“Eh?” Li Beinian was a little surprised. “Why are you calling?”
When Mu Xichen heard her response as he was opening the door, he felt that something was amiss.
Immediately, he grabbed her phone and put it on speaker mode.
Sure enough, a male voice sounded.
“Why can’t it be me?” Mu Donglin said in his usual cold and deep voice. There was an odd hint of underlying tenderness.
To be fair, in all the twenty odd years they had known each other, Mu Xichen had never heard Mu Donglin speak so gently.
Mu Xichen glanced at Li Beinian with a smirk.
Li Beinian was slightly annoyed by his stare and shot him a glare.
Mu Xichen lazily shut the door. He did not speak, but instead, pointed at the cell phone, signaling for her to continue speaking with Mu Donglin.
Li Beinian reached for her phone, but Mu Xichen quickly withdrew his hand.
The man was much taller than her, so there was no way she could grab the device from him, if he wasn’t going to let her.
Realizing this, Li Beinian raised her eyebrow and asked, “What’s up?”
Of course, the question was directed at Mu Donglin.
Although she sounded far away, Mu Donglin heard her.
Naturally, her response told him that she did not welcome his call.
As expected.
Mu Donglin brushed that thought aside and continued, “It has been a while since I last saw you. Happy New Year.”
“Oh, Happy New Year.”
Li Beinian grabbed Mu Xichen’s hand and started to head further into the house, at the same time replying to Mu Donglin in an uninterested manner.
Mu Xichen was holding the cell phone in one hand, while his other hand was being held by Li Beinian, who was walking towards the sofa. Once seated, the man pulled her towards him, so that now she was sitting on his lap.
Li Beinian found a comfortable position in the man’s arms and snuggled up.
The voice on the other end of the line spoke again, “I believe you know about Dad’s condition. His health is deteriorating by the day. Lung cancer is very difficult to treat. Dad hopes that you and Xichen can come home for a visit. Even if New Year’s Eve has come and gone, come home for a meal.”
It was a long speech, and very unlike Mu Donglin to be saying so much.
Mu Xichen knew Mu Donglin to be a man of very few words.
There was something annoying and repulsive about him, even if he only stood there and did nothing.
But now, this annoying man was speaking so gently and at length with his wife over the phone. Tsk, this made him more annoying than ever.
Mu Xichen kept silent all throughout. He raised an eyebrow at Li Beinian and waited for her to continue.
She replied, “Your parents have already called me and told me about this. I said I’d ask my hubby when he gets back. Didn’t they inform you?”
Mu Donglin was silent for a moment.
Of course they did.
Only, he couldn’t find any other reason to make this call.
Just by hearing her voice, Mu Donglin could imagine the look on Li Beinian’s face.
The image of her was vivid in his mind, he could almost see her undeniable sense of playfulness and confidence.
This was something that Lin Kerou lacked, and it was also this lethal charm that attracted him most to Li Beinian.
Mu Donglin felt even more indignant now. After a few seconds of silence, he said, “It looks like you’re getting along well with Xichen.”
“Of course. He’s my husband. How could a couple in a normal healthy relationship not get along well?”
She emphasized the words “a couple in a normal healthy relationship” in a sarcastic manner.
Feeling a complex mix of emotions, Mu Donglin smiled. “It seems that you’re really living a happy life. However, have you any idea what Mu Xichen has been up to recently?”
Li Beinian pricked up her ears. “What has he been up to?”