Male Mistress - Hmm? Chicken Soup?

Yu Zhen was startled and reflexively leaned closer to Yin Yan.

"Drink some water."

Yin Yan used the motion of pouring water to reach out and support him, glanced coolly at the black cat, then reached out to pour a glass of water for Bu Lian as well, uncharacteristically coaxing her, "Don't cry. Your cat is still watching over you. If its owner is sad, it will be sad too."

The black cat, having been glanced at by him, suddenly trembled. It withdrew its gaze from Yu Zhen, retreated a little, and lay down beside Bu Lian's arm, rubbing its head against her gently while meowing continuously.

Bu Chen hadn't expected Bu Lian to suddenly start crying. He grew anxious, quickly dragging a chair to her side. He raised a hand to gently pat her back, softening his voice to coax her, "Alright, alright, it was my fault. I shouldn't have been so harsh. Let's not talk about it, we won't talk about it anymore. Your eyes will look bad if they get all swollen from crying. Look, even your Brother Yan is comforting you. Weren't you always the one who stuck to him the most and listened to him the most?"

Bu Lian wasn't old. Although she was tall, she had in fact just turned sixteen and was still just a young girl. Being coaxed by her brother like this made her feel even more wronged. She turned her head and buried it in Bu Chen's chest, sobbing, "Dudu, I want Dudu."

Hearing its owner's call, the black cat that had been pushed aside by Bu Chen let out a low meow and once again moved closer to Bu Lian, pacing around anxiously.

Seeing this, Yu Zhen's fear of the Cat Demon slowly dissipated, replaced by sadness.

It was clear that the black cat was very attached to Bu Lian, their bond was very deep. Even in death, it was unwilling to leave. But ultimately, humans and ghosts walk different paths. Barring any accidents, this master and pet would likely never see each other again in this lifetime.

"Xu Wu," Yin Yan suddenly called out in a low voice.

Yu Zhen only felt a weight on his leg as a white ball of fur appeared out of thin air.

He was stunned. Before he could react, Xu Wu had already flicked its tail and leaped onto the table, heading straight for Bu Lian.

"Hey, wait, be careful," Yu Zhen quickly stood up to stop it.

The black cat over there was also on high alert. The black aura around its body suddenly surged, and it rushed toward Xu Wu.

'If you want Bu Lian to carry your Yin Soul Aura for the rest of her difficult life, then keep stopping me.'

The black cat's movements froze. It let out a mournful cry, gave Bu Lian one last, reluctant look, and with a flash, disappeared into the air.

Yu Zhen froze, turning to look at Yin Yan.

Xu Wu had already jumped onto Bu Lian and let out a soft meow.

Bu Lian's crying stopped. She turned her head to look, her eyes red and swollen. She was stunned for a moment, then reached out her arms and hugged Xu Wu tightly, sobbing, "Dudu, is that you? I knew you wouldn't leave me. Dudu, I miss you so much."

"This..." Bu Chen was bewildered and hesitant.

How could a cat suddenly appear in this roast duck restaurant?

'Yu Zhen.'

There it was again. Yin Yan clearly hadn't opened his mouth, but he could still hear the other person's voice.

Yu Zhen sat down. He knew Yin Yan was about to stuff him with some Merit or some other thing again. He took the initiative to meet Bu Chen's gaze, forced a smile, and explained, "This is just my cat, its name is Xu Wu. It secretly followed me out today. It's a little mischievous."

"So it's your cat. It gave me a scare." Bu Chen relaxed and turned his head to look at his sister, who was gradually stopping her tears while holding Xu Wu. He sighed, then looked at Yu Zhen and said, "I'll borrow your cat for a bit. My sister, she's...sigh."

"It's fine, it's fine. I was just worrying about where to put Xu Wu while we eat," Yu Zhen waved his hand to show it was no problem, glancing at Xu Wu who was nestled in Bu Lian's arms looking every bit the innocent kitten. A row of ellipses scrolled through his mind.

He never would have thought that Xu Wu was such a great actor.

