Restricted Fantasy Invasion

Chapter 13

Because she hadn't slept well yesterday, after waking up early in the morning, Ye Shiyu went back to bed for a nap, and by the time she got up it was almost noon. Yan Huan had already come back long ago. "Shiyu, you're up."

"Oh, Shiyu, come try this caramel pudding your little brother made, it's quite tasty."

As soon as she came downstairs, Ye Shiyu saw that there was a small piece of golden pudding on each plate in front of Ye Lan and Aunt Chen at the dining table.

The surface of the pudding was smooth, the caramel color just right, with a hint of vanilla essence wafting through the air. It looked exquisite and especially classy.

Aunt Chen was inviting her down to taste it, while Ye Lan was taking pictures of the pudding on her plate with her phone.

Ye Shiyu walked down and looked up toward the kitchen, just in time to see Yan Huan taking off his apron and hanging it on a hook.

Then he came out carrying another plate of pudding and smiled at her,

"Sister Shiyu, this pudding is for you. Since we had molds and ingredients at home, I thought I'd make some for you all to try."

"."

At home

Hearing him talk as if he already considered this place his home, Ye Shiyu looked at his hands and saw that he was still holding a black porcelain bowl with her name written on it.

A chill unconsciously crept across her brows, but just then Ye Lan's voice came from behind at the perfect moment,

"Shiyu?"

"...Thank you."

The chill didn't disappear, just slightly faded from her eyes.

Her expression returned to normal. She nodded, then took the pudding Yan Huan handed her.

After sitting down, Ye Lan, who had finished taking photos of the pudding, tasted a bite. The sweetness was just right, making her let out a satisfied sound.

She turned to Yan Huan and asked,

"Hmm, it really tastes good. Xiaohuan, you actually know how to make desserts?"

"No, I learned at my part-time job. It's a bar that also sells desserts and snacks. Frying some fries or making pudding is nothing."

"A bar, huh? That kind of place must be pretty messy, right?"

Ye Lan frowned, showing a strange prejudice against such places, but Yan Huan quickly smiled and explained,

"It's just a small bar with live singers, not the kind of place weird people go to. My coworkers all look out for me, and the pay is actually quite good."

"I see, you've really worked hard, Xiaohuan."

Hearing about the pay, understanding showed on Ye Lan's face.

Yeah, what choice does a high schooler like him have for living expenses and tuition? As long as he can get a part-time job, who cares about the environment or how tough it is?

Ye Lan thought Yan Huan had no choice but to work for money, but actually, she was a bit mistaken-Sister Tong's bar was very proper.

Listening to her mother and Yan Huan chat, Ye Shiyu, who was quietly picking up her spoon, had an even deeper gloom in her eyes.

The more attentive Yan Huan acted, the more she disliked him.

She took a symbolic bite of pudding. Even though it was delicious, it tasted like chewing bitter herbs and swallowing needles to her at that moment.

Ye Shiyu's gaze kept drifting over to where he and Ye Lan were chatting and laughing. Even the mask-like blankness on her face could barely hide her darkness now.

Yan Huan glanced at her imperceptibly. Knowing about the modifier, he was even more sensitive to this than Ye Lan.

But he kept chatting with Ye Lan, answering all her questions and concerns smoothly, and even making her laugh.

As they talked, he took the initiative to ask a question.

"By the way, Sister Shiyu, have you chosen your courses in the school system?"

"Course selection?"

Ye Lan glanced at Ye Shiyu beside her and asked in confusion,

"You have to pick courses at your school? Doesn't everyone just take the same classes?"

"Ah, that's how it is in Longguo, but here, besides five required classes, you choose two electives, usually in the afternoon, and you can take them with students from different grades and classes."

"Hermes the principal didn't tell us about this?"

"Because you can also go to the academic affairs office in person to apply for extra courses. The teachers there will explain each class in detail. You can't see that online, so Principal Hermes probably didn't notify you about online course selection in advance."

Yan Huan smiled at Ye Lan and said,

"But I know a lot about the school's courses. I can explain them to Auntie and Sister Shiyu, and you can pick now if you want."

"I see. Shiyu, go get mom's computer and let Xiaohuan help you pick courses, okay? I want to see how high school course selection works here too."

Ye Shiyu stopped stabbing the pudding with her spoon like a knife, nodded, and stood up to go upstairs.

As she left, Aunt Chen said she'd go prepare lunch, and Yan Huan's voice offering to help came again.

"No need, you stay here and help young lady and Shiyu pick courses. Xiaohuan, since you made such tasty pudding, Aunt Chen will show off her skills for you too. What dish do you want?"

"Really? Then I want ribs-I just saw some in the fridge."

"Hey, you found that? All right, Aunt Chen will make them for you later."

