Yi Yang slept in the guest room that night.

Early the next morning, even before the auntie who made breakfast woke up, Yi Yang, who was enduring a belly full of anger, went into the company with a sullen look on his face.

"Where's Zhao Bin?"

The little assistant he asked looked scared. He didn't know why his boss was so angry early in the morning. "President Yi, Assistant Zhao went on a business trip last week, as you ordered."

Yi Yang sucked in a breath. He had almost forgotten.

"Call the head of the public relations department for me at once!"

The assistant is trembling, "President Yi, it's not time for him to go to work yet, Director Chen of the Public Relations Department should not be at the company yet."

Yi Yang glared at him glacially.

"...I'll call Director Chen right away! "

It was eight o'clock.

After searching for Xu Weiyin on Weibo, the most popular searches all linked Xu Weiyin and Yi Yang. Xu Xinyi was right, the two really were tightly tied together by the media.

There was talk about Xu Weiyin’s four-year absence, about her old love, and about the complicated and confusing story of the biological father of the child. Xu Weiyin's life seemed to have become a suspense novel for the netizens to enjoy.

For perhaps the first time ever, even though he came in early Yi Yang didn’t do any work. Instead, he spent an hour building up a simmering storm of rage that was like a volcano about to erupt.

Nine o'clock.

Director Chen of the Public Relations Department came to Yi Yang’s office, and the moment the assistant closed the door behind him, he heard a relentless rebuke from inside the office.

"What happened? President Yi hasn't lost his temper like this for a long time."

The assistant shrank his neck. "I don't know."

The end result was that Director Chen of the Public Relations Department scurried out of Yi Yang’s office and immediately went to scold the Public Relations Department. Very quickly there were no more stories tying Xu Weiyin to Yi Yang online.

--------

"Are you happy now?" Anya put those deleted rumor-mongering posts in front of Xu Xinyi and gave her a smile.

Xu Xinyi glanced at her but said nothing.

"Although it’s true that Yi Yang did not deal with it in time, at least he is showing you his attitude. Do you feel relieved now?"

"But with regard to the child, I still feel uneasy without a paternity test."

"Then what are you going to do?"

Xu Xinyi remembered that the ‘Xu Xinyi’ in the novel became hysterical after Xu Weiyin returned to China. She not only suppressed Xu Weiyin in the entertainment circle, she also became more and more paranoid. As long as Yi Yang left a hint of a clue, she would immediately make a huge scene with him. In order to know whether Xu Weiyin's child was Yi Yang’s, Xu Xinyi sent someone to follow Xu Weiyin secretly and when Xu Weiyin took her son out, she secretly cut a strand of her son's hair.

Later, Yi Yang was furious when he learned of this, and the relationship between the two completely dropped to a freezing point. Of course, the paternity test never ended up happening.

She had to find a way to solve the mystery of who the father was.

Even if Yi Yang was not the father, Yi Yang already knew that she was suspicious of him.

The abacus in Xu Xinyi’s mind was clicking furiously.

There was a knock at the office door.

"Sister Xinyi, Jiang Nian is here."

Xu Xinyi looked at Anya.

Anya said to herself, "I almost forgot. I asked him to come over today to talk about the contract. You know this kid looks good. I want him to do some variety shows."

With that, she said to the staff at the door, "I understand. I'll be right there."

Xu Xinyi also got up and said, "Come on, let's go and have a look."

Jiang Nian sat quietly in the conference room.

It has been nearly half a month since he signed with Xu Xinyi’s Studio. But in that half a month, the studio had not arranged any work for him or even communicated with him.

Other artists probably couldn't bear work with this kind of studio, but Jiang Nian didn't panic at all. Back when he signed up for Xu Xinyi's studio, he had never felt so calm.

The door of the conference room opened.

"Jiang Nian, there you are."

Jiang Nian was wearing a white shirt today, he looked clean and refreshing with the sun pouring in through the blinds behind him, and the whole conference room seemed to be lit up by his youthful sunshine.

When he saw the people coming in, Jiang Nian hurriedly got up and said, "Sister Xinyi, Sister Anya."

Xu Xinyi looked at him in amazement. "It seems to have grown taller these last few days. Are you sure you’re twenty? It's not like you’re eighteen and still growing, right?"

Jiang Nian blinked and seemed at a loss.

Anya couldn't help smiling. "Alright, don't listen to her nonsense. Sit down."

Jiang Nian lowered his eyes and sat back down quietly.

