Mo Chen suddenly said, "Sister Ajiu, can you keep being my sister forever?"
Ye Jiuliang glanced at him sideways, the corners of her lips lifting slightly, "Thatās probably not going to work."
Hearing this, Mo Chenās expression became desolate.
"If you call me ābrother,ā Iād be okay with that," Ye Jiuliang said with a mischievous smile, changing the subject.
Mo Chenās smile returned, and he felt in the mood to joke as well, "So, if I call you ābrother,ā should I start calling my sister-in-law āsister-in-lawā too?"
"You could try it later," Ye Jiuliang said.
Mo Chen shrank his neck, "What if I get beaten up? Iām afraid of pain."
"Youāll toughen up after taking a few hits," she joked.
Mo Chen pouted, "I really canāt take beating, for real."
Ye Jiuliangās lips curved up, tossing the building blocks into his hands, "Hurry up, finish putting together the rest of it."
Mo Chen cracked a grin and focused on assembling the blocks.
Snacking and nearing noon, Ye Jiuliang didnāt feel hungry.
Not until Li Mochan came looking for them, and they were still assembling the model.
Mo Yuan followed him inside and his gaze involuntarily drifted towards Ye Jiuliang. The woman was concentrating on the blocks, bathed in warm sunlight that softly enveloped her, giving her cool and aloof profile a touch of cuteness.
He was briefly in a daze, feeling eerily familiar with the scene.
It was the same warm sunlight.
And...
Suddenly, a motorcycle model entered his line of sight.
"Dad, look at this, Sister Ajiu and I put it together. Isnāt it cool?" Mo Chen asked with a beaming smile.
Mo Yuan returned to his senses and gave a faint hum of acknowledgement.
"Having fun?" Li Mochan squatted down and started massaging her sore legs, his practiced movements betraying their regularity.
Ye Jiuliang stretched out her legs, easing the soreness, "Itās alright."
"Sister Ajiu, itās time to eat," Mo Chen said as he carefully placed the completed motorcycle model on the desk.
Ye Jiuliang grasped Li Mochanās hand and used it to help herself stand up.
"Letās go."
At that moment in the dining room, Mo Yu was in the midst of a thunderous tirade.
The cause of her anger was simply a dish on the table, spicy boiled pork slices.
"Who allowed the cooking of a spicy dish?"
Mo Su couldnāt eat spicy food and would easily have an allergic reaction; because of this, Mo Yu had specifically instructed the chef not to prepare spicy dishes.
Seeing a spicy dish suddenly appear on the table, she was immediately incensed.
Aqiao came over and whispered, "Madam, this dish was prepared by the chef at the young masterās request."
Upon hearing this, Mo Yuās anger did not subside.
She said displeased, "He canāt eat spicy food either, so why ask the chef to make this dish?"
"It was probably meant for Ye Jiuliang," Aqiao speculated.
That comment, rather than calming her, only added fuel to the fire.
Mo Yuās face turned cold, "Get rid of this dish for me."
"Yes."
Aqiao always followed her orders without question.
"Wait," Mo Su intervened, "Mom, itās just one dish, thereās no need. With Mo Chen now sticking to Ye Jiuliang, souring their relationship over a single dish is not worth it for us."
Their strained relationship would only benefit Ye Jiuliang.
Mo Yu calmed down, "Forget it, then."
At this time, Mo Yuan and the others arrived.
Mo Su gave Mo Yu a comforting look, then greeted Li Mochan and the others, "Time to dine, everyone please take a seat."
"Mo Chen, come sit over here." Seeing Mo Chen about to sit next to Ye Jiuliang, Mo Yu said calmly, her tone carrying a hint of command.
Mo Chen grimaced but obediently went over.
Itās not often that Ye Jiuliang visits, and he didnāt want to make the situation too awkward.
Mo Yuan sat at the head of the table, with Mo Yu on his left and Li Mochan on his right.
"Sister Ajiu, this dish was specially prepared for you, give it a try." Mo Chen pushed the boiled beef slices in front of Ye Jiuliang, directly confirming Mo Suās speculation.
Ye Jiuliang smiled and responded affirmatively.
She picked up her chopsticks, tasted a slice, and found the spiciness just right. She squinted her eyes contentedly, "Itās delicious."
Hearing her praise, a smile appeared on Mo Chenās face, "As long as you like it, eat more."
"It seems Miss Ye can handle her spice well," Mo Yuan observed Ye Jiuliang enjoying her food, a subtle smile forming on his lips.
"But compared to this boiled beef, I think the spicy hot pot in Jingcheng tastes even better."
Ye Jiuliang paused her chopsticks and looked up at him, "Mr. Mo also likes spicy food?"
The spicy hot pot in Jingcheng is notoriously challenging.
Since he mentioned it, he must have tried it himself.
"Itās alright," Mo Yuan said with a light smile, setting down his wine glass.
"The hot pot at Jiangyue Vegetarian Restaurant in Jingcheng is quite good. You should try it when you have time, Mr. Mo; itās our treat," Ye Jiuliang chimed in.
Mo Yuan smiled, "Then I definitely will try it next time."
The two chatted away happily, turning Mo Yu green with envy.
Her face slightly paled, her hand clenched the corner of her dress hidden under the table.
How could Mo Yuan possibly like spicy food, he had never mentioned it before.
The dinner went relatively smoothly.
After the meal, Ye Jiuliang was pulled away by Mo Chen to assemble a model.
At the door to the room, Ye Jiuliang suddenly couldnāt find her phone, "Mo Chen, I left my phone with Mohan, Iāll go find him and then come over."
Mo Chen acknowledged with an "okay," "My dadās study is upstairs, the second room on the left."
Ye Jiuliang responded affirmatively and turned to leave.
When she arrived at the study, the door was ajar.
Out of politeness, she knocked on the door.
"Knock knockā"
"Who is it?"
"Me, Ye Jiuliang," she said.
"Come in."
Ye Jiuliang pushed the door open and immediately saw the two people sitting across from each other at the desk, her clear gaze landing on Li Mochan.
Li Mochan stood up to greet her, "Whatās up?"
"My phone."
Her pale hand opened up and extended towards him.
Li Mochan smiled, took out a phone from his pocket, and handed it to her, reminding, "Your phone is about to die."
"Didnāt I charge it last night?" Ye Jiuliang was puzzled.
She turned on her phone and found that indeed... the battery was low.
Li Mochan gently tapped her nose, "You scatterbrain, you charged my phone."
Their phones were identical in both model and color, and even the screensavers were the same. If one didnāt look carefully, it was very easy to take the wrong one.
Ye Jiuliang was exasperated and laughed helplessly, "I was so sleepy last night."
After coming back from the auction, she went online to play a few games with Anuo. Then, as sleepiness overtook her, she dozed off in the midst of the game.
"Never mind, Iāll go and get a charger from Mo Chen."
Just as she was about to turn around, she caught a glimpse of Mo Yuanās pallid face from the corner of her eye.
It looked as if he was enduring some kind of pain.
Her gaze softened slightly, "Mr. Mo, are you not feeling well?"
Following her gaze, Li Mochan looked over, and indeed, Mo Yuanās complexion seemed paler than before.
"Itās nothing," Mo Yuan waved his hand and opened a drawer, taking out a brown medicine bottle from his pocket.
He unscrewed the cap, took out two pills, popped them into his mouth, and then took a few sips of water from the glass on the desk.