Chapter 83 - Live in the moment
"Y-You just violated one of the terms!!" Xiu Mei cried out as soon as she got a hold of herself. She looked in disbelief at Lu Chen who was now the on grinning so smugly at her.
"I did not."
"You did! Look, no intimate skins.h.i.+p unless permitted! When did I allow you to p-push me down and d-do that!" Xiu Mei was too embarra.s.sed to verbalize what he did so she just pointed at her ear to express what she wanted to say.
"I concur with you on that." Lu Chen stated as he continued, "But clearly, I just signed the contract after I did…. THAT. So the things I did before I signed on the paper don"t count at all."
When Lu Chen was a.s.serting those words, he tried to make his voice sound serious as if he was stating something as-a-matter-of-fact and what he did wasn"t done deliberately.
Ah, lies.
"You! This cunning businessman!!!"
Xiu Mei was exasperated because she knew she couldn"t argue with that. Lu Chen was right in all places, he has yet to sign the paper so what he did to her was still not counted. Clearly, she was being played by this sly businessman!
Really, Lu Chen was being sly against her now?!
"I"ll see you downstairs, wife." Lu Chen beamed before finally turning towards the gla.s.s door to change into his working attire.
Xui Mei watched him disappear in front of her again, as she was left tongue-tied in the room. She studied the paper on her hand and groaned in frustration.
How the h.e.l.l can she outwit the sly wolf she was living with!?
Well, that"s a story for another time.
Xiu Mei did get to have her own room that day. Of course, Lu Chen was the one who decided where her room will be. Thus, she was transferred to the room just across from his room. She wanted to argue again with Lu Chen so he finally offered her two choices: To either move to the room across his or to just forget moving out of his room.
Since the master of the house has spoken, Xiu Mei didn"t have the guts to fight back anymore else Lu Chen changes his mind and won"t allow her to move out of his room anymore.
It"s still infinitely better to have 2 walls between them that just having the pillows and duvet as the things separating them.
After a hearty and healthy breakfast, Lu Chen left again for work. After she collapsed, Lu Chen temporarily stopped her from doing any work until she"s recovered enough to do those.
Since she had nothing to do, Xiu Mei mostly stuck with Lu Qiang and accompanied him in his studies for the next two weeks. Lu Chen still denied everyone from visiting her, except her family who visited her during the weekends.
"Eldest Brother, it"s been a while. You look scarier right now that the last time we met." Xiu Mei hugged Xiu Min as soon as she saw him.
Her eldest brother mostly stayed in the army camp all year round, and he would spend a few days with his family before going back on a mission again.
"I know, and you"ve become naughtier than the last time we met as well." Xiu Min quickly pinched her cheeks, as if to punish her.
"You married Lu Chen." Xiu Min heavily emphasized the word "married" when he said that to her. She immediately understood what her eldest brother was trying to say.
"It"s a mutual agreement."
"You"re being hasty."
"I thought about it carefully."
If Xiu Min knew how Xiu Mei quickly gave in to Lu Chen"s words back at the hospital, she was pretty sure that her brothers would end Lu Chen. So no matter what happens, their contract marriage of 1 year should not reach their ears or even her will also be roasted alive by these twin monsters.
"Was it because of the child?" Xiu Min glanced at Lu Qiang who was now sitting beside his parents.
Xiu Mei also followed to where his brother was looking at and her gaze lingered on the little ball that she was now mothering for the last two weeks.
"It"d be a lie if he wasn"t but, it"s not just because of him." Xiu Mei returned her gaze back to her brother and continued, "It just so happened that Lu Chen and I got past our boss-employee relations.h.i.+p then things happened. He actually already proposed to me several times but it was just me who kept rejecting it because I wasn"t ready before."
"So you"re telling me that you accepted his proposal this time because you"re ready for commitment?"
"Yeah, and amongst all the men I"ve met, he"s clearly different."
Xiu Mei then s.h.i.+fted her gaze at Lu Chen who was now talking to her second brother. It seemed like they were talking about something serious because the atmosphere around them was a bit stiff.
"Do you love him?" This was really the main worry of Xiu Min when he first heard that their family"s princess got married. And it just so happened that their marriage was registered that day she collapsed in the hospital.
At first, Xiu Min thought she was being forced to get married to the man but seeing that she was living peacefully and recovering smoothly since she moved here, he put down those thoughts. He understood very well that Xiu Mei thought this matter well.
"I don"t know."
Xiu Min"s eyebrows jumped as he eyed Xiu Mei. So what now, her sister married this guy even is she doesn"t know if she loves him?!
"What do you mean you don"t know?"
"I don"t know if what I feel is love right now. But one thing I"m sure of is that I feel safe when I"m with him. And it"s the different kind of security I feel when I"m with you and when I"m with him."
At this point, Xiu Mei wasn"t really sure if what she was spouting were lies or the truth. Because in her mind, she was already too confused to know what her current feelings really are. For now, all she needs to is to placate her family"s worries regarding her marriage and after that, maybe that"s when she"ll really start thinking about her future with Lu Chen.
After one year, she"ll decide whether she would really spend the rest of her life with Lu Chen and Lu Qiang as his wife and stepmother, or if marriage won"t work for the both of them.
Xiu Min saw the look on her sister"s face right now as she looked at the guy who is currently her husband and his brother-in-law right now. Her sister looked more at ease and relaxed right now when compared to her usual self before.
Because of the incident ten years ago, he watched her sister change from being the spoiled princess to an independent and strong woman. She quickly matured and chose to take the difficult path, and as the years pa.s.sed by, her dependence on them lessened.
She was growing beautifully yet somehow, they felt she was also slipping away from them. They don"t fully understand what"s going on in her mind, but if what Xiu Mei said is true, that Lu Chen can give her the peace that her sister lacked, then he has no choice but to surrender and let her do what she wants.
If it would make her sister better, he can forgive anything and anyone.
Xiu Min sighed in defeat. "I got it. I won"t talk about this to you anymore."
Finally raising his white flag, Xiu Mei smiled at her brother as she happily responded.
"Thanks, eldest brother. You can trust me on this."
After their private conversation, the two of them approached to where their parents are with Lu Qiang. Xiu Mei sat beside Lu Qiang who was happily listening to her father who was telling him stories about his younger years.
After getting upgraded to being grandparents, her parents would often get something delivered for Lu Qiang in the house. They would also spend time with the little kid most of the time when they visit her, to the point that Xiu Mei would forget that she was actually the patient they were originally visiting.
Oh well, as long as her son is happy, then nothing else matters.
Xiu Mei quietly brushed Lu Qiang"s hair. She raised her head once again to look at the people across her and caught Lu Chen who was also looking at her right now. As soon as their eyes met, a small smile automatically appeared on their faces.
Yes, as long as the three of them continue to be like this, Xiu Mei thinks that everything would be fine.
She has one year, enough time to think about anything. For now, she should live at the moment and enjoy it. After all, it is something that she learned the hard and most painful way. And it was also her greatest regret back then.