"Sister Anya, what can I do for you today?"

Anya opened the document in front of her and pushed it across the table. "It's been so many days since we signed the contract but we didn't look for you and you didn't look for us. I've never seen an artist as calm as you. This is the future route I have planned out for you. Take a look at it and if you see anything difficult, bring it up now and we can discuss changes."

Jiang Nian just glanced briefly at the document before he pushed it back.

"Sister Anya, I’ll leave it up to you."

Anya and Xu Xinyi exchanged a glance and she teased, "Aren't you afraid that we will sell you off?"

"No way."

"Well, since you trust me so much, I'll make the decisions for you. You can try out a variety show next week, alright?"

"Sounds good, you can arrange it."

Xu Xinyi was a star but not an agent. She didn't know much about planning for an artist. So she just watched this whole process from the side, her eyes alternating between browsing on Weibo and looking at Jiang Nian who was bathed in the sun.

To say that he was over twenty years old seemed a bit unlikely.

Especially with his hair that was draped over his forehead, it showed the straight bridge of his nose and his big, clear eyes. He looked very much like a college student who had just entered college.

Occasionally, when their eyes would coincidentally cross, Xu Xinyi would smile and this child would blush instantly, his eyes flustered, and then he would bow his head embarrassedly. 

After Anya finished chatting with Jiang Nian, Xu Xinyi interjected, "Before you mentioned that your family didn't want you to enter the entertainment industry. Have you talked to them about it?"

Jiang Nian's smile gradually disappeared. "I don't want to get in touch with them."

When she brought this up, Jiang Nian's relaxed posture changed and he showed obvious vigilance and resistance.

He probably didn't want to talk about his family.

That being the case, Xu Xinyi didn't say much. "Then you have to do well and show them. But for now, go back first, have a good rest, and cherish your last day off."

Jiang Nian nodded and got up.

When she saw another ridiculous Weibo that was bragging about Xu Weiyin and Jiang Huai, Xu Xinyi chuckled and casually asked, "Hey Anya, all the topics about Xu Weiyin and Han Xiao or Xu Weiyin and Yi Yang are gone now, only Jiang Huai is still up there, do you think the thing between Xu Weiyin and Jiang Huai is true?"

Jiang Nian, who was nearly at the door, slowed his steps.

"I don't know. Jiang Huai is a very low-key person. I tried asking my colleague about it but not many people know anything about his past. Or maybe more accurately we could say that all of Jiangshi Electronics is very low-key."

Jiang Nian turned around and asked, "Jiang Huai?"

Xu Weiyin said with a smile, "It’s nothing, Anya and I are just chatting."

"Jiang Huai of Jiangshi Electronics? What happened with him?"

“Haven't you seen Weibo lately?" Anya asked him.

Jiang Nian shook his head and said, "I hate that site."

"Jiang Nian, you child, you are in the entertainment circle so you should be more concerned about the trends. Recently, the internet has been on fire, saying that the son brought back by Xu Weiyin belongs to Jiang Huai. When you can go back, you can take a look at the gossip if you like."

Jiang Nian frowned and did not speak for a while. His expression was extremely complicated.

Eventually, he left the words 'I know' and disappeared in a hurry.

He closed the conference room door with his foot, and then took out his phone and checked Weibo. His pupils shrank when he saw the number of notifications shown on his message bar and the number of his fans, which had greatly increased since the last time he checked.

But right now he paid that no mind, instead he was skimming through the searches about Xu Weiyin.

The most popular search was Xu Weiyin and Jiang Huai.

When he clicked to have a look, it was an analysis of Xu Weiyin and Jiang Huai’s past written up in a very long Weibo.

He took a cursory look at it.

But this had nothing to do with him.

Just as he was about to exit Weibo, a comment caught his attention.

"So in the past, Xu Weiyin was able to snatch so many of Xu Xinyi's resources because Jiang Huai was helping from behind her?"

Snatching resources?

What was going on?

It took another ten minutes for Jiang Nian to understand the ups and downs of the situation. Once he did he sent a text message to a number.

"Were you behind that thing where Xu Weiyin robbed Xu Xinyi’s resources?"

Soon, a message came back.

"Come home tonight."

When he saw this message, the gloom on Jiang Nian's face became even heavier.

----------------

Night fell.

Xu Xinyi, who had nothing more to do at work, headed home from the studio.

