Ruination to a Nation, Devastation to Beauty – Long Yejue

Long Yejue leaned in, clearly intending to deepen their kiss, but the sweet moment was abruptly interrupted by a knock on the office door.

He clenched his jaw in frustration as the woman in his arms slipped away. Suppressing his annoyance, he spoke tersely, "Come in."

Cindy entered with her usual formal expression, holding a new bonus application from the finance department. "Boss, here's last month's bonus breakdown for your review."

Bonus?

Long Yejue accepted the document expressionlessly and flipped through it carelessly. "Performance was decent last month, but not good enough to meet the bonus criteria. Leave this with me. Tell them to boost revenue to my standards before applying again."

With that, he stood up and walked toward his desk, glancing now and then at the lounge door.

That look—hungry.

Cindy couldn't quite wrap her head around it. Wasn't the boss in a great mood just now? That's why she rushed the finance department to get the form ready.

Why the sudden change?

"Meet his standards before applying?" she murmured.

Honestly, it'd be more realistic to bang their heads against the wall.

As she left the office in a daze, she was already wondering how to break the bad news to finance.

In the lounge, Tang Mianmian was fiddling with a tablet, not daring to step out and provoke the man again.

If he really lost control… she wouldn't stand a chance.

**

Since she couldn't leave early, Tang Mianmian was a bit sulky—especially because she didn't know how to get to the car later.

She couldn't just hop into the boss's car in plain sight at the front of the building, could she?

If someone saw, the rumors would be endless.

Sure, she was indeed married to Long Yejue, but the disparity between their statuses would only spark gossip and judgment.

And while such rumors wouldn't hurt him, they'd be a form of subtle bullying toward her.

She was caught in a dilemma.

Long Yejue called her name twice, but she didn't hear.

Raising his eyes, he looked at the distracted woman, eyebrows arching slightly. "Zoning out in front of me—is my charm not working today? Do you need me to prove it to you?"

"Huh?" Tang Mianmian blinked in confusion, only to find him walking toward her step by step.

His handsome face loomed closer…

Her mental alarm went off. She quickly took a step back. "No need! You're already irresistibly charming—utterly devastating!"

"Devastating to the nation? No thanks. I only want to devastate you."

"…"

Could she just say—she already was devastated?

"What? Why do you look so troubled? Aren't you happy it's time to leave work?"

Long Yejue slipped on his coat, his long fingers fastening the buttons with practiced ease.

Every movement—elegant and refined—was like a live performance of art.

Tang Mianmian had seen this countless times before, but still found herself involuntarily drawn in. Swallowing hard, she spoke nervously, "I'm just worried about getting in the car later… Someone might see us."

He paused buttoning his coat and narrowed his eyes slightly. "You don't want to make our relationship public, fine. But now you think I'm not presentable?"

"No, no, that's not what I meant!" She rushed to explain, terrified of being misunderstood.

It wasn't that he wasn't presentable—

It was she who felt unworthy!

A deep, aching insecurity.

"Silly woman," he said lazily, "You'll take my private elevator later. It goes straight to the underground parking. Not many people around there."

Her face instantly lit up. "Right! Why didn't I think of that?"

"Can't help it. You're not that bright," he teased casually.

Tang Mianmian winced, a little indignant. "That's a personal attack!"

"Personal attack?" He quirked a wicked eyebrow. "That's not what a personal attack looks like to me."

She didn't get it and asked, "Then what does it mean?"

A personal attack is just… a personal attack, right?

What else could it mean?

His lips curled into a devilish smile. "Personal—attack."

"…"

Realizing the innuendo, her face turned scarlet. She scolded him in embarrassment, "Long Yejue! Can't you be serious for once?"

"I am being serious. Haven't even personally attacked you yet."

"…"

She was no match for him… not at all…

Tang Mianmian practically cried in the restroom.

The president's private elevator was usually reserved for Long Yejue, protected by a special passcode.

For her convenience, he gave it to her. "The code is 870214. Remember it. From now on, use this one."

Tang Mianmian memorized the code but didn't take it too seriously.

Unless it was absolutely necessary, there's no way she'd take the private elevator—that'd just be asking for gossip. She wasn't stupid.

Just like Long Yejue said, the elevator led straight to the underground parking and avoided most people. Still, they ran into a few senior managers.

She had no choice but to keep her head down—lower and lower…

Wishing she could bury her head into her chest.

Unfortunately, those who saw Long Yejue still greeted him respectfully, "Boss."

He gave a slight nod and, under everyone's stunned gaze, led Tang Mianmian into his Aston Martin.

She scrambled for an explanation. "I'm… I'm the boss's part-time housekeeper. Don't get the wrong idea!"

Long Yejue's lips twitched. Without a word, he slammed the gas pedal, speeding off into the distance—leaving behind a crowd of dumbfounded onlookers.

Tang Mianmian, still shaken, clutched the car's handle. "What was that? I hadn't even finished explaining!"

"You don't know the more you explain, the guiltier you look?"

Her face fell. Thinking back on what she said earlier… yeah, that did sound suspicious.