The dishes soon arrived. The main course, the roast duck, was fragrant, and the other specialty dishes were also excellent, but everyone at the table wore an unhappy expression, a complete injustice to the delicious food.

"So your car accident had something to do with Han Ya. Back then, when Wu Xuan went to H Province to set up a studio, Han Ya immediately chased after him. You must have lost your mind, to actually follow her there too. What did I tell you back then? You can't be that infatuated with a woman. Sure, Han Ya is beautiful, and she took good care of you when you were abroad, but you didn't have to be so stubborn about it, to the point of not even caring about your own life for her, did you?"

Bu Chen was practically preaching earnestly. The moment he saw his friend being stubborn about Han Ya, he couldn't help but try to persuade him, and once he started, he couldn't stop. "It's been so many years. It looks like Han Ya and Wu Xuan are going to be entangled until they die. And you, you...sigh, I don't even know what to say to you. What awful things were people outside saying back then? Some even called you a male mistress."

"To think that Han Ya, a nobody on the fringes of the circle, was single-handedly promoted by you into the 'goddess of the circle,' and she even got to know Wu Xuan through you. Sometimes I wonder if you were just used as a stepping stone. You were stubborn before, so I was afraid that saying too much would hurt our friendship. Now that you've come to your senses, I'll say a bit more to sound a warning bell, lest you get muddle-headed and repeat the same mista—"

"Bro!"

Bu Lian, who had already calmed down, really couldn't listen anymore. She reached out and pinched her brother's arm hard, then gave Yu Zhen an awkward smile. She reluctantly stroked Xu Wu's little head, handed the cat back, and forcefully interrupted the topic, saying, "Brother Yu, here. Thank you for comforting me. Uhm, my brother, his mouth runs away from him when he's with people he knows. He doesn't mean anything by it. You're the first person Brother Yan has ever brought to meet us. Brother Yan must really like you. No, I mean, he likes you the most. The most."

Pinched by his sister, Bu Chen finally realized that his previous words had the distinct air of openly trying to sow discord between the couple. He quickly stood up, picked up his wine glass, poured himself a full one, toasted Yu Zhen, and downed it in one go before saying, "My apologies. Yin Yan has always been serious about relationships. Yu Zhen, don't overthink it. I was just talking nonsense."

In fact, Yu Zhen, who had been quietly enjoying the gossip, quickly waved his hands to show it didn't matter. Then, he nudged Yin Yan with his elbow, signaling him to say something to smooth things over.

Yin Yan placed the wrapped duck meat into his bowl and began to smooth things over very cooperatively, "Wu Xuan won't be entangled with Han Ya until death. Their relationship will last for half a year at most before it breaks."

Bu Chen was stunned by these words. Then, alarm bells went off in his head, and he hurriedly said, "Look at you! I just told you not to be stubborn and muddle-headed again. Yu Zhen is still here. How could you—"

"It was Han Ya who asked me to go to H Province. She said she was scared studying abroad there all alone and hoped I would go accompany her."

Yin Yan continued to smooth things over, not forgetting to serve Yu Zhen food and pour him tea. "The day before the car accident, I happened to learn that Wu Xuan and Han Ya had already confirmed their relationship, so I decided to completely give up on the idea. But the next evening, Han Ya suddenly called me, crying, telling me she and Wu Xuan had broken up. She was drunk outside and hoped I could pick her up."

"I rushed over. She was indeed drunk and was clamoring to go for a drive to get some fresh air. Later, she started leaning into my arms, and then the car accident happened."

"So there was no male mistress. If I had known earlier that she and Wu Xuan had mutual feelings for each other, and it wasn't just Wu Xuan pursuing her one-sidedly, then none of the later events would have had a chance to happen."

"In the past, I didn't care about my reputation, so I could pretend not to hear the rumors from the outside world. But not anymore. My parents can't have a son who is a 'male mistress,' and my partner can't have a 'scandal-ridden' spouse. In the past, I just loved the wrong person. I have never done anything that violated ethics or morals. On this point alone, I hope no one misunderstands me again."

