Chapter 49

Chapter 49: I'm Glad You're Here The air fell silent for a moment. Lin Meiyan's smile froze slightly, but she didn't answer the question directly. "I have other work to attend to, so I'll head off first." "Please keep an eye on things here. Once all the food has been served, we'll come back in the evening to collect the insulated containers." Lu Jianxin was as sharp as a monkey—how could he not catch the implication behind her words? She was deliberately changing the subject!! Instead of pressing further, Lu Jianxin went along with her. "Then once the food's all served, I'll bring the containers over to you, sis." Lin Meiyan was about to say it wasn't necessary, but Lu Jianxin said, "No trouble at all." Only then did Lin Meiyan refrain from refusing. As she left, she overheard the workers at the construction site chatting. "This fried noodles today is really delicious." "Right, right. I love this oily, rich texture. One bite and it feels so satisfying." "With eggs, vegetables, and noodles, it's honestly more filling than rice." Lin Meiyan's steps faltered slightly. She thought, this is enough. As long as she did her own job well, that was sufficient. As for Yu Jianghai—he was extra, to begin with. After getting into the car, Lin Meiyan sat in the driver's seat without speaking, quietly gazing out the window. At nearly five o'clock, Jiangcheng was already tinged with the darkness of approaching night. On the gray, hazy road, dark clouds hung heavy. Because of the bitter cold, there were barely any pedestrians out. "Meiyan?" Gu Kaihua felt something was off about her. "Lu Jianxin's mouth has never had a filter." "Uncle." Before he could finish, Lin Meiyan cut him off. "Yu Jianghai and I both have our own work. As long as we each do our jobs well, that's all that matters." "Nothing more." Gu Kaihua immediately fell silent. He drove the car steadily—from the Jianghai Dicai construction site to No. 2 High School was only a ten-minute drive. When they arrived, the high school students hadn't finished class yet. Only a few people lingered at the gate, with a handful of street vendors stomping their feet and rubbing their hands against the cold. Lin Meiyan was fine—she was dressed warmly. After getting moving, she had Gu Kaihua take out the coal stove. They lit it outside first, then set a pot of hot water on top. Only then did they place the large insulated container on the stove. Otherwise, the fried noodles inside would go cold quickly. At 5:30, students began trickling out. The school cafeteria food was simply too unpalatable—any family with a bit of means would give their kids some pocket money to eat elsewhere. Gu Xiaoyue was no exception. The moment she stepped out, she caught the aroma of egg-fried noodles. She sniffed the air. "What smells so good?" "I think it's coming from over there." Gu Xiaoyue instinctively looked over. When she clearly saw who was standing at the gate, she froze. "Dad? Sis?" "What are you two doing here?" Gu Kaihua pointed at their stall. "Linji isn't busy today, so your sister and I came to try selling near your school." Gu Xiaoyue understood immediately. She raised her arm like a queen and declared, "Everyone, follow me over here." "This is the restaurant my sister opened—Linji. You've all heard of it, right?" The moment she said that, the classmates behind her looked surprised. "Whoa, Linji is setting up a stall at our school gate? Gu Xiaoyue, we're really lucky because of you." "How much is the fried noodles?" "Eighty cents a serving." "Then I'll take one." "I want one too!!" With these few students calling out, the barrel of fried noodles they'd brought was completely sold out in under an hour and a half. When it came time to pack up, Gu Xiaoyue offered to help carry things. Lin Meiyan waved her off. "Go back to your study hall." Gu Xiaoyue savored the taste and said, "Sis, you have to come back tomorrow." She felt that when her sister was around, she'd get to eat something delicious! Lin Meiyan smiled. "I might not come tomorrow, but your dad definitely will." If Jiangcheng was still hit by a blizzard tomorrow, that meant Linji's business would still be slow. The students here could bring them a decent amount of income. On the way back, Lin Meiyan tallied up the earnings from No. 2 High School. At eighty cents a serving, they'd sold over ninety portions—bringing in more than seventy yuan in revenue. At least in terms of income, Lin Meiyan was satisfied. For anyone running a business, watching daily earnings