The landlord has multiple personalities and wants everyone to pay him.

This was the first time Xiaoxue had been away from home for so long, and the first time she had been exposed to the outside world for such a long time, which kept her on edge.

Even with Ye Shu beside her, the unconscious tension was still quite draining.

As a result, after returning to the hotel room after lunch, Xiaoxue lay on the bed, snuggled up next to Ye Shu, and fell asleep with her arms around Ye Shu.

Ye Shu lay on his side, watching her for a long time.

He reached out and gently touched Xiaoxue's face. Although Xiaoxue didn't wake up, she still let out a soft "hmm" and leaned closer to him.

At that moment, Ye Shu's phone, which was on vibrate, buzzed on the bedside table.

Ye Shu slowly pulled her arm out of Xiao Xue's arms and stuffed her own pillow into Xiao Xue's arms.

He now has this trick of switching the beams and pillars completely under his control; it's a life-saving skill he honed through countless nights when he desperately needed to urinate.

Ye Shu picked up her phone; it was a message from Chen Xing:

【Xiao Ye, if it's convenient for you now, come find me in the rest area on the first floor】

Ye Shu glanced at the time; it was a little past four in the afternoon.

He glanced back at Xiaoxue, who was sleeping soundly on the bed, and thought that leaving for a little while should be fine.

Come on over!

Ye Shu took the room key, closed the door, and checked that the door was locked before taking the elevator down to the first floor.

This hotel is quite large and has a very grand decor.

One side of the lobby on the first floor is a restaurant that serves meals, but it's not dinner time yet, and the doors are still closed.

On the other side is a rest area, furnished with sofas, coffee tables, some green plants, coffee machines, beverage dispensers, and the like.

Since it seems that Sister Chen Xing booked the entire hotel, people can come and go as they please.

I knew Chen Xing was a rich woman! Just look at her at work!

Ye Shu thought to herself as she walked into the rest area.

The rest area was quite crowded, with people of all ages, from elderly men and women chatting and drinking tea together to children huddled around their phones watching others play games with envy.

It seems these are all relatives and friends who came to attend Sister Chen Xing and her brother-in-law's wedding.

"Hey, Xiao Ye! Over here!"

Ye Shu turned her head and saw Chen Xing waving at her, with two girls who looked to be about the same age beside her.

One of them looks like she knows how to dress well, while the other dresses more simply.

"Sister Chen Xing."

Ye Shu responded and headed in that direction.

"Come on, come on, walk a few steps quickly."

Chen Xing saw Ye Shu coming over, reached out and patted Ye Shu on the shoulder, then supported Ye Shu's shoulder as if leaning against a wall.

She introduced him to her two girlfriends as if he were her own younger brother:

"This is the Xiao Ye I told you about. Now I'm handing over my shop to him."

The well-dressed girl immediately smiled, showing her appreciation.

"Wow, he's quite a handsome young man. Xiaoxing, you have good taste!"

The plain-looking girl next to Ye Shu simply nodded.

Ye Shu was a little puzzled. What was Sister Chen Xing doing...?

Hearing Ye Shu being praised, Chen Xing smiled with pride and said:

"No matter how handsome he is, you're too late. He already has a girlfriend, so don't even think about it."

The girls laughed again, exchanged a few playful banter, and Chen Xing said:

"Alright, you two chat and have some tea first. I'll take him over there for a walk."

After saying that, Chen Xing patted Ye Shu on the shoulder and turned to walk in the other direction.

Ye Shu nodded to her two girlfriends, Chen Xing, and then turned and followed them.

"Those are my two best friends. The one who's the most talkative owns a beauty salon, and the one next to her is a teacher. They're both really nice people."

As Chen Xing walked, he quietly introduced Ye Shu to him.

Ye Shu simply hummed in agreement and followed Chen Xing, waiting for her to tell him why she had called him down.

His main concern was Xiaoxue in the room upstairs. He wondered if she had woken up yet, and he wanted to get back before she woke up, otherwise Xiaoxue would be scared.

Ye Shu followed Chen Xing and was led by her to chat with a few people for a while.

Although Chen Xing spent most of the time catching up with those people while Ye Shu just stood by and smiled, Chen Xing would always introduce Ye Shu to them, and Chen Xing called him "my younger brother".

Those people would hand over their business cards, and Ye Shu would accept them with both hands, thank them, and that was the end of it.

He could sense that although these people were friendly and seemed quite cordial, they were only being friendly to Chen Xing, and giving him their business cards was just a polite gesture.

While Chen Xing was chatting with those people, Ye Shu stood quietly to the side, thinking about other things.

Based on these business cards in hand, one can be even more certain of the guess that Sister Chen Xing is a rich woman.

It's true that people naturally have similar circles.

Sister Chen Xing's circle consists of people like Uncle Lin who owns a renovation company, Brother Wang from AAA Building Materials, Sister Zhang from a certain law firm...

Looking at my circle of friends, there's Han Yang, the rich kid whose family owns a supermarket; Wang Yu, the vegetable farmer who sells vegetables on WeChat every day; and Zhang Xiaoqiang, who once single-handedly escaped from a pyramid scheme and is now doing who-knows-what...

It's not that Ye Shu felt his friends were unpresentable; it just illustrates the principle that everyone belongs to their own circle, and right now, Ye Shu felt he clearly didn't belong to that circle.

This feeling of forcing yourself into a circle that isn't your own is like wearing a pair of ill-fitting leather shoes. They look nice on the outside, but only you know how uncomfortable they are.

After strolling around and exchanging greetings with some people, Chen Xing led him to a sofa to sit down.

Chen Xing brought over two drinks and placed them on the coffee table:

"Are you tired? Have something to drink."

Ye Shu took the drink, sipped it, and stretched her face. She had almost cramped up from smiling so much.

"Sister Chen Xing, you called me down... not to help me expand my network, right?"

He realized that Chen Xing was intentionally trying to bring him into her social circle.

He knew that Sister Chen Xing meant well and wanted to help him.

But deep down, Ye Shu didn't think that such a one-time connection could be of any use.

Chen Xing, holding his drink, looked at Ye Shu's expression and smiled:

"I guess so. Since we're already here, and it's a rare opportunity to gather so many people, it's good to introduce you to everyone and let you get acquainted with them. Who knows, maybe we can lend you a hand if anything comes up in the future."

Ye Shu still gave a disapproving grin, but didn't reply, only taking a sip of her drink.

Seeing his expression, Chen Xing's smile faded slightly, and he said to Ye Shu very seriously:

"Actually... Xiao Ye, the main reason I called you down is that there's something I want to ask you in person."

After she finished speaking, as if afraid that Ye Shu would misunderstand, she quickly explained:

"But don't think I'm being nosy. I only said that because I genuinely consider you my younger brother."

Ye Shu, with a straw in her mouth, nodded:

"Sister Chen Xing, let's not be so formal, just ask."

"Then I'll ask."

Chen Xing looked into Ye Shu's eyes and went straight to the point:

"You...aren't you two-timing right now?"