Ceng Hanyuâs eyes never left Mo Suqing and Leng Xiyao when he replied, âNo, I want to stay a bit longer!â
When he finally turned to look at Ye Zhongjue, the other man was staring at him hard.
He rubbed his nose and laughed nervously. âIâm kidding. Iâm just kidding!â
Ye Zhongjue turned to resume looking at Mo Suqing.
They didnât leave until well past four in the afternoon. Leng Xiyao was very reluctant to see Mo Suqing go.
Mo Suqing had hoped she could spend some alone time with Ye Zhongjue for the rest of the weekend, either at home or somewhere else.
However, early the next morning, Ye Wentian called and asked Ye Zhongjue to go home.
With nothing better to do, Mo Suqing went to Leng Xiyaoâs place again in low spirits.
â¦â¦
Ye Zhongjue went home to a glowering Ye Wentian in the living room. No sooner had he stepped inside than a teacup flew toward him.
Ye Zhongjue jerked his head slightly and the cup grazed his cheek before dropping on the ground outside the door.
Ming Jinhua heard the clatter and emerged from the kitchen.
Seeing that Ye Wentian had got angry again, she walked over and admonished, âDo you have to get worked up so early in the morning?â
Ye Wentian directed a glare at Ye Zhongjue. âThe news clearly said that he was getting a divorce. Why would they make up again? What is it about Jian Jie that he doesnât like? Sheâs much better than that woman! And much more intelligent! Why canât he listen to us?â
Ye Zhongjue sat down on the sofa next to Ye Wentian and said, âDonât call her âthat womanâ! Sheâs my wife and has a name. Itâs Mo Suqing!â
âYouâ¦â Ye Wentian pointed at him, incensed. âLook at your son!â he spat, addressing Ming Jinhua.
Ming Jinhua just watched the two men. Heâs also your son, okay?
Then, she gave Ye Zhongjue a hard look. âSon, donât argue with your father like that. His health just recovered and he canât take another stroke!â
Ye Zhongjue pressed his lips together. âWhy did you call me home?â
Ming Jinhua spoke before Ye Wentian could reply, âYou two are only going to get into another verbal fight. Iâll do the talking.â
She looked at Ye Zhongjue and said, âJue, itâs not that we donât like the girl or we care about her social status. We just donât want to make the same mistake twice. Even if it probably wonât happen again, we should be prudent just to be on the safe side.â
âSo?â Ye Zhongjue looked at Ming Jinhua placidly.
He just wanted to know what was in his parentsâ mind.
Ming Jinhua took a glance at Ye Wentian, who still looked angry.
âSo your father and I decided weâre not going to push you anymore on?the?condition that you resolve the situation regarding Jian Jie in one year without turning things ugly like we did back thenâ¦â
Ming Jinhuaâs voice trailed off. Ye Zhongjue frowned. âMom, say no more. I will never let anything like that happen again.â
Ming Jinhua forced a smile. âIâm fine, just a little sad when I think of it. Anyway, if you can make Jian Jie give up on you willingly in a year, your father and I will accept the girl.â
Ye Wentian kept his head low and remained silent, acquiescing in the decision.
Ye Zhongjue looked at his parents. At least they were willing to give him?and Mo Suqing a chance now. He was confident he could meet the requirement.
He would resolve the issue with Jian Jie. If pacification didnât work, he could always resort to force. The bottom line was, he would never allow anyone to hurt Mo Suqing.
Ye Zhongjue spent the rest of the day at home. When he went back to the villa in the evening, Mo Suqing was taking the shower and her phone was ringing nonstop.
Ye Zhongjue walked over and saw that the caller ID said âFather.â
Ye Zhongjue squeezed the phone. Even though Mo Zhenfeng wasât a good father and Mo Suqing was too stubborn to admit otherwise, he could see by the simple act of naming the ID as âFatherâ how much she yearned for family love in her gentle heart.
He answered the phone.
âHello?â
Mo Zhenfeng was surprised to hear a manâs voice on the other end of the line, but he quickly sorted out. It was Ye Zhongjue.
âAh, itâs Zhongjue,â he said smilingly.
âYeah,â Ye Zhongjue replied. âSuqing is taking a shower. Do you want me to fetch her?â
âNo, no, thatâs fine. I can tell you instead. The thing is, I have asked Suqing many times to come home for dinner with you, but she always told me she didnât have time. Anyway, both of you, find a time to come back, will you?â
Ye Zhongjue looked toward the bathroom and said, âOkay. Weâll go home tomorrow.â
When Mo Suqing emerged from the shower, Ye Zhongjue was sitting on the sofa, deep in thoughts with an expression difficult to fathom. He didnât notice Mo Suqing until she walked closer.
