In the next moment, she saw his smile had begun to fade and he looked slightly bewildered.
She had expected a reaction like that from him, though. She lowered her eyes slowly and bit her bottom lip. Then, after a long pause, she asked, “Qing, you do know what I mean, don’t you?”
As he looked at her, the smile on his face completely disappeared and his eyes became indifferent. “What do you mean?” He already knew what she was talking about, but he wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. But when she looked up at him, she saw the unforgiving look behind his eyes that warned of an incoming burst of anger. If I keep going…
“I want to register Ye Moxuan in my household,” she blurted out.
Then, his eyes turned more threatening. “Do you know what you’re saying?”
“I do.” She lifted her head and looked intently at him. “Since I’ve let it out, I’m not changing my mind anymore. I’m an adult. I have the power to make my own decisions.”
“By that, are you saying I did something I shouldn’t have in the past? Or are you trying to tell me to back off from your life now?” A bitter smile crept up his lips as he grimaced.
The look on his face had made her heart feel heavy. She looked down and her voice softened. “Qing, I know you’ve always treated me very well. But…”
“Let me ask you something. Did you already forget about all the hurtful things he did to you in the past?”
She could not respond to that. Of course not. How could I forget? Some memories are just ingrained in our bones. Even if we were reincarnated in our next life, these memories would not be erased.
“There is a reason for everything. Back then, I did some hurtful things to him too. We’re even now.”
His expression changed and he stepped forward. “You’re letting him off just like that? Our Han family’s little sister is that foolish? What about what you said before you returned?’
“Qing!” Her voice got louder as she stepped back. “I’m not being fooled. This is my own decision.”
“So, you didn’t come here to discuss this with me. You only came to inform me, is that right?”
She was speechless. How did he expect her to answer that? She had decided that she wanted to be with Ye Moxuan forever, so she needed to get the household registration book to register his name in it. But, she also felt like she had to tell Han Qing about it.
“I am discussing this with you,” she said with her head down. “But… if you don’t agree with this, I won’t give in either.”
His gaze grew frighteningly dark. All of a sudden, he caught a glimpse of the diamond ring on her finger. The expression on his face turned furious. He stepped forward and pulled her wrist up to look—it was indeed a diamond ring. How did he fail to notice it at dinner earlier?
Now that he thought about it, she had intentionally kept that hand under the table throughout the entire dinner—for fear that he would notice it. Hmph! The audacity!
“Qing?” He had gripped her hand so tightly that it hurt her. She frowned. “Let go of me first. You’re hurting me.”
“So you do know what pain is? Did you forget how he hurt you five years ago?”
“Qing.” She struggled to free her hand. “Let go of me, and I will explain everything to you.”
He looked at her with a spiteful look. “Forget it.” He let go of her hand abruptly and took a few steps back. Without even acknowledging her, he turned his back on her. “I’m not giving you the household registration book; nor do you have to explain any of this.”
“Qing—”
“If you still see me as your older brother, then just act like you never brought this up. Leave.”
“But I came here for this; I—”
He sneered. “I thought you came home to have a meal. I didn’t think you would come just for this book. You are truly a good little sister.”
“Qing.” At that point, she did not know how to explain herself any further. If she was set on getting the book that day, then he would be angry and even disappointed in her. Moreover, if she still insisted, she might end up hurting him. Should I insist? Or… should I end it here and come back another day?
“It’s fine if you won’t let me have it today. I’ll leave for now and come back another time.” With that, she turned to leave the study.
It was only when she was out of the study that Han Qing turned around to look, pensively, in the direction she left in.
When she walked down the stairs, she realized that Yan and Little Bean were already waiting for her. After that dispute with Han Qing, she imagined she looked slightly crestfallen. With a soft sigh, she reset her composure, then walked downstairs.
Yan carefully observed her face. “What happened? Did you argue with your brother?”
“No.” She shook her head. “We won’t be eating dinner here tonight. Let’s get going.”
Yan turned sullen. “No way. We’re going back already? I haven’t even had a proper conversation with your brother yet…”
“How about… I leave Little Bean here? You can stay and look after him.”
“That’s fine by me!”
After their talk, Yan stayed with Little Bean at the Han Residence while Han Muzi headed home first. However, she did not have a car or a driver to take her home. She walked out of the Han Residence and onto the streets by herself. Although she held her phone in her hand, she had no intention of calling a taxi.
Her mind was still stuck on the household registration book. If Han Qing doesn’t agree, how will I be able to convince him?
She loved her brother, so she could not bring herself to hurt him or make him angry. But seeing as how he got so angry at the mention of the book, she was afraid that if she kept talking about it…
Her head started to hurt and she reached up to press her temples. This was not going to be easy. The problem was that her brother was unwilling to accept Ye Moxuan. Since that was the case, did Ye Moxuan himself have to go and meet Han Qing to solve the problem? But…
Suddenly, her phone started to vibrate. She glanced down and saw that it was a call from Ye Moxuan. She idled for a bit before answering. “Hello?”
“What were you so deep in thought about?”
“Huh?” His question left her dumbfounded.
“You’ve been walking for around ten minutes now. Are you going to walk all the way back to Seabay Villa?”
In that instant, her head shot up. She searched in front of her but did not see him. At the same time, a low chuckle came from the phone. “Turn around.”
Han Muzi swung her head back. Under the scorching sun, a familiar-looking vehicle was following not too far behind her.
