“Do you want to have a late-night snack?”

This question from Bai Ying temporarily suppressed the various emotions in Jiang Mocheng.

It was already late when Bai Ying, dressed and holding his hand, came out of the elevator and passed the front desk, where the yawning receptionist looked at them with slight surprise.

The torrential rain had stopped, turning into a drizzle. The outside was shrouded in a thin mist, bringing a chill, and Bai Ying subconsciously held him tighter.

Jiang Mocheng gave her a cold glance.

He didn’t want to pay attention, but the moment he opened the umbrella, he withdrew his hand from her embrace, not allowing her to hold on any longer, and instead, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his embrace.

Bai Ying snuggled up to him naturally.

The two shared an umbrella as they walked into the slanting rain.

It was difficult to hail a cab at this hour, and Bai Ying, growing impatient, looked up.

Her hair brushing against his chin, she softly laughed, “There’s no one and no cars on the road now. Let’s just walk ahead and stop at whichever shop is open, how about that?”

Jiang Mocheng looked down at her and did not object.

In such a quiet night, with only the two of them walking by the roadside, Bai Ying suddenly felt as if the whole world was left with just the two of them, and any conversation seemed like a whisper.

“Do you think I treat you well?”

Bai Ying drew out her words, “Last time it was clearly your fault, yet you said I took my temper out on you.

And today, clearly someone else upset you, and I, ready to sleep after my bath, still accompanied you for a late-night snack.”

The difference between the two was apparent.

Jiang Mocheng remained silent.

Bai Ying didn’t notice a small puddle ahead. The hand he had on her shoulder slid down and gripped her waist firmly. As he stepped over it, he lifted her slightly off the ground.

After her startled cry as they crossed the puddle, he let go of her hand and glanced at her casually, “Be careful.”

Only then did Bai Ying realize what had happened. She turned to look, then looked at her shoes, only slightly wet from the droplets, and couldn’t help but laugh.

Hearing her laughter, Jiang Mocheng wanted her to shut up; he didn’t know how she could laugh.

The umbrella he was holding had unknowingly tilted towards her.

His shoulder was getting wet from the rain, and he hadn’t noticed.

At the moment, it was a battle between his brain and body, as well as between reason and emotion.

He was furious and hated deception, wanting her to stay far away and never appear before him again, yet his hand held her firmly, not wanting to let her go at all.

They were lucky. After walking in the rain for several minutes, they saw a small shop still open.

The shop owners, a husband and wife, were about to close, but seeing them come in the rain, they reopened the door. The wife warmly poured them hot tea. Bai Ying’s fingertips were cool as she held the teacup, taking a sip and sighing.

The wife lifted the curtain and said to her husband inside, “Two bowls of wonton soup.”

She paused and looked back.

This couple was interesting.

The man barely spoke a word since coming in, it was the woman who did the talking.

But despite his silence, his eyes were always on the woman. The shop was small, and with the door open, facing inside, the man deliberately sat on the side near the door, blocking the cold wind from outside for her.

The two bowls of wonton soup were quickly ready, the broth releasing the fragrance of seaweed and shrimp.

The husband carried them steadily, and before he even reached their table, Jiang Mocheng had already stood up and took one of the bowls, intentionally distancing himself from Bai Ying.

Returning to the kitchen, the couple continued to clean up. The husband, recalling something, laughed and remarked, “That gentleman looks fierce, but he’s quite nice.”

The wife giggled softly, lowering her voice, “He’s just afraid you’d clumsily spill the hot soup on that young lady. What did you think!”

…

Bai Ying wasn’t hungry at all. After a few bites, she began to look around the shop environment and met the wife’s gaze, leading to a shared smile.

While wiping the tables, the wife chatted with her, “Listening to your accents, you don’t seem to be locals?”

Bai Ying smiled and nodded, pointing to Jiang Mocheng, “His grandparents are locals.”

“We are not.”

“No wonder.”

Bai Ying said, “This shop looks like it has been open for many years.”

The shop owner’s wife chuckled, “Indeed, my husband and I have been married for twenty years, and this shop has been open for nineteen.”

Bai Ying exclaimed, “You’ve been married for twenty years?”

“Twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye.”

The shop owner’s wife said leisurely, “It’s only young people who think twenty years is a long time. When you’ve been married for twenty years and look back, it will seem like just twenty days.”

Jiang Mocheng, who had been silently eating wontons, heard a certain phrase and looked up at the person sitting across from him.

Bai Ying, with one hand propping up her cheek, smiled even more upon hearing this, “Is that so?”

She took these words as blessings.

For instance, the shop owner’s wife was wishing her at least another twenty years of life.

Jiang Mocheng, however, glanced at her without a change in expression, then looked away, but the speed at which he ate the wontons noticeably slowed down.

Bai Ying noticed that Jiang Mocheng seemed to be in a much better mood after finishing the late-night snack.

After saying goodbye to the shop owners who were preparing to close and go home, the two of them also walked towards the hotel. The rain had completely stopped, and they were returning the same way, passing the small puddle again.

Bai Ying, out of a desire to tease him, pretended to be seriously talking to him, but in her mind, she was counting down. Sure enough, before her right foot stepped down, she was easily carried over by him.

…

The receptionist who was about to make a cup of tea to stay awake, stood up to get the tea leaves. When she turned around, the revolving door moved. She stared blankly at the scene before her.

