Chapter 293: Pitiful [2 in 1]

Han Chu knew pretty much everything about Ye Shuang's secret. Whether it was genetic evolution or genetic mutation, they were equally inexplicable, so Ye Shuang naturally did not purposely hide her secret from Han Chu. Furthermore, it was difficult to have secrets before someone who was as clever as Han Chu. Therefore, after spending some time with the Ye family, Han Chu had guessed about eighty percent of the truth.

Of course, Ye Shuang did not reveal something as shameful as the fact that having sex would stabilize her gender. In other words, Han Chu's knowledge of Ye Shuang's condition stopped at the fact that she was unlucky enough to be targeted by a strand of alien DNA.

...

The first day in Paris had been spent on rest and relaxation. When Vincent came the next day, he brought the shooting schedule with him that had already been confirmed. Ye Shuang woke up a bit late. When she walked down the stairs, she saw that Rong Su and Karen were already out on the deck. They were sitting at a table with several open documents between them. They seemed to be discussing something as the sun slowly rose to the sky. Qiu Yu stayed beside them to act as the translator.

Vincent was sitting in the living room. He looked quite leisurely with the glass that he was holding in his hand. He lifted his head when he heard the sound of someone descending the stairs. When he saw that it was Ye Shuang, he smiled and raised his glass in invitation. "Mr. Ye, care to join me for a glass?"

"Brandy?" Ye Shuang did not reject it, though she was surprised when she saw the color of the alcohol in Vincent's glass. She then smiled politely. "Looks like Mrs. Karen held back yesterday during her tour. I didn't know there was an underground wine cellar here."

Vincent raised his brow, and his smile turned even more sincere. He waved his one hand to signal for Ye Shuang to come with him. He led her to the stairs. "I don't think the fault falls on Karen. How can there not be a cellar in a French home? She probably thought that you Easterners would not be interested in something like this... Careful, please come with me."

The French's love of wine was comparable to the Chinese moguls' love of having mistresses. If they had some disposable income and wished to acquire some things to gloat among their social circle, then wine was a good choice. Of course, they could collect antiques and stuff, but to prove one's taste, it really depended on how one's wine cellar was built and preserved.

For a normal French, the first thing that they would do when moving into a new home was build a wine cellar. Even for a normal family, they would at least collect some normal wines. For those whose wallets were tighter, then they would have to bring their alcoholic pleasure outside. There were wines for before the meal, wines during the meal, and wines after the meal. In essence, there were wines for every occasion, and sometimes, the wine would be even more important than the meal.

Wine was a culture.

Because of that, when Ye Shuang managed to identity that Vincent had brandy that Karen kept in her wine cellar in his glass, Vincent appeared impressed and glad—no one would not be flattered by a foreigner's understanding and expertise in their country's culture.

"These bottles kept by Karen are good wines that have survived the years." After taking a turn down the stairs, Vincent led Ye Shuang through a door that the latter thought would lead to a normal storeroom. In the enclosed space, the scent of wood and wine hit Ye Shuang's nose instantly.

Wine barrels made from sturdy woods lined the walls in the cellar. A wine rack that was latticed with wooden panels sat in the middle, used to store wine bottles of varying shapes and sizes. Other than that, there were also special barrels used for storing different kinds of wines, for example the rubber tree barrels for brandy and oak barrel for akvavit.

After Ye Shuang walked into the wine cellar, Vincent boasted to some degree about the wines. "Other than grape wines, Karen also has a collection of many different types of alcohol. Of course, I personally prefer brandy. Hmm, would you like to try some of the wines?"

"How about the same as yours?" Ye Shuang smiled kindly. "I believe in your tongue."

With the compliment from Ye Shuang, Vincent led Ye Shuang to one of the barrels. The pride and joy on his face could not be hidden. Even though they were not technically thieves, before taking the alcohol, Vincent still turned his head to glance at the door, like he was afraid that Karen might suddenly show up at the door and discover that he had poured another glass for himself... again.