rise meant a growing sense of security. Because making money had a positive impact. After hearing this, Gu Kaihua couldn't help but say, "That's really a lot." "This hour and a half of income is almost as much as our breakfast sales." Lin Meiyan seemed lost in thought. "Uncle, students have strong purchasing power. In the future, we should find a way to open a shop near the school too." "Huh?" Gu Kaihua couldn't quite keep up with Lin Meiyan's thinking. She smiled. "But that's something for later." "Let's focus on making Linji successful first." The car sped through the biting wind. On the way back, Lin Meiyan spotted a vendor selling roasted sweet potatoes by the roadside and called out, "Uncle, wait a moment." Gu Kaihua immediately did as he was told, pulling the car over to the side of the road. Lin Meiyan turned and got out of the car. The moment she stepped out, the biting wind hit her, and she instinctively pulled her collar tighter before quickly hurrying across the street. "Uncle, I'll take four roasted sweet potatoes." Even from a distance, the sweet, fragrant smell of roasted sweet potatoes wafted through the air. She was craving them badly. This was a big customer. The vendor deftly opened the iron stove and let Lin Meiyan pick for herself. She chose four plump ones, roasted until the honey-like syrup was oozing out. She briskly handed over one yuan and twenty cents. Just as she was about to leave with the sweet potatoes in hand, a boisterous voice came from not far away. "President Yu! President Yu! Hold on a moment." "There's still a business deal to discuss tonight. I'll have a few pretty girls come over, and we can chat and talk business at the same time." "No time." Yu Jianghai refused rather curtly. He turned to Secretary Shen and instructed, "Take good care of them." With only those few words, he turned to leave. The moment he turned around, Lin Meiyan heard the commotion and instinctively looked over. In the biting wind, their eyes met. The air fell silent for an instant, as if frozen in time. Lin Meiyan's gaze first landed on Yu Jianghai's face. He must have drunk quite a bit—his sharply defined features were tinged with a flush of red, and he was holding a suit jacket in his hand, looking solitary and alone. He was standing a fair distance away, and from the moment he'd walked out the door, he seemed out of place with that place. "Yanyan?" It was Yu Jianghai who broke the silence first. Holding his suit jacket, he strode over with long, steady steps. He was extremely tall, and his walk was composed. His face, tinged with the flush of alcohol, was sharply defined, with sword-like brows and starry eyes. Strikingly handsome. Lin Meiyan paused briefly, then squeezed her fingers. By the time she looked up again, she had already regained her composure. She nodded. "You're done with work?" Upon hearing those words, Yu Jianghai's expression darkened instantly. He would have preferred Lin Meiyan to confront him, rather than asking him so casually and lightly, "You're done with work?" When Lin Meiyan didn't receive an answer, she took the initiative to say, "Then you go ahead and work. I'll head back first to be with the kids." She turned to leave with the sweet potatoes in hand, but the moment she turned around, Yu Jianghai grabbed her wrist. His grip was strong, and it hurt when he held on tight. Lin Meiyan frowned slightly, a flicker of pain crossing her face. "Yu Jianghai?!" Yu Jianghai let go of her hand. He took a deep breath, steadying his emotions. "I'll go back with you." "No need." Lin Meiyan refused without a second thought. "Your work matters more." The air seemed to thicken, and at that moment, the expression on Yu Jianghai's face seemed even colder than the December wind in Jiangcheng. "Yanyan, I'm only here for work." "I know." Lin Meiyan answered very directly. "So you should go to work now." She pointed at the van parked by the roadside. "I'm here for work too." With that, she was about to leave, but Yu Jianghai grabbed her again. This time, he didn't use as much force as before. Lin Meiyan turned to look at him. "Yu Jianghai." Her voice wasn't loud, but there was already a hint of displeasure in it. Yu Jianghai stared into her eyes. "I told you, I'm only here for work." "And I told you, I know." "What do you know?" Lin Meiyan was taken aback. Yu Jianghai's chest rose and fell. He didn't smell strongly of alcohol, but there was a chill from the cold wind, mixed with a hint of tobacco, pressing down on her and making it