The Aloof CEO’s Hidden Temptation - Chapter 18

“Contract…”

Ye Jiayuan repeated the word with a rising intonation and a half-smile. Her gaze was deep, as if trying to see right through Fu Chaoying.

“I’ve seen too many meticulously designed contracts in my work. I didn’t expect to hear the word in my personal life as well.”

Ye Jiayuan’s tone was calm, yet carried a trace of imperceptible melancholy. The light from the living room ceiling projected onto her exquisite profile, the interplay of light and shadow emphasizing a beauty that could capture one’s soul.

Fu Chaoying’s heart skipped a beat, but she didn’t let it show. She blinked as if in confusion. “Is Sister refusing me? Is it because you think it’s too absurd?”

Ye Jiayuan remained noncommittal. Her fingertips traced the rim of her glass as she took a slow, deliberate sip of water. Then, she spoke in a low voice: “The Ye and Fu families are old friends; our elders share a deep bond. Between us… it seems inappropriate to have a relationship mixed with such interests.”

Ye Jiayuan’s tone was gentle, yet it carried an undeniable sense of distance.

Being politely rejected by Ye Jiayuan caused Fu Chaoying’s heart to sink slightly. However, she had anticipated this. She wasn’t overly disappointed, she simply lowered her eyelashes to hide the complex emotions in her eyes and whispered, “I understand. Sister is right, I was being presumptuous.”

Ye Jiayuan’s gaze swept over her face. The usual cunning in Fu Chaoying’s eyes had completely vanished. She looked like a wounded little animal, retracting all its claws, appearing fragile and helpless.

Fu Chaoying spoke again softly, her voice carrying a hint of hidden grievance. “I was just… afraid she would come to harass me again.”

Her voice was so light it felt like a feather, gently brushing against one’s heartstrings.

Before her voice could fade, a fair hand gently covered the back of hers. The touch was soft and delicate, a perfect temperature that seemed to reach straight to her heart.

Fu Chaoying’s fingertips trembled slightly. She looked up abruptly, only to crash into Ye Jiayuan’s unreadable eyes.

“Regarding Yi’an, I will do my best to handle it. I won’t let her disturb you again.”

“You don’t need to make any decisions you might regret just to get rid of her.”

Ye Jiayuan’s gaze was focused and serious, as if she were making a solemn vow. Fu Chaoying stared at her, trying to see through the complex emotions in those depths, but she saw only a calm lake.

“You need to think clearly about what you truly want,” Ye Jiayuan whispered, almost to herself.

As soon as she finished speaking, she withdrew her hand. It was as if the soft, warm touch on the back of Fu Chaoying’s hand had been nothing more than an illusion.

A strange emotion fluttered in Fu Chaoying’s heart. she smiled at her and said, “Thank you, Sister. I understand.”

Ye Jiayuan nodded slightly and stood up. “I’m a bit tired. I’m going to rest first.”

Just as she turned around, Fu Chaoying suddenly spoke: “I’ve almost finished everything I had to do here.”

Her voice was gentle, but the underlying determination was impossible to ignore.

Ye Jiayuan’s footsteps paused. She turned back, her gaze landing on Fu Chaoying’s face. “When do you plan to return home?”

Fu Chaoying met her eyes. “The flight is tomorrow.”

She didn’t mention the specific flight, she wanted to test Ye Jiayuan’s reaction. However, Ye Jiayuan’s expression remained calm, without a hint of surprise or reluctance. She simply said, “Okay. Have a safe flight.”

Those few words were like a basin of cold water, extinguishing all the hope in Fu Chaoying’s heart.

The test ended completely.

A wave of indescribable disappointment surged through Fu Chaoying, but she quickly adjusted her emotions and stood up. Yet, the moment she turned, her eyes unexpectedly met Ye Jiayuan’s in mid-air.

Fu Chaoying’s heart accelerated again. She subconsciously held her breath, only to hear a “click” as Ye Jiayuan ruthlessly closed the bedroom door.

Images from a dream flashed through Fu Chaoying’s mind, she was reaching out to Ye Jiayuan, but the other woman only looked at her coldly, offering no response.

Dream and reality intertwined.

The faint scent of magnolia seemed to linger in the air, but that fragrance felt like it was silently mocking her. Fu Chaoying gave a self-deprecating smile and turned back to her bedroom.

The next morning, Fu Chaoying intentionally lingered in bed. It wasn’t until she heard the familiar sound of the door closing, confirming that Ye Jiayuan had gone to work, that she slowly got up to wash.

Walking into the living room, Fu Chaoying immediately spotted a note lying quietly on the coffee table. Her heart tightened. She walked over quickly and picked it up, seeing the familiar, crisp, and clean handwriting:

Send me your flight information. I’ll take you to the airport. Ye Jiayuan

Why didn’t you ask last night?

Fu Chaoying pursed her lips. She picked up a pen, wrote a few lines on the note, placed it back where it was, and left.

Throughout the morning, Fu Chaoying wandered aimlessly through the streets and alleys of Singapore. At noon, she found a local restaurant for lunch. Afterward, she returned to the hotel to pick up her luggage, gently closed the door, and departed.

Ye Jiayuan had just finished an important meeting when she heard Liu Xin report in a low voice: “Miss Chaoying asked me to tell you that she has already boarded her flight home. She said thank you for taking care of her during this time, and she’ll treat you to dinner when you return to the country.”

Ye Jiayuan gave a light “mm,” her expression composed as if the news didn’t surprise her at all.

However, the moment she entered her office, she instinctively opened her private WeChat and clicked on the chat with Fu Chaoying. It was empty, there were no new messages.

