Chapter 13: Chapter 009 Revelation
The rebellious girl had recovered on the hospital bed, when "Auntie" leaned down to speak softly with the rebellious girl, and only then did she realize that Ye Fan wasn't just some bad influence on her niece but actually the great hero who saved Yaoyao.
Thinking of how she had actually given Ye Fan, the benefactor, a hard look just earlier, her pretty face started to feel a bit feverish.
Standing straight with a voluptuous figure, she turned to face Ye Fan and compensated by giving him an elegantly charming smile.
"Thank you, young man. If it hadn't been for your righteous intervention, the consequences would have been unthinkable," "Auntie" said softly, her voice smooth and elegant, with a sweet resistance and charm that relaxed one completely.
Young man?
Am I that young, or are you that old?
Ye Fan felt a bit downcast, but still chuckled and said, "You're welcome."
"Young man, what's your name?" "Auntie" asked with a smile, "Uh, my name is Tantai Wanrong, you can call me Aunt Wanrong. Here's my business card."
She clearly placed herself above Ye Fan in terms of seniority. As she spoke, she took out a business card from her LV bag and handed it to Ye Fan.
Ye Fan took the business card and glanced at it, realizing that it was simple yet not so simple.
The card had only Tantai Wanrong's name and phone number on it and lacked any other information such as a company position or title.
However, the material of the card was exceptional gold-leaf paper.
Such cards were often used by people of extraordinary status or those with sensitive identities when making friends in private.
"My name is Ye Fan, the 'Ye' from Ye Gucheng and the 'Fan' from 'extraordinary,'" Ye Fan said, puffing out his chest, his stance neither servile nor overbearing as he opened his hands and continued, "However, I don't have a business card to give you."
Tantai Wanrong raised a mesmerizing smile on her beautiful face and said, "Ye Fan? That's a nice name."
Then she turned to the girl and said, "Yaoyao, aren't you going to thank Brother Ye for saving you?"
Before the girl could speak, Ye Fan couldn't help but interject, "Call me Uncle Ye."
He felt he needed to assert himself, not to be placed a generation below Tantai Wanrong.
Unexpectedly, the girl's pretty face showed apparent unwillingness, her attitude rebelliously snorting, "Pfft, you're only a few years older than me, why should I call you uncle?!"
"Eh?" Ye Fan was taken aback, Is this how one treats a benefactor? If he had known earlier, he might have let those gangsters take you away for a round of bullying.
"What's the matter? Got nothing to say now?" The girl, seeing Ye Fan didn't immediately retort, proudly pouted her pretty pink lips.
Tantai Wanrong's beautiful eyebrows furrowed slightly as she gently scolded, "Yaoyao, what kind of attitude is that?"
"Hehe, it's okay, Sister Wanrong," Ye Fan snapped back to his senses, adopting an attitude of a grown-up not stooping to a child's level, then smiled at the girl, "There's a gulf of difference every three years, a river's spread every six. You must be sixteen or seventeen years old now, right? Your Uncle Ye here is definitely six or seven years older than you. Calling me uncle won't wrong you."
Alright, he shamelessly added an extra year to his age.
Before Yaoyao could retort, Tantai Wanrong on the side couldn't help but giggle, covering her enticing red lips with her fair, delicate hand, truly a jade-like beauty.
Ye Fan stared until his eyes nearly popped, but not daring to look too long, he quickly averted his gaze.
Then Tantai Wanrong said with a smile, "I'm even more than seven years older than you, so why do you insist on calling me sister?"
After saying this, she held a corner of her mouth, her eyes filled with allure as they seemed to laugh but not laugh at Ye Fan, as if peering through Ye Fan's eyes and seeing right through his little schemes.
Feeling scrutinized by Tantai Wanrong, Ye Fan couldn't help but become anxious, his usually thick-skinned face heating up involuntarily.
"Ahem, ahem," Ye Fan coughed awkwardly, quickly following up with an exaggerated tone, "No way! You're so young, how could you possibly be seven years older than me? At most, you're two or three years older!"
"Giggle giggle giggle…" Tantai Wanrong let out a delighted laugh.
Ye Fan thought he had successfully defused the awkwardness when suddenly Yaoyao exclaimed loudly, "I get it now!"
Both Ye Fan and Tantai Wanrong jumped in surprise, instinctively turning their heads to look at Yaoyao.
Yaoyao looked at Ye Fan and humphed twice, pointing at him and saying, "You want to hit on my aunt!"
"Humph, don't you even look in the mirror—do you think you're worthy of my beautiful and noble aunt?!" Her pretty face was full of disdain and contempt before she even finished speaking.
Dressed in cheap street clothes, similar to a construction worker, Ye Fan's image was admittedly rather shabby. Aside Tantai Wanrong, he indeed painted a picture akin to a flower next to cow dung, or a toad alongside a white swan.
Having his little schemes pointed out so bluntly by a young girl, Ye Fan felt his usually thick skin wasn't quite up to par this time, his old face flushing red.
"Yaoyao, don't talk nonsense," Tantai Wanrong, ever the empath, came to his rescue.
Her pretty face showed no surprise; she obviously had sensed it long ago.
In fact, recognizing Ye Fan's intentions wasn't hard for her because too many men, regardless of age, would seek to develop something with her upon meeting her.
"Ha ha, you're right, kid," Ye Fan suddenly burst out laughing, slipping back into his carefree demeanor, and then turned to directly gaze into Tantai Wanrong's maturely charming face, "Tantai Wanrong, you're very beautiful and enchanting, and I do have some thoughts about you. But now that the cat's out of the bag by a little girl, any further interactions would be just awkward, so let's forget it."
"I'm leaving, goodbye."
With that, Ye Fan left the hospital room nonchalantly.
Suddenly remembering something, Tantai Wanrong called out from behind him, "Wait, you haven't given me your phone number yet! You saved Yaoyao, I should at least take you out for a meal to show my gratitude."
Ye Fan stopped in his tracks, but didn't turn back.
He raised his right hand, waving over his shoulder at Tantai Wanrong, saying coolly, "No need. I'm Lei Feng, devoted to serving the people without asking for anything in return."
With that, he exited the hospital room.
"Don't go," Tantai Wanrong called out, wanting to chase after Ye Fan, but she was held back by the young Yaoyao.
"Auntie, why bother with him? He clearly has dubious intentions towards you," complained young Yaoyao, pouting. "This trick of his is 'playing hard to get.' I've seen it a lot. Don't believe me? He's definitely still lingering by the door waiting for you to chase after him."
Tantai Wanrong responded seriously, "Yaoyao, how can you talk like that? He's your savior. Instead of thinking of a way to repay him, you mock and scorn him. Is this how your aunt has taught you?!"
At the end of her scolding, Tantai Wanrong's tone had become fierce.
Girl Yaoyao let go of Tantai Wanrong's hand, bowed her head in shame, and murmured softly, "I know I'm wrong."
Without further admonishing the young Yaoyao, Tantai Wanrong quickly left the hospital room in search of Ye Fan.
However, there was no sign of him to be found.
Sitting in his second-hand Alto, Ye Fan buckled his seatbelt and took out Tantai Wanrong's business card to look at it. He shook his head in self-mockery, tore the card into pieces, and, without any civic-mindedness, threw it out of the car window.
He did have a slight interest in Tantai Wanrong, but it was just that—slight. His legal wife, Li Zhaojun, was in no way inferior to Tantai Wanrong. His departure wasn't out of spite, but because he didn't like the awkward atmosphere. He only enjoyed light-hearted, pressure-free relationships.