Chapter 286: Night, It Has Grown Late (Part 1)

After seeing off Ye Qi's best friend Chen Lan, the sky had turned completely dark.

"Are you sure you don't need me to drive you?"

Sun Cheng slumped onto the sofa, rubbing his slightly bulging stomach while idly fiddling with the television remote in front of him. Watching Ye Qi busy herself in the living room cleaning up the tableware, he suddenly asked again.

"No need..."

Ye Qi was wearing a pristine white apron, her beautiful and charming long, straight black hair tied into a casual ponytail. She was currently clearing away the dishes left over from dinner.

Hearing Sun Cheng bring up the topic again, she looked up at him, asking with a playful, enigmatic smile: "What? Taken a fancy to Xiao Lan?"

Sun Cheng rolled his eyes. "Isn't she your friend? It's not like I don't have a car here; is it really okay to let her take a taxi to the hotel by herself?"

"Who told you she was taking a taxi to the hotel?"

Ye Qi shot him a glare, carried the bowls and chopsticks into the kitchen, added some water to soak them, and then rinsed her hands in the washroom before coming back out to sit beside him.

"You, if you really like a girl like Xiao Lan, I'll keep an eye out for you. But I've warned you, don't you go having any designs on Xiao Lan, she..."

The words reached her lips, but she suddenly swallowed them back, shook her head, and said nothing more.

Sun Cheng was no fool. Seeing her expression, his mind raced, and he quickly realized what was going on, his eyes thoughtful.

After shaking off Ada Wong in the afternoon, he had driven the two girls from Jichang into the Nandu city center. He had assumed the girl named Xiao Lan would leave halfway, but unexpectedly, she had been dragged along by Ye Qi to stroll around the pedestrian street until dinner time.

It was clear that Ye Qi's relationship with Chen Lan—the cute girl she called Xiao Lan—was exceptionally close. Later, seeing her take the initiative to invite her best friend Chen Lan to Sun Cheng's apartment for dinner.

As a result, the conversation above took place.

"Understood, your best friend already has a big benefactor!"

There was bound to be some conversation at the dinner table. Besides learning Xiao Lan's real name, Sun Cheng also found out that, like Ye Qi, she was a contracted streamer on a well-known domestic streaming platform—Yuegui Network.

Because they were both in Shencheng, Ye Qi had a good relationship with this girl of the same age named Chen Lan, which was why she chose to come with her when she visited Nandu this time to attend the platform's streamer gathering.

With no outsiders at home, Sun Cheng naturally spoke his mind directly.

As a result, Ye Qi gave him a light slap, annoyed. "Are you trying to die? Why do you have to be so unpleasant!"

However, she did not refute Sun Cheng.

The soft fist landed on him, painless and clearly lacking any real force.

Sun Cheng squinted his eyes in enjoyment, though his gaze remained cold.

He had always felt a sense of resistance toward live streaming, a new form of entertainment that had exploded in popularity in China and across the world in recent years.

However, Sun Cheng also knew his will could not influence others.

In this era of the attention economy, "the general's lonely grave goes unvisited, while the actor's family affairs are known to the world" had long since become the norm.

Streaming platforms were simply a more realistic vanity fair, a low-threshold entertainment circle. They allowed those with the looks, singing voices, and eloquence that others dreamed of—especially handsome men and beautiful women—to quickly become famous, gain the adoration of thousands, and reap both fame and fortune.

The audience gained entertainment, the wealthy patrons gained satisfaction, the streamers gained fame and fortune, and the platform gained performance metrics; it could be considered a very successful business model.

His gaze couldn't help but fall on the stunning beauty beside him, the one who made his soul tremble. The coldness in Sun Cheng's heart grew deeper. He didn't even need to think to guess that there were surely plenty of powerful figures and wealthy men chasing after Chen Lan, just like her benefactor.

Forcing down his boiling murderous intent, he tried his best to make his voice sound gentler as he asked: "Sis, my company has recently gotten on the right track, but there are still many gaps in management. Why don't you stop being a streamer and come help me instead!"

Perhaps the ponytail was poking her back, making her uncomfortable.

Ye Qi was fiddling with her hair, loosening the ponytail slightly to make it look fluffier.

Finally, she didn't forget to sweep it over her left shoulder and place it in front of her chest.

Hearing Sun Cheng speak, she looked up and blinked, asking back with an alluring, sweet smile: "Help you manage the company? But I only know how to sing, dance, and do simple video editing! By the way, A-Cheng, you still haven't told me, what exactly is the gift you got me?"

This was clearly a refusal!

Being siblings, how could Sun Cheng not understand her?

Ye Qi, a graduate of the Foreign Language Institute, was an incredible genius when it came to languages. Her major, English, had reached the professional level four; she could be directly hired by diplomatic agencies or work abroad for foreign companies in terms of listening, writing, reading, editing, and even translation.

Besides that, she had also self-taught Japanese, German, and French.

Even during the New Year back home this year, Sun Cheng had seen her show off her professional level two certificates in French and Japanese. Clearly, during her days as a streamer in Shencheng, she wasn't just doing what she claimed—singing and dancing.

But, she had refused!

His throat moved, and Sun Cheng's eyes flickered, but in the end, he did not force her.

"Why don't you see for yourself?"

However, because he had been rejected, his mood fluctuated, and he answered casually before taking Xiao Wu out of his pocket and fiddling with it.

"Hmph..."

Ye Qi gave a light huff, but she didn't press him further.

She stood up and walked straight toward the guest bedroom, returning shortly after with the still-wrapped gift box.

"It wouldn't be a phone, would it?"

She looked at the Xiao Wu in Sun Cheng's hand, which still maintained the appearance of an Apple 5, and asked curiously.

Sun Cheng shook his right hand holding Xiao Wu, lazily saying nothing.

She had no choice but to sit down, place the box on her slender legs, and start untying the ribbon tied on top.

A woman's fingers are naturally much more dexterous than a man's, and Ye Qi perfectly proved this point.

After fiddling with the knot, which the shopkeeper had tied into a complex flower shape, she pulled on one end and gave it a gentle tug.

The next moment, the ribbon tied around the outside of the gift box came undone. After peeling away the gorgeous frosted wrapping paper, a clean, simple white cardboard box was revealed.

Ye Qi looked up at him, seeing that Sun Cheng had no reaction at all.

Pouting, she looked back down at the box and opened it with a hint of anticipation.

The moment the box was opened, a flash of bright gray metallic luster was immediately exposed.

PS:

I seem to have gotten into a rhythm with the writing; I'll see if I can manage a second update in a while.