“Hey, Mom.”
“An An.” Xia Jin suppressed her emotions before continuing, “Did something happen to you while you were out this time?”
Ye An became flustered. Did she find out about her marriage?
That wasn’t likely. She didn’t know how to use Weibo, and there was even less of a chance of her contacting Ye Yuan Nian.
“No, I’m good. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, Mom was just worried and wanted to come to see you.”
Ye An’s heart skipped a beat, and she immediately said, “You don’t need to do that Mom; I’m doing great. Don’t worry.” After a pause, she continued, “If I have time off for Mid-Autumn Festival, I’ll come back and visit you.”
Xia Jin didn’t speak much. After a moment of silence, she ended the call with an, “All right.”
Ye An stood in the garden and looked at the dark screen of her phone, feeling a bit uneasy.
These two have developed a rift in their relationship as mother and daughter in the past few years because of Ye Yuan Nian. There was a time period in which Xia Jin didn’t even want to talk to her, but now she took the initiative to check in on her… could it be that she figured it out?
Ye An hesitated momentarily before putting her phone away and going back.
Xie Shuo had already gotten up from the chair, so Ye An reached out to support him. She asked, “Are we going to Grandpa’s house for the Mid-Autumn Festival?”
Xie Shuo gave a light “En” as a reply.
Ye An said, “We’re not staying the night, right? I need to go somewhere for two days.”
Xie Shuo hadn’t seen her travel by herself since getting married. He felt that it was a bit strange and asked, “For what?”
Ye An deliberated and said, “I want to go visit an elder.”
If they were an elder from the Ye family, she would have said it outright or have made him accompany her. Xie Shuo understood and didn’t ask any more questions before replying, “We won’t stay overnight.”
Ye An was relieved.
It was time to return home and visit, or else her mom would begin to suspect.
Sigh, she had it hard.
On the other end, Xia Jin held her phone in hand and stood at the door for a long time before going inside.
Instead of going to the kitchen to cook, she went to her bedroom to pack.
—-
The next day was cloudy and windy.
Xia Jin exited the train station and found a hotel room to settle down. Afterward, she went downstairs and hailed a car from the side of the road.
It was already five in the evening by the time she arrived at the Ye residence.
The sky was dark, and the chilly autumn winds blew around the house.
She hadn’t set foot in this residence in too long, and the place appeared both familiar and unfamiliar.
She rang the doorbell, and a servant came to open the door soon after. The latter didn’t recognize her and asked, “You are…?”
Xia Jin wrapped her dark red shawl around herself and coldly said, “I’m looking for Ye Yuan Nian.”
Noticing her bad attitude, the servant didn’t let her in and instead said, “Ma’am, can you–”
Xia Jin had no patience left and didn’t want to bother with formalities, so she pushed the door open herself and rushed inside aggressively with her heels.
The servant let out a sigh: Could it be some mistress that Mr. Ye had kept on the outside coming to their house? But that doesn’t seem very likely considering their ages!
Xia Jin burst into the living room and didn’t find Ye Yuan Nian. Instead, she came across Jiang Luo, who had just come downstairs.
The two froze at the same time.
Before coming, Xia Jin had purposely changed clothes and put on makeup at the hotel. Her style was completely different from Jiang Luo’s gentle appearance. Jiang Luo’s beauty resembled a painting with delicate eyebrows and was reminiscent of her past youthfulness. Xia Jin was striking, bold, and once shone brilliantly, but her whole persona became wan and sallow after experiencing the past few years.
There was thick tension between the two of them.
“Madam…” The servant rushed in and explained to Jiang Luo, “She insisted on coming in.”
Jiang Luo stepped down and told her, “Go pour some tea.”
Xia Jin interrupted her with a cold face. “I don’t need any tea. Where’s Ye Yuan Nian?”
Jiang Luo noticed the anger in her expression and was able to guess why she came. She said, “He’s not here…”
As she spoke, footsteps sounded at the doorway.
Ye Yuan Nian stopped, and his expression changed as he saw the extra figure in his living room.
“What… are you doing here?”
Xia Jin turned around to look at him, her lips curling. “Aren’t you very clear on why I came?”
Ye Yuan Nian froze for a while, and his aged face turned pale with various expressions.
Xia Jin’s tone became even more mocking upon seeing his expression. “You don’t dare say it?”
Ye Yuan Nian said guiltily, “You found out about An An’s marriage? Why don’t you sit down first, and I’ll explain it to you.”
