Lin Qing pouted and said reluctantly, "Well...why should I be grounded?"
Mu Li raised her chin with a finger, pondering.
Lin Qing p.r.i.c.ked up her ears for his answer—
"For no reason."
Lin Qing was disappointed.
Mu Li had been too familiar with such expression and had acquired immunity. He simply looked at Lin Qing and remained unmoved until Lin Qing suddenly turned over and got out of bed.
"Where are you going?" Mu Li inquired after her.
Lin Qing turned around, "I"m hungry. I have to get something to eat."
Since she arrived at the club, she hadn"t had anything until now except wine.
Mu Li didn"t understand how she could remain hungry for so long a time. Lin Qing was really not simple.
He turned off the light in the bedroom and followed her to the kitchen.
Lin Qing didn"t eat much. Although being hungry for such a long time, she took only a small bowl of fried noodles with ham out of the kitchen.
Mu Li was surprised when he saw the bowl. She not only looked as cute as a kitten but also ate as little as a kitten.
Lin Qing didn"t feel anything wrong and pulled out a chair to sit down and eat.
She didn"t move at all while she was eating, rendering an illusion that time had stopped.
She ate very slowly. When she finished the last bite, she looked up and caught Mu Li"s sight.
"You"ve been sitting here all along?"
This was the first sentence Lin Qing said to Mu Li after drinking and eating to the full.
Mu Li felt bad for being ignored.
"I"m full." Lin Qing got up to clean up the dishes.
Mu Li did not move. He said something when Lin Qing turned on the tap.
Interfered by the noise of flowing tap water, Lin Qing didn"t hear him. After a while, she turned to Mu Li who was sitting at the dinner table and asked, "Did you say something to me?"
Her reaction was rather slow.
Mu Li remained silent.
"I said, I want to eat, too." Mu Li finally answered.
Lin Qing had already cleaned up all the dishes and put them away. She went out of the kitchen with a confused expression, "Why didn"t you say it earlier?"
Mu Li didn"t have the heart to interfere her when she was so engaged in her meal.
Nevertheless, Lin Qing was not annoyed and went back to the kitchen after Mu Li told her what he wanted to eat.
Mu Li could see her back from the place where he sat and was enchanted by her busy figure in the kitchen.
Such a delicate figure, weak but tough. After all, she had gone through the blow of losing her lover and watched him marrying someone else.
Few people could stay calm under such circ.u.mstances.
But she did it.
Mu Li got up and walked quietly to her back.
Mu Li said he wanted to eat tomato and egg noodles. Now Lin Qing was slicing a tomato.
She was very devoted even when slicing a small tomato.
"Lin Qing." Mu Li called her from behind.
Lin Qing answered him softly without turning back or being startled by his emergence.
Mu Li suddenly felt his heart was in tranquility at this very moment.
After slicing the tomato into moon-shaped pieces, Lin Qing took out an egg. She was about to whip the egg when her wrist was grabbed by Mu Li and a powerful arm threw around her waist.
The egg in her hand fell to the ground and was shattered.
"The egg..." Lin Qing pitifully looked down at the ground scattered with eggsh.e.l.ls.
But she had no time to pity too much. The arm on her waist forced her to turn around to face the one who had been ignored by her all the time.
She failed to keep balance due to the abrupt turn and thus took a small step back. Fortunately, Mu Li supported her in time.
"Watch out." Mu Li alerted her in a low voice.
To Lin Qing"s ears, those two words sounded extremely s.e.xy.
She blushed at this thought, and her fringe waved a little.
She was now embraced by Mu Li with one arm on her back to help her keep balance and prevent her from fleeing. His other hand was still in his trousers pocket.
"Mu Li, the egg was broken…" Lin Qing felt pitiful for the egg.
She didn"t finish her words, for Mu Li had sealed her soft lips with his mouth.
"Hmm..." Close under his nose was a bewildered little face with a charming blush.
Lin Qing blinked, her eyes gleaming.
She felt her heart beating faster and she couldn"t even breathe. She could do nothing but stood there motionlessly.
Mu Li sucked on her soft lips, feeling he was getting out of control.
He kissed for a long time before he let go of Lin Qing.
Her lips were kissed red and swollen, and her face carried an alarmed expression. At such a romantic moment, however, Lin Qing suddenly...
"Hic!"
The romantic air was immediately spoiled.
Startled, Lin Qing hurriedly covered her mouth and bowed her head.
She got flatulence in her stomach probably because of drinking and eating.
Mu Li couldn"t help but laugh at her situation.
"Not feeling well?" He gently raised her head.
Lin Qing bowed even lower, "Hmm…I got an upset stomach…"
She stared at the tips of her feet, as if the bowknots on her shoes were her life-saving straw and drew all her attention.
"Since we have nothing else to do, how about hanging out for a while?" After saying this, Mu Li held her hand, not giving her a chance to object.
It wasn"t an offer but an order.
Even so, Lin Qing followed him obediently.
By "hanging out", Mu Li meant to enjoy the nigh scene.
The Coastline No.1 Residence, situated by the river, was indeed worthy of its reputation. The river looked like part of its backyard scenery.
