Chapter 11: The Young Lady Has Been Eating Sand for Three Years

Qin Yue was preparing to leave, and no one dared to be so blind as to insist on keeping her. After all, to provoke Qin Yue was to invite the wrath of Qin Ye, who stood behind her.

This gathering had come together solely because of Qin Yue. Now that she had decided to go, it was only natural for the party to come to an end.

Gu Yeting’s phone had rung countless times, but he hadn’t answered once; he even switched it off entirely. In his eyes, Qin Yue was as flawless as ever, just as she was in his memories. But he himself was no longer the man who could stand at her side.

Still, it was all only temporary—he was young yet.

As everyone began to part ways outside the venue, Gu Yeting moved as if to follow, but before he could take a step, the young lord who had provoked him earlier blocked his path.

“Move,” Gu Yeting’s tone was icy.

The young man grinned provocatively. “I won’t. What are you going to do about it? Gu Yeting, do you still think you’re the Gu family’s heir?”

He made an exaggerated retching gesture, then said with mock pity, “Wake up. Now you’re nothing but a pitiful, homeless dog.”

With a thud, Gu Yeting’s fist connected with the young man’s face, the sound drawing the attention of all the heirs and heiresses who were about to leave.

Qin Yue, too, was drawn by the commotion, turning her gaze in their direction.

The young man was about to lash out, but when he saw Qin Yue’s eyes on him, his expression changed instantly.

“Gu, I really couldn’t stand it, that’s why I said something. You’re already living with Ye Xiaoxiao, so why are you still chasing after Miss Qin?”

Gu Yeting’s anger died out at once. He looked at Qin Yue, flustered, searching her eyes for a reaction but finding none.

All he could do was stammer a rebuttal. “What nonsense are you talking about?”

“Is it nonsense?” came a trembling female voice.

Gu Yeting froze. He turned toward the sound and saw Ye Xiaoxiao standing in the shadows, dressed in the thinnest of garments, her face streaked with tears.

“What are you doing here?” The words escaped Gu Yeting’s lips, an unconscious accusation.

Ye Xiaoxiao swayed as if struck. “Yes, I shouldn’t be here. It’s my fault, all my fault.

I thought if I could just stay by your side, that would be enough.

Even when you spoke harshly to me, treated me as something dispensable, I was happy to endure it!

My biggest mistake was believing that, even if your heart was made of stone, I could warm it with my own, laid bare and bleeding for you.

But I was wrong, so wrong. What am I, really? How could I ever dare expect the great young master Gu to even look at me?”

Ye Xiaoxiao’s hoarse voice poured out her pain. When she finished, she didn’t wait for Gu Yeting’s reply but turned her tear-streaked face toward Qin Yue.

“Miss Qin, are you pleased now?”

Qin Yue blinked, unsure.

“You must be pleased. You’re so perfect, so wonderful. You don’t need to do anything. Just by standing there, I’ve already lost everything.”

Seemingly sensing something in Ye Xiaoxiao’s expression, Gu Yeting tried to intervene, but the young man blocked his way again, staring him down with defiant eyes.

Ye Xiaoxiao’s lips curled into a bitter smile. “You’re proud, aren’t you? But the truth is, three years ago, when Gu Yeting’s eyes held only you and no one else, he’d already slept with me.”

Her eyes flashed with vindictive malice, and the faint superiority of old surfaced as she searched Qin Yue’s face for a reaction.

Qin Yue did feel a flicker of disappointment at those words. Though her three years abroad had all but overwritten her old, mundane memories, those recollections had been precious, filled with warmth.

The past had been good—or so she’d thought. She’d found her true passion, her dreams. But now, that supposedly beautiful past was revealed for what it was: a maggot-ridden corpse beneath a lovely facade.

The revulsion was familiar. Qin Yue had seen maggots born from decaying flesh in the wild before.

As for Ye Xiaoxiao’s twisted sense of superiority and anticipation, Qin Yue responded calmly, “And?”

Ye Xiaoxiao hesitated. “What?”

“You say I should be proud, but it seems to me you’re the one with cause for pride. If I remember correctly, there’s no enmity between us. Yet I can sense your hostility—why?”

Qin Yue’s tone was serene, her eyes clear as mountain springs, reflecting the neon hues around them without losing their purity.

