye Zheng notice the injury on his face.

He wanted to say something, but it was already too late.

“Brother,” Ye Zhiqiu said flatly, looking at him. “Do you even care about me?”

“What kind of thing is that to say?” Tao Ruoqing quickly intervened. “How could your brother not care about you?”

“Care about me?” Ye Zhiqiu repeated slowly, his eyes gradually reddening. “You care about me so much that you only bought me a car worth a couple hundred thousand, making me a laughingstock? You care about me so much that you can’t even see I’m injured? I come home this late and not a single word of concern…”

His voice caught slightly as he turned to Tao Ruoqing. “Is this your idea of caring?”

Tao Ruoqing was momentarily speechless.

She and Ye Zheng had waited all night with so much they wanted to ask, but now, thanks to Ye Zheng’s one comment, mother and son were instantly on the defensive.

“Blame your brother,” Tao Ruoqing said. “But he really didn’t see it just now.”

“Didn’t see it?” Ye Zhiqiu pointed hysterically at the wound on his face. “It’s this big and he couldn’t see it? Is he blind?”

Ye Zheng: “…”

“Don’t call your brother names, that’s going too far,” Tao Ruoqing added. “I’ll talk to him later, alright?”

She reached up to brush Ye Zhiqiu’s eyes. “Don’t cry. When Xiaoqiu cries, Mama’s heart aches too.”

“I’m not crying.” Ye Zhiqiu turned away petulantly, his thick lashes lowering to hide the emotions in his eyes, though his voice remained cold. “I still have things to do. I’m going upstairs.”

“Xiaoqiu.” Tao Ruoqing took two quick steps after him, but Ye Zhiqiu’s long legs quickly outpaced her as he stomped up the stairs.

The footsteps gradually faded.

An eerie silence fell over the ground floor.

“That car,” Tao Ruoqing frowned, “he didn’t really sell it, did he?”

“Can’t be that fast.” Ye Zheng stood, grabbing his jacket to head upstairs. “Maybe you spoil him too much?”

Mother and son had waited all evening with their hearts in their throats, only to get zero useful information out of him—and get blamed for it by the little brat to boot.

Ye Zheng wasn’t suspicious of anything else. He just figured Ye Zhiqiu must have actually been wronged outside.

After all, the kid was used to being pampered. Today he’d been crushed financially and physically…

Ye Zheng rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

“What choice do I have but to spoil him?” Tao Ruoqing sat down with a faint, ambiguous smile. “The Ye family hasn’t accomplished much these years. As his mother, I have to think about you and Xiaxia, don’t I?”

Ye Zheng was silent for a moment, then nodded. “You should get some rest too.”

Ye Hongxian had been wrapped up with some young internet celebrity lately and hadn’t been home for days.

After Ye Zheng went upstairs, Tao Ruoqing sat in the living room a while longer.

Lately, she’d been feeling an unease she couldn’t quite name.

Whenever she tried to pin it down, she couldn’t find the source.

Sometimes, Tao Ruoqing couldn’t tell whether this unease came from Ye Hongxian or Ye Zhiqiu.

That’s why she was so anxious about Qi Xin’s progress.

After a long moment, Tao Ruoqing sighed and set a new alarm on her phone.

Ye Zhiqiu had a temper outside, sure, but with family, he’d always been forgiving.

His moods flared up and faded fast.

As long as she soothed him tomorrow and stroked his ego for a few days, everything would be fine.

The next morning, Tao Ruoqing woke up early and personally cooked Ye Zhiqiu’s favorite seafood congee.

Sure enough, when Ye Zhiqiu came downstairs and saw the steaming, fragrant congee on the table, his eyes lit up almost imperceptibly.

Tao Ruoqing quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Compared to controlling Ye Zhiqiu himself, that racing car wasn’t really the most important thing to her.

No one knew Ye Zhiqiu better than she did.

He had no concept of money. Even if cash landed in his hands, it would slip through like sand.

Even if he’d angrily sold that car for peanuts, the money wouldn’t stay in his pocket long.

Oh well, she thought. Think of it as giving him extra spending money.

The more extravagantly he lived now, the harder he’d fall later, and the easier he’d be to completely break.

Better than letting Ye Hongxian waste it on his flings—this way, at least the money served a purpose.

“Come eat.” Tao Ruoqing smiled warmly. “After breakfast, Mama will treat those wounds.”

The marks on Ye Zhiqiu’s face were shallow, but accompanied by patches of purple bruising, like someone had doodled on his beautiful face—not ugly, almost strangely artistic.

