Chapter 13 Envy

• It was exactly because Xia Mo didn’t want to see him that she lazed her time away on the sofa. By the time the sun set, she still didn’t see the man come down.
• She suddenly grew nervous. Had something bad happened to him upstairs?
• Images of him slipping in the bathtub and bloodying the floor, hitting the corner of the bed and bleeding onto the quilt, collapsing in the hall, bumping into the frame of the door, etc. flashed through her mind. My God! How terrifying! Danger’s everywhere!
• Xia Mo got up, dashed up the stairs, and forcefully opened the door to her bedroom. She peered inside and saw the man sleeping soundly in her bed.
• She then patted her chest. Safe. At least he’s still in one piece. But why is he so abominable?
• How could he brazenly sleep on her bed? Was it because of his arrogance or that he was used to sleeping on someone else's bed?
• She had just changed the sheets yesterday! How despicable!
• Xia Mo pouted and quietly left the room. She took no notice of the man peeping at her through his half-closed lids.
• What was up with her glaring eyes and wrinkling nose?
• He unconsciously smirked. The girl was quite interesting. At least she acted somewhat true to herself and did not pretend.
• Xia Mo went downstairs and walked about the living room twice. Mrs. Feng asked her what she wanted to eat for dinner.
• “Anything will do.” Xia Mo had never been picky, but today was different. The venerable one upstairs hadn’t left yet. “Make something that Mister likes to eat.”
• Mrs. Feng smiled, replied “yes”, and returned to work.
• Arriving downstairs in casual clothes, Ling Yichen saw dinner being made.
• He had swept a glance around the living and dining rooms before he finally caught a glimpse of her in the kitchen.
• She wore dark blue jeggings and a light blue t-shirt. Her hair was messily tied into a bun above her head.
• Her head was slightly lowered while she sipped on something. From behind, he could see her well-defined body. It was firm yet unbelievably soft.
• “Mrs. Feng! This is so much tastier than the foods bought outside!”
• Her cheerful voice was quite melodious to the ears.
• “Of course! We use bones to stew it,” chortled Mrs. Feng, “What kind of seasoning do you want? There’s sesame paste, chili sauce, fermented bean curd, soy sauce, and vinegar. How about some leek?”
• “I can make it myself. Prepare Mister’s dishes first. Are they done yet?” The woman then lowered her voice and suggested, “Mrs. Feng, why don’t you go up and take a look if Mister is awake yet?”
• “It’s better that you go instead.” Mrs. Feng shook her head. “Wake him up, and by the time he comes downstairs, dinner will be ready.
• After what had seemed like a long moment, she sighed, “Fine.”
• Ling Yichen stood not far from the dinner table. He watched the girl in a flowery apron turn around, droop her head, and walked out of the kitchen. It wasn’t until she had neared him that she stood still, looked from his feet up, and fixed her gaze on his face. She blinked twice and asked him, “How did you know that it was time to get out of bed and eat dinner?”
• Ling Yichen sat alone on one side of the two-meter-wide table. In front of him were the dishes that he normally enjoyed eating. The petite women before him raised a blue-and-white porcelain soup bowl to her mouth and nibbled on whatever was in there.
• Light slurping sounds could be heard. As she downed her soup, she used a napkin to wipe away the tiny beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Looking at her happily eating away, Ling Yichen lost his appetite for the dishes in front of him.
• With a big bowl of home-cooked mala soup in her stomach, Xia Mo massaged her belly and leaned against her chair. She looked up and saw the man staring back at her with furrowed brows.
• “Can you be a bit more ladylike?” He had no intention to fault her but merely wanted to speak his mind.
• “Huh? Immediately after he had spoken, Xia Mo hiccuped.
• Xia Mo abruptly sat upright She wiped her face with the napkin and then pursed her lips. “What about it? Is there a problem?”
• Ling Yichen wanted to tell her, “You ruined my appetite.”
• However, he looked into her dewy, large eyes and grew nervous. He didn’t have the heart to tell her.
• “Hm?” Xia Mo uncontrollably hiccuped again.
• The raised bowl was put back on the table again. Ling Yichen deeply knitted his brows as he glared at the woman.
• “Excuse me.”
• Xia Mo’s petite face flushed scarlet in embarrassment. She hastily lowered her head to gulp a few more mouthfuls of soup in an attempt to suppress her hiccups. To her dismay, she ended up spilling the soup everywhere after coughing from a gulp of the hot, numbing, and spicy soup and hiccuping at the same time. To make matters worse, because there was chili oil in the soup, she looked as if she had vomited blood.
• Although Ling Yichen sat two meters away, he was startled as well. He jumped to his feet, backed away from the table, and watched the red-faced woman sprint to the washroom.
• Upon hearing the commotion, Mrs. Feng rushed out of the kitchen with a worried expression. She quickly followed the sprinting woman into the washroom.
• Ling Yichen glanced at the mess on the table once more. He had now completely lost his appetite.
• He tossed his chopsticks on the table and turned to head for the study room.
• Xia Mo hated herself so much that she wished to never leave the washroom.
• She had never done something so humiliating like this in her life.
• If it weren’t for him, she would never have made such a fool of herself, not like this.
• “Are you not feeling well?” Not knowing what had happened, Mrs. Feng inquired with concern.
• “I choked. That’s all. It’s not that big of a deal,” She assured her. After Xia Mo had cleaned herself, she noticed the stain on her top and implored the woman, “Mrs. Feng, please fetch me a new set of clothes.”
• “Alright.” Without thinking too much, Mrs. Feng went upstairs to retrieve her a white, cotton t-shirt.
• “Where’s Mister?” Pretending not to care about him, she casually asked Mrs. Feng.
• “Mister went up to the study room,” she responded as she had just asked Xiao Cui of his whereabouts.
• “Ah.” Why was he still here?
• Disappointed, Xia Mo pouted her lips again. She walked out of the washroom and sat in the living room for a while. She then put on a wool sweater and brought Cui with her for a walk outside to burn off the calories.
• After he had answered a call and wrapped up some corporate work, he headed to the living room. Xia Mo was nowhere to be found.
• Ling Yichen glanced at the clock on the wall. It was only eight o’clock. Had she returned to her room to study?
• “Where is she?” He questioned Mrs. Feng who was cleaning the living room.
• “Miss said that she had eaten too much. She’s outside for a stroll,” responded Mrs. Feng, standing respectfully before him with her eyes and arms lowered.
• “Okay.” Ling Yichen recalled the bowl of mala soup that she had eaten earlier, nodded his head, and went up to the study room again.
• He picked up his phone, wanting to give Lu Wanru a call, but then gave up the notion.
• He stood in front of the window and stared at the darkening sky.
• The woman in the garden wildly swung her arms as she walked. Her movements showed no sign of a woman’s gentleness. However, she exuded a springlike temperament that made those who laid eyes upon her envious.