Chapter 155
"Zhou Yunluo, your half-sister from the same mother. She is nine years old this year."
When Jiang Mingzhe said this, Tong Mo turned around and ran out.
Ye Yunniang looked at Jiang Mingzhe's smile. "You did that on purpose." From now on, whenever Tong Mo thought of Ye Yunniang, he would think of his own half-sister.
"He is my rival in love. Dealing with an enemy should be like the autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves."
"Will you treat me like this in the future?"
"You are the lover I want to cherish with all my heart, not an enemy."
Jiang Mingzhe would never use the tactics he reserved for enemies on Ye Yunniang. However, he would spend even more time and effort on her than he would on dealing with an enemy.
Jiang Mingzhe's honesty made Ye Yunniang temporarily agree not to cancel her decision to marry him.
"Do you have to act like this?" Ye Yunniang was amused by Baise's sneaky behavior.
"It's all your man's fault." Baise sat next to Ye Yunniang, picked up the tea on the table, and downed it in one gulp.
Running around outside all day had left her dying of thirst.
Baise was not someone who could sit idle. Since arriving in Ludu where there was no danger and her family was by her side, she had been thinking about restarting her fur business.
Jiang Mingzhe saw this and set up some minor obstacles in her business path. They weren't difficult to overcome, but they took up her time.
As a result, Baise didn't even have the time to find Ye Yunniang for a chat.
While drinking her tea, Baise complained about Jiang Mingzhe's cold and ruthless nature.
After venting, her mood improved.
Baise leaned closer to Ye Yunniang and asked, "What did you two talk about later that day?"
"Nothing much."
"Are we sisters or not? I tell you everything, and now you're keeping secrets from me. Are we still sisters?"
"No."
"Ye Yunniang, you're something else." Baise pointed a finger at Ye Yunniang, trying to think of a way to make her talk.
"I don't care how you and Jiang Mingzhe fight. Just don't drag me into it." Ye Yunniang could see that Baise was asking these questions just to find trouble with Jiang Mingzhe.
"You saw right through me," Baise chuckled. "For the sake of the child in my belly calling you godmother, help me."
"When did I ever agree to be your child's godmother?" Ye Yunniang thought back and couldn't recall ever agreeing to it.
"Right now. I've agreed to it. You are my daughter's godmother."
Talk about forcing a deal.
"I refuse. I won't tell you."
"If you promise me, I'll tell you a secret." Seeing that the soft approach wasn't working, Baise proposed an exchange.
"Let's hear it."
"You have to promise me first before I tell you." Baise wasn't going to give away her secret for free.
"Forget it then." Ye Yunniang wasn't that eager to know anyway.
"Are you sure you don't want to know? This is a huge secret about Jiang Mingzhe," Baise said temptingly.
"I can just go and ask him directly." Ye Yunniang remained unmoved.
"How would you know if Jiang Mingzhe is telling the truth or lying?"
"And how would I know if what you're saying is true or false?" Ye Yunniang retorted.
"You've made quite a bit of progress." Baise wasn't angry; instead, she looked very satisfied. "As expected of my apprentice."
"How did I become your apprentice now?" Ye Yunniang felt that Baise changed her story with every sentence.
"When you were the temporary shopkeeper, didn't I teach you hand-in-hand?"
"Yes. But..."
"Since I taught you, naturally I am your master." Baise interrupted whatever Ye Yunniang was about to say.
"You always have an argument for everything." Ye Yunniang admitted that she couldn't out-talk Baise.
"I've been following my father around the business world since I was ten. You still have a lot to learn." Baise said with pride.
"What about your mother?"
Baise dropped her smile. "My mother died when I was born."
"I'm sorry."
"No need to apologize. Just tell me what you and Jiang Mingzhe talked about." Baise leaned closer to Ye Yunniang. "Don't worry, I absolutely won't tell anyone you told me."
Saying that was as good as saying nothing at all.
"Come on, tell me."
"The baby in your belly is due in less than a month. Have you picked out a name? Are the baby's clothes ready?" Ye Yunniang changed the subject.
"Tie Yi hasn't decided yet. As for the little clothes, my sister-in-law has prepared them. I don't need to worry about it."
He Xiugu and Tie Sheng were childhood sweethearts, and Tie Yi grew up playing behind the two of them.
After He Xiugu married into the Tie family, her mother-in-law passed away unexpectedly. From a young age, Tie Yi had always been taken care of by He Xiugu.
In He Xiugu's heart, Tie Xiong was her biological son, and her brother-in-law was her second child.
For Tie Yi's first child, He Xiugu was incredibly attentive. Not knowing if it would be a boy or a girl, she prepared a set of little clothes, shoes, hats, quilts, and blankets for both genders.
Everything, from the baby's wet nurse to the confinement room where Baise would stay during her postpartum month, was arranged perfectly.
It was precisely because He Xiugu had prepared everything so thoroughly that Baise had nothing to do and thought about opening her shop earlier.
Speaking of the Tie family, Ye Yunniang remembered Jiang Mingzhe's words.
"Let me ask you something."
"Go ahead, I'll tell you everything I know."
"Does Brother Tie Xiong have someone he likes?"
"So you know about him liking you."
"Does he really..."
"Yes, really." Baise gave an emphatic nod to prove her words.
"How could that be?" Ye Yunniang rarely interacted with Tie Xiong, and their few encounters were strictly business. Once the matter was discussed, that was it.
Ye Yunniang hadn't sensed even the slightest hint of Tie Xiong's feelings.
"Your status dictates that it's impossible for him to reveal his feelings." Baise understood Tie Xiong's thoughts; he felt that falling for Ye Yunniang was a betrayal to his good brother.
"My mother and I have never blamed him."
"That is exactly why he doesn't dare to even more." At this point, Baise leaned close to Ye Yunniang. "Someone has taken a fancy to Tie Xiong."
"Who?"
"Guess. It's someone you know and are on good terms with."
Ye Yunniang thought back. Among the unmarried women she knew and was close to...
"Taohong?"
"How did you guess her?" Baise was surprised.
"Taohong just flashed into my mind." Ye Yunniang didn't know why either.
"You guessed right. I think Tie Xiong is also somewhat moved." Saying this, Baise studied Ye Yunniang closely.
"What's with that look? Are you worried I'll ruin things?"
"You aren't that kind of person. I just wanted to confirm once again that you have absolutely no feelings for Tie Xiong."
"I'm grateful to Brother Tie Xiong for helping our family, and that's all."
"That day, Jiang Mingzhe told you about Tie Xiong." Baise then thought about the younger sister who had been by Tong Mo's side recently.
Jiang Mingzhe and Ye Yunniang must have also talked about Tong Mo.
"That cunning man," was Baise's assessment of Jiang Mingzhe.
"You can't outsmart him."
"Don't boost Jiang Mingzhe's ego and dampen my spirit. Sooner or later, I will make Jiang Mingzhe bow down to me."