"Yan Mei? You’re here!" Lin Xu said as she placed a bowl of rice on the table as she stared at Yan Mei who walked in with Fuhan.
Smiling, Yan Mei ran towards Lin Xu, hugging her tightly, "Hmm... Lin Xu, can I stay over for some days?"
"Of course you can. This is your second home, have you forgotten? But what about your parents?"
"Well, in that case, go into the kitchen and get yourself a bowl and chopsticks." Smiling, Yan Mei nodded and went off into the kitchen as Lin Xu took her seat and so did Fuhan.
Fuhan tried his best to avoid Lin Xu’s gaze but she didn’t even have time for him.
"Mo Yuen, did you see Mo Ying?" he asked as he looked around but couldn’t find him.
Shaking his head, the little boy answered, "Papa Ying did arrive sometime ago but he and Mama had a little argument."
"We could hear their voices from outside, it wasn’t funny at all," Yiling added. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝗇𝗲𝘵
"Then Papa Ying left and he hasn’t returned since then... Mama won’t say anything and we won’t bother asking her because when Mama is upset, she could scold us for the littlest things," Mo Bao said as well as the kids exchanged looks and sighed.
While eating, Lin Xu flashed a quick glance at Mo Ying’s seat. It was empty as expected.
She felt kind of guilty and confused at the same time. Was she too pushy or rude? Why was he so upset with her? And most especially, why did he kiss her?
"Papa Ying is here!" Mo Bao announced as Mo Ying stepped into the yard.
"Mo Ying, welcome back... haven’t seen you all day." Yan Mei smiled slightly.
Nodding, Mo Ying said casually, "Sorry about the wedding... trust me, there are so many more men ready to marry you... better luck next time."
With that, he took his seat beside Yuen, who was staring at Lin Xu together with Yiling and Mo Bao.
"Mama and Papa argued earlier. Tonight’s dinner is going to be awkward," Yiling whispered, and the two nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, Lin Xu was trying her best not to meet his eyes as she focused on her food completely.
Mo Ying also didn’t speak to her; he also ate his food quietly.
Seeing that, Fuhan and Yan Mei exchanged glances and just shook their heads and sighed.
When suddenly, Mo Ying dropped his chopsticks and lifted his left hand up, directing it toward Lin Xu as he then cleaned the corner of her mouth, which had a meat sauce around it.
His action took them all in awe as they stared at Lin Xu, expecting her next reaction.
Lin Xu froze when Mo Ying wiped the corner of her mouth. Everyone at the table went quiet.
"I—I can do that myself," she said, her face red.
Mo Ying shrugged. "You were making a mess."
Fuhan coughed, trying to ease the awkward situation. "Umm, t-the food is nice, Lin Xu."
"Y-yeah," Yiling said quickly. "Mama’s cooking is the best."
"I’ve never had anything like it before," Yan Mei also added.
Lin Xu smiled a little and went back to eating. The table stayed quiet. Yan Mei nudged Fuhan and whispered, "Did you see that?"
He sighed. "Everyone did."
After dinner, Lin Xu went to wash the dishes, and Mo Ying followed her. She stopped, not looking at him. "You shouldn’t have done that in front of everyone."
He leaned on the door. "Do what?" he acted confused.
"Wipe my mouth like that," she said quietly. "You’re confusing the kids."
"They already know we’re married," he replied. "Why keep pushing me away?"
"Noo, they ’think’ we are married... totally two different things. And anyway, why are you here... I thought you were angry with me earlier," she said, turning to face him.
"Yeah... because you once again judged me wrongly," he said.
"But that didn’t give you the right to kiss me like that? Why did you even do that?" she shot back.
They stared at each other, neither speaking.
"Why do you want to know?"
"Why do I want to know? Well, maybe because it’s my lips and ’I,’ the ’owner’ of those ’lips,’ believe I at least have the right to know why you smashed them with yours," she said as she folded her hands, waiting for his response.
Mo Ying stared at her for a long moment, his eyes calm but unreadable. "You really want to know?"
"Yes," Lin Xu said firmly. "And don’t you dare give me one of your cold answers again."
He sighed and stepped closer, lowering his voice. "Because you wouldn’t stop talking."
Her eyes widened. "What?"
"You talk too much when you’re angry," he said simply. "That was the only way to shut you up."
Lin Xu blinked, completely taken aback. "You—" she pointed at him, speechless, "you kissed me just to shut me up?!"
Mo Ying shrugged lightly. "It worked, didn’t it?"
Her mouth fell open. "You’re unbelievable!" she said, turning away to pick up a bowl just to keep her hands busy.
He watched her quietly, a small smirk tugging at his lips. "You didn’t exactly push me away either."
That made her freeze. She slowly turned to glare at him. "Don’t get the wrong idea. I was just too shocked to react."
"Hmm." He crossed his arms. "If you say so."
"I know so!" she snapped, cheeks red. "Now leave before I splash water on you."
"Alright," he said, raising his hands in surrender but still smiling faintly. "I’ll leave... for now."
As he walked out, Lin Xu could still feel her heart pounding. She gripped the edge of the table tightly and muttered under her breath, "Annoying idiot..."
Just then, Yan Mei ran into the kitchen, her face showing panick.
"Yan Mei, What’s wrong?"
"Lin Xu . You have to come outside this minute.. h-he’s.. he’s here." She stammered.
Raising her eyebrow, Lin stopped what she was doing and asked.
"He’s here? Who the heck are you talking about!?"
"It’s Mo Dan.. Your Husband!"