Qin Yinan"s phone rang during dinner. He picked out his phone to look at the caller ID; it was Chen Yang. Afraid that he might say something about bankruptcy and worry Mrs. Cheng, he apologized and stood up to walk to his study to answer the call.

Even though Cheng Qingchong didn"t know who the call was from or what the content was about, when she saw Qin Yinan walk out of the study and that the man"s deeply furrowed brows had relaxed slightly, she knew what this represented. A glow of hope seemed to instill the man with renewed vigor; even his demeanor spoke of energy and spirit.

He received the call from Jin Ze"s side? Cheng Qingchong"s hand that held the chopsticks tightened before she lowered her head further and continued to shove the food into her mouth.

…

After dinner, Qin Yinan hid himself in the study and never came out again.

After Cheng Qingchong cleared away the dining table, like usual, she joined Mrs. Cheng in the living room to watch a drama. When Mrs. Cheng retired to bed at 10 pm, she exited the guest bedroom, stood at the study door, and looked at it for a while before moving to the kitchen.

She cooked a bowl of Tang Yuan and a cup of coffee and carried it to Qin Yinan"s study. Similar to the day before, afraid that her appearance might cause Qin Yinan annoyance, she placed the food on the floor, stood up to knock on the door twice, and scurried back to the main bedroom.

However, she only took two steps before the door behind her was pulled open, and she was washed in the light pouring out from the open study. Cheng Qingchong tensed, and she froze where she was.

Even though Cheng Qingchong didn"t turn around, based on the shadows on the floor, she could tell Qin Yinan was standing at the door not far from behind her.

Qin Yinan didn"t utter a word, and the room was quiet. Cheng Qingchong was made fl.u.s.tered by the silence, and her hands involuntarily went to grip at her clothes.

The atmosphere, due to the silence, became more and more curious.

Cheng Qingchong felt herself unable to stomach the increasing pressure. She closed her eyes and swallowed a mouthful of saliva to try to calm herself. She then slowly turned around to flash a cautious smile at Qin Yinan.

Afraid that he might respond with a sarcastic quip, Cheng Qingchong quickly lowered her head after a quick glance at him. She explained in a whisper, "My mother saw how busy you were, and she was worried that you might get hungry, so she ordered me to prepare some supper for you."

Qin Yinan stared at Cheng Qingchong and remained silent. He didn"t poke through her lie. He knew she made him the supper out of her own volition; it had nothing to do with Mrs. Cheng.

She must have been worried that she would annoy me, so she placed the food by the door and left in a hurry.

As this thought entered his mind, Qin Yinan felt his heart wrenched with sourness.

Cheng Qingchong was made increasingly anxious by Qin Yinan"s silence. Many times, she wanted to raise her head to see whether he was angry or not, but she would lose her courage at the very last moment. She bit on her lips, and just as she was at her breaking point and was about to bid him good night and retreat to the bedroom, the man suddenly said, "I need to use the bathroom. Please could you carry the supper into the study?"

His voice appeared extraordinarily soft and gentle in the quietness of the night.

Cheng Qingchong was dumbfounded, thinking she was hallucinating.Tang Yuan (literally: "soup ball") is a Chinese dessert made from glutinous rice flour mixed with a small amount of water to form b.a.l.l.s and then either cooked and served in boiling water with fermented glutinous rice, or sweet syrup (sweet ginger syrup, for example), or deep fried. (Wikipedia)