The Time-Limited Love and Marriage
Chapter 157

Chapter 157: Chapter 157

He didn’t know if he was completely lost in this tender trap or if the project went south and he feared getting scolded, but Ye Chen ended up staying at Larim Castle with Yu Dingding for another three days.

During these three days, they didn’t go anywhere and just stayed in their room.

They were like a couple in the throes of a passionate romance, separated only for meals and washing up.

Such days made Yu Dingding temporarily forget the grudges of Emperor City, forget that Ye Chen had sent her to Night Color, forget the finger-pointing she endured for working at Night Color.

Yu Dingding could no longer recall when she last felt so relaxed and joyful.

These indulgent and wild days immersed her deeply, like poppies, from which she couldn’t extricate herself.

It was the same for Ye Chen.

The time with Yu Dingding at Larim Castle was the craziest in his life.

He didn’t want to do anything every day except be with Yu Dingding.

He would even cling to Yu Dingding, taking pictures together, attempting all sorts of novel experiences.

The sweet and blissful days made Ye Chen feel it wouldn’t be bad to spend his life just like this with Yu Dingding.

But reality, alas, always falls short of one’s wishes.

A single phone call shattered their dreamlike days.

It was from Ye Chen’s father.

Even without speakerphone, Yu Dingding could hear Ye Chen’s father yelling from the other end of the line.

"Ye Chen, have you lost your mind? You actually hit Stanley? Do you know how many years we’ve been cooperating with his family?"

"Stanley has made it clear that he will no longer work with our Ye Family but will choose our rival, the Si Family! Do you realize how much this will cost us?"

"Get back here immediately, explain everything to me, or I’ll see how I deal with you."

Ye Chen chose to stay silent throughout the call until Mr. Ye unilaterally ended the conversation.

Ye Chen, irritated, lit a cigarette and sat on the balcony, inhaling deeply. The smoke enshrouded him, giving him a somewhat brooding appearance.

But after hesitating for a moment, Yu Dingding still sat down beside Ye Chen.

"You hit Stanley? Why?"

Yu Dingding’s intuition told her that Ye Chen had done it because Stanley coveted her.

But Ye Chen grinned awkwardly and said, "I just didn’t like the look of him and hit him, not because of you."

Even so, Yu Dingding couldn’t help feeling responsible.

So she pressed Ye Chen, "Will it cause you trouble?"

Their days together had clarified Yu Dingding’s feelings; she could no longer deny that Ye Chen was in her heart.

Seeing the concern etched on the bright face of the woman before him, Ye Chen suddenly felt that hitting Stanley, even at a cost of billions, was worth it.

He stretched out his arm and pulled Yu Dingding into his embrace: "There’s no trouble, but we have to return home early."

According to his original plan, Ye Chen wanted to spend the New Year here with Yu Dingding before returning.

But now faced with Mr. Ye’s fury, he naturally had to go back and put out the fire.

"We’ll head back then. I’ve been missing Moxi, too. Chatting with her these past days, I feel like she’s not very happy."

"Alright, let’s book return tickets for this afternoon and start packing up now."

"Okay."

Yu Dingding nodded in agreement and was about to leave the balcony to pack.

Suddenly, Ye Chen called out to her.

Yu Dingding turned around: "What’s the matter?"

Ye Chen gave a heartwarming smile in the sunlight, and for a moment, it surprisingly quickened her heartbeat.

"Baby, I’ve really been happy these past few days. I hope we can still be this happy after we return."

Yu Dingding was momentarily dazzled by Ye Chen’s smile, but his words quickly brought back her drifting thoughts.

They both knew they could be together so unrestrainedly only abroad.

Once back in the country, gossip would become chains, and everything might go back to how it was before.

Ye Chen’s words were simply seeking reassurance from Yu Dingding.

After a long hesitation, Yu Dingding didn’t say anything in the end and turned to go back inside to pack.

Ye Chen gazed at the woman’s cold departing silhouette and lit another cigarette.

