? Thank you Thuyen Tran for your novel donation!! Your support is much appreciated. ? Dear Readers, if you really like the translations please donate to support the work. It’s much appreciated! ?

Chapter 61: Family Home

Guan Zhiyi’s pregnancy news was well-protected, known only to family members. Excited about the news, Guan Xi spent more time at home with Guan Zhiyi before setting off for work.

This trip was for an in-depth tour of Europe, lasting for a month, making it Guan Xi’s longest journey.

The return was originally scheduled for the 18th, but plans changed, and the entire team rescheduled their flights, coming back two days earlier. Guan Xi didn’t inform Jiang Suizhou about her early return, planning to surprise him.

To her surprise, when she returned that day, she found the house empty, and no one returned until late at night. Unable to contain herself, Guan Xi pretended to still be abroad and sent a message to Jiang Suizhou.

【Where are you? Have you slept?】

Jiang Suizhou replied after about ten minutes: 【At my parents’ house.】

Guan Xi was surprised: 【Why didn’t you come home today?】

Jiang Suizhou: 【Some matters to attend to, staying at home for two days. How are you outside?】

Guan Xi: 【It’s fine. Is everything okay with your dad’s health?】

Jiang Suizhou: 【It’s okay, nothing major. When you come back in a couple of days, I’ll pick you up and we’ll go home together.】

Guan Xi: 【Alright then.】

Jiang Suizhou rarely didn’t come home. This time, he even stayed at his parents’ house, indicating that there might be something important happening. It was already late, so Guan Xi didn’t continue the conversation. She didn’t tell him she was back either, just put her phone on silent and prepared to sleep.

Before going to sleep, she thought that if Jiang Suizhou couldn’t leave home because of family matters, she wouldn’t make things difficult for him to come over.

Hmm… she could still be very considerate.

The next day, Jiang Suizhou still didn’t return.

Guan Xi didn’t disturb him. After resting at home until evening, she called Lang Ningyi. Lang Ningyi was out with a few friends when she received the call, and since Guan Xi knew them well, she went straight to join them.

The venue for drinking and chatting was the glass quiet bar on the top floor of South Jue Hotel. When Guan Xi arrived, they had been sitting there for an hour. Seeing her, they warmly offered her a seat.

“Guan Xi, long time no see. Ningyi said you’ve been really busy lately, and we can’t even make plans with you,” one of the friends who used to hang out together said.

Guan Xi replied, “Well, I’ve been abroad all this time. It’s hard to make plans if I’m in China, right?”

“Even in China, it’s not necessarily easy to make plans with you, Miss Guan.”

“Cut it out.”

“Oh really? But you’re doing well now with your own little business,” the person said. “You know, I also tried doing something on my own before. I started a trendy brand, but I didn’t make any money. I ended up losing a lot, and my dad mocked me to death.”

Lang Ningyi said, “If you don’t have the business acumen, don’t mess around. Just go home and be your little princess.”

“I won’t. I plan to open a few more restaurants later. Hey, want to invest?”

“Forget it, giving you money is like throwing it into a pit.”

“Get lost!”

Lang Ningyi laughed and said to Guan Xi, “Hey, by the way, didn’t you just come back to the country? Why are you out already? Is your man okay with it?”

Guan Xi was planning to drive, so she just ordered a glass of juice. “Jiang Suizhou, he doesn’t know I’m back yet. He’s at his parents’ place.”

“Why don’t you tell him?”

“He’s quite busy. I’ll tell him when he’s free.”

“Jiang Suizhou has been quite busy lately. My brother told me secretly that their family has been in turmoil recently,” a girl suddenly said.

Guan Xi looked at her, puzzled. “Turmoil?”

The girl continued, “Guan Xi, you didn’t know? Jiang Suizhou probably didn’t want you to think too much, so he didn’t say. Anyway, it’s because his dad is planning to abdicate due to health reasons. So, the three sons are all eyeing that top position, and it’s hard to say who will win.”

Lang Ningyi said, “Clearly, Jiang Suizhou is the most capable, and his dad doesn’t favor his other sons as much. What’s there to doubt?”

