#63

It rained early in the morning, leaving the ground damp.

When Le Ya emerged from the airport, her ears were filled with a cacophony of sounds. She didn’t know what holiday it was today, but the number of people returning to the country was overwhelming.

She hadn’t told Chen Yang she was coming back—she had returned secretly.

Standing in the bustling hall, Le Ya felt a bit dazed. She glanced down at her phone and saw a message from Xie Qingyu sent just minutes ago, saying she had arrived.

Le Ya pushed her suitcase forward a few steps.

A young man, nudged by his friends, stepped forward with a flushed face and said: “Your suitcase looks heavy. Do you need help?”

He had noticed her earlier—her gentle and charming appearance was even prettier than their school’s belle.

Le Ya politely declined: “Thank you, but I have a friend picking me up.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she spotted Xie Qingyu not far away. Xie Qingyu was holding a sign with Le Ya’s name written crookedly on it.

One couldn’t help but wonder if her students ever thought her handwriting was ugly.

Xie Qingyu had returned to First High School as a junior high elective teacher. She lived a carefree life, leaving work as soon as her time was up, and enjoyed winter and summer vacations every year.

Whenever Le Ya appeared in the group chat, Xie Qingyu would always emphasize how wonderful the teaching profession was.

Even amidst the crowd, her face still stood out.

Seeing how much Le Ya had changed, Xie Qingyu hugged her and teased: “You’ve already captivated a young man just after getting off the plane.”

Le Ya blushed. “Stop joking around.”

Xie Qingyu laughed heartily, took her suitcase, and asked: “Why so sudden? Didn’t you say you’d come back the day after tomorrow?”

Her voice grew quieter.

Le Ya replied: “Everything was already packed, so I decided to come earlier.”

“I didn’t tell Liang Qian either. That big-mouthed guy would definitely tell Chen Yang,” Xie Qingyu said while walking. “Do you want to stay at my place first?”

She and Liang Qian had bickered endlessly before finally getting together—it was almost expected. Everyone around them could see it coming.

The only drama happened during graduation season.

Le Ya had witnessed their relationship from start to finish, just as they had witnessed everything between her and Chen Yang.

Le Ya pursed her lips and said: “No, I need to go straight home.”

Her family’s business dealt with jewelry, which was closely related to her design studies. She would join the design department right away.

Of course, she would live at home.

The company wasn’t far from home, and buying another house would be wasteful. The small villa she owned abroad had already been sold.

Xie Qingyu teased: “I thought you’d look for another job. I wouldn’t want to stay at my own family’s company.”

Though her family’s business wasn’t as grand as Le Ya’s, they did own a small company. However, Xie Qingyu had no interest in it, and her family couldn’t control her either.

Le Ya smiled and explained: “Dad only has me as his daughter, so naturally, I should take care of the family business.”

Even though Le Yijian hadn’t made any demands, she willingly chose this path.

It was his lifelong effort, and she didn’t want it to disappear or fall into someone else’s hands.

Xie Qingyu nodded. “Let’s go. I’ll treat you to dinner.”

She and Su Hui had already prepared.

Su Hui and Su Cheng had gone through breakups and reconciliations, and now they were engaged. Their divorced parents were nearly driven mad by the news.

Without the constraints of high school or societal taboos, Su Cheng became more audacious, and his intentions were clear.

Their story was like that of a domineering CEO and his runaway wife.

At first, Le Ya had sympathized with Su Hui, but later realized it was all Su Hui’s imagination of a tragic romance—it was entirely one-sided.

In reality, Su Cheng cherished her deeply.

By evening, Le Ya finally returned home.

Le Yijian had long known about her return. He was delighted to hear that Chen Yang still didn’t know and had initially considered bragging about it on social media. However, he remembered that he had blocked Chen Yang and decided against it.

If the news leaked, his daughter might be “stolen” again.

