Lonelytree

  Millman97

  Ever since Albert arrived, Ye Shuang suddenly felt like her life was filled with excitement. It was not Albert had done anything, but the problem was she could not tell whether the man had done anything. That was why Ye Shuang could not help but be worried, deathly afraid that one day her secret would just be exposed when she opened her eyes.

  The unknown possibility was always scarier than a known tragedy because a known tragedy had already happened, and one only needed to consider how to resolve it. However, an unknown was an unknown. It was simply because one did not know what would happen that one would be worried.

  On top of that, Han Chu probably was also worried about Anthony, so Ye Shuang heard that he had rejected all the jobs that would require him to leave the city. Therefore, a great number of dangerous people stayed behind to look after the possible threat to national security. Ye Shuang felt incredibly tired, and life could not have been more stressful……

  Mother Ye looked at her child that had remained in her female form for more than a week already. Suddenly missing her ‘eldest son’, she tapped the edge of the bowl with her chopsticks and asked, “How come you’ve been like this for the past few days?”


  Even though Father Ye did not open his mouth to ask, he also turned his head to look inquisitively. It was obvious that he was concerned about this problem as well.

  Ye Shuang was silent for a moment before lamenting in a sad voice, “I think it is not so good for certain things to be too constant. If possible, I wish to maintain this current status for as long as I can. If it was truly impossible, I would find a way to rest for three days.”


  Mother Ye shared a look with Father Ye. Both of them thought that this was quite a sudden change in the thoughts of their daughter. Father Ye put down his chopsticks and, after giving it some thought, replied, “The idea is not that bad, and I agree that you should focus on cultivating one identity and not switch back and forth often like jumping channels, but if that is the case, there is an important problem that you need to consider—how do you plan to maintain a stable gender? Go to the kindergarten to kidnap children? Or go and find a boyfriend?”


  Even though Ye Shuang did not bring this up, Father Ye had been trying to discuss this issue with her. The gender swap due to the DNA was something that they had somehow accepted. Even if Ye Shuang later found a way to extend her period of existing in a particular gender, she really should not have stayed in this condition of gender swapping for life. She had to find a way to stop that.

  Mother Ye was more involved. “I still think finding a boyfriend is the best solution. How are things lately with you and Yue Yue?”


  Ye Shuang was baffled, but the name Zhou Yue soon appeared in her mind. She could not help but cough. “There is nothing between me and him.”


  “Who is this Yue Yue?” It was rare for this to happen, but Father Ye also showed concern for his daughter’s relationship problem.

  ”

  No one.” Mother Ye was originally not quite satisfied with the problem given by Ye Shuang, and she was about to urge her to pick things up, but when she heard the question that came from Father Ye, her words stuck in her throat. Instantly, she lowered her head and went back to her meal, pretending that nothing had happened.

  Father Ye scratched his head, thinking that something was out of place, but his daughter’s problem was still more serious, so he turned the subject right back. “In any case, if you really plan to do this, then you have to have a solution. How do you plan to maintain your gender status? What can you do if there is an emergency solution? If the emergency solution fails, how do you survive those three days? Also, if you are really going to do this, then you also have to come up with an explanation for your other identity being absent for a prolonged period of time.”


  “.……I’m sure everything will work out in the end?” Ye Shuang said with caution.

  Father Ye was silent for three seconds. “.……In that case, we’d better fix your problem of liking to push things until the last minute first.”


  Therefore, the conversation ended without a final conclusion. Everyone returned to their food. After Father Ye finished his bowl of rice and was about to ask for another, he added, “by the way, who was this Yue Yue that you have mentioned earlier?”


  Mother Ye averted her eyes. ……

  Living close to an FBI profiler was too much pressure on her shoulders, so after Ye Shuang received the email from Zuo Feiyang, thinking about the fact that she had nothing to do lately, she decided to stop harassing the little boys and turned back to Brother Shuang and go to Chaohai.

  “Brother Ye!”


  When she exited the arrival hall, she could hear An Zixuan’s voice. Ye Shuang raised her head and said with surprise, “How did you find out I was on this flight?”


