“Try pulling a stunt like that on me and ruining my reputation—Xianbai, take him to the police station.” Mo Guiyi said.
Although she said this, Mo Guiyi knew that even if he were sent to the police station, he wouldn’t be locked up for more than a few days. The law regarding hooliganism hadn’t been officially introduced yet, and the legal system wasn’t fully established, so cases like this usually resulted in just a few days of detention before closing.
It was far too easy on him. However, this matter wasn’t over yet; she had plenty of ways to deal with him. In her past life, he had colluded with Yao Shujing to harm her so terribly, and in this lifetime, she had to get back every single bit of it, letting them taste that exact same predicament.
Ming Xianbai scanned her face, catching the calm composure on it, and his gaze deepened a fraction. Then, he rolled up his sleeves and hauled the man up from the ground as if he were picking up a small chick. With the man’s trouser legs dripping wet and smelling foul, Ming Xianbai furrowed his brows in disgust.
Turning back to Ming Siling, he instructed, “Take your sister-in-law back.”
“I know,” Ming Siling replied. Thinking to herself: I already knew you dote on your wife, but why couldn’t it be my sister-in-law escorting me back instead?
Mo Guiyi curved her lips into a smile. “Go on then. Come right back once you’re done dropping him off—it’s getting late, so don’t dawdle too long.”
Ming Xianbai nodded before turning to leave.
With Ming Xianbai gone, the crowd gradually dispersed. Turning around, Mo Guiyi saw that Yao Shujing was still standing there looking completely vacant and out of it. With an amused smile, Mo Guiyi walked over, gave Yao Shujing a light pat on the shoulder, and said, “Shujing, it’s a good thing you were there to help me testify today.”
Yao Shujing had bitter words stuck in her throat that she couldn’t voice, forcing out a rigid, awkward smile.
Mo Guiyi continued with a smile, “From now on, I’ll just focus on living a solid, down-to-earth life with Ming Xianbai. Seeing what kind of soft-shelled cowards men outside really are, I realize that someone like Ming Xianbai is much better after all.”
Alarm bells rang fiercely in Yao Shujing’s heart. If that’s what she was thinking, then what on earth had all her careful planning over such a long time amounted to?
“I won’t chat anymore, Shujing. I’ll come look for you tomorrow.” Mo Guiyi waved goodbye to Yao Shujing and left together with Ming Siling.
Of course, she couldn’t afford to completely break ties with Yao Shujing just yet; she still had something important in Yao Shujing’s possession. Before her parents were sent down to the countryside, they had given her a jade pendant. That pendant had been coaxed away by Yao Shujing under the guise of “borrowing it to wear for a bit,” but it had never been returned to her since. Inside that jade pendant was a spatial dimension; later on, Yao Shujing relied entirely on this space to rake in a massive fortune and live a flourishing life. This time, she would never give her that opportunity again.
Besides, how could you kill a cat all at once? The hardships she had suffered in her previous life needed to be paid back to Yao Shujing step by step, inch by inch.
Ming Siling reminded her quietly in her ear, “Sister-in-law, stay away from that Yao Shujing in the future. I’ve always felt she doesn’t have good intentions—she has way too many crooked ideas in her head.”
“I know,” Mo Guiyi nodded.
Yao Shujing’s image in the residential compound had always been spotless. And she had been a neighbor to the Ming family for ages. In her past life, Yao Shujing had constantly whispered provocative and sowing-discord remarks in front of her mother-in-law and sister-in-law. Although the mother-in-law trusted her, the younger sister-in-law was young and had fallen for plenty of it. But in this lifetime, she wouldn’t give Yao Shujing that kind of opening again. She had to let her mother-in-law and sister-in-law see clearly what kind of person Yao Shujing truly was.
Ming Siling cast a strange, searching look at her. Mo Guiyi really seemed quite different from before. Could it be that she’s genuinely planning to settle down and live a proper life now? If so, that would be for the best. But if Mo Guiyi was just putting on an act—playing the obedient role solely to milk something else out of her family—then no matter how much her older brother tried to protect her, she wouldn’t let her off the hook.
