I Revealed My True Identity After Confessing My Love - Chapter 23.1

Tonight was a Chaoshan beef hotpot place. The beef was freshly sliced, tender, and required precise cooking time.

Watching her practiced movements while scalding the meat, Du Xiran asked curiously: “Do you come here often?”

Ye Nanning nodded: “It cooks fast and tastes good.”

Du Xiran laughed: “Cooking fast is a reason?”

Ye Nanning: “Yes.”

It was a huge reason. Cooking fast meant she could finish eating quickly, see fewer people, and be friendly to her social anxiety.

“Do you usually like eating out?” Du Xiran asked.

Ye Nanning chose her words carefully, afraid of exposing her secret identity or leaving an impression of being a glutton. She shook her head: “I rarely go out to eat.”

Du Xiran noticed she said she “rarely” goes out, not that she “didn’t like” it. So she probably liked it but couldn’t go often.

Du Xiran: “I happen to need a meal buddy. Let’s go together when we have time.”

Ye Nanning: “!!!”

Ye Nanning looked at her, overwhelmed: “Really? Can I?”

“Yeah. A food blogger I follow shared several restaurants with me, and I want to try them all. Everyone else is either busy or doesn’t want to eat with me. If you don’t mind eating with your boss, then come along.”

“I don’t mind.” Ye Nanning was dancing in her heart. Realizing this opportunity was given to her by “Grandpa Under the Tree,” she felt even happier and decided to find an opportunity to share more spots.

“President Du, try this piece. It’s very tender.” Ye Nanning kept serving her food.

“You eat too, don’t just mind me.” Du Xiran served her some as well.

With slightly trembling hands, Ye Nanning put the meat into her mouth.

Even if she died of overeating tonight, it would be worth it!

After dinner, Du Xiran dropped her off at University B and then went home, giving the restaurant a five-star review.

She opened Weibo, looked at the restaurants the blogger had shared, and began to look forward to the upcoming food tour. After finishing these, she’d ask the blogger for more.

Just as she was thinking this, the other party sent several links.

Du Xiran replied with several exclamation marks:

[I was just thinking about asking you for more links later, and here you are!]

Grandpa Under the Tree: [Hehe, just happened to see some good ones.]

Dududu: [Thank you! I just went to the beef hotpot place you recommended tonight. It was great.]

Grandpa Under the Tree: [You’re welcome~ Eat more delicious food when you can; it’ll keep you in a good mood! (▽)]

Tonight’s blogger seems to love using emoticons, Du Xiran thought. Must be a cute young person.

Dududu: [Alright, I won’t let your kind intentions go to waste.]

Grandpa Under the Tree: [Good luck with everything, may all your wishes come true, have a happy life, and be happy every day!]

Du Xiran: Pfft, really cute.

Dududu: [You too.]

Grandpa Under the Tree: [Okay! Mwah! =3=]

Dududu: [=3=]

Du Xiran shook off the goosebumps, smiling as she went to shower.

On the other side, Ye Nanning was clutching her phone and screaming…

Ahhhhhhh! President Du kissed her through the internet!!!

The next day was the weekend. After waking up, having breakfast, and cleaning, Ye Nanning started working on her thesis. During this time, she received another call from Ye Tingyuan.

Ye Nanning took a deep breath and answered. As if the person on the other end knew she wouldn’t speak first, he said directly, “Come home today.”

Just as Ye Nanning was about to refuse, Ye Tingyuan continued on his own, “It’s Grandma’s birthday today. Mom picked her up and brought her home, she’s already here.”

Ye Nanning had no choice but to change her clothes and drive back to the Ye residence.

The Ye family owned several properties in B City, but for the sake of work and study convenience, they mostly lived in a riverside villa in the city center.

Passing by a mall, she went in and bought a gold necklace with a jade pendant.

The doorbell rang a few times before the nanny opened the door, smiling. “Second Young Lady is back! Come in, the Old Madam has been here for a while.”

The sound of the family chatting and laughing drifted from the living room.

“Xiao Yuan is getting more and more handsome, he looks more like his mother every day.”

“That’s because Mom and Dad have good genes. Grandma, have something to eat, you worked hard coming all this way.”

“It wasn’t hard at all. Your mom drove out early this morning to pick me up. Fu Jie, thank you for the trouble.”

