Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Don’t see her if you hate it then. We’re not in need of money anyway. Besides, I don’t want you to tire yourself out. What’s the point of going toe to toe against her in the office? You two are biological sisters after all. Although you may not get along well with each other, there’s no need to make things worse. Besides, you still have me,” said Gu Beicheng.
Lin Mingxi nodded in agreement. “I’ll heed your advice then.”
“What would you like to eat? Let’s go together.”
“I don’t have any special cravings, I’m fine with eating anywhere.”
Gu Beicheng brought her to a restaurant. “Xiaoning and I dined here before. The food’s pretty delectable. Here’s the menu.”
Lin Mingxi took the menu from his hands and ordered a few dishes before handing the menu back to the waiter. Scanning her surroundings, she said, “What an artistic restaurant.”
“Yeah, the food is tasty too. I’m going on an overseas business trip tomorrow to discuss a major deal. I’ll only be back a month later.”
“Do you have to be away for so long? Since it’s for business, go ahead, but come back as soon as possible,” said Lin Mingxi, sounding rather reluctant to let him leave.
“Will you miss me?” he asked with raised brows.
“Of course I will, you’re my Hubby,” Lin Mingxi answered, blushing slightly.
“I’ll be going together with Xiaoning, though. Our companies are cooperating to clinch a deal with an overseas client,” Gu Beicheng told her truthfully.
“Is that so?” Lin Mingxi asked, sounding extremely disgruntled. She was not exactly thrilled about the idea, especially since she knew that Gu Beicheng loved An Xiaoning deeply. She also knew that it would be impossible to make him forget about An Xiaoning within a short period of time.
Noticing that she had gotten upset, Gu Beicheng looked down and asked, “Are you overthinking again?”
“No,” she denied.
“You are. Xiaoning is forever my closest kin. She has been and always will be,” he said slowly.
“I understand. However, I can’t help but get reminded of the fact that she’s more important to you than I am, which upsets me every time,” Lin Mingxi lamented in a mellow voice.
“I know, I’ll try to adjust slowly. Trust me, alright?” said Gu Beicheng, who was apprehensive toward his own promise.
Lin Mingxi nodded in agreement. She had the patience to wait for the day that she would finally conquer his heart.
It was only a matter of time.
—
An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan drove home in the evening. Upon arriving at the entrance, they both turned in sync to look out of the window at the wall lamp, only to see that there were caricatures of them drawn on the wall.
After driving into the courtyard, Jin Qingyan asked, “Who drew those on the wall?”
“Little Sir did.”
“That imp… wash the drawings off immediately. They’re hideous,” Jin Qingyan instructed.
“Yes, Young Sir.” Fan Shixin burst into laughter and immediately instructed the servants to get rid of the drawings.
“This silly child must be angry at me. It’s tough being a man, a husband, and a father. I’ll go try cajoling him,” Jin Qingyan lamented with a sigh.
An Xiaoning smiled and headed inside together with him.
Upon arriving at the door of Jin Yiheng’s bedroom, Jin Qingyan stuck his head inside to take a peek. He realized that his son was lying in bed with the bed lamp on.
He walked in stealthily and said, “Son, Daddy’s home.”
Jin Yiheng continued to lie in bed and remained still.
“Son?” Jin Qingyan inched forward to take a closer look, only to find that his son was crying.
“Daddy and Mommy went to handle some matters. That’s why we were home late. I’m sorry for not being able to play with you like I had promised earlier. But from tomorrow onwards, I shall play with you every day for the entire summer break, okay?”
“Really? You can’t lie to me,” Jin Yiheng asked in between sobs while staring at him.
“Of course. I promise I won’t lie to you.”
Jin Yiheng burst into smiles and said, “Bad Daddy. You didn’t keep your promises. I almost didn’t want to trust you again.”
“Mommy is going on a business trip tomorrow. Daddy will bring you out to play while she’s away. Tell me where you’d like to go, I’ll agree to anything you suggest,” Jin Qingyan whispered.
Jin Yiheng jumped for joy and exclaimed gleefully, “Awesome! Daddy, I want to go fishing and visit the Palace Museum. There are so many things I wanna do, I can’t remember all of them!”
“It’s alright, take your time to recall. Write them down once you’ve thought of them. We’ll complete each activity one by one. Sounds good?”
Jin Yiheng threw his arms around his neck and exclaimed, “Daddy, you’re my good Daddy. You’re awesome!”
“Didn’t you say I was a bad Daddy earlier? You even made me become a wallflower. You were the one behind those drawings on the wall, weren’t you?” Jin Qingyan questioned, poking his son in his forehead.
“Yes, I was the one who drew them. Daddy, were my drawings nice?”
“Yes. I was just asking Uncle Shixin who the great artist behind such a beautiful piece was. Turns out it was my son. Daddy is so proud of you. Alright, go to bed, quick. We’ll set off tomorrow morning.”
“Okay! Goodnight, Daddy.”
“Alright, goodnight.” Jin Qingyan switched off the lights and exited the room.
Jin Qingyan swiftly made his way back inside his own bedroom.
An Xiaoning was removing her makeup while sitting in front of the dressing table. Upon sight of him, she remarked, “You’re smiling so widely your jaw is about to drop. What’s the joyous occasion?”
“I’ve settled matters with our son. I didn’t sleep well last night, did you know?” asked Jin Qingyan while taking off his clothes in an exaggerated manner.
“No, I didn’t.”
“I’m telling you now then.” He walked towards her and hugged her tightly from behind. “You’re leaving for your business trip tomorrow and you’re going to be away for such a long time. What am I supposed to do?”
“What do you mean? Are you a child who hasn’t been weaned?”
“I wasn’t, but I am now.” He began fondling her and nibbling her earlobe gently. “You’re not allowed to sleep tonight,” he murmured.
An Xiaoning rolled her eyes at him and said, “I have work tomorrow.”
“Work is not as important as I am. During your business trip, you’re not allowed to speak to other men for more than two sentences, unless it’s for work-related matters; you’re not allowed to look at other men for more than two seconds or have any physical contact with them at all.”
“I should be the one telling you that. Jin Qingyan, I can do it if you can. If you can’t do it, don’t think of restricting me or ordering me to do so,” An Xiaoning scoffed.
“I can do it.”
“I don’t believe you.” She shrugged his hand away and stood up before saying, “If you can really exercise such good self-control and discipline, I’ll reward you by serving you well when I come back from my trip.”
“An Xiaoning, you’d better keep your word. Don’t regret what you said. I’m going to make you serve me well!” he exclaimed confidently.
“No problem. What if you can’t do it? What’s going to happen then?”
“If I can’t do it, I won’t make such requests anymore. Because, well, if I can’t do it myself, how am I supposed to expect you to do the same?”
An Xiaoning nodded and said, “I won’t make anyone keep tabs on you. It’ll all depend on yourself. Now that you’re home most of the time since you’re not working, you’re not allowed to talk to any females for more than two sentences, look at any females for more than two seconds, or come into physical contact with any females except Auntie Chen, Qingyue, and your mother!”
“Deal!”
They made eye contact and made sure to bear each other’s words in mind.
