While having breakfast, Ye Tiancheng felt it was necessary to update Hou Mingzhu on the progress of his current endeavors.
Firstly, with the matter nearing its conclusion, they would depart immediately after its completion, without any rest, as they would be heading straight for the next objective. Thus, Hou Mingzhu needed to be informed of the progress to prepare accordingly.
Secondly, Ye Tiancheng had previously informed Hou Mingzhu of his reasons for seeking out Lin Yun, having reported his intentions. It was now time to provide a follow-up, demonstrating that he was indeed attending to important matters and not being perfunctory.
In the past, Ye Tiancheng would not have done such things, nor did Hou Mingzhu require it, as her requests would have been futile. Their affairs then were not as simple, and the circumstances were entirely different.
Hou Mingzhu did not require it now either, as she trusted Ye Tiancheng. Ye Tiancheng, in turn, had responded well to her trust. Even if Ye Tiancheng had not said anything, Hou Mingzhu would have chosen to believe him. However, since Ye Tiancheng was willing to speak, Hou Mingzhu would not refuse.
This was a demonstration of Ye Tiancheng's care for her. Although she might not need it now, seeing Ye Tiancheng take the initiative made Hou Mingzhu very happy.
As Ye Tiancheng ate his breakfast, he spoke to Hou Mingzhu, "My affairs here should be completed very soon. It won't take much time. Even with the most conservative estimate, it won't exceed a week."
Upon hearing this, Hou Mingzhu replied, "Then, it seems your trip yesterday yielded quite good results."
Ye Tiancheng nodded and then explained to Hou Mingzhu, "Boss Lin from the flower shop next door somehow got hold of a fragment of the Fuxi Qin. He probably didn't even know he had it, so he directly brought out the related item."
"Therefore, after Nuwa Stone and I took a look, we understood the situation and are confident we can acquire the item."
As Ye Tiancheng spoke, he couldn't help but chuckle again, then shook his head and said to Hou Mingzhu, "You wouldn't believe it, but Little Fox deliberately angered Boss Lin a lot last night. He got so angry that he kicked us both out of the ward early this morning."
Hou Mingzhu showed a hint of curiosity, looking at Ye Tiancheng, then glanced at Little Fox, and asked, "Little Fox? How did he anger Boss Lin?"
Although Little Fox had avoided sitting at the same table as Ye Tiancheng and Hou Mingzhu, he was not sitting far away. Moreover, the coffee area was quite small, and if one spoke too loudly, people in the same area could easily overhear their conversations.
Therefore, when Ye Tiancheng mentioned Little Fox, Little Fox had heard everything.
Hearing Hou Mingzhu's question, Little Fox turned his head and interjected indignantly, "How can this be counted as my sole credit? Big Brother was also a major contributor. We angered him together. How can I take all the credit alone?"
Hou Mingzhu listened thoughtfully, "...Hmm?"
Ye Tiancheng immediately turned his head and glared at Little Fox, "Didn't you start it?"
"You said it like that. If I didn't agree with you, would I have to side with Boss Lin and criticize you? Of course, I'm on your side, so I spoke in coordination with you. Even if I take half the credit, it's too much."
Little Fox paused slightly, picked up his breakfast, and no longer avoided them, sitting directly at the same table as Ye Tiancheng and Hou Mingzhu.
"Big Brother, you can't say that. And by what you're saying, if I hadn't done that, would you have tried to coax that Boss Lin with gentle words?"
With a slight raise of Hou Mingzhu's eyebrows, Ye Tiancheng straightened his back, "Absolutely not. Before you started to confront Boss Lin, I wasn't speaking to her in gentle tones either. I was very business-like and maintained a distance. Let me tell you, Little Fox, you absolutely cannot slander me. I have never done such a thing!"
Seeing Ye Tiancheng like this, Hou Mingzhu chuckled, "You don't need to act like that. I know you definitely didn't do such a thing."
Ye Tiancheng breathed a sigh of relief, "Fortunately, Mingzhu, you're willing to believe me."
Hou Mingzhu smiled. Although she let Ye Tiancheng off the hook, she didn't completely. Instead, she brought up an old score, "This is how it is now. If it were in the past, whether you said it or not, I wouldn't have believed you."
When Ye Tiancheng heard Hou Mingzhu mention the past, it was impossible for him not to feel a bit guilty, so he immediately shut his mouth and said nothing more.
Hou Mingzhu then turned to Little Fox and asked, "What did that Boss Lin do to you? Tiancheng said you confronted her."
Little Fox held his spoon, stirred the porridge in his bowl, and replied to Hou Mingzhu, "That woman was being infatuated. We, along with Fatty Brother, saved her. Big Brother only took her to the hospital, but in that woman's eyes, there was only Big Brother. She said she wanted to treat him to a meal to thank him, but she only wanted to invite Big Brother."
"Of course, I'm not upset that Big Brother stole our credit. Big Brother didn't steal this credit; it's just that the woman herself was infatuated and acted this way."
"I'm just unhappy with her attitude and demeanor. And she still had something to ask for, yet she acted like this."