"Aiya, Xiaohuan, sit down. Tell us about your school's classes?"

"Sure, Auntie."

Listening to their conversation, Ye Shiyu's steps up the stairs grew slower and slower.

Maybe this warm and lively atmosphere was better than what she had at home?

After all, she didn't talk much, and most of the time she was in her room playing with her dolls, so the atmosphere at home was always lukewarm.

Or maybe, he was actually better suited to be a part of this family, which was why her mother's attention was always on him.

"."

For some reason, even though it was just a fictional movie, at this moment she felt a deep empathy with the protagonist.

So, her wish to drive him away shifted just a little-

That's normal, isn't it?

She clutched her phone and quietly went upstairs, soon disappearing on the spiral staircase from the second to the third floor.

After lunch, they rested for a while in the afternoon. Yan Huan opened the Yuanyue course selection website for Ye Shiyu on the computer.

He logged in using the account Principal Hermes gave Ye Lan and helped her search for available courses.

For the most part, it was Yan Huan and Ye Lan communicating. Even though they kept asking Ye Shiyu, she was basically just repeating the same actions.

Thinking, nodding, "I don't mind."

It almost felt like Yan Huan was picking the courses himself.

Finally, they finished picking two electives-one of which, "Handicraft Practice," was the same one Yan Huan was taking.

Ye Lan glanced at the time-it was almost two in the afternoon. She was about to say something when Aunt Chen poked her head out of the kitchen and said to Ye Lan,

"Young lady, we're running low on groceries at home, and the nearest market is pretty far. Can you drive me there?"

"I was planning to take these two kids out to see a movie and eat out. I'll give you the other car key."

So Ye Lan had a car. Then why did they need a driver yesterday?

"Oh, never mind, I haven't gotten my Linmen driver's license yet, and I drive worse than you. If I got on the road, I'd lose a lot of points. I'll just take the bus to shop next time. But since you're not eating at home tonight, what about the ribs?"

Saying that, Aunt Chen went back to the kitchen.

So Ye Lan was a "benbenzu"-someone who only has a license but rarely drives.

Ye Lan's face turned slightly red. She glanced awkwardly at Yan Huan and asked,

"Xiaohuan, Shiyu, let's go see a movie later. Why don't you look for something you'd like to watch?"

"...Anything's fine."

That's what Ye Shiyu said, but in reality, she had little interest in going.

She hardly ever watched movies, and wasn't interested in them. Yesterday's movie only resonated because she could relate to the story.

But since her mother wanted to go, she'd go too.

Yan Huan glanced at Ye Shiyu and smiled as he suggested,

"Auntie, why don't we just go to the supermarket instead? We can help Aunt Chen buy groceries and eat at home tonight."

"So thoughtful."

Ye Lan covered her mouth and smiled, patting his head, but then suddenly changed the topic,

"But I think you just want to eat ribs, don't you?"

"I'm just worried about wasting food, Auntie. It has nothing to do with the ribs, really."

"Hahaha-"

Ye Lan laughed again. She looked at Ye Shiyu and asked,

"What do you think, Shiyu? Do you want to see a movie?"

"Anything's fine."

Once again, Ye Shiyu looked at Yan Huan with a blank expression.

Sensing the dead-eyed stare, Yan Huan pretended not to notice, his smile growing even brighter.

Locking the door definitely wouldn't work.

That's what he thought.

Ye Lan changed her mind and called out to the kitchen,

"Aunt Chen, what groceries do you need? We'll go buy them for you later."

"Not going to the movies?"

"Haha, Xiaohuan loves your ribs."

"Oh, I guess there's really nothing good to eat in Linmen. The poor kid's starving."

"Hahaha, come on, what groceries do you need? We'll head out soon."

After Aunt Chen finished listing the groceries, Ye Lan grabbed the car keys and took Yan Huan and Ye Shiyu to the garage outside.

The garage door opened, revealing an extremely cheap mini electric car parked inside.

It was only a little bigger than a chopped chili fish head.

Yan Huan glanced at the small, cheap car, then at the excited Ye Lan beside him.

You're the ridiculously wealthy CEO of Linmen, and you drive this?

Yan Huan dazedly followed Ye Shiyu into the car, sat in the back seat, and as soon as he got in, Ye Shiyu fastened her seatbelt.

Just as Yan Huan was feeling confused, the electric car had already started up,

"Ready to go."

Then, the whole car suddenly started backing up, crashing headlong into the garage wall with a crisp sound.

"Dong!"

Yan Huan lurched and fell back against the seat behind him.

Meanwhile, Ye Shiyu next to him remained steady as a mountain, as if she was long used to this.

"."

He seemed to understand now why Director Ye's ride was such a cheap car.

