At this moment, Lu Jue, who had once been Ye Shuang’s “Scandalous Couple” partner, also stood up holding his son Xiao Bai’s hand.
Lu Jue stood tall and straight, not intending to offer help, merely nodding slightly at Ye Shuang in greeting. His face maintained a polite and just right smile.
“Hello, Miss Ye. This is my son, Xiao Bai.”
After introducing his too-shy-to-speak son, he turned his gaze toward Ji Li and Ji Zhou, his smile growing more genuine and friendly.
“Cheng Cheng, Zhou Zhou, I hope Xiao Bai can have fun playing with you this time.”
Recalling the previous scandal with Ye Shuang, Lu Jue still felt lingering fear.
During that period, the overwhelming media coverage had caused him immense suffering.
Even though Ye Shuang was now married and her status had changed, he remained extremely cautious about maintaining distance when interacting with her.
After all, the mere thought of facing his wife’s loving punishments like “kneel on durians” or “kneel on keyboard” due to rumors made him shudder.
He really didn’t want to repeat that mistake!!!
Ye Shuang nodded slightly, her expression calm as still water, maintaining her faint, just right smile as she responded:
“Hello.””
Perfect – she didn’t want the slightest entanglement with this former scandalous boyfriend either!
However, contrary to both their expectations, while they wanted to avoid disturbing each other, they couldn’t control their children’s intense curiosity about one another.
“Ni hao, uncle. Ni hao, little brother. Why won’t little brother come down?”
Ji Zhou tilted his head, his dark, bright eyes fixed intently on Xiao Bai who was buried tightly in Lu Jue’s embrace, filled with curiosity.
After a pause, his little mind turning, he continued: “Little brother, don’t be afraid! I’ll protect you!”
Being the youngest at home, Ji Zhou felt particularly excited to finally meet a brother even younger than himself here.
It’s just that this little brother was too shy, which made him somewhat disappointed.
“Sorry, Xiao Bai is a bit shy.”
Seeing this, Lu Jue quickly crouched down holding his son, facing Ji Zhou directly with an apologetic expression.
Gently patting his son’s back, he coaxed softly: “Xiao Bai, how about saying hello to big brother?”
Lu Jue knew well that his son usually clung most to his wife. Today, he was probably missing his mother too much, which made him so withdrawn.
“……”
Xiao Bai squirmed slightly in his father’s arms, hesitating for quite a while.
Finally, under the persistent warm comfort from Ji Zhou, Ji Li, and Dou Dou, he slowly turned around.
Just in time to meet Ji Zhou’s expectant, sparkling big eyes.
“G’ge hello… I’m Xiao Bai.”
The moment Xiao Bai saw Ji Zhou’s exquisite and beautiful appearance, his sense of strangeness instantly vanished without a trace.
Immediately after, he struggled vigorously in Lu Jue’s arms, insisting on being put down.
The moment his feet touched the ground, he immediately grabbed Ji Zhou’s hand. The two little ones chattered away enthusiastically in baby talk that adults couldn’t understand.
Both Ji Li and Dou Dou demonstrated great big brother manners, occasionally joining the conversation, which helped reduce the distance among the still somewhat unfamiliar adults.
Even Lu Jue, who had been thinking about staying away from Ye Shuang, forgot about it now.
Witnessing this heartwarming scene from nearby, Ye Xinrou’s smile instantly froze on her face.
However, her years of experience in the entertainment industry brought her back to her senses instantly. Realizing this was a live broadcast, she immediately adjusted her expression, restoring it flawlessly.
A flicker of extremely complex emotions flashed in her eyes—envy, resentment, and disdain intertwined.
She waited until Ye Shuang was escorted to her seat by Qin Muqing before deepening the smile on her face and saying gently, “Little sister, long time no see. We’ve finally managed to wait for you.”
Though the words seemed affectionate, there was a faint, peculiar undertone.
Ye Xinrou’s feelings toward Ye Shuang were truly complicated.
