Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Xi Xinyi choked on her sobs, her pale and haggard little face appearing very pitiful. Han Yifeng fixed his eyes on her, yet his gaze was cold.
He vaguely recalled that Xi Xinyi was indeed telling the truth. When Xi Xiaye was 15 years old, Xi Jiyang and Elder Han had asked for him and Xi Xiaye to get engaged first, and then wait till Xi Xiaye was 20 years old before settling their marriage.
While he had always only treated Xi Xiaye as a younger sister back then, he had been conflicted about the engagement as well. After that...
If it were not for the incident when Xi Xinyi was stabbed, would he have already been engaged to Xi Xiaye and probably married by now?
It seemed as if that incident was a turning point for many things.
Han Yifeng felt something indescribable swell in his heart. After a long while, he then closed his eyes and breathed in a little disappointedly and frustratedly. He turned around casually, pulling Xi Xinyi's hand that hugged him by the waist away, and walked towards his desk.
His tone was low as he said, "I want to be alone for a while. Go home first. I'll try my best to handle this matter. Go home and pack your bags. I'll ask Shanshan to accompany you to lie low abroad."
"Yifeng, I really need you right now. I..." Xi Xinyi cried until her voice was hoarse and her eyes were red and tearful as she looked at Han Yifeng.
Han Yifeng just pressed a button on his phone to say, "Secretary Wang, come in and send Xinyi back first." Then, Secretary Wang came in very quickly.
Xi Xinyi's cheeks were streaming with tears. Dejected, she looked at Han Yifeng who had already turned back to look at his laptop screen. Suddenly, she did not say anything further and turned to walk outside.
...
Mu Yuchen followed the address Xi Xiaye sent, and when he arrived, she had already waited for a long time. What surprised him was that the newlyweds, Ruan Heng and Su Nan were there too. The location they had chosen was a hotpot restaurant which looked pretty tantalizing.
"Why did you take so long?"
He had just reached the table when Xi Xiaye, who had been waiting for a long time, could not help but complain. As she put his windbreaker on the stool on the side, she moved aside to vacate a spot for him, and then handed him a set of clean cutlery.
"Isn't there a lot of traffic on the roads?"
He sat near her.
Across them, Su Nan's eyes lit up when she saw Mu Yuchen and she immediately laughed. "Master Mu, thank you for your huge red packet yesterday. Last night, I almost couldn't fall asleep after getting back, but what was even more delightful was Xi Xinyi being exposed..."
Mu Yuchen just nodded and said humbly, "Congratulations on your wedding."
"Actually, it was fun for all of us. Master Mu, when are you and Xiaye going to have your wedding? I think Xiaye said yesterday that she likes a seaside wedding. Oh, imagine that moment, underneath the setting sun, on the soft beach, facing the sea with such a sense of belonging... Just imagining it is a kind of happiness... If I had known that, I'd have had a seaside wedding too... Ah! Why are you kicking me?"
Su Nan had not finished when Xi Xiaye had already kicked her from across and glared at her.
Mu Yuchen almost instantly turned to the little woman beside her. He did not miss the way she quickly retrieved her leg. When she realized that he was looking at her, her delicate little face instantly blushed too. She cleared her throat before taking a gulp of her fruit juice.
"The food's ready. Let's eat!" Ruan Heng said. It was only then that Su Nan picked up her chopsticks and shot Mu Yuchen and Xi Xiaye a sidelong look before chuckling to herself.
"Eat your food. Why are you looking at me?" She conveniently scooped a huge ladle of food and stuffed it into his bowl, glancing at him embarrassed
"You didn't want to tell me when I asked you. The person marrying you is me," he softly said and then calmly took the wet handkerchief to wipe his hands.
"Master Mu, do you want to have a drink or two? Ruan Heng can drink with you."
Su Nan suddenly looked up at him, yet before she could extend a glass to him, Xi Xiaye had already spoken up from the side, "He won't drink. He has to drive later."
He had probably drunk a lot with Grandfather and his group of old friends. That morning, he still looked like he had a slight headache, so she just helped him reject.
"Look at the way you're so worried! A few drinks will be fine!" Su Nan rolled her eyes at Xi Xiaye to tease her.