  An Zixuan came over with his eyes glowing with excitement. Very naturally, he reached out to grab the suitcase, which was not especially big. “It was Zuo Feiyang who told me. He was too busy fishing, and Zuo Yuanhang’s schedule is full, so it is me who came.”


  Actually, originally, only an assistant was arranged to receive Ye Shuang. After all, Ye Shuang would not be directly involved in the internal clearance of their organization. Zuo Yuanhang was being kind and polite to arrange accommodation for Ye Shuang; it was already being a good host on his part. However, he did not expect that An Zixuan would be so passionate after hearing the news. The man insisted on coming to the airport to welcome Brother Shuang. He had left early before anyone could stop him and had been waiting patiently at the airport.

  Ye Shuang smiled. “Looks like you’re working well with Zuo Yuanhang’s people in Chaohai. You’re much better in person than when you were back in San Lin City.”


  An Zixuan’s face instantly darkened like he had remembered someone annoying. After a few more changes to his expression, he pouted and scoffed coldly. “At least Chaohai’s Zuo Yuanhang is indeed the person who they say he is.”


  “Zuo Yuanhang has the pragmatic type of personality.” Ye Shuang walked An Zixuan out of the airport and explained, “He doesn’t like to spend time on meaningless conversation and does not like to waste his time. He does not like to do things that are not in his schedule or waste effort on things with low payout. If you were someone that would benefit him due to a possible cooperation, he would not have wasted time to even smile at you. Normal people have a hard time gelling with Zuo Yuanhang. It is normal that you are not feeling comfortable around him. However, as a business partner, Zuo Yuanhang is much more trustworthy than most people.”


  An Zixuan’s heart felt weirdly sour. “That might not be entirely true. From how I see it, he is just being unreasonably arrogant. If not for our reminder, a big part of his company would have been stolen away by outsiders already.”


  “That might not be true as well.” Ye Shuang smiled. “Zuo Yuanhang already knew that there were some problems with the Xi Hwa Organization. However, the details he had were not as in-depth as ours. The transaction that has been going on with the Xi Hwa Organization was under his constant observation. Even though he might not have noticed the problem immediately, the money-laundering issue would definitely have shown itself after it occurred one or two times. Naturally, it would take more effort on Zuo Yuanhang’s part to fix the problem, but I doubt it would lead to a crisis for the man.”


  An Zixuan did not buy a car in Chaohai, but the Si Hai Organization definitely would have plenty of cars for their people. The private vehicles of the Zuo sibling aside, even the hotels under the Si Hai Organization had many high-end cars. They were purposely bought in for their customers. After leaving the airport, An Zixuan naturally took the driver’s seat. Ye Shuang opened the car door on the other side and sat inside the car. When An Zixuan started the engine and left the car park, Ye Shuang asked, “So, how is the situation now?”


  “Hmm. They have found a group of people that might be problematic. They are not new people who joined the company recently, but they are old employees at Si Hai.” An Zixuan gripped the steering wheel and focused on the road. He continued without turning his head around. “These people have quite low positions, but they have crucial posts at certain sections and departments.

  “If they make a move all at the same time, it will be quite difficult to discover. Zuo Yuanhang has already requested for an internal investigation. The initial suspicion is that these people are either accepting brides or have some weaknesses that are being exploited.

  “However, this is something that is worrying Zuo Yuanhang. The Xi Hwa Organization has no way of reaching this group of people, even through Zuo Feiyang. So, he believes that there is another hidden spy inside the Si Hai Organization who has quite a high position, and this traitor will be the key.”


  “A lure by the promise of benefit……” Ye Shuang nodded. “Then Zuo Yuanhang’s plan is to flush the person out first before tipping his hand?”