hard to breathe. "Do you know I don't like places like this?" "Do you know I don't want those people near me?" "Do you know that when I came out and saw you first thing, what I wanted to hear wasn't you telling me that work matters more?" These words hit hard, and the bag of sweet potatoes in Lin Meiyan's hand swayed slightly. Steam was still rising from the brown paper bag. Her fingertips were scalded by the heat, but she didn't let go. "Then what did you want to hear me say?" Lin Meiyan looked up at him. "Did you want me to storm in and give that boss a piece of my mind?" "Or did you want me to ask you, in front of your business partners, why you came to a place like this?" Yu Jianghai's Adam's apple moved, but he said nothing. Not far away, the boss who had been calling for pretty girls had already been blocked by Secretary Shen. Secretary Shen had a smile on his face, but sweat was nearly beading on his forehead. God help him—who could have imagined that the boss would walk out of a nightclub and immediately run into Youth Lin? And Youth Lin wasn't making a scene. That was even scarier than if she were!! Secretary Shen knew his boss all too well. If Youth Lin had given him a cold glare and cursed him out on the spot, or even kicked him, the boss would have been a little pleased. But she had preserved the dignity that both of them shared, and that very dignity, upon closer inspection, was a sign of distance. This was bad. The boss was going to lose it. That was Secretary Shen's first thought. He was just about to go over and put in a good word when President Chen beside him grabbed his arm. "Who is that?" He was asking about the woman beside Yu Jianghai—Lin Meiyan. Secretary Shen replied, "That's my boss's wife." At this, the other party sized her up with curiosity. Lin Meiyan was wearing a dark navy coat, the color somewhat somber, but it couldn't hide her slender figure and fair skin. Calling her beautiful wouldn't be an exaggeration. "President Yu, should we invite your wife to come join us for a bit?" Though the nightclub was rowdy, it wasn't as if there was no place for women to have fun. Hearing this, Yu Jianghai's expression instantly darkened a few shades. He glanced at Secretary Shen. "Secretary Shen, you must make sure to properly entertain President Chen tonight." Secretary Shen understood his boss's intention immediately. He promptly draped his arm around President Chen's shoulders and led him into the nightclub. "President Chen, let's go, let's go. My boss has booked the whole place tonight." "Have a good time tonight." Once they left, there were no outsiders remaining—only Lin Meiyan and Yu Jianghai. Yu Jianghai took the initiative to reach for her hand. "Let's go home." Lin Meiyan stepped aside, very politely. "You go handle your work first." "I'll go home and check on the kids first." "Yanyan!" Yu Jianghai's expression instantly turned grim. Gu Kaihua, waiting in the van, had been waiting for a long time. When he didn't see anyone come out, he poked his head out. From a distance, he couldn't hear what they were saying, but he did see Yu Jianghai grabbing Lin Meiyan and refusing to let go. He immediately pushed open the car door and strode over in a few steps. "Jianghai?" Lin Meiyan turned around. "Uncle." Gu Kaihua looked at her, then at Yu Jianghai. "What's wrong?" Lin Meiyan handed him the sweet potato in her hand. "Uncle, go back to Linji first." "Huh?" "Take the sweet potato back for Qiaoqiao." "What about you?" Lin Meiyan paused, lowering her eyes. "I'll have a few words with Yu Jianghai." Gu Kaihua was uneasy. "It's so cold out. What words can't be said at home?" Yu Jianghai finally turned to look at him. "Uncle, I'll take her back." Gu Kaihua looked at his cold face and felt a jolt in his heart. This didn't look like taking her home at all—this was clearly a fight, wasn't it? He wanted to say something more, but Lin Meiyan had already shaken her head at him. "Uncle, it's fine." Gu Kaihua opened his mouth but ultimately didn't stop them. He took the sweet potato and glanced into the paper bag—it was still warm. He muttered, "Then you two come back early. Qiaoqiao is still waiting." Lin Meiyan hummed in acknowledgment. The moment she responded, Yu Jianghai was already leading her toward the black sedan by the roadside. Seeing this, Secretary Shen immediately reacted and moved to help open the car door, but Yu Jianghai said coldly, "Keys." Secretary Shen's hand trembled as he quickly handed over the keys. He didn't dare say a