Chapter 247: Brother Zhe and the Strange Woman

“What does that mean!? Are you staring at some other woman again!?”

Ling said, pouting.

“I’m not! I was just zoning out!”

“Eh~ I’m not— I was just zoning out~” Ling said in a sarcastic tone (Crab Boss), “You’re definitely staring at some other woman!”

“......”

Ye Qingfeng was momentarily speechless, not knowing what to say.

Lingbao... when did you become so irrational...

And why does this sentence sound oddly familiar?

He had just pulled his gaze away, preparing to explain, when his peripheral vision caught something—he froze, mouth gaping open in shock.

To ordinary people, the ferocious Hai were terrifying; to him, they were toys.

What could this man have seen to be so stunned?

Ling waited a long time without a reply, turned her head to check, noticed Ye Qingfeng’s ghost-struck expression, and followed his line of sight.

In her eyes appeared two figures—a man and a woman—intimate, holding hands as they walked into the shop.

Like a pair of first-love lovers, shy yet sweet, their relationship rapidly deepening.

But that’s not the point... the point is! Why is that man my brother!!

He should be at the video store right now—who is that woman beside him!?

Ling narrowed her eyes, fixing them on the woman beside Zhe.

She felt vaguely familiar—she might have seen her once or twice recently, but only dimly remembered.

“Do you know the woman beside him, Qingfeng?”

As she spoke, Zhe and the stranger, guided by a server, walked straight toward them—Ling swiftly ducked her head and raised the menu to hide her face.

“Qingfeng, come over here, don’t let them see us!”

Ling signaled Ye Qingfeng to move closer, both hiding behind the menu.

Ye Qingfeng lifted his stool and moved beside Ling, ducking behind the menu.

He thought there was no need to hide like some stalker—besides, it was impossible not to be noticed anyway...

Luckily, the menu was large enough to barely conceal their faces as they watched Zhe and the woman pass by and sit down at a nearby table.

Two tables away.

“That woman feels oddly familiar.”

Ling murmured.

With Ling’s reminder, Ye Qingfeng also felt the woman looked familiar, and nodded: “Yeah, I’ve seen her somewhere before.”

“So what are you going to do? It’s not easy for Zhe to find a girlfriend—we’ll just eat our meal and ask him when we get back.”

He continued immediately.

“That makes sense. I’ll test him tonight—if he doesn’t confess honestly, he’s definitely hiding something!”

As they spoke, a server approached, observing their strange behavior, silently muttering to herself but keeping a smile on her face.

“Ladies and gentlemen, have you decided on your dishes?”

“Here!”

Ling paused for a moment, then handed over the menu; after the server confirmed each item, she turned and walked away with it.

While waiting for the food, her gaze never left Zhe and the woman, lost in thought.

Ye Qingfeng appeared calm and composed, utterly unafraid of being spotted by Zhe—a stark contrast to Ling’s sneaky demeanor.

“Qingfeng, you think... brother... eh...”

“What exactly are you worried about? That woman doesn’t look like a con artist or anything.”

Ye Qingfeng didn’t fully grasp Ling’s meaning, so he comforted her as he imagined.

“I’m not worried about that—I’m just thrilled that Zhe finally likes a girl!!”

Ling sighed in wonder.

Ye Qingfeng flinched, his body jerking as he stared at Ling, bewildered.

When did Zhe start liking men? How did he not know?

Aside from being overly enthusiastic when they first met, he’d shown no signs of such tendencies afterward.

Brothers often talked about personal preferences; Ye Qingfeng leaned toward women, while Zhe never clearly stated his preference—unless you counted the famous singer, Yao Jiayin.

Zhe was her die-hard fan; besides video tapes, Yao Jiayin was the topic he discussed most.

From Ye Qingfeng’s observations, Zhe was emotionally passive—unless something drastic happened, he wouldn’t make a move for a long time.

“When did you start thinking... Zhe liked men?”

Ye Qingfeng swallowed hard.

“I didn’t say that!” Ling explained: “I’ve never seen Zhe show any interest in women, and when we first met, he was so overly enthusiastic...”

“It’s hard not to think the worst! But thank goodness—I’ve lived this long to see Zhe on a date with a woman! I’d give her Ding Ni myself, no problem!”

Ling clasped her hands together, weeping dramatically—her emotional display felt insincere to Ye Qingfeng.

“So? What exactly are you trying to say, Lingbao?”

Ye Qingfeng sighed helplessly.

“We have to help Zhe! Qingfeng, you’ll help me, right?!”

Ling grabbed Ye Qingfeng’s hand, her eyes sparkling, lips slightly pouting.

After so much time together, Ling understood Ye Qingfeng’s logic perfectly—outside of women and Ding Ni, little could interest him.

When he wasn’t interested, his indifference was even more obvious.

Since Zhe walked in, Ye Qingfeng had been shocked for just an instant, then returned to his usual detached attitude.

“We still have to find Ailian tonight, and Victoria Housekeeping could show up any moment—this needs careful planning.”

Ye Qingfeng ignored Ling’s pouting and countered with an unrefusable reason.

He’d rather spend time with Xiren and study the Hai .

As always: Zhe’s situation was common in his past life, but Xiren and the Hai only existed in this world!!!

“According to the Hollow contract, I’ll pay you,” Ling instantly dropped her cute act, “Double!”

“Huh? I don’t know why I suddenly got interested!” Ye Qingfeng’s expression turned serious, “But... today’s sunlight is bright—I’m not good at tailing, might get caught.”

Tch! It’s all Nico’s fault—this miserly habit isn’t something I can just eat!

Ling muttered under her breath, biting her lip in pain, then held up three fingers, hesitated, and retracted half.

“Two and a half times—that’s the max. If not, I’ll go ask Fairy for help!”

After all, that girl only got involved with Zhe and got a bank account—Ling couldn’t do something like that.

In the end, she was just too conscientious.

If Ye Qingfeng’s sister or girlfriend had run into Huang Mao, and there was such a useful AI...

He’d better not find any dirt on Huang Mao—or he couldn’t guarantee it wouldn’t end up online.

“OK—mission accepted!”

Ye Qingfeng accepted the task without hesitation.