He smoked a bit too fiercely, the smoke lingering around him adding a touch of melancholy to his aura...

*

In China, it was already the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, Little New Year’s Eve.

Jiang Moxi, feeling a bit better from her cold, bought some dumplings and visited Feng Ming at the hospital.

Feng Ming could now walk around the ward without his cane, almost making a full loop.

His rapid progress also greatly improved his spirits, and his previously gaunt cheeks were slowly returning to their former state.

The moment he turned to look at Jiang Moxi, she felt as if she saw the spirited him from four years ago.

When Feng Ming saw Jiang Moxi, joy was evident on his handsome face, but so was an unmistakable worry.

"Xixi, why did you come? Is your cold better?"

"Much better. I brought some dumplings for you."

Jiang Moxi rattled the bag of dumplings in her hand, her lips curling into a light smile.

"Your complexion is still poor, the cold must not have cleared up yet! Why are you running around outside?"

Feng Ming took the dumplings from Jiang Moxi’s hands, still looking concerned.

"Today is Little New Year’s Eve; of course, we should have a reunion," said Jiang Moxi.

"On Little New Year’s Eve, you should be with your family," Feng Ming responded.

But Jiang Moxi directly ignored the topic related to her family: "Brother, once you’re a bit better, I’ll take you back to Emperor City, and after that, I plan to return to Xuanming."

"Xixi, is it a misunderstanding from that day with that man? If so, I can go and explain to him."

Feng Ming, having been in love before, could naturally tell the relationship between the man outside the ward that day and Jiang Moxi.

Moreover, since that day, Jiang Moxi had become dispirited and had stopped smiling.

Now, she suddenly brought up the idea of returning to Xuanming to live that life of going through life-and-death situations.

It was hard for Feng Ming not to connect everything together.

Jiang Moxi frowned, thinking that Feng Ming, who had been so deeply hurt initially, would encourage her to avoid love.

Feng Ming seemed to catch the confusion in Jiang Moxi’s eyes and smiled understandingly: "Every person is different, and different people can bring different outcomes."

Feng Ming was not as pessimistic as imagined, which somewhat relieved Jiang Moxi.

But Jiang Moxi still didn’t want to talk about anything related to love: "I just want to leave Yan City; it has nothing to do with him."

"What about your family? Will they let you go?"

Ever since Feng Ming regained consciousness, he had been eagerly wanting to know how Jiang Moxi had gotten along with her family over these past four years!

"They’d be willing." Jiang Moxi looked out the window, her usually sparkling eyes seemingly harboring an ancient, unmeltable sorrow.

Suddenly, Feng Ming understood; these past four years, Jiang Moxi must’ve had a difficult time living with her biological parents.

"Then why have you stayed here for four years?"

Feng Ming knew that with Jiang Moxi’s abilities, she could thrive anywhere she went.

"I promised you that I would stay."

Jiang Moxi’s emotionless statement recalled to Feng Ming the words he spoke before falling into a coma.

"Return to the Jiang Family; don’t let them find you, just live well!"

And at that time, Jiang Moxi, holding his hand, had said to him: "As long as you live, I promise you anything."

So, even though he had become a walking corpse over these four years, Jiang Moxi had still fulfilled her promise.

Feng Ming’s eyes reddened, and he gently stroked the girl’s hair: "Xixi, you’re so foolish."

In reality, if she had abandoned him, that walking corpse, she could’ve lived as freely as anyone else in the world.

"Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s discuss our recovery plan coming up..."

Jiang Moxi smoothly steered the conversation away, and later, the two talked a lot about the recovery plan for the next half a year.

Meanwhile, at the Jiang Family’s Little New Year’s Eve gathering.

Old Master Jiang, Jiang Tairan said: "Mr. Fang Jin has been searching for this piece of ancient jade. As long as we find it, the land development by the moat should fall into our hands."

Jiang Weiwei stared at the picture of the jade stone shown by Jiang Tairan, and she suddenly muttered: "I seem to have seen this piece of jade somewhere..."