177 Family Firs

After having dinner, Xiu Jin and Aoi bid good night and left the villa by the sea, giving Xiu Lan a ride back to the estate.

Midori had an awkward feeling when Manta arrived, as he addressed his real mother appropriately, then running to clutch onto her clothes. This awkwardness dissipated when Midori held Dmitri after Xiu Lan brought him to the villa.

After her parents left, Midori felt the need for her brother's little family to catch up on their own, so she also expressed her desire to leave.

Before she went into their car, her brother spoke with her.

"M'dori-chan..." he placed his palm on her head.

She pouted, hating the nickname. "Nii-san, I'm a mom now." She gently gestured by lifting her son who was fast asleep in her arms subtly.

Masaichi removed his hand as he chuckled. "Hai, hai. Remember to always put your family first. You need not learn through experience like we did."

Midori smiled then nodded. "Hmmn."

"Chūi shite kudasai.*"

"Hai. Oyasumi, Nii-san." She got inside the car.

Dan made a couple of beeps as courtesy before he drove their car away.

Masaichi's gaze followed their car until the car's rear lights disappeared into the distance.

Suddenly, the front door of the villa creaked open.

"Otousan...can we sleep now?" Manta's little voice got his attention. The little boy was rubbing his eyes as he yawned.

Masaichi turned to look at his son with a tender gaze. He picked him up and made him lean on his shoulder as he carried the little boy upstairs.

Agatha Yang opened the door to the smaller bedroom, which they prepared beforehand for their son to occupy.

After tucking him to bed, Manta's parents quietly went out and into their own bedroom.

As the couple lied beside each other on the bed, the husband heard the wife sigh deeply.

"What are you thinking about?" Masaichi Xiu turned his head to look at her.

"Masa-kun...I'm really sorry...about everything." Her face was full of guilt.

"Don't say that. You can be sorry about a lot of things, but not everything." He showed her a gentle reassuring smile. "You can't be sorry for marrying me...and for having Mantarou, so you can't be sorry about everything."

She had a smile, but there was still regret in her eyes.

"Masa-kun, are we safe here? Do we need to go back to City T?"

His face turned stern. Even he was not certain of the answer.

He turned his body to better face her. "My parents had called in some clan members to get to the bottom of everything. Our men here in City S also heightened the security of our family. It is safe...for now."

"What are your plans for Ming Rushi?" She remembered how the woman brought her to the jewelry launch where her husband found her.

"As they say, 'Keep your friends close...and your enemies closer.'" He smirked and wrapped an arm around his wife.

_________________

"Oh yeah...what did you tell your wife when you left to go here? Are you sure nobody saw you?" Romina Ta asked as she was chopping some carrots.

"I made sure. She doesn't ask much. She trusts me anyway." He shrugged and continued to play with the newton's cradle on the kitchen island.

She snickered. "Will I lose too much hair if she found out that you stayed with a woman for hours?"

He chuckled. "Should we call her and find out?" He gestured with his phone.

"Don't you dare!" They both laughed.

After several minutes, the aroma of the beef stew filled the kitchen.

Romina Ta placed two sets of stew and rice on the bar counter. Then she sat beside the man, and they ate side by side.

"Hmmm...good. This is good food." Lu Shaoting complimented as he chewed.

"Thanks." Romina Ta slowly sipped some of the stew, then placed a spoonful of it on her steaming bowl of rice.

He snickered. "Too bad he chose someone else. He could've enjoyed your cooking."

She gave a fake laugh. "He had a lot of chances to try it, but he always dodged the opportunity.

She remembered how Masaichi Xiu rejected every dish she made, whether lunch or dessert. He did not even try the cookies she made during home economics class. He always reasoned out that people might misunderstand.

"He's a fool." Lu Shaoting continued to clean off the food on his bowls. "Seconds, please!" It was as if he was declaring it.

"No. Go home to your wife and child. It's getting late now." she scolded.

He pouted like a kid. "I never forgot about having my own family...but right now, let me be the family that you need."