In the study, Jiang Pei stood before the massive ebony desk, his back ramrod straight. He had been standing there for a full ten minutes, yet the man behind the desk hadn’t even lifted an eyelid.
Finally, Ye Mochen signed the last document and snapped the expensive fountain pen shut with a crisp “click.”
“Master Mo.” Jiang Pei seized the opportunity to speak. “Regarding Miss Ran… I took the liberty of investigating her.”
He presented a thin file.
“Her identity and background… are clean. Too clean. It’s as if she appeared out of thin air in the manor. There’s no trace of anyone behind her.”
Ye Mochen didn’t take the file, nor did he even glance at it.
He slowly raised his head, his deep, unfathomable black eyes resting silently on Jiang Pei’s face. There was no questioning, no anger, only a heavy, suffocating pressure.
“Did I ask you to investigate?”
His voice was flat, devoid of any emotion, yet it was more chilling than any sharp reprimand.
Cold sweat instantly beaded on Jiang Pei’s temples. He quickly bowed in apology. “I’m sorry, Master Mo! I overstepped! But it concerns your safety. I must eliminate any potential threats for you!”
This was his duty. Even if it angered Master Mo, he had to do it.
Ye Mochen stood up. His tall figure carried an invisible pressure as he walked step by step to stand before Jiang Pei.
He didn’t look at Jiang Pei. Instead, he took the file from his hand.
Jiang Pei felt a flicker of relief, thinking Master Mo would look at it after all.
The next moment, Ye Mochen flicked his wrist. The file, which contained Jiang Pei’s hard work and concern, was casually tossed into the nearby fireplace. Flames instantly leaped up, quickly reducing the file to a handful of ash.
“Jiang Pei.” Ye Mochen finally spoke, his voice cold as ice. “Remember, she is mine.”
He turned his head, his gaze sharp as a blade, enunciating each word clearly. “I don’t care where she came from or what her background is. She is a gift from heaven to me. This is the first time, and the last.”
Jiang Pei’s face instantly turned deathly pale. He finally understood.
In Master Mo’s heart, Miss Ran’s status had long surpassed all rules and suspicions. She was not a danger to be investigated, but a belief that no one was allowed to profane.
“Yes! I understand my mistake! Please punish me, Master Mo!” Jiang Pei’s head was almost buried in his chest.
“Get out.”
Ye Mochen uttered two words, offering nothing more.
Jiang Pei felt as if granted a reprieve. He bowed and retreated, almost fleeing the study.
In the following days, Ran Weiyi officially began her “kept” life.
With pen and paper, she enthusiastically drafted a comprehensive treatment plan for Ye Mochen, covering everything from acupuncture, medicinal baths, herbal decoctions, dietary supplements, to daily routines, leaving no detail untouched.
The first bowl of medicine was brewed by her own hands.
When she carried the bowl of pitch-black, strangely scented medicinal liquid into the study, even the usually composed, middle-aged butler Lin’s expression cracked slightly.
He stood hesitantly in front of Ran Weiyi, his gaze lingering on the bowl for a moment before he spoke with difficulty, “Miss Ran, the young master…”
Before he could finish, Ye Mochen looked up from behind the desk.Ran Weiyi seemed not to hear Butler Lin’s attempts to dissuade her, completely ignoring the barely contained panic on his face as she walked straight past him and approached the desk.
“Ye Mochen, drink the medicine first.”
【Doudou: Sister, this prescription smells… indescribable. Are you sure he’ll drink it? It’s even more bitter than coptis. Even I, a System, feel like formatting myself just from the smell.】
Ye Mochen’s gaze moved past Butler Lin’s rigid shoulder, locking intently on Ran Weiyi’s face.
He wasn’t looking at the bowl of medicine strong enough to knock someone over with its smell, but at her, the one holding it. As if anything she offered, even if it were poison, he would gladly accept.
He picked up the bowl, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one go, his movements crisp and decisive, as if he were drinking water, not medicine.
Beside him, Butler Lin’s eyes nearly popped out of his head, his mouth opening and closing without a single word coming out.
Ran Weiyi looked at the empty bowl. How could she not know how bitter the medicine was? Her heart ached for him uncontrollably.
Then, she reached into her pocket, took out a piece of fruit candy, unwrapped it, and held the small pink candy to his lips.
Ye Mochen lowered his gaze, looking at the candy resting by his lips, still warm from her fingertips, and did not open his mouth immediately.
He extended his tongue, lightly licking the pad of her finger before taking the candy into his mouth. The warm, damp sensation made Ran Weiyi’s fingers curl slightly.
He leaned back in his chair as the sweetness of the candy spread in his mouth, diluting the overwhelming bitterness.
He looked at her, his gaze deep, as if trying to take all of her into his eyes.
【Doudou: Male lead’s possessiveness level remains stable, affection value +5%! Sister, what you’re feeding him isn’t medicine—it’s a love potion!】
And indeed, that was the case.
In the days that followed, the servants in the manor witnessed a daily spectacle.
Ran Weiyi would carry various strangely colored medicinal soups or foods, entering any of Ye Mochen’s private spaces without hindrance.
And the master of the house, who couldn’t even be bothered to take a bite of dishes prepared by top-tier chefs, accepted all of these without question.
If Ran Weiyi told him to drink medicine, he drank it.
If Ran Weiyi told him to take a medicinal bath, he would step into the bathroom on time.
If Ran Weiyi insisted he must sleep before 11 p.m., he would set aside all his work and appear in the bedroom punctually.
The way everyone in the manor looked at Ran Weiyi had shifted from initial curiosity to reverence.
Butler Lin and Jiang Pei stood at the end of the corridor outside the study, like two door guardians, their gazes drifting toward the tightly closed door.
Sunlight filtered through the stained-glass windows, casting dappled patterns on the polished floor. The air was no longer stagnant and silent but faintly carried the scent of herbs and… a hint of life.
This change had only come after Ran Weiyi’s arrival.
Butler Lin looked at Jiang Pei’s perpetually tense face and couldn’t help but speak up. “Jiang Pei, yesterday I saw the young master standing in the garden for ten minutes. He… he was looking at the flowers Miss Ran planted.”
This seemingly trivial matter to others brought tears to the eyes of the old butler who had watched Ye Mochen grow up.
Upon hearing this, even the cold, rigid lines of Jiang Pei’s face softened slightly. Only those who had been by his side knew how much the young master had once resisted the world, living like a shell without warmth.
But now, there was light in the manor.At this moment, the subject of their discussion, Ran Weiyi, was in the pharmacy processing the newly arrived medicinal herbs. She carefully placed a dried purplish-black herb into a mortar, her movements focused and skilled.
【Doudou: Sister, the male lead’s World Abhorrence Value has dropped to 70%! Your treatment is working—his bodily functions are improving!】
Ran Weiyi paused her actions.
She didn’t smile immediately. Instead, she first let out a long, silent sigh, her shoulders finally relaxing completely after being tense for days.
She raised a hand to wipe her forehead, only then realizing that a thin layer of sweat had unknowingly formed there.
Only afterward did a faint smile slowly spread across her lips.