CH 15

“Who’s Mu Qing?”

Just as Ye An spoke, Xie Shuo’s expression changed.

He didn’t answer and asked instead, “What was sent?”

“A card and a wedding gift…”

Ye An opened the gift box to see a pair of jewel-embedded brooches set in velvet. They were exquisitely radiant and appeared very valuable.

“There’s a really pretty pair of brooches for you–” She originally wanted to say “for you to look at,” but he wasn’t able to see anyway. She switched her phrasing at the last moment to “to feel?”

“No need. Just put it down somewhere.”

His tone was light, as if he didn’t care at all.

Ye An looked at him and then at the meticulously arranged greeting card and gift. Her womanly intuition told her “Mu Qing” wasn’t that simple.

“You still haven’t told me who Mu Qing is.”

Xie Shuo didn’t answer and continued to feel his way around the closet.

The more unwilling he was to answer, the more Ye An became suspicious. She stepped forward and leaned closer to his side. She probed, “Could it be your ex-girlfriend?”

Xie Shuo finally had some sort of reaction. He knitted his brows in her direction with a “what are you thinking” expression before lightly stating, “She’s the daughter of an assistant director at the company.”

Ye An stared at him before uttering a single, “Sure.”

Xie Shuo, “…”

Afraid that she would cause a ruckus, Xie Shuo added on to clarify, “Not an ex-girlfriend.”

Ye An secretly thought that it couldn’t just be that. Why else would the gift be so delicately packaged and the words be so affectionately written?

However, she didn’t intend to fight with him over an alleged wedding gift. After all, their marriage was strictly political with no emotional ties.

She hadn’t even decided to bring up his past relationships. It was fine as long as he didn’t go back to his ex and embarrass her in the future.

His performance just now was barely acceptable.

Ye An randomly stored the card and jewelry away in a cabinet.

She turned around and took the robe out of his hands, saying, “I’ve been thinking; the weather starting from tomorrow will be getting hot. I’ll get some lighter clothes for you… I’ll put the clothes you want to wear over to the side. If it’s still unclear, just ask me tomorrow morning. ”

Xie Shuo listened to her rambling and withdrew his hand.

After taking a shower, Ye An laid down in bed and turned over, not thinking anything of it. She suddenly moved closer to his pillow and sighed. 

Xie Shuo frowned out of habit. “What are you doing?”

Ye An smiled, “Having pillow talk!”

Xie Shuo, “…”

Ye An blew again and neared him to say, “Hubby, I start recording tomorrow. I may have to leave early and return late in the future.”

Xie Shuo closed his eyes indifferently as if these matters had nothing to do with him.

Ye An reached out to poke him. “So, could you accompany me on a walk tomorrow? It doesn’t have to take too long, just half an hour

no, an hour!”

Xie Shuo still didn’t respond.

“Are you wanting to ask about what me starting recording has to do with you accompanying me on a walk? They’re both linked together!” Ye An started to properly explain to him, “We haven’t been married for very long. Grandpa and Father probably won’t approve of me leaving early and returning late for work every day. They wish for you to be happy and to go out more. If you go on a walk with me tomorrow, they will be pleased and might yield.” 

One of the reasons why Xie Baiyan was so eager to let Ye An marry Xie Shuo was to find someone to take care of him. Although it was not clearly stated, Ye An knew the situation. This was the reason why she had returned so urgently after running her errands. 

“Help me with this favor, okay?”

After waiting a while and hearing no response, Ye An twirled a lock of hair on her finger and called out in a tender voice, “Okay?”

Xie Shuo’s eyelashes trembled, and his cold voice suddenly sounded, “If you’re not going to sleep, then leave.”

Ye An, “…”

He really had no heart.

Seeing his stony expression, Ye An was angry enough to smash him with the pillow and let him know what “pillow talk” really meant.

She pulled the covers angrily, turned over, and went to sleep.

—

The next morning, Ye An read to Xie Shuo as usual.

She opened the book and said, “Today’s weather is really nice. Why don’t we go to the garden and read?”

Xie Shuo ignored her with a cold expression.

Ye An pulled his clothes. “It’s too stuffy in this room, and my heart and throat aren’t feeling well. We should go outside to breathe some fresh air.”

