Ye Huohuo’s back went cold at the sound of his voice. How could he be here?
Why was he here?
She didn’t even dare to turn her head, even thinking about running. But before she could move, a large hand landed on her shoulder, pressing her down, pinning her in place.
Ye Huohuo forced a smile that was uglier than a cry and turned her head to look at the person beside her. “Why… are you only here now!”
Li Mohan looked down at her, the light in his eyes dark and unclear. His light brown eyes were like bottomless deep pools, impossible to escape once you looked into them. “There was a matter at the company, I couldn’t get away. You’re still the same, always arguing when you’re upset. Hurry up and apologize to them!”
Li Mohan’s voice was filled with indulgence. He even raised his hand and gently ruffled Ye Huohuo’s dark, soft hair.
This attitude, this gesture, even Ye Huohuo herself felt the strong sense of love. Fang Fang, standing beside them, was stunned. Her gaze darted between Li Mohan and Ye Huohuo several times. When her eyes fell on Li Mohan, they were filled with admiration, but towards Ye Huohuo, it was unclear whether it was envy or jealousy.
If this extremely handsome guy could look at her with such an expression, she would gladly trade ten years of her life.
Ye Huohuo felt as if she were about to drown in Li Mohan’s sudden tenderness, a genuine impulse to think, “Just like this, let it stop at this moment.”
Fortunately, her self-control was relatively strong. After a moment of daze, she regained her composure, forcing herself to calm down and avert her eyes, not daring to meet Li Mohan’s gaze again.
Because of this, she didn’t see a hint of a smile flash in Li Mohan’s eyes.
Li Mohan nodded politely to Old Mrs. Chen. “Madam, I’m truly sorry. I apologize on behalf of my girlfriend. She’s just upset with me, feeling I’m late. Please be magnanimous and don’t take it to heart.”
Li Mohan, who normally maintained an aloof demeanor, was surprisingly approachable at this moment, a complete reversal of his usual self.
For those who hadn’t met him before, it might not seem like much, but for Ye Huohuo, who had seen his decisive ruthlessness, how he’d expelled an entire family from Haicheng with a single sentence, this was almost terrifying.
She had the urge to grab the man’s face in front of her. She even suspected that Li Moyan had used some kind of disguise to impersonate his brother and play a trick on her.
But Li Mohan’s unique aura eventually dispelled her doubts.
Ye Huohuo felt that Li Mohan at this moment was like a tiger that could bite off your neck at any moment, but suddenly flipped onto its back, inviting you to pet its belly. If it were you, would you dare to pet it?
She felt as though she were being roasted over a fire, and was about to be scorched.
She subtly shrugged her shoulders, trying to slip out from his “evil grasp” while he wasn’t paying attention. But the next second, that large hand gripping her shoulder tightened even more, and he pulled her closer into his embrace.
Ye Huohuo felt the entire weight of her body shift onto Li Mohan, her feet almost lifting off the ground.
What was this guy doing?
“You young man are quite good. Go back and discipline your girlfriend properly. Women need to be managed!” Old Mrs. Chen said sarcastically, completely disregarding the women present and seemingly unaware that she herself was a woman.
Fang Fang, sitting opposite her, changed her expression. A flicker of disdain quickly crossed her eyes as she looked at Old Mrs. Chen, but she soon masked it with a smile.
“Oh, Madam, please calm down, don’t upset yourself. It’s all my fault. I didn’t check the almanac before inviting you to eat, and I’ve made you unhappy!” Fang Fang said as she poured Old Mrs. Chen a cup of hot tea. “Please have some tea to cool your temper!”
Then Fang Fang turned her captivating eyes towards Li Mohan. “Sir, please don’t mind her. Madam is getting on in years, and many of her ideas differ from ours younger generation. We can be different from them.”
As she spoke, she winked at Ye Huohuo as if targeting her. “But we must also respect our elders, right!”
Her few words were spoken elegantly, her voice and tone as gentle as a spring breeze, making Ye Huohuo feel for a moment as if she had truly been in the wrong and should apologize.
She couldn’t help but re-evaluate Fang Fang in her mind. Initially, she thought Fang Fang was just an ordinary escort girl, exchanging her body for money. Then she realized Fang Fang seemed to be colluding with Young Master Ming’s follower to plot against the lustful Young Master Ming, suggesting she was a person with some intelligence, just misguided in her cleverness.