Ye Shuang could not help holding her laughter in. Vincent also realized how funny his small action was. However, after that little laugh, he appeared more natural. With a flourish, he quickly poured a glass. After handing it to Ye Shuang, he shrugged rather helplessly. "I stay at a condominium. As you know, even though life is easy for most French people, there are still people like myself who do not have the luxury of time. My apartment only has a wine rack that is around two meters tall. It's just a shame when compared to Karen's place. Therefore, whenever I pay her a visit, I help myself to her collection... I'm sure you understand."

"Oh, yes, I understand." Ye Shuang flashed a sly smile. To put it frankly, Vincent probably got on the hostess' blacklist because he came to steal their wines every time. After sharing this little secret, the atmosphere between them became more casual.

The two exited the wine cellar with a glass of brandy each. They stayed at the kitchen island to chat.

"Is Rong Su going to the shoot today?" Ye Shuang looked at the three women out on the deck and then glanced at the document that Vincent had used his elbow to press down on.

"The shoot will not start straight away," Vincent answered in an airy way since this was not business secret. "This is just a communication of ideals to let Miss Rong Su know the type of effect that we want. Then, there will be trial for the make-up and the clothes. After we have a base for the style, then we will start the trial shoot... Hmm, the actual commercial shoot will probably need a few more days, and if we work fast, we can probably start shooting for the catalogue and pictures after the week is over."

Ye Shuang was just asking to fill up the conservation. After hearing the answer, she just nodded without commenting further. She looked left and right before tossing out another question. "I don't think I've seen Xia Cheng today. Has he gone out for a morning walk?"

Vincent frowned and glanced at his watch. "I think he is still in his room. When I arrived, I also did not see him."

That should not be! Ye Shuang was baffled. "I thought he would follow the rest of you to the shoot..."

Xia Cheng would not have given up such a good opportunity to make his presence known, right? After all, with Karen in his pocket, if he really followed them to the set, no one would have said anything.

Even though he might not win Rong Su over with this one move, at least he would be able to make their relationship closer. Therefore, Ye Shuang was almost certain that Xia Cheng would wake up early and might be ready to leave at any moment. However, the result was so out of her expectations—the man was still sleeping even though the sun had already risen...

"Are you sure your team will be going to do the shoot today?" Ye Shuang thought about it and could not help to ask again to seek confirmation.

Could it be that they were actually going to do prep work at home today and that was why Xia Cheng was not acting so eager?

Vincent looked Ye Shuang with a question in his eyes. "Do you not think it is suitable for us to go out today?"

Ye Shuang almost choked on her breath. After a moment's hesitation, she started to lie shamelessly. "It's like this, I'm sure you must have noticed this already. Xia Cheng suddenly requested such a big favor from Karen to give to Rong Su..."

To make things more mysterious, she leaned her body closer to Vincent and Ye Shuang smiled while lowering her voice. "Do you think it is possible that he actually wants to pursue Rong Su? After all, Mr. Xia Cheng is not that familiar with Rong Su before this, so there is no reason for him to call in such a big favor for her unless..."

"Even if he wants to pursue her, it's not... Ah!" Vincent was about to lift the glass of brandy when his whole body froze like he was just hit with an inspiration. Then, he turned to look at Ye Shuang in contemplation, and realization finally dawned on him.

"You..." He looked left and right like a thief. Similar to Ye Shuang, Vincent also lowered his voice and leaned his body closer with a mysterious smile on his face. "So, are you pursuing our new spokesperson as well?"

That was definitely not it. She was about to explain that she was actually a guardian hired by Rong Su's cousin to watch over her to chase away those who had wicked intentions... No, wait!

"..." Ye Shuang was suddenly reminded of the advantage that she could take here. The many coincidences and impression that happened, combined with the romantic nature of the French people... She lowered her eyes and slowly pulled her body straight. When she raised her eyes again, a deep love filled Brother Shuang's eyes that turned toward the lady who sat at the edge of the deck.