“Mom, what are you saying? It’s no trouble at all. I told you to live with us, but you insisted on staying in the suburbs.”

“I have company over there. What’s so good about living here? It’s all cars and people outside, and I don’t know a soul. It’s no fun.”

Ye Tingyuan burst into laughter. Turning his head, he spotted Ye Nanning standing at the foyer and greeted her, “You’re here.”

The laughter stopped abruptly. Both the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law looked over simultaneously.

Ye Nanning gave a small nod. “Hello, Grandma. Hello, Auntie.”

Grandma instinctively glanced at Fu Jie before saying, “Mm, come in. Why are you just standing there?”

Ye Nanning walked over and handed her the gift. “Happy Birthday.”

“Thank you,” Grandma said politely.

“Have a seat first. Dinner will be ready soon. I’ll go upstairs and call your father down,” Fu Jie said, standing up to leave.

Ye Nanning pursed her lips and sat on the sofa.

Ye Tingyuan, who had been half-slumped, sat up straight. After a dull silence of thirty seconds, he finally found a topic: “How is the internship?”

“It’s pretty good.”

“I was looking at your school forum a few days ago. Some threads slandering you were deleted,” Ye Tingyuan noted.

Ye Nanning nodded, then suddenly turned to look at him. “Why are you always browsing our school’s forum?”

“I… well…” Ye Tingyuan paused. “Don’t I want to get into University B? So I’m getting to know the school beforehand. I’ve looked at University A and University C as well.”

Ye Tingyuan was a high school senior, and the whole family took his future very seriously.

Ye Nanning asked curiously, “You’re not planning to study abroad?”

“We’ll see.” Ye Tingyuan took a sip of his drink and muttered, “You didn’t go abroad either.”

Ye Nanning fell silent. At that moment, Ye Yiyun came down from his upstairs study and entered the living room.

Ye Yiyun looked energetic a tall, large man who exercised regularly. He didn’t have a noticeable “potbelly,” though his hair had turned quite white. He first asked Grandma, “Mom, do you want to go rest for a bit?”

“Alright, you get sleepy when you’re old.” Grandma stood up and rubbed her legs. Fu Jie immediately supported her to the room to rest.

Ye Nanning watched her leave. As she withdrew her gaze, she noticed Ye Yiyun looking at her. She murmured awkwardly, “Dad…”

Ye Yiyun asked the same thing Ye Tingyuan had: “How is the internship?”

Ye Nanning: “It’s pretty good.”

Ye Yiyun: “In what way is it good?”

Ye Nanning: “…”

“The environment, salary, colleagues, leadership you can elaborate on all of those,” Ye Yiyun said.

Ye Nanning: “…”

This was what she feared most every time she came home. As a father, he naturally wanted to know about her life, but she didn’t really want to tell him too much.

Their topics were always too formal, like a superior interrogating a subordinate, which made her anxious.

“The environment is good, salary is good, colleagues are good, and the leader is also very good,” Ye Nanning answered.

Ye Yiyun: “…”

The atmosphere grew heavier. Ye Tingyuan couldn’t help but interject, “Dad, can I have a bit more allowance next month?”

“What do you want to do now?” Ye Yiyun asked in a low voice.

“It’s my birthday next month. I want to treat my classmates to a nice meal,” Ye Tingyuan said.

“Is such extravagance necessary? Can’t you just eat something near the school?”

“Second Sister’s allowance in high school was way more than mine. You’re just biased,” Ye Tingyuan grumbled.

“How am I biased? Can you two even be compared?” Ye Yiyun spoke too quickly. After saying it, his heart skipped a beat. He turned to look at Ye Nanning, but seeing no reaction from her, he had grown accustomed to this daughter’s personality. He turned back to Ye Tingyuan. “If you want money, ask your mother. Leave me out of it.”

“Fine.” Just as Ye Tingyuan was about to head upstairs, he saw Fu Jie coming down. “Mom, it’s my birthday next month. I want to treat my classmates to dinner. Can I have a bit more allowance?”

“Sure. Tell me what gift you want too,” Fu Jie said generously, sitting on the sofa.

“I want a car,” Ye Tingyuan said excitedly. “I’ll be eighteen next month.”

“No problem.”

“You’re just indulging him,” Ye Yiyun said.

