Chapter 71: A Secret Kiss (1)

Jin Qingyan saw that Long Tianze had beaten up Ye Xiaotian enough, so he went forward to stop him.

He'd come in looking impressive but left in a wretched plight.

That was the true portrayal of who Ye Xiaotian was.

—

Byron arrived earlier than Jin Qingyan had expected. He was at his front gate at two o'clock sharp.

Hearing from Fan Shixin that he had arrived, those in the living room went out together to welcome him.

After the car stopped, Byron and his bodyguard got off together. He was in a black suit, looking tall and fit. The 40-year-old looked extremely young, and his vivid eyes were exceptionally charming.

He walked slowly towards Jin Qingyan and the two exchanged a brief hug. Thereafter, he looked at An Xiaoning.

An Xiaoning reached out her hand. Byron gently held her fingertips with both hands, bent down, and planted a symbolic kiss as a gesture of friendliness.

"Nice to meet you, Prince Byron."

"Nice to meet you, beautiful Madam."

After shaking hands with Long Tianze, he finally stood before Mo Li and said gently, "Well, this must be Ms. Mo Li."

Mo Li never expected that he'd look more gentlemanly than he did in the picture. His eyes were so fixed on her that they could almost swallow her whole.

"Nice to meet you, Prince Byron."

He smiled at her. "You look even prettier than you did in your picture."

"Thanks."

"Let's get in everyone, it's cold outside," Jin Qingyan said in a timely moment.

The handful of people entered the house. The heater had already been turned on, so hot air blew on their faces the moment they went in.

Auntie Chen immediately served them tea, and everyone sat down one after another.

"How old are you this year, Ms. Mo?" Byron asked.

"I'm 22 years old," she replied politely, carrying a faint smile on her face.

His brows raised as a smile curled on his face. "Then I'm not sure if it's fortunate or unfortunate. I'm 40 this year — that's 18 years older than you. Would you mind?"

"Prince Byron still looks very young to me. As long as it's not over 45 years old, I don't mind at all." How could she mind, when her body was not intact anymore? A woman who had nowhere to hide, who wanted to be loved and cherished, surrounded by warmth... she did not mind an age gap, as long as he was a good person.

"Come here." Byron patted the seat beside him and said gently, "Sit over here."

Byron turned to face her and said slowly, "I'm Byron, I'm 40 this year. I married my ex-wife at 30 and got divorced four years ago. The reason for the divorce was that she did not want to be part of the royal family anymore. Although I cannot succeed the throne, there are many customs to follow as a member of the royal family. Every word and action has to be taken with caution, but because I have my own place of residence, it's fine in my own home. We had to pay more attention to our behavior outside though, which she felt was too much of a constraint. That's why we got a divorce. But evidently, she misjudged the situation. Even after our divorce, she has continued to make the news, under the label as my ex-wife. Even then, we've never contacted each other after our divorce and we have no children."

Mo Li believed that he was being honest with her because she wasn't the only one listening to this.

Someone who could earn praises from Jin Qingyan would have to be of a certain standard.

"I don't have many requests, as long as you can protect me and treat my family well."

Byron reached out to hold her hand and asked, "Then are you willing to go back to Y Nation with me? Along with your family."

Mo Li never expected it would go so smoothly. It was unexpected not only to her but also to the other three who were present.

Looking into his vivid eyes, she nodded and replied, "I'm willing to go back with you."

Jin Qingyan was the first to applaud, "I've personally brought together a marriage."

"I'll give you credit for this." Long Tianze was equally ecstatic about it and turned to An Xiaoning. "Sister-in-law, reward our Young Master Jin properly tonight."

"How about this, I'll let you both have the bed to sleep in tonight — you can reward him yourself, you two can learn some skills from each other."

Long Tianze's face twisted into a look of disgust. "No way!"

—

Byron ended up staying for a week. Mo Li was extremely satisfied with him. She packed up her belongings with her father and brother to prepare to leave the country.

Having stayed for decades in the Long family, they couldn't bear to leave that family, but for the sake of Mo Li, they were willing to leave. The Long family also declared that they were welcome to return anytime they wished to. It would still remain as their home.

The departure of Mo Li's family also resolved an inner struggle Long Tianze had fought against for a long time. Witnessing Mo Li fall into a living hell because of Ye Xiaotian was something he badly wanted to prevent but had been helpless to do so.

This situation now was extremely gratifying to him.

After they got their marriage certificate, all that's left was for their wedding to be held. The group would see them again to witness their moment of happiness.

At the dead of night...

A highly agile masked man entered Ye Xiaotian's residence.

With the surroundings dimly lit, Ye Xiaotian rested on the sofa with a glass of blood-red wine in his hands. His gaze unknowingly shifted towards a corner. Hearing a stir, he demanded, "Speak."

"These are the photos taken. Ms. Mo left with that man today. Her family went along too. According to my investigation, that man is a prince from Y Nation's royal family. He's not only business partners with Jin Qingyan but also good friends with him. From the looks of it, Jin Qingyan must have introduced him to Ms. Mo."

Ye Xiaotian placed the wine glass on the table and grabbed the stack of photos. Just within a week, she had grown slightly plumper. Walking hand in hand with that handsome man, there was a radiant smile on her face, which she had displayed before in front of him.

All the photos were taken discreetly and were scenes of them merrily sight-seeing together.

"You may go."

"Yes."

Ye Xiaotian gripped onto a piece of photo in his hand tightly, fiercely crushing it into a ball. The look in his eyes deepened, yet it could not hide the fact that without Mo Li, a piece of his heart seemed to have disappeared.

A pair of high heels started clicking from a distance. Ye Xiaotian took the photos, ripping them into pieces before chucking them into the rubbish bin.

"Brother Xiaotian," Sun Weiwei's voice came from the door.

"Mmm." He acknowledged her and took out a cigarette to light. After drawing a breath, he cast a glance at the woman beside her and remarked, "Even powder can't cover your rotting face anymore. Stop doing those drugs, they'll take your life someday."

"I want to quit too, but I can't. I just finished shooting an advertisement, I'm dead beat. I thought of you, so I came over." Sun Weiwei looked around and asked, "She's asleep?"

"Gone."

Sun Weiwei was secretly delighted. She thought that her previous warning had been of use, yet she maintained her composure and queried, "Didn't you say you wouldn't let her go?"

"Jin Qingyan stepped into this matter." Ye Xiaotian obviously did not wish to say more. "If there's nothing else then go back, I would like to rest now."

Sun Weiwei tried to appease him, "Brother Xiaotian, I see you're not in a good mood. Why don't we go somewhere to have fun in a few days, just to take your mind off things?"

He stood up and replied, disgruntled, "I don't want to go anywhere, just go back."

Sun Weiwei watched as he turned his back and went upstairs, and so she had no choice but to leave angrily.

—

An Xiaoning's swimming skills were becoming more impressive day by day. She took two hours each day to learn. Every time she went to the hot spring pool, Jin Qingyan tagged along using the excuse of wanting to get a hot spring bath.

As they ended their session today, cool, cotton-like flakes fluttered down from the sky. An Xiaoning looked up and remarked in amazement, "It's snowing."