Belated Romance (Mu Tongrui)

Fu Lingye carried Mu Tongrui on his back for a long, long time. When they got into the car, Fu Lingye pursed his lips with a
straight face and did not speak. Silence filled the air and Mu Tongrui yearned for the warmth on his back but she did not dare to
speak so she glanced at him for a few times. However, she gave up seeing he had no reaction.
Maybach drove steadily on the highway late at night. Silence roared in the car, while the sound of wind whistling through gaps in
the windows could be heard.
Xu Kun had been driving for a long time. He glanced at them quietly in the rearview mirror. They sat far away from each other,
with Fu Lingye sitting near the left window and Mu Tongrui on the far right window without talking to each other.
Xu Kun bit the bullet and broke the ice. “Umm... Boss, where are we going now?”
The hotel or Miss Mu's place?
Fu Lingye glanced at her and asked, “Address?”
“Boya Apartment on Changfu Road.”
After Mu Tongrui said the address, she bit her lips and asked Fu Lingye in a low voice, “Are you really going to my place?”
Her place was very small, so small that Fu Lingye couldn't even sleep on the sofa even if he wanted.
The man stared at her and said in a cold tone, “Are you still trying to avoid me?”
She felt that she wronged so she whispered, “No, I'm not. It's just that my place is too small for another person to sleep.”
Fu Lingye just ignored her.
Xu Kun drove back to the hotel after dropping them off at Boya apartment.
Fu Lingye got out of the car with Mu Tongrui, but he had wide strides, soon he was very much ahead of her. Mu Tongrui ran
behind him and said in a pleasing tone, “This is the building. I live on the eighth floor. It is a small studio, but the rent is not
cheap. It is 2,000 a month, but my salary is only 5,000 a month.”
She must have screwed up the potential deal with Shengyuan tonight and it was very likely that she would not get paid for the
past two weeks. Anyhow, she had no plans to ask for it.

After entering the lift, Fu Lingye stared straight ahead without even looking at her. Mu Tongrui stood behind him like his follower.
Then, she looked at his reflection on the wall of the lift.
Is he still mad?
But, what is he mad about?
The lift ascended and its door opened when it reached the eighth floor. Fu Lingye walked ahead while Mu Tongrui followed and
opened the door.
As soon as the door was opened, Fu Lingye stood outside and stared at the small room.
Like a child, Mu Tongrui seemed a little flustered and panicked. After changing into her slippers, she stood by the door, then
scratched her head, and said, “Just come in. There are no men's slippers. “
Fu Lingye was tall, and had to bend down slightly before entering the house. Mu Tongrui turned around to close the door gently,
and took a deep breath before she turned around and followed the man into the house.
Fu Lingye carried Mu Tongrui on his back for a long, long time. When they got into the car, Fu Lingye pursed his lips with a
straight face and did not speak. Silence filled the air and Mu Tongrui yearned for the warmth on his back but she did not dare to
speak so she glanced at him for a few times. However, she gave up seeing he had no reaction.
Fu Lingye's first impression of the house was that it was too small and very messy
On the small sofa in the living room, several sets of women’s clothes were lying around in a mess. It must the dirty laundry that
Mu Tongrui left behind when she left in a hurry in the morning. They left there as she did not have time to tidy them. On the
dining table, there was a carton of milk and a loaf of bread, which should be her simple breakfast in the morning. He could
almost imagine the picture of her going out in the morning.
Mu Tongrui wanted to pour him a glass of water, but realized that there was no more drinking water. Fu Lingye stared at her,
making her feel a little embarrassed. She felt a little awkwardly and said, “I'll boil some water now. Please take a seat and wait
for a while.”
Just as she walked by him with the kettle, the man grabbed her by the wrist. Then he took the kettle from her hand and turned
round to walk to the open kitchen without saying a word.
Strictly speaking, it was not even a kitchen but just a tabletop for cooking.

Mu Tongrui was stunned and stood rooted to the floor. She watched him fetch water from the faucet, and then plugged in the
electric kettle.
There were a few unwashed dishes in the sink. When Fu Lingye looked on them and Mu Tongrui hurried over as she blushed
and explained that she had forgotten to wash them. Then, she picked up a rag, turned on the tap to do the dishes.
Of course, she remembered that Fu Lingye was germophobic.
Fu Lingye probably couldn't bear to see her being so sloppy living by herself.
His slender and beautiful hands took away the rag in her hand. “How many days have the dishes been left there? Did you forget
to wash them or were you just lazy?”
The man's voice was neutral with no emotions.
......
With the water running, Fu Lingye squeezed the dish washer and started to do the washing in his suit.
She looked at the pair of clean and slender hands stained with foam and dirt. Then she lowered her head and said dully, “Let me
do it.”
Fu Lingye had probably never done this thing.
But she only dared to talk, and didn't dare to actually grab the dishes from him.
The look on the man’s face was cold, whereas Mu Tongrui looked at him washing and rinsing the oil stains on the dishes and feel
dejected suddenly. “I don’t know what happened that I lived such a poor life too. I was never like this. In fact, I have lived in Paris
alone for three years and I was fine...”
Fu Lingye looked up and saw a packet of instant noodles placed in the corner of the countertop. It had been opened, and half of
it had been eaten leaving the other half in the packet. It seemed that it was eaten raw.
On the way from Bei City to S City, Fu Lingye was both worried and mad. He was mad that she left without a word, and lied to
him but gave up halfway. He really hated it when someone gave up after doing something halfway. And that was what exactly
what Mu Tongrui did. In his opinion, she had no perseverance and no standpoint. Moreover, she could be easily cheated by
others with just a few words. But he had no choice as he had fallen for her and treated her as his woman.

At this moment, Fu Lingye felt distress standing in this narrow and cramped room of about 20 square meter. The anger in his
heart had actually vanished.
Fu Lingye wiped the dishes and listened to her soft voice.
“You must think that I'm living a miserable life now. Fu Lingye, you said that I'm heartless but you are actually the cruelest. You
knew that I had an ulterior motive on you right from the beginning and yet you pretended that you know nothing. You treat me
well, gave me everything, and even taught me about love. Then, you took it back all at once. You are the one who is truly cruel. I
will not be living such a miserable life if you had stop me earlier and expose me.”
Mu Tongrui blurted out her dismay with her face down, fingering her palm not knowing if she was upset over her vulnerability or
protesting against Fu Lingye.
He placed the last plate on the countertop after drying it. Then, he turned sideways to look at her with one hand in his pocket. He
was amused what she said.
That night, he waited for her at the Banyan Tree Hotel for so long but she didn't show up. To make thing worse, she caught him
off guard by bringing Qiao Sang to him without telling him in advance while trying to pair them off forcibly. Yet, she was blaming
him for not exposing her lies sooner and causing her to fall deeper into it.
If it weren't for Fu Lingye's rational and sane mind, Mu Tongrui sounded so well-reasoned that he would have really thought that
he was the only one at fault.
“Mu Tongrui, why haven't I realized before this that you can defend yourself so well? Or are you only eloquent in front of me?”
Mu Tongrui was a little perplexed and murmured as she felt guilty, “I'm only telling the truth...”
Fu Lingye didn't intend to reason with her. As far as he was concerned, men who tried to reason with women were likely having
problems with both their IQ and EQ.
“It's all my fault. Now, what do you have to say on feeding my son raw instant noodles. It's your fault, isn't it?”
......
Mu Tongrui was baffled. What does he mean by raw instant noodles?
I didn't.

Fu Lingye picked up the packet of instant noodles in the corner of the countertop and threw it in front of her.
The corners of Mu Tongrui's mouth twitched and there was nothing she could say.