Chapter 91

"Sure."

"No way!"

Two voices sounded at once; Wen Ling blinked, looked at Zhou Yinhe, then glanced at the three men.

"It's not, Xiao Wu; your usual stinginess toward us aside, what does Miss Wen treating us to a meal have to do with you?" Ke Chengyu raised an eyebrow at the cold‑faced man.

Zhou Yinhe ignored them, frowning at the three men; his words were practically dripping ice.

"Don't you three have to work? Want me to call your uncles and ask?"

Qi Zhan shrugged, curled his lips, and said, "Sure, might as well tell them about your waist injury."

He stressed the word 'waist,' and indeed Zhou Yinhe's face darkened further.

Hehe seemed to sense Zhou Yinhe's mood, about to bare its teeth in warning, but Wen Ling stepped forward, scooped Hehe into her arms, and casually took Zhou Yinhe's hand, giving it a squeeze.

"What are you doing?" she whispered.

Zhou Yinhe pressed his lips, stayed silent, could only watch the three men stay at ease; after finishing their meal they wiped their mouths and slipped away.

Wen Ling finally managed to help Zhou Yinhe lie down again, crouched beside him and asked, "Why are you acting like that toward them? Did they bully you?"

Zhou Yinhe rubbed his pillow, aggrieved, "Yeah, they mocked me."

"All right." Wen Ling stroked his face, softly said, "Go to sleep a bit; from midnight to now at the hospital you haven't slept much."

"Then come up and keep me company." Zhou Yinhe held Wen Ling's hand, not letting go: "I want you to hold my hand while we sleep."

Wen Ling leaned in and kissed the corner of his mouth, negotiating, "I toss and turn in my sleep; I'm afraid I'll kick your waist."

Zhou Yinhe raised his arm, hooked it around Wen Ling's neck, shook his head: "Not afraid."

Wen Ling went to the other side of the bed, got close to his neck, buried her face in the crook of his shoulder, and smelled the medicinal scent from the plaster on his body—it actually had a somewhat hypnotic effect.

She narrowed her eyes, rubbed Zhou Yinhe's hind neck, face to face, and softly coaxed, "Go to sleep; tell me if it hurts."

Zhou Yinhe gave a low hum, his long lashes fluttered, and he closed his eyes.

Wen Ling looked at him; Zhou Yinhe's appearance wasn't the innocent type—he looked somewhat cold, always giving off an aura of being hard to provoke. Although in front of Wen Ling he always pretended to be pitiful and innocent or very well‑behaved, there was a stark contrast between that and his looks.

At this moment he had his eyes closed, lying obediently; Wen Ling's heart softened, and she leaned forward to kiss his thin eyelids.

Zhou Yinhe wasn't fully asleep yet; feeling her soft lips press against him, he gave a light chuckle, without lifting his eyelids, lazily said, "Sneak‑kiss me?"

"You caught me." Wen Ling laughed softly, closed her eyes, and whispered, "Go to sleep."

Only then did Zhou Yinhe lift his eyelids, hoarsely saying, "You flirt and then ignore me—how am I supposed to sleep?"

Wen Ling ignored him, turned her body to lie down properly, her hand still clasped with his.

"Fine, wait till I'm better." Zhou Yinhe gave a helpless hum, then closed his eyes again.

——

After Jiang Jibai's birthday banquet ended, he held another one at Nys.

Because there were no elders, the attendees let loose even more, men and women entwined in the dance pool; Zhou Yinhe boredly leaned on the balcony railing of the second floor, gazing down at the swaying crowd in the pool, his fingertips lightly swirling the wine cup, the clink of ice drowned by the music.

Jiang Jibai's cheeks were flushed from being plied with alcohol; he was about to step out to relieve himself when he ran into Zhou Yinhe, who looked utterly uninterested.

He stepped forward, slung his arm over Zhou Yinhe's shoulder, slurring, "It's my birthday—why aren't you happy for me at all?"

"What's there to be happy about?" Zhou Yinhe lifted his cup, took a sip, and said lightly, 'Happy that you're another year older?'

"……" Jiang Jibai twitched the corner of his mouth; sure enough, after Zhou Yinhe's waist injury healed, he wasn't so easy to bully anymore.

He didn't speak; Zhou Yinhe exhaled, his voice low: 'Wen Ling has been back in M Country for three days and still hasn't returned.'

???

Jiang Jibai didn't understand and was shocked by Zhou Yinhe's clinginess: 'Come on, M Country isn't a neighboring city; she's just going to see her grandfather—do you really need to make such a fuss?'

Three days have passed; she should be back by now—it's not a big deal, does she really need to stay three days?

Big brother, just flying to M Country takes over ten hours—are three days really that long?

Not long?" Zhou Yinhe frowned, thinking Jiang Jibai unreasonable: 'What does a single dog like you know?'

Jiang Jibai raised both hands in surrender, placating: 'Fine, fine, fine, I don't get it.'

He sidestepped toward the restroom, took two steps, then turned back: 'Aren't you worried that being so clingy will annoy people? Besides, your biggest threat is right here in Sijiucheng, under your own nose—he can't clone himself, can't steal your sweetheart, so relax.'

Zhou Yinhe's hand, shaking the cup, paused; he felt Jiang Jibai's words were a bit off, yet they also made some sense.

He didn't respond; Jiang Jibai shrugged as he walked away, saying: 'Just wait—you still don't understand as much as a single dog like me.'

"……" Zhou Yinhe wordlessly watched his back, then withdrew his gaze in disdain.

He still felt uneasy, pulled out his phone, checked the time—it was morning in M Country—and called Wen Ling.

At that moment Wen Ling was in the garden having breakfast with Wen Zhuo and accompanying Wen Lao.

Behind Wen Garden's castle lay a flower garden; right now the flowers were in bloom, and the butler had set a white long table on the central lawn so the three masters could enjoy a pleasant breakfast.

Wen Lao glanced at his granddaughter, feigning casualness: 'Are you happy in Hua Guo? Have they been taking good care of you?'

Wen Ling gripped her knife and fork, struggling to cut the fried egg; she had only been in M Country for about two days total, her schedule still unadjusted, being woken at dawn to eat breakfast felt like torture.

"Mm, happy." She yawned from fatigue and whispered, 'They've been taking good care of me—look, I've even put on weight.'

Wen Lao gave his precious granddaughter a serious look upon hearing that; she really was a bit plumper than before, so he relaxed.

Seeing Wen Ling still struggling with the fried egg, Wen Zhuo smiled gently, rose, walked over to her, and swapped his own neatly cut egg for hers.

"Thanks." Wen Ling lifted her gaze and smiled at him.

Wen Lao observed the siblings without changing expression; when Wen Zhuo sat back in his original seat, Wen Lao gave him an approving look.

The Wen Family's most important and precious treasure is his granddaughter; the younger brother knowing how to look after his sister shows such awareness, which makes Wen Lao feel relieved.

What about Lu Zhaoye, that kid? Hasn't he come back?

Upon mentioning Lu Zhaoye, Wen Lao frowned, displeased: 'His father came to see me a few days ago, looking extremely troubled, and told me that that brat Lu Zhaoye plans to stay in Hua Guo.'