Ye Lan turned around with an apologetic face and said to Yan Huan,

"Sorry, wrong gear, it's fine now, we'll set off right away."

"Alright, Auntie."

Yan Huan silently fastened his seatbelt, his smile a bit forced.

"Hahaha, young lady, you nearly scared Xiaohuan to death."

At the dinner table, Aunt Chen poured drinks for the others and was amused by Yan Huan's lingering look of shock.

Ye Lan pouted in frustration, "I'm already driving much better than before. Other than accidentally hitting reverse in the garage, everything else is fine."

Yeah, aside from all the drifting, frame-perfect lane changes, erratic speeds, and death-defying sprints, everything else really was fine.

It just made you feel a bit nauseous.

Especially with the electric car's rapid acceleration and deceleration-it really managed to make Yan Huan, who never got carsick, feel carsick.

And now, with a pale face, he still smiled and tried to reassure Ye Lan,

"It's nothing, Auntie."

Seeing his forced smile, Aunt Chen was thoroughly entertained.

"Hahahahaha."

"Here, have some ribs to shut you up."

Ye Lan picked up a rib for Yan Huan, then another for Ye Shiyu, filling the table with a joyful atmosphere.

Only Ye Shiyu beside them remained silent the whole time, so Yan Huan took the initiative to say to her,

"Compared to me, Sister Shiyu is really amazing, not scared at all."

"."

No response, so Ye Lan filled the silence with a smile,

"My sister is the most considerate, unlike Xiaohuan."

"Shiyu is just used to it; she used to get dizzy too."

"."

Still no response, and so the meal ended amid this intermittent conversation.

"Aunt Chen, let me help you."

This time, Yan Huan was the first to stand up and help Aunt Chen clear the table, while Ye Lan propped her chin in her hand, smiling as she watched his back.

After a pause, she turned and went to a cabinet in the living room, rummaging for something.

The cabinet was full of all kinds of photo albums.

Seeing this, Ye Shiyu understood.

Surely, that moment was about to come.

Those albums held many old photos, including, of course, Yan Huan's parents.

On Friday, Yan Huan had said he'd spend the weekend here, and now, with the good atmosphere, he was almost part of this family.

All Mom needed to do was talk about the past, and he could naturally stay here.

"Mom, I'm going upstairs to make clothes."

Thinking of this, Ye Shiyu stood up expressionlessly and said so.

"Alright, go ahead."

Ye Lan was still searching through the albums, while Ye Shiyu, shadowed, turned and went upstairs.

"Found it."

Ye Lan quickly found an album, took it out, and sat back down on the sofa in the living room.

Yan Huan was busy in the kitchen for a while before finally washing his hands and coming out with two bowls of double-skin milk he had just made.

Seeing only Ye Lan in the living room, he asked,

"Auntie, where's Sister Shiyu? I made dessert for you and her."

"She went upstairs to make clothes."

Ye Lan replied with a smile, then beckoned him over,

"Come here, Xiaohuan, I want to show you something."

"Okay, Auntie."

Placing the double-skin milk on the coffee table, Yan Huan sat beside Ye Lan, watching as she opened the heavy album in her hands, revealing the photos inside.

Her fingers moved and stopped at a photo of two young women together.

In the photo, short-haired, slightly awkwardly smiling Ye Lan stood beside a long-haired woman with a bright, sunny smile, who was making a peace sign at the camera.

Just looking at the beautiful girl standing beside Ye Lan, Yan Huan's eyes flickered.

That girl's features really looked a lot like his own, especially when she smiled.

So, Yan Huan understood her identity.

"Look, Xiaohuan, this is your mom, Wang Yulu, my college classmate."

Ye Lan smiled slightly, moving her finger along the photos, continuing to explain to the stunned Yan Huan,

"When I first started college, my family business was in a slump, and things were tough. Don't be fooled by how glamorous I am now-twenty-something years ago, your Auntie was so poor in college I could barely get by."

In the photos, some of Ye Lan's clothes were obviously the wrong size for her, looking a bit too big.

"But young people can't be satisfied just by studying; you always want some fun and social life.

"But I couldn't afford clothes-what I brought to college were all a size up from my sister's. Not to mention what others thought, even I felt self-conscious.

"If my clothes were like that, forget about other things-makeup, snacks, electronics, I had none of it."

In every photo, the girl beside Ye Lan was always smiling, either making a gesture at the camera or pulling a funny face.

Just from the photos, you could tell she was a very sunny person.

"At that time, your mom was my roommate.

"She'd lend me her clothes if I had nothing nice to wear out; if I needed to go on a date or to an interview and had no makeup, she'd let me use hers; she taught me skincare, took me out to exercise, studied with me, introduced me to more friends-

"That's when your dad and mom met. See, this is your dad-the two of them were the perfect couple in the literature department."