Under that gaze, Ye Xiaoxiao’s darkness seemed to be exposed to the harsh light of day, leaving her helpless and afraid. Instinctively, she glanced at her source of support.

“I don’t know what happened between you two, but as far as your past is concerned, I’m nothing but an outsider.”

Qin Yue was no fool—just inexperienced. She saw Ye Xiaoxiao’s hostility for what it was. Perhaps it stemmed from her feelings for Gu Yeting, her fear of losing him.

But Qin Yue neither understood nor cared to.

“I’m sorry—maybe in my youth I misunderstood Gu Yeting’s feelings. If that caused you any trouble, I apologize. It won’t happen again. I wish you happiness.”

With those words, Qin Yue turned to leave.

“Young Miss, it’s not like that! Please, let me explain!”

Panic seized Gu Yeting as he called out the pet name he’d once used for Qin Yue, full of youthful affection, and hurried after her.

Ye Xiaoxiao, suddenly galvanized, rushed to block his way.

“Gu Yeting, young master, look at me! I can give you everything—I am yours. Just look at me. Please, stop loving Qin Yue!”

Even the young man who’d been provoking Gu Yeting earlier felt uncomfortable at her desperation and tried to persuade Ye Xiaoxiao to stop humiliating herself, only to be slapped for his trouble.

He thought, Forget it—no point arguing with someone so far gone.

Gu Yeting was unmoved by Ye Xiaoxiao’s desperate pleas. He felt nothing but annoyance, so, as he had in the past, he spat out a single word: “Leave.”

At that word, Ye Xiaoxiao’s face went paper-white, and her grip on his sleeve loosened at once.

Freed, Gu Yeting chased after Qin Yue without a backward glance.

But she was already gone.

Back at home, Qin Yue was still fuming as she entered. Qin Ye was there, too.

When Qin Yue was abroad, Qin Ye rarely came home. Now that she was back, he made time to be the good father, though his daughter hardly seemed to need the company.

Seeing her displeasure, he took off his reading glasses. “What’s wrong?”

This body really was giving out—nearly sixty, and he already needed reading glasses.

There were no knots or grudges between father and daughter. So when Qin Ye asked, Qin Yue chattered away, recounting everything that had happened that evening.

At last, she asked in confusion, “Dad, are they crazy? Gu Yeting used to tell everyone at school he liked me. If he didn’t, why spread rumors? And Ye Xiaoxiao, she’d already slept with Gu Yeting back then—so why act so smug in front of me? Does she think I’d be jealous?”

Qin Yue genuinely didn’t understand.

In the story, she’d been just as baffled. The Gu Yeting who claimed to like her was the one who’d said it first; she’d done nothing but respond to his feelings. Why did that earn her his hatred? And the Gu family’s enmity?

It made no sense.

Qin Ye patted his daughter’s head comfortingly. “There’s no need to try to understand the logic of fools or lunatics. Just stay away. If they keep pestering you, don’t worry—I’ll handle it.”

Qin Yue sighed, still a little upset, but her father’s soothing words calmed her down.

Of course, Gu Yeting did try to pester her relentlessly, even following her to the Qin family villa.

Qin Ye, who’d planned to visit the research institute the next day, decided to stay home after a reminder from the housekeeper.

Qin Yue was up early as usual—her body had grown used to the routine. With nothing much to do, she went for a run.

She ran into Gu Yeting on her way back.

Treating him as if he didn’t exist, she moved to go inside, but he grabbed her hand, gripping so tightly that the old Qin Yue would have been trapped.

But after three years tracking lion prides, dashing across the grasslands with her mentors and colleagues, Qin Yue was not the girl she used to be.

As soon as she sensed Gu Yeting’s forceful grip, she didn’t hesitate. With a deft move, she reversed his hold and threw him over her shoulder.

Gu Yeting lay on the ground, dazed.

What had just happened?

Qin Yue, meanwhile, was already inside, closing the villa door behind her and calling security.

Qin Ye felt more and more satisfied with his adoptive daughter these days.

A mature client should know how to grow and stand on her own, letting the one entrusted with her care enjoy life, not be shackled to the task.

Pleased, he decided to carve a wooden sword as a gift for Qin Yue.