After Breaking Up, I Married A Top Alpha Movie Star And Fell In Love - Chapter 12

The carved iron gates of the He Mansion slowly swung open as the rain battered down plane tree leaves.

He Yuchen had drunk quite a bit at the social gathering. His face was flushed with inebriation, and he called out in a daze, “Qiu Ye?”

In the past, Secretary Qiu would always be the one responsible for sending President He home, only leaving once he was settled in.

Xu Zilang simply assumed the man was muddled from the alcohol and, along with the driver, helped support He Yuchen as they got him out of the car.

As the night wind blew, He Yuchen’s brow furrowed tightly, and he mumbled something incoherently.

Xu Zilang leaned in to listen closely, only to hear him calling Qiu Ye’s name over and over in a raspy voice.

“Qiu Ye? I feel sick.”

“Qiu Ye, I’m so thirsty.”

Xu Zilang’s arm, which was supporting him, suddenly went stiff. He spoke up to remind him: “Yuchen, you’ve had too much to drink. Secretary Qiu isn’t here.”

In fact, Qiu Ye was no longer his secretary.

The driver on the side sighed. “Young Master, why put yourself through this?”

He Yuchen finally realized the person beside him wasn’t Qiu Ye. He reached up to rub his brow, his stomach churning.

Xu Zilang finally managed to shove the drunkard onto the sofa and, like a nagging mother, brought over a cup of sobering tea.

He Yuchen didn’t drink the tea. Instead, he opened his phone and refreshed his WeChat Moments.

When he saw the new post Qiu Ye had shared, he snapped awake instantly; even his eyes lit up.

Standing to the side, Xu Zilang watched in utter shock as He Yuchen opened every single photo Qiu Ye had posted, even listening to the noisy background audio of the Live Photos.

He Yuchen raised his hand and handed his phone to Xu Zilang, asking somewhat childishly, “Where did Qiu Ye go?”

Xu Zilang took the phone, glanced at the location tag on the post, and replied helplessly, “Doesn’t it say right there?”

“Yunchuan is holding a drama festival these few days. Didn’t you even send a few reporters there?”

“I’m asking what he went to Yunchuan for!”

Xu Zilang held He Yuchen’s phone, feeling that this conversation was very strange.

He Yuchen had never cared about Qiu Ye’s whereabouts before.

What was going on now?

It was far too abnormal.

Xu Zilang shook his head; he thought he might have drunk too much himself, beginning to overthink things.

“Probably just to clear his head.”

Xu Zilang long-pressed the last Live Photo, and his finger suddenly paused.

In the photo, the sky was filled with exceptionally brilliant fireworks that lasted for several seconds.

In the corner of the frame, a slender, powerful hand with well-defined knuckles had accidentally entered the shot, naturally hovering in a protective gesture in front of Qiu Ye.

Xu Zilang’s pupils quivered. He screenshotted that fleeting image and shoved the phone abruptly in front of He Yuchen’s face: “Look at this hand!”

He Yuchen’s gaze swept over it. He coldly pushed the phone away, his voice harsh. “What are you making a fuss about!”

“Did he go to Yunchuan with someone else?”

“It’s just a passerby caught by accident.”

Even as He Yuchen said this, his fingers were honestly scrolling through Qiu Ye’s Moments, more seriously than when he studied a new company project.

Aside from that blurred hand, there was nothing else out of the ordinary.

Xu Zilang stared at that hand again and again, feeling that the gesture was deliberately protecting Qiu Ye from being squeezed by the crowd.

“Yuchen, do you remember the day he kicked up a fuss about resigning?”

Xu Zilang hesitated for a few seconds before silently moving to He Yuchen’s side and sitting down cautiously.

“I saw Qiu Ye in the parking lot. He got into a limited-edition Rolls-Royce.”

He Yuchen’s eyes suddenly darkened. The rim of his glass reflected his abruptly gloomy gaze, and his narcissus pheromones began to leak out uncontrollably.

Xu Zilang spoke up: “Do you think it’s possible? That Qiu Ye really did get married.”

