Chapter 7: Ye Family — h.e.l.lo.
The limousine drove through a desolate, open mountain range before finally stopping in front of a villa.
The chauffeur opened the car door for them. Sun Qian was still carrying Ye Zhen Zhen’s bags as she helped her exit the limousine. “Zhen Zhen, this is our Ye Family’s Mansion. You grew up here as a child. Do you have any impressions?”
The entire time she spoke, she observed Ye Zhen Zhen’s expressions, as if she could read something from her face. Helpless, Ye Zhen Zhen merely turned to face this imposing villa. She shook her head. “No.”
Du. Du. The vehicle behind them honked their horn. Ye Zhen Zhen turned her head around and caught sight of Qin Kong driving a sports car through the villa garden towards them.
Sun Qian ignored Qin Kong, walking directly up to the door and pressing the doorbell. Ye Zhen Zhen followed her without batting an eyelid. From what she had seen during her time at the hospital, Sun Qian and Qin Kong did not like looking at each other.
Qin Kong parked his car at the doorway and ran to Ye Zhen Zhen’s side, still smiling at her. Ye Zhen Zhen studied his smiling appearance until the servants inside opened the door. A forty to fifty year old housekeeper opened the door. When she saw Ye Zhen Zhen, her tranquil eyes distinctly rippled. “Miss.”
Her respectful address caused Ye Zhen Zhen to smile somewhat awkwardly at her. “h.e.l.lo.”
Sun Qian held Ye Zhen Zhen close to her and pulled her inside the villa. “This is housekeeper Zhou. She’s been cleaning the Ye Mansion for 25 years.” Housekeeper Zhou heard her words and glanced at their retreating figures before closing the door behind her.
In the drawing room, a man heard the sound of the door and put down the newspaper in his hand as he stood up. Qin Kong chattered continuously in Ye Zhen Zhen’s ear as she looked around her. When they entered the drawing room, she caught sight of a man attired in an ash-gray suit standing in front of the sofa.
“Kang Ping, I brought Zhen Zhen back.” Sun Qian smiled at the man before handing the bag she carried over to housekeeper Zhou. “Help Zhen Zhen take her things back to her room.”
“Understood.” Housekeeper Zhou took the bag from Sun Qian’s hands and headed upstairs to the second floor. Ye Zhen Zhen took the opportunity to examine the stairs that led to the second floor. She knitted her brows and absently followed the housekeeper.
“Zhen Zhen!” Kang Ping called out from behind her. He walked up to Ye Zhen Zhen’s side and blocked her way. “Do you remember uncle?”
Ye Zhen Zhen looked at him closely before shaking her head. “I don’t remember.”
Ye Kang Ping didn’t say anything, only staring blankly at her. Ye Zhen Zhen’s brows furrowed together tightly. That day when she had just woken up, Zuo Yi had also been watching her with this kind of gaze.
“Uncle.”
Ye Zhen Zhen’s voice wasn’t very loud, but it sounded resounding and powerful. Ye Kang Ping finally removed his gaze. He smiled at her and said, “That’s okay. Inevitably, you’ll remember one day. Oh, that’s right. Your room is on the second floor. Let your aunt take you there.”
“No need, I can get there fine by myself.” Ye Zhen Zhen nodded toward him and followed housekeeper Zhou upstairs. Qin Kong grabbed her wrist and nervously looked at her. “Wait a minute! I’ll go up first and survey the surroundings, okay? What if someone is upstairs lying in wait for you?”
Ye Zhen Zhen stared at him, before
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genuinely and sincerely asking, “If someone is really lying in wait upstairs, what could you do if you went up?”
Qin Kong scratched his curly head, a somewhat proud look on his face. “At least you can hear my blood-curdling screech and immediately flee from here.”
Ye Zhen Zhen pursed her lips and then used an even more genuine and sincere tone. “Believe me, they won’t allow you to even scream.”
Qin Kong: “…”
Seeing that he had finally calmed down, Ye Zhen Zhen once again walked towards the stairs. When she reached the foot of the stairs, she couldn’t help but stare at the steps for a while.
The Ye Mansion had been cleaned spotless. She couldn’t even tell that a murder had happened here. Ye Zhen Zhen took the stairs to the second floor and stopped in the hallway outside the second room.
“Miss.” Housekeeper Zhou saw her standing in the hallway and politely called out to her. Ye Zhen Zhen nodded and looked in the room, which was decorated completely fantasy-like.
That was right——it truly was fantasy-like. The entire room was painted pink, and even the bed and covers were a soft pink. It perfectly matched the clothes she was currently wearing.