“That’s not necessarily true. Guan Xi, don’t mind, I’m just stating the facts,” the girl said. “You should know that Jiang Suizhou’s two older brothers are not easy to deal with. Their biological mother still has influence, and many people in the Jiang family still stand behind them. So, for Jiang Suizhou to secure that position, it’s quite troublesome.”

Lang Ningyi glanced at Guan Xi, who silently took another sip of her drink without saying anything.

Seeing that Guan Xi didn’t engage in the conversation, the others didn’t continue discussing the topic. After all, it involved Jiang Suizhou, and they didn’t want to gossip in front of Guan Xi.

“Hey, does anyone have time the day after tomorrow? Accompany me to see a jadeite necklace, the quality is excellent.”

“Buying it for your mom?”

“Of course, or else, how would it suit me?”

…

The conversation shifted to another topic, and the atmosphere became lively again.

Guan Xi set down her glass.

In fact, she had always been aware of the situation in Jiang Suizhou’s family. However, being abroad for the entire month, she was unaware of the recent significant changes. If what they said was true, Jiang Suizhou should be extremely busy lately.

She wondered what he was doing at the Jiang family now. She remembered he genuinely didn’t like staying there. Despite it being his home, it felt cold and surrounded by enemies.

**

The bar had a gentle atmosphere, with soft conversations among the girls nearby, occasionally accompanied by a sweet laugh or two.

It was still lively.

Guan Xi looked into the distance, running her fingertips along the glass holding her juice. The view here was excellent; the glass rooftop bar on the top floor of South Jue allowed for an overlook of the city’s night scenery. Looking down this way, she could see all the neon lights of the city. Neon lights dotted every corner, seemingly bringing life to the unnoticed dark spaces.

But the night still had no end, and most people sought a soul or a group to accompany them on such nights to avoid being engulfed by loneliness in the darkness, much like what was happening around her.

However, a small fraction of people were accustomed to solitude.

Like Jiang Suizhou.

But being accustomed doesn’t mean liking it, right?

Guan Xi released the glass, suddenly losing interest in the conversation. She didn’t know why, but she didn’t feel like doing anything, just wanting to see what Jiang Suizhou was up to.

“I suddenly have something to do. I’ll leave first; you guys continue,” Guan Xi picked up her bag and stood up.

“Eh? You’re leaving so soon? We were planning to go to Ling Fan’s bar to have some fun. Aren’t you coming?”

“No, you guys go ahead.” Guan Xi gestured to Lang Ningyi, “Go.”

Lang Ningyi understood and signaled to others, “Alright, let her go first, we’ll continue.”

Guan Xi drove out of the hotel parking lot and headed directly to the Jiang family. She had been to the Jiang family three times, but it was many years ago, so she didn’t remember the way well and had to use navigation. After a hesitant and stumbling hour, she finally reached her destination.

The Jiang family’s courtyard was a standalone building, and the yard was spacious.

As Guan Xi drove to the gate, she suddenly remembered what she had said last night – to be considerate and not disturb Jiang Suizhou if he had something to do. So, she sat in the car feeling distressed, contemplating.

Should she greet him on this late night or not? Jiang Suizhou often worked in his home office at night. This time, he might be working at home, or perhaps, he could be with his father???

Hmm… better not call him. If she called him out and his family found out, she would have to go in and join them, and she didn’t want to appear so awkward in the late evening!

Thinking about facing his mother after entering, Guan Xi immediately had second thoughts. However, just as she was about to start the car again, her phone suddenly rang. She picked it up and found it was a video call from Jiang Suizhou.

They used to video call every few days while he was abroad, so it wasn’t unusual for him to make a video call. After a moment of hesitation, she picked up the phone, turned on the car’s lights, and answered the video call.

Upon connecting, she saw Jiang Suizhou appearing on the screen. He was wearing a robe, but he seemed to be sitting in an office chair, probably taking a break to call her.

“Back at the hotel, huh?” He thought she was still overseas.

Guan Xi nodded directly, “Yes, that’s right.”

Jiang Suizhou pushed his glasses and leaned closer, looking at her, “Aren’t you in the car?”