In one photo, Ye Lan, Wang Yulu, and a handsome man in glasses all looked at the camera, apparently at a dinner table, with other classmates in the background.

"Your mom was a very kind and sincere person. Without her, who knows what psychological problems your Auntie would've had during six years of undergrad and grad school.

"She was my very best friend. After graduation, she and your dad chose to come to Linmen. They flew all over the world, their phones were often out of service; as for me, because of a failed marriage and the family business, I was always busy.

"All these years, I'd occasionally text to check in, but never got a reply. I thought they were just too busy, but who could have known-"

As she spoke, Ye Lan's eyes reddened.

She turned the album page but didn't dare look again, as if afraid she'd cry if she saw Yan Huan's mother's face.

Yan Huan thoughtfully pulled out a tissue and handed it to her.

In the album, a photo of Yan Huan's mother beaming at a crib caught his attention.

In the crib, he saw baby Ye Shiyu reaching out her tiny hand to grasp Wang Yulu's pinky, while Wang Yulu looked surprised and delighted.

Under the photo, it was written,

"Shiyu's first meeting with her godmother."

Seeing the caption, Yan Huan's pupils contracted slightly, and Ye Lan, noticing the photo, smiled too,

"Your mom and I agreed to be godmothers to each other's kids, and I've always told Shiyu that. So, Xiaohuan, I hope you can understand Auntie-when I first met you, I was so out of sorts, maybe a bit too eager, acting overly familiar and making you uncomfortable-

"I just-wuwu-can't help it when I see your name. She always said that if she had a child, she'd give them this name, because she loved to laugh, and said-her child would definitely love to laugh, too."

Yan Huan handed her another tissue, but Ye Lan was so lost in thought she didn't even notice.

So, somewhat awkwardly, he wiped her tears himself,

"Aunt Ye."

But Ye Lan gently held Yan Huan's outstretched hand, looked at him, and softly asked,

"So, Xiaohuan, will you stay? Live here at Auntie's house, and I'll treat you as my own, take care of you for your mom, okay?"

"."

Looking at Ye Lan, eyes brimming with tears and hope, Yan Huan opened his mouth, a surge of indescribable emotion filling his heart.

It was a proposal he couldn't refuse, whether emotionally or rationally-after two days, it all felt so natural, so inevitable.

Maybe Yan Huan had already considered it from a "rational" perspective-the value of being the CEO's ward at Ye International in Linmen spoke for itself.

This kind of benefactor falling from the sky-honestly, even the most foolish person would understand the weight of such an easy "yes."

But everything Ye Lan just said came entirely from an "emotional" perspective.

There was no melodramatic love triangle, no dramatic tales of love and hate.

It was simply a timely helping hand in hardship, simply years of living together day after day.

Yet, after she reflected on everything and fully displayed the preciousness of their relationship to Yan Huan, even if Yan Huan was an orphan who'd crossed worlds, he would inevitably be moved.

It was precisely because he felt the sincerity of Ye Lan's feelings that he now found himself hesitating.

Sensing Yan Huan's hesitation, Ye Lan's tear-streaked lips began to tremble uncontrollably once more.

That expression, carrying a torrent of emotion, rushed at Yan Huan, making it seem as if words of refusal were an unforgivable sin in this world.

"Auntie."

Meanwhile, Yan Huan's gaze slowly dropped, avoiding her face.

After a moment of silence, he forced a bitter smile and said,

"I can't stay."

Hearing this, Ye Lan was a little incredulous. She blinked and hurriedly asked,

"Why? Do you find Auntie hard to get along with?"

"Of course not."

"Then is it your sister? She's just not used to interacting with others, but she's not a bad person at heart. I believe if Xiaohuan is around, she'll gradually open up."

"It's not because of my sister either, Auntie. I've never thought that way."

"Then why? Auntie has plenty of money, I can help you solve a lot of problems. If there's anything you're unhappy with, just tell me."

The confusion on Ye Lan's face only deepened, her look of grievance and sorrow overflowing.

She just stared into Yan Huan's eyes, chasing after his averted gaze, until there was nowhere left to hide.

As expected-

There's no escaping it, Yan Huan.

If you want to blame someone, blame those damn modifiers, Aunt Ye, for forcing me to act like this.

Yan Huan kept smiling, and at last, his eyes slowly lifted to meet Ye Lan's gaze directly.

There was no trace of aversion in his eyes, only a firm resolve in his tone.

The time was 7:30 on Sunday night, the place: Ye Lan's mansion in Jinghe District.

Looking at Ye Lan before him, Yan Huan spoke with equal sincerity,

"I'm sorry, Aunt Ye.

"I can't stay here-I have to go back to the southern district."

(End of this chapter)