Chapter 260: A Pretty Face Wasted
BAM!
A loud crash echoed!
Yin Fufang slammed heavily against the outer wall.
Luckily, it was the first floor. Otherwise, she would have hit the outer railing and plummeted to the ground!
The noise startled several people.
Yin Changqing, who hadn't been able to sleep, rushed downstairs. The first thing he saw was Yin Fufang collapsed on the floor.
Her body was curled up, her face pale as a sheet. She was clearly in immense pain, and there was even a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth!
Xiao Ye had held back this time. He knew she wasn't in any real danger; at worst, she'd need a few months to recover.
Yin Changqing's expression flickered. He hurried over. "Fufang, what… what happened?"
Leaning against the doorframe, Xiao Ye sneered, "What happened? You sent your daughter to my room in the middle of the night, and you're asking me?"
"Get her out of here now!"
"I'm warning you, if there's a next time, I'll be taking back the Golden Saber early! When that happens, if the real Golden Saber hasn't been found, the backlash will begin immediately!"
Yin Changqing immediately sobered up. He quickly bowed in apology, scooped up his daughter, and scurried away.
That night, some were destined for a sleepless night.
Xiao Ye left first thing in the morning.
Meanwhile, Yin Fufang awoke in pain. Yin Changqing had called a doctor and, upon learning she wasn't seriously injured and just needed some time to rest, his attitude immediately turned cold.
The moment he saw her eyes open, he began to curse her. "You useless waste! What a waste of such a pretty face!"
Yin Changqing's first wife, Yin Fufang's mother, was a movie star.
Not only was she beautiful, but she was also exceptionally skilled at seducing men.
Back then, Yin Changqing had been so infatuated he insisted on marrying her and no one else.
After they married, she gave birth to a daughter.
Later, when the Yin Family needed a more suitable Lady of the House, he divorced her and married the current Madam Yin.
Yin Fufang felt incredibly wronged. "That Xiao Ye didn't even give me a second glance!"
"That just means you weren't good enough! Useless! A complete waste! Who could you possibly seduce acting like that?"
"I suspect Xiao Ye doesn't like women at all!" Yin Fufang recalled the look in his eyes—there was truly not a shred of desire.
How could a man, a normal man, see a woman in a sexy outfit and have absolutely no reaction, not even a change in his gaze?
It's simply impossible!
The more Yin Fufang thought about it, the more convinced she became. "Dad, that has to be it!"
"I'm telling you, I've seen plenty of men. Xiao Ye definitely wasn't interested in me, but if he were a normal man, he wouldn't have acted like that!"
"So he must like men, not women! It's the only explanation that makes sense!"
Yin Changqing's brow furrowed. "Then why get married? Isn't he engaged to that Lin Chuyue?"
Yin Fufang snorted. "It must be a cover-up. Xiao Ye is the Patriarch of the Xiao Family, a truly powerful clan."
"But what about that Lin Chuyue? She's from a minor family, not even half as influential as our Yin Family!"
"So Xiao Ye must be using her as a shield. If he tried to find a young lady from a major family, they would never agree to it!"
That did make sense.
Even Yin Changqing was convinced. "Fine, I understand. I'll look into it. You get some rest for now."
With that, he left the room.
Yin Fufang's expression darkened. 'That damn Xiao Ye… so he likes men. He could have just said so, but instead he had to beat me so brutally yesterday!'
'Just you wait. I'll make sure everyone knows you're a pervert who's into men!'
After thinking this, she took out her phone.
'No, I can't use my own phone. It'd be too easy to trace back to me. I'll wait until I've recovered and get someone else to help.'
Xiao Ye was now sitting in the same high-end coffee shop the woman he was investigating used to frequent.
A woman sat across from him. "I know the person you're talking about. She appeared out of nowhere. I estimate she only just arrived in the country that day."
"She's definitely a true heiress from a wealthy family. I've interacted with her before, and her education and etiquette are both impeccable."
The woman quickly left.
Another one arrived right after. These were all people who had been in contact with the missing woman.
"I've never seen her without makeup. I remember one time she posted an update late at night while she was taking a bath."
"Heh, she was still wearing makeup even then. I bet she's not very good-looking without it, but her makeup skills are decent."
Throughout the day, Xiao Ye met with a total of four women who had interacted with the person he was investigating.
What they said was more or less consistent with what Xiao Ye had already found out.
Xiao Ye took out a photo. A woman was smiling gently at the camera.
She was beautiful, but it was a very generic kind of beauty, so ordinary that there was nothing memorable about it.
It made Xiao Ye think of a certain term—an internet celebrity.
Yes, the woman's makeup style was just like an internet celebrity's: pretty, but not special. Easy to forget after a single glance, and very easy to confuse with others.
It seemed he still needed to start with the locals, especially those who had been in contact with her, to make any real discovery.
But based on the information he'd gathered so far, it all felt too fake.
For this, however, he would need a local to help him—and one more powerful than the Yin Family. Xiao Ye had no desire to spend his days meeting with these women by himself.
He finished his coffee and took a car to the Yuan Clan's corporate headquarters.
The headquarters was located in the most prosperous area of Shanghai. The Yuan Family owned a skyscraper here.
The entrance was bustling with people coming and going.
As Xiao Ye approached, the automatic doors slid open.
The heating was on full blast inside, making one want to take off their coat almost immediately upon entering.
Xiao Ye walked up to the front desk. "Hello, I'm here to see your Yuan Tiancheng."
"Sir, do you have an appointment?"
"No. I just called him, but he didn't answer." He wouldn't have come in person otherwise.
The receptionist didn't believe him for a second. 'What a joke,' she thought. 'President Yuan's phone is on 24/7, okay?'
'He's a very busy man, making hundreds of thousands, even millions, in minutes. How could his phone possibly be unreachable!'
But, for the sake of her job, the receptionist patiently continued, "In that case, do you have the number for President Yuan's secretary? If the secretary gives the okay, I can let you go up."
"No." Xiao Ye had never even met Yuan Tiancheng's secretary. This was his first time in Shanghai, and his first time at the Yuan Family's company.
The receptionist's face fell completely. "So you don't have President Yuan's number, you don't have the secretary's number, and you don't have an appointment."
"In that case, please leave. You clearly don't know our President Yuan, and you are not allowed to go up!"
If it weren't for the fact that Xiao Ye was quite handsome, she would have thrown him out already.
She figured she should give a handsome guy a little leeway.
Xiao Ye's brow furrowed. Just as he was about to speak, the elevator doors opened, and a series of "President Yuan" greetings could be heard.
'Could Yuan Tiancheng be coming down?'
Xiao Ye immediately looked over, but the person approaching was a woman.
She bore a strong resemblance to Yuan Tiancheng, but she seemed more aggressive, her features etched with arrogance.
Sensing his gaze, she looked over, and her eyes instantly lit up!
'This handsome young man is just my type!'