Guan Xi intentionally kept it from him, “On the way back to the hotel.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, what’s up?”

Jiang Suizhou was silent for two seconds and then suddenly said, “You’re back in the country, why didn’t you tell me?”

Guan Xi was surprised, “Huh?”

Jiang Suizhou said, “This car seat, isn’t it from my car?”

Guan Xi: “…………”

Oh, didn’t cover it up, did she?

Jiang Suizhou frowned, “When did you come back?”

Since she was found out, Guan Xi didn’t hide it anymore, “Because there were some changes in the team’s work, so I came back yesterday.”

“Quite bold.” Jiang Suizhou seemed a bit dissatisfied with her not mentioning that she had already returned. He asked again, “Where are you now?”

“The place I am right now, you definitely can’t guess.”

Jiang Suizhou asked, “Where did you go?”

“Well… actually, I…” Guan Xi had no choice but to turn the phone in another direction, pointing the camera towards the gate of his house. Then she continued, “Actually, I came to find you, but I was just about to leave. After all, it’s late, and I don’t really want to go to your house at this hour.”

After a few seconds of the camera pointing towards the gate, Guan Xi flipped it back, saying, “Hey, don’t make a big deal out of it. Where am I now? Huh? Where are you?”

His side of the video was black.

Guan Xi asked, “Where are you???”

No one responded.

Guan Xi looked puzzled, thinking it might be a glitch. She ended the video call and sent a string of question marks. 

A minute later, Jiang Suizhou replied: [Waiting]

“…”

Not long after, Guan Xi saw the gate being opened, and Jiang Suizhou walked out from inside.

Guan Xi rolled down the car window and waved at him, “Hey! Did you just lose the connection? Why did the screen go black?”

Jiang Suizhou took three steps and then two steps, coming over. He stopped by the car window, looking down at her, “It didn’t fall, I put it in my pocket. How did you come over?”

So, he directly stuffed the phone and came out to find her.

Seems like he’s in a hurry.

Guan Xi smiled and reached out, hooking the belt of his robe around his waist. “I said I suddenly missed you a lot. Do you believe it?”

Jiang Suizhou didn’t say a word, just looked at her.

Guan Xi confronted him for a moment and then gave up, “Why aren’t you talking?”

Jiang Suizhou’s response was a kiss. He lightly pinched her cheek, bent down, and bit her lips.

“Um—” Guan Xi was caught off guard, not expecting Jiang Suizhou to be so bold right at his doorstep.

“Um… Ha… Jiang…”

Jiang Suizhou kissed her with some force, his tongue skillfully exploring, dominating and deep. Guan Xi couldn’t retreat at all; she had to wait until he finished kissing her fiercely before she could breathe normally.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you afraid someone will see?”

Jiang Suizhou didn’t care at all; he asked in a deep voice, “Since you’re back in the country, why lie to me that you’re still abroad?”

Guan Xi leaned on the car window frame, looking at him, “I felt you were quite busy, so I didn’t want to disturb you.”

Jiang Suizhou directly opened the car door, pulled her out, and said, “Not disturb me?”

“Yeah, didn’t I say that? I can be considerate occasionally.”

“You don’t need to be considerate with this heart.”

“No, I want to be considerate. What’s wrong with that?” Guan Xi teased, “But tonight, I suddenly missed you so much. Thinking about it, I just drove over. How about it, aren’t you touched?”

Jiang Suizhou asked, “Do you really miss me?”

“Yes, really.” Guan Xi glanced around, making sure no one from his family would suddenly appear. Then she reached out, encircling his neck, “I really, really miss you. How about you?”

Her sweet words were like a dose of medicine, tingling and numb, quietly penetrating into every cell. Jiang Suizhou felt that this kind of feeling was addictive and made his heart flutter.

However, he couldn’t restrain himself and could only let his body do what it wanted. He embraced her and said, “Hmm.”

“Hmm, what?” Guan Xi said discontentedly, “Are you thinking or not?”

Jiang Suizhou lightly sucked on her neck, a familiar and missed scent.

“I am thinking. How could I not think about you?”

Previous

Next