single extra word—after giving the keys, he went off to attend to President Chen. Lin Meiyan sat in the passenger seat, and the car door slammed shut, sealing the cold wind outside. Only the two of them remained in the car. After getting in, Yu Jianghai didn't start the engine right away. He rested both hands on the steering wheel, the veins on the backs of his hands faintly rising. Lin Meiyan turned her head to look at him. "You've been drinking." "Not much." "Drinking and driving isn't safe." Yu Jianghai suddenly let out a laugh, but there was no warmth in it—only a hint of bitterness and gloom. "And now you're still worried about this?" Lin Meiyan frowned. "This is a serious matter." "Then what isn't a serious matter?" Yu Jianghai turned to look at her, suppressed anger in his eyes. "Me coming out of a nightclub—isn't that a serious matter?" "Someone wanting to call women to drink with me—isn't that a serious matter?" "Me standing in a place like that and you seeing it—isn't that a serious matter?" Lin Meiyan was silent for a moment under his questioning. She rubbed her brow and looked out the window, only to unexpectedly find that Gu Kaihua was still standing by the van holding the sweet potato—not only had he not left, he was still watching them. Afraid he would worry, Lin Meiyan rolled down the window a crack. "Uncle, go back." Gu Kaihua looked at her. "Are you really okay?" "I'm fine." Gu Kaihua glanced at Yu Jianghai again. Yu Jianghai didn't look at him, which made Gu Kaihua even more uneasy. But since Lin Meiyan had spoken, he couldn't very well keep blocking the way. He could only get into the van with the sweet potato, but before leaving, he made sure to stick his head out. "Jianghai, don't you dare bully Yanyan." Only then did Yu Jianghai look up. "I won't." Gu Kaihua snorted. "It better be that way." After the van drove off, the roadside emptied out. Lin Meiyan rolled up the window, and Yu Jianghai started the car. The car didn't head toward Linji. Lin Meiyan didn't notice at first, but after passing two intersections, she realized something was wrong. "This isn't the way back to Linji." "Yeah." "Yu Jianghai, where are you going?" "The company." Lin Meiyan looked at him. "Now?" Yu Jianghai didn't answer. The car was driving fast, and a bit of cold wind seeped in through the door crack, making Lin Meiyan's fingers feel chilly. She gripped the seatbelt and turned her face toward the window. Streetlights receded one by one behind them. Winter nights came early in Jiangcheng. Most of the shops along the street had closed, and occasionally a wonton stall was still lit, white steam rising from the pot before being left behind in the car's wake. No one spoke in the car. Yu Jianghai's jaw was clenched tight. Lin Meiyan looked at him several times but ultimately swallowed her words. She knew he was upset, but she didn't know what exactly he was angry about. Angry that she saw him? Angry that she didn't make a scene? Was it still that she was angry that he had truly treated that matter as part of his job? The car sped all the way to the Jianghai Dicai office building. When the car stopped downstairs at Jianghai Dicai, the security guard was momentarily stunned. Seeing that it was Yu Jianghai's car, he immediately opened the gate and came over to greet him, calling out very respectfully, "President Yu." Yu Jianghai didn't respond. He got out of the car and walked around to the passenger side, deliberately opening the door, but Lin Meiyan didn't move. "Get out." He said coldly. Lin Meiyan looked up at him. "I want to go back to Linji." Yu Jianghai's hand gripping the door tightened. After a moment, he leaned down directly and unbuckled her seatbelt. The two were too close. Lin Meiyan could even smell the alcohol on him—not strong, but his breath was somewhat scorching. "Yu Jianghai." She had barely called out his name when Yu Jianghai already grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the car. This time, his force wasn't heavy, but it still left no room for refusal. And so Lin Meiyan was led by him all the way into Jianghai Dicai. At night, there weren't many people in the building—only the security room on the first floor had its lights on. The person on duty saw Yu Jianghai bringing Lin Meiyan in, and his eyes widened a bit, but he didn't dare look too long and immediately lowered his head. When the elevator doors opened, Lin Meiyan's footsteps paused. Yu Jianghai noticed and turned back to look at her. Lin Meiyan pressed her lips