"Baby Shi."
"Say it again."
"Baby Shi."
Fu Yinxiu: "..."
Aunt Liu: "..."
Ming Yutong and Little Jingshi were thoroughly enjoying themselves.
At this moment, Ming Yutong's phone rang.
The phone was on the bedside table, out of her reach.
Little Jingshi fetched it for her, looking at the caller ID, "Something Lu something?"
His reading skills were still limited, only recognizing the middle character "Lu."
Fu Yinxiu's face darkened immediately.
It must be Jiang Lulian calling.
When Ming Yutong answered, she confirmed his suspicion by saying, "Lulian?"
Fu Yinxiu was furious, hearing her address Jiang Lulian so affectionately!
But he dared not show any displeasure on his face, knowing he was barely allowed to stay here thanks to their son. If he dared to show any attitude, he'd be kicked out of the room immediately.
Despite this, Fu Yinxiu couldn't help but stare at Ming Yutong, more specifically at the phone by her ear, with a burning intensity as if he could scorch the phone with his gaze.
Ming Yutong could certainly feel Fu Yinxiu's gaze and frowned.
Fu Yinxiu quickly changed his expression, giving her what she saw as a shamelessly ingratiating smile.
In the past, if Fu Yinxiu had smiled at her this way, Ming Yutong would have thought the sun had risen from the west and checked his forehead for a fever, feeling delighted to see him smile.
But now, she didn't care at all.
In fact, she found it ironic.
What was he trying to do?
Just because she had risked her life to save him, he was now changing his attitude?
Was he trying to compensate her?
She didn't need such compensation!
She didn't want it!
"Yutong." On the other end of the phone, Jiang Lulian's voice brought her back to the conversation.
"Hmm." Ming Yutong now felt awkward talking to Jiang Lulian.
Since the incident at her doorstep where Fu Yinxiu had humiliated her in front of Jiang Lulian, she hadn't seen Jiang Lulian.
Jiang Lulian hadn't reached out to her, and naturally, she hadn't sought him out either.
Then she got injured and hadn't expected to receive Jiang Lulian's call now.
Hearing his voice, she couldn't help but remember the embarrassing incident, making her feel ashamed to face Jiang Lulian.
She bit her lip and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Sorry for taking so long to contact you." Jiang Lulian said, "Are you free now? I'd like to invite you to dinner and talk about some things in person, more formally."
Ming Yutong looked down at her current state, unable to get out of bed, let alone meet anyone.
"Sorry, it's not convenient for me these days." Ming Yutong said awkwardly.
Jiang Lulian, unaware of her condition, naturally misunderstood, thinking she didn't want to see him.
"Sorry, my reaction last time must have disappointed you." Jiang Lulian said with shame.
"Don't say that," Ming Yutong hurriedly responded, realizing Jiang Lulian had misunderstood her. "You've got it wrong. I'm genuinely not available these days. Actually, what you said last time showed a lot of responsibility. If you had immediately claimed it didn't matter, I wouldn't have believed you."
"Suddenly learning such significant news and making a hasty promise without thinking would be irresponsible. The fact that you wanted to go back and think about it shows you're taking the relationship seriously."
Fu Yinxiu's face grew darker by the minute.
The way Ming Yutong spoke, it seemed like she appreciated Jiang Lulian. Was she really considering giving Jiang Lulian a chance?
In the past, Fu Yinxiu would have thought Ming Yutong was heartless and fickle. But now, he was simply consumed by jealousy and fear.
He was terrified Ming Yutong would no longer want him and wouldn't give him a chance. Before, he could have just forcefully taken her back, but now, that would mean losing her forever.
Still, he couldn't bear the thought of Ming Yutong being with Jiang Lulian or any other man.
Fu Yinxiu clenched his fists in nervousness.
With each word Ming Yutong exchanged with Jiang Lulian, Fu Yinxiu grew more tense, his heart tightening.
He watched her without blinking, afraid she might say something hinting at accepting Jiang Lulian's pursuit.
Ming Yutong did her best to ignore Fu Yinxiu's gaze and said to Jiang Lulian, "I really appreciate what you said last time."
Jiang Lulian's heart raced. Indeed, she was the woman he admired.
Every moment of interaction deepened his feelings for her.
How could he give up just because another man was present?
Besides, he had already suspected the nature of Ming Yutong and Fu Yinxiu's relationship, right?
It was modern times, and he wasn't the kind of man who expected a woman to reserve her first love for him.
Everyone had a past.
Even if Fu Yinxiu was still entangled with Ming Yutong, Jiang Lulian believed he could win her over.
He would consider Fu Yinxiu as part of Ming Yutong's past.
From their last encounter, it was clear that Ming Yutong had been forced by Fu Yinxiu.
In that case, she couldn't possibly have feelings for Fu Yinxiu.