  “Indeed, or else leaving this time bomb behind will just create similar problems in the future.” An Zixuan gave a side-eye, signaling his disapproval. “To be able to gain contact with so many people and gain their confidence on top of that, this internal spy must carry certain weight at the Si Hai Organization. This type of people must have worked beside Zuo Yuanhang for at least six or seven years already. Humph, wasting all those years to rear someone to bite him on the backside, and they say he’s a business genius‽”


  Ye Shuang smiled to herself. The man had been praising Zuo Yuanhang earlier, but now he had turned around to blame the man for having a lacking appraisal skill. Honestly, business spies were something that was hard to defend against. No one could guarantee that it would never happen. One reason was because of the profit-based nature of the relationship, and another was because of the shifting human heart. The people that were loyal six or seven years ago might not be as loyal six or seven years later.

  Perhaps their ambition got ignited after their position changed or perhaps the person had experienced something momentous in their lives. A more important person had appeared at the company to divert the attention that Zuo Yuanhang should have given them. In any case, the fact that they could deal with this swiftly after the problem surfaced was the best result; prevention before the problem arose was too much to ask for.

  Ye Shuang chatted with An Zixuan inside the car until they reached a seaside bungalow. Due to the warm temperature and a vibrant tourism scene, it was a famous tourist spot around the country. There were many villas and holiday homes for rent there, and many would come here to avoid the winter during lunar new year. An Zixuan was averse to staying at hotels, and he was not lacking money, so he dropped a stack of cash to rent a whole villa. Originally, the place only had him and the employees like maids and chefs that he had hired, but now Brother Ye would move in with them.

  Zuo Feiyang, of course, knew about Ye Shuang’s arrival. After all, An Zixuan got his news from Zuo Feiyang. After Ye Shuang was done unpacking and she finished lunch with An Zixuan, Zuo Feiyang’s call came. After their interaction at the casino, Zuo Feiyang considered himself a friend of Ye Shuang’s. “Brother Ye, do you want to come over to my place for dinner tonight? We have not seen each other for quite some time already. We can use this chance to catch up.”


  “I still need to clear up some time to meet the trader.” Ye Shuang smiled, and she gave the following arrangement after giving it some thought. “Do you mind if I come over after 6 pm? The man will only have the mood to discuss business after the market is closed. After calculating the time and the distance, I can only arrive around then.”


  Zuo Feiyang smiled. “Of course, it is fine. You do know about my big brother’s madness for scheduling. He will get off work sharp at 6 pm daily, and the dinner time for our family starts punctually at 7 pm. I hope you won’t think that is too late.”


  If that was the case, then there would be no problem.

  After hanging up, Ye Shuang turned to ask An Zixuan, “You coming with tonight?”


  An Zixuan harrumphed. “A robot, a dummy, a model lady. Only the two kids are quite palatable, but even so, it is really not by much.”


  Ye Shuang laughed, “Then so be it. I’ll go alone, and we’ll have our own gathering tomorrow.”


  “Okay!” An Zixuan’s eyes shone and his face lifted up with colors of joy.

  Ye Shuang rested for a while. When it was noon, she drove out of the place when the sun stopped being so hot. Her timing was spot on when she reached the trader. She got herself brought up on the latest situation. She found out that the Si Hai Organization had rearranged their assets, so there should not be any future problems on the trader’s side in the near future. After hearing that confirmation, Ye Shuang left with a relieved heart. She wandered the streets, looking at the store, for a while and then calculated the time she needed to hop into the car to head to the Zuo family’s villa. She arrived at around 5:30 pm.

  There were workers trimming the branches in the courtyard and a graceful-looking young mother drinking tea and reading under the parasol. Not far from the young lady was a boy around three or four playing with a puppy. Standing next to them was a nanny. Ye Shuang did not have to find a spot to park the car. When the security saw the driver’s plate, he knew it was a private car for the Zuo family. Those who would drive this car were either the people of the Zuo family or Ye Shuang, who Zuo Feiyang had mentioned that afternoon.

  After she drove into the courtyard, there were people who came out to help her park the car. When Ye Shuang walked over, the young lady under the parasol already started to lift her head. Even the boy who was playing with the puppy titled his head up with open interest. After getting a close look of Ye Shuang, the young lady was slightly startled, but she quickly recovered. She placed both of her hands on her stomach and stood up to bow slightly to Ye Shuang. “Is it Mr. Ye‽ Please have a seat.”