Xie Shuo didn’t move.

Ye An closed the book and acted angry. “If you don’t go with me, then I’m not going to read.”

Xie Shuo raised his brows. He called out to the desk with no expression, “Xiao Xie.”  

“Xiao Xie” was an AI’s nickname, but no one knew who came up with it.

“Pick a book and start reading from the beginning.”

“Yes, sir.”

The AI quickly selected a book. Ye An was almost angered to the point of having an aneurysm. She cut it off loudly, “Stop reading!”

The AI stopped. 

Xie Shuo turned a deaf ear and said apathetically, “Continue.”

Ye An, “Quiet!”

AI, “…”

The innocent have been wronged.

Life is so hard…

Ye An was truly angry this time. She had never seen this type of man, who remained unmoved by force or persuasion. Wanting him to go outside was treated like wanting him dead.

Xie Shuo kept his cold face.

They were at a stalemate until a knock sounded from the outside of the room. 

Ye An, worried that it was Grandfather Xie, quickly calmed down and opened the door, smiling.

The door opened to reveal Aunt Zhou.

Aunt Zhou smiled at Ye An and looked inside. She said, “A friend of the Eldest Young Master has arrived and said they’re here for a visit.”

Upon hearing this, Xie Shuo’s expression eased, and he walked out.

Ye An exited the study alongside him and walked to the living room to see a young man dressed in a maroon dress shirt. He had peach blossom eyes and handsome facial features, an appearance  that girls tended to fall for.

The man had a leisurely posture and sized up the approaching Ye An. His lips were curved but not quite in a smile, and he exhibited a distinguished yet casual temperament.

“Xie Shuo, how rude. You got married without notifying anyone?”

“Why are you here?” Xie Shuo sat next to him.

“Hasn’t it been a while since we met? I’m going to go abroad for a while within the next two days and wanted to come to see you first.”

The man looked over at Ye An. “No introduction?”

Xie Shuo paused and said two words,“Ye An.”

The man looked at Ye An and grinned. “Hello Di mei. I’m Jiang Shiyan, Xie Shuo’s college classmate.”

– Di mei, used to refer to a younger brother’s wife or sister-in-law

Ye An smiled softly and nodded. “Hello.”

Jiang Shiyan’s smile widened. “If I knew that Di mei was going to be at home, then I would have brought a housewarming gift.”

This person was cut from a completely different cloth than Xie Shuo. Ye An was still dissatisfied with their previous argument. Seeing that the two’s relationship seemed pretty good, she didn’t stay too long and instead stood up to leave. “You guys catch up; I’ll cut up some fruit and bring it over.”

The girl’s voice was as gentle as spring water.

Jiang Shiyan’s gaze landed on her leaving figure.

Her eyes sparkled; her figure was graceful, and her hair was skillfully pulled to one side.

“What a beautiful wife, Xie Shuo. Your luck isn’t bad.”

Jiang Shiyan had always appreciated beautiful people. If he complimented someone, then it was probably true. He suddenly whispered in Xie Shuo’s ear, “I’m pretty attractive and have a good personality; how about we give it a try?” 

His expression didn’t change, and he didn’t comment.

“How have you been lately?” After those teasing phrases, Jiang Shiyan finally became a bit more serious.

Xie Shuo replied nonchalantly, “The same.”

Jiang Shiyan looked into his dark eyes and thought of Xie Shuo’s past self. His heart grew a bit uncomfortable. “If you need anything, just tell me.”

“I don’t need anything right now, thanks.”

“That car accident… you’ve never investigated it?” Jiang Shiyan suddenly asked.

Xie Shuo knitted his eyebrows. “Someone did investigate but didn’t find anything.”

Could it really have been an accident?

A trace of doubt flashed through Jiang Shiyan’s eyes. He twiddled his thumbs as he thought. Not long after, he said, “Don’t just stay at home all day long. If you have time, go out with others more. I haven’t seen you at any events in a year already.”

Xie Shuo remembered his argument with Ye An just a moment ago and didn’t answer.

After a few seconds of silence, he changed the topic, “What are you going abroad for?”

