Aqiao said, "Madam, perhaps Master had something urgent come up. Maybe he’ll return once the eldest miss and the others are back."

"Hmph."

Mo Yu sneered coldly, "He hasn’t called me at all today. If he had something that kept him from coming back, at the very least he should have given me a reason."

"It’s already past one o’clock, and not a single message from him. How do you expect me to tolerate this?"

Aqiao was at a loss for words.

The more Mo Yu thought about it, the angrier she became. She stretched out her hand to pick up her cell phone and dialed that familiar number by heart.

After the phone had rung for a while, just as she was about to hang up, someone finally answered.

Anger surged, but she restrained her temper, "Mo Yuan, where are you?"

On the other end of the line, Mo Yuan had just finished treating the wound on his arm, his tone neither cold nor warm, "Country Y."

He was still in Country Y?

Mo Yu’s face showed resentment, and with a tone of grievance, she asked, "Didn’t you promise to come back today?"

"Something came up here, and I can’t leave for now."

His tone was as indifferent as ever, and she had heard this same line countless times before.

Mo Yu’s eyes reddened; with lips tightly clenched, her voice hoarse, she asked, "Then when exactly can you come back?"

As he detected the undertone of a sob in her voice, Mo Yuan’s expression remained unfazed, and he showed little emotional fluctuation, "It depends."

Those three extremely perfunctory words completely stripped away Mo Su’s last bit of reason. Her voice suddenly became agitated, "Mo Yuan, do you even care for this home at all? Is it that difficult for you to come back even once? Today, Mo Chen and the others returned, yet you still refuse to come back. What do I have to do for you to start taking this family to heart a little?"

Mo Su could warm a stone with her embrace, yet even after nearly twenty years, she hadn’t been able to warm his heart.

Seemingly accustomed to her anger, Mo Yuan’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, his tone remaining indifferent, "I’ve got matters to deal with here; I’m hanging up now."

With those words, he hung up without a second’s hesitation.

By his side, Hong Li scratched his head, seemingly hesitant to speak, "President Mo, why don’t you go back first? I can handle the rest here."

Sometimes, Hong Li really didn’t understand—Madam took such comprehensive care of President Mo, so why was the master always so cold to Madam, treating her as if she was a stranger?

Even a courteous relationship between husband and wife was not supposed to be this alienating and distant.

"No need." Mo Yuan put down his cell phone and glanced unintentionally at the bruise on his wrist, a nearly indiscernible smile appearing on his lips.

That kick was quite vicious.

Indeed, an interesting young man.

On the other side.

Having the call abruptly ended, Mo Yu could no longer control her emotions and swept everything off the table onto the floor with one move of her hand.

"Bang—"

The expensive vase and a full set of teacups shattered on the floor, scattering shards of glass everywhere.

Aqiao was startled, bowing her head, not daring to speak.

"Mo Yuan, how can you treat me like this; how could you..." Mo Yu’s pent-up tears fell uncontrollably as she roared in a hoarse voice.

What was wrong with her? Why wouldn’t he give her even a shred of tenderness? She had given so much for him, was his heart really made of stone?

After a while, Aqiao tenderly reminded her, "Madam, the eldest miss and the others are about to arrive."

Mo Yu raised her hand to wipe the tears from her face and stood up to walk upstairs, "Have someone clean up this mess."

"Yes."

By the time she had reapplied her makeup and come down, the living room was back to normal, and new tea sets and vases were placed on the table.

"Eldest miss, young master." A servant’s voice came from outside.

Mo Yu’s expression softened a bit as she looked towards the door. Her gaze fell on the person entering ahead, and a smile tinged her eyes.

"Mo Su."

Mo Su handed the scarf in her hand to Mengzhu and met Mo Yu’s gaze as she calmly called out, "Mom."

Mo Yu took a step forward and embraced her, "You’ve lost weight again, haven’t you, after not seeing you for a while?"

Mo Su smiled lightly, "I’m fine."

"Miss, what happened to your hand?" Aqiao, with her eagle eyes, noticed the bandage on Mo Su’s wrist and asked with concern.

At those words, Mo Yu also saw the bandage on Mo Su’s wrist, her expression darkening slightly, "What happened, who hurt you?"

"It’s nothing serious, we’ll talk about it later," said Mo Su in a hushed voice.

Mo Yu’s eyes flickered but she didn’t press the issue any further.

Outside the door, Mo Chen strolled in lazily, "Mom."

Mo Su’s smile deepened as she pulled him by the hand, "It’s good you’re back, go wash your hands, we can eat now."

Mo Chen responded with an ’oh’ and made his way to the washroom.

"Mom, didn’t you say Dad was back?" Mo Su looked around, not finding Mo Yuan.

As the words left her mouth, Mo Yu’s expression turned obscure.

After hesitating for a few seconds, she said, "There was a sudden issue at the company, your dad can’t make it back today."

Hearing this, Mo Su gave her a meaningful glance, tucked away her doubts, and didn’t ask further.

In the dining room, Mo Chen dug into his food, resolutely avoiding the topics among the women. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Even if he wanted to be invisible, he couldn’t escape Mo Yu’s questioning.

"Mo Chen, I heard you’re staying with Ye Jiuliang now?"

Mo Chen paused with his knife and fork in hand and murmured an assent, showing no interest in discussing this matter further.

"Is Ye Jiuliang treating you well?" Mo Su asked gently.

Mo Chen was surprised at her unexpectedly calm attitude regarding Ye Jiuliang.

He took a sip of juice from the cup beside him to calm his nerves, "Very well."

Mo Su interjected decisively, "No matter how good it is there, it’s still someone else’s turf. After you go back, move back in with your sister."

Mo Chen went quiet, his appetite suddenly waning.

"Did you hear me?" Mo Yu’s tone grew more forceful.

During his days at Mo Garden, he had felt a happiness he’d never known before. There, he could do as he pleased, and everyone there treated him well, especially Sister Jiuliang.

Leaving that behind to go live with Master Extinction again would be torture.

Mo Chen pursed his lips and muttered, "She kicked me out, why should I go back to live there?"

"Your sister said those things in the heat of the moment. Besides, how could you speak to your sister like that? Everything your sister does is for the good of the Mo Family, and for your sake," Mo Yu said earnestly.

Next to her, Mo Su glanced at Mo Chen and remained silent throughout.

Mo Chen didn’t want to listen to her lecturing and didn’t want to confront the question directly. He put down his cutlery, "I’m full."

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

"This damn kid." Mo Su frowned, her appetite gone from irritation.

She was already protective of that damned girl Ye Jiuliang, and now after staying with her for a few days, he’s even less obedient.

Without hurry, Mo Su said, "Mom, we can’t rush this. Let’s eat first."