Ruan Heng shook his head and looked at Su Nan as he said a little helplessly, "You'd better watch out for yourself. Every time we gather, you're always going home drunk. Master Mu, please don't mind her..."
...
Over the course of the meal, he did not seem to eat much. Xi Xiaye noticed that the man was probably not used to eating hotpot with them. After all, someone like him was probably more used to higher-end restaurants.
She was a little annoyed at herself for not being more considerate.
However, Ruan Heng and Su Nan were grazing happily. Since the three of them always came out to gather anyway, the few of them ate and chatted happily.
When they left the hotpot restaurant, it was lively outside. Ruan Heng and Su Nan left first. Then, Xi Xiaye then took out two movie tickets and said that she wanted him to watch a movie with her.
While he was shocked that the movie she had chosen was one that had been recently released in theatres, he took note that this horror movie was one with quite a lot of rave reviews too.
Xi Xiaye obviously would not tell him that these movie tickets had been mischieviously bought by Su Nan. According to her unique dating experience, lovers who watched horror movies together once in a while could enhance a relationship because usually, this would trigger the man's need to protect the girl, instantly satisfying their male chauvinism.
However, this trick was not suitable for Xi Xiaye at all because not even halfway through the movie, she already could not hold back her sleepiness. She leaned on Mu Yuchen's shoulder and fell asleep...
She was awoken by Mu Yuchen only went the movie had ended. Rubbing her eyes in a daze, she got up slowly. She complained that the movie was too boring and that she would not come anymore.
At the moment, it was already quite late and there were fewer people hanging around the plaza. When they walked to the side of the plaza, they could still see that some small hawkers were working hard. The air was floating with the faint aroma of chestnuts roasted with sugar.
The two of them walked side by side without so much of a word. With his windbreaker on her shoulder, she reached out to tug at his long fingers.
A while after that, she suddenly spoke softly and even took out an envelope from her pocket before handing it to him. "Actually, I really wanted to properly reward you today after helping me take revenge. Then, I got Su Nan's call that she wanted to have dinner together, so..."
Next, she turned away a little awkwardly and said, "For you!"
When he saw her handing him something, Mu Yuchen instantly stopped and looked a little surprised at her little face blushing. Seeing how shy she was, he could not help but laugh. He squinted his eyes and looked at her. Then, he unhurriedly took the envelope while saying meaningfully, "Is this a love letter?"
When she heard him, Xi Xiaye rolled her eyes. "Do I look like someone so tacky?"
He smiled and then reached out his long fingers to take the envelope. Opening it, he pulled out what was inside.
What greeted his eyes was unexpectedly a drawing of him reading while laying on the couch. It was drawn very life-like except that he was shrunk into the size of a palm and drawn onto a little card.
She had drawn him so nicely?
Mu Yuchen stared at the card for a long while. For the first time, he noticed that he was actually so dashing!
"Why does this quiet, handsome man look kinda familiar? He looks quite dashing too like I've seen him somewhere before..."
His eyes flashed with a faint light as he looked up slowly at her. His mouth turned into a faint curve, while one hand held her by the shoulders.
She could not hold back and playfully punched his torso with a fist. "Stop acting! I don't usually draw people."
When Xi Xiaye finished, Mu Yuchen's handsome face flashed a smile, and then he remembered that comic hidden in the folder on his shelf. "I know. You only draw pigs..."
When she heard this, Xi Xiaye instantly straightened up in alarm and squinted. She glanced at him coldly. "You wouldn't be beating around the bush to curse me now, would you?"
After being with someone like him for a long time, she felt that her awareness to be on guard had increased. Otherwise, she would be easily taken advantage of.
He blinked in amusement and smiled without a word.
"How annoying! You're making insinuations about me!" She looked at the smile on his lips and could not help but jump on him. "Return that to me!"
He immediately raised an arm and said, "Do I look like someone like that? I was just telling the truth, but thank you, Missus, for making me look so dashing in your drawing."
Then, he gently hugged her. After some thought, he softly asked, "Do you think he looks more handsome, or do I?"
When he said this, Xi Xiaye was stunned. She looked up in shock at him, her twinkling eyes flickering with a gentle light. She stared at that handsome face of his for a very long time in earnest, and then said with a serious expression, "He's more handsome than you."