Le Yijian’s original intention in taking Chen Yang to the hospital was simple—he believed a poor boy like him could never afford Le Ya’s future.

He didn’t expect that the kid would make such bold claims.

Le Yijian decided to quietly watch him follow through. Though he knew Chen Yang wasn’t an ordinary person and would eventually leave the pond, he hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly.

In just two years, Chen Yang had entered the public eye through a competitive game. Though simple, the game remained popular for quite some time.

The momentum afterward was almost unstoppable.

A group of passionate young people started businesses and developed rapidly. By now, they had become a force to be reckoned with. Le Yijian had seen Chen Yang mentioned several times in the morning newspaper.

Phrases like “new tech elite,” “latest tycoon,” and “climbing the rankings” appeared frequently.

Each time, it left him so angry he couldn’t eat.

Le Yijian sighed silently in his heart but couldn’t help feeling proud. His daughter had excellent taste—she clearly picked a promising candidate.

It wasn’t until Le Ya returned home that she discovered the villa had been replaced.

Curious, she asked: “We’ve lived there for so many years. Why the sudden change? I almost didn’t recognize it.”

Zhang Yi, the housekeeper, was still working here. Upon seeing Le Ya, she immediately prepared her favorite dishes, filling the house with delicious aromas.

Le Yijian thought of Fang Yuan, his expression darkening slightly. He said: “That place is going to be demolished, so we moved.”

Le Ya: “….”

She hadn’t heard anything about demolition plans. It had only been twenty-something years—how could an upscale neighborhood be demolished so suddenly?

Since Le Yijian didn’t elaborate, Le Ya didn’t ask further.

The next day, Le Yijian took her to the company: “The current manager of the design department is Zhang Qiu. If you have any questions, just ask her directly.”

Le Ya nodded: “Okay.”

Zhang Qiu had worked at Le’s company for over a decade. Efficient and capable, she had long known that the boss had a daughter and that she would eventually join the company.

She introduced Le Ya to the colleagues in the design department and then led her to her workstation. Le Ya happened to sit by the window, where small potted plants adorned the windowsill, making it look quite pleasant.

After Zhang Qiu left, a group of female employees gathered to whisper among themselves.

“Why is Zhang Demon being so nice to this newcomer?”

“I heard she just came back from abroad.”

“Could she be from some mediocre university? Many overseas returnees deceive people these days. She looks so young.”

“I think she might have pulled some strings.”

“But she’s so pretty! She looks so soft—I just want to hug and squeeze her…”

When Le Ya emerged from Zhang Qiu’s office, the chatter abruptly stopped, and everyone pretended to be busy typing on their keyboards.

Le Ya’s position in the design department was newly created, and she didn’t have much to do. Her main task was to review the latest seasonal products of the company.

She didn’t mention starting from the bottom, and neither did Le Yijian.

Of course, his precious daughter couldn’t possibly do such hard work. It was better to let her simply draw and design at her own pace.

Le Yijian even wanted her to just play around every day and not work at all, but since Le Ya insisted, he had no choice but to agree.

The morning passed by very smoothly.

In the afternoon, when Le Ya went to the pantry to get water, she saw several girls gathered around a computer, whispering excitedly as if they were watching a TV drama.

“How can someone be so handsome? Why didn’t I notice such a good-looking man earlier!”

“He’s even a CEO! Is this a press conference? What game is this? I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before.”

“Their games are super fun—I was addicted to one of their games before.”

“He looks so reserved in that shirt and suit—so refined and elegant. I heard people like him have particularly strong desires…”

“Wow, Xiaomei, you’re too wild! Did you watch too many adult films? Where did you even hear that?”

The chatter gradually grew louder.

Most of the design department employees were women, with only two men who were familiar with the group. Hearing such conversations, they didn’t bother participating.

With the intention of giving a gentle reminder, Le Ya walked over.

At that moment, the camera zoomed in, and on the computer screen, there was just enough time to catch a familiar profile. The man was speaking formally to the media and public below, dressed in a sharp suit that couldn’t hide his lean and tall figure.