  Ye Shuang thanked her with a smile and sat down on the small table under the parasol. The nanny immediately came over to set up a new tea set. She poured a glass of black tea and placed it next to Ye Shuang before retreating to the background like a trained help.

  The boy’s eyes blinked several times. Ignoring his mother’s order to come greet the guest, he turned his head back to continue playing with the puppy. The young lady’s every movement was the perfect resemblance of a distinguished lady. She could open a class to teach womanly manners. She said very politely, “I heard from Feiyang that Mr. Ye would be coming over as guest today. We should have treated Mr. Ye better as hosts, but my husband will return late from work. Please forgive us for the offense.”


  Then, she turned to tell the nanny, “Go and see whether Feiyang has returned or not.”


  “It’s alright. There’s no need to worry.” Ye Shuang also responded in the same amount of politeness. Since the nanny had left the place to go and find Zuo Feiyang, she could do nothing else but continue the conversation with the young lady.

  Having a conservation with Mrs. Zuo was a tiring thing. It was not that the person was crude or had no intelligence behind her words, but it mainly was because this woman was standing on ceremony so much. The politeness was so much that it felt like she was trying to put a very large distance between them.

  If she was chatting with Zuo Feiyang, Ye Shuang could bring up any topic without any fear of offending the man. If she was chatting with Zuo Yuanhang, she needed to pay attention to the topic of conversation that she threw out there. The man did not like to waste time on things that were not relevant or important. If she wanted to chat with him, she needed to bring up something meaningful. Yes, this kind of conversation would be comparatively drab and unlively, but there was nothing particularly pressuring about it.

  Mrs. Zuo, on the other hand, was a jack of all trades. She was able to discuss any topic, but it was also observable that she was not particularly interested in any of them. Mrs. Zuo seemed to be on the constant lookout for the maintenance of her personal image. She had to be careful to get too close to other people.

  No matter what one said or did, she would not provide her own opinion. However, she could pick up the thread of conversation so that it would not be too awkward. Then again, she had become such an expert at making conversation about nothing that it was hard for people not to feel that she was trying to freeze them out. It created the impression that she was just completing the mission called ‘taking care of the guest’. She was unable to express her real feelings, and that made the person whom she conversed with feel uncomfortable as well.

  Initially, Ye Shuang thought that this was because she had arrived at their home for the first time and Mrs. Zuo was still guarded around her. However, she continued to observe and realized that Mrs. Zuo had the same attitude when she was dealing with her biological son.

  Then, when the family tutor who had finished correcting the young master came with the report, saying that the young master had made five spelling mistakes on his homework, Mrs. Zuo announced very calmly and naturally the punishment of copying correct spellings twenty times tonight. This was exactly how a superior would talk to her subordinate.

  Glancing at the pitiful look on the little boy’s face, Ye Shuang coughed lightly and picked up her cup to sip at the tea. It was not her place to comment about another family’s business. Not long after the little boy was taken by the other nanny into the villa, Zuo Feiyang finally returned. Seeing this, Mrs. Zuo stood up and bade farewell to Ye Shuang and her brother-in-law before gracefully waltzing back to the house.

  Ye Shuang felt like wiping the sweat on her forehead. She could not help but smile at Zuo Feiyang and said, “Your sister-in-law…… sure is a perfect match for your big brother.”


  Zuo Feiyang waved his hands to signal for the nanny to leave. He sat down with an expression of fear on his face. He poured himself a cup of tea and picked up the snacks to eat. Then, he sighed. “This is why I don’t like to stay at home. The big brother is already someone abnormal, but with the added sister-in-law…… don’t you think that she is similar to those wives from a period drama?”


  Ye Shuang struggled to suppress her laugh. This was something that Zuo Feiyang could say because he was family, but it would rude for her to comment on it. Therefore, she quickly changed the topic. “Your sister-in-law must come from a big, traditional family.”


