After Cherry Miller finished her introduction, she looked calmly at Ethan Yin. "We'll talk about us later. For now, can I have a moment alone with Ryan?"
Ethan Yin raised his eyebrow at Cherry Miller and stared at her for a full thirty seconds before getting up and walking out.
With one hand grabbing Ryan King and the other grabbing Yuzhen Yin, he headed out. "All of you, come with me!"
Yina Yin and the others followed, looking sheepish, not daring to put up any resistance.
Whimper whimper, eating gossip is fun, but getting called out by Ethan is seriously painful!
Cherry, please come rescue us soon!
After leaving the café, Ethan Yin paused, then turned around with a meaningful smile. "You’ve all gotten bold! Every single one of you, daring to encourage someone to poach my people. Huh?"
He dragged out the last word, sounding both threatening and full of swagger.
It was clear—if you didn’t come clean today, you might as well prepare for disaster!
Yina Yin quickly stepped forward to please him. "Bro..."
"I don't have a sister as scheming as you!"
"Ethan..."
"I don't have a brother as unreliable as you..."
......
Inside the café, after everyone else had left, Cherry Miller finally spoke to Jay Kee, who looked stunned. "Is there anything else you want to ask?"
"You really..." Jay Kee stared at Cherry Miller in disbelief, unable to accept the shocking truth.
"It's true." Cherry Miller sighed. "If you’d just done a quick search online, you’d know everything I said is real."
Jay Kee immediately covered his face, unable to say a word.
"Sorry, I didn’t mean to hide it from you. It’s just..." Cherry Miller chose her words carefully. "It just wasn’t convenient to tell you. I told you before, don’t waste your time on me. That was my way of hinting at this. I’m not some rich heiress. I’m just an employee."
Jay Kee was in turmoil, unable to process any of it.
"Sorry, I need some time to process this." Jay Kee suddenly jumped up and ran off in a daze.
Watching Jay Kee's retreating figure, Cherry Miller could only shake her head helplessly.
Hopefully, after this blow, Jay Kee will finally change his way of thinking.
Relying on others is never as good as relying on yourself.
There are no shortcuts in life.
As Cherry left the café, she looked up and saw Ryan King and the others getting seriously scolded by Ethan Yin.
"Cherry, help!" As soon as Ryan King saw Cherry Miller, he started howling, "I know I messed up! I really do!"
Yina Yin stood off to the side, unsure whether to help or not. When she saw Cherry Miller come out, she was clearly relieved and quickly said, "Cherry, please talk to my brother. He's about to beat Ryan and the others to a pulp!"
Ethan Yin glanced up at Cherry Miller, and the moment he saw her, all his anger turned into pure misery.
Cherry Miller felt incredibly awkward but braced herself and walked over. "Ethan... I’m at fault here too."
"You did nothing wrong. How could you be at fault? They’re the ones to blame!" Ethan Yin defended her without hesitation.
Hmph, how could his beloved ever be wrong?
It had to be these troublemakers acting out, putting Cherry in such a tough spot!
"Cherry!" Ryan King, Yuzhen Yin, and the others, all battered and bruised, pleaded with Cherry Miller for help, their earlier bravado completely gone.
Waaah, Ethan is so fierce!
There's no way we could win in a fight.
Feeling helpless, Cherry Miller grabbed Ethan Yin’s arm and gently shook her head. "They’ve been punished enough. Let it go."
Yina Yin nodded repeatedly. "Bro, we really know we messed up!"
"Looks like you all have too much free time!" Ethan Yin couldn’t bring himself to shake off Cherry Miller’s hand. He stared at them coldly and announced, "Starting tomorrow, everyone is going to Sunset Manor to farm! No one leaves without my permission!"
"Ah!" Yina Yin screamed, "I don’t know how to farm!"
"Then learn! Or should I tell Mom and Dad you were the ringleader?" Ethan Yin showed no mercy for his own sister, speaking coldly.
"No, no, I'll go, I'll go! Just please don’t tell Mom and Dad, and don’t let Miles Gu find out." Yina Yin immediately backed down.
"Hmph." Ethan Yin snorted and turned to look at the other brothers.
"I'll go, I'll go!" Ryan King and the others hung their heads, not daring to resist.
Fine, we'll farm if we have to—just don’t hit us.
They're all grown up, and still getting hit—ugh, where’s their dignity?
Cherry Miller seized the moment. "I’m feeling a bit hungry, Ethan. Will you eat something with me?"
"Hungry? Come on, I’ll take you out for a midnight snack." As soon as Ethan Yin heard Cherry Miller was hungry, he dropped the brothers and left with her.
Before leaving, Cherry Miller shot them a look, signaling them to escape quickly.
Yuzhen Yin, holding his swollen forehead, sighed, "See, we really need Cherry to step in!"
