At five in the afternoon, Ni Yang and He Siyu brought Cotton Candy back to Yinshuang Manor together.
After dinner in the evening, Ni Hao called He Siyu into the study.
The study was decorated in a steady redwood style. The first thing visible upon entering was an entire wall of bookshelves filled with books of various genres and styles.
He Siyu closed the door and followed Ni Hao to the tea table in the study. The two sat facing each other.
His posture was upright and proper, back straight and waist firm, legs slightly apart, forearms resting lightly on his thighs.
Ni Hao glanced at him and lowered his eyes, preparing to make tea.
“Uncle, I’ll do it.”
He Siyu interrupted him as he was about to warm the teaware.
Ni Hao looked up in surprise.
“You know how to do this?”
He Siyu remained polite and modest. He lowered his gaze, picked up the boiling water beside him, and rinsed the tea set. His pale, well-defined fingers moved through the steps with practiced ease.
“Mm. My grandfather taught me when I was young.”
Ni Hao suddenly remembered. The He family elder was famously fond of tea—there was no way he would not have taught tea-making skills to the heir he personally selected.
He looked at the man who had impulsively married his Yangyang. To say he was satisfied—he was only moderately so. He had interacted with He Siyu before; earlier this year, for the Yi An project, he had personally met with him.
Despite his young age, the man’s methods were steady, precise, and ruthless. He treated people with courtesy and restraint, spoke flawlessly, and never revealed his emotions. His temperament was calm and grounded.
Back then, he had thought only a man like this was worthy of his Yangyang. Yet now that the two were truly together, he was not entirely pleased.
After warming the cups came the tea placement. He Siyu lowered his lashes and asked softly, “Uncle, are you looking for me because of Qi Huaiyu?”
Ni Hao raised a brow.
“You know?”
“I just received news. Qi Huaiyu returned to the Lin family in Haishi and, within a month, became President of Aura Jewelry.”
Ni Hao’s expression turned serious. His brows furrowed, his tone filled with concern.
“After returning, people in the Lin family started having accidents one after another. First was his maternal uncle, who was in a car accident and became paralyzed. Then his maternal grandfather suddenly had a cerebral hemorrhage and is still in the ICU. It can’t be a coincidence. It’s most likely Qi Huaiyu doing this to seize power.”
“I’m worried he might target Yangyang. He made such a scene at the engagement banquet—it’s hard to say he doesn’t have revenge in mind.”
The tea cup clinked lightly as He Siyu rinsed it. He lifted his eyes slightly at Ni Hao’s expression, then lowered them again as he continued his movements.
“Uncle, Yi An’s jewelry line overlaps with Aura’s design philosophy. I don’t like sharing profit with others—especially those I don’t like.”
Ni Hao pressed his lips tightly together, his expression heavy as he studied He Siyu’s face.
“So you’re planning to swallow Aura whole and monopolize it?”
The man poured the brewed tea into a white porcelain cup, filling it to eighty percent. He placed it in front of Ni Hao with his palm tilted at a forty-five-degree angle.
A faint smile lifted his lips.
“Uncle, please.”
Ni Hao lowered his head and took a sip. For some reason, although it was the same tea leaves, the tea brewed by He Siyu tasted more fragrant.
That single cup gave him a new understanding of the man—patient, and extremely ambitious.
He Siyu also took a light sip of tea. His brows lifted slightly. The tea was indeed good—rich and mellow.
“Uncle, it’s not about monopolizing. The Lin family is where it is today because they stole my mother’s designs. I’m simply taking back what they stole.”
Ni Hao had met He Siyu’s mother before. She was a Jiangnan-style beauty, extremely talented. In their era, one of her design drafts could be worth a fortune.
Yet because of a gambling agreement, that genius woman fell from grace, leaving behind only a newborn He Siyu.
“If it was stolen, then it should be returned to its rightful owner. If you need help, just tell Uncle. We’re family—how could we let you fight alone? I may not have many abilities, but I’m quite good at dealing with people.”
