Chapter 5: World-Class Unsolved Mysteries

Ye Wanyuan was not interested, nor did she reply.

Just as she exited WeChat, a call from Cheng Qingli came in.

"Sister Lan, have you seen it? It’s a disaster!"

Ye Wanyuan put the phone on speaker and stood up to tidy her bookshelf. "Is there a problem?"

"Of course there is!" Cheng Qingli said anxiously. "Forget about offending the Zhou family; even if you just offend the Qin family, you’ll be blacklisted from the modeling industry!"

"That’s a good thing." Ye Wanyuan smiled faintly. "I was just planning to retire."

Cheng Qingli suspected she had misheard. "Retire? Are you crazy?"

Ye Wanyuan’s face and figure were indeed top-tier, and the modeling industry didn't require acting skills like the entertainment industry did.

She had also heard from the veterans at the company that Ye Wanyuan had gone to great lengths to squeeze into the modeling world, so why would she quit so easily?

Ye Wanyuan didn't answer, instead asking, "Qingli, have you considered changing jobs?"

A month ago, after Sheng Yunyi returned to the country, Huangchi Entertainment, in a show of loyalty, cut off the transmigrator's resources and dumped her onto Cheng Qingli, a newcomer who was being ostracized by the company.

The reason the transmigrator chose to leave her body was that she had been pushed to the brink, with nowhere left to turn.

But for her, as long as she wasn't dead, she could carve out a path.

Cheng Qingli was stunned. "Sister Lan..."

Ye Wanyuan said, "Why not stick with me?"

Cheng Qingli’s eyes welled up with tears. "You’re retiring, so how am I supposed to stick with you?"

Of all the working stiffs, she had the worst luck.

"Retiring doesn't mean I'm not doing anything. I just don't like being in the spotlight too much; I have other goals." Ye Wanyuan chuckled softly. "I need people, a lot of people."

Cheng Qingli asked subconsciously, "What kind of goals?"

Ye Wanyuan: "First, let’s establish a small goal—for example, let’s earn a hundred million first."

Cheng Qingli: "?"

She eventually reached a conclusion: Ye Wanyuan had gone mad.

The call ended, and Ye Wanyuan pulled out a book.

The pages were yellowed and aged, but they had been well-preserved by their owner.

She opened it, and at that moment, there was a knock at the door.

Ye Wanyuan snapped back to reality and went to open it.

"Uncle."

"Since you’re back home, get rid of all your old bad habits." Lin Huaijin walked in, looking her up and down. "If I catch you running back to find Zhou Hechen again, I’ll break your legs."

Ye Wanyuan was very obedient. "No problem, Uncle."

She agreed so quickly that it made Lin Huaijin hesitate. "Your mental state... is it not quite right?"

The current Ye Wanyuan gave him a very strange feeling.

She was clearly as steady and immovable as a mountain, yet beneath the mountain, turbulent waves were surging, and one didn't know when those waves would shatter the entire mountain.

A calm violence—it was extremely contradictory.

Ye Wanyuan smiled slightly. "I'm fine."

In a society ruled by law, she could keep herself stable; she wouldn't go around killing people.

"I heard from Wen Li that No. 1 High School recently hired a psychological counselor from Yunjing specifically to help students relieve stress." Lin Huaijin spoke hesitantly. "Why don't you... go see them?"

Ye Wanyuan smiled again. "Alright, thank you, Uncle."

"You used to read this book every day; you’ve worn the pages out." Lin Huaijin noticed the open book and sighed.

[In the 1723rd year of the Shenzhou calendar, during the Yongshun era, unknown forces invaded. Princess Jing'an was torn apart by chariots, Emperor Yongshun hanged himself to protect his people, and Princess Yongle burned herself to death in the Yongle Palace. The Ning Dynasty fell; history calls this the "War of Ten Thousand Armies."]

This humiliating war caused Shenzhou to lag behind the rest of the world for well over a hundred years.

To this day, no one, including the World Strategic Research Institute, has been able to find out who the enemy that invaded Shenzhou three hundred years ago was.

It had become a world-class unsolved mystery.

Lin Huaijin shook his head, sighed, and looked at the seven-stringed zither. "This zither has been sitting here for so long, when will you play a tune for me to hear? Do you know how to play the guqin?"

Ye Wanyuan thought for a moment. "When I'm killing people."

Lin Huaijin: "?"

He was certain she was sick, and quite mad at that.

Killing people with zither music—she’d read too many martial arts novels.

Lin Huaijin pressed his temples. "Go see the psychological counselor at No. 1 High School tomorrow. I’ll make an appointment for you. If things are bad, we’ll hospitalize you."

Ye Wanyuan remained docile. "I'll listen to everything you say, Uncle."

"Your aunt..." Lin Huaijin stopped mid-sentence, eventually walking out.

Thinking of how happy things used to be, his heart ached unbearably.

How did a family end up like this?

He didn't dare hope to return to the past; he only wished for his niece's life to get back on track so he could consider it a debt paid to his older brother.

**

The next day, 8:00 AM, Jiangcheng First Hospital.

"Has A-Xian not woken up yet?" Zhou Hechen stood outside the ICU, his expression grim.

"Not yet." The secretary kept his head down. "Miss Ye... she struck very hard. She..."

Two days had passed, and he still couldn't imagine how such powerful force could erupt from Ye Wanyuan’s slender body, enough to cripple Qin Xian, who had been practicing boxing since he was a child.

"Hechen, that girl surnamed Ye is too much." Madam Qin wiped her tears. "I know you dote on her, but look at what she’s done? Let me give you a warning: Yunyi is already back."

"Auntie, please rest assured." Mentioning Sheng Yunyi, Zhou Hechen’s attitude softened. "I will definitely handle this matter."

"That’s all I needed to hear." Madam Qin hinted, "Hechen, some women like to play hard to get. You must not be fooled. I hope you can get this sorted out before A-Xian wakes up, otherwise..."

If the Qin family took action, Ye Wanyuan would lose a layer of skin even if she didn't die.

Zhou Hechen said calmly, "I understand, Auntie."

"Auntie, Hechen." A soft voice rang out.

Zhou Hechen turned around, his furrowed brows finally relaxing. He smiled. "Why did you come over at this hour?"

"You haven't been eating properly these past few days; I was afraid you'd get a stomachache." Sheng Yunyi handed over a thermal lunch box. "No matter how busy you are, you have to take care of your health."

"Thank you for your trouble." Zhou Hechen’s eyes were gentle. "Your hands are for painting; don't cook anymore."

"Yunyi is here." Madam Qin affectionately took her hand. "Long time no see, you've become even more beautiful."

"Has A-Xian not woken up yet?" Sheng Yunyi’s brows were clouded with worry. "How could he be hurt so badly?"

Madam Qin sighed. "With you here to see him, he’ll surely get better faster."

Sheng Yunyi nodded.

After staying for a while, she got up to leave.

Zhou Hechen said, "I'll see you off."

"No need." Sheng Yunyi smiled. "You go back to your work; I'm going to the studio."

Zhou Hechen instructed his secretary, "Take Yunyi back."

The secretary agreed and drove Sheng Yunyi toward the studio.

The red light at the intersection ahead turned on, and the car was blocked in front of Jiangcheng No. 1 High School.

The secretary’s gaze caught someone, and his brows suddenly furrowed.

In the rearview mirror, Ye Wanyuan was walking toward the car.

"Miss Ye, stay where you are." The secretary rolled down the window, looking at her with a stern, mocking gaze. "The gentleman isn't in the car. What are you trying to do to Miss Yunyi by following us? Wouldn't it be better to accumulate some virtue for yourself?"