"Call your daughter out to have dinner with me," he said nonchalantly, yet it was a command that brooked no refusal.
Ye Wenshan nodded happily, "I'll call them right away."
...
The door to Ye Anqi's room was knocked on.
The maid standing outside repeated Ye Wenshan's words, "Miss, the master wants you to come downstairs to have dinner with Young Master Ya."
Ye Anqi raised an eyebrow. It was already nine o'clock at night, what dinner?
"I understand, I'll be right down."
Ya Shitian was a man who would not tolerate defiance, and without the halo of a female protagonist, she naturally had to know her place a bit more.
Ye Anqi changed into a simple dress and headed downstairs.
Ya Shitian was seated at the principal seat in the living room.
Ye Wenshan stood beside him, making the host seem like a servant.
"Anqi is here, come and sit down to have dinner with Young Master Ya," said Ye Wenshan kindly, as if a perfect, benevolent father.
However, Ye Anqi asked Ya Shitian, "Young Master Ya, may I sit?"
"Of course," Ya Shitian replied with a slight curve to his lips.
Ye Anqi sat down quite openly, right next to him, but with no intention whatsoever of purposely getting closer to him.
Ya Shitian cast her a glance, his deep eyes flickering with an unidentifiable glint.
Anqi had arrived, but Ye Rumeng had not come downstairs yet.
At that moment, a maid approached carefully, "Master... The second young miss has gone to sleep, saying she doesn't want to eat anything..."
Ye Wenshan frowned.
However, in front of Ya Shitian, he dared not presume too much.
He said with a smile, "That child always goes to bed early. I will call her again, and she will probably come down."
Ya Shitian did not answer, nor did he look at him, simply lifting his teacup and sipping tea lightly.
Ye Wenshan left, mopping the sweat from his brow, determined to get Ye Rumeng to come down.
Anqi had expected Rumeng would not come down.
Rumeng had a fiery temper and was certainly not one to humble herself to ingratiate with Ya Shitian.
But that was exactly what Shitian liked about her.
Anqi couldn't wait for them to grow fond of each other sooner so she could be free to leave.
"Serve me some dishes," Ya Shitian suddenly said.
Anqi looked at him, meeting his eyes.
He was ordering her.
Anqi wasn't offended. She picked up the communal chopsticks, "What would Young Master like to eat?"
"You don't seem to hate me?" Ya Shitian suddenly asked.
"I don't dare hate you," Anqi spoke the truth.
"Is it that you don't dare to hate me, or is your goal me?"
He was still questioning her intention regarding yesterday's incident with the drug, was it to become his woman?
Didn't he know his own nickname? Which woman would be foolish enough to choose money over her life?
Anqi met his gaze squarely, "What do you think?"
Ya Shitian smiled slightly, "I want to eat fish."
Fish meat came with bones, and Anqi did not think she could just serve him the fish directly.
She took a piece of fish, placed it in her bowl, and very conscientiously began picking out the bones for him...
Ya Shitian's cold gaze was fixed on her, as if he meant to see right through her.
Anqi, with a stiff upper lip, picked the bones clean and placed the bowl in front of him.
"You will leave with me tomorrow. How much money do you think I should give your father?" Ya Shitian, not touching his chopsticks, questioned again.
"It would be best if you didn't give him anything."
"Why?" Ya Shitian hooked his lips, intrigued.
"No reason, I just don't want to give him anything."
Ya Shitian chuckled lowly, saying nothing more, just picking up his teacup to drink tea.
As for the fish Anqi had prepared for him, he showed no intention of eating it whatsoever.
Anqi's expression unchanging, she continued to prepare the fish, as she had nothing better to do anyway.