"Ying, this is Uncle Su. He"s the owner of this restaurant. I"ve known him since I was a kid." Mu Jianyu introduced the old man to her but Li Chuntao felt uncomfortable under the old man"s gaze. "Uncle, we"re sorry that we haven"t seen you for months. As you know my wife was involved in a car accident. She forgot some things from the past and I brought her here hoping your delicious barbeque would somehow help her remember." He grinned at the old man.
The old man"s eyes curled as he smiled widely at Li Chuntao.
"Oh? That won"t do! Please eat as much as you want, Miss Ying. No wonder I thought you suddenly made a 180 degree change. I know it must be hard for you to believe that this arrogant kid is your husband, but he really is."
"Hey! Uncle Su! You are supposed to help me charm my wife, not destroy my reputation." Mu Jianyu scoffed and crossed his arms on his chest. Li Chuntao looked at the two astounded.
"Eat whatever you want, okay?" Uncle Su patted Li Chuntao"s shoulder. "It"s on the house."
"Uncle Su, you"ve known me for a longer time. How come you offered Ying to eat for free when you don"t even give me a discount?" Mu Jianyu was glaring back at the older man while Uncle Su raised a brow on him.
"And I also remember you bringing fights into my restaurant when you were younger. You should be grateful I didn"t charge you for the damages you"ve caused." The old man snorted and left the two to go check on the kitchen.
Li Chuntao was starting to understand how this man was able to win her sister"s heart. Ying wasn"t one who was easily swayed by gifting luxurious items. She was a sentimental person and easily got along with any person.
"I rarely brought you to five-star restaurants when we were dating. As you know, I wasn"t born with a silver spoon and for everything I have and I want, I need to work hard to earn them. I was ashamed at first. I kept making a fool out of myself whenever I asked you out."
She was surprised at his confession but remained silent. For someone who had almost everything in her hand, she couldn"t understand why he was telling her these.
Mu Jianyu smiled awkwardly and looked outside.
"I know I couldn"t be compared to your other suitors. I get it, you are a princess and I"m just a commoner. So when I decided to pursue you, I worked harder than I already did. I had to double my effort to prove that even if I"m not some kind of Young Master from a wealthy family, I could still provide for you and our future children."
Li Chuntao bit her inner cheek to stop herself berating him. Being with him had really tested her patience and self control.
"Then why the f.u.c.k did you derail and cause pain on Ying instead?" She wanted to ask. Li Chuntao could tell from the look in his eyes and tone of his voice that he was telling the truth. That he was truly in love with Ying a few years ago. What changed then?
"And you did just that, didn"t you? Look at you now. You"re about to become the CEO of Redux Entertainment. That says a lot, right?" She told him instead. From a regular office worker to an executive officer, that was a huge jump in status. Not anyone could easily attain it with pure hard work.
"I suppose you"re right, but sometimes I wonder if it would be better if we can live outside everyone"s expectations. The pressure of staying within the business circle was really draining me. Every time I got promoted, the lesser time I spent with you."
Ah, yes. To be drowned by so much workload that you barely had a time for yourself and family. This, Li Chuntao could somehow relate. There were times when she"d thought that twenty four hours a day was still not enough to finish all the tasks and paperwork she had to deal with.
"Am I boring you? I"m sorry I took you here without telling you first. I thought it"d be a nice surprise"
For the first time, Li Chuntao didn"t find him annoying at all. If he was always like this during his and Ying"s marriage, she wouldn"t have thought that badly of him. However, this still didn"t change the fact that he was the first one to stab Li Xiuying at the back.
Before she could speak, Uncle Su came back to their table with a large tray on his hands. Li Chuntao"s eyes widened at the amount of dishes served to them. He then proceeded to serve the small bowls of side dishes over their table and pa.s.sed the long plate with meat to Mu Jianyu.
"Miss Ying, don"t let Jianyu eat beyond his fill, alright? He might s.n.a.t.c.h all the barbecue without you noticing it as usual."
"Hmm.. Uncle Su. Jianyu would have a hard time. He should know by now how much I love barbecues and wouldn"t share it to anyone, even if it is him."
The old man burst into laughter upon seeing Mu Jianyu"s scowling face. When he left, Mu Jianyu decided to change the topic between them.
He chuckled and watched her in amus.e.m.e.nt as she took the tongs from the plate and began putting the pork slices onto the grill between them. As soon as the meat hit the grill, the sizzle that followed brought out an aromatic scent that nearly made both of them drool.
"That smells incredible, Ying," he commented which Li Chuntao easily agreed with.
"Hmm.. the scent alone is enough to make me drool. I can only imagine what it taste like,"
"So, you"ve been visiting the orphanage without me recently. Are you enjoying yourself?" He asked, hoping that Ying would somehow tell him about her day like she used to.
"The kids are really nice. I didn"t think I would get along with them easily considering I have forgotten who they are." Which was true. Li Chuntao wasn"t expecting the children would treat her warmly with a wide smile on their faces but every visit she made, the deeper the connection she built with them.
"The children will alway love you, Ying. Whether you remember them or not." Mu Jianyu nodded to her.
"Then… do you think I"ll be a good mother?" Li Chuntao wanted to know his opinion on her twin sister"s pregnancy. She lowered her eyes to hide the glint in it. "Hou Chen… she told me I lost our first child."
She sounded so sad that made Mu Jianyu froze in his seat and stared with wide eyes at her. He wasn"t sure how much Ying knew or remembered, but this was something he was dreaded to talk about.
"It"s true. We lost our first baby, but please don"t blame yourself." It had been three years since the incident and Ying hadn"t conceived since then. Was there something wrong with her or it was him all along?
It was already past nine in the evening when the two decided to call it a night. However, as soon as they reached the floor where Mu Jianyu"s apartment was situated, they saw a familiar person in the hallway, shocking not only Mu Jianyu but Li Chuntao herself.
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