Chapter 35 - Cold War

Chapter 35 Cold War

Lin Qing’s attitude confused Mu Li much.

Instead of greeting him with surprise and joy, why did she push him away indifferently?

Mu Li’s eyes darkened as he looked at the seemingly sleepy figure on the bed. He couldn’t figure it out at the moment.

Feeling upset, he went to shower first. When he returned in a bath towel, he heard Lin Qing’s gentle breathing.

She had probably really fallen into sleep.

Mu Li frowned, putting on an expression different from the one when he saw Lin Qing.

Next day.

Lin Qing got up very early because she had a sound sleep last night.

When she got up, she didn’t see Mu Li and thought that he had gone out again.

However, when she walked towards the door, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a coat hanging on the clothes rack. She stopped and turned around for a closer look. It turned out to be the suit that Mu Li wore before he left.

Lin Qing’s mood went ups and downs slightly.

“What are you looking at?”

Mu Li’s voice came from behind.

He was standing by the door, with his hands behind his back. He was in a light-colored shirt just taken out from the wardrobe.

Lin Qing regained her senses, turned over her shoulder and looked at Mu Li with a calm look.

It was hard to find the slightest trace of emotions in her eyes.

This look made Mu Li somewhat uneasy.

“Lin Qing!”

As she walked past Mu Li, her wrist was tightly caught by Mu Li

However, Lin Qing only gave him an indifferent look, got rid of his grab and went downstairs alone.

It had never occurred to Mu Li that Lin Qing would stop talking to him from then on.

There was no sign or reason. He was completely ignored by her as air.

While Mu Li was away from home, he was in the army dealing with various important matters and could not fall asleep until very late every night.

In addition, this mission was extremely urgent. Mu Li had no time to explain to Lin Qing. So he did not talk about it with Lin Qing.

He thought that as long as he returned from the army and appeared in front of Lin Qing, it could be considered an explanation.

But what exactly was Lin Qing thinking about?

When it was about time to leave from work, Mu Li pulled his car over at Lin Qing’s company.

Anyone who passed in front of the building would sneak a few glances at this handsome and indifferent man.

As the crowd gradually disappeared, Mu Li finally saw that petite figure. She walked over slowly from the end of the hall and probably hadn’t noticed anything difference about her surroundings.

Those envious looks reappeared and all went after Lin Qing.

Lin Qing was completely unaware of them at all.

It wasn’t until she arrived at the door and walked out of the automatic door that Lin Qing’s gaze was finally set on Mu Li, who was standing right opposite of her.

Mu Li?

Lin Qing paused for a moment. She accidentally heard the whispers and chose to ignore them. She went straight down the stairs.

Mu Li didn’t say anything. He was waiting.

Lin Qing looked at him indifferently as she did in the morning. She opened the door and got into the car.

Mu Li was not annoyed, and drove her home.

Along the way, they were all silent. The atmosphere was even grave.

However, both of them were OK with such silence and no one spoke.

When they got home, Lin Qing went to prepare dinner while Mu Li went to watch TV. They did not interfere with each other and stayed in harmony.

However, under the harmony was a war that was about to start.

The war could be triggered at any moment.

Fortunately, both of them were patient enough.

When the dinner was ready, Lin Qing came out of the kitchen and Mu Li came to the table.

After dinner, Mu Li went upstairs to the study while Lin Qing went to clean the dishes and do the chores.

If she needed to buy things, Lin Qing would write them down on a note and showed the note to Mu Li. Mu Li would then take her to the supermarket nearby.

When Mu Li returned to his room, Lin Qing had already fallen asleep. Her breath was shallow.

They spent the next day and the day after with no communication at all.

On the fourth day, Lin Qing’s mother called.

Lin Qing were about to answer the call when Mu Li came downstairs.

He had probably heard the ring and gone downstairs to check it out.

Mu Li had no idea about what his mother-in-law was talking about. Lin Qing just responded to her with OK throughout the call. She barely spoke a complete sentence.

Mu Li leaned against the wall of the living room and looked at Lin Qing intentionally.

“Dinner … Maybe next time.”

That was the only sentence Lin Qing said before she hung up the phone. She looked down slightly and replied with no emotion.

Lin Qing’s mother brought up the matter of going to her place for dinner again.

After chatting for a few more minutes, Lin Qing hang up the phone and found Mu Li.

She was surprised at first but then regained calmness again.

It had been a long time since they spoke to each other. Mu Li thought to himself.

However, he never thought about asking Lin Qing about why. Why did things go on like this?

To Mu Li, it was meaningless to explain his whereabouts, let alone–

He and Lin Qing were not deeply bonded. There was no need for explanation.

Mu Li’s friend invited him to go out for a drink at night. He, who had always been very restrained, accepted the invitation right away.

His friend was surprised with his reaction. When they met, he bluntly asked, “You seem weird today. Is it because of your wife?”

Mu Li was puzzled by Shan Rong’s remarks, “Why?”

