The Overnight Chosen Wife: darling, kiss me deeper

While they had breakfast, Xiehan finally had the chance to have a good talk with Lanni.

"Did something happen?" He asked. She was not herself the previous day.

"It’s nothing. I was just feeling blue about your departure." She confessed.

For a moment, he didn’t know what to say. When he announced his departure, she had seemed so nonchalant that he almost believed that it didn’t make her in the slightest bit unhappy. Who would have thought that her feelings would later come raging out like a flood.

He pulled her onto his shoulder to pat her. "Don’t think about it. The days will pass by before you even realize it."

She did not doubt this. She knew that the hardest part was his departure. Soon after, the time would fly and he would be back in no time. She couldn’t help wondering how the wives of military officials felt every time their husbands had to leave.

"Don’t let your mind run wild." He flicked her forehead, knowing that she was thinking too much when he saw her start to space out. "Do you want to sleep some more? You can do so after breakfast."

"Not anymore. I have slept for so long that I will turn into a potato if I sleep anymore." She rejected the idea immediately.

Her phone rang and when she found that it was Lin Jian, she had the urge to roll her eyes. "Mr. Unreliable CEO, when am I supposed to report to work? I’m growing old just waiting for your signal."

"About that." Lin Jian cleared his throat on the other end. "I was about to ask whether you needed more time to deal with your family matters. You can start working after that."

"Are you insane?" Lanni couldn’t understand how he had managed to be the CEO of Lin Media Group without causing the downfall of the entire company. He was too lenient.

"Are you about to complain about me giving you too much free time? It’s not like I have much choice."

"Why wouldn’t you have a choice?" She wondered whether he was dreaming.

"Can’t you check the space beside you for an answer?" the man sounded like he was complaining.

Lanni was about to scold him when she realized what he meant. Was it Xiehan’s fault?

"Mmh?" Xiehan raised an eyebrow in question when he noticed her staring at him while holding her phone against her ear.

"Don’t make things difficult for my boss. I was wondering why he wouldn’t give me any work, turns out it was because of your meddling." She glared at him strictly.

"Isn’t it your fault?" He retaliated.

"How is it my fault?"

"You were working so hard that I had to employ some special means." He looked at her then his eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Now that you mention it, I shouldn’t have contacted Lin Jian. I should have let you drain yourself to find myself an excuse to punish you."

She was speechless at his ability to say such words while knowing that the phone call was still on. But then again, he had merely talked about punishing her. It was she who had let her mind run wild.

"Uhm you know what? I’ll just get back to work." Lin Jian hung up to run away from the atmosphere that he guessed might start heating up any instant.

She looked at him when the call ended, and he finished his sandwich nonchalantly before looking at her quizzically.

"I will start working tomorrow. You cannot interfere." It was not a request.

"There has to be rules for that." He countered seriously. "You cannot work for more than seven hours every day."

"That’s..." She was speechless at the fact that he could even make such a suggestion. "What if there is a lot of work and I have to work overtime?"

"Don’t work overtime. It’s not good for your health." He sternly reasoned out.

However, that was impossible. "How about this? I will not work overtime unless it is really necessary and I will give an explanation if I have to."

Their conversation was interrupted by a call from Wen Lin. He was about to ignore it but she signalled for him to answer it as it might be important.

"Xiehan, I was planning to throw a banquet for Ruby." Wen Lin stated. "After all, she has been back for a while now and we are getting more comfortable around each other. I think it is the right time to introduce her to the world."

Xiehan waited for her to finish her explanation before asking, "Do you think the world should know that Ruby is the real daughter of the Ji family? You should keep in mind that Ruby is not a long lost daughter or one who has just returned from studying abroad. She is a young woman that many people know about, but they know her as Neil Chan’s daughter. Are you ready to explain the truth to everyone who asks about it?"

Wen Lin paused for a few seconds and seemed to think about it. "I have thought about it and your father and I have decided to let the public know the truth. It’s only right. My daughter cannot continue to live in hiding. She was already robbed of the life she deserves before. If she continues living with us without a proper title, people will make all sorts of wild speculations and if we keep her away from us, we will be robbing her of the parental love she has missed all these years.

Once we tell everyone the truth, we will protect her and besides, Xia Hanchen is dead."

" I have nothing against it." Xiehan approved of it. "However, I wouldn’t advise you to explain that someone deliberately swapped her for Ji Feifei."

"Of course. We don’t want to directly alert the enemies. We will make it seem like a case of accidentally carrying the wrong baby home then years later coincidentally stumbling upon the truth."

"When do you want to hold it?" Xiehan asked.

"Let me discuss it with Ruby."

On the other end, Ruby had just entered the house when Wen Lin hung up the call. Before she could call her over to discuss the banquet, Ji Huifen beat her to it.

"Ruby, come here."

She walked over and sat on the space that Ji Huifen had patted beside him.

The man scanned her for a while then asked, "Why are you only close to your mother? I have yet to hear the word ’dad’ from you."

He sounded aggrieved like he had been robbed of something valuable, making her lips curl upwards. It wasn’t that she had a particular preference when it came to her biological parents. She was trying to create a good relationship with both of them. It was just weird to call anyone else aside from Neil dad.

However, she knew that she should; Ji Huifen wasn’t any less of her father than Neil was. She cleared her throat and bit out. "Dad."

Ji Huifen’s heart melted into a puddle. "Good girl. Come here. I will show you to the grand library."

She stood up since he had stood up, even though she was confused by his order. "But Xiehan said that it is forbidden for anyone to set foot there."

"Yes. But my daughter isn’t just anyone. Would you like the free trip?" He held out a hand to her.

She placed her palm on his. "Yes." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Wen Lin watched the father-daughter Duo with a smile. Thinking about the wild turn of events, she couldn’t help wondering whether this was the heavens giving her another chance. She had not been a good mother to Ji Feifei and had learnt her lesson the hard way. Now that her biological daughter was home, she strived to be more attentive—even though Ruby was already an adult.

....

At the same time, in the Old Jiang Mansion.

Xinghe leaned against the railing of the balcony of the master bedroom, looking outside with a lost expression.

"Dear, what’s wrong?" Jiang Xingren appeared beside her with a worried expression. It was rare to see his jovial wife looking so sad.

"I’m just worried. Have you heard about Luna’s dad?" She turned around to face her husband. When he nodded, she frowned. "How can you be so nonchalant about it? He is a dangerous man and he had us all fooled! Heaven knows how many underlings he had that could go after Luna."

Jiang Xingren thought about it but still didn’t find anything to be worried about. "Dear, what’s there to be worried about? He is dead, so our daughter-in-law is safe. Even if he had a hundred underlings, they would scatter in confusion since they no longer have a master to guide them. Even if they later start to work under someone else’s orders, Xingyu will be able to protect Luna."

"You are right." She was confident in her son.

"Come here, my wife." He embraced her.