Chapter 9

As soon as Meng Mingxuan spoke, the aura around Yan Mojiu grew even colder.
His dark eyes locked onto her fingers gripping his sleeve, and a mocking curve appeared on his thin lips.
“I, Yan Mojiu, will never make fried eggs again in my life.”
Meng Mingxuan froze!
Suddenly, a long-forgotten argument replayed in her mind.
The door was locked tight, surrounded by Yan Mojiu’s subordinates.
She lay on the bed, pale-faced, with the room in disarray.
The meal the servants had brought was overturned on the floor.
The man pushed open the door, holding her favorite custom pink koi plate.
“Brother made Mingxuan’s favorite fried eggs.”
“Are you not angry anymore, hmm?”
The fried egg was the agreement between her and Brother Jiu—if she was angry and Brother Jiu couldn’t calm her down, he would make fried eggs for her, and she had to forgive him unconditionally.
This privilege could only be used once a year.
But in the scene…
Bang!
She forcefully knocked the plate out of the man’s hands, angrily staring at his cold expression.
“If you don’t let me out today, I won’t eat or drink for the whole day! If you’re brave enough, give me a nutritional shot to keep me alive! Keep me alive for a lifetime!”
The man’s hands, suspended in midair, immediately clenched.
He looked down at the cracked heart-shaped fried egg among the broken porcelain shards.
After a long while, he hoarsely spoke, “Does the fried egg agreement not count anymore?”
“If you have the guts, kill me. Otherwise, I’ll never eat fried eggs made by you again in my life!” she shouted, her emotions completely out of control.
The man fell silent for a long time.
“Brother Jiu knows.”
He leaned down, his long fingers slowly picking up the broken porcelain shards from the floor.
His fingertips were cut and bleeding, but he didn’t notice.
When he finished cleaning up and turned to leave the room, the bodyguards outside quickly withdrew.
The door to her room opened.
From that day on, her relationship with Yin Ting became publicly known.
Yan Mojiu never stopped her from going out with Yin Ting again.
The fragments of the past always strike back at the heart of the willful person—Meng Mingxuan felt a tearing pain in her chest, a pain so intense it was unbearable.
Tears quickly blurred her vision.
She stared at Yan Mojiu’s cold profile, his tightly pressed lips, and couldn’t help but sob.
“I’m sorry, Brother… really sorry…”
Back then, she had been completely blinded by Yin Ting’s gentleness. Yin Ting had always pampered her; no matter what she wanted to do, he would accompany her, making her feel more relaxed than ever.
It was perhaps a rebellious phase, the more Yan Mojiu restricted her, the more she wanted to be with Yin Ting.
The one who is favored is always fearless—she never thought her willfulness would make Yan Mojiu disappear from her life.
She thought… she had just had a normal relationship, and sooner or later, Yan Mojiu would see how good Yin Ting was.
It was like when parents oppose their children’s marriage, but if the children are determined, the parents will eventually helplessly agree…
Yan Mojiu listened to Meng Mingxuan’s increasingly uncontrollable sobs, his back stiffening like never before.
After a long while, he finally closed his eyes in restraint, sat back down at the edge of the bed, and pulled Meng Mingxuan into his arms.
“Brother isn’t angry with Mingxuan, don’t cry anymore.”
“Then I… I want… I want to eat fried eggs…”
If he really wasn’t angry with her, he would make her fried eggs again.
Meng Mingxuan stubbornly thought this.
“No!” Yan Mojiu gently caressed her long hair behind her, realizing her body stiffened and her crying was getting louder, so he softened his tone and coaxed, “How about a different breakfast? You know, Brother can make more than just fried eggs.”
For her, he had long since mastered a variety of cooking skills.
She hadn’t eaten the meals he made in a long time.
Meng Mingxuan actually still wanted the fried eggs, but she wouldn’t force Yan Mojiu to do something he didn’t like.
So, she wiped her tears, looked up at him, and said, “Brother Jiu, let’s make a new agreement, okay? Let’s change the fried eggs to steamed buns, okay?”
“No need.”
An agreement that had already been broken didn’t need to continue.
“This time it’s for real! I swear on my parents and my sister’s name!” Meng Mingxuan quickly said.
Yan Mojiu’s pupils suddenly trembled!
Meng Mingxuan’s parents and sister were an absolute taboo between her and Yan Mojiu.
Every year on their memorial day, Yan Mojiu and Meng Mingxuan spent the day in silence.
They never mentioned them in everyday life.
So it was clear how serious and even urgent Meng Mingxuan was when she brought them up to make her point.
“Brother Jiu, believe me, this time I’ll keep my word. If I break the promise again…”
“Enough.” Yan Mojiu didn’t want Meng Mingxuan to really swear, so he pressed his finger to her red lips and smiled faintly, “Steamed buns don’t taste as good, and they don’t sound as nice. Let’s change it to heart-shaped strawberry cakes.”
The initial reason he had tricked her into making the “fried egg” agreement was just because of his own feelings.
He had thought that, if one day he couldn’t control himself and did something inappropriate, he hoped the fried egg agreement would save him.
It would keep her from sentencing him to death.

