Chapter 23 Marriage 3

Lin Yao didn't know how to answer Lei Ya's question. It wasn't that he didn't want to tell the truth about his situation, but the fewer people who knew about Zhao Feng's affairs, the better.

So Lin Yao could only laugh it off and say that this was just his feeling!

After Lei Ya said a few words, he didn't dwell on this issue anymore. After all, people of Ye Heng's level were not people they could get in touch with.

But speaking of Ye Heng!

"By the way, have you received the invitation?" Lei Ya asked Lin Yao.

"What invitation?" Lin Yao was puzzled.

"Aren't you a plant guide? You must know the De Lin family too! Isn't the eldest daughter of the De Lin family going to marry the young master of the Cang family? Didn't they invite your family?"

Lei Ya didn't know that Lin Yao was from the De Lin family, or even the person involved in the incident, but the interstellar plant families knew each other more or less, so he asked this question.

"I will go!" Lin Yao answered ambiguously.

Lin Yao’s answer made Su Ye’s eyes light up.

As the ex-fiancé of the young lady who is about to get married, he should have avoided her, but the status of the Ye family is there, and it is impossible for the De Lin family not to send an invitation to the Ye family. It is just that whether to give face to the De Lin family is the decision of the Ye family.

Originally, Ye Heng didn't want to give this face to the De Lin family, but now that Mu Mu said he wanted to go, Ye Heng thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to give them some face!

Lei Ya talked about the eldest son of the De Lin family who was replaced in marriage. He said that the man was really pitiful. He had to face such a cruel situation and was not liked by the family of his new marriage partner.

Lei Ya said this and asked Lin Yao, "Mumu, what do you think of Ye Heng?"

Lei Ya asked him casually, and Lin Yao also answered casually: "Maybe he is stingy!"

"You were just speaking up for him! But this evaluation is quite fresh! Everyone on the Starnet says Marshal Ye is decisive and magnanimous, but only you dare to call him stingy."

Lei Ya was stunned. Didn’t this person just speak up for someone else? How come he suddenly gave such a bad evaluation?

Lin Yao spread his hands: "People are multifaceted!"

Then Lin Yao gave the reason: the Ye family took out their anger on an innocent guide, no matter how powerful the other party was, he thought it was very stingy!

Whether he was pretending or saying one thing and thinking another, it did not prevent Lin Yao from feeling that Ye Heng and the Ye family were very stingy.

Although he doesn't care about this marriage, you didn't express your opinion when you should have, leaving him, a weak guide, to face the ridicule of people all over the galaxy. Even the most carefree person would feel uncomfortable!

Su Ye's tone was a little anxious and argumentative: "Could it be that there is a hidden story like the one about Old K? Ye Heng... Marshal is not that kind of person!"

Lin Yao looked at Su Ye who was standing beside him, and his voice sounded again:

"The De Lin family regretted the marriage, and the person was pushed here by the De Lin family. They knew that this was a discarded child and a punching bag for the De Lin family. The De Lin family would not ask the Ye family for an explanation for a piece of trash. They openly handled this matter coldly, putting a guide in the spotlight. What kind of ability is that?"

When Lin Yao said this, he looked straight into the pair of beautiful dark green eyes, and his tone was understated, as if he was talking about whether the weather was good or bad. The ice-blue vines swayed at his sleeves, as if Shasha was echoing his words.

Ye Heng's fingertips tightened almost imperceptibly, and a complex emotion flashed across his dark green eyes, including surprise, grievance, and a hint of regret that he himself was not even aware of.

Ye Heng could only count two or three things that he regretted, but he truly regretted this one.

It's not like he didn't have a chance to make amends.

At first, the marriage was left to the full authority of his grandfather, and the decision to cold-cut it was made by the old man. Although he disagreed, he was too lazy to ask more questions. Later, when he met Mumu on the training ground, the rare compatibility made him even more resistant to this ridiculous marriage, so he let the statement weigh on him and delayed it again and again.

After all, no one in the Ye family, including himself, has ever truly respected Lin Yao.

This carelessness turned into the sharpest knife at this moment, leaving him without the strength to defend himself.

The photo he saw in the White Pagoda today appeared in Ye Heng's mind, and Lin Yao's smiling face became clearer and clearer.

He finally understood why Lin Yao did not meet him in the White Tower today.

Constant criticism can destroy a person, and constant gossip can melt gold.

The betrayal of the Delin family and the indifference of the Ye family had already left countless wounds in the guide's heart.

Why would anyone want to see him? Why would anyone be nice to someone who doesn't even offer respect?