Ye Zhiqiu said nothing but obediently sat down, glancing around almost imperceptibly.

Tao Ruoqing knew he was looking for Ye Zheng.

That pleased her even more.

Ye Zhiqiu had always been soft-hearted. Even when he gave the cold shoulder, it was only surface deep.

And soft-hearted people were the easiest to control.

“Your brother will come down later. Let’s eat first.” She smiled, serving him food. “Here, he made our Xiaoqiu unhappy—we’re not waiting for him today.”

Ye Zhiqiu lowered his head and ate his congee in silence.

Tao Ruoqing pressed her advantage.

“How about this weekend?” she said gently, coaxing like a child. “Let your brother drive, take us both to visit your younger brother on set. Sound good?”

She added, “Your brother said just the other day he missed us.”

Hearing this, Ye Zhiqiu’s chewing slowed.

Ye Zhixia’s film shoot was right on the outskirts of the capital. On days off, he came home to rest.

With one in school and one filming, it wasn’t like they went long periods without seeing each other.

So in his previous life, Tao Ruoqing had visited the set without bringing Ye Zhiqiu.

That was why, last time, Ye Zhiqiu hadn’t met Gao Wenye until after filming wrapped.

Back then, Ye Zhixia and Gao Wenye were deeply in love, and Tao Ruoqing opposed the relationship fiercely.

Shortly after their first meeting, Gao Wenye secretly found a chance to confess to Ye Zhiqiu.

Drawn by Ye Zhiqiu’s striking appearance, he wanted to bring him into the industry and make him a huge star.

But back then, Ye Zhiqiu considered Ye Zhixia his dearest younger brother, his closest family.

He angrily rebuked Gao Wenye and immediately told Ye Zhixia everything.

Ye Zhixia and Gao Wenye had a massive fight but didn’t break up. From then on, Ye Zhixia became suspicious of Gao Wenye and tightened his control.

At that time, Ye Zhiqiu was deeply in love with Qi Xin and hadn’t paid much attention to any of this.

But afterward, Gao Wenye became perfectly aligned with Ye Zhixia, and after Ye Zhiqiu married Qi Xin, he constantly introduced young, up-and-coming actors to him.

Through these actions, he finally gained Tao Ruoqing’s approval.

Thinking back now…

Ye Zhiqiu didn’t want to dwell on what Ye Zhixia’s true intentions might have been. Like Tao Ruoqing and Qi Xin, he filed him under the “born bad” category.

But Gao Wenye…

He had probably harbored a deep desire for revenge against Ye Zhiqiu.

From his past life until now, Ye Zhiqiu had never treated feelings lightly.

But now, he didn’t mind using emotions to stir up some trouble between Ye Zhixia, Gao Wenye, and Tao Ruoqing.

The fragrant scallop touched his tongue. Ye Zhiqiu habitually chewed on the injured side of his mouth, and the pain made him hiss softly.

A shadow fell beside him.

Ye Zheng had come down at some point and was now standing next to him holding a first-aid kit.

“Here, let me treat that before you eat,” he said.

Ye Zhiqiu puffed out his cheeks and turned away stubbornly. “Hmph.”

“Brother was wrong. I’ll apologize, okay?” Ye Zheng chuckled, ruffling his soft hair. “Come on.”

Ye Zhiqiu pressed his lips together, saying nothing, but his body obediently followed Ye Zheng as he stood up.

They walked to the large floor-to-ceiling window in the living room. Ye Zhiqiu sat on the sofa, tilting his face up slightly and closing his eyes.

Morning sunlight streamed through the glass, falling on his fair skin, making it nearly translucent.

The bruises, already much faded from the night before, looked especially stark.

Ye Zheng silently applied the medicine, put the kit away, and returned to the table.

“We were just talking about having you drive us to visit your brother on set this weekend,” Tao Ruoqing smiled as he approached. “See if you have any plans and adjust your schedule.”

“Do you want to go?” Ye Zheng asked Ye Zhiqiu.

“Mm.” Ye Zhiqiu still kept his face stiff, but this time he finally agreed.

Ye Zheng smiled. “Good.”

Ye Zhiqiu finished the last bites in his bowl and stood up.

“Mom, come to my room after breakfast,” he said. “I have a few outfits I’m not sure how to style.”

He knew Tao Ruoqing was aware he had plans with Qi Xin today.

Sure enough, Tao Ruoqing’s eyes lit up.

Time to give Tao Ruoqing and Qi Xin a little taste of sweetness. Let them nurse their hopes.

Playing with dogs—isn’t it more fun when you tighten and loosen the leash?