Whether I have it or not, it’s the same for me? Han Muzi wasn’t convinced. To this day, she had not forgotten that one night while they were abroad—the night Yan had gotten herself drunk and came down with a fever. She had clearly heard… what Han Qing said to Yan when they were outside.
Based on how Han Qing looked as well as the tone of his voice at that time, Han Muzi was sure he felt a spark with Yan. However, after that night, they acted as if nothing had happened between them, and he quickly left. Moreover, since they got back, they have had no contact with each other. Han Muzi was certain he had feelings for Yan, but as to why he was not willing to try it out, she could not—for the life of her—figure it out. Just what had happened?
She opened her mouth, but Ye Moxuan’s words rang in her ears. We already have so little time together; do you still plan on sticking your nose into others’ affairs? Thus, she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue. Forget it; I promised Moxuan that I will stay out of their matters. Why am I still bringing it up?
The allotted time of five minutes agreed between her and Ye Moxuan was nearly up, so she decided not to continue with the topic. Hence, she said, “Alright, I understand. Since you have already decided in your heart, I won’t pry further. Moxuan is waiting for me downstairs, so I’ll go back for today.”
“Go on then.” He nodded.
Turning around, she took two steps before she turned back to look at him with a hesitant expression. “Qing, did you call me back today, just to have dinner together?”
Han Qing’s fingers tapping against the desk paused and his gaze wavered slightly, but his voice was neutral. “Why else?”
Why else? After giving him a fixated glance, she withdrew her gaze. “It’s nothing; I’ll take my leave then.” Afterward, she did not turn back again and left the study hurriedly. She was unaware that after she left, the man sitting before the desk lowered his eyes and his gaze became dim.
When Han Muzi reached downstairs, she saw Ye Moxuan walking toward her from afar. Calculating the minutes that had passed, she seemed to be running late. She cleared her throat slightly and walked forward a little guiltily. His thin lips were curved in a slight, faint smile. On the surface, nothing stood out, but she could sense the temper hiding behind his nonchalant smile.
“Five minutes have passed.” Looking at his watch, he reminded her softly.
Light though his voice might have been, she heard the undertone of danger lurking beneath it. She smiled as she walked over and covered his watch. “Your watch must be moving too fast. I checked the time while I was in the study; I came down in exactly five minutes. You can’t fault me for needing time to walk there and back again, right?”
“Hmm?” He arched his brows.
She continued, “Moreover, we did not say anything about the five minutes including the time I needed to walk there and back. You can’t blame me for that. Besides, I didn’t say all that much to my brother anyway.”
“Didn’t say all that much?” He narrowed his eyes slightly. “If you didn’t say much, would you have needed more than five minutes?”
“I just asked about his daily affairs and showed some concern toward my brother. He is my family; am I not even allowed to talk about this stuff with him?”
Now that things had come to this, it would be unacceptable if he continued to push her. There might not exist a person named Han Qing in his memories, but it was her brother after all. It would be bad to take it too far. Therefore, Ye Moxuan decided to let it go. His large hands circled around her waist and pulled her into his embrace. “So, are you done?”
Han Muzi stared at him. “I’m done.”
“Let’s go home.”
…
After signing the contract with Lin Xuzheng, Zhou Xiaoyan thanked the other party. She also claimed that if he liked the noodles she made, she would make it for him anytime he wanted, or if he visited her shop. Smiling faintly, he silently accepted her offer.
Afterward, Yan began to prepare for the store’s opening. The store had been her idea; now that it had been realized, many issues needed to be taken seriously—many things had to be taken care of before the store could be opened. Thankfully, she wasn’t the only one running up and down handling the preparations; Luo Huimei was helping her with it too.
However, Mr. Zhou had yet to be discharged from the hospital. After rushing about for two days, they decided to put things aside until he was discharged from the hospital. When he found out about it, he nonchalantly waved his hand dismissively. “It’s fine. You guys should go about your business. I won’t die from this, so don’t worry about me.”
“Dad, we can’t do that. We have to take care of you first. The opening of the store has been decided, so it’s fine to take it easy for a bit.”
Luo Huimei, who was sitting by the bedside eating grapes, nodded her head in agreement at Yan’s words. “That’s right.” Then, she stuffed another grape into her mouth.
Looking at her actions, Mr. Zhou closed his eyes in frustration. “Will you stop focusing on eating? You should be taking better care of our daughter. Look at how thin she has become since she came back. Why isn’t she gaining any weight despite staying at home? Forget gaining weight; why does she seem like she’s getting thinner?”
Luo Huimei became unhappy at his words and spat back at him, “What do you mean I only focus on feeding myself? It’s not that I want to say this, Zhou, but haven’t you gone overboard? What has your daughter being thin got to do with me? You should know best how delicious the dishes I cook every day are! Besides, let me make this clear with you; if it wasn’t because your daughter was running back and forth to visit you in the hospital, would she be this thin?”
Rendered speechless, the man could say nothing in response.
Yan spluttered, “Dad, Mom, stop that. I’m thin because I’m on a diet; it has nothing to do with either of you.”
“On a diet?” The Zhou couple looked at her in unison. “You’re already so thin, why are you on a diet? Don’t become like all the other girls out there; if you become as thin as a bamboo stick, who would want you? What’s so great about being so thin that a gust of strong wind could blow you away?”
Yan’s mouth twitched. She wasn’t on a diet; her weight was always well-maintained. However, she had too many things on her plate recently. Coupled with the period when she wasn’t eating properly before, she immediately lost a lot of weight when she had too much on her mind.
At that thought, she instantly said, “Oh, I won’t be that bad. Once things on the storefront have calmed down, I will quickly make up for it. Don’t worry, I will take care of myself.”
As time passed, Ye Moxuan gave a call to Little Bean, informing him that he was sending people over in two days to escort him and Yuchi Jin back to China.
“Daddy, if I’m going back with Great-Grandfather in two days, does that mean you have settled everything on your side?”
“Yeah.” Ye Moxuan nodded; he had settled everything he needed to do here.
Little Bean continued to ask, “How did you handle it, Daddy?”
“Why does a little kid like you need to ask so many questions? When you come back, make sure to spend more time with your mommy.”
The boy snorted loudly at those words. “I don’t need bad Daddy to tell me that; I will definitely stay by Mommy’s side.”