Ye Heng's Adam's apple rolled, and he wanted to say something, but found that his throat seemed to be blocked by stardust and he couldn't utter a word.

After Lin Yao finished speaking, he did not continue the topic and turned to Lei Ya and said:

"I'm a little tired, so I'll get off first." Before he finished speaking, the image turned into tiny points of light and dissipated into the air.

This sudden offlineness stunned Lei Ya and Su Ye.

Lei Ya sighed, looked at the empty place, and scratched his head, "Why did you leave so suddenly..."

Ye Heng's heart felt like it was being tightly gripped by something, and a dull pain spread.

He knew very well that Mumu was not really tired, he was just hurt by this incident.

As a guide, Mumu must have sympathized with the mistreated Lin Yao, and his anger and disappointment came from the heart.

At this moment, Lei Ya suddenly stared at the computer screen and exclaimed, "White Tower counseling appointment link! Could it be that Mumu is the counselor at the White Tower? He's looking for a job at the White Tower!"

This exclamation was like a thunderclap, splitting Ye Heng's depressed thoughts. He looked up suddenly, shock and disbelief flashing in his dark green eyes, and asked anxiously:

"What did you say? Mumu works in the White Tower?"

Lei Ya turned the computer screen towards him and pointed at the link on it.

That was the official White Tower guide reservation interface, and in the notes column was a line of words: "Let Old K come."

These four short words, like a key, unexpectedly pierced through the veil that separated them from Mumu's true identity.

"You say... could the guide behind this link be Mumu himself?" Lei Ya rubbed his hands, his eyes filled with curiosity and anticipation, "I've known him for so long, and I still don't know his real name."

Although he is a community leader, he also knows his limits and knows that there are some things that he should not ask rashly. At this moment, Mumu took the initiative to leave clues, which seemed to be his tacit consent for them to solve the mystery.

Ye Heng's breathing suddenly stopped. He didn't know who Mumu was. He also wanted to click in to find out who the Mumu that made him worried was.

But the fingertips were hovering above the screen and would not fall down. This link was like a Pandora's box, emitting fatal temptation.

"Are you going to order or not?" Lei Ya couldn't help urging him when he saw that he didn't speak for a long time. He also swallowed nervously.

Ye Heng closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, only the uncontrollable eagerness remained in his dark green pupils. He nodded slightly at Lei Ya, his voice as low and hoarse as if covered with sand: "Go ahead."

Lei Ya took a deep breath, as if he was about to carry out some important task, and gritted his teeth and pressed the button with the arrow.

The computer screen flashed twice, and a simple web page interface popped up.

On the iconic silver-gray background of the White Pagoda, a photo and a few lines of words slowly emerged:

Guide Name: Lin Yao

Counseling Room: 32-09

New appointment quota: 1

There was no extra introduction, only a photo, and these few short lines of information, but they were like a thunderclap, exploding in the ears of the two people.

"Lin Yao..." Lei Ya was stunned for a moment, then he remembered Mu Mu who had just logged off without saying a word.

"No wonder! No wonder he said those words just now, it turns out he is the unlucky young master!"

He held the laptop in his hand, rubbing his fingertips over the two words "Lin Yao" on the screen, like a child who had done something wrong.

When he heard those Star Network rumors before, he just thought they were melodramatic family dramas, which went in one ear and out the other, and he even laughed along occasionally and said, "This young master is so miserable!"

But now that we know that the protagonist in the rumor is Mumu, those light-hearted discussions instantly turned into piercing needles.

He remembered what Lin Yao had said just now, "Putting a guide in the center of the storm, what kind of ability is that?", and his impression of Ye Heng dropped again in an instant!

Lei Ya scratched his hedgehog head, and his hair was messed up like a ball of grass.

"It's all my fault. I'm so stupid..." Lei Ya squatted on the ground, wishing he could punch himself twice. "He must have logged off because I exposed his scars. I have such a bad mouth!"

Ye Heng, who was standing aside, didn't say a word from beginning to end, but the air pressure around him was so low that it seemed like a rainstorm was about to fall.

His dark green eyes were fixed on the two words "Lin Yao" on the screen. His knuckles turned white from the force, and the veins on the back of his hands were throbbing.

Mu Mu is Lin Yao.

This realization exploded in his mind like a supernova, and the scorching light made his internal organs hurt.

He recalled Mumu's calmness when he said, "I'm not afraid of snakes!" when they first formed a team; he recalled Lin Yao's calmness when he said, "Maybe he's a stingy person!"; he recalled the smiling face he had seen in the photo column of the White Pagoda.

"Heh..." Ye Heng let out a very light laugh, but it was more unpleasant than crying.