But what he didn’t expect was that the fried egg agreement was broken because of an outside man.

“Alright!” Meng Mingxuan’s heart instantly sank.
As long as Brother Jiu agreed to renew the agreement, that was all that mattered.And for  the moments when she disappointed him, she would spend her entire life trying to make up for them, bit by bit.

“For breakfast, we’ll have two boiled eggs and a cup of milk. For lunch, I’ll take you to have something good, is that alright?” Yan Mojiu gently wiped the tear stains from her face with his finger, asking for her opinion.
“Of course, I’ll eat whatever Brother Jiu makes for me,” Meng Mingxuan almost said “I’d even eat shit,” but thankfully, she stopped herself just in time.
“Then, go back to your room and wash up, change your clothes,” Yan Mojiu’s cold eyes flashed with a hint of a smile as he patted her head. “Be careful, don’t get the wound wet.”
“Mm-hmm!”
Meng Mingxuan nodded obediently, her bright eyes looking longingly at the man’s retreating figure as he entered the bathroom.
Once his figure disappeared from her sight, she quickly curled up in the blanket, happily rolling around on the bed.
She was back!
She was reborn!
She wasn’t dreaming; she had really, truly gone back to the past!
Back to before she had hurt Brother Jiu, before she had completely lost him!
She was so happy.
She was so grateful to the heavens!
After enjoying her happiness for a while, Meng Mingxuan reluctantly crawled out of Yan Mojiu’s blanket.
She went to her own room to wash up.
…

After Yan Mojiu finished washing up, he changed his clothes and went downstairs to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for Meng Mingxuan.
He set the timer for the boiled eggs, warmed the milk, and then began checking the messages he had ignored all night.
There were several missed calls.
Yan Mojiu glanced at them and, with his long fingers, lightly tapped the screen to return a call to Feng Yilin.
Five seconds later, the call connected.
“Brother Jiu, Yin Ting held a campus gathering last night. Because our little princess didn’t show up, he drank white liquor on an empty stomach and caused gastric bleeding. He’s still unconscious in the hospital.”
Feng Yilin had sent him a message as soon as he received the news.
But since Yan Mojiu hadn’t replied, he had to keep calling.
Still no answer.
He and Tang Jun were at the hospital, and Nie Ziyang had already driven to Brother Jiu’s villa to find him.
They were afraid that if something happened to Yin Ting, Meng Mingxuan would again take her anger out on Brother Jiu.
Before Yan Mojiu could respond, the doorbell rang outside the villa.
He raised his cold, dark gaze and walked toward the door.
He opened it to find Nie Ziyang standing outside, exuding an icy aura.
“I had Ziyang go speak to him, I’ll hang up now.”
Yan Mojiu glanced indifferently at Nie Ziyang and ended the call.
Then, he turned back to the kitchen.
He first finished preparing Meng Mingxuan’s breakfast.

“Brother Jiu! Yin Ting deliberately drank until he caused gastric bleeding and ended up in the hospital. This is a scheme! He’s trying to stir trouble between you and Mingxuan!” Nie Ziyang followed him, furiously speaking about Yin Ting’s manipulation.
“Mm.”
Yan Mojiu watched as the water boiled, tilting the pot lid slightly to prevent the boiling water from spilling out.
Nie Ziyang couldn’t believe it—what time was it, and he was still boiling eggs?
Moreover, the infamous Lord of the City, doing things that only a househusband would do—wasn’t this just too out of place?
No one would believe it if he told them.
“Brother Jiu, how’s Mingxuan doing?” Nie Ziyang took a deep breath, suppressing his emotions, and asked in a low voice.
Yan Mojiu’s fingers, which were clearly defined, paused slightly, and his thin lips curved into a shallow, subtle smile. “She’s very obedient.”
So obedient that it didn’t feel real.
Like a dream.
And… very dependent on him.
If he weren’t worried about scaring her, he would actually want to find someone right now to beat him up hard.
Let the pain and blood prove that everything was real.
Nie Ziyang stared at the slight curve at the corner of Yan Mojiu’s lips, his eyes wide.
Did… did Brother Jiu smile?
In the past two years, Brother Jiu had never smiled even once.
The pressure kept getting lower and lower every day.
He smoked more each day.
And the alcohol… it was better not to even talk about it.
Sometimes, Nie Ziyang was even afraid that Brother Jiu would drive himself mad.
As Nie Ziyang was lost in thought, Yan Mojiu’s timer went off.
He raised his hand, turned off the gas, and fished out the boiled eggs from the hot water, placing them into the bowl of cold water he had prepared earlier.
“Once she finishes breakfast, you can talk to her.”
Yan Mojiu thought of Yin Ting and his brows furrowed deeper.
His voice became colder.
“Talk about Yin Ting’s situation.”
Yan Mojiu picked up the bowl, grabbed the milk, and turned to walk out.
“Me?” Nie Ziyang pointed to himself, looking like he was being blamed.
Did he really seem like a big target for this?
Mingxuan could just as easily throw a bowl at his head!