Although last night, because of all the news surrounding Xu Weiyin and Yi Yang she had taken advantage of the opportunity to play around a bit and made Yi Yang sleep in the guest room. But now that he had cleared up the misunderstanding she was left with a sense of guilt.

When she stepped into the villa, the living room was brightly lit.

Faintly, Xu Xinyi could hear Yi Yang’s voice.

It was only 08:30. Why was he back so early today?

If she had known he would be back so early today, she would have gone to Lanting to sleep for the night.

She kind of wanted to run away.

Did she go too far last night?

Was it too much?

Xu Xinyi thought for a moment.

The dog man Yi Yang left her alone in an empty room for more than two years, but she only made him sleep in the guest room for one night. So what?

How could that be too much?

"Is the young madam back? Why are you so late today? The young master has been back and chatting with the Old Master for a while now."

Xu Xinyi was surprised but she smiled at Butler Chen. "I was a little busy today."

With a deep breath, she changed her shoes and went to the living room.

In the living room, Yi Yang had already changed into his home clothes and was talking to Old Master Yi.

Yi Yang glanced over but Xu Xinyi subconsciously avoided his eyes and looked at Old Master Yi.

"Grandpa, mom, I'm home."

"Back at last?" Old Master Yi beckoned her over. "Come here and sit down. Why are you back so late today?"

Xu Xinyi sat beside Yi Yang and murmured, "The studio was a little busy, so I was delayed."

"That's alright," Old Master Yi glanced at Yi Yang. "Anyway, Yi Yang wants to explain something to you, I hope you won’t misunderstand him."

"Explain?" Xu Xinyi looked at Yi Yang.

Yi Yang said: "Last night, you were arguing with me and you suspected that I had an old relationship with Xu Weiyin and that Xu Weiyin's child is mine, right?"

Xu Xinyi looked at the two elders.

Old Master Yi patted the back of her hand and smiled kindly: "It's all just rumors. Grandpa has heard some of this before but didn't take it to heart at all. But I know that you are a thoughtful child and always end up overthinking. Now, why don’t you let Yi Yang tell you personally."

But then he spoke with a heavier tone, "But Xinyi, it wasn't grandpa who told those things to you. So how could you believe such nebulous rumors?"

Then Old Master Yi gave Yi Yang a look.

Yi Yang said with a heavy face, "It is all just rumors. Xu Weiyin and I were only ordinary college classmates and I haven't seen her for many years. The child she brought back can't be mine."

Xu Xinyi lowered her head guiltily. "So that’s how it is."

--"If the rumors are fake, they’re fake. Is it really necessary to make a show and explain it to me in front of the elders?"

--"I only made you sleep in the guest room for one day, why are you so small-minded?"

Yi Yang glanced at her. "Xu Xinyi, do you think you should apologize to me?"

--"Of course I shouldn’t apologize! Why did I ever bother a small-minded character like you?"

--"But I can't afford to show the elders if we don't agree with each other."

Xu Xinyi looked at him with an expression of guilt, and her eyes turned misty. "Honey, I'm sorry, I misjudged you, please don't be angry."

Yi Yang watched her performance quietly, with no emotion in his eyes. "And?"

"...I swear, I will never doubt you again. "

Yi Yang still looked at her sternly.

--"...I already swore. What else do you want from me!"

Xu Xinyi showed the power of her acting, and her eyes suddenly burst into tears. She looked at Old Master Yi through the tears and said. "Grandpa, I'm sorry, I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have quarreled with Yi Yang so impulsively yesterday and made him sleep in the guest room all night. Forgive me."

Then she turned to Mrs. Yi and apologized, "Mom, I'm sorry, I won't do it anymore."

She sincerely apologized, her tears fell like rain, it was a perfect performance.

--"Dog man, don't think you are the only one who can suck up to the elders!"

Sure enough, Old Master Yi's heart softened instantly and his tone became gentle. "It’s alright, now that Xinyi has apologized, this is the end of the matter, and no one should mention it again."

Mrs. Yi also agreed: "Dad is right, this was just a misunderstanding and it is good that it is solved now. The most important thing between husband and wife is trust so do not make trouble because of this matter again, okay?"

Xu Xinyi choked back her tears and nodded, then she looked at Yi Yang and said, "Husband, don't be angry. It's all my fault. Do you want me to sleep in the guest room tonight? I could sleep in the study or in the living room too, as long as you can forgive me."

Of course, Yi Yang knew what she was trying to do, but he didn’t point it out immediately.

