Chapter Eighteen: Ye Mei (Part One)

  The sun's rays are subtly weakening, although it is not obvious, but easy to perceive.

  Outside the villa, Ye Man was sitting on a thick wooden log with An Yuxuan. In front of them, Ning Zhiyuan and Chen Ze were setting up a wooden stage, while Sun Guan was helping to move some wood.

  "Yeh jie, you wouldn't really have fallen for Lin Fang, would you?" The girls didn't need to do any physical labor, An Yuxuan was exercising her gossip attribute.

  "It should be." Ye Mei said casually, looking at An Yuxuan's curious eyes.

  "Isn't that right, what's so good about Lin Fang, how could you like him? I heard Zhao Tianyu likes you very much, how can the two be compared, anyone with eyes can see who is better." An Yuxuan said, just like an ordinary woman.

  "What's good about it? It's good for others." Ye Mei rolled her eyes, as if she had never thought of this question before.

  "This answer is too simple, no way, let me help you analyze it." An Yuxuan was surprised by Ye Mei's "naivety", with a sisterly attitude, she must help her choose the right man.

  "What are you analyzing?" Ye Man felt that An Yuxuan was even more lovely now, but seemed to be unaware that emotions couldn't be forced.

  "Zhao Tianyu has money, a high position, and a good background, so his future prospects are definitely better than Lin Fang's. Only then can he give you happiness. You want to choose Lin Fang who has nothing, your salary is already higher than his, how can he give you happiness?" An Yuxuan took out her set of standards for choosing a boyfriend.

  "Anything else?" Ye Wan asked with a gentle smile.

  "Zhao Tianyu is quite handsome." An Yuxuan said seriously after thinking for a while.

  "Haha, Yuxuan, you're killing me!" Ye Mei couldn't help but burst out laughing at this seriously thought-out result, losing all her elegant lady demeanor.

  "Don't laugh, don't laugh, or I'll tickle you." An Yuxuan seemed to realize that his answer was a bit silly, but he was also annoyed by Ye Mei's undisguised teasing and really went to tickle her waist.

  "No, ah, no, little girl, dare to spare me, look at my ferocity."

  The two of them frolicked for a while before stopping their horseplay under the kind gaze of the onlookers.

  "Yu Xuan, even if a woman is strong, she will still need someone to lean on. Everyone has their own definition of happiness, I'm not a woman without my own opinions, I know what I want, don't worry." Ye Mei's smile was full of intelligence at this moment.

  "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore." An Yuxuan saw the determination in Ye Mei's eyes, a kind of thing that she couldn't see through.

  Time quietly slipped away, and the sun's rays were no longer dazzling. A layer of orange-yellow color covered the rooftops and surrounding trees.

  Lin Fang looked at his watch and saw that the hands had already moved to 5 o'clock, it was almost time to go back.

  "Zhou Yi, it's about time, I should head back." Lin Fang said.

  "Are you not going to finish your meal before leaving?" Zhou Yi's stomach was a bit hungry.

  "No, you eat it yourself, I'm leaving." Lin Fang said as he walked towards the door.

  "Then I'll see you off."

  When Lin Fang arrived at the bus station, a car came quickly and didn't have to wait too long. The luck was really good.

  "What's good to eat today?" Zhou Yi returned to his own room, thinking about what to have for dinner tonight.

  "Let's have some fried rice, I haven't had it for a long time." He said and left the room.

  There was no trace of the I Ching, but on the seat where Lin Fang had just sat, there was a long, rectangular object that Lin Fang had been playing with earlier - a magnetized bead. The photo showed it as a cube, but now only half of it remained, and the other half was still an irregularly-shaped bead that couldn't be formed into shape.

  The bus Lin Fang sat on was very fast, and just as he returned to the villa, Ye Man called to remind him to come back.

  It's still that seat, Ye Wei is also on the side at this time. Today's dinner is relatively simple, in terms of quantity only, they are all green foods that can only be found in the suburbs.

  At the dinner table, Lin Fang seemed to notice some differences, not on objects, but on the people at the table.

  Ye Mei's gaze at herself seemed even softer than before, and there was a meaning that she didn't quite understand. An Yuxuan, sitting next to her, would occasionally glance at herself, then use the chopsticks in his hand to poke at the food in front of him, as if he himself were the dish.

  "I haven't offended her, have I? Why does it feel like she's going to annihilate me?" Lin Fang loosened his collar, puzzled by the strange woman.

  Lin Fang felt like someone was staring at him, turned in that direction, it was Zhao Tianyu.

  Zhao Tianyu found that Lin Fang noticed him looking at him and didn't avoid eye contact. The two locked eyes in mid-air for a moment. Lin Fang didn't know why Zhao Tianyu was staring at him, but he instinctively felt that the gaze wasn't friendly, although it couldn't be seen, there was still a hint of it.

  The eye contact between them ended with Lin Fang's embarrassment, and he thought that if they continued to stare at each other, people would think their sexual orientation was abnormal.

  This meal ended in a strange atmosphere, with some people staring at him and others looking forward to the bonfire party later, which he was really not used to.

  Finally made it to the end, Sun Guan was carrying a plate of fruit up, Lin Fang casually picked up an apple, the refreshing taste also made Lin Fang feel slightly better.

  "Alright, it's about time, I'll go prepare first." Ning Zhiyuan said.