"So what now? If they figure it out, won't they spread rumors?" she fretted like a little lamb.

Long Yejue was growing exasperated with her constant muttering. "So what if they know? Why worry?"

Even though… he wasn't exactly in the best mood either.

Tang Mianmian sighed and fell silent.

Of course he didn't understand how she felt—he had no way of grasping the anxiety eating at her.

During dinner, not all the Long family members were present, but with Long Yejue and Tang Mianmian at the table, it was noticeably more lavish than usual.

Seeing the two of them getting along again put Long Zhenfei in a great mood—he even asked the kitchen to prepare more dishes.

Zhu Wenyi's expression stayed sour, clearly still mulling over the incident where Long Yejue had stood up for someone else.

Long Ruoshui's eyes were red, clearly from some sort of grievance.

Su Wanru played the perfect bestie role, frequently serving her food and trying to lift her mood.

After dinner, the family lounged in the living room.

Old Master Long roped Tang Mianmian into another game of Go.

She didn't want to be impolite, so she agreed.

Long Yejue, on the other hand, wasn't thrilled—his face darkened as he prepared to refuse—but Tang Mianmian had already picked up the black stones and started playing.

Long Zhenfei was an experienced player, and it showed in his confident moves.

It didn't take long before Long Yejue noticed the pattern and, wanting to get his wife back sooner, leaned in. "Let me help."

"No way!" the old man rejected him without hesitation.

He wasn't stupid. Long Yejue might not play often, but his skills were formidable.

Long Zhenfei had been trounced by him before and wasn't about to go through that again.

"Getting outside help? Doesn't that go against the spirit of the game?" he huffed.

Long Yejue grinned. "Grandpa, she's my wife. We're one and the same—it's not help, it's teamwork."

The old man's beard practically bristled with fury. "You and your twisted logic! Absolutely not."

Seeing he was genuinely annoyed, Tang Mianmian quickly tried to defuse the tension. "Why don't you go rest if you're tired? I'll be back soon."

What?! Go back without her? What would be the point?

Long Yejue shot her down immediately. "I'm not going. Grandpa won't let me help because he knows I'm better than him and he's afraid to lose."

"Nonsense!"

Long Zhenfei, a battle-hardened veteran of Jiang City's business world, had a pride streak a mile wide.

Being provoked like that? No chance he'd let it slide.

Long Yejue had played this card intentionally, knowing exactly how to push the old man's buttons. He smirked, "Then why else won't you let me help?"

"I'm just afraid you'll lose everything!" the old man blustered.

"I'm not afraid to lose. Why are you?"

"…"

With no more excuses to fall back on, the old man huffed in frustration. "Just remember—you asked for it. Don't complain if I don't go easy on you."

Long Yejue smiled slyly. "Deal."

And so, the match shifted—Tang Mianmian became the spectator as Long Yejue took over and faced off with the old master.

His skill was no joke. Just a few moves in and she was already impressed.

This level of play—if she brought him home to challenge her dad, it'd definitely be an epic match.

She was already picturing the heartwarming scene…

If Long Yejue and her dad played Go together, maybe her dad wouldn't stay mad anymore.

Yes, not a bad plan at all!

The harmonious scene between the three made others look on with envy—

Especially Long Ruoshui.

Even though she was Long Zhenfei's biological granddaughter, she'd never been on the receiving end of such warmth.

No matter what she did, Grandpa always seemed disappointed in her. That constant sense of inadequacy had followed her since childhood.

Now seeing Tang Mianmian so favored, her jealousy surged. In a sour tone, she muttered, "Who knows what tricks she pulled to win over the two hardest people in the family."

Those two "hardest" people were none other than the old master and Long Yejue.

And now, both were utterly smitten with Tang Mianmian.

Jealousy didn't even begin to cover it.

Zhu Wenyi tugged at her, scowling. "That's because you're useless."

"Mom…" Long Ruoshui's face clouded, resentment flickering in her eyes. "They're just being biased. She's an outsider, and they treat her better than me."

"Alright, but don't forget—she saved your life." Zhu Wenyi tried to be objective.

That only made Long Ruoshui angrier. "Who knows if she staged the whole thing? Otherwise, why would those people let her go so easily?"

"Don't talk nonsense!" Zhu Wenyi looked nervously toward the old master, worried he might overhear and get angry—Ruoshui would be the one to suffer again.

But Long Ruoshui couldn't let it go. "I'm just saying—if she really got kidnapped, how come they didn't demand money or anything? Why release her for nothing?"

Zhu Wenyi's expression darkened, her brows drawing together.

Her daughter's doubts were starting to seed suspicion in her own mind.

Seeing this, Long Ruoshui kept fanning the flames. "The more I think about it, the fishier it seems. We were kicked off the car by big brother, right? What if that was part of her setup? Otherwise, why did the kidnapping happen right after we were ditched? Isn't that a little too convenient?"

"Is that really what happened?" Zhu Wenyi asked, struggling to make sense of it. "But what would she gain by doing something like that?"