"Mom is right. The most important thing between husband and wife is trust. So don't come quarrel with me every time you’re unhappy. Do you hear me?"

The two elders didn’t speak.

--"I'll endure!"

Xu Xinyi put on a face like a good daughter-in-law and nodded again and again, "I heard you clearly."

Yi Yang graciously squeezed an "En" out of his throat and then got up, "Grandpa, mom, Xinyi and I will go up first, you two get some rest."

"Alright, go ahead."

Yi Yang looked over at Xu Xinyi, who was sitting on the sofa and didn't want to move at all, and gave her a meaningful look.

Xu Xinyi got up helplessly and then followed Yi Yang like an obedient little daughter-in-law. She trailed him upstairs and back to their room.

Yi Yang pushed open the door, then he sat on the sofa and leaned back casually and looked back at Xu Xinyi who was struggling with a vague sense of shame that made her reluctant to take another step.

"Close the door."

Xu Xinyi, who had already walked to the edge of the sofa, clenched her fist and had to turn around to close the door before she faced Yi Yang.

"Husband..."

"Pour me a glass of water."

--"I'll put up with it for now!"

--"You just wait for me!"

Xu Xinyi endured the humiliation and poured him a glass of water.

Yi Yang took it, but seemed extremely picky, "Is there no warm water?"

--"Murder is against the law, murder is against the law, murder is against the law. Xu Xinyi, you need to calm down and take it easy!"

Xu Xinyi desperately wanted to pour the glass of water on Yi Yang's face, but instead, she forced out a smile and said, "I'll get some for you!"

With that, she was full of hatred as she went downstairs to pour warm water for the dog man.

Five minutes later, Xu Xinyi returned upstairs with a warm glass of water and handed it to Yi Yang.

"Husband, here’s your water."

Yi Yang took it and said, "Thank you."

But he didn’t drink it, instead, he set it on the small table in front of him.

--"He is really messing with me!"

--"Dog Man, you will die tonight!"

"About the matter of Xu Weiyin and I, I think that from the words I said downstairs you should be clear about the truth. I don't want to hear any more of you doubting my relationship with Xu Weiyin in the future, please bear it in mind."

Xu Xinyi nodded.

"And as for the fact that you asked me to sleep in the guest room yesterday..."

"Honey, I was just too angry last night. Don't be angry. I really didn't mean to."

Yi Yang raised his eyebrows, "You aren’t going to offer to sleep on the couch or sleep in the living room anymore?"

--"Once dog men take an inch they want a mile, don't they?"

--"Do you want to force me to this point and die together?"

"If it will relieve your anger, I can go sleep in the guest room."

--"As if anyone wants to share a bed with you, you son of a bitch."

She wanted to leave as soon as she said that.

"Forget it," Yi Yang stopped her from going to the guest room. "This matter is over. Let's not talk about it anymore. Don't make a scene with me in the future, okay?"

Xu Xinyi nodded.

Looking at Yi Yang’s profile, she suddenly remembered Xu Weiyin’s child.

She asked tentatively, "So...husband, did you have a relationship with Xu Weiyin four years ago?"

Yi Yang's face went still. After a long pause, he said, "No."

On the face of it, he didn't seem suspicious, but he had paused.

With that pause, Xu Xinyi caught the hint of something unusual with her woman's intuition.

It seemed he had to think about the answer himself.

So four years ago, there must be something that Yi Yang did not want to mention now.

Otherwise, he wouldn't hesitate to answer.

"Really?" Xu Xinyi paid attention to his expression.

Yi Yang frowned slightly and looked at Xu Xinyi. "What did you just say downstairs? Didn’t you make a guarantee? Say it again."

"...the most important thing between husband and wife is trust, and I will never doubt you again."

"Then what were you asking just now?"

"I... I was just curious, really! I didn't mean to doubt you, husband. I believe you and you should believe me!"

Yi Yang did not want to turn this matter into an argument. "OK, I believe you, so is there anything else you want to know about this?"

Xu Xinyi thought for a moment and then shook her head.

"Now that things are clear, I think there should be no other misunderstandings between us. So what do you think about making our relationship public?"

With the sudden topic change, Xu Xinyi was slightly stupefied, "What? Public?"

"What? Do you have any concerns?"