Xia Jin found it difficult to hear him say the word “marriage,” and she almost got up to slap him.
“I don’t have the energy to listen to you explain, Ye Yuan Nian. I’m asking you this did you force An An to marry a blind man?”
Ye Yuan Nian knew that she was angry, so he could only try to calm her down as much as possible. “Calm down first. An An agreed to this herself, and with the Xie family’s status, she won’t ever have to endure any hardships after marriage.”
“Bullsh*t!” Xia Jin couldn’t restrain her anger and scolded him. “If the Xie family is so great, why didn’t you marry her daughter to him?”
She directed her gaze at Jiang Luo, and Jiang Luo’s expression changed. “You…”
One was an ex-wife; the other was the current wife. This scene resembled the myths from the Asura.
Fearing that the two would quarrel, Ye Yuan Nian hurriedly urged Jiang Luo, “You go upstairs first. I’ll talk to her.”
Jiang Luo was also angry, so she coldly glared at Xia Jin before ascending the stairs.
Ye Yuan Nian turned back around to face Xia Jin. “If you have something to say, say it nicely…”
Before he could continue to defend himself, Xia Jin sneered at him. “Say it nicely? We’ve reached this point, and you still want me to say it nicely? When you forced Ye An into marriage, you should have considered what would happen today!” She glared coldly at him and said sharply, “You used your biological daughter to pave the way for your own prosperity. Ye Yuan Nian, was your conscience eaten by a dog?”
Hearing these biting words, Ye Yuan Nian’s face paled. He became angry because of this touchy subject. “Xia Jin!”
“What, am I wrong?”
Ye Yuan Nian’s face was white, and he was speechless for a long time. He was unsure if he was angry or ashamed, so he had nothing to say.
With her anger expressed, Xia Jin calmed down. She said with reddened eyes, “I had her come here for you to look after her, not to let you abuse her like this.”
Seeing her in this way, Ye Yuan Nian’s tone softened, and his expression showed a trace of fatigue. “I really didn’t force her in this matter. I’ve asked her multiple times about it.”
Since the topic was brought up, Ye Yuan Nian also found the situation strange. In the past two years, Ye An had only visited the Ye residence a handful of times. However, when she suddenly returned home for a meal one day, she randomly asked about the Eldest Young Master of the Xie family and even mentioned the topic of the Xie family was looking for a daughter-in-law.
She was silent for a while as they talked about it and suddenly replied jokingly, “Does the Xie family have any special requirements? If I go see them, would they approve of me?”
He only began to consider this matter and ask about her thoughts after she spoke about it. If she was unwilling at the time, there was nothing he could do, even if he wanted to get closer to the Xie family.
Xia Jin didn’t believe in his explanation, but she didn’t argue with him anymore. She asked coldly, “Where is the Xie residence? Take me there. ”
Ye Yuan Nian hurriedly advised, “They’ve already been married. What’s the point of going over there now? If something bad happens, An An will be the one to suffer in the end. I think the Xie family treats her–”
Xia Jin interrupted him without a trace of politeness, “You don’t need to worry about that.”
Ye Yuan Nian replied, “It’s already late. Can we go tomorrow?”
Xia Jin looked up and said with a determined expression, “If you don’t want to take me there, then give me the address. I’ll go there myself.”
“……”
In the end, Ye Yuan Nian compromised. “Give me a minute; I’ll go change.”
—-
Xie residence.
Ye An finished massaging Xie Shuo’s temples and helped him up. She glanced outside and said, “It looks like it’s about to rain outside, so let’s not take a walk today. How about we watch a movie at home?”
Xie Shuo turned his head, and his expression clearly said, “I can’t see, so there’s no point.”
Ye An clung to his arm, acting like a spoiled child. “You may not be able to see, but you can listen. Just stay with me; I haven’t watched a movie in a while.”
Xie Shuo was trapped by her and couldn’t refuse, so he acquiesced in the end.
Ye An dragged him to their home movie theater, took out their DVD binder, and began to pick movies out. In the end, she chose a highly rated suspenseful horror movie.
Xie Shuo was beside her anyway, so there was no need to be afraid.
Ye An inserted the DVD and sat on the sofa with Xie Shuo. She took a blanket and covered their legs.
Soon, the movie began to play on the screen. It was dark at first but began to brighten up soon afterward.
The quality of the graphics and sound effects was top-notch, and the atmosphere was perfect.
The room was pitch-dark, and the only light came from in front of them, which made their surroundings even more suspenseful.