His heart felt like it was being gripped by an invisible hand, the pain was so severe that he could hardly breathe. The link was truly like Pandora's box, pulling him into the abyss.

Now, Ye Heng feels that he has no qualifications at all, let alone meeting Mumu, even just looking at her from afar!

But he knew that he could not choose to escape now. Some mistakes should be corrected while there was still room for recovery.

"Su Ye? Are you okay?" Lei Ya noticed that something was wrong with him. He looked up and saw that his face was pale and his lips were bloodless. He was shocked.

Ye Heng left a single word, "Goodbye!", and quickly logged off, as if he were escaping from something, or rushing towards something.

“Ah!!!???” In the blink of an eye, Lei Ya was the only one left standing there in a daze at the gathering place where the five-member team was supposed to meet.

-

Lin Yao quickly logged off. When he came out of the link warehouse, there was still a hint of warmth left on his forehead from the virtual world.

He sat beside the link cabin, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the virtual cabin interface on the optical computer.

Today, Ye Heng's name was mentioned countless times, like a key that suddenly opened the dusty corner of his heart.

Lin Yao realized belatedly that Su Ye's sudden estrangement from him was probably the same as his own dilemma.

Mumu and Su Ye on the Internet are a resonance of souls stripped away from their real identities.

They can fight side by side in dungeons and know each other's preferences, habits and even ways of thinking very well.

That sense of fit made him feel for a moment that he had found another self.

But in reality, he is Lin Yao, he has a family marriage contract and responsibilities that he must bear;

And Su Ye, no matter who he is, must have his own life trajectory and boundaries that cannot be easily crossed.

That's why Su Ye suddenly stepped back when he was about to get close and kept his distance.

Even though they reconciled later, they always remained friends and never had any contact outside the virtual world.

It turns out that it’s not that I don’t care, but that I care too much, which is why I restrain myself because of the constraints of reality.

Lin Yao raised his hand and pressed his eyebrows, feeling a little disgusted with his own stupidity.

At that time, he couldn't stand Su Ye's hot and cold attitude. Now thinking about it, he seemed like a child who had not grown up.

The light from outside poured in through the window, casting a silver glow on the floor.

Actually, this is also good.

Lin Yao made a decision in his heart that Su Ye would be his best friend in the virtual world.

-

In the main residence of the Ye family, Ye Heng woke up from the connecting cabin, walked out of the cabin door, revealing his angular face full of pain.

He walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, and the neon lights of the central star shattered into a blur of light in his eyes.

The black cloud leaped out from his wrist, and the dark snake body wrapped around his arm restlessly, rubbing its head gently against his cheek, as if to comfort him.

"It's my fault..." Ye Heng whispered, his voice filled with unprecedented sadness and regret, "It's my fault, Mo Yun."

He shouldn't have allowed his family to remain indifferent.

Ye Heng opened the Interstellar Discussion Network. As the wedding of the De Lin and Cang families approached, the original discussion posts about Lin Yao gradually climbed up and ranked in the top 20 hot topics.

Someone commented: "The Delin family is a waste! They didn't resist being treated so harshly by the Ye family?"

Then someone replied: "She is just a piece of trash abandoned by her family. She didn't dare to say a word when she was married off. The Ye family still refuses to acknowledge her. To put it bluntly, they are not up to the task."

"Honestly, although Delinwei's exchange marriage is not decent, what about Lin Yao? After being abandoned, he just hides and doesn't even dare to defend himself. What else can he be but a waste?"

"+1, a complete waste. Look at the list of gifts the Cang family gave to Delinwei. That star sapphire alone is enough to buy half a colonized planet. And then look at what the Ye family gave to Lin Yao... Oh, the Ye family didn't give anything because they don't want to acknowledge this person at all."

"By the way, Lin Yao didn't say anything. Did the Cang family give him compensation? Because it was generous, so he didn't say anything?"

"Come on! Even if there is, with Lin Yao's inexperienced character, will the Cang family give him anything good? I guess they'll just give him a little bit!"

"What the above person said is correct. Lin Yao must have never seen much of the world. I saw him in the White Tower in January. He didn't even have a guard with him. He was wearing the most ordinary guide uniform, like a newly graduated student. Compared with De Linwei, it was really heartbreaking."

'....'

Every word of these remarks challenged Ye Heng's nerves, making him unable to read any further. He closed the webpage in anger.

Lin Yao may not need his compensation, but he has to do something.

Ye Heng took a deep breath and tapped quickly on the computer with his fingertips. He called up the announcement interface with the highest authority of the Ye family.

