[Yang Menghuo POV]
'Jie… where are you?'
Yang Menghuo was busy trying to call his Ying Jie to no avail. He was worried that something might have happened to his Jie on her way back home.
He kept staring at the apartment door, with his grocery bag in his right hand, and his phone kept on calling Ying Jie in his left hand.
'If something happened to Jie… then…' Yang Menghuo started imagining if someone dared to hurt his Jie. He was usually someone who was nonchalant of others, except for his parents. Though, his parents didn't seem to need his protection most of the time.
But Ying Jie was not 'other people.' Ying Jie was someone that he determined to be an important part of his life. At least for now, she was the one who filled this empty slot in his heart.
Yang Menghuo was quite sure that no big crime would happen around this district.
Why? Because Menghuo already told the police force to make sure there would be no criminal with high crime records lingering around this district, just in case to make sure that Ying Jie was safe.
But people with lighter crime record was still allowed around, and those including small hooligans.
Yang Menghuo imagined if someone dared to approach Ying Jie, possibly a hooligan who dared to catcall his Jie…
'I will cut his tongue and stitch his lips because he dared to catcall my Jie…'
If a man dared to touch his Jie's body…
'I will make sure to chop his hands off and let some wild dogs maul his severed hands.'
If a man dared to kiss his Jie…
'I will make sure he regrets ever living. I will make sure to beat him, cut him until he is barely alive, then feed his body to the pigs. I will make sure his family also see this and—'
"Huh? Meng Bao, why are you here?"
Yang Menghuo turned his head to the left, where the source of the voice came from. He saw his Ying Jie, still with her working attire, walking towards his direction.
"YING JIEEEEE!" Yang Menghuo dropped his phone and the grocery bag and dramatically ran towards his Ying Jie. Menghuo hugged his Jie's tightly and sniffled, "Wuwuwu, Jie… I really thought that something happened to you."
"Wha—Meng Bao, what happened?" Ying Jie was a bit uncomfortable being hugged by Meng Bao in the corridor. She was afraid that someone might saw them.
She tried to push Meng Bao away first, but Meng Bao tightened his hug on her. "O—Okay, Meng Bao, I'm here. You can release me now."
"I Won't! Wuwuwu, Ying Jie, I thought you're gone for good…" Meng Bao continued whimpering like a baby in front of Ying Jie, which made her felt like she was handling a pitiful bunny who got scared and tried to cower in her embrace.
That was what in Ying Jie's mind at first, but when the bunny tried to press his face down to her chest, she hit Meng Bao's head with her fist, "What are you doing?!"
"Ah!" Yang Menghuo rubbed his head that got hit by his Ying Jie. He pouted, "Ying Jie is so mean, why don't you give me a bit of your pity…"
"What pity? What kind of thing you did to deserve my pity and touched my boobs? You pervert!" Shi Ying yelled at him.
Meng Bao pouted and replied, "Well, I've been waiting for you for more than three hours here. I was worried that something happened to you."
"Aish, you're too dramatic," Shi Ying dismissed him. "Why are you here anyway?"
"Don't you remember that you told me to bring groceries for our dinner tonight? Wu… Ying Jie, I'm starving waiting for you, you know," Meng Bao said.
Shi Ying gulped when she finally remembered that she was telling Meng Bao to buy groceries if he wanted to eat dinner with her. She totally forgot about it and went on a date with Alexander Priest instead.
Knowing that she screwed up, she tried to dodge Meng Bao's questioning gaze and replied,
"A—Ah, I'm sorry, Meng Bao. There is a job that needs to be done today, so there is a bit of overtime."
'I can't tell Meng Bao about my date, right? What if he suddenly attacked Alexander Priest? Meng Bao is ruthless at his core!'
"Overtime?" Meng Bao asked. His eyes looked like an innocent bunny that would believe everything that his Ying Jie said. "Okay, then, I believe Jie! But please hug me again now!"
Shi Ying sighed and allowed this clingy crybaby Bao to hug her.
