Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

Ling Ciye placed the umbrella by the door of the living room.

He then changed into a pair of home slippers before walking towards the corridor where the guest room was located.

The corridor was dimly lit with a warm, yellow light.

When he arrived at the door of Jin Qingyue’s room, he stopped in his tracks and headed inside the guest room next to hers instead.

He did not quite know how to put it across to her.

Auntie Chen entered Jin Qingyue’s room with a glass of milk and said, “I saw Mr. Ling walking towards here just now. Seems like he’s staying here tonight.”

Jin Qingyue raised her brows in surprise and asked, “Who? You mean Brother Ciye?”

“Yes, I just saw him.”

“Got it.” Jin Qingyue finished the glass of milk and left the door slightly ajar before heading to the bathroom to shower and brush her teeth.

She came out of the shower with a towel wrapped around her body and found that Ling Ciye was not in her room.

She smiled and put on her clothes before switching the lights off as she exited the room.

Noticing that the lights were on in the room adjacent to hers, she stepped forward and pushed the door open gently.

They made eye contact with each other, both feeling a little awkward.

“Brother Ciye, didn’t you already go home? I saw you driving away. Why did you come back again?” asked Jin Qingyue, who stood by the door to watch him leave before entering the house earlier on.

“I’m here to tell you something.” Ling Ciye patted the seat next to him and said, “Come here.”

Jin Qingyue walked towards him slowly and sat down.

Noticing how shy she had gotten, he chuckled and said, “You were much bolder than this when we were in the car this evening. Why have you become like a shy teenage girl again?”

“I was so bold because I mustered up the courage to do it. I know you don’t have any designs on me since we’ve known each other for ages already. Thus, I realized that the only way to close the gap between us is for me to take the initiative and make the first move. You said you wanted to tell me something. What was it?” Jin Qingyue asked, rather surprised by his words.

“Let’s give it a try. What do you think?” Ling Ciye asked, turning to face her.

“Are… are you for real?” Jin Qingyue spluttered in bewilderment.

Ling Ciye held her hand and said, “Of course I am. But I have two boundaries. I hope you’ll understand from now onwards.”

“Speak.”

“Firstly, I’m not ready to be a stepfather yet. So, I hope we’ll only be giving dating each other a try, don’t get Bao’er involved. Secondly, I hope we can keep our relationship secret for now and just see if we’re compatible in terms of personality. We’ll then announce our relationship to everyone if we can get along well with each other in a relaxed manner. What do you think?”

Jin Qingyue nodded and agreed, “Sure, I agree. But, I think you’re usually busier than I am in the day, so we’d have to live together in order to find out if we’re truly suitable for each other. Brother Ciye, what are your thoughts on this?”

“Are you suggesting that we start cohabiting?”

“Um… if you don’t like that idea, we can put it on hold for now. We’ll just continue staying in adjacent rooms. But of course, if you have any physical needs, I’ll be there to fulfill them,” said Jin Qingyue, her candidness making Ling Ciye a little awkward.

“Well… I have a three-bedder in Wei Ni Estate. Shall we try living there together for a period of time?”

“Oh, turns out you have a house here too. Sure, I’ll go tidy the house in the next few days,” Jin Qingyue said excitedly, her heart ricocheting vigorously against her chest.

“Alright, go back to bed.”

Jin Qingyue stood up and let go of his hand.

That night, neither of them could sleep well.

What compelled him to make that decision was not the incident that took place in the car that night, but rather, An Xiaoning’s words. He believed that her predictions were accurate and, thus, decided to give it a try while cutting ties with Song Yan at the same time.

—

“Mother, did Beicheng say anything when he came home?” Gu Dongcheng asked.

“He called last night to say that he’d only be back in another eight to ten days because he had some matters to handle.”

Gu Dongcheng felt his stomach twist into a knot, dismayed to hear the news. He finally realized why he could not reach the gang of accomplices he had hired to abduct Lin Mingxi and Gu Beicheng, who had managed to escape.

His spirits were instantly dampened at the thought of how there would be no way to nab them again since they must have taken safety precautions after the incident.

Had he known earlier, he would have just ordered for the couple to be killed on the spot. He realized that he should have been more ruthless.

Gu Dongcheng returned to the bedroom forlornly to see that Xu Youran was watching a comedy and laughing her heart out.

“Hubby, you’re back.”

Reeking of alcohol, Gu Dongcheng removed his clothes and flung them onto the couch.

Noticing that he was about to lie down, Xu Youran quickly stopped him and said, “Go take a shower. You reek of alcohol, it smells so bad.”

He pushed her leg away and dragged her toward the side of the bed. “So what if I don’t want to take a shower?” he taunted, looking down at her from above.

Xu Youran finally noticed that he appeared to be unlike his usual self. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“They managed to escape,” said Gu Dongcheng, pushing himself inside her without any foreplay.

“Ouch, it hurts,” Xu Youran shrieked, grimacing in pain.

Gu Dongcheng completely disregarded her feelings. “If only I listened to you earlier and killed them on the spot. I guess I won’t get the chance to do so again.”

“It’s not too late to do so now.”

“It’s impossible.”

“Hubby… did you know that chaos is breaking out overseas again? I guess you won’t know since you don’t read global news at all. Terrorists are on the loose again. If you could make their murder seem like a terrorist attack, how would anyone possibly suspect you?”

“Do you really think those terrorists are fools?”

“I don’t know if they’re fools or not, but our main objective is to make the murder realistic and convincing. We can just work with them. Money is what they need most. That Xi Bolai person, whom Jin Qingyan killed previously, was the head of the SU organization. Didn’t he go around looking for financial help from several companies too? They’ll hit you and stir trouble if you don’t pay up. Those people won’t reason with you at all. Who’s in place to enforce rules in the dark side of society?”

“You know, it’ll just be like falling into a black hole once we get involved with those people. They’re just going to keep sucking our money dry.” After a moment of hesitation, Gu Dongcheng continued, “I don’t want to incur the wrath of those people and bring more trouble for myself.”

“But, Hubby, your brother is already 32 years old this year and he’s already been in charge of the company for years. Most of the employees in the company are loyal to him. From the looks of it, he’s going to continue being in power and enjoy high authority. By then, you’d at most rise to the General Manager position, which is way less powerful compared to his. He can easily kick you out of the company as and when he pleases. Do you think he’d let you off if he happens to find out that you were the mastermind behind the abduction? Besides, do you really think he won’t get to the bottom of the truth in such a serious matter?” said Xu Youran, hitting the nail on the head. The things she mentioned were exactly his greatest concerns.

Gu Dongcheng paused in his motions as a million thoughts filled his mind.

Noticing that he had stopped moving, Xu Youran urged, “Hurry and continue.”

Gu Dongcheng stopped entirely and said, “I’m going to go take a shower.”

“You…”

Xu Youran returned to her initial position and lay down in bed with much frustration.

When Gu Dongcheng came out of the shower, she asked again, “Have you thought about it yet?”

“Yes.”

“What are your plans?”

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