together. "Let's take the stairs." The fire in Yu Jianghai's eyes seemed to be suppressed by something. He didn't say he wasn't afraid, nor did he forcefully pull her into the elevator. He simply held her hand tighter, turned around, and led her to the stairwell beside them. The stairs were very quiet, their footsteps falling one after the other. When they reached the third floor, Lin Meiyan's breathing was a bit unsteady. Yu Jianghai stopped. "Tired?" Lin Meiyan held onto the stair railing. "Isn't your office on the fourteenth floor?" "Yeah." "You want me to climb fourteen floors?" Yu Jianghai looked at her. He loosened his collar, revealing his prominent Adam's apple, and said in a flat voice, "You don't want to take the elevator." Lin Meiyan was left speechless. She wanted to say she wasn't completely unable to take it, but the words wouldn't come out. Before she could speak, Yu Jianghai had already crouched down in front of her. Lin Meiyan froze. "What are you doing?" "Get on." "No need." "Get on." His tone carried a hint of command, leaving no room for refusal. Lin Meiyan looked at his broad back, her heart in utter turmoil. She didn't want to get on, but Yu Jianghai stayed crouched there, motionless. After a long while, she finally leaned onto his back. Yu Jianghai supported her legs and stood up, continuing upward. Lin Meiyan lay on his back, stiff at first, but as she listened to his breathing gradually steady, she placed her hands on his shoulders. His back was broad and steady. Back when she was on the island, he had carried her like this countless times. Back then, Yu Jianghai had been young and green, even his shoulders and back carrying a hint of thinness. But now he was exceptionally composed and steady—a mature man standing tall between heaven and earth. Lin Meiyan lowered her eyes, her hands resting on his neck, saying nothing. Yu Jianghai carried her without a word, climbing from the third floor all the way to the fourteenth. When they reached the office door, a thin layer of sweat had formed at Yu Jianghai's temples, and his eyelids were tinged with a hint of flushed red. Utterly handsome and striking. Unfortunately, Lin Meiyan had no mind to appreciate it. She was still thinking about how she would handle this later. Unfortunately, she wasn't given a chance to react. Yu Jianghai unlocked the door and went in. "Sit for a while." The office was very cold. He turned on the lights, then fetched a military-style overcoat and draped it over her. Lin Meiyan didn't move, letting Yu Jianghai take care of her. She quietly surveyed her surroundings. Actually, she had been here once before—the time she fainted and woke up here. It was also here that Yu Jianghai had lost control and kissed her. That slap seemed to still linger in the air. Neither of them spoke, making the vast office feel exceptionally quiet. "Now you can talk." Lin Meiyan looked up. "Talk about what?" "Why aren't you angry?" He crouched by the sofa, looking up at her, seeming stubbornly fixated on this question. "Angry?" Lin Meiyan gathered the military overcoat around herself, lowering her gaze to him. "Why would I be angry? You were entertaining clients there—that's your job, just like me setting up a stall at the entrance of No. 2 Middle School. We each have our own work and our own lives." Hearing this, Yu Jianghai stood up abruptly, the hem of his suit jacket swinging as he let out a cold laugh. "Boss Lin, you're certainly magnanimous." That single address of "Boss Lin" instantly silenced the air. Lin Meiyan suddenly clutched her clothes, her knuckles turning white. She looked up and said, word by word, "Yu Jianghai, what do you mean?" Without waiting for Yu Jianghai to answer, she continued on her own, "Do you want me to charge into the nightclub and catch you in the act?" "Do you want me to make a scene in front of your business partners?" "Sorry, I can't do that." "I can understand you being there for work, and I hope you can understand me setting up a stall at the entrance of No. 2 Middle School for Linji." "What's the problem with that?" Yu Jianghai looked at her, the anger in his eyes growing deeper, as if he were deliberately suppressing it. "The problem is that you understand too well." Lin Meiyan was stunned. "You're too proper." "Too calm as well." "And you know exactly where the boundaries lie!" "You saw me coming out of that kind of place, heard someone offer to call a pretty woman for me, and the first thing you asked was whether my work was done." "You didn't