Ye Jiayuan’s eyes dimmed slightly. She promptly closed WeChat.

She followed her routine, working, finishing work, and returning to her empty residence. The moment the lights flickered on, her gaze immediately locked onto the coffee table. The note she had written that morning was still there.

Did Fu Chaoying not see it?

Ye Jiayuan walked over and picked it up, only to see two lines of elegant handwriting added to the paper:

No need to trouble yourself! Thank you for taking care of me during this time, Sister Jiayuan~

Sister Jiayuan.

This polite yet distant title was like a tiny silver needle, gently pricking her heart.

Ye Jiayuan turned and walked into the guest bedroom. The bedding and furniture were clean and tidy, without a single trace of anyone having stayed there. It was as if Fu Chaoying had never been there at all. Even the faint scent of roses in the air had grown weak, as if a single gust of wind could blow it away.

It wasn’t until Ye Jiayuan lay down on the bed and pulled up the thin blanket that Fu Chaoying had used that the familiar rose fragrance flooded her nose again.

Only this rose scent could prove that Fu Chaoying had truly been there, and that it wasn’t just a hollow dream.

After returning home, Fu Chaoying visited old acquaintances of her grandmother, traveling through four cities in one week. Her legal team and assistants were exhausted from following her, jokingly calling her a “workaholic demon.”

Fu Chaoying just smiled. “I’m afraid you haven’t seen a real workaholic yet.”

The assistant, a young girl who had just graduated, asked curiously, “What is a real workaholic like?”

An image of a cold and exquisite face flashed through Fu Chaoying’s mind. She smiled calmly. “Probably someone who is constantly in meetings and reading reports even while traveling.”

Fu Chaoying suddenly realized that since she returned home, she and Ye Jiayuan hadn’t been in contact for a whole week. It was like a “cliff style” breakup after excessive intimacy, leaving one feeling pointlessly regretful and melancholy.

But she was the one who had been rejected.

Fu Chaoying smiled self-deprecatingly, suppressed all her emotions, and turned back to her tedious work.

A few days later, work from the Yun Ji project arrived. Fu Chaoying was so busy her feet barely touched the ground, she fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow every day.

During this time, her cousin Fu Chaohua found time to visit her studio. Seeing her eating a boxed lunch while reading documents, Chaohua’s eyes widened. “How did you become so driven after coming back from Singapore?”

Fu Chaoying shrugged and smiled. “I’m not. It’s just that things have finally hit their stride these past few days.”

Fu Chaohua didn’t push further, turning instead to gossip: “So, did your ‘strategic consultant’ give you any useful advice?”

Fu Chaoying shook her head with a light laugh. “On my end, I haven’t reached the point where I need a consultation yet.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Fu Chaoying smoothly changed the subject. “A new hotpot place opened downstairs. I heard it’s good, want to go try it?”

As the two walked downstairs, Fu Chaohua suddenly remembered: “It’s the Dragon Boat Festival in a few days. My mom isn’t in Nanyan either. Should we go to the Ye house for the holiday as usual?”

Fu Chaoying fell into deep thought and didn’t answer immediately. The two families had a long-standing tradition of celebrating holidays together.

Seeing her hesitation, Fu Chaohua added, “Ye Yi’an is filming out of town, so she probably won’t be back.”

“Let’s just celebrate by ourselves, the two of us. Aunt Wu is at home anyway,” Fu Chaoying wheedled, grabbing her cousin’s arm.

Fu Chaohua shook her head. “Both of the Ye girls are away. Only Aunt Chu is left; she’ll be quite lonely.”

Hearing this, Fu Chaoying said, “Then let’s wait for Aunt Chu to call us.”

Chu Yiyun loved to travel, perhaps this year she wouldn’t even be in Nanyan for the festival.

Fu Chaoying thought so, but that evening, she actually received a call from Chu Yiyun. The woman warmly invited the two sisters to the Ye house for the festival, complaining that her two daughters weren’t by her side and she was a “solitary soul.”

Aunt Chu had always been very kind to the younger generation, and Fu Chaoying could never stand it when she played the pity card, so she agreed immediately. Since both Ye sisters wouldn’t be back, she figured she would just be accompanying an elder for the holiday.

Fu Chaoying shook her head helplessly and opened her chat with Ye Jiayuan. Their conversation had stopped many days ago, with no new messages since.

Fu Chaoying turned off her phone and dove back into her endless work.

The requirements from Yun Ji were complex. Fu Chaoying had revised her drafts several times, but the other party’s designer kept saying the “feeling” wasn’t right. But “feeling” was a mysterious thing. Moreover, Fu Chaoying had drawn everything strictly according to the themes and requirements they provided.

When they signed the contract, the other party had said all the right things: “We’ll follow your designs as the priority, whatever you draw is what we’ll use.”

Of course, such words were never written into the contract. And anything not written in a contract was just empty talk.

Fu Chaoying shook her head and resignedly buried herself in work, staying up all night to finish another revision for the designer. When she finally looked up, the sky was already bright.

The sunrise was breathtakingly beautiful. Fu Chaoying took a quick photo and posted it to her Moments. Since it was so early, naturally no one liked it.

Fu Chaoying put her phone away and drove home. After showering, she checked her messages as usual and clicked into her Moments. Among the two rows of profile icons, she immediately spotted the familiar ocean themed avatar.

It was Ye Jiayuan.

Ye Jiayuan liked her post?

Scrolling down further, Fu Chaoying’s brain instantly cleared, she saw Ye Jiayuan’s comment under her post:

[Working this late? Take care of your health.]