  "I'm going too, everyone eat slowly." Lin Fang also wanted to leave, the clock on the wall showed 7:30, although it was a bit early.

  At the back of the villa, a wooden platform about half a person's height was already set up there, with some small wooden blocks in the middle waiting to be ignited.

  "Xiao Fang, go over there and bring back some wooden blocks to stack up," Ning Zhiyuan said.

  "Alright." Lin Fang said.

  "Hey Ning, have you ever made a bonfire before? You look like you've got some experience." Lin Fang said.

  "Before, I went camping with classmates in the wilderness, they were all spoiled, and some things were arranged by me."

  "Brother Ning is really impressive."

  Lin Fang wasn't very busy either, as Mu Tai had already set up the base in advance. He just needed to stack it higher, and soon they both finished their work. At this point, Mu Tai was already one person tall, and the others also came out one after another.

  When everyone sat on the wooden bars around, Ning Zhiyuan walked to the side of the wooden platform with a torch.

  "Welcome everyone to tonight's bonfire party. Now, please welcome our Wang Zhuo, Uncle Wang to light the bonfire for us. Let's give a warm applause." Ning Zhiyuan's opening remarks made everyone think it was an awards ceremony.

  "Kid." Wang Zhuo found Ning Zhiyuan's words somewhat amusing, but he walked over to take the torch from his hand, intending to say a few words.

  "There's nothing much to say, I hope everyone has a great time these few days, putting aside their usual worries and enjoying the tranquility of the countryside. Now, let the bonfire party begin!" Wang Zhuo said as he tossed the torch towards the bottom of the wooden stage.

  A small piece of wood in the middle of the wooden platform immediately ignited, bursting into flames, and soon some smoke also rose.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, there are also some barbecue and beer on the side, everyone is welcome to use." Sun Guanjia pointed to a barbecue rack on the side.

  "Good! Long live Sun Guanjia, long live Wang Shu, long live the torch!" Chen Zehuan shouted happily, his arm still waving.

  The flames seemed to have a purifying power, burning away all the unrest in the world, emitting a scorching heat. Lin Fang looked at the bonfire in front of him and once again felt that this trip was not a mistake.

  Everyone started having fun, some chatted, others went to eat barbecue, Wang Zhuo took a bottle of beer and drank with Ning Zhiyuan.

  "Brother Yu, shall we dance?" A female voice caught Lin Fang's attention.

  "I'm a bit full, forget it, you go find someone else." Zhao Tianyu was not far from Lin Fang, and the female voice just now was said by the girl next to him.

  It was the girl who ran to greet Zhao Tianyu this morning, and at this time, after being rejected by Lin Fang, she didn't show any negative emotions, but continued talking to Zhao Tianyu. As for what they were saying, their voices were lowered, so Lin Fang couldn't hear clearly either, and he didn't bother to pay attention to them anymore.

  "Lin Fang, what are you doing sitting there alone? Come over and have some barbecue." It was Chen Ze's voice.

  Lin Fang saw Chen Ze holding three strings of roasted meat in his left hand and two strings of chicken wings in his right hand, with something still being chewed in his mouth, so that he couldn't speak clearly, this appearance was really comical.

  "You're also very good at eating, are you in short supply or is someone going to fight with you for it?" Lin Fang said helplessly.

  "Hmm, you don't say, hmm, it's really like that, hmm." Chen Ze spoke while chewing, and it wasn't easy to hear clearly.

  "Let's finish eating first." Lin Fang took over the three strings of roasted meat from Chen Ze's hand, and after taking a bite, he found that it really tasted good.

  "Hmm, hmm, look at this girl, she can eat more than the boys." Chen Ze saw his barbecue being taken away by Lin Fang, and he quickly chewed up the food in his mouth, pulling back the chicken wing in his right hand to prevent it from being snatched away, looking like a miser.

  Next to the barbecue rack was An Yuxuan, her food plate in front of her was filled with all sorts of food, including chicken legs, roasted wings, sausages, and skewers. Although she wasn't holding anything in her hands, the amount of food made people feel that this girl must be a food incinerator.

  "You and she really match." Lin Fang said to Chen Ze.

  "Don't be kidding me, if I really have to be with her, I'd rather starve to death." This guy's first thought was about food.

  To be honest, the two really match, Chen Ze's body doesn't know what structure it is, eating so much and still being so thin, while An Yuxuan is not fat at all, just a little meat. In the end, both of them like to eat, Lin Fang nodded.

  "Sorry, I don't know how to dance."

  "It's okay, I..."

  At this time, it seemed like someone was talking on the other side, their voice a bit loud, Lin Fang took notice.

  "Zhao Tianyu, I'm really sorry, I want to sit down for a bit, you and the others go ahead and dance." Ye Mei said to Zhao Tianyu on the wooden bar, her tone seeming not so good, but her smile remained.

  "Ye Man, I think you may have some misunderstandings about me. It's probably because people's descriptions of me are not quite accurate. I hope you can get to know me through your own eyes and give me a chance." Zhao Tianyu was not angry.

  "Thank you for your kindness, but I don't particularly like your type. We can still be friends though." Ye Mei's smile was a bit cold at this moment.

  "I heard Zhao Tianyu has a crush on Ye Wei, and it's really true." Chen Ze also saw the situation between the two.

  Lin Fang's eyebrows slightly furrowed, it was the first time he saw Ye Mei's smile so cold, in his impression, Ye Mei was always a gentle and soft woman with a warm smile.