Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Seeing her smile, Wen Mochuan couldn't help but smile along.

"What's up?" He asked the question directly, which he didn't have time to type earlier.

Jiang Yiyan wanted to invite him for a late-night snack, but she was afraid that he might be busy and have no time, so she asked first, "Are you still working overtime? Or maybe... you're about to rest?"

Wen Mochuan: "I'm working overtime. But it's not urgent, and I can handle it tomorrow."

"Uh-huh." Jiang Yiyan softly responded before inviting him for a late-night snack, "I'm hungry. Are you hungry too? If you are, I'll treat you to a snack. Consider it as a thank-you dinner for helping me deal with Jiang Xu today."

Interacting with the current Jiang Yiyan made Wen Mochuan feel inexplicably relaxed. Although he could sense that his wife, after changing her personality, wasn't as attentive to him as before. However, it must be said that the chemistry between them was crucial. In the past, when she was overly attentive and clung to him all the time, he felt pressured and wasn't happy.

But now, she had loosened her grip slightly and wasn't pushing as hard as before, making him more willing to approach her.

Wen Mochuan thought that if his previous assumptions were incorrect and she wasn't pretending to be gentle and kind to counter Shu Yao, who had just returned from abroad, then perhaps she realized that there were issues in their marital relationship and wanted to change their way of life.

Or perhaps, Wen Mochuan thought, this might be another method his wife used to catch his attention.

She also wanted them to start anew in a different way.

Regardless of the reason, Wen Mochuan was willing to cooperate.

Therefore, even though he rarely ate late-night snacks, he immediately nodded in agreement, "Sure."

Since it was called a "thank-you dinner," they couldn't be too stingy. A bowl of instant noodles wouldn't do, so... Jiang Yiyan planned to order some barbecue delivery.

She would also order a pot of crayfish and a few bottles of beer to go with it, which would be perfect.

This was Jiang Yiyan's personal lifestyle. When she was busy with work and under pressure, she would often invite one or two friends for a late-night snack after completing a task. They would also have a little bit of alcohol, but not much.

If it were up to Jiang Yiyan, she would prefer this. It was cheap, satisfying, and comfortable.

However, since she was treating Wen Mochuan, she naturally had to ask for his opinion.

So, Jiang Yiyan cautiously asked, "Is there anything you want to eat? Since I'm treating you, we should prioritize your preferences." She put on an appearance of being very generous.

But in reality, she was nervous, fearing that Wen Mochuan would casually mention an upscale restaurant.

Fortunately, Wen Mochuan was quite considerate. Instead of deciding himself, he handed the decision back to Jiang Yiyan.

In that case, Jiang Yiyan wasn't going to hold back.

"It's too hot outside, and I think it would be inconvenient for us to eat out. So, let's order some takeout instead." As she spoke, she turned around and headed downstairs, glancing back at Wen Mochuan to signal him to follow.

Wen Mochuan remained silent and followed behind her, listening as she continued, "It's cool and comfortable at home with air conditioning. We have plenty of fresh seasonal fruits in the fridge; we can start by having some fruit to whet our appetites. There are several good barbecue restaurants nearby, and their sales and ratings are high. Let's order some skewers we like, a pot of crayfish, and a few bottles of beer... How carefree!"

As they spoke, the two reached the living room on the first floor.

Fang Fang and Feng Ma's rooms were also on the first floor, and they had already gone into their rooms to rest. Therefore, once they arrived on the first floor, Jiang Yiyan automatically lowered her voice.

The living room was close to their bedrooms, so Jiang Yiyan took the initiative to head to the dining room. Wen Mochuan followed closely behind her.

As they sat down in the dining room, Jiang Yiyan opened her food delivery app on her phone. Then, she handed her phone to Wen Mochuan, asking him to choose what he liked.

Wen Mochuan wasn't picky, and he had eaten street food before. However, he didn't have any particular preferences, so he left the decision to Jiang Yiyan.

Jiang Yiyan wasn't indecisive. Having already respected his opinion, she decided to make the choice for him since he didn't want to decide.

"Do you like spicy food?" Jiang Yiyan asked casually, treating him like a new friend.

"What?" Wen Mochuan seemed unsure whether he heard correctly and repeated the question. Alternatively, he might have heard clearly but found it unbelievable. In any case, he didn't answer Jiang Yiyan's question.

After blurting it out, Jiang Yiyan realized that she had spoken out of turn.

As his wife, after living together for five or six years, how could she not know his taste?

So, Jiang Yiyan quickly corrected herself, "Should I order mildly spicy or medium spicy?" Wen Mochuan preferred lighter flavors, but the book mentioned that he could handle some spiciness.

As for the Jiang Yiyan in the book, her love for spicy food matched Jiang Yiyan's—she couldn't live without it.

However, since she was treating him to a meal, she naturally had to accommodate his preferences. Without waiting for Wen Mochuan's response, Jiang Yiyan decided, "Mildly spicy then. It's late at night, and I don't want anything too heavy." After making the decision, she selected mild spiciness and placed the order.