Little did she knew that Meng Bao wanted to hug her not only because that he was worried about her but also because he sensed something was wrong.
He sensed that his beloved Jie was lying. Because he could smell a faint fragrance other than her.
Meng Bao remembered his Ying Jie's perfume when they were hugging or being intimate, but he could smell someone else's perfume in her body.
Meng Bao sniffed his Ying Jie's shoulder, and he was correct. Ying Jie had another smell in her body.
'This smells like a man's perfume. Anyone who's near Ying Jie just now must've had a strong perfume, a shower, and narcissist,' Meng Bao identified. His gaze darkened as he had a malicious smirk that Shi Ying didn't know.
'Whoever this guy is, he must've stayed with my Jie for a while. Probably in a small room, thankfully, I didn't notice anything suspicious around Ying Jie's neck. And no sign of them having sex. But still…'
'Someone dared to covet my Jie…'
Shi Ying flicked Meng Bao's temple and said, "Hey, enough with the hug. Let's go inside."
Meng Bao resumed his cute bunny expression and gently held his Ying Jie's hand. He dragged Ying Jie excitedly to her apartment door.
Shi Ying had a smile on her face when she saw that Meng Bao actually bought the grocery that she ordered him to do.
'Meng Bao is surprisingly obedient, like a good husband.'
Shi Ying couldn't help to praise Meng Bao for this.
"You actually bought the groceries. You'll be a good husband in the future."
Meng Bao blushed and nodded, "Umm, I bought it by myself. I spent a lot of time asking the supermarket clerks about the food aisles of each item. But I made it exactly like what you want, Ying Jie."
"Oh? You did it by yourself?"
"Mhm."
I had a suspicion that Meng Bao just told his subordinate to shop the grocery for him. But since he looked so sincere when he said that, especially with his innocent bunny eyes, I would trust him just because.
"Alright then, I'll cook for you," I said. I unlocked the door and then entered with Meng Bao.
Meng Bao immediately made himself at home by taking off his shoes and then put all the groceries in the refrigerator. I raised my brow, "You're more diligent than I thought."
"I only did this for you, Jie," Meng Bao said. That was the truth. He wouldn't even think of buying groceries by himself and then putting them in a fridge like this.
If not because of Ying Jie, this was simply outrageous!
But because he wanted to get his Jie's favor, he had to show himself as a good and diligent man, not a scoundrel who was secretly a business overlord.
"You did this for me? Why?" Shi Ying asked.
"Because I love you? Of course, I have to make sure that you're satisfied with my performance," Meng Bao replied, still busy with the groceries.
Shi Ying had a tint of red on her cheek. She brushed it off and put her bag in her room before taking some ingredients from the fridge that had just been stored by Meng Bao.
"What do you want for dinner?" Shi Ying asked.
"Anything, as long as you're the one who made it," Meng Bao replied. He automatically helped Ying Jie on the side by cutting up some vegetables for him.
Shi Ying glanced at Meng Bao and found that he tried hard to cut a carrot. Although it was still uneven and a bit messy, she appreciated Meng Bao's effort.
"I'll cook a fried rice with tofu, carrot, and sausage, okay?"
Meng Bao nodded obediently, then he glanced at his Ying Jie who was busy cutting some tofu.
"Ying Jie, you missed something."
"Huh?"
Meng Bao took the pink apron hanging on the wall and then get behind Ying Jie. He carefully draped the apron on Ying Jie's neck and then tied it behind his Jie's back.
"I don't want your clothes to get dirty. You still need it for work, right?" Meng Bao asked.
Shi Ying felt warmth all over her heart. She smiled and then said, "Since you've helped me to buy the groceries, then I will add more ingredients to the fried rice. What do you want? Eggs? Chicken?"
"I will eat anything that you put for me, Jie," Meng Bao said. Then he heard a notification on his phone.
He took out his phone and then saw a message from that automated Rent A Boyfriend app, solely created for him to spy on Ying Jie's activity there.
There was a notification about a date that Ying Jie finished just now.
'19.55: An order has been completed! Review your date now!'