"I don’t want you to go on a business trip, especially not for such a long time, when it’s so cold at night now."
Her coquettish whine somehow made his heart feel uneasy.
Mu Yichen had thought she would just casually dismiss the matter.
His deep voice replied.
Qin Mu knew she shouldn’t take his words seriously at the moment, but she couldn’t help but long for them to be true.
"Mumu, call me ’husband’."
"I like calling you Mu Yichen!"
Everyone loved to call him ’President Mu’ or ’Young Master Yichen’, or many women secretly called him ’husband’, but very few women directly addressed him by his name, Mu Yichen.
"Call me ’husband’ now."
He coaxed in a low tone.
"Will you wait for me to return?"
Mu Yichen pressed his forehead against hers.
"Mhm! I’ll wait for you to come back!"
How could she not wait? That was all she could do.
Ever since she came to Rongcheng, he hardly went on business trips. She suddenly remembered the past and couldn’t hold back a low chuckle, asking him: "All those business trips to Paris before... you were actually going to see me, weren’t you?"
"Who else, if not you?"
Mu Yichen also laughed helplessly. For whom else in his life would he go to such lengths?
Lying to her about going on business trips, acting coldly on purpose as if he didn’t want to spare her another glance, making her think he went to see her out of pity for her being alone there. But actually?
He did it all for her; everything he did, even gaining power in the days to come, was all for her.
He hoped that one day when she returned, he wouldn’t be limited by others everywhere he went, he wouldn’t be unable to provide her with a warm home.
He doted on her and asked again and again. It was only a month, but he really couldn’t let go. No matter how composed she could be now, he was just afraid – afraid that she would be bullied, afraid that she would be hurt, even though she might pretend she didn’t care.
"On the days I’m not here, I’ve already told Zhao Huai and Jiang Zhiyuan to be at your beck and call. You can seek them out for anything, and also, you have to call me, okay?"
He gazed at her, earnestly instructing.
Qin Mu agreed, and seeing how worried he was, she truly wished she could become something small that he could keep in his pocket and take with him.
"Don’t agree so readily now and then not tell me anything later. If I have to hear something I shouldn’t from someone else again, I’ll be seriously upset."
"Don’t worry, I won’t let that happen!"
He cherished her, so she cherished him all the more.
The bedroom became increasingly quiet. Huanhuan was still waiting in grandma’s arms for Dad and Mom, not expecting to fall asleep without seeing them.
Later, Feng Fanghua went to put Huanhuan to bed, and out of curiosity, she approached their bedroom door. But finding no sound inside, and not one to eavesdrop at doors, she quickly left.
In truth, she felt sorry for her granddaughter; it was just a business trip, and yet they made it seem as if they would be parted for years. Even with their elders and Huanhuan around, they seemed oblivious to all but each other.
Later, Feng Fanghua returned to her own room and said to Mu Zihao, "Your dear son is utterly spoiled by that girl. A simple business trip turned into a scene of life-and-death separation. There are elders here, and there’s Huanhuan, but he cares for nothing and nobody except for his woman."
Mu Zihao changed into his pajamas and looked up at the woman who was going on and on: "Mrs. Mu, can’t you lay off the jealousy a bit?"
"Who says I’m jealous?"
The woman, who had her suspicions pinpointed, expressed her resistance.
"You’re not jealous, you’re not jealous," Mu Zihao nodded repeatedly.
"Hmph! Can I ever be jealous enough? How many years did he leave me behind for that girl since he was young? He didn’t even want to come home for the New Year. Do you remember how I begged him to come back for the New Year those years?"
"But he has come back now, hasn’t he? Not just the elder one, but he also brought you a little one. Aren’t you happy to see Huanhuan?"
Mu Zihao knew she was just venting, so he spoke in ways that would soften her heart.
"Well, that’s true; of course, I dote on my granddaughter. But Qin Mu, that girl, really is the bane of my life."
Feng Fanghua let down her hair, which had been tied up all day, and muttered as she headed to the bathroom.
"Maybe in your past life, you were mother and daughter!"
Mu Zihao mused, thinking of how people say that enemies from past lives become family in this one. Maybe Qin Mu and Feng Fanghua had a similar relationship. As Feng Fanghua reached the bathroom door, she heard this comment and involuntarily glanced back at him, chuckling helplessly before pushing the door open and entering the bathroom.
In the morning, when Qin Mu opened her eyes, he was already gone. She had woken up at the sound of the door, but since he couldn’t bear to say goodbye, she didn’t call out to him.
It had been a long time since the two of them had been apart for so long. Just thinking about the upcoming month without him at home, unable to have meals with him or sleep beside him, made her heart feel especially hollow.