"Yes! Of course, I do!" Xu Xinyi was shocked but she quickly made her ‘I’m doing this all for you’ face. "Husband, you see, I have such a bad reputation right now. If people know that I am your wife, they will surely laugh at you. Even grandpa and mother might get involved because of me. Other people have wives that are noble, virtuous, knowledgeable, and reasonable and - although I am quite good - in today's society people like to believe whatever rumors say, and others will blindly follow suit. They don't have the ability to think on their own at all. I really have nothing I can do about this grievance. I can't let you suffer with me."

Yi Yang spoke easily, "Don't worry, grandpa and mom won't mind. And, of course, I don't mind."

"No!" Xu Xinyi said, "I mind!"

"Then what should we do?"

"Well, I thought that, once I have a good reputation, then we can make our relationship public. What do you think, husband?"

"After you have a good reputation? Won't I have to be single all my life?"

--"Dog man, you deserve to be single all your life, do you really think you deserve a beautiful girl like me?"

"What are you saying, husband. You must be joking. Don't worry, it won't be long at all! After "Bei Bei's Promotion" and "The Way of the Phoenix" get released I'm sure my reputation will improve by then. "

Yi Yang looked at her calmly and seemed to be thinking.

--"Well, it’s not like going public would kill me anyway."

--"What is there even to be public about."

Yi Yang looked at her calmly for a long time.

"Honey, believe me!" Xu Xinyi looked at him sadly and her eyes filled with pleading eyes.

Yi Yang turned his head away and said, "Alright, you go take a bath."

Xu Xinyi, whose heart was like ash, could only rely on her superhuman endurance to hold back her fists.

"Darling, that's very kind of you, I'll take a bath first."

With that, she couldn't wait to get into the bathroom.

After taking a bath, Xu Xinyi went to get ready for bed. Yi Yang was leaning against the bedframe and was flipping through a magazine.

"Honey, what are you looking at?"

Yi Yang showed her the cover.

It was “BW magazine”.

She was on the cover.

Xu Xinyi smiled but said nothing.

Yi Yang looked at the huge photo of Xu Xinyi on the magazine and casually said, "There will be a charity dinner in two days. I need you to accompany me to attend."

"A charity dinner? But we..."

"Even if we don't have a public relationship, can't you at least accompany me to attend a dinner?"

"But..."

"It's settled," Yi Yang closed the "BW" magazine and put it on the bedside table. Then he said insipidly. "Don't take such an explicit picture next time, if the elders saw it it would be bad."

"..."

All was quiet in the dead of night.

Xu Xinyi lay on the bed and looked at the profile of the person sleeping next to her. She tentatively whispered, "Husband, are you asleep?"

There was no movement.

He really slept well.

But poor her, she was tossing and turning, unable to sleep at all from thinking.

Yi Yang definitely lied to her about what happened four years ago. There was definitely a secret there.

The amount of contact the dog man had with Xu Weiyin back then was so high that even the dog man himself may not know things clearly.

Or maybe he did know but did not say. Maybe he deliberately concealed things.

No, she had to figure out the truth about the baby.

If it was really Yi Yang's she could take the opportunity to divorce.

Even if it’s not Yi Yang’s she could just find another chance to divorce later.

After thinking for a long time, Xu Xinyi got up quietly and picked up a pair of scissors. Then, barefoot and moving quietly like a cat, she walked back to the bedside.

Wouldn't the truth come out if she just cut a hair or two and did a paternity test?

Thinking so, Xu Xinyi leaned over and reached out to the top of Yi Yang's head.

The bedside lamp was behind her, and her backlit form cast a ghastly shadow over Yi Yang.

She held her breath and carefully grabbed a handful of hair from Yi Yang's forehead between her fingers.

She got it.

Why was it so difficult to do the paternity test in the novel?

All those powerful men couldn’t investigate a single woman.

How incompetent!

But just when Xu Xinyi was feeling secretly delighted, Yi Yangs happened to dazedly open his eyes.

The two stared at each other silently.

Under the faint light from the head of the bed, the scissors glowed with cold light.

She still had a pinch of Yi Yang's hair between her thumb and forefinger.

The air was very still for a while.

Xu Xinyi swallowed, then clicked the scissors twice, and asked without any confidence, "Husband, will you believe me if I say I just wanted to cut your hair?"

All of Yi Yang’s drowsiness was blown away.

Looking at the scissors in Xu Xinyi's hand with great shock, he said in an incredulous tone, "Xu Xinyi, you want to hurt me!"

TL note: ughhhh the next 12~ chapters all average above 4000 words. I’ll do my best to keep up with the daily uploads but I really miss the 2000 word chapters :(