Such a loving gaze dazed even Vincent. With the morning sun brightening his face, the man's features, which were impossibly handsome, seemed to be misted with a shining glow. The expression on his face as he looked at his 'love' was so eye-grabbing and enthralling.

No one would have the heart to ruin such love and passion from a man to a woman!

No one would have the heart to see such a pair of eyes filled not with love but with heartache and pain!

The wine glass that Vincent held started to teeter without the man knowing. After he recovered from his daze, he took several deep breaths and threw back the rest of the alcohol in one go. He even forgot to savor the taste.

"Do not worry!" He put the glass heavily on the table. Vincent felt like a huge responsibility had just landed on his shoulders, and he nodded surely at the handsome man who turned toward him with 'surprise'. Like giving the man a lifelong promise, he said, "I will never let anyone steal your love from you!"

Is it really okay for such a simple-minded person to be in business? Ye Shuang flashed a touching smile. "Thank you."

...

While the two men formed some kind of brotherhood, Rong Su temporarily did not know that someone was 'secretly in love' with her. After a short discussion with Karen, it did not take long for them to reach a consensus regarding the shoot. Then, after breakfast, they would go to the shooting set together.

"By the way, Miss Rong Su." Karen was still considered Xia Cheng's ally, so when she stood up, she helped her ally in a very natural way, adding in a girly manner, "Xia Cheng will be following us to the set. It looks like he is very concerned about you."

Qiu Yu listened to the comment with a calm face like she had just heard that they would be having white bread with dinner. Then she turned to translate it to Rong Su. "Mrs. Karen said that Xia Cheng will be tagging along with us to the set. It looks like he is worried that you might foil this opportunity."

What was translation but a transference of meaning across two different cultures and languages? Shifting meaning, or losing some meaning via translation, was something that was unavoidable.

Oh, the translation was outright wrong? Sorry, but she just graduated from university, so she might not be that professional...

Rong Su was instantly fired up. Without even realizing it, her affection for Xia Cheng had dropped several hundred points. "I will definitely work hard for this commercial!"

Qiu Yu calmly and gently turned back to translate. "Miss Rong Su said that she will work hard at the job."

Huh? No reaction? Karen took a closer look at Rong Su's face that definitely did not have a shy blush, and for that moment, she really had a hard time grasping the Easterners' personalities. Was it not said that Chinese girls were normally diffident and shy? Even if she really did not like someone, when she suddenly heard someone say that they were interested in her, should she not at least have been a little bit surprised?

Karen thought about it and sent out another probe. "If I'm not mistaken, Miss Rong Su, do you and Xia Cheng share a good relationship? After all, he has never recommended a spokesperson to be before."

Girl, it should be quite clear this time, right? The man is interested in you!

Qiu Yu translated again. "Mrs. Karen asked if there is some kind of relationship or contract between you and Xia Cheng. Otherwise, why would he purposely fight for this chance for you?"

Rong Su had only been motivated earlier, but now she was angered! What did that mean? Did that b*stard want something in return from her, or was he purposely trying to ruin her name?

"...I have no relationship at all with him." Rong Su gritted her teeth. Under Karen's increasingly confused gaze, Qiu Yu nodded and turned back to translate.

"Miss Rong Su said that she has no relationship, and will not have any relationship, with Mr. Xia Cheng."

The meaning was almost the same, so it should be fine, right? Tsk! French was so hard to learn. There was not only temporal notation to the grammar but also gendered terms... Obviously, she had not studied enough. When she returned to China, she would need to go for more tuition classes.

With her super hearing, Ye Shuang looked at the gentle and harmless face of Qiu Yu and then matched that to the different versions of translations that she offered the two. Ye Shuang could not help but laugh. Her affection toward Qiu Yu sky-rocketed.

"What's wrong?" Vincent turned toward Rong Su's direction with interest, to see whether Ye Shuang's 'love' had done anything interesting to make the man laugh like that.

