Chapter 3: The Fourth Master
The car came to a slow halt right in front of the police station. The driver exhaled, but the tension in his chest hadn’t quite eased.
“Open the door,” Gu Fenyi said calmly.
The driver, used to the original Gu Fenyi’s aloof behavior, didn’t think much of it. He quickly got out and opened the door for her.
As she stepped out, her feet, wrapped in clean crystal slippers, touched the ground. The driver hesitated.
“Madam… are you really going to pick up Fourth Master?”
“Yes.” Gu Fenyi gave him a composed look, catching the slight awkwardness in his expression.
What now? Is this Fourth Master some kind of devil?
If so, she thought, he needs to be properly dealt with.
She gripped the belt—her makeshift “weapon”—tighter in her hand.
This kind of wild card in the family wasn’t just a headache; he could destroy everything the family had built over generations. She needed to handle this herself.
The driver sighed and stayed near the car. If anything went wrong, he’d call the Second Master. Still… something about today felt off. Why was the madam personally handling the Fourth Master? Wasn’t it usually the secretary’s job? Even the Master himself never cared.
Gu Fenyi walked into the station without hesitation.
“Ye Si… Where’s Ye Wenbo?” she asked the officer at the front desk.
The Ye family name carried weight. Even the Fourth Master’s name, though tainted with trouble, was known. The young policewoman blinked, startled, then quickly nodded. “He’s inside. I’ll take you. You’re… Mrs. Ye?”
“Yes.”
Before her marriage, Gu Fenyi—well, the original her—used to appear often in tabloids. After marrying into the low-key Ye family, she disappeared from public view. The policewoman remembered the woman with bold red lipstick and dramatic eyeliner from gossip magazines. But now, Gu Fenyi looked entirely different—calmer, more refined, more… real.
Marriage changed people. But somehow, Mrs. Ye had become more striking, not less.
The policewoman led her to a small room. “He’s inside. He… doesn’t look too great.”
“Thank you,” Gu Fenyi replied.
The girl was stunned again. Polite, too?
Gu Fenyi stepped in. There he was—the infamous Fourth Master.
A lean boy, no more than twenty, slouched in a chair. His shirt was wrinkled and torn at the collar, revealing his chest. A bandage wrapped around his forehead, stained faintly with blood.
Despite the injury, his face was striking—sharp eyebrows, clear eyes, and a nose like a sculpture. He would’ve looked like a swordsman from her old world if he wore a robe and carried a blade.
The boy looked up. “Gu… Gu Fenyi?”
“Ye Wenbo?” she asked, scanning him.
He squinted at her, then scowled. “What are you doing here?”
“The police called.”
He scoffed. “Should’ve been my brother’s secretary. What’s it got to do with you?”
“I’m your sister-in-law.” Her voice was even, almost emotionless.
Ye Wenbo had heard her say that before, but something about her tone was different. He looked up—and paused.
The heavy makeup was mostly gone, save for a little smudged eyeliner and faded lipstick. Somehow, it made her look more alive, more human. Like a sky after the rain—clear, and quietly beautiful.
She wasn’t shouting. She wasn’t demanding respect.
She simply looked at him.
He shifted uncomfortably.
Gu Fenyi pulled a chair close and sat down. “Now. Tell me what happened.”
“You think I’ll just spill everything to you?” he scoffed.
She didn’t respond. She simply raised her hand—crack—and dropped the leather belt on the floor with a crisp sound.
Ye Wenbo flinched.
“I think you will,” she said coolly.
Was she serious? Was she really going to hit him… in a police station?
Outside the room, sudden shouting broke out.
“Hey! You brat! Think your brother can scare me? He’s missing!”
The door slammed open.
Another boy, about Wenbo’s age, barged in. He wore a cocky smirk and held his chin high. “What’s the matter, Ye Wenbo? Can’t call your brother, so you drag your sister-in-law here instead?”
Ye Wenbo stood abruptly. “Jiang Jing, you want to die?”
“Go on! Hit me! Your brother’s not around to clean up after you now—he’s missing, isn’t he?”
Crack! The belt flew again—this time landing right in front of Jiang Jing’s feet.
The boy jumped back, face turning pale. “Who—?!”
His mocking tone disappeared the moment he looked at Gu Fenyi.
“I’m Gu Fenyi. His sister-in-law.”
Wenbo didn’t correct her.
Jiang Jing blinked, recognition dawning. “You’re… that Gu Fenyi? The one from the gossip mags?”
He smirked again. “No wonder your husband doesn’t like you.”
But Gu Fenyi didn’t even blink. Her eyes narrowed slightly, lashes catching the light, giving her an unspoken air of command. Without raising her voice, she turned and said:
“Let’s go.”
Jiang Jing, surprisingly, followed.