It was so girly that Ye Zhen Zhen was unable to bear it.
Inside the room was a gigantic, eye-catching armoire. It was also pink. Ye Zhen Zhen walked up to the armoire and opened a door to take a look. Rather than clothes, there were rows of shoes inside. There was a variety of colors and designs of unpadded shoes1, sandals, and even boots, which were neatly and tidily arranged inside. They all shared one characteristic——they were all very ladylike and princess styled. She opened the other door to look inside: all seasonal dresses, not a single one not lace.
She closed the armoire, defeated. She realized that she really didn’t understand her previous self at all.
On the other side of the room was a bookcase. Ye Zhen Zhen walked over and prayed that she wouldn’t see it packed completely with Hans Christian Andersen’s children fairy tales.
For the most part, the books on the bookcase were professional books, all pertaining to finance. Furthermore, quite a few were in its original English text. Ye Zhen Zhen grabbed one and flipped it open out of curiosity before disappointedly placing it back.
Had she truly been able to read technical books like this previously?
She felt a deep veneration for her past self.
Ye Zhen Zhen’s gaze continued to skim the t.i.tles on the bookcase. To her relief, she found a few romance fiction novels at the end. She took some out and flipped through a few pages. She realized that these books were all from the same novel series. The author had a rather intriguing name: 《 The Sleeping Little Boy 》.
“Miss, I have finished arranging your things. Do you want to rest in here or familiarize yourself with your surroundings?”
Housekeeper Zhou’s voice pulled her attention. Ye Zhen Zhen replaced the book in her hand and walked up to housekeeper Zhou. She said, “I want to look around.”
“Alright.” Housekeeper Zhou finished speaking and began giving her a tour. Ye Zhen Zhen followed behind her and returned to the hallway.
“This is Madam and Sir’s room. After they pa.s.sed away, it has remained empty. This is Master and Mistress’ room. When Mistress pa.s.sed away, Master had lived in it alone. The room across from this is they study.” Housekeeper Zhou gave explanations as she walked, and Ye Zhen Zhen listened with a somewhat pained heart. This mansion had so many empty rooms.
“Housekeeper Zhou, how did my parents pa.s.s away?”
Housekeeper Zhou stopped and turned around to say to her, “Six years ago, Madam and Sir were taking you on a trip to D City. Unfortunately, a car accident occurred on the way back.”
Ye Zhen Zhen pursed her lips and continued, “I heard I lost my memory in that car crash.”
“Yes.” Housekeeper Zhou abruptly stopped speaking, as if what she was recalling made her sad. “Madam was Master’s most beloved daughter. You might have a hard time imagining the pain of seeing your child die before you. Fortunately, Miss is alright. Even though you had lost your memory, your survival was Master’s greatest relief.”
Ye Zhen Zhen had lost her memory like this so long ago. This time, because of Ye Hong Sheng’s death and her sorrow, this person spoke with such a rawness and honesty about her grandfather. While he was alive, he had loved her so dearly that he left all his a.s.sets to her.
She asked another question. “Then how did my grandmother pa.s.s away?”
“Oh dear.” Housekeeper Zhou sighed. It appeared that the Heavens were not generous. Even though the Heavens bequeathed the Ye Family wealth, it had also caused them to experience the grief of their kin dying one after another. “Mistress died before I had come to the Ye Mansion. I had heard Master say, however, that after she gave birth to Madam, her health had continuously been fragile. She died of illness when Madam was 15.”
Ye Zhen Zhen nodded and didn’t say anything else.
“Miss, I’ll take you to on a tour of the gardens, okay?” Housekeeper Zhou suggested to Ye Zhen Zhen as they continued walking.
“Okay,” Ye Zhen Zhen agreed and followed her downstairs. Qin Kong was no longer downstairs, but Sun Qian and Ye Kang Ping were sitting on the sofa discussing something. Upon seeing Ye Zhen Zhen come down, they both closed their mouths simultaneously.
Ye Zhen Zhen acted as if she hadn’t noticed this and nodded to them. “Uncle, auntie, where is Qing Kong?”
“He already left. I say, that boy is unreliable, and I don’t know why…”
“Kang Ping.” Sun Qian tugged at Ye Kang Ping’s arm, interrupting him. Ye Kang Ping looked at Ye Zhen Zhen and faked a chuckle. He asked, “Zhen Zhen, is something the matter?”
Ye Zhen Zhen smiled. “It’s nothing. Housekeeper Zhou is taking me for a stroll through the garden.”
“Oh, oh! Then you should quickly go!” Ye Kang Ping beamed and pointed at the door.