"Don't even start! I'm only in trouble because of you guys!" Mason Kerr complained. "I didn’t do anything, and I still got dragged into this!"
Lucas Mu slung his arm around Mason Kerr’s shoulder, wincing in pain. "We share the good times and the bad, right?"
It took some effort, but Cherry Miller finally got Ethan Yin into the car. Ethan immediately braced one arm on the passenger seat, pulling Cherry into his embrace, giving her a half-smile. "Now it’s just us. Don’t you think you owe me an explanation?"
"Alright, I’ll give you an explanation." Cherry Miller replied helplessly.
"Go ahead, I’m listening."
Cherry Miller sighed and told Ethan Yin about everything with Jay Kee—how Jay misunderstood Yina Yin, Ryan King, and the others as her kept men. She finished, "I think, that day when we video chatted, he saw you and thought you were one of them too. That’s why he confessed to me after getting so worked up."
Ethan Yin gave Cherry Miller a half-smile. "Kept man?"
Then, Ethan Yin actually touched his own face and grinned. "Not a bad idea, actually."
Cherry Miller stared at him, speechless.
"Too bad I got a lot darker in GJ these days. Otherwise, I could be even paler." Ethan Yin mused.
"Hey, you’re totally missing the point!" Cherry Miller shot back. "Seriously, you’re the great heir of the Yin Family, CEO of Yin Enterprises—are you really jealous over some kid who just entered showbiz?"
"I am! Unless you give me a kiss!" Ethan Yin said shamelessly.
Cherry Miller’s ears instantly turned red. "Stop it!"
"Jay Kee, right? Which entertainment company is he with? I’ll have someone—" Ethan Yin’s words were cut off as something soft pressed against his lips, silencing him.
"Happy now?" Cherry Miller said helplessly. "We were just teasing Jay, anyway. If you go after him over something so trivial, what does that make us?"
"Not enough." Ethan Yin domineeringly grabbed Cherry Miller by the back of her neck and kissed her.
The kiss was fierce and possessive.
He was staking his claim!
She was his!
No one else could touch her!
At first, Cherry Miller wanted to resist, but soon she melted into it, even forgetting why she’d kissed Ethan Yin in the first place.
While Cherry Miller was settling things with Ethan Yin, Jay Kee wandered home in a daze.
Jay Kee himself didn’t even know how he got home.
When he finally snapped out of it, he’d been sitting on the couch at home, zoning out for ages.
Mason Ming came out, leaning on his cane, and immediately noticed Jay Kee like that.
Mason Ming couldn’t help but ask, "Jay Kee, what’s wrong? Weren’t you going to a concert today?"
Jay Kee looked up at Mason Ming and said, "Mason, I have a question. You have to answer me honestly."
A bad feeling flashed through Mason Ming’s mind.
He just knew something was off with Jay Kee’s expression.
"Go ahead." Mason Ming sat down on the opposite couch.
"Did you already know about Miss Miller’s connection to the Yin... family?" Jay Kee asked.
Mason Ming blurted out, "You already found out?"
Any last bit of hope Jay Kee had was completely extinguished.
Jay Kee quickly realized, staring at Mason Ming in shock. "You knew everything? Then why didn’t you tell me? You just watched me get played like a fool—did you enjoy it?"
"I—I didn’t. I’m not. I just..." Mason Ming tried to explain, but couldn’t get the words out.
Mason Ming didn’t want to betray Yina Yin.
Suddenly, Jay Kee jumped up and paced the room several times before blurting out, "I’m just a fool! Everyone else knew what was going on, but I was the only one left in the dark! Mason, good for you! Really, good for you!"
"Jay Kee, I’m sorry." Mason Ming said, full of guilt. "I tried to talk you out of it before, but you wouldn’t listen!"
"Ah!" Jay Kee shouted, shoving the door open, about to storm out.
But just as he put one foot out, he forced himself to stop.
Jay Kee suddenly turned and asked Mason Ming, "Why did you do it?"
Mason Ming said nothing, just stayed silent.
Jay Kee spun around and grabbed Mason Ming’s collar. "Why did you do this to me? Say something! Are we even friends anymore? I took care of you when you were hurt, and this is how you treat me? Huh?"
"Jay Kee, this whole thing..." Mason Ming looked at Jay Kee, struggling to explain but unable to find the words.
"Say something! I want to hear what excuse you come up with today!" Jay Kee glared at Mason Ming, determined not to let him off without an explanation.
Mason Ming was already fragile, and now injured—when Jay Kee yanked him, he looked utterly disheveled.
"Let me explain!" At that moment, Yina Yin’s voice came from the doorway.
Mason Ming and Jay Kee turned to look.
Yina Yin walked in, looking sharp in a white shirt and blue jeans.
"Miss Yin..." Mason Ming blurted out when he saw Yina Yin. "I didn’t say anything."