Now, it seemed this woman not only possessed beauty and brains but also had high emotional intelligence and was skilled in conversation. This reminded Ye Huohuo of a certain type of person she had encountered before.
Socialites, or call girls, who always said what people wanted to hear, twisted logic into reason, and made you accept their reasoning naturally.
She hadn’t expected Fang Fang to possess such capabilities.
Generally, men had little resistance to women like this, especially when Fang Fang’s captivating eyes swept over them, it made their bones feel weak.
But to Fang Fang’s surprise, her originally tender gaze was met with such chilling coldness in Li Mohan’s eyes that it forced her back. Those eyes were like a thousand-foot glacier; one glance could make you break out in a cold sweat even in the heat of summer.
Fang Fang couldn’t help but shudder and dared not look into Li Mohan’s eyes again. The words she was about to say were swallowed back.
Li Mohan quickly withdrew the coldness from his eyes and smiled faintly. “This young lady is right. Let’s go! Let’s not disturb this family’s meal.”
Saying this, he pulled Ye Huohuo back to the table where she had been eating noodles. He also ordered a bowl of noodles and actually began to eat.
Ye Huohuo had a stomach full of things to say, but seeing how heartily he ate, she didn’t voice them.
She watched his slender fingers holding the dark wooden chopsticks, the contrast between white and black so striking. His sleeves were neatly rolled up to his elbows, revealing his strong forearms.
She suddenly remembered last night, how those arms had held her tightly, how that large hand had caressed her entire body, and a warmth spread through her heart.
She couldn’t help but swallow, and to ease her awkwardness, she took a long time to ask, “You didn’t eat lunch either?”
“Mhm!” Li Mohan replied, his head lowered as he ate his noodles.
He finished the bowl of noodles in a few bites. Li Mohan took out a tissue from his pocket and wiped his mouth. “I wanted to finish today’s work early, so I didn’t have lunch.”
“You were in such a hurry to finish your work, was there something you had to deal with?” Ye Huohuo asked cautiously, harboring a hidden suspicion that he had received news about Mei Yingxue and was eager to find her.
Thinking that he would soon find Mei Yingxue and they would be inseparable, while she, his contract wife, was a joke. The intense dull pain that she had finally suppressed earlier resurfaced, and the things in front of her began to blur.
Her breathing also became much heavier.
“It’s all for you!” Li Mohan’s plain words made Ye Huohuo’s heart, which had felt like it was plunged into an ice cellar, feel warmth again.
“You, for me?” She looked up at Li Mohan incredulously, oblivious to the tears still gathering in her eyes.
“You…” Li Mohan, sharp as ever, noticed the glint of tears in her eyes. “What’s wrong? Are you upset because I didn’t take your side earlier?”
Ye Huohuo then realized something was wrong. She blinked, forcing the tears back into her eyes, and replied in an extremely small voice, “No, I know you were afraid of arousing their suspicion. I just… these noodles are a bit spicy.”
Li Mohan looked at Ye Huohuo’s bowl, which had no chili at all, and didn’t expose her.
“You didn’t let Mo Chen and the others follow, so I could only come!” Li Mohan explained seemingly casually, though he hated explaining.
Because of this, he had been spanked by his father quite a few times when he was young.
Perhaps because they had seen him get beaten, or perhaps their personalities were just different, Li Mohan’s three younger brothers didn’t have this issue. They would quickly clarify any matters.
Even Li Mohan himself found this unnecessary explanation today somewhat inexplicable.
“You want to investigate Du Lihua’s matter with me?” Ye Huohuo was a bit surprised. She really hadn’t expected it and didn’t understand Li Mohan’s purpose in following her.
Li Mohan’s expression turned stern. “Is that not allowed?”
“Ah?! It’s fine, it’s your freedom!” Ye Huohuo didn’t know why, but she was afraid of Li Mohan. When he put on a stern face, her heart skipped several beats.
The minds of young masters from wealthy families were truly hard to guess. It was probably because he found such things novel and sought some excitement.
After much thought, this was the only explanation.
Just then, Ye Huohuo’s bag vibrated, and a small glass bottle slid out, falling to the ground and shattering. A stream of black smoke shot out from it, flying rapidly towards Chen Dong’s table.
“Damn!” Ye Huohuo wanted to chase it, but it was already too late.