He looked up. Droplets of water trickled down her hair; a white bathrobe wrapped her body loosely; flush crept up her cheeks against her fair complexion â it all reminded one of a delicate lotus flower emerging from the pond.
Ye Zhongjue stared at her, not wanting to look away. Mo Suqing blushed. âStop looking at me, silly!â
Ye Zhongjue pulled her onto his lap and rubbed her neck with his head. âWhat, Iâm not allowed to look at my wife?â he chuckled.
Mo Suqing suppressed her giggles. âYeah? But where is your wife?â
Ye Zhongjue did not reply. âHoney, you smell so niceâ¦â he muttered.
Mo Suqingâs cheeks went bright red. The color on her face was obvious under the light.
âHoney, Iâm hungry!â Ye Zhongjue cooed, a hint of lust in his voice.
Mo Suqing remembered what people said about guys behaving like a man-child in front of the woman he loves most, such as his mother or his lover.
Looks like itâs not groundless.
âDidnât you have dinner at your family home?â Mo Suqing asked, tilting her head to look at his handsome face.
âIâm hungry, honey!â Ye Zhongjue repeated, rubbing her all the same.
Mo Suqing pushed his head away and feigned exasperation, âThen look for something to eat!â
âBut I want to eat you!â Ye Zhongjue looked up at her, his eyes watery and bright with desire. Mo Suqingâs heartbeat quickened.
She realized what he had meant by âhungryâ now. The man really liked to talk dirty.
Mo Suqing pushed him a little and got up to go to the bedroom. However, Ye Zhongjue pulled her onto the sofa and pinned her down.
He gazed down at her under his body as if he wished to absorb her into his eyes.
Mo Suqing knew it was inevitable, so she didnât stop him.
Afterwards, she found herself on their bed, although she had no recollection how she ended up there. She did remember faintly that he had carried her to the shower room first.
On their way to work the next day, Ye Zhongjue said, âHoney, letâs go to your family home this evening.â
Mo Suqing went rigid. She turned to look at Ye Zhongjue and asked unsurely, âWhy do you want to go back all of a sudden?â
âBecause itâs your first home. You grew up there.â
Mo Suqing didnât know what to say, so she looked away.
He always knew how to?move?her with innocuous remarks.
She hated that place, with Bai Lian and Mo Sulian living there. However, she also loved and missed it, because she had lived there with her mother and the father she used to respect. There was too much history for her not to care.
After a while, Mo Suqing murmured an affirmative reply before falling silent.
In the evening, Ye Zhongjue picked her up.
Mo Suqing looked unwell. Ye Zhongjue hugged her and kissed her hair.
âIf you donât want to go, we donât have to,â he said.
Mo Suqing nodded. âNo, I want to go. I have to face them one day. My father has called me many times recently. If I donât go back, heâs just going to keep troubling me.â
âRight.â Ye Zhongjue replied lightly and took her hand.
âLetâs go then.â
The car headed toward the Moâs villa.
Mo Suqing was surprised to find a lot of people gathering there upon arrival. Isnât it a family dinner? What is he playing at now?
It looked like a dinner party with the hustle and bustle.
When Mo Suqing and Ye Zhongjue got off the car, everyone greeted them at the door.
Mo Zhenfeng walked to them first. âZhongjue,â he smiled, âyou are back! Come on.
You must be hungry. Letâs get inside and have dinner.â
Then, he looked at his business partners and added, âZhongjue, my old pals all wanted to meet you when I told them you were coming home. I hope you donât mind.â
Mo Suqing was enraged. How can you be so brazen, father?
She wasnât blind. She could see what he was doing and it made her furious. However, Ye Zhongjue squeezed her hand, telling her not to flip out.
âThatâs alright. I can understand,â he replied.
He had said âI can understandâ instead of âI donât mind.â Mo Suqing could feel he wasnât too happy about the arrangement, either. He probably hadnât expected Mo Zhenfeng could go to the extreme of shamelessness.
It was essentially a family-dinner-turned-business-meal. Mo Suqing was very unhappy.
Bai Lian, knowing who Ye Zhongjue was now, kept flattering him. The smugness she had sported last time they were here had disappeared completely. She even pushed Mo Sulian toward Ye Zhongjue.
Mo Sulian, who had always been interested in him, almost pressed her body against Ye Zhongjue.
Mo Suqing didnât fly into a rage in front of these strangers. In the end, she muttered something about feeling ill and dragged Ye Zhongjue upstairs.