Chapter 39

When he came out of the bathroom, he went straight into the closet to get dressed. Though he had moved out a long time ago, his mother made sure she bought clothes for him every season.

While he was buttoning his shirt, he heard the sound of water running in the bathroom. 'Yueran must have gotten up then', he mused.

He had already sent a message to his PA to buy a set of clothes and essentials in Pei Yueran's size the previous night, so he texted him to bring the clothes now.

A few minutes later, he heard a soft click. The door was opened, and Butler Nan came in to drop a shopping bag, also informing Li Chuanmo that breakfast would be ready in a few minutes.

By the time Pei Yueran came out of the bathroom, Li Chuanmo had left the room. She felt relieved. She was just worrying about what to wear when she saw the bag on the bed. Li Chuanmo's message came in.

"Good morning. Breakfast is ready, so you can get dressed and join us downstairs. There are some clothes in the bag for you."

Opening the bag, Pei Yueran brought out a flowery gown, a muffler, lotion and skin care items, a pair of flat shoes and a set of underwear. She blushed at the last item.

She dressed quickly. Needless to say, the fact that everything fit perfectly made her blush even more.

When was this embarrassing episode going to end?

*****

The entire family was already seated at the dining table when Li Chuanmo got there. He didn't say anything, he just gave a pointed glare at each of them.

Li Yuchen smiled and looked away guiltily. Li Qianye cleared his throat and nudged his wife, while Zhang Heying looked straight at him without avoiding his gaze.

Hmph! If he had not caused problems, would she have troubled her old bones to cook up a scheme? The only person she felt guilty towards was Pei Yueran. The waiter told her that she had drank almost half of the wine.

She hoped she was okay, though a part of her could not help but wish that their relationship had moved to another stage.

Judging by the fact that Li Chuanmo came to eat breakfast instead of directly storming out of the house this morning, she knew that both of them got to talk at least, and that their relationship was much better now.

Zhang Heying was sizing her son up, trying to decide if he looked different this morning. Apart from the fact that he looked well rested, she couldn't see any other thing. So was the rice cooked or not?*

They heard footsteps just as the servants finished putting the dishes on the table. Pei Yueran came down the stairs, looking like a vision.

Zhang Heying nodded in appreciation. The more she saw this girl, the more she liked her. Li Yuchen stood up and went to hold her hand.

"Good morning my Goddess. Hope you slept well."

"Yes I did Xiao Chen. How are you this morning?" Although she felt upset at his deception last night at first, she was grateful that it enabled her and Li Chuanmo to finally talk and clear the air.

She ruffled his hair lovingly. Zhang Heying and Li Qianye did not miss her subconscious action. They smiled.

"Yes yes, in all better now. My tummy doesn't hurt anymore." Li Yuchen said shamelessly. Zhang Heying coughed and looked away.

This pig teammate* of hers. Of course his tummy didn't hurt, everyone knew that it was all a lie!

Pei Yueran greeted them softly. "Good morning Auntie and Uncle. I'm sorry to impose on you this morning."

Zhang Heying quickly waved off her apologies. "What are you saying Ran'er? We're glad to have you here. Sit down, sit down. What would you like to eat?"

There were different types of breakfast dishes on the table: Soy milk and fried dough sticks, crystal soup dumplings, rice congee with peanuts and longan. There were also doughnuts, cornflakes and milk as well as eggs and bacon.

Pei Yueran reached for a cup of soy milk and a plate of dough sticks.

'So she likes Chinese-styled breakfast', Zhang Heying noted.

As they ate breakfast, there was no conversation. Li Yuchen was eating cornflakes, but he decided Pei Yueran's dough sticks looked good and he requested she give him one. She took one from her plate and gave it to him. In response, Li Chuanmo took a doughnut and placed it on her plate.

The old Li couple were so happy that they couldn't even eat. Sitting and sharing food together like that, the three of them looked like a normal family. Zhang Heying teared up due to emotion.

After breakfast, Pei Yueran wanted to leave immediately, but Li Chuanmo told her to wait, that he would like to take her home. While he called his chauffeur to get the car ready, Zhang Heying patted Pei Yueran and both of them moved to the parlor to talk.

"Ran'er, I must apologize for yesterday's fiasco. We were just very worried for you and Chuanmo, and we wanted to help you make amends. Please forgive me for the discomfort I caused you." Zhang Heying said, looking very sincere and regretful.

She then took a deep breath and continued, "I also have to apologize for spiking your drink. It was a moment of foolishness. I didn't think it through. Please forgive me."

Pei Yueran was shocked. Ah, that was why she was feeling so uncomfortable and almost jumped Li Chuanmo. She felt betrayed somehow, but seeing the sincere look on Zhang Heying's face, she couldn't bring herself to be angry at the old lady.

Besides, she admired her courage and honesty, and the fact that she told her the truth. It eased away some of the guilt that sprang up while she was in the shower, that she cheated on Han Lei by behaving so wantonly with Li Chuanmo.

So Pei Yueran patted her hand back, saying gently, "It's okay Auntie. all is forgiven. Thank you for telling me."

Both of them got up and hugged each other, just before Li Yuchen came running into the parlor and announcing that it was time to leave.

They said their goodbyes and got into Li Chuanmo's car.

*"raw rice cooked into cooked rice" — means making things irreversible because once the rice is cooked, you cannot uncook it. So ZH is asking if they slept together or not.

*Pig teammate— (figuratively, neologism, slang, humorous) teammate or ally that is more of a hindrance than a help; noobish or lousy teammate