Hearing her reply, his tranquil, dark eyes instantly started to ignite with a glimmer. He seemed quite satisfied. "Good. Your standards are the same as mine."
Had he done all of that just to disguise self-praise?
Xi Xiaye ignored him. Seeing that it was already late, she was about to say that she wanted to go home when suddenly the phone in her pocket buzzed. She quickly took it out to look.
It was Xi Mushan!
Her eyes reflexively flashed with a cold light that contained mixed emotions. She looked up at Mu Yuchen to see that he was looking at her phone screen.
"It's Father..."
Could it be about Xi Xinyi's matter?
"Answer it," he said softly and tightened his hug around her shoulders.
Xi Xiaye hesitated for a moment before finally taking a deep breath and sliding to answer.
"Xiaye, it's me, Father..." Xi Mushan's deep and raspy voice came from the other end very quickly. She could vaguely hear him lightly coughing. He seemed to be sick and sounded a little weak.
"Mmm..." Xi Xiaye answered. She struggled for a while, and finally could not help but ask, "Are... Are you okay?" Her beautiful brows frowned slightly.
She was not sure why but when she heard his voice, Xi Xinyi's words suddenly echoed clearly by her ear, making her feel something indescribable.
"If it wasn't for Father, you'd be in jail already. Father almost got demoted because of you. He would've been done for if Mother didn't ask for help from Grandfather and Uncle!"
She remembered that back then, she had even cried in front of Xi Mushan, begging him to ask the school not to expel her.
At that time, the answer he gave her was the cold view of his back.
After that...
The on-and-off coughing kept coming from the other end. On such a cold and silent night as this, it sounded particularly lonely.
"It's fine. It's just a little cold. I just got off the plane. Your father's told me about you and Mu Yuchen's thing. Tomorrow, if you're free, let's meet."
When he said this, Xi Xiaye instantly looked up and sought Mu Yuchen's opinion. She saw Mu Yuchen nodding gently. "Mmm, okay."
"Xiaye, can you... Can you... ask your mother to come along as well?" Xi Xiaye was about to hang up when Xi Mushan's weak voice seemed to sound a little rushed. "Call your mother to come along too. Let's consider it a reunion dinner..."
When she heard this, Xi Xiaye was stunned for a moment and did not answer for a long time.
"Don't worry. It will just be me and your grandfather. I know that you don't want to see them," Xi Mushan explained.
She could hear the hope in Xi Mushan's voice. In fact, it seemed like he had not found out about Xi Xinyi's matter yet.
After a long while, Xi Xiaye just said, "I'll try." Then, she hung up, her twinkling eyes unable to hold back the extremely mixed feelings she felt.
"What are you thinking about that you're so entranced?" Mu Yuchen called out to her quite a few times, but she did not react. He just took her phone and then called the Mu residence as he said, "It's good to meet up too. Haven't you been wanting to matchmake your parents again?"
"But I don't know if back then... Also, Father's already..." Xi Xiaye muttered, concern between her brows.
"I've never supported the spirit of sacrificing yourself for others. Since someone else has stolen what's yours, why can't you steal it back? If you like it, then you've got to have it. Why should you see them be happy while you suffer all of this?"
Mu Yuchen looked at her disapprovingly, then the call to Mu residence got through. It was Wang Hui who picked up. When she saw who called, she did not even wait for Mu Yuchen to speak and quickly called out sweetly for her granddaughter-in-law.
"Have you eaten all those things? There's still more at home if you've finished them. Come home with Chen Er. The strawberries in our yard are ready for picking. They're pretty good..."
Wang Hui rambled on before noticing that no one had spoken on Xi Xiaye's end, so she then stopped.
"Tomorrow, call Grandfather, Father, and Mother to make a trip to Maple Residence. Xiaye's grandfather and father are coming over from her end." Mu Yuchen's calm voice was heard.
"Chen Er? What? Grandfather and Father? Xi Jiyang and Xi Mushan, right?"
"Mmm, let's meet tomorrow. Rest well."
...
Mu Yuchen hung up, then turned to look at her. When he saw her frown, he breathed in and patted her head. "Let's go home. I'll persuade Mother..."
She then nodded and looked at him gratefully.