Suddenly, he had a premonition.
Gu Mingye hesitated for a moment, then pushed Mo Shengyun forward, saying, “Hit the doorbell.”
Mo Shengyun was puzzled but hit the doorbell nevertheless.
Almost immediately, Bai Yuan walked over to open the door.
When he saw Gu Mingye, Bai Yuan gave him a look of sympathy. Suddenly, he turned around and loudly yelled, “Boss, Ah Ye is back!”
At once, all ten pairs of eyes looked in his direction.
Gu Mingye stiffened, and a chill ran down his spine.
He coughed lightly and asked, “What’s the matter?”
“Ah Ye,” Yang Dawu’s tone was formal and serious, “Boss knows that you’ve betrayed him.”
“This is regarding your claim that Boss had been bedded,” added Ma Lin.
Fan Lei nodded and chipped in, “That, and you took Boss’ condoms.”
Gu Mingye had no idea what they were saying and defended his own innocence. “When did I say that? And when did I take those!”
Bai Yuan replied, “You said it this morning.”
“You took them this morning,” Yang Dawu added.
Their unspoken solidarity agitated the man all the more. Full of grievance, he looked at Mu Xichen helplessly and protested. “Boss, I’m innocent!”
As Mu Xichen glared sharply back at him, Gu Mingye noticed the faint blush on his face.
His eyes widened and stared harder, but before he could ascertain this, Mu Xichen said calmly, “You’ll do the washing by yourself after the meal. Then, you will perform 50 pushups.”
“Hahaha!”
“Ok.”
“Serves you right for going on a date and for bringing your girlfriend!”
Gu Mingye was full of frustration, and he shouted angrily, “You’re just jealous!”
Bai Yuan clapped and taunted him. “Yes, we’re jealous of you. Serves you right for having a girlfriend!”
Yang Dawu nodded in agreement. “That’s right! You deserve it!”
The rest of the men laughed but did not speak, given that taking either side made no difference to them.
Gu Mingye’s initial pomp and elation were at once cut down.
At this point, Mo Shengyun came up to him and said, “Don’t worry, it’s only the dishes.”
Visibly moved, Gu Mingye held her hand and said, “Indeed, you’re the best. Willing to share weal and woe with me.”
Mo Shengyun shook her head, however, and clarified, “What I meant was, I believe you can handle it all by yourself. All the best!”
Gu Mingye was speechless.
Perfectly timed, the food was ready to be served.
Li Beinian sat next to Mu Xichen, while Gu Mingye and Mo Shengyun sat together.
As though on a mission to take revenge on these men for being jealous, Gu Mingye picked up some food and brought it close to Mo Shengyun’s mouth, saying audibly, “Sheng’er, ahhhhh…”
Mo Shengyun opened her mouth to receive the food and smiled sweetly. “Thank you, Ah Ye. Muacks…”
Gu Mingye returned an equally radiant smile. “Muacks!”
“F***, can we just eat!” Bai Yuan was livid.
“Gu Mingye, warning. Most of our brothers are single. You’d better watch out for yourself!”
“Ooooohhhh,” Gu Mingye said boldly. “If you guys have what it takes, go find yourselves girlfriends. You get nowhere by being jealous of me or framing me!”
“Don’t you guys bully Ah Ye,” Mo Shengyun mumbled. “If you have the guts, try bullying my brother.”
With that comment, all attention now fell back on Mu Xichen and Li Beinian.
Li Beinian was famished and eating with her head down. She realized that the men were singing praises of the food as they ate. “Yummy. Who did the cooking? It’s too good!”
“I made it!”
“Nonsense. I made these. You only did the washing!”
“Ptui, stop fighting. I was the one who sliced the meat!”
“You bunch of shameless men. I, the great chef, have not even spoken!”
Li Beinian was dumbstruck.
They smeared each other and scrambled for credit.
What a strange scene.
Only, she couldn’t help smiling as she cast a sidelong glance at Mu Xichen.
He, too, looked amused. When he sensed Li Beinian’s gaze on him, he turned to look back at her.
It was as though he had beautiful dancing lights in his dark eyes, as they reached out to her and took her in deeply.
He saw bliss and happiness in her laughter, and his heart warmed.
She was his.
His woman.
As this idea jumped out at him, his heart caught fire. He lowered his head uncontrollably and kissed her before he even realized what he was doing.
All of a sudden, the ambient noise ceased, and the room fell into pin-drop silence.