She made her way to the kitchen through the living room.
With an apron tied around his waist, Qin Muchen was holding a spatula in one hand and switching on the cooker hood with the other.
The man, whose back was facing Su Ziyue, was tall and fit; he was capable of giving one in his presence a great sense of security.
Sensing someone behind him, he turned around and glanced at Su Ziyue before turning back again to switch on the stove. “How about having something light for dinner?” he asked.
He sounded so natural as though they were a married couple who had been living together for a very long time.
With her lips pursed, Su Ziyue wanted to say something but thought the better of it in the end. She then turned around and walked back to the living room.
Shaking the slippers off her feet, she plopped down on the sofa and hugged her knees with her arms. Randomly, she pressed the remote control to switch between channels before she finally stopped at a cartoon channel.
She did not pay any attention to the exaggerated facial expressions of the cartoon characters on the screen nor did she listen to its dubbing which sounded melodramatic.
After some time, the noise in the kitchen died down.
“Dinner’s ready.” Qin Muchen’s voice came from behind, followed by the soft and crisp noise of plates being placed on the table.
Su Ziyue rose to her feet and walked to the dining table where she sat down but did not move for a long time.
Qin Muchen followed suit.
He looked up and glued his eyes on her. “Are the dishes not to your liking?”
He knew the food was indeed too light for her as she usually preferred food with stronger taste.
She leaned back against the chair and said calmly, “You can have the food because I’m not hungry, and you should go back home after finishing the food.”
Qin Muchen’s face tensed and relaxed again several seconds after. “Nan Chuan called me that night. There was an emergency.”
Su Ziyue stared at him confusedly.
He clarified, “I’m talking about what happened that night at Cloud Bay Hilltop Villa.”
She felt uncomfortable once he mentioned that.
“I’m going out to buy some stuff. You can go after you finish the food.” She thought of the car she drove back that day when she finished saying that.
She rose to her feet and fetched him the car keys of his Rolls-Royce. “Your car keys.”
Qin Muchen, who only looked at the keys but did not take it, fixed his eyes on her instead. “Su Ziyue, please give me an answer.”
Su Ziyue was stunned, taken aback by his straightforward question.
He was staring at her with penetrating eyes as though she was a prey he was determined to capture.
“What makes you think I’m obliged to give you an answer just because you ask for it?”
Her face broke into a dazzling smile and she added, “In that case, Mr. Qin, if you tell me frankly what you actually want to achieve by being in a relationship with me, I might seriously consider you as my partner. After all, I don’t always have someone as rich as you interested in me.”
How confident and determined Qin Muchen looked annoyed Su Ziyue slightly.
Since he had asked her for an answer directly, she needed an answer from him too.
While he wanted everything to work in his favor, at the same time, he also wanted her to be in a relationship with him willingly and happily without asking him too many questions—such a perfect scenario was simply not going to happen.
Instead of getting irritated by what she said, Qin Muchen answered her solemnly, “There are things I’ll explain to you when the right time comes.”
The smile on Su Ziyue’s face vanished at once. “In that case, we’ll discuss our relationship when you can finally explain them to me then.”
“I think that’s another kettle of fish.” Frowning slightly, he continued, “Regardless of whatever motives I once had, my intention to marry you at that time was genuine, and I believe you felt it too.”
“If you want to raise a dog as a pet, your intention to buy it is genuine too. What’s more, it won’t ask you for any explanation and it won’t create much fuss for you. How nice is that?”
She stared at him scornfully and added, “How nice is raising a dog as a pet? As long as you treat it well, it’ll stay loyal to you and it won’t care about anything else.”
Qin Muchen, whose emotions had been stable all this while, finally became livid because of what she said. “Si Ziyue!” he yelled her name icily.
“You don’t have to shout because I can hear you.” Su Ziyue looked lackadaisical and unflustered.
Seeing how indifferent she looked, Qin Muchen’s face turned increasingly frigid, a trace of dubious brilliance flickering in his eyes. “Do you really think I won’t be interested in other women but you?”
“Of course not. Women are yours for the taking, and you’re only slightly interested in me because I happened to spend a night with you. I know myself well enough to say that.”
She held her head high proudly and cast him a glance before looking away.
“Fine.” Qin Muchen glued his eyes on her. “Fine! Su Ziyue.”
He said ‘fine’ twice in a row, which sent chills down her spine.
Before Su Ziyue could say anything, he grabbed the car keys for his Rolls-Royce and stomped out of her unit.
Su Ziyue sat on the chair, motionless. In fact, she had a strong urge to remind him that he was still wearing pajamas.
…
Qin Muchen stepped out of her unit with the car keys and went all the way down by taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
He was out of breath when he reached the lobby because his body was slightly weak in the first place, after having slept for one whole day previously and having a fever which had just subsided.
Driving, he sped his way back to Cloud Bay Hilltop Villa, and it was only when he alighted the car did he realize that he was still wearing pajamas.
His expression dark, he slammed the car door shut.
A glance at the car turned his eyes somewhat gloomier, as it suddenly struck him that the car was once driven by Su Ziyue.
As soon as he stepped into the mansion, he called Nan Chuan, who was flirting with an intern who had just joined the company when he received his call.
He was slightly surprised to get a call from his boss so soon. Did he manage to patch things up with Miss Su within such a short period of time?
If that was the case, he reckoned his boss should be in a buoyant mood right now.
Did that mean it was the right time for him to apply for several days of leave?
Little did he know, he was asked to ‘get his ass over to Cloud Bay’ by his boss as soon as he took the call. All the wonderful hopes and expectations he had were dashed at once.
Life in reality was indeed not a fairytale.
…
By the time Nan Chuan reached the mansion, Qin Muchen had already changed into an immaculate fitted black suit, giving him a distinguished and hard-to-approach aura.
“Mr. Qin?” Nan Chuan examined his face with caution.
Judging from how awful he looked, he supposed his plan had failed, and he did not manage to get Miss Su back.
While Qin Muchen was fiddling with his cufflinks, he tossed a set of car keys casually to Nan Chuan.
Nan Chuan caught it at once. What’s Mr. Qin trying to do?
Qin Muchen glimpsed at him icily and instructed, “Drive it away. I don’t want the car to appear in my sight ever again in the future.”
Nan Chuan blinked his eyes in confusion. Did that mean he could have the car?
In fact, he too was a fan of this limited edition Rolls-Royce, but at the time it was launched, he did not have enough money to buy it. To his surprise, his boss was giving him the car as a gift so generously.
He supposed his boss must have gotten back on good terms with Miss Su then?
“Mr. Qin, Miss Su and you…”
Feeling that the temperature in the entire mansion took a drastic drop when he was halfway through asking, the remaining part of his question was stuck at his throat.
Qin Muchen sneered and threatened in an extremely icy voice, “I’ll banish you to South Africa if I hear any mention of Su Ziyue from you in the future!”
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