Jiang Shiyan leaned back with an exhausted expression. “Something went wrong with the overseas market. I need to go over and deal with it…”

—

Jiang Shiyan left before long. Xie Shuo escorted him downstairs but didn’t walk out the door.

With Jiang Shiyan’s abrupt visit, the deadlock between Ye An and Xie Shuo had eased up somewhat, and things returned to normal.

Ye An didn’t bother with the past anymore and pulled on his arm. She pestered him, “You’ve already come down; why not go outside for a little bit?”

Who would have known that Xie Shuo would remain so stubborn? He pushed her arm away without the slightest bit of hesitation and turned away to walk back.

Ye An, “…”

Ye An’s anger that had just dissipated returned with full force. She almost couldn’t resist knocking him out.

Xie Shuo went upstairs, but instead of returning to the study, he entered the bedroom.

Ye An was about to follow when she suddenly received a call from Ye Yuan Nian.

He first asked about her married life in a fatherly manner before asking her when she would be able to return home with Xie Shuo to have dinner. 

Ye An had no one to vent her frustrations to. He wasn’t even willing to walk out the door, let alone be willing to return to the Ye residence for dinner. How preposterous. 

She didn’t have the heart to hurt Ye Yuan Nian’s sensitive middle-aged feelings. She commented perfunctorily, “It depends on when Xie Shuo is free. I’ll ask him later.”

On the other end, Ye Yuan Nian suddenly asked, “An An, are you mad at Daddy?”

Ye An’s scalp numbed, and she could feel the lengthy speech coming. “No, I’m living very well. Don’t overthink things–He’s calling me; I’ll hang up for now. Talk to you later.”

Without waiting for Ye Yuan Nian’s response, she hung up with lightning speed.

The daylight gradually rose and shone into the balcony. She grasped the phone and stood in awe for a few moments before turning around to enter the bedroom.

Just after entering, she was met with the sight of Xie Shuo sitting on the sofa with a lifeless appearance. Her heart immediately felt stuffy.

“Are you coming outside or not?” she asked.

Xie Shuo remained apathetic, ignoring her.

Ye An couldn’t stand it anymore. “Are you planning to stay locked up inside for the rest of your life? I know that it must be hard for you not to be able to see, but you stay in your room every day without caring or asking about anything. Do you think that doing this will fix the problem?”

This was the first time that Ye An had directly mentioned Xia Shuo’s blindness. She had avoided the topic in the past and even filtered her speech accordingly in fear of hurting his feelings.

However, for these issues, stubbornly avoiding them was simply not a solution.

A wound could only be healed if treated from the source.

“Grandpa is old, sickly, and even has to worry about you every day. Can’t you pull yourself together? The field of medicine is advancing every day; what if you can be cured one day?”

Xie Shuo’s expression became uglier and uglier. His slender fingers curled together, exposing the blue veins on the back of his hand.

He clenched his jaw but finally decided to not remain silent. “I remember that we had an agreement before the wedding that mentioned not interfering with each other’s matters.”

This phrase again.

He couldn’t remember anything else aside from this statement.

Ye An snorted. “Really? Have I said this before? When was this? Is there a recording? Was the agreement signed on pen and paper?”

Xie Shuo’s expression darkened.

Ye An looked at him and crossed her arms. She decided to act her scoundrel part to the end. “I take it back, so what if I said it? Can’t I go back on my word?”

In the past few years, Xie Shuo had dealt with every type of person in the business world, but he had never met anyone as self-confident and roguish as her.

He once again went into his silent mode with a sullen face.

“I’ll ask one last time–are you coming outside with me or not?” Ye An raised her voice.

Xie Shuo still did not answer.

It seems like she had to rely on her last resort.

Ye An suddenly stepped forward and sat directly in his lap.

Xie Shuo didn’t even have time to react before a feminine fragrance appeared before him, and a soft body fell into his arms. 

Ye An lifted her arm and hooked the back of his head. She leaned forward, and her red lips neared his

“Are you going or not?”

Author’s note: Xiao Ye: If you don’t go, I’ll kiss you!

Xiao Xie: …

Xiao Ye’s aura was super impressive^_^