It was now spring and the river breeze brought a little coolness.
Lin Qing"s delicate body was not able to withstand the cold. She sneezed after sitting in the wind for a while.
Mu Li put his coat on her.
"Mu Li, you are so kind." For the first time, Lin Qing took the initiative to speak.
Mu Li paused and said, "So, do you want to stay here forever?"
Lin Qing was stunned.
She took a while to react to his question and found it unnecessary to answer then.
On the way back, Lin Qing pondered over the words by Mu Li and couldn"t figure out his meaning. She looked at Mu Li, and felt she probably had missed the best chance to ask him about it.
Over time, she forgot about the matter completely.
She stopped and thought of something when pa.s.sing by the kitchen.
"What"s wrong?" Mu Li asked.
Lin Qing pointed at the shattered egg in the kitchen and said, "The floor hasn"t been cleaned yet."
Mu Li stroked her hair and said, "Leave it for tomorrow."
Somehow, Lin Qing considered the hands that stroked her hair were warm.
A few days later, Lin Qing"s mother called. When the phone rang, Lin Qing was sitting on the sofa holding a cushion in her arms and watching TV. She did not notice the phone ringing. Fortunately, Mu Li was sitting beside, and he reached his hand over Lin Qing to take up the phone on the other side.
"h.e.l.lo?" Mu Li lifted the receiver. "Mom. How are you?"
When Lin Qing heard Mu Li say "Mom", she didn"t expect that it was her mother on the other end of the phone. So she continued to watch TV without being disturbed.
Lin Qing"s mother asked, "Is Lin Qing beside you?"
Mu Li glanced at Lin Qing. "She"s busy now. I can take a message for her."
"Fine." Considering Mu Li"s status, Mrs. Lin didn"t speak casually as with other juniors. "Have you been busy recently?"
Mu Li understood immediately and replied, "No, we are not busy. By the way, we are planning to visit you when you have time. Would you mind if I take Lin Qing to visit you in a couple of days?"
That was just what Mrs. Lin wanted.
In fact, she was calling to ask Lin Qing to go home.
She didn"t speak directly because she wasn"t sure whether it was appropriate to make the demand to an army commander, even though he was her son-in-law. Therefore, she hesitated for quite a long time before making the call.
Fortunately, Mu Li was smart and sensitive, which had won her heart.
"OK. That"s fine. In the case, you can come anytime you want. Call me in advance. I will prepare your favorite dishes." Mrs. Lin nodded with satisfaction on the other end of the phone.
"OK. I"ll discuss with Lin Qing later and we"ll go home once we decide on the date." Mu Li didn"t put on airs when speaking to the elders, and the tone in which he spoke also pleased Mrs. Lin very much.
Lin Qing remained engrossed in watching TV until Mu Li hung up the phone. She wasn"t disturbed by the call at all. He sat next to her and flicked her in the forehead.
"Lin Qing, we have to go back home in the next few days." Mu Li interrupted her.
"Eh?" Still immersed in the drama of a TV series, Lin Qing looked at Mu Li blankly. "Aren"t we at home?"
Mu Li flicked her in the head again, this time harder, "Go back to your home."
These words finally distracted her attention from the TV. "Are you going to send me back to my parent"s home?"
Mu Li felt helpless.
Did she really not understand him, or would she take the opportunity to flee from him?
Receiving no response from Mu Li, Lin Qing turned back to watch her TV series.
But Mu Li seized the remote control and turned off the TV set.
"Your mother called and asked us to go back in a couple of days." Mu Li explained.
However, Lin Qing was still dumbfounded. She paused for a few seconds and asked, "Did my mom call?"
She sought her memory but found nothing.
"It was the call I picked up a moment ago." Mu Li tried to remain calm.
Lin Qing eventually realized, "Oh, that was a call from my mom. I heard you say "mom", so I thought it was your mom."
Mu Li deeply admired her puzzle-like logic.
Mu Li threw the cushion in her arms aside. Did her brain circuits form like a maze that n.o.body else could compare?
Lin Qing was dissatisfied with what he did. She knelt on the sofa to get her cushion back. However, the sofa was soft, and hence she lost her balance and fell down when bending over to fetch the cushion.
It wouldn"t matter if she fell down on the sofa. Unfortunately, she fell exactly on Mu Li"s laps.
"Ouch!" Lin Qing lost balance and let out a m.u.f.fled sound because of pain.
She was now lying p.r.o.ne on the laps of Mu Li, who was looking askance at her.
Well, their posture...
was quite weird.
"It hurts." Lin Qing got one of her wrists twisted and therefore had to use the other hand to prop herself up.
She thought for a moment and put her soft small hand on Mu Li"s thigh.
She intended to take his thigh as a supporting point, but she overestimated her positioning ability and placed her hand...
at the wrong place.
She sensed something warm and hard, which felt like anything but thigh.
Curiously, she squeezed that thing instead of pressing on it and getting up.
"Eh?" Lin Qing was even more confused.
In order to figure out what it was, Lin Qing boldly gave it another squeeze.