After being forced into a marriage of convenience, a master of metaphysics manipulates a cold and al

"Hello, Aunt Chen..."

Inside the villa of the Qin family's main branch, Ye Bai finally met the mysterious second wife.

Qin Wanqing's stepmother, Chen Jingmei.

She has a pretty face and looks very young, probably around thirty years old.

Wearing a simple gray robe and with her long hair tied up, she gave off a very serene feeling.

He was just rather cold and said very little.

He nodded slightly in response to Ye Bai and Qin Wanqing's greetings, showing neither joy nor sorrow.

They didn't even glance at the gifts the two of them brought.

"Looks like another difficult customer..."

Ye Bai inwardly grumbled, feeling a slight toothache.

However, considering that the second wife rarely goes out and is only seen a few times a year, it doesn't matter much if she has a peculiar personality.

At worst, we'll just come here less often. Judging from Qin Wanqing's attitude, she clearly won't be dragging him here frequently.

Neither Chen Jingmei nor Qin Wanqing spoke, and Ye Bai had no interest in starting a conversation, instead focusing on looking around the villa.

At night, the villa looks eerie and frightening from the outside because the lights are off.

Now that the lights are on, it's not much different from other villas.

It was fully furnished and decorated in a high-class style, not as simple and shabby as Ye Bai had initially imagined.

Thinking about it, it makes sense. Although Chen Jingmei practices Buddhism, she has not actually shaved her head and become a nun; instead, she practices while keeping her hair.

Since they usually stay in the Buddhist shrine in the backyard, there's no need to make the villa look like a temple.

After all, it is the main branch of the Qin family, with many members. During festivals, people will always come to visit, so there must be a proper place to receive them.

The feng shui layout is also very standard, with no abnormalities whatsoever.

"Xiaoshuang, this is your brother-in-law's first time here. Why don't you show him around?"

Chen Jingmei suddenly spoke up.

Clearly, seeing Ye Bai looking around, she assumed he was very curious about the place.

"Humph."

Qin Shuang snorted coldly, somewhat unwilling, but she did not refute, only glaring hatefully at Ye Bai.

She complained to her grandmother but failed, and then she complained to her mother but it was still useless. This made her increasingly unhappy with Ye Bai, but she couldn't do anything about it.

"Thank you, Aunt Chen. You two can continue your conversation."

Ye Bai got up and strolled around the villa with Qin Shuang.

It wasn't just about finding traces left by those black-robed Taoist priests who were suspected of being scoundrels of the Xuanmen sect; more importantly, everyone was sitting there silently, which was quite awkward.

Chen Jingmei and Qin Wanqing were probably used to it, but Ye Bai felt rather uneasy.

Moreover, he guessed that the fact that neither of them was speaking might also be related to him sitting there.

After all, he was still an outsider to the Qin family.

Some things are not suitable to say to his face.

In that case, let's make room for them.

As for Old Madam Qin's concern about Qin Wanqing and Chen Jingmei arguing, Ye Bai estimated that it wouldn't happen for the time being.

"Don't get cocky, you surnamed Ye. I'll teach you a lesson sooner or later, the kind where you'll be crying for your parents!"

Without Chen Jingmei and Qin Wanqing by her side, Qin Shuang revealed her true nature, waving her small fists and issuing a fierce threat.

Unfortunately, this cute yet fierce expression couldn't scare anyone, let alone Ye Bai.

"come on."

Ye Bai smiled and nodded.

He then ignored Qin Shuang, who was jumping up and down in anger, and continued to observe the situation inside the villa.

After wandering around for a long time, Ye Bai still couldn't find anything related to the scoundrels of the Xuanmen.

This made him start to have some doubts. Could it be that his previous judgment was wrong, and those so-called black-robed Taoist priests had nothing to do with the scum of the Xuanmen?

Or perhaps those people had no connection to Chen Jingmei herself, but simply crossed paths for some reason?

Finally, after Ye Bai and Qin Shuang strolled around the villa, dinner began.

Ye Bai couldn't go to the Buddhist shrine in the backyard, not because Qin Shuang wouldn't take him, but because Chen Jingmei had given strict orders.

No one except herself is allowed to enter the Buddhist hall.

Even Qin Shuang, her own daughter, is no exception.

Chen Jingmei practices Buddhism, so her dinner is naturally all vegetarian.

However, there were quite a few varieties, filling the entire table, which was very plentiful.

Moreover, the vegetarian chef hired by the Qin family at great expense was top-notch, and the dishes were delicious and visually appealing, leaving Ye Bai full of praise.

These past few days I've been eating lots of meat and fish every day, so having a vegetarian meal once in a while feels pretty good.

It has always been a rule of wealthy families not to speak while eating or sleeping, and the Qin family is no exception.

Chen Jingmei, in particular, was not a talkative person, and the meal was eaten in complete silence, which was somewhat eerie.

After finishing her meal, Qin Wanqing took her leave.

Chen Jingmei did not try to keep them, and the meeting and meal lasted no more than two hours in total.

Stepping out of the villa, Ye Bai let out a heavy sigh of relief, feeling much lighter at once.

The vegetarian food served here by the Second Madam is indeed delicious, but the atmosphere here is truly unpleasant.

"Don't you think Aunt Chen looks very young?"

On the way back to the old house, Qin Wanqing suddenly asked.

"She looks very young; she's taken great care of herself."

Ye Bai was taken aback, then smiled and nodded.

Judging from Qin Shuang's age, Chen Jingmei must be at least thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old, if not forty.

But he looks much younger than his actual age.

“She’s gotten younger and younger since my dad passed away. And every year, it’s like she’s aging in reverse.”

Qin Wanqing frowned slightly, as if she was implying something.

"It must be because of practicing Buddhism. With a mind free from desires and wants, and no longer worrying or working hard, the physical changes are naturally obvious."

Ye Bai didn't think much of it; he had encountered this situation before.

There are even people in their seventies and eighties who have black hair and teeth, but it's extremely rare.

"I hope so."

Qin Wanqing sighed softly, then said, "Don't come here so often in the future."

Ye Bai said speechlessly, "You dragged me here today, okay? Why would I come here on my own?"

As he spoke, he added in his mind, "They've all bankrupted me!"

That's a whopping 150,000! That's enough for him to eat all sorts of delicious food.

Back at the old house, Old Madam Qin was still awake, clearly waiting for them.

The old lady was finally relieved to hear that the dinner had gone quite well.

This made Ye Bai's heart stir. When Old Madam Qin asked him to help persuade Qin Wanqing before, he didn't think much of it, assuming it was just the usual situation between a young lady from a large family and her stepmother.

But now, she suddenly sensed that Old Madam Qin seemed to have an inexplicable fear of Chen Jingmei.

This is a bit intriguing.

Within the Qin family manor, Old Madam Qin is the supreme authority. Even if Chen Jingmei has an extraordinary status, she shouldn't possess such abilities.

However, this was a secret within the Qin family, and although Ye Bai was somewhat curious, he was too lazy to ask any further questions.

Back in his room, Ye Bai had just finished showering when the doorbell suddenly rang.

"Um... you said before that I would have a bloody disaster tomorrow night, do you have a way to avert it?"

Ye Bai opened the door and found Qin Shuang looking at him with an awkward expression.