Fu Jie shot him a look. “It’s just a car. Why be so stingy? We aren’t lacking those few tens of thousands of dollars.”

“A few tens of thousands?” Ye Tingyuan was shocked. “Mom, you’re planning to brush me off with a car worth only that much?”

“What else? You think money grows on trees?”

“…”

Ye Tingyuan glanced at Ye Nanning again. “Second Sister’s eighteenth birthday gift was way more expensive than that.”

“Don’t compare yourself to others. Talk to me when you can get into University B like she did,” Fu Jie said.

Ye Tingyuan: “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely get in!”

Listening to the conversation between the mother and son, Ye Nanning’s mind was actually on how to write her thesis, what work tasks to do next week, and where else there was good food she could share with President Du.

“Nanning, is your allowance enough for now?” Fu Jie suddenly asked.

Ye Nanning froze for a moment and nodded. “It’s enough. I’m already interning, and I’ll be getting a salary soon. Auntie, you don’t need to give me allowance anymore.”

Fu Jie looked at Ye Yiyun. “What do you think?”

Ye Yiyun’s gaze circled Ye Nanning before landing on Fu Jie. His tone softened slightly. “You decide.”

“You make the call.”

“Then let’s do as she says. Since she wants to work steadily, let’s see how far she can actually go.”

During lunch, the two aunts also arrived with their families. The large family celebrated the old lady’s birthday in a harmonious and peaceful atmosphere.

The aunts first asked about Ye Tingyuan’s studies and then expressed concern for the eldest child studying abroad. “When is Shuangshuang coming back?”

“She and her classmates started a brand. She’s so busy she can’t get away; she won’t even be back for the New Year.” Mentioning her eldest daughter, a look of pride appeared on Fu Jie’s face.

“Shuangshuang is amazing. That jewelry design she’s studying. I heard it’s quite profitable,” the eldest aunt said.

“Not necessarily,” Fu Jie said, feigning humility.

“Oh, definitely! Your children are all incredibly smart. Shuangshuang and Nanning… ha, both are so clever. And Xiao Yuan’s grades are also good. They’re all successful people.”

Fu Jie laughed.

Ye Nanning kept her head down and ate, only taking food from the few dishes directly in front of her. Beside her, Ye Tingyuan suddenly stood up and swapped several dishes. “Why are the dishes I like always placed so far away?”

“How rude,” Fu Jie chided, and Ye Tingyuan made a face.

Ye Nanning stole a glance at Ye Tingyuan and resumed eating the dishes in front of her. They tasted quite good.

After lunch, Ye Yiyun went back to his study to continue working on business matters. The women stayed in the living room to keep the old lady company. Ye Nanning sat awkwardly to the side, unable to join the conversation and unsure of how to interact with them.

“Second Sister, come on. Play a couple of games with me,” Ye Tingyuan called out.

Ye Nanning stood up and followed him to his room. The two sat on the carpet, and Ye Tingyuan turned on the console and started a game.

They didn’t talk much, there were mostly just occasional yelps from Ye Tingyuan.

After winning several rounds in a row, Ye Tingyuan excitedly shouted and reached out both hands for a high-five. But seeing her cold, expressionless face, he lost heart. His hands hung awkwardly in mid-air, but just as he was about to pull them back, he heard two crisp sounds.

Clap…

Ye Nanning gave him a double high-five.

Ye Tingyuan looked at her in surprise, but her expression hadn’t changed. She slowly picked up the controller, eyes fixed on the TV screen. As she started the next round, she asked, “My birthday party is next month. Are you coming?”

Ye Nanning looked straight ahead and replied, “I don’t know your classmates.”

“They all know you. Legends about you still circulate in our school. They want to see the ‘Undefeated Myth’ who is both beautiful and smart,” Ye Tingyuan said.

“I’m not a big star, there’s nothing special to see.” After saying that, Ye Nanning added, “Don’t worry, the gift will be delivered to you.”

Ye Tingyuan curled his lip.

After playing for a while longer, Ye Nanning put down the controller. “I’m going to the restroom.”

There was a restroom in her own room. She moved toward her room quietly, but as she passed a corner, she heard the eldest aunt’s voice from downstairs: “By the way, I heard Nanning went to work at Zhenghe. Fu Jie, aren’t you worried?”

“Worried about what?”

