Whoosh—
A warm, sticky liquid flew straight at her. Trapped in Li Qingyang’s arms, Lin Yumo had nowhere to dodge. She could only take the full force of it, her face splattered with filth.
It all happened too fast for anyone to react. Li Qingyang’s clothes were caught in it too, his entire back soaked through.
He let go of Lin Yumo and turned toward the person who had thrown it.
“Lan Ying, apologize.”
The moment his back was to Lin Yumo, Li Qingyang’s expression turned icy, even taking on a touch of menace.
Lin Yumo broke free and immediately grabbed tissues from the table. Coffee ran down her face and neck as she frantically tried to wipe it away, her expression stricken.
But when she saw the foundation on the tissue, she had to stop.
If she didn’t wipe it off, her face would be covered in coffee.
If she did, the scars on her face would show.
In front of everyone, Lin Yumo was trapped between two impossible choices.
She trembled slightly, at a loss.
Fortunately, Li Qingyang noticed her distress. He quickly took off his jacket and draped it over her head, shielding her from the curious eyes around them.
That gesture only made Lan Ying even angrier.
“Why should I apologize?!”
Lan Ying was short—even half a head shorter than Lin Yumo. Beneath her smooth, straight bangs was a delicate, palm-sized face. Her designer clothes made it obvious to anyone that she was a wealthy young lady.
She stubbornly lifted her chin and glared at Li Qingyang.
“I was wondering why you’d gone to all that trouble to dress up before leaving today. So you were going to meet another woman.”
As she spoke, Lan Ying’s eyes reddened, her face full of hurt.
“I’m your wife! How can you put your arms around another woman in public?!”
Her revelation plunged the whole café into silence.
Everyone instinctively held their breath.
Even the staff stopped what they were doing, staring at the three of them, dumbfounded.
It was hard not to gossip about such a dramatic scene.
“Huh? What kind of twist is this…?”
“So one’s the mistress and one’s the scumbag?”
“Shh, shh, don’t talk. Keep watching.”
“…”
“I have never acknowledged you as my wife. My personal relationships are none of your business.”
His voice was cold.
Lin Yumo had never heard him speak with such an icy edge. The stark difference made him feel like a stranger to her.
“Lan Ying, you followed me again.”
Li Qingyang’s expression was grim. “Starting tomorrow, go back to the Lan family. I’ll deal with Mom and Dad.”
Lan Ying’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Her gaze passed over him to Lin Yumo, who stood silently behind him. “…Who is she?”
“That has nothing to do with you.”
“You’re sending me back to my parents’ home because of her?”
“You know perfectly well why.”
“…Are you really going to treat me like this?”
“You’re the one who’s never satisfied.”
“…”
Lan Ying’s face went deathly pale.
She stood there, crestfallen, suddenly feeling ridiculous.
She had brought this humiliation on herself.
Her husband was defending another woman.
No wonder…
They had been married for months, yet he was cold toward her and had refused to consummate the marriage. She had thought he was simply reserved and restrained, and kept reassuring herself that they had all the time in the world.
Li Qingyang saw how upset she was, but showed no reaction. Instead, he criticized her.
“You threw coffee at her without a word. Where were your manners?”
Lan Ying gave him a bitter smile.
“Manners? You’re holding another woman, and you expect me to keep my composure?”
“Whatever the reason, apologize to her.”
His tone was firm, every word like ice.
Lin Yumo hurriedly said, “It’s fine. You don’t need to apologize. I’m going to the restroom. You two talk…”
Given the situation, it was better not to make things worse. Otherwise, neither of them would know how to save face.
The news that Li Qingyang was married struck Lin Yumo like a thunderclap. She had never imagined Lan Ying would be her sister-in-law. The anger she’d felt moments ago, when Lan Ying threw coffee at her, vanished in an instant.
Lan Ying looked petite, but she didn’t back down at all. Even though she was the one who had been wronged, she still stood tall and confronted Li Qingyang.
Her sister-in-law was kind of cute. It might not have been an appropriate thought, but Lin Yumo felt the two of them made a good match.
There was just a huge misunderstanding between them.