Occasionally, the camera would zoom in closer, revealing his high nose bridge and handsome contours. Under the spotlight, the clarity of the footage made him look even more refined and elegant.

A deep, sensual voice emanated from the small speakers.

Le Ya rarely saw Chen Yang looking so formal.

In fact, she had video-called him just before returning to the country. At that time, he was in his room, wearing casual home clothes.

The video then transitioned to a promotional clip for the game, showcasing dazzling special effects, skill designs, and an engaging storyline. Even outsiders felt tempted to try playing it.

As Le Ya watched intently, the girls noticed someone standing nearby and turned their heads, startled.

The girl sitting at the desk quickly closed the laptop, eyeing Le Ya warily.

Le Ya hadn’t expected such hostility and helplessly smiled: “I didn’t mean anything—I just wanted to know where you were watching that.”

The girl hesitated, suspiciously asking: “You want to see hot guys too?”

Jiang Mei, unable to resist chiming in, said: “It’s useless to watch. He’s a big shot—he wouldn’t look at someone like you.”

Even though this particular “someone” was stunningly beautiful.

“What are you saying?” someone nudged Jiang Mei, quickly adding: “It’s a video from the top热搜 (hot search) on Weibo. Just click on the first one—you’ll see it. Today is MOON’s new game release conference.”

Le Ya nodded: “Thank you.”

Holding her cup, she turned around. Behind her, Jiang Mei muttered softly: “What if she goes—do you think he’d fall for her?”

Back at her desk, Le Ya opened Weibo on her phone.

By now, she was considered a major influencer on Weibo, with millions of followers. She often posted her assignments online, and many companies reached out to commission her work.

Le Ya clicked into the trending topics and played the video.

The press conference in the video had reached the media Q&A session, but the person on stage had changed to Liang Qian. She felt a bit disappointed.

Still, Liang Qian looked much more serious on stage than usual—it was hard to imagine him fooling around with Xie Qingyu.

Near the end of the video, the camera panned back to the man. As always, traces of his younger self could still be faintly seen.

Le Ya blinked, watching as a beautiful female reporter suddenly stood up, nearly dropping her voice recorder.

She asked: “Mr. Chen, many people have been wondering recently—aside from today’s game, it seems MOON has another game called Eighteen . Why hasn’t it been released yet?”

Hearing the familiar name, Le Ya instinctively held her breath.

The reporter continued: “Or is it still not finished?”

On stage, Chen Yang faced the camera, his expression calm and distant, replying: “Because that game was a birthday gift for my fiancée on her eighteenth birthday.”

The reporter froze, and a ripple of commotion spread through the audience.

In recent years, no one had dared to ask Chen Yang about his relationship status, automatically assuming he was a highly sought-after bachelor.

Calmly, Chen Yang added: “So it will never be released.”

The reporter quickly recovered and pressed further: “Isn’t it selfish to keep a game like that offline?”

“Selfish?” Chen Yang chuckled faintly. “That game belongs to her.”

The final interview of the press conference ended there.

The reporters still had questions, but the tall man had already left the stage, leaving them no opportunity to ask further.

The last statement was vague enough to spark endless speculation among Weibo users, leading to a flood of comments.

“I was just starting to stan him, and now you’re telling me he’s taken?”

“I don’t believe it—it must be something he said for the reporters.”

“I want to play the game too! Why does giving it to her mean it can’t go online? Letting us play it wouldn’t hurt.”

“Did anyone else notice the word ‘fiancée’?”

“No, no, no—I noticed ‘eighteenth birthday’! So now are people supposed to start dating in high school?”

Le Ya scrolled through the comments, then returned to the main page. She pinched her heated ears, wondering when exactly she had become Chen Yang’s fiancée.

And he had been so blatant about it, showing absolutely no restraint.

He had clearly learned how to make things up as he went along.