COLD CEO AND ARROGANT WIFE, VOLUME 5 - Season 10 Episode 22

Mu Chenyan lifted her eyes from the laptop screen and peered at the interaction between Zhai Kuijun and Yue Yue. Even though they were silent again, she felt they were very comfortable, and even from their expressions, she could tell they were reminiscing about the old times.

Sigh!

Old times… Memories… What a place to live in.

Of course, Mu Chenyan wasn’t someone who would want to live in memories. But living in someone else’s memories might be a good idea.

Why was she thinking this nonsense? Casting away these thoughts, she checked the files she received from the advertisement department. While checking those, she heard a ‘Ding’ sound from her phone.

She looked at the message she had received from an unknown number. She clicked it open and her eyes widened slightly in surprise. It read:

‘Dear Yan Zi, stop bothering the gallery. I made it clear that I’m not selling the painting. Stop being stubborn. Why do you always have to make things difficult for yourself? Don’t insist on getting things that don’t belong to you. Regards, Xia Zhao.’

She stared at the short message on her phone screen intently. Who knew what was on her mind right now? But her fingers kept tapping rhythmically on her phone’s screen. She read the same message a few more times.

And finally, she replied:

‘Where did you get my number?’

There was no response from the other person for a long time. It was like her message was cast into a lake and it didn’t even raise a ripple. She obviously didn’t believe that he didn’t see the message at all.

So, she compiled another message, ‘If you always had my number, why didn’t you contact me for all these years?’

This time, the reply came instantly, ‘Because my presence always got on your nerve.’

She didn’t deny that. He always rubbed her the wrong way. She just couldn’t stay calm around him. She was always itching to do something bad when he was around. She suddenly hated this fellow whose intelligence was used for interpreting her words the wrong way. Even when she said she hated him, she never meant for him to just disappear from her life. But he still kept his distance from her. From the moment they first met, he kept an appropriate distance from her.

‘I am not giving up on that painting,’ she replied and threw her phone aside not caring about his response at all.

…

On the other side, Xia Zhao read the message she sent and a helpless smile glinted in his eyes. He just asked her to stop being stubborn and here she was going against him yet again. Indeed, she didn’t change at all. She still loved going against him.

In fact, he knew why she was so interested in ‘The Fiery Autumn’ painting of his. That painting was special to him but it wasn’t special to her at all. Nope. It had no value to Mu Chenyan at all. The only reason she wanted it was being he refused to give it. If he had agreed to sell it to her for any price, she’d have already lost her interest long ago.

But he didn’t want to sell it to her when it meant nothing to her. And that precisely didn’t sit well with her. Since he refused, she was hell-bent on taking it from him at any cost.

He suddenly recalled Raelle whom he met earlier and the smile in his eyes thickened along with his curiosity toward Raelle. Only because he heard she was raised by Mu Chenyan and from how Raelle seemed, he couldn’t understand how someone hyperactive like Mu Chenyan raised someone with a stable mindset. He didn’t think they had the same temperament at all.

“Young Master Ru,” he raised his head to look at the young man who was kneeling on the straw mat while picking Buddha beads. His eyes settled on this young man and he wanted Mu Chenyan to come and see him. She always said he had serenity surrounding him that she wanted to destroy. But he wanted to meet Young Master Ru who was both the definition of serenity and chaos.

“How can I help you, Little Uncle?” asked Young Master Ru as he opened his eyes to face him.

They were currently in a meditation room with a simple interior. The air had the smell of sandalwood burning. A low tea table was placed before Xia Zhao with a steaming cup of steeped tea right in front of him.

“What do you think about Raelle Xiang?” asked Xia Zhao.

“Hmm…” A thoughtful expression appeared on Young Master Ru’s serene face. “She is peculiar. Her eyes are very clear. There is no greed in her eyes. But if I have to really describe her, this young master will say she is very lost.”

“Lost?” repeated Xia Zhao peculiarly. “How did you come to that conclusion?”

“Lost because she is yet to realize what she really wants in her life,” answered Young Master Ru. “I heard rumors that Raelle Xiang runs after profits. In fact, she is only running after profits because she doesn’t know what else to do with her life. She is a blank sheet of paper but it’s a sheet of paper that is unwilling to let just anyone write anything on it. All in all, she is strong, mentally.”

“You were getting along well with her,” commented Xia Zhao. “Are you planning on taking in her as a disciple?”

“I have only one disciple,” replied Ru. “I don’t plan on changing that.”

“Waters that are too clear can’t house fish and masters that are too critical can’t find disciple.”

Ru chuckled softly, “I’m not being critical.”

“Ru, aren’t you tired?” asked Xia Zhao. Ru arched one of his brows at him in question. “If I remember correctly, you’d always get punished to kneel and copy scriptures or pick the Buddha beads. I thought you didn’t like doing it.”

“It’s a good way to grind your temperament,” replied Ru.

“You still need to grind your temperament?” asked Xia Zhao with a snort. “You’re leaving no place for others by doing this.”

“Mr. Xia Zhao, I, this young master have decided to follow your recipe of staying young.”

“Huh?” he was dumbfounded.

“By walking slowly in life, won’t I be aging slowly as well?”

Xia Zhao burst out laughing, “Where did this bizarre thought come from, Young Master Ru?”

“From my brain,” replied Ru calmly. “Oh, and if you’re thinking about going through Raelle to get to her aunt, don’t bother. It won’t work.” The topic jumped so suddenly that even Xia Zhao couldn’t keep track of it.

“You know, it’s nice when you do that,” he tried to keep up his smile but it was difficult to do so in this person’s presence.

“Don’t get me wrong,” said Ru. “You never told her, did you? About the agreement between your grandparents?”

Xia Zhao went silent when he heard that question. Of course, he never told Mu Chenyan anything about that. First, they were very young and he didn’t think it was right to let her know that. And when they grew up, she took a flight and went away. Leaving everything behind without even looking back.

“She doesn’t know,” he answered. “It’s better that way.”

“I have a very serious question for you, Mr. Xia Zhao,” spoke Ru seriously. He even came to sit opposite him and poured himself a cup of tea as he continued, “What do you really feel for Ms. Mu Chenyan? Is it love or is it just your sense of responsibility?” He took a sip of the tea leisurely before adding, “To be honest, I won’t mind if it’s really just your sense of responsibility. I can’t blame you for it. It’s in your blood. We, from the Xia clan, take our words very seriously. We are willing to lose our life but aren’t willing to go back on our words. So, your sense of responsibility is understandable. But it’s only understandable to me. It won’t be for everyone. You need to really think about what you really are feeling right now.”

“I hate talking to you,” said Xia Zhao. “From the moment, you’re a kid. I hated talking to you.”

“You aren’t the only one,” replied Ru. “Maybe that’s why earlier, I had such a relaxed moment with Raelle and didn’t mind her questions either. We both end up saying facts that people don’t want to hear. She is a curious child, looking for answers.”

“And you’re the walking treasure of knowledge,” added Xia Zhao.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Of course, you will! Has there ever been anything that didn’t sound like a compliment to you?”

“Stop getting worked up just because you’re still avoiding thinking clearly about what’s in your heart. You can’t always run from it. It’s not possible. Just know that.”

Xia Zhao went silent when he heard that and didn’t continue this conversation. He didn’t come here to chit-chat anyway. And obviously, Young Master Ru wasn’t the best of people to look for a chit-chat because this person will end up angering you to death eventually!