Chapter 1612

Ye Heng'an stood up and walked to the side, slipping one hand into his pocket as he faced the floor-to-ceiling window, chatting in detail with Samuel. Mu Nuan sat on the sofa, tilting her head as she watched Ye Heng'an's tall, straight figure and his strikingly handsome reflection in the glass. Her heart fluttered uncontrollably, and the corners of her eyes lifted with delight. How could she have ever rejected such an amazing guy before? She must have been out of her mind. Before long, Ye Heng'an ended the call and turned back to her, tilting his head slightly with a doting smile. "Can't get enough of your ridiculously handsome boyfriend, huh?" Mu Nuan's cheeks warmed. "Oh, please. Spare me the ego." "Not handsome?" She pursed her lips, ignoring him, and instead asked, "You asked Third Uncle for help? What did he say?" Instead of answering directly, Ye Heng'an leaned in, pressing a quick kiss to her lips before pulling back with a smirk. "Tell me—am I the most handsome man in your eyes or not?" "Don’t play dumb. You practically have the entire school’s female population swooning over you." "I don’t care about them. I only care what you think." Mu Nuan rolled her eyes. "If you really want me to answer, then I might have to bring up that time when you were five and stayed at my place for a month. When your parents came to pick you up, you clung to me and cried so hard your nose was—mmph!" Before she could finish, Ye Heng'an captured her lips again—firm, possessive, and utterly confident in his role as her boyfriend. Mu Nuan melted into the kiss, her mind going blank until she finally remembered what she’d meant to ask. She turned her face away, breathless. "Okay, okay, I surrender!" Ye Heng'an stroked her cheek tenderly, his voice warm. "The fact that I cried at five because I couldn’t bear to leave you just proves I’ve always been devoted—only ever loved you, never wavered. Unlike you, who kept rejecting me even when I chased after you." Mu Nuan groaned. "Ugh." Mu Nuan wished she could crawl into a mouse hole in embarrassment. Clutching Ye Heng'an's arm, she pouted in frustration, "Darling An, you're not planning to hold this over my head forever, are you?" "Of course not. Just until you see nothing but perfection whenever you look at me." Mu Nuan immediately gave him a thumbs-up. "Right now, you're already the most amazing man in my world." Ye Heng'an arched an eyebrow, visibly pleased. Mu Nuan then shifted gears. "Alright, serious talk—what did Third Uncle say just now?" "Third Uncle invited a few friends and their families to a gathering at the club tonight. Yang Yun and his father were there too. Earlier, Third Uncle handed out room keys for the top-floor suites to the younger guests, telling them to rest up. Yang Yun is already in his room—and he just called Ding You." "Are you sure?" "His room is bugged. Couldn't be more certain. By tomorrow morning, you can hand the evidence to your best friend. Though Third Uncle did say... if you really want Xiao Qingqing to learn her lesson, the best way is to let her catch them in the act herself. That way, there’s no room for excuses." At this, Mu Nuan looked up at Ye Heng'an, conflicted. "But wouldn’t that be too cruel for Qingqing? Ding You pursued her relentlessly for two years. She finally mustered the courage to give this relationship a chance. To make her see it with her own eyes..." Her voice trailed off, unable to finish the thought. Ye Heng'an countered, "Whether she catches them in person or watches the footage tomorrow, the pain is the same. The only difference is that Ding You might feel less guilty—because if she gets the evidence, it means he was already under suspicion. He could even turn it around and accuse Qingqing of not trusting him." "That’s just shameless." "Nuan Nuan, you still don’t understand how low some men can stoop." After a brief hesitation, Mu Nuan met his gaze and nodded. "Fine. I’ll follow Third Uncle’s plan. If Ding You really shows up, let me know. I’ll call Qingqing." A little over half an hour later, Ye Heng'an received the confirmation call from Samuel. Mu Nuan felt a pang of sympathy for Qingqing's disappointment, but she quickly dialed Xiao Qingqing's number. The call connected, and Mu Nuan asked, "Qingqing, where are you?" "I'm back in the dorm," came the reply. "Just about to wash up and crash for a bit." "What about Ding You? He’s back already?" "That workaholic got a call earlier. Said he signed with some company, and the higher-ups set up a dinner for all the college interns. Probably won’t be back till late—you know how it is. Gotta hustle for the future when you're under someone else’s roof." Mu Nuan fell silent. Noticing the pause, Xiao Qingqing asked, "Nuan? You still there? Did you need something?" "Yeah... there’s something I need to tell you. About Ding You. I want to take you somewhere." A strange unease settled over Xiao Qingqing, but she didn’t hesitate. "Alright. Good thing I didn’t change yet. I’ll meet you outside." "Hannah’s waiting in the car by the school gate. Hurry up." Xiao Qingqing jogged all the way, slightly out of breath as she climbed into the car. After greeting them both, she took in Mu Nuan’s grave expression. "Nuan, what’s going on? You look so serious. It’s not... something happened to Ding You, right?" "Third Uncle saw him at the club earlier. Said he was... with Yang Yun, the daughter of one of his business partners." Xiao Qingqing froze, then frowned. "Could Third Uncle have mistaken him? He’s never actually met Ding You." The only time Third Uncle had seen Ding You was in a photo—two months ago, when she and Ding You had just started dating. She’d been out to dinner with Mu Nuan and Third Uncle, and Mu Nuan had casually mentioned she had a new boyfriend. Third Uncle had asked to see a picture. Back then, he’d barely glanced at it before remarking, "Doesn’t look like the fortunate type," and dropped the subject. It had been nearly two months—there was no way Third Uncle could still remember Ding You's face clearly. She then mused, "Could it be that the man Yang Yun is seeing just resembles Ding You? After all, her taste in men is pretty consistent." "Qingqing, I don’t want you to be deceived by some guy. I think... it’d be better if you saw for yourself. Of course, if you’d rather not face it, we can turn back now and figure out another way to confirm whether it’s really Ding You tomorrow." Ye Heng'an glanced at the two in the backseat through the rearview mirror. Seeing that Xiao Qingqing remained silent, he didn’t stop the car and kept driving. Xiao Qingqing’s hands, resting on her lap, clenched slightly into fists. After a brief hesitation, she forced her voice to sound calm. "Let’s go take a look. Maybe... maybe Third Uncle really was mistaken..."