C30 Be Careful

Moo Nuannuan raced into the bathroom to gaze at her face in the mirror. The yellow foundation she had placed all over her cheeks still hadn't faded, and the spots around her nose were still there. From an outsider's eye, she looked ugly. Hell, she might even look disgusting to some people. If that was so, why did Mu Jiachen keep flirting with her? Was the man blind or something?

But then again...she had always heard that people in the higher social circles were a bit different from those in the middle class. By that, they meant they had more special...habits and perversions that many would've found ridiculous and weird at first glance.

Could it be that he had some sort of fetish for forbidden romances? That with her being his sister-in-law, it gave him a sense of excitement of actually claiming her right under his cousin's nose? Although the thought was ridiculous, it was still possible.

A chill shot down her spine.

When she had first met Mu Jiachen, she had assumed that he was just another player who got everything he could ever want. And by that, she'd readily bet that he had tons of women and money at his disposal–all of them ready to be spent and left behind.

However, when he had sustained an injury and asked that she take the bullets out of him, it was also the day her opinion of him changed a little. The way he stood strong and directed her–even reassured her that she was doing her job right–was different from his usual notorious personality.

Although the man may look like he was happy, playful, and flirty, there was more than what met the eye with him. He wasn't as simple as some may have thought. Her fingers drummed against the table, as she narrowed her eyes at her reflection.

This man had everything on his pedestal, so why the hell was he flirting with her?

What had the world come to?

Even as she had walked out of the bathroom and started to cook, she still wasn't paying any attention to the meal she was cooking up. Delectable smoke filled her surroundings, but she couldn't seem bothered as her eyes were still trained at her faded reflection.

Only after wasting two strips of meat did she finally manage to push Mu Jiachen out of her mind. She gripped her pan even tighter as her eyes narrowed at the meat she had left. This was not the time to think about him! She had more important things to finish.

At this point, she planned to believe Mu Jiachen just this once and make the dishes that he had mentioned.

As soon as she had finished plating the dishes, she heard the sound of a car engine coming from the front gates. Moo Nuannuan paused, and her head tilted to the right. There it was. Flashing lights flickered through the dark windows, signaling that the car had just parked.

Was Mu Tingxiao back?

Could she see his face now?

As the thought soared through her mind, she could feel her palms becoming sweaty. Back then, she had remembered how against he was in letting her see his face despite her proclamations of how it didn't matter. Would he finally allow her to see him now?

Taking off her apron, she raced out the front door to see Shi Ye slamming the car door shut. No matter how long she had waited, he made no moves to open the passenger seat or even the backseat. Mu Tingxiao wasn't in the car. 'Where was he?'

Shi Ye was about to walk into the hall when he saw Moo Nuannuan standing by the doorway. Although stunned, he quickly recovered, nodding respectfully. "Young Madame," he greeted. "Do you need any help with anything?"

"Actually, I do. Is Mu Tingxiao back?"

"Young Master has already gone upstairs." Although he didn't know why his boss was even continuing with this act, Shi Ye continued to lie. In the past few days, he was the one who had helped arrange the entire thing–making sure that Young Madame saw no flaws in his excuse. "He took the back entrance."

"Oh..." Although she was surprised, she didn't think too much about it. "He hasn't eaten yet, right? I made dinner for him."

Shi Ye nodded.

"I'm going to deliver these documents to the young master," he stated, motioning to the folders in his hand. "I'll be asking him if he wants to go downstairs to eat or if he needs it delivered to his study. Will that be all right, Young Madame?"

"Thank you."

Moo Nuannuan didn't hold him very long, letting him carry the folders to his boss's study. Once she was out of sight, he breathed a sigh of relief. Truly, keeping up with the lie was difficult. "I should get a pay raise for this," he murmured to himself, shaking his head.

Mu Tingxiao was on the phone, discussing a business deal with his executive.

When he heard the door being pushed open behind him, he didn't need to look back to know that it was Shi Ye.

Within a few minutes, the call had ended and Mu Tingixao turned his seat to look at the man in front of him. Shi Ye had already taken out all the documents from the folder and arranged them neatly on his desk–each ranging from contracts to invitations. As soon as he was finished, he simply stood at the side, as if waiting for him.

"Do you want to say anything else?"

Shi Ye hesitated. "Young Madame said she cooked for you."

There was a small pause, before he responded, "I know."

Ever since the Young Madame had married him, his boss's behavior had started to become a bit strange. Although he was still aloof and cold to everyone around him, there was a sense of stiffness whenever Nuannuan's name was mentioned. And whenever he had seen them interact, it was as if he had turned a complete 180 on them all. Even the bodyguards were surprised.

In the dining room, Moo Nuannuan paced from left to right. However, she still didn't see Shi Ye come down from the study. "What if he was waiting for me to go away? I mean, he doesn't want to see me," she mused to herself, glancing up the staircase as to where the study was. "Yeah, that's right. I should leave."