“It’s not possible.” He Yuchen knew Qiu Ye was a stubborn person; once he decided on something, he wouldn’t change it easily.

For so many years, it had always been this way.

He had waited so long for a confession; how could he possibly run off and marry someone else?

“I know what I’m doing.” He Yuchen downed the sobering tea in one gulp, his tone indifferent and detached.

Xu Zilang was stunned and could only swallow the words he wanted to say.

He Yuchen was certain that Qiu Ye would definitely go to celebrate Shen Miaoyin’s birthday the day after tomorrow. He pushed aside his work for the day and drove to the Qiu Garden.

This place was eerie and gloomy; in the past, he had been unwilling to step foot here.

The first time he met Qiu Ye wasn’t at school, but here.

At that time, Qiu Ye was still very young. Covered in blood and soaking wet, he had run out of the Qiu Garden looking for someone to save his mother.

Although He Yuchen didn’t want to enter that ghostly place, he still lent a helping hand.

Shen Miaoyin had slit her wrists in the bathtub; a few more minutes, and she probably wouldn’t have been saved.

Qiu Ye had knelt there with tears streaming down his face, his gaze mournful as he looked at him and said “Thank you.”

Seeing how pitiful the boy was, He Yuchen had fished a piece of candy out of his pocket and placed it in Qiu Ye’s palm.

He Yuchen only found out later that Qiu Ye was an illegitimate child. He had undergone two paternity tests and entered the Qiu family gates only after rumors had flown everywhere.

He unbuckled his seatbelt and sat in the car for a long while before entering the Qiu Garden.

Knock, knock—

Hearing the knock, Shen Miaoyin thought her son had come back to accompany her for her birthday. She called out “Qiuqiu” as she opened the door.

He Yuchen stood stiffly at the door and greeted her, “Ms. Shen.”

“Little He?” Shen Miaoyin froze, her surprise plain to see.

The two went downstairs.

“Has Qiu Ye come back to see you during this time?”

Shen Miaoyin gave an “um,” her lips pursing nervously, as if she were anxious.

“Did he mention me to you?”

Shen Miaoyin looked up at him. She used to hear Qiu Ye mention He Yuchen constantly, but later it became less and less frequent.

The last time he came back to get his documents, Qiu Ye told her they had broken up.

“He did.”

He Yuchen smiled and asked, “Oh? What did he say about me?”

A cloud of doubt rose in Shen Miaoyin’s heart, and her eyes subconsciously darted around.

Did He Yuchen not know that Qiu Ye had married someone else?

“Qiuqiu said you were very good to him and told me not to worry.”

He Yuchen’s heart felt slightly more at ease. He opened a red Cartier box, inside of which lay an aquamarine bracelet.

“Happy Birthday.”

Shen Miaoyin was overwhelmed by the favor. In the past, she had asked Qiu Ye to invite Little He to the Qiu Garden, but she had never succeeded once.

Now, it was as if the sun had risen from the west; not only did He Yuchen visit in person, but he also brought a carefully chosen gift.

Shen Miaoyin turned her back, untied the dark green silk ribbon from her wrist, and put on the aquamarine bracelet.

The aquamarine was as transparent as a mermaid’s tear, almost entirely covering the scar on her wrist.

The gemstone was dazzling but hard in texture—nowhere near as soft or delicate as silk.

He Yuchen patiently walked around the Qiu Garden for a while. Failing to see Qiu Ye, he eventually drove away alone.

Qiu Ye’s flight had been delayed for six hours due to a storm. By the time he arrived in Hong Kong via transfer, the clock was just about to pass midnight.

Shen Miaoyin sat by her cake and received Qiu Ye’s birthday wishes right on time, along with a property deed with her name on it.

“Shen Miaoyin, Happy Birthday.”

“Move out of the Qiu Garden.”

Shen Miaoyin looked around the room that had imprisoned her, staring at the porcelain Guanyin statue in the darkness, and suddenly burst into loud wailing.

“Qiuqiu, Mama is truly useless.”

She really wasn’t reconciled.