Bu Chen was comically dumbfounded again. Looking at his friend's face, which seemed to have seen through the mortal world, devoid of sorrow or joy, he swallowed and couldn't help but ask the question he cared about most but had never dared to ask, "So you didn't take advantage of Han Ya when she was drunk back then either?"

Yin Yan frowned, clearly not expecting others to have such a misunderstanding. He shook his head and said, "Never. Why do you ask?"

"...Because you've been good to the Han Family almost without a bottom line all these years, supporting them. Everyone thought you felt guilty and were compensating!"

"No, helping the Han Family was just a small effort. Han Ya came to ask, so I just did it in passing."

Yin Yan's reply was an understatement; Bu Chen's heart felt like it was having a myocardial infarction.

He finally got it. The messy affair between his friend and Han Ya might be completely different from what the rumors said!

"You didn't know Wu Xuan and Han Ya were mutually in love? The rumors outside were all over the place."

"Han Ya said they weren't."

"You didn't relentlessly pester Han Ya?"

"I believe I was just pursuing her normally. I never engaged in any extreme behavior."

"H Province..."

"Han Ya asked me to go."

"That banquet back then..."

"Han Ya wanted to go but didn't have an invitation, so I brought her despite my mother's objections."

Bu Chen stopped talking. He felt that if he kept asking, he might just die from anger.

"Why did you never say any of this? Everyone thought..." he began, then shut his mouth halfway, unable to resist drinking another glass of wine.

It was his mistake to ask. With his friend's personality, how could he possibly take the initiative to talk about his relationships? Besides, given his friend's previous obsessed state where he couldn't stand anyone saying a bad word about Han Ya, how could he possibly tell others about the side of Han Ya who asked for favors?

But, but if you don't say anything, won't others just let their imaginations run wild!

And the more they imagined, the more real it became. The more real it became, the more they didn't dare to ask the person involved about those rumors. After all, they were all in the same circle, and they had to maintain a certain level of decorum. How could they be so shameless as to bring up someone's embarrassing affairs to their face?

The dinner table fell silent for a moment. Yu Zhen looked at one person, then the other, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

From his understanding of Yin Yan, Yin Yan was definitely not the type to publicly discuss the original owner's romantic affairs at length. Bu Chen had clearly been led by the nose by Yin Yan. He was now just wondering what Yin Yan was trying to achieve by suddenly bringing all this up.

He felt like there was a scheme afoot.

"Ah!"

Bu Lian suddenly cried out with a look of realization. She took out her phone and tapped furiously, then shoved the screen in front of Yin Yan, saying excitedly, "So all that disgusting chicken soup Han Ya has been posting on her Moments these past few days was all for you to see?"

Hmm? Chicken Soup?

Yu Zhen quietly turned his head for a careful peek.

'Sometimes the best love isn't companionship, but letting go.'

'Happiness is like an illusion. The sun is beautiful today, and I suddenly thought of you.'

'Looking back, things have changed and people are no longer the same. Good morning, to the you who was so good to me.'

'I'm sorry, I wasn't good enough.'

The phone screen was small, so he could only see these few posts. Yu Zhen silently retracted his gaze and rubbed his arms.

"Cold?"

Yin Yan calmly looked away from the phone, took his hand, and asked with concern.

Yu Zhen could only manage an awkward laugh. At this moment, he couldn't utter a single word.

Bu Lian had already categorized Yu Zhen as a fellow cat lover. Seeing this, she decisively put her phone away, angrily blocked Han Ya, and said, "All this about 'letting go' and 'things have changed'. Before, I didn't know you were already married, Brother Yan, so I thought Han Ya was having a sentimental fit and posting these for Wu Xuan to see. But thinking about it now, it seems like Wu Xuan's head is a little bit green—"

Bang!

A few steps away, at another table hidden by a potted plant, Wu Xuan pushed back his chair and stood up. He turned his head to look over, suppressing his anger, and said with a dark face, "Yin Yan, come out. We need to talk!"