Wen Mochuan watched her as she finally finished and became idle. That was when he brought up the incident from earlier in the evening.

"Why did Jiang Xu suddenly come looking for you?" Jiang Xu and Jiang Yiyan, as siblings, weren't close and rarely interacted. Today, he came specifically to confront her and almost got physical. Wen Mochuan knew that something must have happened.

Jiang Yiyan replied, "I've been busy these past few days and forgot to contact Dad. I guess he wasn't pleased, giving Jiang Xu the opportunity to come and scold me."

It turned out to be about that.

This was actually a minor matter. For such a small issue to escalate to the point where her brother wanted to hit her showed that Jiang Xu didn't regard his sister highly at all. In Wen Mochuan's heart, he strongly disapproved of many of Jiang Xu's actions, including his business tactics and the way he interacted with people in his daily life.

Not liking and not approving of him, and now witnessing that Jiang Xu was someone who would physically assault a woman, Wen Mochuan subconsciously furrowed his brows. His dislike for Jiang Xu grew even stronger.

Wen Mochuan believed the incident was serious, but Jiang Yiyan didn't take it to heart.

"Ignore him," Jiang Yiyan said. "Let's leave it for today since it's late. Tomorrow, I'll find some time to contact Dad." She never intended to acknowledge this half-brother from the beginning, but it was necessary to try and win over her half-father.

Wen Mochuan nodded, "It wasn't a big deal anyway. You can explain properly, and Father-in-law will understand."

"Mm-hmm." Jiang Yiyan agreed.

The delivery arrived soon, and the two sat facing each other, leisurely enjoying the barbecue and beer while chatting about their work. Before long, it was nearly twelve o'clock.

They helped each other tidy up the dining room a bit before heading upstairs together. At the second-floor staircase, Wen Mochuan suddenly stopped and turned to look at his wife behind him.

Jiang Yiyan noticed his action out of the corner of her eye and asked what was wrong.

Wen Mochuan actually wanted to ask when he could move back into the bedroom. But considering his wife clearly had no such intention at the moment, he saw no need to press the issue.

He just smiled. "Nothing, I just wanted to say goodnight to you."

"Oh." Jiang Yyan didn't particularly care about this goodnight. However, following the principle of reciprocity, she returned a goodnight to Wen Mochuan as well.

She added, "Have sweet dreams tonight."

As soon as she finished speaking, she turned the doorknob and slipped into the room like a fish. The door was immediately closed, and Wen Mochuan heard a "click." If he guessed correctly, she must have locked the door from the inside.

His wife's recent behavior was peculiar, but Wen Mochuan found the situation becoming interesting.

Perhaps she had her own plans and thoughts. She wasn't taking the initiative, and he wouldn't force her. They would slowly get along, and one day, he would figure out what was going on.

This feeling of tugging at each other was something he had never experienced before.

.

The next day, when Jiang Yyan woke up, it was almost nine in the morning.

With her current workload being heavy, she couldn't afford to be lazy anymore. Therefore, after waking up, she got up immediately to wash her face, brush her teeth, change clothes, and then went downstairs for breakfast.

Meimei had already woken up and eaten breakfast. At that moment, the little girl was squatting beside the trash can in the kitchen, studying something.

When she heard her mother coming downstairs, Meimei ran over and asked, "Mom, did you and Dad eat something last night without telling me?" Her little mouth pouted as if it could hold a lamp.

Jiang Yyan was curious. "What do you mean?"

Meimei said, "But you ate without calling me!" She sounded indignant and brought up an old grievance. "That night too, I worked hard to accompany you to buy instant noodles, but when we came back, I fell asleep and didn't get to eat anything."

Jiang Yyan thought, 'You fell asleep yourself, and now you're blaming us?'

But sometimes, there was no need to be so serious with children, especially at this moment. This little girl seemed to really care about this matter. So, Jiang Yyan coaxed her. "Mom understands. Next time we eat, your dad and I will definitely include you."

"But I can't eat barbecue or crayfish," Seeing her mother give in, Meimei started pushing her luck. "I can't eat spicy food either! If you continue eating these spicy things, how am I supposed to join you?"

She treated it as a serious matter, and Jiang Yyan gave a helpless smile.

"Alright, alright, Mom understands." Jiang Yyan picked up her daughter and sat down on the sofa with her. "It's been a while since you've seen Grandpa, right? Why don't we video call him?"

Meimei's attention was temporarily diverted.

"I do miss Grandpa a bit." Children would miss those who genuinely cared for them, and she could feel whether Grandpa truly cared for her.

In the past, she had her father's love; later, she gained a mother's love; now, she had Grandpa's love... Meimei felt she was the happiest child in the world.

Once favored, she became a bit spoiled. Although her mother had promised to include her the next time they ate something, when Meimei saw Grandpa's kind face on the video call, she couldn't help but complain.

"Grandpa, Grandpa, my dad and mom ate something last night without telling me. They didn't let me join them; they just ate by themselves. They left the trash in the bin, and I saw it today." She looked very serious.