Li Mochan set her down, step by step pressing in, cornering her against the wall.

"How about trying it here?" His crimson lips curved in a rascally smirk, his hands braced against the wall, trapping her in front of him.

The wind on the balcony was fierce, blowing her long hair into disarray; Ye Jiuliang shuddered from the cold.

Looking into his deep, icy eyes, she smiled sheepishly and burrowed into his arms, "Mohan, I’m cold."

Try my ass.

I’m not that foolish.

Seeing how someone tantalized and then cowered away, Li Mochan’s dark eyes narrowed slightly, still recalling her recent comment about not being up to snuff, "Wolf cub, you should give it a try personally, I’m still counting on you to clear up those rumors later."

"..."

Clear my ass, as if we’re not all precious babies.

"Mohan, it’s windy here, let’s go inside and talk," Ye Jiuliang forcefully changed the subject.

Li Mochan was silent, his gaze heavy as he bore into her.

Clearly, the phrase "not quite up to it" had hit a nerve with Master Jiuliang.

Ye Jiuliang’s eyes shifted, she raised her hand to grab his collar, and Li Mochan obligingly leaned down.

She lifted her head and lightly kissed the corner of his lips.

"Is that good enough, Master Li?"

A brief touch and it was over, which was far from satisfying for him.

He uttered slowly, "No."

No meaning let’s just drop it.

The wind was too strong; it was so cold that Master Jiu had no desire to cajole anyone, thus he simply embraced her, hanging her onto his body.

Ye Jiuliang clung tightly to his neck with both hands, her slippers fell to the ground, her pale delicate feet dangling in the air, "I’m freezing to death, Li Mochan, if I catch a cold, you’re fully responsible."

Li Mochan glanced at her sideways, "If you don’t settle down, we’ll go back to the room."

Daring to rub against him while hanging on his body, truly asking for it...

Heartless little rascal.

Ye Jiuliang blinked, revealing an innocent smile.

"Li Mochan, my feet are cold."

"Let them be cold."

"You have no idea how to be considerate."

"..."

Wasn’t it the little rascal who just said he was considerate?

The dressing room.

Ye Jiuliang sat on a chair, watching the man crouched down helping her with her shoes, her rosy lips quietly curving up.

She brought up a serious matter, "Did you find anything on the person in black?"

"No," Li Mochan reached for the other shoe, placidly slipping it onto her foot.

Ye Jiuliang frowned. The man in black mentioned the game had just started; was the person behind the scenes targeting her alone, or their organization K as a whole?

It seemed she would have to return to Country Y.

Bringing her mind back, she looked at him with smiling eyes, "Mohan, have you felt that being with me just brings more danger?"

After tying the shoelaces, Li Mochan looked up at her, reached out to lightly flick her nose, "So be good and stay by my side, don’t wander off."

That way, he could protect her at all times.

Ye Jiuliang smiled with her eyes curving, "Why do I feel like you’re scheming against me?"

Li Mochan raised an eyebrow, "Am I?"

Just as Ye Jiuliang was about to nod, her red lips were suddenly sealed.

Meeting the man’s profound dark eyes, Ye Jiuliang’s eyes were tinged with a faint smile.

Another ambush!

**

"Where have these two run off to, not answering their phones either," Feng Yi returned to the banquet hall, unable to find Li Mochan and her, muttering with a frown.

He lifted his eyes to the window, the torrential rain unceasing.

Were they up to some mischief again?

At that thought, he put away his phone and turned to find someone.

In his urgency, he almost bumped into someone.

"Feng Yi, are you in such a hurry because someone is trying to kill you?" Ye Jiuliang teased.

Feng Yi steadied himself and, seeing the two of them, said irritably, "I’m worried that you guys will get yourselves killed."

Ye Jiuliang hooked her lips, her gaze sweeping over the surroundings and noticing that the old Mr. Ye was staring in her direction, so she indifferently withdrew her gaze.

"Can’t you two wear something less conspicuous? How many people around here are staring at you both?" Feng Yi held his forehead. The two of them had disappeared for a while and came back with different clothes, which was likely to lead to wild speculations.

Not to mention the matching color schemes, even the styles of the clothes were almost identical, which was a bit too showy.

Ye Jiuliang shrugged, "His choice." It had nothing to do with her.

Feng Yi rolled his eyes and caught sight of Xiao Lingchen walking towards them with a bowl in his hand, a sense of foreboding creeping into his heart.

The faint scent of ginger spread through the air, with many eyes gathered on Xiao Lingchen.

More precisely, on the bowl he was carrying.

What’s going on?

Everyone was confused.

"Here." Xiao Lingchen stopped, extending the bowl he was carrying to Ye Jiuliang.

He said indifferently, "Drinking some ginger tea will make it less likely for you to catch a cold."

As his voice faded, a strange silence enveloped the surroundings.

For a moment, everyone felt as if they had fallen into an ice cave, breaking out in goosebumps.

What situation is this?

Could it be that the young master of the Xiao Family had taken a fancy to Ye Jiuliang as well?

Was he now challenging Li Mochan, planning to boldly compete for her?

As thoughts cleared, everyone felt like they had stumbled upon a giant piece of gossip.

Feng Yi quietly moved a step back, withdrawing from the battlefield; he did not want to be an accidental casualty.

Li Mochan looked at the steaming bowl of ginger tea and then averted his gaze back to the person beside him, his expression inscrutable, revealing neither happiness nor anger.

Startled by Xiao Lingchen’s sudden show of care, Ye Jiuliang paused before declining with a detached voice, "Thanks for the thought, Xiao Family’s young master, but it’s not necessary."

"I’m just worried you might catch a cold." Expecting her to refuse, Xiao Lingchen still couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed deep down.

"A bowl of ginger tea shouldn’t upset Master Jiu, should it?"

Ye Jiuliang took Li Mochan’s hand, her lips quirking slightly, "Sorry, I only drink the ginger tea made by my Li Mochan."

That statement, heard by both men, evoked two very different emotions.

Li Mochan’s thin lips curled up, a gleam of amusement in his eyes outshining the brightest stars.

Ignoring Xiao Lingchen, he took Ye Jiuliang by the hand and walked towards the sofa.

Xiao Lingchen’s eyelids drooped slightly as the steam in the bowl rose, blurring the emotions in his eyes.

His fingers tightened around the bowl, knuckles whitening.

Not far away, Xiao Mengxue shook her head helplessly. As much as she pitied her brother, she couldn’t help but blame Ye Jiuliang for her cold indifference.

She didn’t need to embarrass Lingchen so publicly, even if she didn’t like him.

Both their phones had fallen into the sea, but fortunately, Ye Jiuliang still had her tablet.

Upon logging into WeChat, a message popped up on the screen.

The contact’s nickname was noted as — Master Jiu’s main wife.

Unfortunately, Li Mochan saw it as well.

The hand on her shoulder slid down, holding her pale hand.

His deep voice suddenly became dangerous, "Master Jiu?"

Ye Jiuliang flipped the tablet over, placing it face down on her knees.

The low voice by her ear sounded again, "Main wife?"

"Cough cough." Ye Jiuliang gave an awkward laugh, "It’s a misunderstanding."

Li Mochan gave a playful smile, "Then who is the little wife?"

She laughed heartily, "You."

"Say that again." Li Mochan lowered his head to look at her, the hand around her waist tightening slightly.

Ye Jiuliang shrank her neck and said with a forced smile, "How about you be the main wife then?"