Outside the villa, Lin Jiancheng was walking heavily towards the hall, his face looking extremely grim.
"What's wrong, Dad?" Lin Xuefei asked nervously in a hurry.
"Has Mr. Mo agreed not to sue us?"
Lin Jiancheng suddenly slapped Lin Xuefei across the face. "It's all because of you. Why did you keep provoking Xia Weilan for no reason? Now it's all over. The Lin family is finished."
"What? Dad!" Lin Xuefei rushed over again, grabbing Lin Jiancheng's sleeve.
"How could this be? How could the Lin family be finished? Think of something else! If I can't be a young mistress, what will I do in the future? I haven't married into a good family yet. I don't want to live a hard life!"
Lin Jiancheng was so annoyed by Lin Xuefei's ranting that he slumped tiredly on the sofa and said nothing.
"I don't want the Lin family to go bankrupt. How can I still hold my head up at school? How will those poor students I used to look down on view me in the future? No, I can't become a poor girl."
"Enough! Stop making so much noise!" Lin Jiancheng glared at her sternly.
"Dad, it's all because you're useless. Why aren't you as rich as Xia Weilan's grandfather? If you had managed the business well, I wouldn't have been so unlucky! It's useless for you to just get angry at me now!" Lin Xuefei blurted out in a fit of desperation.
"What did you say!" Lin Jiancheng suddenly stood up, his shoulders trembling with anger.
"Am I wrong? You've run the company into the ground. If you're so capable, stop the Lin family from going bankrupt!" Lin Xuefei shrieked shrilly, stamped her foot, and rushed upstairs, slamming the door behind her.
"Sir, calm down. Xuefei is just too desperate. She doesn't know what she's saying," Wei Hongmei said timidly.
But in her heart, she was just as panicked as Lin Xuefei.
She didn't want to go back to that destitute life.
"Humph!" Lin Jiancheng grabbed his coat and stormed out of the house.
As night fell, the wind howled outside, and the leaves rustled. A sense of oppression hung over the entire city of Kyoto.
At the Splendid Royal Court, Xia Weilan was cooking in the kitchen. As she prepared the ingredients, she hummed an unfamiliar tune.
When the song ended, Mo Beichen's voice came from behind her.
"You sing pretty well."
"Ah..." Xia Weilan turned around in surprise and saw the perfectly dressed and handsome man.
"Hubby, you're back!" Xia Weilan reacted and immediately smiled.
"Wait a moment. I'll be done soon." Xia Weilan turned back and became a bit flustered.
"Let me do it." Mo Beichen casually threw his suit jacket aside and gently rolled up his sleeves, revealing a section of his strong forearm.
Xia Weilan felt a powerful presence approaching. Then, the vegetables in her hand were taken by him.
His hands seemed to have magic. Picking, washing, and slicing the vegetables, he moved with grace and elegance.
Xia Weilan stared in a daze.
In a short while, Mo Beichen finished the last step and let his well - defined hands hang by his waist.
"Do you need me to do anything else?" Mo Beichen's deep and magnetic voice suddenly whispered in her ear.
Xia Weilan felt as if Mo Beichen was about to bite her earlobe. She tensed up nervously. When she looked up, she found that Mo Beichen was just standing in front of her, not too close.
"Am I hallucinating from exhaustion?" Xia Weilan murmured softly and patted her head.
"Why are you hurting yourself?" Mo Beichen frowned and suddenly grabbed her hand.
"Um... I'm swatting a mosquito," Xia Weilan said. She felt that Mo Beichen's palm on her wrist was very hot. And somehow, Mo Beichen seemed to have taken another step closer to her.
Xia Weilan felt that she was being squeezed into a small space, with her back tightly against the wall.
"A mosquito?" Mo Beichen's thumb rubbed back and forth on Xia Weilan's wrist, his tone ambiguous.
Xia Weilan suddenly felt parched. Looking at his attractive thin lips, she impulsively leaned forward and kissed him.
Mo Beichen seemed to have anticipated her move. He didn't move but opened his lips to cooperate with her, his deep eyes slightly squinted.
Xia Weilan felt bold and reckless. She plunged deeper into his mouth, biting him messily.
After a wild kiss, Xia Weilan was out of breath, blushing, and still clinging to Mo Beichen's neck.
"Are you seducing me?" Mo Beichen held her shoulders with both hands, stared at her, and said in a magnetic and charming voice.
"You're my husband. It's only natural for me to kiss my husband," Xia Weilan said confidently.
"Really?" Mo Beichen's voice was filled with something. He continued,
"Xia Weilan, I'm a man. I can't just let a woman take the initiative. I'm going to take it back."
As soon as he finished speaking, Mo Beichen lifted her onto the sink, leaned over, and captured her lips. He rolled her tongue and kissed her passionately.
This kiss was more intense and longer than the previous one. When Xia Weilan was in a daze, not knowing where she was, Mo Beichen finally let her go.
Both of them were breathing heavily, their eyes filled with an ambiguous glow.
A glint flashed in Mo Beichen's eyes and then disappeared. He ruffled her hair and said helplessly,
"You'll have to pay the price for seducing me. Remember that."
Although Mo Beichen said so, his tone showed that he was actually quite affected by Xia Weilan.
Xia Weilan didn't know why, but she felt a bit cheeky. But then she thought that it was okay for her to kiss her husband.
After thinking it through, Xia Weilan said straightforwardly,
"I can kiss you whenever I want. Who told you to be my husband."
"Okay." After making an ambiguous sound in his throat, Mo Beichen turned around gracefully.
"Come out and have dinner."
Xia Weilan quickly jumped off the sink. When she was tidying up her skirt, she found that it had been pushed up.
"Um..." While tidying up her skirt, Xia Weilan was glad that Mo Beichen hadn't noticed her embarrassed state.
It must have been accidentally messed up when Mo Beichen lifted her onto the sink.
During dinner, the two of them ate in harmony.
"The weather is bad today. Aunt Tian's grandson is sick, so I let her go home to take care of him," Xia Weilan said while eating.
She chewed rather loudly. Mo Beichen frowned slightly, a look of helplessness flashing across his eyes.
Xia Weilan had grown up in a simple environment and didn't know the proper etiquette of smiling without showing her teeth or chewing slowly.
"Okay." Mo Beichen sat upright, his shoulders squared, taking up only six - tenths of the chair. Even when eating, he looked noble and elegant.
Xia Weilan finished her meal quickly and then propped her chin on her hand, admiring him.
Mo Beichen was very composed. Even being stared at so intently, he still ate his meal calmly.
Under the light, his charm was like that of a god, noble and aloof.
"Have you looked enough?" Mo Beichen put down his bowl, glanced at her, and said in a neutral tone.
"One should look at good - looking people more," Xia Weilan flattered him instinctively.
Just then, a guard said respectfully at the door,
"Mr. Mo, there's a Mr. Lin Jiancheng outside who wants to see you."