Ye An stared at the screen with a tense expression, not even daring to take a breath. She was originally holding a pillow in her arms, but when a jump scare appeared with eerie sound effects, she was so frightened that the pillow dropped and rolled to the ground.
She didn’t bend over to pick it up and chose to hold onto Xie Shuo instead.
The man’s fingers were slender and smooth, and she felt quite secure holding it.
Xie Shuo felt the strength in her grip and turned to “look” at her with a blank expression. Although he didn’t look happy, he didn’t break free of her hold.
Not long after, there was another creepy sound.
This time, Ye An was so frightened that she hid directly in Xie Shuo’s arms and clutched his clothes.
Xie Shuo couldn’t understand why she chose a horror movie if she was going to be this scared.
“I’m scared. Did you hear that voice?” Ye An whispered as she shrank into his arms, staring intently at the screen.
The body in his arms was soft, and the breaths on his chest were warm. Xie Shuo leaned against the sofa and suddenly felt a bit warm with the light fragrance enveloping him.
Hearing no response, Ye An looked up at his handsome yet indifferent face. His lips were close, and she was able to hear each of his breaths clearly.
It was easy for amorous feelings to develop in such a dark environment and intimate position.
Ye An felt her heart skip a beat and her face gradually become warm. She raised her head to look into his eyes and momentarily forgot about the movie playing.
Not long later, an arm wrapped firmly around her back and felt its way upwards.
In the dark room, she noticed his Adam’s apple moving and his breathing getting heavier.
Ye An became inexplicably nervous and unconsciously bit her lip.
However, a low voice interrupted her thoughts, feeling like a bucket of cold water was poured over her head.
“If you’re that scared, then don’t watch it.”
Ye An: ???
At this point in time, shouldn’t the plot naturally gravitate towards something more exciting?
After Xie Shuo finished speaking, he moved his hand toward her shoulders.
He didn’t pull her directly off of him, which was probably his last concession.
Ye An was disappointed , and there was a bit of dissatisfaction in her expression.
She let go of him and returned to her spot but couldn’t help but whisper, “Not at all. I really wonder how a person like you has a wife.”
Although she spoke quietly, Xie Shuo had sharp hearing and was able to hear it.
He looked up and said coldly, “You should really ask yourself this question.”
He was implying that as his wife, why should he have to wonder why she wanted to be his spouse?
Ye An: “…”
If you’re so good at arguing, why don’t you go fight the rest of the world?
Ye An was about to get angry, and she yanked the blanket. “I lost my mind, okay!”
I must have been insane to marry you!
Xie Shuo froze the moment his body was exposed to the cold air.
Ye An wrapped the blankets around her, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She picked up the pillow from the ground and threw it at him.
When Xie Shuo was hit by the pillow, his expression sank, and he suddenly asked, “What aren’t you happy with?”
“……”
Ye An immediately blushed, embarrassed and angry. She resembled a cat whose tail had been stepped on. “Who’s unhappy? You want me to be unhappy?”
Hearing her agitated tone, Xie Shuo’s mood lightened, and his lips slowly curved.
Seeing the curve in his lips, Ye An groaned, even more embarrassed. It felt as if she had just run through a crowd naked and even made her feet numb.
The horror movie continued to play on the big screen and emitted weird sound effects from time to time.
She had no place to vent her emotions, so she kicked his leg. “Why don’t you continue your abstinence for the rest of your life then; don’t ever touch a woman!”
Ye An was no longer in the mood to watch the movie, so she got up angrily and turned off the projector.
Xie Shuo didn’t move and continued to sit in the dark.
After turning the projector off, Ye An hesitated for a bit before walking over, picking up the dropped pillow, and nudging his leg with her knee. “We’re not watching anymore; let’s go.”
Xie Shuo leaned forward and reached for her waist by following her side. He suddenly hugged her.
Before Ye An could react, she was already in his lap.
She froze and was inexplicably nervous. “What are you doing?”
Xie Shuo hugged her and suddenly recalled the words she had said during sunset the other day.
“If your eyes don’t heal, we will stay married for a lifetime.”
He paused for a moment before moving his hand up her shoulders and grasping her chin. His fingertips rested on her lips.
Then, he kissed her lightly.
Unlike last time, there was no hostility or anger in his gaze, only tranquility.
Ye An inhaled the clean scent on his body and unconsciously pulled the hem of his shirt closer, her eyes slowly closing.
However, just as their lips softly touched, a knock on the door suddenly sounded––