The man, still in his suit, was carrying the woman on his back.

He casually placed the long-handled umbrella to one side.

The woman lay on his back, her hands circling his neck, her legs swinging by his side, her shoes seeming a bit too large, lazily hooking her high heels, making one’s heart also flutter up and down, fearing that the shoes would fall to the ground the next second.

Bai Ying buried her face in his neck.

In Jiang Mocheng’s brows, besides helplessness, there was also a flash of bewilderment.

It seemed that even he didn’t know why he was carrying her back.

…

Zhao Minghai came to the Shen residence late at night.

Shen Jin was still dealing with official business in the study. When Zhao Minghai entered, his gaze swept over the half-empty bottle of strong liquor on the desk and quickly retracted.

On his way here, he was filled with fear, having prepared his speech, but upon seeing Shen Jin, he became mute, not knowing where to start.

“Is there news?”

Shen Jin extinguished his cigarette and looked up through the swirling smoke, glancing faintly at the trembling Zhao Minghai.

Zhao Minghai nodded and then shook his head, not daring to test Shen Jin’s patience at this critical moment, and confessed everything, “Among the new batch of bodyguards, everyone else has been checked and there are no issues. The one who took leave and left…”

He paused for a few seconds, his tone strained as he said, “Someone impersonated him.”

Shen Jin’s sharp gaze was like a knife, “Impersonated?”

Zhao Minghai shrank back and replied, “It seems to be intentional. He reported for duty after we left the country. All the information on the roster matches up, that person took someone else’s identity to come in.”

If they hadn’t left the country at that time, this wouldn’t have happened.

The person cunningly chose the most opportune moment.

Bang—

Shen Jin smashed the glass by his hand, the shards grazing Zhao Minghai’s hand, who didn’t dare to move.

“So, you’re telling me,”

Shen Jin’s voice was very low, “this was premeditated?”

Zhao Minghai bowed his head even lower, “We’ve already had someone follow those few.”

But there were many inconsistencies in the middle, and Shen Jin knew without Zhao Minghai’s reminder that there was something eerie about the whole affair.

For example, if it really was those few with whom he had a feud, it would be impossible for there to be no news until now.

Most importantly, with their current means, it would not be so easy to impersonate someone and enter the Shen residence, let alone kidnap Bai Ying without alarming everyone.

If they had such capabilities, why would they lie in wait dangerously for nearly a month before making a move?

And—

Zhao Minghai didn’t dare mention that Miss Bai is a living person; she could easily scream, and that person would likely be riddled with holes.

Miss Bai also left a note and a letter, clearly willing.

Shen Jin’s leather shoes stepped over the fragments on the floor, approaching Zhao Minghai, “You know my rules.”

Zhao Minghai complied, suppressing the doubts in his heart. That person had the audacity to take Miss Bai away; it would serve him right to be skinned alive, he brought it upon himself.

But what about Miss Bai?

He didn’t dare to ask that question.

…

A rainstorm soaked Ning City and Jincheng, and only Bai Ying had a good dream that night.

She dreamed of living happily and wealthily into her nineties, lying in a soft and warm blanket with the corners of her lips unconsciously curling up.

The ashtray in the Shen residence study was piled with cigarette butts, and in the room next to Bai Ying’s, Jiang Mocheng played with a lighter until dawn broke.

Lin Fei, after learning the truth of the matter, had people keep a constant watch on the Shen residence.

As soon as day broke, he couldn’t wait to dial Jiang Mocheng’s number, which was quickly answered, “It’s bad, Zhao Minghai has found out about the impersonation,”

Fortunately, they were in the dark, and Shen Jin was in the light. The current situation was more advantageous for them, “Should we intercept Zhao Minghai first?”

Although they couldn’t stop him for long, it would at least give them a bit more time to prepare.

Click.

Jiang Mocheng stared expressionlessly at the small flame in his hand, having not slept all night, his voice hoarse, “Intercept what?”

Lin Fei was taken aback.

He stuttered for a few seconds, then bluntly reminded, “Business disputes are not a big deal, neither you nor Shen Jin lack that bit of money.”

Even if Jiang Mocheng really took some important documents, it’s not a big deal, it’s just tit for tat.

But what’s the situation now??

To put it seriously, this is a grudge over a stolen wife.

However, this matter is not entirely without a turning point…

Lin Fei said tactfully, “You’re not that kind of person. I reckon, if you knew she was Shen Jin’s girlfriend, you definitely wouldn’t have given her a second glance.”

Jiang Mocheng is not a frivolous person.

Let alone being Shen Jin’s girlfriend, even if it was a completely unrelated person, if she had a boyfriend, he wouldn’t have any interest at all.

This whole thing was just a misunderstanding.

“Misunderstanding, yes, it’s a misunderstanding.”

Lin Fei said, “It’s a misunderstanding, and we can explain it clearly.”

As he spoke, Lin Fei also fell silent.

His words were very forced, after all, the deed had been done, and even though they were separated by a phone call, he could sense the atmosphere suddenly turning cold.

Shen Jin’s girlfriend.

These four words were unbearable for Jiang Mocheng, “What misunderstanding?”

“Ah?”

A sentence that left Lin Fei speechless and wide-eyed came from the other end of the phone.

“My girlfriend—”

“What does she have to do with Shen Jin?”