She didn’t envy Ye Shuang for marrying Ji Huaiqing—after all, Ji Huaiqing’s chilling methods still left her with lingering fear.
What she couldn’t fathom was how Ji Huaiqing would actually marry Ye Shuang and even step forward for her. This filled Ye Xinrou’s heart with immense resentment.
And now, watching Ye Shuang being the center of attention in front of everyone, her jealousy blazed fiercely once again.
Deep within these tangled emotions, Ye Xinrou harbored a profound disdain for Ye Shuang.
She believed Ye Shuang’s frail, sickly body was like a candle flickering in the wind, ready to go out at any moment—an early death was inevitable sooner or later.
Gazing at Ye Shuang, Ye Xinrou’s thoughts drifted uncontrollably to the past.
Just because of a casual remark she had made, Ye Shuang had collapsed on the spot and had to be rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment.
Though she had reacted quickly and escaped unnoticed, in that moment, fear had surged over her like a tidal wave, nearly drowning her completely.
For days afterward, she had been terrified and restless, her heart feeling as if it might leap out of her throat at any moment.
She knew all too well that neither the Ye Family nor the Gu Family would ever confront Ji Huaiqing head-on for her sake.
But now, recalling that scene, she inexplicably felt a hint of smugness.
Ye Xinrou was certain the Ji Family hadn’t discovered her actions, and her husband Gu Jing, because of their daughter, had softened his attitude toward her, which secretly eased her mind.
Only…
When she learned that Gu Jing had undergone a vasectomy, a barely noticeable shadow flickered in her eyes, and she unconsciously tightened her grip on Gu Zhao’s hand.
What a pity—Gu Jing had actually gotten a vasectomy.
She glanced at Gu Zhao beside her and sighed inwardly.
The shadow in her heart lasted only a moment. Soon, she consoled herself: as long as Gu Zhao still depended on her, she was confident of winning the Gu Family’s approval.
With this thought, a sense of pride welled up in Ye Xinrou again. Her gaze shifted to Ye Shuang, and seeing the other’s slightly surprised expression, her feeling of superiority grew even stronger.
Even if Ye Shuang had been fortunate enough to marry Gu Jing in her previous life and had won his affection, so what?
In the end, hadn’t Ye Shuang died young, not even reaching thirty?
Now, Ye Xinrou firmly believed that with her tactics and charm, she could stay with Gu Jing for life, growing old together.
At least for now, Gu Jing’s attitude toward her was gradually warming.
She was convinced that, given time, she would capture all of Gu Jing’s love.
But Ye Xinrou couldn’t deceive herself—as long as Ye Shuang remained alive, she would feel restless and uneasy, worried that Gu Jing might fall for Ye Shuang again.
So, it would be better if Ye Shuang died sooner rather than later.
“Hmm.”
Ye Shuang’s expression remained unreadable. She merely cast a faint sidelong glance at Ye Xinrou, her tone as calm as a placid lake, and said:
“Also, please call me by my full name. We’re not that close.”
Her eyes held no anger or resentment, only complete indifference, as if Ye Xinrou meant nothing more to her than a total stranger.
But Ye Shuang knew perfectly well that this very aloofness was what would upset Ye Xinrou the most.
After all, Ye Xinrou had always enjoyed putting on a show of sisterly affection in front of others, and she simply refused to play along.
However, Ye Shuang bore no ill will toward children.
Ignoring the slightly awkward expression on Ye Xinrou’s face, she lowered her gaze slightly to look at Gu Zhao, who was wearing a little suit and appeared somewhat uneasy. Softly, she said:
“Hello there, little Gu Zhao.”
“Hewwo, Aunty…”
Being still quite young, Gu Zhao could vaguely sense the strange tension between Ye Shuang and Ye Xinrou, yet he obediently offered a sweet smile.
After greeting her, he turned to show a friendly smile to his other little friends nearby.
But he didn’t actively approach them—he could tell his mother seemed somewhat unhappy.