Ye Shuang pulled back her gaze and shrugged. She sighed. "It's nothing, I just think that Rong Su and Mrs. Karen seem to be having an enjoyable conversation. Looks like the upcoming job will be completed successfully."

Just because of that? Vincent was confused. "Er... I think it will be successful."

...

Just like that, after Xia Cheng finished fixing himself up in his room and used the most handsome pose that he could muster to walk down the stairs to the dining room for breakfast, the thing that welcomed him was Rong Su's venomous gaze that glared at him.

Xia Cheng, who had expected Karen to lay the foundation for him, was shocked. His smile that was forming on his lips froze. What happened?

The breakfast was finished in this awkward atmosphere. After all, Karen was a woman with years of experience. Even through the difference in language, she at least knew how to read the room.

She did not understand why Rong Su would suddenly have such hostility toward Xia Cheng, but in the end, she could only read that the girl already hated Xia Cheng a lot. After having that understanding, no matter how many signs Xia Cheng gave her during breakfast, Karen was not so forward as to openly help the man feed his good words to Rong Su. Therefore, she was extremely quiet during breakfast. She occasionally offered polite conversation, but beyond that, she did not say anything else.

On contrary, Ye Shuang took care of Rong Su so well during breakfast. With their history together and the fact that Ye Shuang had once saved Rong Su's life, Rong Su practically took him as her actual big brother. Therefore, it did not look or feel awkward for Ye Shuang to take care of her. Therefore, Ye Shuang passed the bread, dished up the salad, and poured water... Ye Shuang's considerate and kind gestures made Vincent sigh with jealousy. It felt like he was watching a romantic movie unfolding right before his eyes.

Xia Cheng... Xia Cheng only felt annoyed and ignored. After breakfast, Xia Cheng naturally got into Karen's private car. Before getting into the car, he did not give up. He turned to toss Rong Su a kind and mature smile, trying his best to get into her good books.

Rong Su's response was a chilling and distant smile. Then without wasting a second, she turned to follow Qiu Yu into the other car. It was obvious that she did not want to waste another second on him.

After Xia Cheng got into the car, he asked Karen, "Do you think Rong Su might have misunderstood me?"

Even though she knew that Xia Cheng was not really interested in the girl, Karen could not help but feel pity for the man. "I think... perhaps, she is not that into you?"

Vincent was in the same car as Rong Su's group. As he got into the car, he turned to invite Ye Shuang. "Why don't you come along as well? I believe you have no other plans for the day, right?"

Ye Shuang very shamelessly accepted the offer. She stepped into the car easily. "Thank you so much. Actually, I'm still quite worried."

Vincent smiled and helped Ye Shuang close the door. After he started the engine, he asked out of curiosity, "By the way, where is the other friend of yours?"

"She wants to stay to have a walk around the area. I'll be the only one to accompany Rong Su," Ye Shuang said.

Su Zheng's expertise was thievery and finding clues. A film set was not a location where she would be useful. On top of that, she did not speak French, so there was no reason for her to tag along. It would be better for her to stay at Karen's home to see if she could find any other clues.

"I understand." Vincent very naturally turned to look at Rong Su and then silently turned to toss a glance at Ye Shuang. "It is indeed better not to have too many people follow for something like this."

Well, why would you invite another girl to follow along when you're trying to chase a girl?

Ye Shuang smiled and did not answer. Instead, she turned to Qiu Yu, who had been totally silent. She suddenly said, "Miss Qiu's foreign language skills are really impressive. I'm glad that you are staying by Xiao Su's side."

"Yes, I also think Xiao Yu is very good at her job," Rong Su chimed in with a giggle. "I heard that when she was in university, she had already received many professional translation jobs as her part time work."

Qiu Yu was calm when facing both compliments and insults. She raised her fingers to push the hair that had fallen before her chest behind her ear. She smiled quietly. "Mr. Ye's language skill has impressed me as well... Since I have accepted the job introduced by Mr. Ye, of course, I have to try my best to place myself in my employer's best interest."