  Zuo Feiyang rolled his eyes. Realizing that Ye Shuang was not going to concur with his observation, he nodded and followed the change in topic. “I guess you can say something like that, but it’s not a family with much influence. However, according to legend, she comes from a line of royalty. I think it is quite meaningless. These people think so much of their identity, but no one knows whether their lineage is something authentic or not, and even if it is, what difference does it make‽ They might come from a line of royalty, but they’re normal citizens now, aren’t they‽”


  Ye Shuang instantly felt like ignoring the man. The unlucky child was either complaining about his older brother or complaining about his sister-in-law. Whether she pick up the conversation or just let it die, it was awkward for Ye Shuang. Furthermore, she was there in the capacity of a house guest. Of course, she would not say these things that would seem as an offense to the host.

  “By the way, has there been any update about the Xi Hwa Organization that you’re dealing with?” Ye Shuang sighed helplessly and could only start her own conversation.

  “It’s going well, I suppose. Plenty of small movements, but nothing big.” Zuo Feiyang tossed the snacks into his mouth one after another. The delicate and exquisite snacks looked like they took a lot of time to make, but he finished about five of them in the blink of an eye. From the looks of it, the man did not seem like he was leaving his stomach empty for dinner.

  “Lately, I’ve stopped going to the casino, and this seems to have aroused some suspicion in these people. Based on my big brother’s analysis, they were probably trying to put up some trap for me to fall into and then use that to control me. I’m wondering if I should take a nude picture and send it to them myself.

  “Hmm, aren’t you going to have some snacks? I’m warning you, my family’s dinner can cause the guests at the table to gain stomach problems. If you do not want your stomach acid to churn on an empty stomach in the middle of the night, you’d better eat something now.”


  Ye Shuang was curious. “Why would you say that?”


  “Which one are you talking about? The nude picture or the dinner?” Zuo Feiyang grabbed a piece of cake and chewed on it happily.

  About half an hour later, Zuo Yuanhang’s car arrived at the villa at 7 pm sharp. After the man got out from the car, he exchanged a few polite words with Ye Shuang. Ye Shuang was about to ask for the latest update when Zuo Feiyang beside her looked at his watch and said softly, “Time for dinner, time for dinner.”


  Zuo Yuanhang looked at his watch and also nodded. “Right, it is time for dinner. We can talk about this in half an hour.”


  Dinner was set up at a single table. Other than the members of the Zuo family that Ye Shuang had met earlier, a little girl who had not shown up earlier also took her seat at the table. Zuo Feiyang whispered into her ears that the girl would not show up before dinner time because she had piano practice. Zuo Yuanhang, who followed the schedule to the tee like they were in the military; Mrs. Zuo, who acted like someone in a period drama; and the children, who were unnaturally obedient for children their age—Ye Shuang finally understood why Zuo Feiyang said that the atmosphere during dinner would be hard to stomach.

  Living in such an environment for a prolonged period of time, a normal person would be twisted beyond belief. One misstep, and they would cultivate a mental disorder. However, Zuo Yuanhang did not think too much of it, and Mrs. Zuo had been living this type of lifestyle since she was young. Ye Shuang, as an outsider, could only maintain her silence.

  During the dinner, Zuo Feiyang was impressed by Ye Shuang. It was nothing else but because he was about to maintain his ease during dinner under the heavy and severe atmosphere. He even asked for two refills of rice!

  Just what kind of courage was this? In any case, Zuo Feiyang had no guts to do something like that.

  Fifteen minutes of resting time after dinner, and it was finally time to talk. Mrs. Zuo very tactfully led her children upstairs. Ye Shuang finally could not help herself and sighed in front of Zuo Yuanhang. “Are you sure your children will be fine under this type of education?”


  Zuo Yuanhang glanced at Ye Shuang. “What are you talking about?”


  “Childhood is the most important period in a person’s life to shape their personality. If you suppress a child’s natural inclination, it is not common for them to grow up with a twisted and often violent personality,” Ye Shuang said seriously.

