He held her tight in his embrace, bowed his head, and asked her in an affectionate tone, "What will it take for you to forgive me?"
"I’m not planning to forgive you." Su Ruanruan said.
Self-contained yet capricious.
Bao Jingyan’s heart felt warm as he coaxed her, "How about I stay with you while you sleep, would that be okay?"
"No, I’ll sleep on my own." She shooed him away.
Bao Jingyan took a step back.
"Fine, I’ll come back when you’re willing to talk to me, willing to sleep with me, okay?"
Su Ruanruan was both angry and embarrassed.
She shooed him away again.
Bao Jingyan did not force her and really left.
He went to the courtyard and smoked a cigarette.
In his heart, he silently thought about what Su Ruanruan had said.
She said, it was for his sake.
While his heart was still warm, a silver sports car drove back.
Bao Ziqi strode towards the hall, but paused when he passed by Bao Jingyan.
The brothers sized each other up.
Bao Ziqi spoke with a mocking tone, "What, got kicked out?"
Bao Jingyan slowly exhaled a ring of smoke.
He licked his lips and chuckled lightly, "That’s right! Ruanruan said I didn’t respect her, embarrassed her in front of you, undermining her image as a good sister-in-law."
Bao Jingyan went on, "What about you? Xia Minglan won’t keep you?"
Bao Ziqi was poked where it hurt.
It wasn’t that she wouldn’t keep him, he just wasn’t interested.
But there was nothing to boast about in that.
He walked away quickly, not wanting to deal with Bao Jingyan any longer.
Behind him, Bao Jingyan let out a light laugh.
Madam Bao’s leg illness came on fiercely and was dragging on longer than usual.
Su Ruanruan could only stay a few more days.
Bao Mingyuan also felt guilty and visited without regard to time.
Bao Ziqi and Bao Jingyan also came often, but Su Ruanruan mostly ignored them.
Bao Jingyan wasn’t in a hurry.
He was willing to indulge his little girl!
Bao Mingyuan, however, was getting somewhat anxious.
He heard that Mu Jiu’s mother would be discharged from the hospital tomorrow, but there was no sign of action from Mu Jiu’s end.
Ruanruan might lose face because of this!
The night before, Bao Mingyuan stayed in his office for a long time. He and his lawyer repeatedly discussed how to save face in this situation.
Lawyer Wang understood social nuances well.
He pushed his glasses up and said, "It’s going to be difficult! Others will see it as President Bao giving a bit of face to the family’s kids."
"What can we do? We can’t force Mu Jiu’s head down to agree, can we?" Bao Mingyuan rubbed his temples and bitter-smiled, "This kid has really stumbled this time!"
Lawyer Wang pondered for a moment and nodded, "That’s the only way."
After sending Lawyer Wang off, Secretary Dong returned.
She hesitated to speak.
"What is it?" Bao Mingyuan asked.
Secretary Dong said softly, "I’ve heard that when Mu Jiu’s mother is discharged tomorrow, the biggest media outlets in Jiangcheng are planning to broadcast it live."
"Whose idea was this?" Bao Mingyuan was somewhat annoyed, "Are they really going to keep dragging Ruanruan into this?"
Secretary Dong didn’t speak.
Bao Mingyuan stared at her for a while, then tentatively asked, "Was it the Madam?"
Secretary Dong shook her head, "I can’t find out."
But Bao Mingyuan was even more convinced that it was all Mrs. Bao’s doing.
It was all to make things difficult for Su Ruanruan!
Thus, his feelings towards his wife cooled off a bit more.
The next day, Mr. Mu Jiu’s mother was discharged from the hospital.
The Bao family members arrived at the restaurant early.
Mrs. Bao was especially gentle today, she said to Su Ruanruan, "Would you like to visit Mu Jiu’s mother? She’s being discharged today."
Su Ruanruan hummed a response.
She said, "I’ll visit tomorrow, at the Mu Qun’s."
This child really has the patience.