That evening, Ming Xianbai returned from the police station. Due to insufficient evidence, Painter Wen had merely been given a record statement. It was only because Ming Xianbai leveraged his military status that they agreed to lock the man up for a few days of detention.
Returning to the room, what met Ming Xianbai’s eyes was Mo Guiyi fast asleep. Her cheeks were fair, her eyelashes long, and her features so exquisitely pretty that she looked just like a delicate porcelain doll. The very first time Ming Xianbai had laid eyes on her, he had fallen completely in love with her. Even though he knew her family background wasn’t ideal and might potentially hinder his future promotions, he had still married her and registered their marriage.
He had naively thought that as long as time passed and he treated her well enough, he would eventually be able to warm up her cold heart. Yet, who could have expected…
He knew for a fact that her involvement with that man was real. To what extent their relationship had developed, he dared not find out; afraid that if he ever learned the full truth, he might lose control and beat that man to death, he could only force himself to exercise restraint and actively avoid looking into it.
Staring at Mo Guiyi for a brief moment, Ming Xianbai withdrew his gaze, pulled an extra set of bedding out from the wardrobe, laid it down on the floor, and lay down fully clothed.
The previous night, just a light touch had sent her into a hysterical fit, hurling all sorts of vicious curses and insults at his head. Why bother provoking her into anger all over again?
Before dawn broke the next morning, Mo Guiyi was startled awake. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she looked at the still-dark sky outside the window, then glanced down at the broad-backed figure squatting in the dim moonlight on the floor, quietly packing up the bedding.
Did he really sleep on a floor pallet the whole night? Thinking of the harsh words she had spewed the night before, Mo Guiyi instantly understood why.
Getting up, Mo Guiyi crawled to the edge of the bed and gave Ming Xianbai’s shoulder a gentle poke with her finger.
Ming Xianbai’s body stiffened for a second before he turned his head to look up at her, his gaze instantly deepening. Leaning over the bedside with her long, dark hair draped across her shoulders, her delicate face still touched by sleepiness and her eyes half-closed in a lazy haze, she looked precisely like a captivating painting of a classical beauty.
Ming Xianbai’s heart pounded wildly, his dark eyes fixed on her intently for a long, silent moment before he forcefully wrenched his gaze away. In a cold tone, he asked, “What is it?”
“About last night…” Mo Guiyi wanted to ask about the injury on his hand.
Mistaking her intent, Ming Xianbai assumed she was asking about that man. His face darkened instantly, his fingers clenching so tightly that fresh blood seeped from the bruises on his knuckles. “You don’t need to worry about him. He’ll be released after a few days in detention. If you’re worried he might suffer inside, I can have a word with the people there and tell them not to give him a hard time.”
“Who’s worried about him?” Mo Guiyi blinked in surprise, catching sight of Ming Xianbai’s stiff, guarded posture, and instantly realized he had misunderstood.
Mo Guiyi let out a soft sigh. It was impossible to make him trust her overnight; she would simply have to let time prove everything.
Extending her hand out, Mo Guiyi offered it right in front of Ming Xianbai. “I wanted to ask what time you came back last night, and also… your hand. Let me see it.”
Ming Xianbai froze, staring blankly at her hand without reacting for several long seconds.
Mo Guiyi gave her hand a slight wiggle. “Your hand.” “Can’t I look at it?” she asked.
Lowering his gaze, Ming Xianbai forced his eyes away from her slender, fair fingers and said stiffly, “It’s already fine. There’s nothing worth looking at—this little scratch is nothing compared to the injuries I took on the battlefield.”
“Your hand,” Mo Guiyi insisted firmly.
Ming Xianbai glanced at her hand once more. This time, his gaze could no longer pull away, and his movements seemed completely beyond his own control as he placed his hand into Mo Guiyi’s outstretched palm.