Thinking of Lin Yun's behavior at the time, Little Fox found it contemptible. "Someone like her is just like the damsel in distress in those TV dramas. In the hero saving the beauty plot, the hero saves the beauty, and then the beauty looks at whether the hero is handsome and rich."
"If he meets the criteria, she shyly says, 'Your kindness is too great to repay, and this humble maiden can only offer herself to repay your grace.' "
"If he's ugly and poor, she hypocritically says, 'Your kindness is too great to repay, and this humble maiden will repay your grace by being a cow or a horse in her next life.' "
Both Ye Tiancheng and Hou Mingzhu were amused by Little Fox's description.
In the end, Little Fox was indeed angry at the time. However, what he was unhappy about was not that this was another matter directed at his Big Brother. After all, Little Fox had not acted this way when Ding Jiaqi, who had tried to hit on Ye Tiancheng, had approached them.
Little Fox was dissatisfied because Lin Yun was not only biased but also disrespectful to him, even though he was one of her saviors.
He had put in so much effort to save her, and yet Lin Yun acted like this. Little Fox felt it would have been better not to have saved her at all.
Hou Mingzhu said, "Then it can only mean her character is not good enough. Even if she didn't do it intentionally, we don't need to care about it."
"After all, we don't need to have further interactions with her. In a few days, once the matter here is concluded, we will be leaving this city. We might never cross paths again in our lives, so why bother about what kind of person she is?"
Little Fox felt that she was right and nodded, "Sister-in-law is right. I can't be bothered with her anymore."
Afterward, Ye Tiancheng briefly discussed with Hou Mingzhu what tasks needed to be done and what plans were in place for their departure, facilitating early preparation.
However, when mentioning the bookstore, Ye Tiancheng felt that although it was initially just a cover, there was no need to close it down so quickly, as it would seem strange and be a waste.
However, regarding the future arrangement of the bookstore, Ye Tiancheng hesitated for a moment before saying to Hou Mingzhu, "When someone comes to take over this store later, ask them to try and hire more attractive staff."
Little Fox chuckled beside them, "Yes, we should indeed hire more attractive people. After Big Brother leaves, those young ladies who came for Big Brother will be so heartbroken."
This time, Ye Tiancheng couldn't hold back and reached out to pat Little Fox's head, "You talk too much. How many times have I told you, a large portion of the people here are here for you? If you keep talking nonsense, I'll leave you here to guard the store."
Little Fox immediately became obedient, raising his hand to his mouth and making a zipping motion, indicating he would shut up.
Hou Mingzhu did not stay in the bookstore for too long before leaving to handle her own affairs. Since Ye Tiancheng had said they would be leaving soon, it should indeed be not long. She would inevitably become busy in the near future.
As for the tableware used for breakfast, Ye Tiancheng collected it and would take it back home in the evening.
After Hou Mingzhu left, Ye Tiancheng and Little Fox were cleaning up the tableware in the coffee area. Little Fox inadvertently noticed a ring on Ye Tiancheng's left ring finger and immediately asked, "Big Brother, did you really go buy a ring with Sister-in-law?"
"Of course, I bought it. Do you think I was joking? I feel now that having a ring is indeed very necessary. This way, people's intentions might not even arise in the first place." Ye Tiancheng replied helplessly.
"Moreover, even if it's not needed for this time, it will likely be needed in other places in the future. I think it's necessary to wear something like this until our actual wedding rings are ready. Otherwise, it's too troublesome. Dealing with such matters every time feels like it's consuming my lifespan."
Ye Tiancheng sighed. If they were together, he wouldn't mind having too many romantic encounters. As for now, romantic encounters were fine, but too many were unnecessary and only brought him trouble. It would be better if there were none.
Little Fox understood the reason and chuckled twice. They put the items away in the back kitchen together. As they came out, they suddenly heard a commotion outside the store.
Ye Tiancheng and Little Fox exchanged glances and immediately walked out together to see what had happened.
As they reached the shop entrance, they saw several men holding paint buckets and splashing red paint on their storefront. Upon seeing Ye Tiancheng and Little Fox come out, they prepared to throw paint at Ye Tiancheng.
Fortunately, Ye Tiancheng reacted quickly, shielding Little Fox and stepping back. He then pulled the glass door shut, preventing them from being splashed.
After closing the door, Ye Tiancheng frowned, "What's going on? These people look unfamiliar. I don't think I've seen them before. Why are they coming to cause trouble for us?"
Of course, Ye Tiancheng also thought that this was unlikely to be a conflict from the cultivation world. Ye Tiancheng's enemies would not resort to such gentle methods. This kind of behavior looked more like the actions of ordinary people after a dispute.
Little Fox also looked confused, "Could it be business competition? We stole someone's business, and they came to splash paint on us?"
Ye Tiancheng immediately dismissed this idea, "What are you joking about? We are the only bookstore in this commercial area. Who would compete with us commercially?"
In this day and age, there were not many bookstores. Because they were not as profitable as imagined and easily incurred losses, most did not last long. Ye Tiancheng chose to open a bookstore as a cover and did not want to attract too much attention.