Ni Hao recalled what Ni Yang had once said. It was during the Mid-Autumn Festival when she called them and told them about what happened at the He family estate.
Yangyang had said she hoped they would treat He Siyu better in the future. He had never eaten candy in his childhood, never had anyone shelter him from the rain—he was a child who had grown up in the rain.
He Siyu’s pupils trembled slightly as he looked at Ni Hao’s warm and kind gaze.
The bitter taste of tea spread in his mouth. Not even his closest people had ever looked at him like this before.
Ni Yang’s family treated him with warmth out of affection for her, extending kindness to him as well.
This was love he had fought and taken for himself.
A faint smile appeared on his lips, carrying a trace of warmth.
“Mm. Thank you, Uncle.”
Ni Hao smiled as he poured more tea for both of them.
“What’s there to thank? We’re family—no need for thanks.”
When he came out of the study, He Siyu stood by the second-floor railing and looked down.
Ni Yang was controlling a small toy car, smiling as she watched Little Ye and Cotton Candy riding on it.
His heart stirred. He quickly went downstairs and walked up to her, pulling her into a hug.
Ni Yang widened her eyes in surprise. By the time she reacted, He Siyu had already let her go.
“What’s wrong? Why did you suddenly hug me? Little Ye and Madam Ling are still here.”
“Sorry. I just suddenly wanted to hug you.”
He Siyu looked guilty, pitiful and wronged.
Ni Yang: “……”
Was she looking that scary?
He was acting like she had committed some great crime just because she was hugged once. They were husband and wife—hugging was normal.
She immediately put on a smile and took his hand.
“I wasn’t blaming you. If you want to hug, just hug. Why are you acting so wronged? It makes it seem like I bullied you.”
The moment she held his hand, his mood exploded like fireworks in the night sky—bright and dazzling.
He softly responded with an “Mm.”
Ling Xi watched everything from the side with a knowing, satisfied expression, smiling like a grandmother.
Little Ye covered his own eyes with one hand and Cotton Candy’s eyes with the other.
“Shh, Cotton Candy, don’t look. We’re kids—we can’t watch this.”
That night, Ni Hao and Ling Xi strongly insisted that they stay over.
Ni Yang wanted to refuse since He Siyu still had work the next day.
But the man smiled and said, “Alright, then we’ll trouble you.”
Ni Yang: “……”
She looked at him with a complicated expression. Something was really off tonight. Had her father said something to him?
Weird. Too weird.
He didn’t even have clothes here. He would have to go back home tomorrow morning just to change—so troublesome.
He Siyu lowered his gaze at her strange expression, and the joy in his heart instantly burst like a bubble.
He had forgotten—Ni Yang still resisted sharing a room with him.
Dark possessiveness surged in his eyes so heavily it seemed to restrain the air around him.
His curved lips flattened.
Only when Ni Yang led him to her second-floor room did his expression ease slightly.
The room had a cream minimalist design, with a bed dressed in French princess-style bedding she liked.
A faint floral-fruity fragrance filled the air from the diffuser.
His black suit looked completely out of place inside.
Ni Yang turned to him.
“I don’t have your sleepwear here. I do have a boyfriend-style short sleeve I bought before. Do you want it?”
He Siyu immediately showed guilt.
“Did I make you unhappy? I forgot we were still sleeping separately. You take the bed tonight—I’ll sleep on the sofa.”
There was a two-seater beige fabric sofa in the room. No matter how it looked, it was completely unsuitable for a man like him.
Only then did Ni Yang realize his thoughts were truly chaotic.
“I’m not unhappy. It’s just that you don’t have clothes for tomorrow. You’ll still have to go home to change before work—it’s too troublesome.”
After hearing her explanation, his mood improved again.
“I can ask Uncle Zheng or my assistant to bring a set over.”
Ni Yang: “……Fine.”
She glanced at the two-meter bed.
“Sleep on the bed. The sofa is too small for you.”
His mood instantly soared to the top of a Ferris wheel—everything in his sight looked like a beautiful landscape.
“Listen to Mrs. He.”