His eyes fell on the publisher column, where the default display was the Ye family. When Ye Heng pressed the publish button, the trembling of his fingertips had not yet subsided.

After the Ye family issued the announcement, Ye Heng forwarded it using his own account. The moment the notification of successful forwarding popped up, his personal terminal vibrated wildly.

The caller ID showed that it was Grandpa. He looked at the name for three seconds and finally pressed the reject button.

"Connect Lu Chen." Ye Heng's voice was hoarse with the sound of having just made a decision. Now that he was in charge of the Chiying Legion, he needed Chiying to make the same statement.

Lu Chen's holographic image popped up almost immediately. The acting leader of the Red Shadow Legion was wearing a neat military uniform, his face still showing the fatigue of having just finished handling military affairs. "Marshal?"

"In the name of the Red Shadow Corps, forward the Ye family announcement and add a statement: The Red Shadow Corps recognizes Mr. Lin Yao's identity." Ye Heng's tone left no room for doubt. "Do it now."

Lu Chen was stunned, a trace of shock flashed in his eyes, but his well-trained professionalism prevented him from asking any more questions: "Yes, Marshal."

Three minutes later, the Star Internet exploded.

The official announcement of the Ye family, Ye Heng’s personal forwarding, and the statement of the Red Shadow Legion - three statements with highly consistent content, like three energy bombs hitting the calm public opinion field.

"Apologize to Mr. Lin Yao."

"Acknowledge that the engagement between Ye Heng and Lin Yao is valid."

There is no preparation, no explanation, it is so concise that it is almost crude.

In the study of the Ye family's main residence, Old Master Ye slammed his laptop down on the mahogany table. He stood by the window leaning on his cane, looking at the neatly trimmed green plants in the courtyard, shaking with anger. "What is he going to do?!?"

Then his personal butler served him a cup of tea and said, "Master, no matter what the master does, he is still your grandson!"

Just these one sentence quickly calmed down Mr. Ye's anger, and then he sat back in his chair leisurely. All he had to do now was to wait, wait for Ye Heng to come to him and give him a satisfactory explanation.

At the same time, in the soldiers' dormitory of the Red Shadow Legion, the light from the computer screen reflected shocked faces.

"Marshal, are you serious?" Ye Mang held the laptop, his eyes wide open. "I knew Guide Lin was no ordinary person!"

Xu Li stroked his chin, frowning, "But this is too sudden... A few days ago, the Marshal was avoiding this marriage, how could he suddenly..."

"Who cares!" Zhao Kun slapped him on the shoulder. "Since the Marshal has admitted it, we should admit it too! Besides, Guide Lin does look good, definitely better than that woman De Linwei!"

Someone in the corner murmured, "But he's not wanted by the Delin family after all... If this gets out, where will the Legion be able to put its reputation?"

"Bullshit!" Ye Mang immediately exploded. "You have no right to say anything about the person the Marshal has chosen?"

The dormitory was instantly filled with noise. Some supported the situation, some questioned it, but no one dared to call the word "waste" anymore. After all, that was the person the marshal had protected in his own name and even with the help of the legion.

The discussion on Starnet was even more heated.

"Fuck! Has the Ye family changed their ways? They were treating it coldly a few days ago, but now they're issuing three consecutive statements today?"

"Hahahaha! Those who mocked Lin Yao a few days ago, do they feel bad? Now I'm the official partner of the Ye family's Patriarch, and the Red Shadow Legion has recognized me!"

"I said you guys just can't stand seeing others doing well!"

But soon, conspiracy theories also emerged.

"When things are out of the ordinary, there must be something fishy going on! The Ye family suddenly admitted their mistake, they must have been caught by the De Lin family!"

"I bet five credits that it's the Delin family threatening the Ye family!"

"Maybe the Delin family has some hidden trick up their sleeve? For example, they have some dirty laundry on the Ye family?"

"The people above are overthinking it. What kind of trump card could a third-rate family have? I think Ye Heng has lost his mind and been drugged by some kind of magic potion!"

All sorts of speculations were rife. Some dug up previous remarks mocking Lin Yao, jokingly claiming their faces were swollen. Some dug out a solo photo from De Linwei's wedding invitation and made a big fuss about it. Still others left a message on the Cang family's official Weibo account: "Have you found your young master? Do you want to issue a statement too?"

-

Lin Yao was unaware of the chaos on the Internet, but he slept well.

When he woke up the next day, he checked to see if Old K had made an appointment through the increased reservation quota he had made. When he saw that he had indeed made an appointment, he felt relieved!

However, he didn't expect that in addition to Old K, there would be someone else coming to his counseling room today!