Chunlan arrived to the house to meet Jihai in casual clothes talking to Natshiko. Her arrival alerted the two men and Jihai stood up to hold her hand when he saw her approach them, taking away her cane as he said. "You weren't at home when I arrived. Where did you go?"
She gave him a look of exasperation before she replied. "I had some problems with the company so I had to go there."
He frowned. "What happened? Is your company doing now? Do you need help?"
Chunlan felt proud that he could now ask her those questions with confidence without feeling inadequate. Ever since he returned, he now felt the need to wrap her in cotton which was only pleasant for a while. But still she indulged him, just to boost his ego. "My father solved the problem already. You see, Wen Honglin came to make trouble but it has been taken care of. I thought you were still in the presidential palace that's why I didn't call you."
Jihai also seemed to want to bombard her with questions but he restrained himself and instead drew her into his arms, making her feel shy. "It's good that you are now feeling better. Are you hungry? Let's have dinner together."
She raised her head to smile at him unaware of his cousin who seemed interested because he was staring at them with an eerie smile that could make anyone feel uncomfortable although he obviously meant no harm. She asked Jihai. "Are you alone?"
He turned back to look at his cousin, making sure that he was in a condition to meet Chunlan. "Yes, he is.
Natsuhiko, come greet your sister-in-law."
Chunlan felt embarrassed when she heard that, burrowing herself further into his arms into his arms when she remembered what he had said in the morning about them. She mumbled. "Welcome home, Brother-in-law."
Natsuhiko found her actions adorable, reminding him of a rabbit which made him smile. In the beginning, he really didn't like her at all since she came from the six families so he investigated her background. He was grateful that her family had played a role in raising his younger cousin so he decided to treat her better. "Hello, sister-in-law. I will be going now, I need to go visit my father."
Jihai stopped kissing Chunlan's hair and told his cousin. "Send him my greetings. I would come and visit him soon with Chunlan."
"No, no, I think it's better you go with him since he is just waking up. He may not be happy to receive with strangers right now." Chunlan objected.
"You think so?" Jihai was a little skeptical because he wanted to introduce her to his uncle as his fiancee since he was the only elder he had left.
"Yes, I think it is for the best. Let's not make him uncomfortable." She knew that she was demanding this more for her benefit that for Sumiyoshi's own but it was not her fault. It was only she that knew how dangerous the Jihai's family was, thanks to her past life but she knew that he was going to be happy being protected by his own family.
It seemed like Natsuhiko knew of her intentions because he gave Jihai a knowing smile, exposing her mercilessly. "She is afraid. You should talk to her, I am going now."
She felt ashamed that they had sent through her easily and she felt the need to explain in case Jihai misunderstood her. "It's not like that....I am just nervous to meet your family. These kind of things, I am not good at them."
Jihai circled his arms around her as he reassured her even though he felt a little bit uneasy. "It's okay. We can go when you are ready. There is no need to rush."
Chunlan decided to bring up the topic of Shen Ji now that they were alone since the subject had been bugging her throughout the day. "Oh, Shen Ji said she left her hairbrush in our room which was given to her by her master."
Jihai froze with an ominous feeling so he separated himself from her to scrutinize her. He was sure that from the tone of her voice she was furious about the issue so he considered the matter seriously. "What hairbrush is she talking about?"
Chunlan became even infuriated because he seemed really clueless about the matter. If that was so, it either meant he really wasn't aware that she had entered his room which was because the security here was lax or the staff here really ȧssumed she was the mistress of the house so they gave her access.....
Either option was unacceptable!
Jihai felt that the more she kept quiet, the more things were not going to his favour so he responded submissively. "Actually there was an incident that happened a while back...."
She turned her head sharply to glower at him but she was inwardly grateful that he was willing to tell her everything without reservations. "What happened?"
After he narrated the story of her attempt to seduce him, he regretted saying anything in the first place when he saw her icy expression. He grabbed her hand and asked her. "Lan'er, are you angry with me?"
She walked to him to sit on his ŀȧp, surprising him."No, of course not. I am not angry with you, Jihai. I have decided that I do not want her to be the one to cure me. I would rather remain blind than to allow her near us. She doesn't have any good intentions."
"But you-"
Their conversation was interrupted when Jihai saw someone enter the living room with a bright smile that seemed to becoming dimmer each minute. Shen Ji said. "Oh, Jihai you are back. I can see that you are busy, I will come back later."
Chunlan's other senses which had improved ever since she lost her sight naturally recognized the owner of that voice, her soft countenance replaced with the icy one she had a few minutes ago. "No need, Miss Shen. Please sit down, we need to talk.. Now."