How long had it been since she last saw Ye Qing? The most recent contact she had with Ye Qing was a month ago, shortly after she had given birth at the hospital. She had gotten a text message from her.

"Why did she come here?"

"I'm not sure. She didn't say why. Madam, should I send her away?"

Most of the Lu's servants were aware of the Ye's family members' innate character. Lu Beichuan and his mother had also ordered them to let them know if any member of the Ye's dropped by.

Just by how the Ye's had only made a few calls to Ye Zhen during her pregnancy, the servants could determine that this wasn't a good family.

Ye Zhen considered for a moment. With Ye Qing's attitude of I'm-so-much-better-than-everyone-else, she wouldn't have easily come here. It had to be something big.

"Let her in."

"Okay."

Ye Zhen handed Zhouzhou to Aunty Yue and had her bring the baby back upstairs to the nursery to rest. She went to the living room herself and sat there waiting for Ye Qing.

It didn't take long for a servant to lead Ye Qing inside.

Things were different now. Ye Qing, who had entered the entertainment industry a year ago and spent her time trying to scrabble her way to the top, had been stained by the entertainment industry's atmosphere. In the past, although Ye Zhen and Ye Qing didn't have much contact, there was never this sense of distant unfamiliarity from Ye Qing. But now, Ye Zhen could feel the distance from Ye Qing's aloof aura.

Ye Qing gave off a sense of superiority as if she wasn't the same as the common people.

However, it had to be said that Ye Qing's clothing and makeup style was several grades higher after undergoing the entertainment circle's polishing. She looked a lot more beautiful and refined than before.

Ye Zhen could guess that Ye Qing didn't come here today because of some positive news. She led her upstairs to the study to talk.

"Sit down." Ye Zhen had a servant bring over a cup of tea for her. "Is there a reason for your visit?"

Ye Qing swept her gaze over the study. This place wasn't unfamiliar to her at all. She had lived in the villa for a period of time. But now, photos of the baby and a family portrait had been added. Those photos were an eyesore to her.

Her expression didn't change as she sat down across from Ye Zhen with a good posture. Smiling, she said, "I've been busy with work, so I haven't had time to visit you to see how you're doing. No matter what, we're sisters. How could I not pay you a visit when you had a big life event of pregnancy and giving birth? Where's the baby?"

"He's upstairs sleeping." Ye Zhen didn't have the inclination to say too much to her.

Ye Qing nodded. She didn't care about the awkward atmosphere at all. Perfectly composed, she sipped her tea and looked over Ye Zhen.

Perhaps, this was one of the many benefits of marrying into a wealthy family. Ye Zhen had only given birth a month ago, but she didn't look haggard at all. Her skin was still soft, lovely, and fair-skinned. She wasn't out of shape either. She looked like she had gained weight, but her mental outlook looked a lot better than before.

In contrast, her own skin quality had worsened after staying up late to film and do publicity events. She had to use a lot of skincare products to cover that up.

Ye Qing looked away from Ye Zhen and put her cup down on the coffee table. She asked, "Have you gone back to visit dad and mom lately?"

Ye Zhen had to stay at home for a month following giving birth to recuperate. How could she have time to go to the Ye's home?

"I haven't. Has something happened to dad and mom?"

Ye Qing smiled. "Nothing much. You remember how there was a small issue with dad's company and it almost went bankrupt? Fortunately, someone invested and the company is operating normally. I thought the investor was Lu Beichuan at first, but I was wrong."

Ye Qing was probably talking about the issue that Father Ye had come to talk about when he and his wife had come to the hospital after she had given birth.

It was obvious that Father Ye didn't have a mind for investing. Any money that he invested was like throwing money down a bottomless hole where no splash could be heard. If the Ye's had a good relationship with Ye Zhen, it wasn't outside the realm of possibility for Lu Beichuan to toss 20 million yuan down that hole. But with how the Ye's behaved, there was no way that Lu Beichuan would agree to help.

"I don't know much about investing in a company. I'm not sure about the matter you mentioned either,” Ye Zhen replied.

"Although there was a slight misunderstanding between us, we're still a family. There are some things I must tell you." Ye Qing took out a stack of documents from her bag and presented it to Ye Zhen.

Ye Zhen didn't look through the documents. Looking at the words typed out in a large, bold font on the front page, she asked, "What's this?"

"As you know, I'm in the entertainment industry. I'm aware of the slightest sign of trouble that's happening in this industry. Recently, I've heard some rumors about you. No matter what, I'm your older sister. If something about you circulates amongst outsiders, it's inevitable that the Ye's will become dragged into it."

Ye Zhen furrowed her brow. Of course, she knew that Ye Qing was saying a bunch of nonsense. There was no way she came here with pure intentions. Still, she flipped through the documents that Ye Qing brought.

"You probably have no idea how quickly rumors spread in the entertainment industry. Right now, everyone thinks of you as the person that came in between Lu Beichuan and Shen Weiyin. Some small weekly publications are stealthily publishing online stories about you to benefit from the traffic, but they don't dare to boldly state anything."

Ye Zhen looked through the documents that Ye Qing had brought over. It was as Ye Qing had said, the comments saying she had come between Lu Beichuan and Shen Weiyin's relationship were snowballing. More and more people were hearing about these rumors, but it was all at the idle gossip level. At most, it was just the gossip published in the tabloids that Ye Qing had brought over.

The rumors portrayed Lu Beichuan and Shen Weiyin as childhood sweethearts, who had pledged an oath of eternal love when they were young. They said that Shen Weiyin had been determined to do her best in the entertainment industry and wouldn't give up until she got the title of film empress. In the meantime, Lu Beichuan wouldn't give up on her and waited for her many years. Finally, when Shen Weiyin's career had taken off and the title of film empress was within reach, Lu Beichuan's dream of being with Shen Weiyin was dashed by a parvenu's daughter.

Not only did this other woman get Lu Beichuan drunk and take advantage of him, she got pregnant with his child. She repeatedly came to the Lu's home and threatened them in order to marry into this prestigious family.

Because of this, this pair of sweethearts, who had gone through so much, missed their chance to be together.

These exposes were being actively discussed in many gossip forums. The topic of a Cinderella-esque marriage had attracted a lot of attention. Specious information was the most deadly. Ambiguous wording was the easiest for people to draw conclusions and believe in them. Under the manipulation of ambitious people, the people interested in gossip revelled in being in the know and believed that the expose was true.

Ye Zhen smiled. She casually flipped through the documents before tossing it onto the coffee table. Seemingly not caring at all, she answered, "So?"

"Are you really not worried about that Shen Weiyin at all?"

"Lu Beichuan is my husband. I believe in my husband, so why should I worry about that Shen Weiyin?"

Her level gaze showed that she had 100% trust in Lu Beichuan.

Ye Qing paused. She didn't expect that she would fail in evoking a sense of crisis in Ye Zhen. She bit her lip and quietly said, "Do you remember that Shen Weiyin attended dad's 50th birthday celebration last year?"

Ye Zhen raised an eyebrow and indicated for her to continue.

"Based on my connections back then, do you think I could have met someone like Shen Weiyin?" Ye Qing took a deep breath. With a serious expression, she continued, "I'll speak frankly with you. Shen Weiyin was the one that reached out to me. She was also the one that brought up dad's 50th birthday. She intentionally approached me to find out about you. She's harboring evil intentions!"

"That's way too troublesome." Ye Zhen yawned. She looked as if she didn't take those words to heart at all. "The Shen's and the Lu's have been long time family friends. If she wants to see me, she could just come over here. Why would she bother taking the circular route of going to dad's birthday banquet?"