She wasn’t reconciled to becoming a faded flower in the field of fame and fortune, nor was she reconciled to being trapped in the Qiu family for half her life with nothing to show for it.

As the car passed the Qiu Garden, the assistant, Xiao Bei, slowed down.

“Brother Lu, are you really going to take that project from Huanhe?”

Xiao Bei was feeling uneasy. He heard that Mr. Qiu was originally the secretary to the CEO of Huanhe.

If it were just that, it would be fine, but he also heard those two used to be a couple.

Wasn’t Brother Lu playing with fire?

The elevator doors slid open with a ding.

The moment Lu Mingchuan walked out, he captured the attention of almost everyone present.

He was dressed casually today in a well-tailored deep gray high-neck knit sweater paired with a long black coat, which emphasized his height and long legs to the fullest.

Almost simultaneously, the door to the CEO’s office opened.

He Yuchen walked out as if to personally greet him, though it felt more like an assertion of dominance.

His high-end black suit outlined the Alpha’s tall frame with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, though there were faint shadows under his sharp eyes.

He Yuchen was the first to extend his hand, a smile on his face. “Teacher Lu, you’re very punctual.”

His gaze habitually scanned the other man from top to bottom with the air of someone evaluating merchandise.

Lu Mingchuan shook his hand calmly, his grip firm. “We naturally take Huanhe’s projects seriously.”

Silent electric waves clashed in the air.

He Yuchen’s gaze suddenly locked onto the wrist Lu Mingchuan had raised. There sat a platinum watch—low-profile in design but extremely luxurious.

His pupils shrunk imperceptibly.

He Yuchen had once wanted to buy this limited-edition watch, but he had ultimately lost out when an anonymous buyer intercepted it with a higher price.

The feeling of having something he desired coveted and obtained by someone else was truly unpleasant.

“Teacher Lu has good taste,” He Yuchen said flatly, his emotions unreadable.

“As does President He.” Lu Mingchuan smiled faintly, his words seemingly carrying a double meaning as he naturally withdrew his hand.

He Yuchen turned slightly, preparing to lead Lu Mingchuan into the office for a detailed discussion.

On the path they had to take, there was an empty workstation.

The cream-colored desktop was excessively clean, standing in stark contrast to the other desks piled with items—it looked like a sudden, jarring blank space.

Lu Mingchuan stopped by that empty seat and said, “Speaking of which, President He and I were classmates.”

His tone was as natural as a casual remark, his lips curling into a nostalgic arc.

“I remember back then you were closest with Xu Zilang and Qiu Ye. Qiu Ye even became your secretary.”

One Ding Zhao wasn’t enough, and now there was a Lu Mingchuan.

He had never noticed before that Qiu Ye was such a magnet for attention.

He Yuchen’s voice was cold and hard. “Is Teacher Lu here to talk about work or to reminisce with me?”

“I was just curious why Secretary Qiu isn’t here.”

Lu Mingchuan walked forward a few steps and asked in a joking tone, “Why such a big reaction, President He?”

A nameless fire ignited in He Yuchen’s heart. After slamming the door shut with a bang, he asked, “Is Teacher Lu very interested in my secretary?”

Lu Mingchuan thought to himself: Qiu Ye has already resigned; what do you mean ‘your secretary’?

“Since you are a married man, you should spend more of your mind on your family.”

Lu Mingchuan sat opposite He Yuchen and replied, “Naturally.”

He Yuchen calmed down slightly and said, “I know the marriage variety show on Pearl Station has been contacting you.”

“I don’t know if you want to let your work speak for itself or use this wave of trending traffic to continue the hype.”

“If it’s the latter, I might have to choose someone else for the lead in this drama.”

Lu Mingchuan looked indifferent, appearing uninterested in the olive branch Huanhe was extending.

He Yuchen wasn’t in a hurry either. After a long while, he said, “However, given your current situation, I can understand being anxious to support a family.”

Lu Mingchuan smiled, his long fingers elegantly interlaced as he rested them on his knee.

“I can’t compare to a single man like President He. My primary mission right now is to earn money to support my wife.”