  The tea burst out from Zuo Feiyang’s lips. Zuo Yuanhang glanced at Zuo Feiyang, and the latter smiled apologetically as he moved the cup away. Then, he grabbed the napkin from the table and wiped at the corners of his lips. Ye Shuang shrugged like she did not mind it. It was immoral to talk about stuff behind people’s back, but it was a different case if she told the man directly. She had been keeping it inside her for the whole afternoon already, and it had not been easy to face the man, so of course, she would say what was on her mind.

  “Education is not something that we can gloss over, especially early education. I have already told the children that if they can complete the mission that I have given them, then the rest of the time, they can do whatever they want.

  “If they think the arrangement by their parents is not logical, then they have to find a reason to convince me or their mother. If they cannot do that, then they will need to practice patience…… this is a virtue that everyone needs. If you have no courage or ability to resist, then being patient is the only thing you can do.”


  Zuo Yuanhang took out the document from the bag that he had left on the sofa. “Of course, I will assign them a gap month where they are free to do anything that they want. If you plan to talk about this issue tonight, I’m afraid we will not have much time for anything else.”


  “Alright, fine, we’ll talk about business.” Ye Shuang sighed and then asked seriously, “What’s the latest update?”


  Zuo Yuanhang placed the document on the coffee table, signaling that Ye Shuang could look over it herself. “I believe your partner has already revealed some information to you. The most crucial thing now is to find that traitor, but I do not have time to do something like this. Do you have anyone in your talent bank who is proficient at stuff like this?”


  Ye Shuang’s mind went to Albert almost instantly. It was false to say there were only a small amount of high-ranking officers at the Si Hai Organization. Then again, it would have been false to say there were too many of them. After all, this was a big organization, so things would be difficult if there were too many people in managerial positions. However, if they were just focusing on people who could sell out the company alongside so many underlings, then this realm of possibility would be narrowed by a lot. In the document given by Zuo Yuanhang, it was filled with information on people like that.

  Ye Shuang knew a thing or two about face-reading, but she was not allowed to accept the case on her own. Therefore, if she needed to give this case to someone, the best and only suitable candidate was Albert, the FBI profiler. However, the only difficulty was whether he was willing to abandon Anthony and move to Chaohai to take this job.

  Ye Shuang flipped through the files of the six people in the document quickly, and she said after a short silence, “I do have a suitable candidate in mind, but the person might not be that interested in the case. I will try to contact him for you.”


  Zuo Yuanhang nodded. “After you have made the arrangements, send me the man’s information to my email, and I will sign the contract directly.”


  “I’m afraid I cannot give you the information.” Ye Shuang flashed a sad smile. “The person is very suitable for this job, but his information is a bit confidential. Perhaps you can talk about this directly with Han Chu?”


  Zuo Yuanhang looked at Ye Shuang with quite a bit of surprise in his eyes. “He has a criminal record?”


  “No.” He had a criminal catching record. Ye Shuang shrugged. “I can only reveal so much with my current power. If you are still worried, you’d better ask Han Chu directly. If he can tell you more, he will.”


  The conversation between two logically-powerful people finished very fast. There was no time for small talk. Which point was important, which problem they should focus on. After finishing the topic of the talent, Ye Shuang caught up to the situation in just a few short sentences. Basically, it was no different from what An Zixuan had told her. However, Zuo Yuanhang paid more attention to things that they should pay attention to.

  After that was done, Ye Shuang looked at the time and stood up to leave. It was not because it was getting late but because it was almost time for the man’s ‘scheduled conversation’ to be over.

  After this, Zuo Yuanhang was going to be busy with the gym. Instead of staying until then and having the man chase her out, she would rather leave on her own. After all, there was no reason for her to stay. The place was so boring.

  Zuo Feiyang volunteered to drive her home. Zuo Yuanhang glanced at him, and then Ye Shuang also used a fake smile to look at him.

  “I’ve driven here, so what is there for you to do? Do you plan to drive the car to my place and then drive back here?” Ye Shuang joked.

  Zuo Feiyang wiped the sweat on his forehead. After leaving the place, he felt like a student being released from the office of the discipline teacher. “I’m not going to stay at big brother’s place. In a bit, I’ll sneak my way to my parent’s. By the way, my father has expressed his intention to meet you. When will you be free?”