Ye Zhen Zhen followed housekeeper Zhou outside but turned her head to glance back at the drawing room. “Housekeeper Zhou, have uncle and auntie always been living with me?” Just a moment ago, she hadn’t heard housekeeper Zhou point out which room those two lived in during the tour.
As expected, housekeeper Zhou shook her head. “No, of Master’s three children, only Madam did not move out after marrying and continued to live with him. After Madam and Sir pa.s.sed away, the only ones who continued to live here were you and Master.”
Ye Zhen Zhen asked, “Then why are uncle and auntie staying here?”
Housekeeper Zhou remained silent for a moment before saying, “After Master met with mishap, they moved in. Although I have been with the Ye Family for over twenty years, I have always been a servant and cannot drive them away.”
Ye Zhen Zhen knitted her brows together. She always felt that this uncle and auntie were keeping a close watch over her rather than taking care of her.
“Housekeeper Zhou, why am I engaged to Qin Kong?”
Housekeeper Zhou said, “Master and the Qin Family Patriarch are friends. This marriage was drawn up by those two. After Madam pa.s.sed away, Master was most worried about you. He knew that Mr. Qin had been courting you constantly, so when Patriarch Qin brought this matter up, he pushed the boat with the current and agreed.”2
Ye Zhen Zhen frowned. Even if he was more worried, he shouldn’t casually give her away to others! Ultimately, was this matter because grandfather couldn’t reject an old friend’s request? “Then is my relationship with Qin Kong good?”
Housekeeper Zhou clearly hesitated for a moment. “In my opinion, it is not very good.” She paused for two seconds before adding, “But affection can be nurtured.”
Ye Zhen Zhen recalled what Qin Kong had told her this morning, of how she had liked his hugs. She suddenly smiled faintly. It seemed that what Officer Zuo said was right. They couldn’t be completely trusted.
“Miss, you’ve been discharged!” A man wearing overalls walked out of the garden carrying a white collapsible ladder on his shoulders.
“This is w.a.n.g Er Gou; he’s responsible for taking care of the garden. Normally, any work requiring physical strength in this mansion is also done by him,” Housekeeper Zhou said in introduction.
Ye Zhen Zhen smiled at him. “h.e.l.lo.”
w.a.n.g Er Gou put down the ladder from his shoulder and curiously sized up Ye Zhen Zhen. “Miss, you really lost your memories again?”
As soon as he spoke those words, housekeeper Zhou glared at him. He promptly laughed and said, “Miss, I am w.a.n.g Er Gou, but you can call me Er Gou or Little Boy w.a.n.g.”
Little Boy w.a.n.g? Ye Zhen Zhen recalled the author name she had seen on the bookcase, 《 The Sleeping Little Boy 》 . He wouldn’t happen to be the male lead, right?
After he finished greeting Ye Zhen Zhen, he hurriedly rushed off. Ye Zhen Zhen followed housekeeper Zhou on a stroll through the gardens before returning inside.
When Sun Qian saw them return, she enthusiastically welcomed them with an att.i.tude like a hostess. “Zhen Zhen, what do you want to eat for lunch? Auntie will make it for you.”
Ye Zhen Zhen stared at her. “I want to eat…a half pound of wonton.”
Sun Qian: “…”
Ultimately, housekeeper Zhou made lunch. Because Ye Zhen Zhen had just left the hospital, she couldn’t eat anything too oily, so lunch was also light.
Ye Zhen Zhen finished eating and went upstairs to nap. Although the pink bed appeared silly, lying down on it was actually comfortable. Soon, she was rather sleepy. She daydreamed about how Dr. Ji would push her outside to bask in the sun after she finished eating. She wondered what Dr. Ji was doing now.
“Dr. Ji, Dr. Ji!”
A nurse standing to the side subconsciously increased her volume. Ji Zhe Yan finally snapped back to reality after daydreaming for a while. “Sorry, what did you just say?”
“The patient in the fifth bed has signs of a high fever. I’m worried that there might be other complications.” The nurse repeated what she just said. This was the first time she had seen Dr. Ji so absent-minded at work.
“I’ll go over and take a look.” Ji Zhe Yan picked up the stethoscope and walked out. Outside, the sun was shining brightly, and many patients were taking a walk in the small park area. He glanced in the direction of the gardens and stared with rapt attention. Behind him, the nurse exited the hospital room as well and walked over.
Author’s Note:
Thank you Su Tan. Little angel threw a landmine! Don’t give up on me; I didn’t touch the game today! QAQ
Early in the morning tomorrow, little angels! Muah~! Muah~! （づ￣3￣）づ╭?～