Chapter 242: Love Me, Love My Dog

Wen Ling picked up the phone and angrily said, "Zhou Yinhe, you're sick."

Even though he was scolded, Zhou Yinhe smiled and asked, "Ah Ling, do you miss me?"

"I miss your ass, do you have twenty-four hours to return to Hua Guo?" Wen Ling turned over, irritably said, "Nothing, I'll hang up first, I need to sleep."

She had actually just fallen asleep not long ago; after finally falling asleep, Zhou Yinhe's call woke her up, and she estimated she'd have to keep her eyes open until dawn.

"There's something." Zhou Yinhe chuckled lightly, drawing out his tone, slowly asking, "My flight tonight, will you come pick me up when I arrive?"

Even in her daze, Wen Ling felt a bit confused, staring blankly as she asked, "That fast?"

"Yeah, afraid you wouldn't want to wait for me." Zhou Yinhe stood at one side of the garden, the wall covered in roses, he spoke while plucking petals.

By the time Ning Qing noticed, a pile of petals had already accumulated at Zhou Yinhe's feet.

She gritted her teeth and shouted angrily, "You little brat, what did you do to my flower wall?"

Zhou Yinhe turned his head doubtfully to glance at Ning Qing, then lowered his head and was also startled.

Wen Ling also heard Ning Qing's voice on the other end of the phone, gloated, tossed out a "take care," and then hung up.

Before Zhou Yinhe could say anything, Ning Qing had already walked up to him, tiptoed, grabbed his ear, and yanked him indoors.

While pulling, she said, "I shouldn't have praised you; I just told your dad you were sensible and obedient, and now you're pulling my flowers—are you a child? Even a phone call makes you yank my flowers."

Zhou Yinhe's mood had improved, and he was willing to go along with Ning Qing's teasing, wailing as he was dragged into the living room.

Zhou Zhaoning and Zhou Qiyue were huddled together looking at their phones; seeing Zhou Yinhe like that, they muffled their laughter, and not speaking up already counted as them feeling sorry for their brother.

Ning Qing wished she could kick him twice, but felt her son was grown up, and kicking him would easily make him lose face.

"Is pulling ears considered saving face!" Zhou Yinhe didn't know what Ning Qing was thinking; otherwise he would definitely retort.

Fortunately, Ning Qing didn't continue to argue with him; after finishing her meal and rolling her eyes a few times, she let him go, not forgetting to remind her son to bring the gift for Wen Ling.

Upon arriving in M Country, it was just sunset, though the weather wasn't great, a bit overcast.

Zhou Yinhe also brought a suitcase this time, filled entirely with items his mother and sister had stuffed in for him, to have him curry favor with Wen Ling.

Wen Ling stood outside the arrival hall, leaning on the car door playing with her phone; when Zhou Yinhe came out and called her, she finally looked up.

She originally didn't want to come, feeling a bit awkward, but Zhou Yinhe insisted she come, acting cute and shameless, leaving her no choice; she reluctantly agreed, though saying she didn't want to see him was false.

Zhou Yinhe stepped forward a few paces and embraced Wen Ling, whispering softly by her ear, "I really miss you."

Wen Ling didn't return the hug, nor did she refuse; she simply lowered her gaze, leaning against him, and muttered, "I know, you've said that several times already."

"Then you don't miss me?" Zhou Yinhe released her, bent slightly to look into her eyes, quite serious.

Wen Ling met his gaze, but being stared at made her a bit shy; she turned her face away and said, "No."

"Really?" Zhou Yinhe chuckled lightly, then said, "I don't believe it."

"I can't help it if you don't believe me." Wen Ling rolled her eyes, turned, and got into the car first.

The car's temperature was low; Wen Ling exhaled, pressed her hand to her cheek, and after a moment felt her cheek had grown much colder.

Zhou Yinhe stowed the suitcase in the trunk, got in the car, turned his head to Wen Ling, and said, "The suitcase contains everything my mother and sister had me bring as gifts for you; later we'll open it to see if you like them."

"Why bring me gifts?" Wen Ling felt a bit bewildered, thinking his mother and sister wouldn't like her, after all, because of her, Zhou Yinhe later ended up hospitalized.

Zhou Yinhe guessed where her doubt came from, pursed his lips and smiled, saying, "They love the house and thus the crow, knowing I love you, so they'll also be good to you."

Wen Ling rolled her eyes, started the car, and drove off.

Upon reaching Southshore, Wen Ling parked the car, saw Zhou Yinhe following her steps preparing to enter her house's door, furrowed her brows and asked, "What are you doing?"

Zhou Yinhe blinked innocently, smiling narrowly, said, "I'll show you the gifts, and I also want to see Hehe and Hum hum, I want to look at them."

Wen Ling rolled her eyes and said, "They've only seen you a few times; how could they miss you? Don't be self-indulgent."

Zhou Yinhe gave a perfunctory few "ums," then stepped into the villa ahead of Wen Ling.

Hehe and Hum hum probably heard their conversation, already waiting in the entryway; upon seeing Zhou Yinhe, the two leapt straight into his arms, meowing as if complaining.

Zhou Yinhe softly coaxed them, while Wen Ling stood aside frowning; although these two were also affectionate toward her, compared to Zhou Yinhe they seemed less affectionate.

Wen Ling complained, "Why are they so enthusiastic toward you?"

"Probably also the love-the-house-and-crow effect." Zhou Yinhe turned to look at her, chuckling lightly, said, "Maybe they know you love me?"

"Cut it out," Wen Ling directly didn't want to bother with him, and walked into the living room first.

Zhou Yinhe watched her back from behind, chuckling lightly.

These two, because he previously fed them diligently, dote on them, so canned food and snacks are never lacking; if we really had to say who they like, they actually still prefer Wen Ling, only they regard him as a loyal, considerate poop-scooper?

He still put down the two cats, dragged the suitcase into the living room, squatted on the floor, opened it, and laid out the items one by one.

Wen Ling wanted to help, but didn't know where to start.

"These..."

"Ah, I don't know if you like them, so I brought everything." Zhou Yinhe shook his wrist with a laugh, saying, "It exhausted me."

Wen Ling pursed her lips, squatted down, and told Zhou Yinhe, "Actually you didn't need to bring anything at all."

"Why?"

Wen Ling saw he seemed a bit unhappy, and softly said, "I will definitely still go to Hua Guo."

Zhou Yinhe roughly understood, set down what he was holding, stood up, took Wen Ling's hand, and said, "I've reserved a restaurant for tomorrow evening; tonight it's raining, not suitable to go out. If there's anything to say, I'll explain it in detail tomorrow, okay?"

Wen Ling felt his somewhat warm palm, and nodded.

Not long after, rain began outside the window, and it was getting heavier; this gave Zhou Yinhe an even better excuse to stay overnight.

"With such heavy rain, if I go back and get soaked, I'll surely catch a cold; I'm alone in M Country, with no relatives, no one to take care of me—can you bear to let me go?"

"Even with an umbrella, there's still a chance of getting wet."

Wen Ling crossed her arms, watching him; seeing him sprawled on the sofa unmoving, she finally couldn't withstand his shamelessness, tossed out a "Whatever," and went upstairs.