get jealous. You didn't argue. You didn't have any reaction a wife should have." He suddenly stepped forward, a trace of anger on his cold, stern face. "Lin Meiyan, what exactly do you take me for?" Lin Meiyan sat on the sofa, her fingers slowly clenching. She spoke slowly, word by word, "I take you for an independent person." Yu Jianghai's expression shifted. Lin Meiyan looked at him. "You have your career, your social engagements, people you have to deal with." "I can't demand that everything you do cater to my preferences just because I'm your wife." "And I don't want you to demand that I set aside Linji and revolve around you every moment just because you're my husband." "Yu Jianghai, we're husband and wife." "Not one being the other's cage." As those words landed, the office fell deathly silent. Yu Jianghai stared at her, his eyes reddening for a moment. "Cage?" He repeated in a low voice, "You think I want to lock you up?" Lin Meiyan shook her head. "That's not what I mean." "Then what do you mean?" "What I mean is, I respect you." "I don't need your respect." Yu Jianghai suddenly cut her off. Lin Meiyan froze. Yu Jianghai seemed unable to hold back any longer. He leaned down, bracing his hands on either side of the sofa, trapping her between himself and the cushions. "I don't need you to respect me at a time like this." "I want you to be angry." "I want you to be jealous." "I want you to ask me why I was there." "I want you to be upset, to give me a cold face, to curse at me, even to slap me like you used to and call me shameless—Yu Jianghai, you bastard!" Lin Meiyan's pupils contracted slightly. Yu Jianghai stared at her, not missing a single flicker of expression. "But you didn't." "You only said my work matters." "You even told me to go take care of it." "Lin Meiyan, are you really that magnanimous, or do you just not care at all?!?" The final words slammed down. Lin Meiyan's face paled. Instinctively, she stepped back and raised a hand to push him away. "Yu Jianghai, you've had too much to drink." "I haven't." "You're not calm right now." "I'm perfectly calm." "If you were calm, you wouldn't have brought me here to fight about this." Yu Jianghai looked down at her, his gaze sharp. "Then do you love me?" Lin Meiyan's hand stilled. Yu Jianghai's voice dropped even lower. "Say it." "Do you love me?" Lin Meiyan looked at him, unable to speak for a moment. It wasn't that she couldn't say it—it was that the words were too heavy, too heavy for her to casually offer up to soothe him. Seeing her silence, the red in his eyes grew more pronounced. "See." He let out a light laugh, one that stung more than a cold face. "You won't even lie to me." Lin Meiyan's chest ached. "Yu Jianghai." "You say you respect me." "You say I'm an independent person." "You say we're not each other's cages." He repeated her words back to her, one by one. "Then let me ask you—does where I go have anything to do with you?" Lin Meiyan bit her lip. Yu Jianghai leaned in. "Does it?" "It does." "What does it have to do with you?" Pressed by him, Lin Meiyan's eyes reddened. "You're my husband." "Just your husband?" "Then what else do you want to be?" Yu Jianghai stared at her. "Your man." Lin Meiyan's breath caught. "Lin Meiyan, I'm your man." "I'm not some independent person you can just push out to socialize whenever you want." "If I go to a nightclub, you can be angry." "If I talk to other women, you can be upset." "You can even demand that I go home right now." "I'll listen." By the end, his voice was hoarse. "Why won't you demand that of me?" "Why won't you demand it?" Lin Meiyan's eyes stung fiercely as she looked at the man before her. Yu Jianghai was undeniably domineering, cold and hard—he was the boss of Jianghai Dicai. With a single move, he could make people like the Ding family tremble and beg at the sports meet's doorstep. But now, he was braced before her, asking why she wouldn't demand anything of him. Lin Meiyan's throat tightened at the question. "I'm not indifferent." She finally spoke. Yu Jianghai watched her. Lin Meiyan's voice was soft. "When I saw you there, I was uncomfortable too." "Then why didn't you say so?" "Say what?" Lin Meiyan's tears suddenly fell. She raised a hand to wipe them, but they only came faster. "Say I'm unhappy?" "Say I mind?" "Say that even though I knew you were there for business, I still felt uncomfortable when I heard that man talk about pretty girls?" "Say that when I saw you drinking, saw you coming out of that kind of place, it