"Keep up the good work!" Ye Shuang was very satisfied. It felt so good to work with clever individuals like Qiu Yu. Rong Su had no idea what they were talking about, but she was not worried, so she just took everything at face value.

On the way there, Rong Su even had time to ask Ye Shuang for some tips on shooting a commercial. She came from a good family, so when Fang Mo was searching for a spokesperson to shoot the commercial that Ye Shuang had done, she had been asked as well.

Back then Rong Su had also been dazed by Brother Shuang's beauty before... Ye Shuang honestly did not have much experience in the field, but she had the cheats. Therefore, she briefly went over how to look for the camera angle and how the person could look more graceful through poses. In the end, she also promised that she would be there to help Rong Su find the best angle at the scene. The journey was thus happily exhausted by the two.

What about the middleman Xia Cheng who made the introduction? Ye Shuang, of course, would not bring him up, and Rong Su did not have a good impression of him; Vincent wanted to protect a pure love, and Qiu Yu was someone who knew what to say and what not to say...

Xia Cheng? Who was he? Why mention him?

Just like that, everyone cooperated to ignore this man. Rong Su's car was filled with laughter while the atmosphere in Karen's car was icy. The atmosphere in these two cars was like Heaven and Earth. Therefore, when they arrived at the destination and got out, the happy expressions on Rong Su's group's faces became a conspicuous contrast to the overly awkward smile on Xia Cheng's face.

"Brother Ye, we'll go to the dressing room first!" Rong Su led Qiu Yu and waved goodbye to Ye Shuang. The way that she was friendly around Ye Shuang proved their close relationship.

"The dressing room is only accessible to the girls." Vincent also waved goodbye at the girls. Then he turned to invite Ye Shuang. "So, how about we go to the set directly? You can make use of this opportunity to explore Miss Rong Su's working environment."

Ye Shuang went along with it. In fact, she did not have to say much—Vincent already had the awareness of a knight protecting the sanctity of a pure romance. He called after Xia Cheng, who was planning to follow Karen to the dressing room. " Mr. Xia Cheng, why don't you come with us as well? I don't think you have visited our studio before, right?"

What the f*ck‽ I am going to go seduce a girl—why should I be interested in your studio‽

Xia Cheng's smile almost became twisted, but he could not come out and say what he was thinking... Thus, Mr. Xia could only grit his teeth and thank Vincent with tears in his eyes. "Mr. Vincent, you are too kind. Of course, I would love to tag along."

Karen glanced at Xia Cheng with pity and left to head to the dressing room. Xia Cheng had no choice but to follow Vincent and Ye Shuang. Being in the company of a high executive and a great face, he was completely ignored... All the workers that passed them did not notice him at all. Everyone either greeted Vincent politely or tossed Ye Shuang shocked and impressed looks. Xia Cheng, who had purposely dressed up for the day, became like a small assistant to the two men.

He was feeling so depressed and wanted to take revenge on society.

Vincent stood closer to Ye Shuang, but he did not show obvious hostility toward Xia Cheng. Therefore, when he was introducing the set and studio, Vincent did not really ignore Xia Cheng and tried to view his two guests as the same as he went over the details of the various sets, machines, and workers.

"Our commercial director is famous for his strict demands, but only by having high demands can the quality be guaranteed. Therefore, I'm sure both of you can understand that."

When they were about five meters away from the director, Vincent lowered his voice to introduce the man with a goatee who looked so severe.

"James is a famous director among the indie circle, so he has a greater demand for detail compared to other directors. Ye, I'm not purposely trying to make things difficult for you, but if his attitude is not so good later, I hope you can help us communicate with Miss Rong Su. I believe that some comfort and explanation will be needed."

"The director's attitude is not so good?" After Ye Shuang heard that, she understood everything instantly.

Vincent flashed a helpless smile and shrugged. "Most talented directors have some quirks."

Ye Shuang smiled and ignored the nods from Xia Cheng. "I will pay attention to Rong Su's emotions. I believe that she will understand it as well."

"That would be wonderful." Vincent smiled in relief.