After work, Ziyue took the chance to call Ke without Muchen knowing. If Xiyi were to join the MSF, she wouldn't know when she'd see him again. Ke had to know about this.
The line got through, but no one picked up. Ziyue tried again and again to reach her but to no avail. In the end, she frantically approached the nearest staff in the office.
"She had just left on a business trip this afternoon."
"I see, thank you." The dejection in Ziyue's voice was apparent as she exited the office building. She thought about what Xiyi had said before. As much as he had tried to deny it, there was no mistaking the feelings he had for Ke. Which meant he would've told her, right?
"Slowpoke."
A cool and pleasant male voice snapped her back to her senses as a pair of black leather shoes came into view. Slowly, her eyes trailed up to find Muchen pinning her with a dissatisfied frown. Impatience was written all over his face, but the hint of concern in his eyes told her that no matter how long it took for her to come out, he would wait for her.
"Are you done staring at me?" His frown deepened as he glanced at his watch.
Ziyue quickly hooked an arm around his, nudging him forward. "Let's go back."
"What were you up to?" Muchen asked as soon as they got into the car.
"Huh? Up to what?"
"Just now. What were you doing in there?"
"Oh, it's nothing. I had something to ask Ke, but she wasn't around." Ziyue sighed.
Muchen grunted knowingly. Unbeknownst to Ziyue, he had known all along about her little endeavor. It was he who arranged for Ke's trip on Xiyi's behalf.
Xiyi had made that request over text. He didn't dare to do it in person for fear that Muchen would see through his disappointment. Ke was a beautiful girl with a personality so warm it would thaw even the coldest of hearts, and his was no exception.
The only issue was that Xiyi thought more with his head than his heart. He was a careful and rational man who preferred solving problems with reason and logic rather than emotions. As such, love was an odd concept to him. It had no specific beginning or end and couldn't be measured or controlled. It was unpredictable, and that scared him.
In his mind, Muchen was a prime example, acting crazy ever since Ziyue came into the picture. Xiyi couldn't do that. He was a doctor, and doctors must stay level-headed at all times.
Muchen turned his head to glance out the window, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly into a small smirk. If Xiyi really didn't care, he would've openly told Ke about him leaving and joining the MSF, never to return.
But he didn't. He didn't dare.
That much Muchen knew for certain because he was once in the same position.
...
Back at Mogwin Castle, Ziyue prepared dinner as usual. Muchen may seem in a better mood today, but she wasn't going to test it, nor did she want to ruin it. So, she busied herself with the usual routine, not noticing when Muchen leaned against the door frame, watching her every move with folded arms.
He walked over and stood there for a while, hoping to be noticed. But loud sizzling sounds from the pan and the whirring of the exhaust drowned out any signs of his presence. He glanced down at his blue pajamas that matched that on Ziyue's body and frowned. He never understood why women fancy couple outfits and why they'd always obliged their partners to wear them. But the sight of her swaying hips as she hummed to a rhythm in her mind reminded him of why he gave in to her request in the first place.
When Ziyue turned around, Muchen was already halfway out the door. She ran after him when she caught a glimpse of his passing blue shirt but stopped abruptly around the corner, watching his back in puzzlement.
Muchen was acting strange; she could feel it. Was it because of Mo Xiyi? She had previously urged Muchen to dissuade Xiyi from leaving, which he had flatly refused multiple times. But Ziyue knew deep down how devastated he must've been because Xiyi was among the few, if not the only person, he'd ever trusted.
'Burble…'
The sound of boiling water broke Ziyue out of her thoughts, and she quickly turned around to switch off the stove. At the same time, her phone rang from her apron pocket. Drying her hands on a nearby kitchen towel, she fished her phone out to find Ke's name flashing bright across the screen. She paused in hesitance before answering the call.
"Hi, Mrs. Qin. Did you call? Is something wrong?" Ke's voice came out muffled, as if her mouth was stuffed.
"Are you eating?" Ziyue asked, which she regretted seconds later because a barrage of complaints began to flow out from the end of the line like a tidal wave.
"I'm so busy. Let me tell you, the boss suddenly arranged for me to go on a short business trip. I had little to no information about it. I didn't even have time to pack my clothes. Once I got here, he made me do meeting after meeting. And if it wasn't that, then it was piles of documents I must take care of. I can't even take a sip of water without being interrupted..."
Ke rambled on incessantly until she began speaking in her native J language for extra emphasis. Ziyue could only listen. Despite being in Country J for so long, she still couldn't grasp much of their language, as people around her tended to communicate with her in a language she was familiar with.
But she didn't need to understand the language to know that Muchen was the main subject of Ke's complaints. Scooping up a spoonful of soup to her lips for a taste test, she was surprised to hear that Muchen was behind Ke's impromptu trip.
Ziyue continued to listen to Ke patiently between sips while Ke babbled on between mouthfuls of rice. After a while, another voice sounded from the end of the line, to which Ke hastily responded with a few indistinguishable words.
"Alright, I have to go now. Let's continue this some other time." When Ke came back to the call, she was ready to hang up.
"Wait!" Ziyue almost yelled. "I have something to tell you!"
"What is it? Can it wait till I get back? I really got to go now!"
With Ke constantly tied up with work, it was unlikely that she knew about Xiyi's retirement and joining the MSF.
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