Chapter Eighteen: What Is Your Relationship?

“Your mother’s orders? If you don’t catch yourself a rich husband tonight, do you think she’ll let you off?”
Yuan Xiangdie muttered inwardly, but her feelings were mostly contempt.
What else could be done? A woman who didn’t know how to keep herself pure.
Once, she bore the reputation of a most ladylike heiress, but now look—she’s been seen entering and leaving with one man after another.
The thought of such scenes amused her, especially since no one present tonight was a fool. If she herself ended up as the one betrayed, of course it would hurt…
Any woman would be furious at the very idea, and the men around would suffer the existential interrogation.
Do you love me? If your mother and I fell into the water, whom would you save?
Such insane questions would spin in a man’s mind for no reason, and he’d start to grumble in silence.
Yuan Xiangdie was curious, though—how would someone like Jin Yuan, so straightforward, answer?
She couldn’t understand why she suddenly thought of that tyrant.
She must be mad. The first time they met, he pulled her out of a burning building; the second, he asked if she’d become the mother of his child.
A cold breeze swept suddenly through the darkness.
Yuan Xiangdie slapped her sleepy face awake, feeling as if she were dreaming.
Having spent five years in a place without sunlight, her eyes quickly adapted to the dark—and she noticed slow footsteps nearby.
She’d been on her way home; Julie was headed in another direction, so Yuan Xiangdie let the young woman drive her car back first.
Who could have guessed what happened next? Hearing a scream, Yuan Xiangdie’s first thought was that someone was being attacked at night.
Without thinking, she rushed over, unaware it was a trap.
Yuan Yao’er had never reconciled herself to this woman’s dazzling life, while she herself was mocked.
So she called a few thugs she knew, intending to teach the woman a lesson.
Jin Yuan saw it all, clear as day.
At the corner, he knocked them out directly, holding the limp young woman steady in his arms.
What happened next was unknown…
But the next day’s news broke: in a small park, several wanted thugs lay groaning, discovered by a concerned citizen who called emergency services.
By sheer accident, that citizen did a good deed; no one knew who subdued the thugs, since there were no surveillance cameras in the park.
Many citizens had complained that area was frequented by hooligans and predators, disturbing young women.
Jin Yuan was unsure if what he’d done was right or wrong, bringing a young woman back to his home.
He was usually followed by the media, who snapped every move; he wondered if this would create a new stir. But he had done this intentionally.
Yuan Xiangdie had always refused him, and Xiao Wei needed someone to love him.
If the woman at his side was her, it wouldn’t be impossible. Tonight’s kidnapping was unexpected, bizarre.
Suddenly, she plunged into darkness, her body limp, strength drained.

A warm sensation dispelled the cold on her skin.
Sitting in the car, it was hard to sense the outside world; perhaps the environment wasn’t so harsh. “You again, lying to others. Don’t think I don’t know.”
Though she was awake, she stubbornly closed her eyes, pretending to sleep.
Jin Yuan looked at the woman standing nearby, his gaze dimming. In the pitch darkness, his eyes were already accustomed.
But according to his information, Yuan Xiangdie was no longer the naive child she once was.
She probably anticipated tonight’s incident and sent the fool away.
She also had night blindness, making Jin Yuan even less willing to leave her behind.
So he stood behind her, hidden in darkness, like a silent backdrop, doing nothing.
“No use calling, even if you scream your throat raw, nobody will come.”
“Hmph, you refuse a polite offer and want the hard way. Do you know who my fiancé is?”
Hearing this, the boss’s interest was piqued.
Refusing courtesy for punishment—where did she learn such phrases?
“What’s your relationship with Jin Yuan?”
Yuan Xiangdie pondered, then replied.
“Housekeeper and employer.”
Rather than say they were in an ambiguous stage, calling it this would save trouble. Indeed, housekeeper and employer!
One needed care, the other to be cared for.
Yuan Yao’er sat in the front passenger seat, sulking. The person picking her up wore pajamas and had long hair, impossible to see who it was—but this car was a global limited edition.
“Are you trying to get us killed? Can’t you drive properly?”
Suddenly, a sharp brake nearly sent them crashing into the railings. If not for the car’s performance and rapid turning, Yuan Yao’er would have been a splatter now.
It was a civilized society—how could lives be so easily lost?
Of course, this was an exaggeration.
Jin Yuan had seen those cruel scenes today: once-lovely children beaten and crawling on the streets, begging for survival.
Because of this, Jin Yuan’s mood was foul. There was a feeling—turning healthy people into cripples, scattering them, then collecting them at night.
Such tactics could earn a fortune.
Yuan Xiangdie had been in the car all along; if no one had plotted against her, her fate this time would have been dire. She hadn’t expected to fall into their hands.
In prison, she’d been a tough character; the bosses never dared to provoke her.
But now things were different—her hands and feet bound, eyes blindfolded.
They’d somehow drugged her, and after getting in the car, she slipped into unconsciousness.
“Boss, is this how you invite people? Looks more like a kidnapping. Even if your child insists on having his aunt or won’t sleep, you could have asked nicely and brought her over.”

So that’s how it was. Xiao Wei had overslept and missed the fashion show.
He cried loudly, because Big Daddy had promised he’d see Auntie there.
The child’s crying was so miserable that Jin Yuan made a bold decision—to fetch her halfway, but stumbled upon those who tortured children.
Jin Yuan fell into thought; the most important thing now wasn’t how he brought her back, but that he never wanted to see such children on the streets again.
Though he ran a real estate firm and had some international fashion partnerships, he always tried to help these children as much as possible.
Xiao Wei had never had a mother since birth—a small bundle in Jin Yuan’s arms, like a kitten.
Gradually, he grew, always pampered, never disciplined or allowed to cry.
If not for this time, when the boy cried so heartbreakingly, Jin Yuan wouldn’t have acted, fetching someone late at night.
The driver was terrified—were these people gangsters?
Why were they all in suits at night?
Especially the leader—was he plotting against the pretty girl in the car?
When Yuan Xiangdie woke again, she didn’t even know where she was.
“Auntie, Auntie—you’re awake! You slept so long!”
Xiao Wei ran over on his short legs; even Big Daddy hadn’t enjoyed such privilege.
Waking to see the child’s soft little face, hearing his sweet call.
Yuan Xiangdie hadn’t reacted yet; her first instinct was to comfort the child.
She sat up, propped a pillow behind her, and scooped him into her arms.
Xiao Wei sat stiffly, unused to such close contact, though there was a familiar warmth—gentle, yet unfamiliar, making him nervous.
“Xiao Wei, tell Auntie—how did you end up here? Where are we? Weren’t you riding home? How did you end up here?”
This barrage of questions bewildered the child. The brave ones sat outside on the deck, sipping iced coffee, enjoying a leisurely afternoon.
So much time had passed already.
Jin Yuan had let their family know in advance, saying he’d take their daughter out for a change of scenery.
Zhang Xi was delighted, thinking it was her own daughter, but when she saw the girl sent home by that loser, her heart skipped—could it be that girl had climbed the social ladder?
Yuan Yao’er returned to find her mother’s face dark with displeasure, and her temper grew worse.
“Why are you glaring at me? It’s not my fault!”