Chapter 211: Don't Be So Improper
"You... You're alive!"
Lin Chuyue clutched Xiao Ye tightly, taking in everything about him.
His warmth.
The feel of him.
His presence.
It was all so real!
Lin Chuyue pinched herself, hard.
It hurt!
'This is real!'
As if waking from a dream, Lin Chuyue finally threw herself into Xiao Ye's arms, her voice choked with sobs as tears streamed down her face.
"You're alive! This is wonderful, you're not dead!"
"SOB... You're not dead, this is just too wonderful!"
"I thought you were dead! How could you do this to me? Why are you only telling me now?!"
Xiao Ye held her, ignoring the stares of the people around them, and placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head.
"My darling, it's not that I didn't want to tell you. The situation back then didn't allow for it. I didn't want to get you involved."
'That same line again!'
'He didn't want to get me involved!'
Lin Chuyue desperately wanted to say that she didn't need his protection.
But when she thought about her own powerlessness and the crisis Xiao Ye had faced, her heart ached for him.
"You're always thinking about me! Why don't you ever think about yourself?"
"I'm begging you, please don't let anything happen to you again!"
At this moment, Lin Chuyue felt ecstatic.
One of life's three greatest joys: recovering what was lost!
Nearby, Chu Yan's expression shifted, her eyes also filled with excitement.
She wanted to speak with Xiao Ye too, but she knew this wasn't the time to interrupt.
'My place in Xiao Ye's heart will never compare to Lin Chuyue's!'
Xiao Ye chuckled. "Alright, I won't let anything happen to me. I'll listen to you."
"Besides, I overheard you just now. You admitted I was your fiancé."
"And you even said you were going to marry me. You can't go back on your word."
Lin Chuyue looked up, having cried most of her tears out by now.
Xiao Ye gently wiped her tears away. "Look at you, all tear-streaked like a little kitten."
Lin Chuyue's cheeks flushed red as she dodged his hand. "No, I'm not!"
"Okay, you're not. But you still haven't answered my question. Did you say you were willing to marry me?"
If this were before Xiao Ye's "accident," she might have been stubborn.
But over this period, she had come to understand her own heart.
Her feelings for Xiao Ye had changed without her even realizing it.
She had fallen in love with Xiao Ye. It was the first time in her twenty-odd years that she had truly fallen for someone.
Lin Chuyue raised her head, her beautiful eyes locking onto Xiao Ye's. "Yes, I want to marry you!"
Xiao Ye was very pleased with her answer. "That's my girl. Don't worry, I'll give you the wedding of the century."
"I'll make you the happiest woman in the world!"
Ouyang Di, who had been dragged back, finally regained his footing. Seeing the couple's lovey-dovey display made his blood boil.
'No one has ever snatched away a woman I've set my sights on!'
Ouyang Di strode forward and came face to face with Xiao Ye, sneering, "You have the nerve to show up!"
"This is the Xiao Family's inauguration ceremony for the new Patriarch. Don't forget, the Xiao Family is the very group you offended!"
"I get it now. You must think that just because Liu Loulan isn't the Patriarch, you can find a way back into the Xiao Family, right? In your dreams!"
"As long as Liu Loulan is alive, she'll never let you come back!"
Ouyang Di was clearly unaware of what had actually happened in the Xiao Family.
Hearing this, the color drained from Lin Chuyue's face.
'Xiao Ye must have come here to find me!'
The Xiao Family had invited so many powerful figures to attend. If Xiao Ye were to be discovered, the consequences would be unimaginable!
Lin Chuyue gripped Xiao Ye's hand and whispered, "Let's go!"
With that, she immediately started pulling Xiao Ye toward a side door, breaking into a run!
Xiao Ye paused for a second, then the corners of his mouth curved up as he let her pull him away.
Ouyang Di was left standing there, stunned. 'Wait, did they just run off like that?'
By the time he came to his senses, the two were already gone.
Ouyang Di stomped his foot in frustration and started to go find the Xiao Family members, but after just two steps, he felt something trip him.
THUD!
He face-planted, hitting the ground hard.
Nearby, Diwu Hanran retracted his foot and nonchalantly walked away.
'I have high hopes for Xiao Ye,' he thought. 'Just consider this a small favor.'
The two of them ran out the side door.
Unexpectedly, there were quite a few people here as well.
When members of the Xiao Family saw a woman dragging Xiao Ye away, they hurried forward to block them.
"Hold on!"
Xiao Ye shot them a look.
The men stopped in their tracks, simply watching as Lin Chuyue and Xiao Ye left.
"The Patriarch's look just now... it meant we shouldn't stop them, right?"
"That's what I got from it, too. Besides, if the Patriarch really didn't want to go, there's no way a woman could drag him away!"
The Xiao Family members recalled the scene from a few days ago. When Xiao Ye got serious, not even the Death Warriors were his match!
The two didn't get far.
They ran into the Xiao Family's security.
The guards immediately blocked their path. Before they could say a word, Lin Chuyue shielded Xiao Ye behind her.
"I... I'm a guest you invited!"
She tried to act calm, standing on her tiptoes in an effort to hide Xiao Ye's face. "I'm not feeling well, so I need to leave."
"This person behind me... he's my assistant!"
For Xiao Family banquets, it was always one invitation per person. There was no precedent for an assistant to accompany a guest.
The guard was about to speak when he caught Xiao Ye's eye.
He blinked and took a step to the side.
Xiao Ye nodded in satisfaction.
The guard understood. "Alright, then you... you can go."
Lin Chuyue let out a long sigh of relief and quickly pulled Xiao Ye along, continuing toward the exit.
Although the villa had only one main building, its grounds were vast.
The two of them walked for what felt like an eternity but still hadn't reached the main gate.
Xiao Ye simply scooped Lin Chuyue into his arms and ducked into the nearby woods.
He frowned slightly. "Now what? There are still plenty of guards behind us. Your method isn't going to work every time."
"Especially at the main gate. It's swarming with people. We won't be able to escape."
Hearing this, Lin Chuyue grew anxious and quickly pulled out her phone. "I'll book plane tickets right now."
"Oh, and when we go out, just keep pretending to be my assistant!"
Lin Chuyue fumbled through booking the tickets, then peeked cautiously outside.
Sure enough, there were guards everywhere, and lots of them. If Xiao Ye were alone, he could definitely get away, but with her as dead weight, it was uncertain.
Lin Chuyue looked at Xiao Ye's face, clenched her jaw, and ripped a strip of fabric from the inner lining of her formal dress, covering his face with it.
"Hurry, tie it on! Just say... just say you're having an allergic reaction, and that's why we have to leave!"
This strip of lining had been pressed tightly against Lin Chuyue's thigh just moments ago.
Now, it was on his face.
Xiao Ye took a deep breath, inhaling a faint, indescribable fragrance.
"You..."
Watching his action, Lin Chuyue finally realized what he was doing. Her face instantly turned beet red. "What are you doing?!"
"Stop being so improper! This is no time for games! How can you still be in the mood to tease me?!"