"Ye Xiao, where are you?" Lin Dieying's voice came through the phone.

"I'm at school," Ye Xiao replied with a soft laugh, his eyes teasingly fixed on Ling Shuya, Zhou Yuyan, and Lan Lan, the three girls, as he spoke with a chuckle, "Are you missing me?"

Lin Dieying, hearing the playful chuckle in Ye Xiao's voice, immediately gave a feigned chiding laugh and said, "Hmm, who misses you? I certainly don't miss you. My mom wants to invite you and Shuya out for a meal, after all, it was you and Shuya who saved my mom last time."

Upon hearing it was an invitation from Lin Dieying's mother, Li Yinge, Ye Xiao immediately replied, "Oh, it's Aunt Li's invitation. Then of course we must go. Shuya is right here beside me; we can go together. Where are you?"

"I just left the teaching building. Oh, how did you do on the exam today? This time the questions were a bit harder," said Lin Dieying, aware that Ye Xiao had not been at Minghai Academy for long and that he was often skipping classes.

Ye Xiao, upon hearing Lin Dieying's inquiry, immediately boasted, "Wasn't it just a piece of cake? Do you know what? That's all trivial—scoring first in the entire school is one hundred and twenty percent guaranteed."

Hearing Ye Xiao's words, Lin Dieying responded directly, "Alright, enough bragging, I'll wait for you guys at the school gate."

"No problem, we'll be there soon," Ye Xiao said cheerfully and hung up the phone.

"What does Lin Dieying want with you?" Ling Shuya eyed Ye Xiao with suspicion.

Ye Xiao responded, "Aunt Li has invited us for a meal. Can we really refuse such an offer?"

"Aunt Li?" Ling Shuya, upon hearing Ye Xiao's words, forgot half of the anger from having been kissed by him just moments before, and looked puzzled at Ye Xiao, "You mean Lin Dieying's mother? Hasn't she been discharged from the hospital recently? She should be recuperating."

Ye Xiao nodded and explained, "That should be the case, it's what Lin Dieying told me. I've promised on your behalf, so you can't refuse."

"Of course, we have to go," Ling Shuya said with a smile. "It's a good chance to visit Aunt Li as well. She's not old and yet has suffered such an illness; honestly, it's quite pitiable."

"Wow, I never would have noticed that our Miss could actually feel sympathy for others," Ye Xiao teased.

Ling Shuya immediately glared at Ye Xiao and retorted, "What are you saying? When did I ever not know how to feel sympathy for others?"

"You obviously don't know how to feel sympathy for others; you have never known how to feel sorry for me. After all, we've had more than just skin-to-skin contact," Ye Xiao said with a helpless expression.

As soon as these words came out, Zhou Yuyan's and Lan Lan's eyes widened, gazing at Ye Xiao and Ling Shuya. Clearly, this 'skin-to-skin contact' had genuinely stimulated their senses.

"So it turns out you two…"

Before Zhou Yuyan and Lan Lan could finish, Ling Shuya's face turned a deep shade of red. She glared fiercely at Ye Xiao; evidently, his mentioning of their physical intimacy was clearly referring to that incident.

Ling Shuya's face covered in embarrassment, "It's not what you're thinking," Shuya insisted, steeling herself to explain to them.

Zhou Yuyan immediately giggled knowingly, and looked Ye Xiao up and down, teasing Lan Lan, "Lan Lan, you don't find Ye Xiao ugly, do you?"

"Not ugly at all. Compared to someone who's very ugly, he's quite handsome," Lan Lan said seriously. "Ye Xiao, when did you win over the top beauty of Minghai Academy? I propose we should buy wedding sweets."

Although Lan Lan had a crush on Ye Xiao, at this moment, she still couldn't resist teasing Ye Xiao and Shuya.

"What are you talking about?" Ling Shuya promptly looked seriously at Lan Lan, saying, "There's really nothing between us, Ye Xiao, you better speak up."

Ye Xiao, leaning against the red pillar of the pavilion, watched the conversation between the three girls with a grin. However, now that Ling Shuya pressed him, he knew Zhou Yuyan and Lan Lan must've thought otherwise.

"Eating what candies?" Ye Xiao looked at Lan Lan and said, "Didn't the two of us also share a moment of skin contact just now? Wasn't it intense enough? Should we do it again?"

Upon hearing Ye Xiao's words, Lan Lan, while blushing and pretending to be annoyed, was secretly thrilled. For, in Lan Lan's view, nothing might have happened between Ye Xiao and Ling Shuya.

"Get lost, why are you always so inappropriate? Oh, right, I'm not going later; I've got things to do tonight. The racing club said there's a practice race tonight, and I'm now an official member of the Weihang Club. I must take matters of the Weihang Club seriously."

Upon hearing Lan Lan's words, Ling Shuya immediately looked at her and asked, "Lan Lan, do you think I could join the Weihang Club too? I really want to learn how to race."

