Chapter 286: Half a Dozen, Half a Dozen

 Chapter 286: Half a Dozen, Half a Dozen

At first, Daohua didn’t intend to investigate the source of the fragrance, but seeing the awkward expression on Xiao Yeyang's face, her eyes flashed. "The scent is coming from you?"

They were standing quite close. After saying that, Daohua tilted her head and leaned toward Xiao Yeyang to sniff him.

Xiao Yeyang initially wanted to step away, but his gaze swept across, and he caught sight of Daohua's fair and graceful neck. For a moment, he froze in place. At the same time, images of the exposed, plump skin of the courtesans he had accompanied at the brothel flashed through his mind. His ears and neck instantly turned red.

"So it really is the fragrance from you!"

Daohua quickly confirmed the source of the smell and stared at Xiao Yeyang in disbelief. "Xiao Yeyang, you’re a grown man, why are you wearing such strong perfume? If you must wear it, at least have some taste, don’t use something so overpowering." She fanned her hand in front of her nose, clearly disgusted.

Xiao Yeyang snapped back to his senses and saw Daohua looking at him strangely. He couldn’t bring himself to look her in the eye, so he turned away from her. "Who’s wearing perfume?"

He muttered in frustration, cursing himself inwardly. What was he even thinking?

Daohua noticed his unease, folded her arms, stroked her chin, and walked over to him with a curious expression. "Where did this fragrance come from? And why are your ears red? Are you embarrassed?"

As soon as she said that, Xiao Yeyang looked like he had stepped on a cat’s tail. He hurriedly said, "Who’s embarrassed? Yan Yiyi, stop spouting nonsense!"

He awkwardly stepped back.

Seeing Xiao Yeyang like this, Daohua didn’t think much of it and assumed she had struck a nerve. She pouted and said, "You can deny it all you want, but you’re clearly guilty!"

After a pause, she furrowed her brows. "No, wait a minute. You usually care about your appearance. You wouldn’t use such perfume. You didn’t wear it yourself, so it must’ve rubbed off from someone else."

Recalling that they had encountered Xiao Yeyang and his group on Anle Street earlier, Daohua's eyes widened. She glared at him in disbelief. "You... you guys went to a brothel, didn’t you?"

Xiao Yeyang, feeling guilty and awkward, stumbled backward. "Uh, I just remembered, I’ve got something to do, I better go!"

Daohua grabbed his sleeve angrily. "Did you go to a brothel?!"

Xiao Yeyang was both embarrassed and guilty. "Well, we just went inside to sit for a while, we didn’t do anything else."

Daohua was infuriated and laughed sarcastically. "What else would you do? Xiao Yeyang, tell me, how old are you and you're visiting brothels? Do you know how shameful that is?"

Xiao Yeyang felt a headache coming on. He should’ve changed his clothes before stepping out.

Daohua paused for a moment, then, recalling Xiao Yeyang’s family background, she spoke to him with a tone that seemed almost like a concerned elder. "Xiao Yeyang, I know you don’t have elders around you, so you might be a bit careless, but some things you just can’t do. You’re still young. You should focus on serious matters and not let distractions take over your mind."

"Brothels, what kind of place is that? Yes, the women there are quite beautiful, I admit, but you don’t know the kind of people who go there, and who knows what diseases they might carry."

Seeing Daohua speaking to him in this manner, and her argument growing increasingly ridiculous, Xiao Yeyang couldn’t take it any longer. He pulled his sleeve away forcefully. "I told you, we just went to sit down."

Daohua raised her voice. "Just sitting isn’t enough! At your age, you have no self-control and are easily impulsive. You can’t resist temptation!"

"Enough!" Xiao Yeyang couldn’t bear to listen anymore. He took several deep breaths. "You’re spending all your time criticizing me, why don’t you go talk to your two brothers? Your Fourth Brother drank a lot of wine at the brothel."

To escape the situation, Xiao Yeyang shamelessly threw Yan Wenkai and Yan Wentao under the bus.

Sure enough, when Daohua heard this, her face immediately darkened. She clenched her fists, making a cracking sound. "Hmph, I’ll talk to them when we get home."

At that moment, seeing Xiao Yeyang still not returning, Dong Yuanxuan and the others came out of the living room, planning to enjoy the scenery in the courtyard. When they came out, they saw Daohua and Xiao Yeyang standing there.

"What are you two doing here?"

Yan Wenkai smiled and walked over, but when he got closer, he noticed the strange tension between his sister and Xiao Yeyang. His sister was glaring at them with her brows furrowed, while Xiao Yeyang looked guilty.

Daohua hurried over to Yan Wenkai and Yan Wentao and sniffed their clothes. "You guys are really something, learning to visit brothels instead of learning something useful!"

At the sound of this, everyone froze, and the awkwardness was palpable.

Daohua glared at Yan Wenkai and Yan Wentao. "Just wait, I’ll tell Father and Mother when we get home."

Yan Wenkai immediately panicked. "Big Sister, don’t! Didn’t you go to the theater today too?"

Daohua replied, "I went to the theater to investigate Fang Liangji’s conduct, not to drink flower wine. There’s a big difference, okay?"

Yan Wenkai muttered, "What difference? We’re all the same. Don’t talk like you’re any better. How about this: if you don’t tell on us, we won’t mention how you fought at the theater."

At this, Daohua’s eyes lit up, her face showing some interest.

Just then, Defu came in with eggs.

Xiao Yeyang hurriedly said, "You’re supposed to be treating Miss Dong’s eyes, go ahead!"

Daohua took the eggs from him. "I’ll go talk to Yuanyao and see if we should cooperate with you guys."

Once she left, Xiao Yeyang and the others sighed in relief.

Yan Wenkai looked at Xiao Yeyang, accusing him. "Your Highness, did you sell us out?"

Xiao Yeyang rolled his eyes. "You can smell the perfume on yourselves, do you need me to sell you out?"

Everyone raised their arms and sniffed.

Su Hongxin commented, "It seems like we picked up some rouge scent from the women at the brothel."

Yan Wenkai immediately responded, "Of course, it’s not like the courtesans didn’t sit right in your lap."

Su Hongxin snorted, "Don’t talk about me, you weren’t any better, you were fed several drinks by them."

Yan Wenkai protested, "How was I supposed to know they would be so forward? If I had known, I would’ve pushed them away. I thought they were weak and frail." Then, after a pause, he added, "Next time, I’ll learn from Xiao Yeyang, just keep a straight face and nobody will dare approach."

He then looked at Yan Wentao, suddenly recalling something, and laughed, "Or we could learn from Third Brother, stretch out our arms and throw the women off us. Remember when you threw one into the ground?"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Yan Wentao looked embarrassed, scratching his head. "I didn’t expect her to be that light."

Su Hongxin laughed heartily. "We’re all clueless when it comes to romance, it’s only Yuanxuan and Chenyi who are gentler."

Dong Yuanxuan shot him a sideways glance. "Don’t drag me into this. I only exchanged a few poems, I didn’t even drink."

Yan Wenkai was confused. "Seriously, I don’t get it. The women at the brothel are just like that, so why do men still like to go there?"

Li Chenyi looked at his confused cousin and couldn’t help but laugh.

(End of Chapter)