Shan Rong placed one hand over Mu Li’s shoulder and rubbed the chin with another, “Mostly, you would not come out for a drink unless I invite you for several times. But this time, you said yes right away.

If you had not quarreled with your wife, what other cause could it be?”

Shan Rong said assertively and stared at Mu Li with a crafty expression.

Mu Li pushed him away, opened a bottle of wine and placed it on the table in front of Shan Rong, “This one on me.”

Shan Rong didn’t say no. He gulped half a bottle and said, “Tell me about your wife.”

Shan Rong sat on the sofa with his legs crossed. This handsome guy was one of the very few close friends of Mu Li.

Only he dared to ignore Mu Li’s title of Military Commander and joked with Mu Li.

However, Shan Rong was also from privileged background—

As the second heir to Tianlin Group, he received high-quality education abroad and returned to China recently.

He was warmly welcomed upon return.

However, he didn’t care about his family business at all. His elder brother had to manage Tianlin Group on his own.

He had been “having classy fun” in his own words.

He always wanted to find an opportunity to properly educate Mu Li and turn him into a love master.

But his hopes never came true.

Mu Li did not intend to answer Shan Rong’s question. But he did think about what Lin Qing was like.

She didn’t like to talk and always thought differently. She was confused sometimes, making Mu Li find her funny and annoying.

But Mu Li suddenly noticed–

“Does she laugh a lot?”

Shan Rong got more curious now that Mu Li didn’t respond him.

Under such circumstances, Mu Li’s mind was often occupied with many thoughts.

No.

She did not laugh much.

Although she was sometimes slow, shy, spoiling and innocent, she had never smiled.

Mu Li’s heart became heavy.

He found it difficult to breathe.

Shan Rong took another sip of wine, patted Mu Li’s shoulder and said, “You gotta be very nice with woman. She would laugh if you make her happy.”

Be nice?

Mu Li felt that Shan Rong’s words were not reasonable at all.

“How about you and me having dinner with your wife tomorrow night?”

As Shan Rong spoke, he finished the bottle.

He wasn’t drunk at all. Instead, he looked at Mu Li seriously.

Mu Li knew that Shan Rong was a good drinker.

He thought for a moment and agreed.

The next morning, Lin Qing was getting ready to leave for work as usual, while Mu Li was sitting on the sofa not far away, watching TV.

“Now the next piece of news–” The TV host was broadcasting highlights of City A in a clear and gentle voice.

“Wait!”

Just as Lin Qing was about to step out of the door, Mu Li said.

His voice was steady, confusing Lin Qing for a moment.

Lin Qing turned around and looked at the sofa, only to find that Mu Li had already stood up and was walking towards her. She widened her eyes as if she was asking–

“What’s up?”

Mu Li read her mind and said, “There’s a dinner appointment tonight. Come back early.”

Lin Qing nodded, opened the door and left.

Mu Li watched her figure disappear at the door. He somehow felt a trace of melancholy.

At 5:15 in the afternoon, Lin Qing returned home.

She went back to her room, changed her clothes and then walked to the living room, waiting for Mu Li who was not there yet.

Lin Qing remembered that Mu Li said that he was always punctual and hoped that Lin Qing would be punctual as well.

Therefore, Lin Qing kept looking at the time and left the company before she was allowed to get off work.

But Mu Li …

Would he be punctual as well?

Lin Qing went absent-minded.

After a minute or two, Mu Li came downstairs.

He was working in the study when heard the sound Lin Qing come home. However, he deliberately delayed to show up.

He was dressed in a suit that perfectly presented his upright figure, which must be attractive to most women.

However, Lin Qing was still absent-minded.

“Lin Qing?”

Mu Li called her, only to find her regaining her senses slowly. She was stunned when she saw Mu Li and then walked towards the door.

Mu Li didn’t say anything else.

The hotel for dinner was in the downtown area, 15 minutes’ drive from Mu Li’s home. They arrived soon.

After parking the car, Lin Qing got off the car and followed behind Mu Li as usual.

“Wait for me at the hotel lobby first. I will meet you soon.”

At the entrance of the hotel, Mu Li told Lin Qing.

Lin Qing went in alone.

This place was very similar to but slightly different from the place she went to last time. She slowly walked along the most inconspicuous side, trying to slow down and wait for Mu Li.

At this moment, there came a familiar voice.

“Lin Qing?”

Lin Qing turned around in surprise.

It was Chen Qudong, the senior schoolfellow she had had secret crush on. He was walking towards her.

He was also formally dressed today. As far as Lin Qing could recall, he always looked handsome in white shirt.

As far as?

Lin Qing suddenly realized that her memories about Chen Qudong were gradually fading.

“Hey,” Lin Qing blurted out and paused for a moment. “Glad to see you.”

There was estrangement and courtesy in her voice.

Chen Qudong was not happy about her response.

“Why are you here alone?”

He glanced behind Lin Qing and didn’t find Mu Li.

“I…” Lin Qing paused, “Come to meet a friend.”