But Lin Yumo had never been one to meddle. It wasn’t her place to explain things, and she might only make the misunderstanding worse. Better to clear the way and let Li Qingyang handle it.
Before Li Qingyang could respond, Lin Yumo picked up her things and hurried toward the restroom.
“Stop!”
Lan Ying tried to stop her. “You—”
Before she could finish, Li Qingyang grabbed her by force. An icy chill spread over her skin, making her shiver.
“Lan Ying, this is the first and last time. Don’t you dare go after her. Or else…”
His warning sent a chill through Lan Ying.
It felt as if someone had gripped her heart in a vise. She stared at him in disbelief, barely able to breathe.
“…Do you love her?”
Her smile looked more painful than tears.
“Go home. Now.”
Li Qingyang ruthlessly flung her hand away.
Lan Ying stumbled, nearly falling.
With everyone watching, she had lost all face.
How could she accept her husband so firmly taking the mistress’s side? She fought to hold back the tears welling in her eyes, refusing to let what little dignity she had left be trampled too.
“…Li Qingyang, you bastard!”
Eyes red, Lan Ying cursed him and fled in a state of collapse.
Li Qingyang swept his gaze around the café. The onlookers immediately looked away. One by one, they lowered their eyes and pretended to be busy.
“Sorry. Everything in the café today is on me.”
With that, he headed toward the restroom.
Only after he disappeared around the corner did everyone let out a series of hushed exclamations.
“Th-this is…”
“So juicy.”
“The scumbag’s even paying for our drinks!”
“Why is he even hotter now? Sob…”
“You’re nuts. He has a wife and a mistress.”
“Hey, he can afford to!”
“…”
Outside the restroom,
Li Qingyang had leaned against the wall and finished a cigarette. Lin Yumo came out just as he did.
“Momo.” He immediately straightened.
Lin Yumo looked surprised.
“Brother Qingyang, what are you doing here?”
“I was waiting for you.”
“What about your wife? Did you explain things to her?”
Li Qingyang paused.
“…She isn’t your sister-in-law.”
“But you married her, didn’t you?”
Lin Yumo said, “I haven’t had a chance to congratulate you yet.”
His expression looked pained.
“I don’t love her. It was just a marriage alliance. We’ll divorce sooner or later. There’s someone I do love.”
“What?”
She was even more surprised. “Who do you love?”
“…”
Li Qingyang felt as if the words were lodged in his throat. He looked at her, his expression unusually complicated. “Who do you think I could love?”
“…?”
She tilted her head, puzzled.
The man let out a long sigh and gave a self-mocking smile.
“Never mind. I’ll take you home. What happened today was my fault. I’ll apologize to you on her behalf.”
“It’s all right.”
Lin Yumo advised him earnestly, “Even if it was an arranged marriage, you still need to respect each other. Now that you’re married, you should keep your distance from other women.”
When two prominent families arranged a marriage, they still had to keep up appearances.
“You’re not another woman.”
“No, I mean we’re both grown up now, and we each have our own families. We need to be mindful of boundaries. We can’t act as freely as we did when we were kids.”
Lin Yumo was being direct.
“You don’t need to take me home. Go back to her.”
No matter how close they had once been, that was in the past.
People had to look toward the future.
Even if she thought of him as the most important older brother in her life, they were still a man and a woman. Now he was married, and she was preparing to marry. Keeping their distance was the most respectful thing they could do for each other.
“Here’s your jacket. Thank you.”
Li Qingyang took his jacket back. The stains on it had been carefully cleaned.
He understood what Lin Yumo meant, of course.
They left the café and walked in silence.
“You can leave me here.”
Lin Yumo stopped in front of the bus stop.
Li Qingyang nodded, his lips pressed tightly together.
“Be careful on your way home.”
“Mm.”
He seemed to want to say something, but didn’t.
Brrring—
The phone in her pocket suddenly vibrated. Lin Yumo checked it and saw that it was her mother calling, so she answered. “Mom, what’s wrong?”
“Momo! The Mu family just called and told you to pack your things and move over there right away. They sounded pretty urgent. Come home quickly!”