"No problem," Lan Lan responded. "I can be your referee. By the way, have you ever done race driving before?" Lan Lan inquired, looking at Ling Shuya.

Ling Shuya shook her head and said, "No, but I can learn."

"Learn now?" Lan Lan said with a bitter smile, "How about this: let Ye Xiao teach you first, then I'll introduce you."

Ling Shuya also knew that racing wasn't something a newbie could just pick up and play with, so she nodded in agreement.

At that moment, Zhou Yuyan asked, "Where is Lin Dieying? Where are we going now?"

"She said she's waiting for us at the school gate. Let's head there now," Ye Xiao replied.

Afterward, Ye Xiao and the three beauties walked out of the pavilion towards the school gate.

As they were walking through the campus, they happened to see Sun Yuze, Zhan Bo, and Weii Yang chatting and laughing while walking out. They hurried over to Ye Xiao as soon as they saw him.

"Brother Xiao," the three greeted with smiles as they approached Ye Xiao.

Before Ye Xiao could speak, Zhou Yuyan immediately provoked Sun Yuze intentionally, "Sun Yuze, how's it going for you these days? How does it compare to that day on the podium?"

When Sun Yuze heard Zhou Yuyan's words, he immediately realized that Zhou Yuyan was still upset over the arrogant remarks he had made at the podium in Class One's classroom last time.

Of course, Sun Yuze knew Zhou Yuyan's importance in Ye Xiao's heart. Even if Sun Yuze couldn't think of it, one could see it just by looking.

So, Sun Yuze chuckled and said to Zhou Yuyan, "Miss Zhou, please stop teasing me. A good man doesn't dwell on his past courage. I apologize for last time, and from now on, let's be friends, shall we?"

"Hmph, it's good you know your place. For Ye Xiao's sake, I'll let it go this time," Zhou Yuyan said with a triumphant smile once she saw Sun Yuze back down.

Ye Xiao looked at Sun Yuze and the others with some confusion and asked, "Where's Tang Xuewen? Doesn't he usually hang out with you guys?"

"Sometimes he's with us, sometimes not, but I always feel this guy is a bit..." Zhan Bo didn't finish his sentence and simply wore a bitter smile.

Ye Xiao turned to the three beauties beside him and said, "You go ahead to the school gate, I'll catch up shortly."

"We're not interested in your lousy matters anyway," retorted Ling Shuya, looking disdainful upon hearing Ye Xiao's words. She then walked straight ahead towards the school gate with Zhou Yuyan and Lan Lan.

After the three beauties had left, Zhan Bo spoke up without reservation, "Tang Xuewen is indeed smart; his mind works quickly. But there's one thing about him—he's a bit stubborn and loves to daydream."

"Daydream?" Ye Xiao had experienced Tang Xuewen's stubbornness, but what this so-called daydreaming was, he truly had no idea.

At this moment, Sun Yuze said with a smile, "When he's with us, he always talks about his perspectives on society and the business world."

"What perspectives?" Ye Xiao asked.

Sun Yuze said, "About society, for instance. He says there's no need for you to step in personally. Relying on the current strength, and the connections of Heavenly Gate, it's entirely possible to swallow up both Black Dragon Company and Axe Company in a very short time, Brother Xiao. Do you think this is realistic? And that's without relying on you."

Sun Yuze and the others had thought that Ye Xiao would be angry at this, but unexpectedly, Ye Xiao just laughed.

"Brother Xiao, why are you laughing?" Sun Yuze asked, puzzled.

Weii Yang said, "See, even Brother Xiao thinks it's impossible. After all, both Black Dragon Company and Axe Company are not ordinary groups. Besides, Axe Company is now an ally and a brother company to us. How could we turn against a brother company? How would Heavenly Gate continue to mix in society in the future?"

Zhan Bo was somewhat more composed and looked at Ye Xiao, asking, "Brother Xiao, what do you think?"

"Why must it rely on me?" Ye Xiao said with a smile looking at Sun Yuze, Weii Yang, and Zhan Bo.

Ye Xiao's words made everyone pause for a moment, clearly confused by what he meant. Although Ye Xiao had always declared his non-involvement in business affairs, without him, Heavenly Gate wouldn't possibly exist.

"Brother Xiao, we don't quite understand," admitted a puzzled Sun Yuze.

Ye Xiao looked at Sun Yuze and said, "Tell me, why did I make your father take the second-in-command position? And why did I support Yang Ming to be the number one at the Guard Bureau? I've laid the path out for you; do you still need me to hold your hands to walk it? My only hobby is to love and be loved; that's the life I want. If my brothers face troubles, I will naturally help, but I don't want to be supporting my brothers from the beginning to the end. Do you really want to be puppets? I don't hope for people to fear my name, Ye Xiao when mentioned in society. I want your three names, along with Zhao Dapeng and others, to make the ground in Minghai City and even the whole society of Yan Country tremble."

Ye Xiao was serious as he spoke, unlike his usual self, and there was even a sense of disappointment.

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