Chapter 603. Who to Choose First (Part 1)

Sitting on the sofa, Ye Jiuliang took the cup handed by Li Mochan and took a few sips.

"Anuo, why are you frowning like that, worried about Achen?" Ji Mingqian saw Gu Xinuo’s absent-minded look and a teasing smile hooked at the corner of his lips.

"Don’t worry, the headquarters pharmacy has plenty of medicine, that injury is a piece of cake for Achen."

Gu Xinuo gave him a glare, "Shut up."

Ji Mingqian shrugged his shoulders and turned his eyes toward Ye Jiuliang, "Ajiu, why haven’t you said anything?"

On the way back, she was also silent and seemed to be in a state of distraction.

"Did you notice anything unusual?" Li Mochan took the empty cup from her hand, a glint of profound meaning passing through his insightful ink-black eyes.

Ye Jiuliang looked up at him, a faint smile curling the corners of her lips.

Indeed, nothing could be hidden from her family’s Li Mochan.

She said softly, "Mo Lingling is up to something."

"What’s strange about her?" Ji Mingqian showed surprise; he had been there too but hadn’t noticed anything amiss.

"When I grabbed Mo Lingling’s hand, I felt a raised object on her wrist, and there were also signs of stitching," Ye Jiuliang said.

Signs of stitching?

Always sensitive to those odd and peculiar things, Ji Mingqian immediately realized the implication.

"Are you suspecting that Mo Lingling has hidden a listening chip or a tracking chip in her wrist?"

Ye Jiuliang nodded, "Eight or nine out of ten, that’s the case."

Their ploy to appear to have a falling-out may have been an accidental stroke of luck—if Mo Lingling did have a listening device on her, then the conversation they just had in the apartment must have been overheard by the person lurking behind her.

"If it’s a listening device, then the person behind Mo Lingling must also know that the four of us have had a fallout," Gu Xinuo chimed in, "Will they make a move against the K organization next?"

Ji Mingqian leaned back and said nonchalantly, "They’ll definitely make a move, but who they’ll target first, that’s hard to say."

As he spoke, he glanced at Ye Jiuliang and reminded her, "Ajiu, you should keep the news of your pregnancy secret for now. Otherwise, they’ll likely target you first."

Noticing the strong grip on her hand tightening, Ye Jiuliang raised an eyebrow, still wearing her nonchalant smile, "Aqian, could you do me a favor and go to the bank? Mo Lingling mentioned she opened a safe deposit box there. Retrieve the contents for me."

"Safe deposit box?" Ji Mingqian was curious, "What’s inside it?"

Mo Lingling also had something to store in a safe deposit box? How curious.

"The Heart of the Sea," Gu Xinuo stated calmly.

Ji Mingqian as if hearing an incredibly funny joke, almost fell off the sofa, "What?"

The Heart of the Sea?

What a joke.

He looked up at Li Mochan, "Isn’t that item in your possession?"

"What?" This time it was Gu Xinuo who got surprised.

She looked at Li Mochan with tense eyes, "You have the Heart of the Sea?"

Li Mochan didn’t say anything, looking down at Ye Jiuliang, the implication clear without a word.

Meeting Gu Xinuo’s tense gaze, Ye Jiuliang cracked a smile, "It’s in my hands."

Upon hearing this, Gu Xinuo’s expression turned wooden.

"In your hands?"

"The Heart of the Sea was auctioned off by Mohan, and that’s why I broke into Mo Garden in the middle of the night," Ye Jiuliang explained, "Afterwards, Mohan gave the Heart of the Sea to me. I’d planned to give it to you when you and Achen registered your marriage."

She had not expected Mo Lingling to come out with such an unexpected development.

Gu Xinuo gave a forced smile, the heavy stone that had been buried in her heart for years finally settled down.

"I’m quite curious to see what Mo Lingling’s Heart of the Sea looks like," Ji Mingqian said with a playful smile, picking up the car keys from the table, "I’ll go get it back."

With those words, he stood up and headed for the door.

"Hungry?" Li Mochan looked down at the person leaning against him and asked softly, his deep voice becoming gentle.

Ye Jiuliang nodded, her lips curving into a smile, "Hungry."

"What do you want to eat?"

"Sweet and sour pork ribs, roasted lamb chops, fried chicken legs," Ye Jiuliang rattled off the dishes, "As long as it’s meat, it’s good."

Li Mochan let out a husky chuckle and flicked her forehead with his finger, "Wait here for me."

As she watched him walk into the kitchen, Ye Jiuliang turned her gaze back to Gu Xinuo, her eyes twinkling mischievously as a sly smile spread across her lips.

She took out her phone and made a call, then beckoned Gu Xinuo over, "Anuo, come here."

"What’s up?" Gu Xinuo asked, puzzled, but still got up and sat next to her.

Ye Jiuliang pressed the speaker button as the phone connected.

"Achen, how are you?"

Seeing the number on the screen, Gu Xinuo realized what was happening and couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time.

"You don’t know your own strength?" On the other end, Chu Chen had just finished applying medicine, sitting shirtless, his arm bearing a ferocious-looking cut.

Ye Jiuliang lifted the corner of her mouth in a teasing smile, "Of course I know Chu boss can take a hit."

She hadn’t hit hard, her fist had barely had any strength, and the cut was only scary to look at; it hadn’t hit any vital spot, and a little ointment and a few days’ rest would do the job.

"Get lost." Chu Chen spat in annoyance, "Your Li Mochan can take a hit too, why don’t you go hit him?"

"He can take a hit, but I’d feel sorry for him," Ye Jiuliang said bluntly.

Chu Chen, "..."

Enough, he couldn’t have a normal conversation with her.

It was an absolute case of favoring love over friends.

"Anuo has been really worried about you, can’t stop thinking about you day and night. I’ll hand over the phone to her, you guys talk." Saying this, Ye Jiuliang handed the phone to Gu Xinuo and slipped into the kitchen.

Gu Xinuo’s lips twitched slightly as Chu Chen’s voice came through again, "Anuo?"

Gu Xinuo hummed a response, "Did you put medicine on your arm yet?"

"Not yet, are you coming over?" Chu Chen told a little lie, his voice deep as he asked.

"You’re still bleeding, why haven’t you applied medicine? What if it gets infected?" Gu Xinuo became anxious when she heard he hadn’t treated his wound.

"You punched me so hard my shoulder is bruised. How am I supposed to apply medicine by myself?" Chu Chen continued to play the sympathy card.

Gu Xinuo frowned, "Don’t you have Qin Yi and the others there?"

"Those guys are all thumbs, not good with this kind of thing," Chu Chen insisted, "Are you really not going to come and check on me?"

"Ajiu said that now is a critical time, I have to stay at home so as not to give Mo Ling’s backers any opportunity to see through us," Gu Xinuo solemnly repeated Ye Jiuliang’s words.

Chu Chen’s head was full of black lines, "..."

Why didn’t she ever listen to him like she did to Ajiu? She remembered Ajiu’s words crystal clear.

In the kitchen, Ye Jiuliang sneezed.

Who was speaking ill of her behind her back?

She sniffed, continuing to munch on her apple, ’crunch,’ it was very crisp.

"So sweet," she squinted her eyes, bringing the apple up to Li Mochan’s mouth.

"Want a taste?"