200 — All Roads Lead To City M

"Having you as my daughter is a blessing I've always been thankful for. I've never regretted it, and you'll always be my pride, no matter what. But if you ever want to find them and you need my help, don't hesitate to let me know."

Pei Yueran nodded with a smile before getting up to give her mother a hug.

"Oh, look at me getting all mushy. Feels like I'm the one getting married instead." Director Zhou joked to ease the somewhat heavy atmosphere. Pei Yueran laughed.

Director Zhou continued in a more serious tone, "Okay, let's talk about the wedding plans. Is everything ready?"

Pei Yueran nodded and the two women continued to discuss far into the night.

*****

"If both of you don't stop that, you would no doubt miss your flight." Kathy said calmly, arms akimbo as she stared at her son and his wife.

Both of them were so good, tangling up together as if they were not going to the same place using the same flight.

"And that makeup needs some serious retouching as well. For goodness sake Qianhua, keep your hands off my son-in-law." Mother Su supplied by the side, hands across her chest.

The couple pulled apart slowly. Jiang Philip removed his hand that was around his wife's waist and greeted them. "Mother, Mum."

Su Qianhua also mumbled a greeting, then glared at her mother. It wasn't her fault, she didn't do anything!

Both of them were not very embarrassed since it wasn't the first time they would be caught. They were not even doing anything this time, it was Jiang Philip that said her new organic, lead free lipstick looked pretty and wanted to taste it.

Her getting pinned to the refrigerator with her makeup ruined was completely unintentional.

Thinking up to here, she glared at her husband too, though it only made him smile indulgently. He had confirmed his conjecture: the taste of her lips wasn't due to lipsticks, it was natural.

"Alright alright, our husbands will soon be here as well. We are tired of getting fed dog food everyday. Just go quickly, and give Yueran my congratulations." Mother Su added, shooing them away.

She didn't bother to add her usual rhetoric of them staying away from intimate activities. Even under her nose, they did as they liked. Would they suddenly become obedient after leaving to freedom?

At least the doctor assured her that as long as they were being careful, everything would be fine. That was enough.

They finally left after retouching Su Qianhua's makeup.

Theirs was an afternoon flight, so they arrived in City M just as the sun was setting, going straight to the hotel that had been booked earlier.

After eating and resting a bit, Su Qianhua called her friend to inform her of their arrival. They made plans to meet in Li Chuanmo's house the next morning.

*****

Getting to the parking lot, Pei Yueran gave the sports car a passing glance as she went in the direction of her car. She remembered that she hadn't seen or heard from Gao Tinghua since she left the hospital.

Not that she was complaining. The farther he stayed away, the better. She had still not settled the score of the previous incident with him.

Getting into her car, she drove out.

The roads were not very slippery, but she still took her time, driving at the speed of 10mph. When she eventually got to the gate of the villa, the security guard opened the gate electronically for her without questions, saluting as she drove in, "Welcome Young Miss."

Pei Yueran nodded and greeted him.

When she got into the living room, Li Chuanmo was just coming towards the door, so they met in a hug. "How's my Ran doing today?"

"I'm fine, thank you. They've not arrived yet I guess?"

"Not yet. Come upstairs, I have something to show you." Li Chuanmo invited, extending his arm. Pei Yueran took it with a smile.

Both of them went straight to the master bedroom. Pei Yueran had been there before of course, but right now, it had changed completely. Where it had only minimalist colors, it had been partially renovated to include her taste as well. The walls had been redone in lighter tones, giving the room a airy and more spacious feeling."

"Wow," Pei Yueran breathed, taking in the sight.

"It's not complete yet of course, because I wanted you to be a part of it. I thought you might want to add something else and put finishing touches. Apart from the walls, I only changed the bed."

Hearing that, Pei Yueran looked towards it. Indeed, the bed had been changed. This one looked even larger than the previous one, and had silk drapes that cascaded down, capable of hiding the future occupants —and their activities — from sight.

Thinking up to here, it was her cue to blush, which delighted Li Chuanmo. He leaned slightly to whisper into her ears as if he knew what she was thinking about, "Yes, we'll do all you're thinking of and more."

Pei Yueran could not wait to flee. She answered his question of, "You like what you see, right?" with a quick nod and moved towards the door, "It's spectacular."

Inside, she was giving herself a stern talking to. She had to deal with the darn shyness, her wedding was in five days!

Li Chuanmo watched her escape with a smile on his lips. Patience was a virtue he had. Soon, she would be unable to run away. Scratch that, she would probably be unable to even walk.

It was a good thing Pei Yueran could not hear his inner thoughts.

"Wife, why are you running so fast? There's still something else I want to show you." She didn't even wait to see the bathroom, but he would let her discover it in time. That was the true masterpiece.

Pei Yueran only slowed down when she was outside the room. What made her even shyer was the fact that she wasn't repulsed by her thoughts. She could even feel a faint.... excitement.

As if she couldn't wait to jump him.

She repeatedly patted her cheeks to cool them until Li Chuanmo came to stand by her side again. "This surprise is in the study," he announced.

When the entered, the place hadn't changed, so she couldn't figure out the surprise. It was not until he led her to the table and gave her a stack of documents that she got a hint.

Flipping through, they were core documents about the mission statement and directives for a company called CM Luxuries, as well as a shareholders' agreement, among others.

She looked up in confusion.