A Surprising Reward

After a whole day of torture, Grandmother Luo, who had returned to the Ye family with Ye Shuang in tow, had a curious expression.

Mother Ye stood in the kitchen and studied Grandmother Luo's expression as she prepared dinner, but she was unable to tell whether this was a good sign or a bad sign. In the end, she had to tip her hand and laugh awkwardly. "Mother, how was the trip‽"

But more importantly what do you think of this future grandson-in-law of yours? A little hint would be nice, Mother…

Grandmother Luo glanced at the smiling Ye Shuang before turning to look at Mother Ye. "…Sigh, don't ask me."

Any more questions, I might start crying.

In her long life, this was the first time Grandmother Luo had felt such a deep mixture of pride and shame. She didn't think she could relive the scene where the group of elders left in a fit of grief and indignation. However, that incident aside, Grandmother Luo's impression of Ye Shuang did improve a lot, at least she didn't feel the man was too unrealistically perfect like she had felt the previous day.

Especially that feeling of wanting to hit him so many times on the back of his head… it reminded her so much of her own unruly granddaughter!

Mother Ye and Ye Shuang shared a look, and they were both equally anxious. Grandmother Luo saw this exchange out of the corner of her eye and she sighed. "In any case, I have no opinion regarding this relationship of the two young'uns, let them settle it among themselves… Has your brother bought the return tickets yet?"

Mother Ye sighed in relief. Grandmother Luo sounded like she wasn't going to intervene; that was perfect. She answered in a hurry, "He's bought them already. He even called just now to say he was going to go and buy some snacks for the trip home tomorrow."

"Good. Xiao Ye, why don't you stay for dinner tonight? You mentioned you have something important to do tomorrow, right? So remember to go home to rest after dinner, don't worry, we won't keep you until too late…"

Grandmother Luo's statement explained her stance clearly. This potential grandson-in-law had received her seal of approval, whether or not he would become an official Ye depended on himself; she was not going to intervene anymore…

The day was long, but at least they had settled the issue with the relatives. Another surprising reward was that, after personally meeting Ye Shuang, Grandmother Luo had completely vetoed the suggestion of her future granddaughter-in-law, Ou Qianru.

The complicated nature of the entertainment industry aside, since the person himself wasn't interested, it would be pointless for others to envision how great he would be in the field. It would be unwise to direct other people's lives.

The second reason was a bit selfish. With his good looks, her potential grandson-in-law already had to fend off the normal butterflies and bees, why shove him into a world where he needed to deal with fans and rich women who trawled for fresh blood to add to their personal collections? Did they want to kill her precious granddaughter with additional worry‽

Therefore, with a declaration, Grandmother Luo ended this discussion. She even notified Ou Qianru that they were not going to look down on the world of academics. If Ye Shuang was interested in pursuing a future in the sciences, they would let him be. Ou Qianru still respected the influence of Grandmother Ye. Even though she did feel regret, she didn't retort; she accepted the ruling readily. And thus, one of Ye Shuang's troubling concerns was settled…

…

Two days later, she changed back into her female form. She had heeded the lesson from before and exited the hotel in her female clothes. She carried her male clothes in a bag and was having breakfast before returning home when she heard a hesitant voice call her.

"Miss Ye Shuang‽"

She turned toward the voice and was surprised to see her ex-boss, Fang Mo, was out on a morning run in a tracksuit.

Ye Shuang smiled and greeted him instinctively. "Brother Fang, good morning!"

Fang Mo thought he had got the wrong person. He sighed in relief when the person turned around, but before he got near, he was shocked by the overly-close term of endearment. "Brother Fang‽"

Wait, the female Ye Shuang isn't that close to him! Ye Shuang recovered quickly and a respectful countenance fell over her face. "Sorry, the words left my lips before I could stop myself, erm… Boss?"

No, wait, that's not right either. I'm no longer working under him, so what is the nature of our relationship? Strangers‽

Ye Shuang suddenly realized a crucial point: her two identities were destined to not be at the same spot at the same time. This meant that her two identities would each have their own social circles… so what kind of manner should Ye Shuang A adopt when she approached a close friend of Ye Shuang B‽

It would be awkward if she pretended to not know the other person, but it would be wrong as well to conduct herself in a way that others might misconstrued as overly familiar, especially when she was a woman…

Although Ye Shuang was caught in that conundrum, Fang Mo had already recovered. He smiled generously and said, "No matter, I was merely startled… Based on my friendship with Xiao Ye, it wouldn't be out of place for you to refer to me as Brother Fang."

Ye Shuang chuckled as she scratched her head. She was at a loss because she still hadn't come to a solution in her mind. However, she decided not to waste time on this detail anymore, so she changed the subject. "Right, why did Brother Fang call me‽"

"It's nothing important." By now, Fang Mo had reached Ye Shuang's side. He used the towel hanging around his neck to wipe his sweat, and the breath that escaped his lips caused the temperature around Ye Shuang to rise. "I hear Xiao Ye was leaving the city today, so I planned to see him off, but he hasn't been answering his call… I happened to spot you, so I would like to ask you for his schedule. If possible, why don't we share a meal together before he leaves?"

Share a meal? At the same table‽ Ye Shuang blinked and then sighed with regret. "Thank you for the kind offer, but unfortunately, he has already left."

"Already left?" Fang Mo stopped moving before continuing. "But it's so early in the morning; plus, why didn't take my call last night?" Fang Mo halted again as his gaze wandered downward. Ye Shuang followed his gaze and… What the f*ck!

"Those clothes…"

Ye Shuang instantly felt like crying; why did she run into a familiar face whenever she was wearing or carrying men's clothes‽ "If I said, these are the clothes he left for me to take home to launder, would you believe me?"

"…" Fang Mo looked at Ye Shuang for a moment before moving his gaze several degrees to the left to fall on the large building behind her. The establishment's signboard gleamed luxuriously catching the morning glow, 'XX Motel'.

Ye Shuang also turned around, and when she saw that, she could feel tears in her eyes.