“Look at Shuangshuang, she insisted on studying jewelry design. And from what I see of Xiao Yuan, he wants to do computer science or AI in the future. Out of the three children, only Nanning studied finance, and now she’s interning at Zhenghe, isn’t that planning for the future? Won’t she be the one to inherit Yiyun’s company later? You’ve worked hard all these years, raising his daughter for him was hard enough. You have to consider your own children too.”

Fu Jie didn’t respond. The younger aunt said, “Sister, you can’t put it that way. Nanning is also a member of the Ye family.”

“But she’s not the sister-in-law’s biological child after all.” The eldest aunt sighed deeply. “In the end, it’s all because our brother made a mistake. Sister-in-law even had to clean up his mess and raise Nanning with the best of everything. I just hope Nanning remembers her kindness in the future.”

Fu Jie smiled. “A harmonious family brings prosperity to all.”

Ye Tingyuan waited for a long time before Ye Nanning returned to the game. He couldn’t help but ask, “What took so long? Constipated?”

Ye Nanning’s mouth twitched, and she sat down to continue playing.

“Wait, I have a call.” Ye Tingyuan suddenly picked up his phone, scrambled to the side of the bed, and answered with a smile. “Hello? Why are you calling me?”

The person on the other end said something. Ye Tingyuan kicked his legs and laughed while covering his mouth. Then, putting on a serious face, he replied, “Fine. You have to come to my birthday. If there’s no gift, I won’t tutor you anymore.”

After hanging up, Ye Tingyuan bounced on the bed a few times until he saw Ye Nanning looking at him expressionlessly. He awkwardly scratched his head.

“Girlfriend?” Ye Nanning didn’t want to gossip, but the voice was clearly a girl’s, and she had never seen Ye Tingyuan look so childish, so she couldn’t help asking.

She didn’t expect an answer, but just as she turned her head back, Ye Tingyuan said, “Not yet. Sis, give me some advice.”

Ye Nanning was stunned.

Ye Tingyuan had been well-cared for since he was a child, and Fu Jie handled almost everything for him. He rarely asked others for help, let alone the seemingly unapproachable Ye Nanning.

“What advice?”

“Let me show you.” Ye Tingyuan opened his photo album and showed her a picture. A girl had turned her head back, seemingly noticing she was being photographed. Instead of being angry, she was smiling sweetly at the camera. “How is she? Pretty, right?”

“She’s pretty.”

“How about making her my girlfriend?”

“That’s for you to decide. Only you know if you like her.”

“I’m not sure. I want a long term relationship. I don’t want to be casual. If we can’t be together in the future, I don’t want to waste her time,” Ye Tingyuan said.

Ye Nanning glanced at him in surprise. “You’re quite mature.”

“Of course.” Ye Tingyuan hummed. At this moment, he showed the cuteness expected of someone his age usually, he was too serious at home. “Sis, there must be a lot of people chasing you, right? What do you think ‘liking’ someone is like? You must have liked someone before, right?”

Ye Nanning fell silent.

“There really is? In the past or now?” Ye Tingyuan asked curiously. “Don’t worry, I definitely won’t tell anyone. This is our secret. You can’t tell Mom and Dad either, or they’ll say I’m not focusing on my studies again.”

Ye Nanning looked at him for a few moments and whispered, “Now.”

“Who is it? Do I know them?”

Ye Nanning shook her head. Fearing he would ask too much, she changed the subject. “What about you? Who is the person you like? A classmate?”

“Yeah, a transfer student,” Ye Tingyuan smiled. “I can only tell you her surname is Du. If you come to my birthday party next month, you might see her in person.”

It was a tempting offer. If Ye Nanning weren’t socially anxious, she might have actually gone to see.

However… what a coincidence. The person she liked was also surnamed Du.

“Du Heruo! How many times have I told you? Don’t clutch that phone all day long!” Du Xiran yelled.

“What’s the big deal?! Haven’t I finished my homework? Why are you being so mean?” Du Heruo replied.

“Are you sure you finished? Bring it here for me to check,” Du Xiran said.

Du Heruo hesitated for a few seconds. “There are a few difficult main questions I haven’t done.”

“If you can’t do them, can’t you ask? Bring them here and I’ll teach you.”

“No, I found a little teacher to teach me.” Du Heruo took her phone and returned to her room, leaving Du Xiran alone to fume.