felt like something was stabbing my heart?" "Yu Jianghai, can I say all that?" Yu Jianghai froze. Lin Meiyan looked up at him, her eyes full of tears. "And after I say it?" "Wouldn't you just think I don't understand your work?" "I'm not a twenty-year-old girl anymore." "I can't disrupt your business just because I'm unhappy." "You hold up Jianghai Dicai out there, and I hold up Linji at home." "We both have things we need to do." Yu Jianghai's throat tightened. "I never asked you to be this understanding." Lin Meiyan smiled, but tears were still falling. "But this is how I've gotten by all these years." "What would I do if I wasn't understanding?" "What would I do if I wasn't composed?" "If I didn't swallow everything down, how would we get through each day?" "Who would raise Qiaoqiao?" "Who would run Linji?" "If people pointed fingers at me, saying I was abandoned by a man, saying I was indecent, saying I was mooching off my uncle's family with a child—if I made a scene every day, who would clean up after me?" The anger on Yu Jianghai's face dissipated in an instant. Those words struck him right in his softest spot. Lin Meiyan turned her face away, her voice desolate. "So I learned." "Learned not to ask." "Learned not to cause trouble for others." "Learned that even when I feel uncomfortable inside, I still finish what needs to be done first, make the money first, and make sure my child and I won't go hungry." She paused, then murmured, "Yu Jianghai, it's not that I don't love you." "I just don't know how to love you the way I used to." Her voice was so soft it was almost trembling. Yu Jianghai stood frozen. Those words were like a sharp blade that stabbed straight into his heart—and not just that. It twisted gently inside. Bloody and raw. After she finished speaking, Lin Meiyan raised her hand to push him away. She took a deep breath. "Let me go back." "I need to go back!" Yu Jianghai didn't let her. He suddenly lowered his head and pulled her into his arms. Lin Meiyan struggled. "Yu Jianghai." "Don't move." His voice was very low. "Let me hold you for a while." Lin Meiyan went stiff. After a long moment, she slowly lowered her hands. Yu Jianghai buried his face against her neck, his breathing heavy. "Yanyan." "Mhm." "You can make a scene." Lin Meiyan's eyes grew hot again. Yu Jianghai said each word deliberately, "With me, you're allowed to be difficult." Lin Meiyan's tears fell harder. She raised her hand to push him. "Stop talking." But Yu Jianghai caught her hand and lowered his head to kiss her fingertips. "If you want me to come home, I'll come home." "If you don't like me going to the nightclub, I won't go anymore." "Business can be discussed elsewhere." "If it can't be discussed, then it won't be." Lin Meiyan frowned. "Don't talk nonsense." "It's not nonsense." He looked up at her. "I mean it." Lin Meiyan looked at him. She wanted to say that's not how business works—nothing in the world of favors and connections is that easy. And they weren't twenty anymore. There were too many ties binding them. Yu Jianghai lowered his head to kiss her. Lin Meiyan initially tried to turn her face away. But he followed, kiss after kiss, until her tears fell to the corners of her lips. Salty. Bitter. And he kissed them away, bit by bit. Lin Meiyan's hands gripped his shirt, losing ground inch by inch. Yu Jianghai asked in a low voice, "Still going to send me off to work?" Lin Meiyan could barely breathe. "No." "Still going to make me go be busy?" "No." "Then where do you want me to go?" Lin Meiyan closed her eyes. "Home." Yu Jianghai paused. Lin Meiyan murmured, "Yu Jianghai, I don't like you going there." "I don't like you being around other pretty women." "I don't like you coming home drunk either." With each sentence she spoke, something in Yu Jianghai's eyes deepened. Tears still hung on Lin Meiyan's face, but her voice was finally no longer suppressed. "If you do this again, I'll be angry." Yu Jianghai's Adam's apple bobbed. "How angry?" Lin Meiyan gritted her teeth and bit down hard on his shoulder, fierce as could be. "I won't let you through the door." Yu Jianghai looked at her and suddenly laughed. That smile was no longer cold or suffocatingly suppressed. He lowered his head to rest his forehead against hers. "Fine." Lin Meiyan was annoyed by his smile. "You're still laughing?" "Mhm." "Yu Jianghai." She called his name in exasperation. "I'm happy." Yu Jianghai cupped her face, his voice low and hoarse. "Yanyan, I'm happy that you care about me."