However, just as she was about to head back to her bedroom, she saw Mu Jiachen walking down the stairs. He was still dressed the same way he had been an hour ago, and the arrogant look on his face still hadn't changed. Her calm face morphed into a scowl.

She took a few steps back, eyeing him warily. "Didn't you say you had a dinner party to attend?"

"I did." He walked past her and walked straight into the dining room.

All the dishes were already set on the table. The bright colors and sweet aroma made the dishes all the more delectable, and Moo Nuannuan even added spicy chicken to the mix as well. The corners of his lips twitched. Although it may not be five-star quality, there was something about these dishes that brought him a sense of warmth.

"Why haven't you left yet?"

"I said I had a dinner party, but I didn't say that I wanted to attend." He sat down, glancing her way.

Although he looked emotionless, she felt that he was far pleased with himself in finding a loophole. It was like dealing with an overaged child! She clenched her fists, but she remained silent. As long as he didn't touch the food, she'd be fine.

However, it seemed that the man had other plans. Mu Tingxiao didn't eat much back at the Moo estate, given that he was far too busy evading their greedy looks and interrogations. His stomach growled at the sight of all these options. Not even waiting for her reaction, he grabbed his chopsticks and started to eat. "

"Hey! This isn't for you!" Moo Nuannuan walked over to snatch the chopsticks from his hand.

Expecting this, he raised his arm in the air, making her stumble out of nothing. Before she could even steady herself, she had already fallen forward.

She subconsciously reached out to protect her face and head, only to land in Mu Jiachen's firm embrace. Her body froze almost entirely as his cold hands slid down her warm back. "Cousin Tingxiao is still at home, and you're already throwing yourself at me like this," he said teasingly. "Do you really want us to turn against each other and fight for your hand?"

Moo Nuannuan finally lowered her hands and opened her eyes. It was only when she looked at him did she saw the snide smile that had slipped into his lips. He didn't look quite happy with her predicament as well, staring into her as if he was gazing straight into her soul.

They stayed together for a few seconds with her sitting on his lap and his arms wrapped around her waist.

It was an intimate position. If someone else were to see them...

She struggled under her grasp, and her expression darkened immediately. However, before she could break free from his hold, Shi Ye had just walked into the dining room.

"Young Master said he..." Surprise flashed across his face as soon as he had seen their position.

It was a good thing he was used to these types of quick-thinking situations that he immediately jumped right into it. "Young Master said that he isn't hungry."

Without another word, he raced out of the dining room.

What the hell did he see?

Young Master and Young Madame in the dining room...

No, wait! But the Young Master's identity right now wasn't Mu Tingxiao, but Mu Jiachen! Being Young Master's subordinate, wasn't his reaction too passive? Shouldn't Shi Ye be angry and immediately report it to the 'Young Master' even if they were the same person?

Should he head back then? However, just as Shi Ye was about to turn around and tell them off, something held him back. His boss would eat him alive if he interrupted them at such an intimate moment...and it could only make matters even worse.

Agh! What the hell was his boss even thinking?

In the dining room, the atmosphere had gone from ambiguous to outright confusing.

Moo Nuannuan watched Shi Ye enter the room and leave without adding another word. She didn't know if it was because the man was too surprised to speak or he had gotten too anxious upon seeing them. Her hands twitched to her face.

Watching her expression change, Mu Tingxiao stared at her intriguingly. "Do you think Shi Ye will tell cousin about us?"

"There's nothing for him to say!" She immediately refuted him.

Moo Nuannuan continued to struggle to break free from his grasp, but he still didn't let go. In reality, he didn't seem to use much of his strength, but no matter what she did–even if she started to use her feet–she still couldn't break free. Her jaw clenched.

"Mu Jiachen," she snarled. The tips of her ears were already tinged red. "You've gone too far!"

He still didn't look fazed by her proclamations. However, it was only under the luminous light did he notice an inconsistency in her skin. It was as if her face was coated by something, and it looked like a thick pound of cement from afar.

Narrowing his eyes, he let his finger slide down across her cheek.

The spot where he had wiped happened to be where there were numerous spots across her face. When he raised his finger, he saw that the spots had faded! Not only that, but the part of her skin where he had just wiped, had already turned white!

What the hell was going on?

Taking advantage of his confusion, she was finally able to break free from his embrace. She didn't dare move as she covered her right cheek, standing on the side. An unconcealable fear flashed across her face, and she found herself frozen into place.

Mu Tingxiao snapped out of his reverie.

He gazed down at his fingers, noticing the waxy powder that had coated them.

His eyes darkened, and something flashed across his features. Slowly getting up from his seat, he slowly walked towards her like a predator stalking his prey. His hands were stiff to his sides. Fuck! Did he know? Her arms trembled.

He walked very slowly, and every step made her heart skip a beat. She couldn't help but stumble back.

As soon as her back hit the wall, she knew that there was no way out of this situation. Wagging his finger, his eyes narrowed. "What is this?"

"It's foundation...Don't you know about make-up?" Her voice became more high-pitched.

However, Mu Tingxiao didn't let it go that easily.

"Do women wear foundation this dark?" He sneered.