Chapter 164 — Two-Pronged Approach

"Sure." Pei Yueran said with a smile.

"Okay." Li Chuanmo buttoned his top button and tied his handkerchief around like a cravat. Then putting his hand to his chest, he began,

"Roses are red, violets are blue. Honey is sweet, but not as sweet as you."

"Ooohhhh." Pei Yueran cheered.

"Here's another one: Roses are red, violets are blue. How did I get so lucky as to match with you?"

"Awwwnnnn" Pei Yueran felt so touched. She fancied herself luckier for having him in her life.

Li Chuanmo was still going strong. "And this one: Roses are red, violets are blue. All my naughty naughty thoughts, involve me and you."

Pei Yueran: "..."

"You wolf!"

"Rose are red and violets are blue. I am your wolf and you're my sweet, soft bunny."

"Stop it." Pei Yueran said, trying to stifle a grin, but Li Chuanmo was having none of it.

"Roses are red and violets are blue. Earth's crust is hot, but it's not as hot as you."

"Fine you win." Pei Yueran surrendered, laughing.

"Roses are red, violets are b—" Li Chuanmo could not complete this line, because Pei Yueran reached forward to press a kiss on his thin lips.

"You've gotten your point across Chuan." She said with a gentle smile, "Thank you." She felt really blessed to have him.

"Does that mean if I present another one, I'd get another kiss?"

"You're biting off more than you can chew." Pei Yueran narrowed her eyes at him. She just gave him a kiss, now he wants more?

Li Chuanmo replied, "Ah, but I really want to keep biting, and I even have a few places in mind that I've been dreaming of biting. Can I?"

Pei Yueran closed her eyes in capitulation. It was impossible to have a decent conversation with him tonight.

Seeing that she was no longer speaking, he finally stopped. "Mother wants you to come for lunch over the weekend. It will be a small affair, to welcome them home."

"Alright, I'll be there." After a short pause, she changed the subject, "I already sent Qianhua and Philip their outfits."

Li Chuanmo nodded, pushing the tiramisu cake that the waiter brought towards her. After he saw Pei Yueran take a bite, he spoke.

"Right. I wanted to book their flights on my end, but Philip said he would handle it." Li Chuanmo said with deceptive calm, but in truth, he was feeling a little peeved.

That fiend had the guts to taunt him by saying "Leave this little thing to your senior." He was obviously feeling superior just because he got married first.

It annoyed Li Chuanmo to no end. He refused to admit he was jealous. He got his woman first, but this guy came out from nowhere, got married and was having a child soon, all in one fell swoop!

Anyway, it was only a matter of weeks.

When he collected the marriage certificate, he was going to turn the picture into a virus and hack into Jiang Philip's computer!

"I know, I was so surprised when Qianhua told me. She sounded uninterested all along, as if she didn't even fancy him. And then boom, she shocked me out of the blue with a picture of her marriage certificate."

That day, she stared at the picture without comprehending what she was seeing, before Su Qianhua's call came in.

Shocked as she was though, she felt genuine happiness for her friends. Finding someone you could wholeheartedly entrust your life to was indeed a beautiful thing.

Both of them spent the rest of the evening making light conversation over cups of tea.

Li Chuanmo drove her home afterwards before taking himself home afterwards. Changing into a round necked shirt and grey pants, he took himself to his study.

He had a late night video meeting with prospective foreign partners. They were looking into a possible collaboration with their company, and so far, things were looking good.

The meeting took about two hours, and it was past midnight by the time it ended. He removed his work glasses, rubbing his eyes.

They were prescription glasses he just got a couple of weeks ago, and Pei Yueran had teased him, saying they made him look like a cultured rogue, whatever that meant. He smiled at the memory.

He was preparing to shut down his computer when he received an email. He clicked on it out of habit, then froze.

The message read, "Go to Tanlian & Suites by 2pm on the 13th if you want to catch your lover in the act. Proof that women are all the same and cannot be trusted."

Tanlian & Suites was a popular hotel in the city centre, one that was owned by an acquaintance of Li Chuanmo.

There was no name, and the IP address was heavily encrypted, even at a glance.

Li Chuanmo shook. For a moment, his chest had that familiar tightening that occurred whenever he battled with his emotional insecurities.

Once upon a time, it was a frequent feeling, tearing at him constantly and giving him sleepless nights. But since he started dating Pei Yueran, he had never felt that way again, not until now.

Tendrils of doubt began to grow crazily in his heart, giving him a massive headache. Was he really cursed? Could it be that there was something about him that caused the women in his life to cheat on him?

He stood up abruptly and went to the balcony to get some fresh air.

The cold wintry air nipped at his face immediately he opened the glass door, and he felt more awake at once.

It was like it went straight to his head and cleared it.

In contrast to City A, City M's winters were in no way mild. They could go down to temperatures as low as –30 degrees Celsius on good days, and even to –60 degrees on the worst days.

He leaned on the railings, berating himself. How could he even let his mind think that? He still doubted his eye for a person's character, but he knew deep within himself that Pei Yueran was different.

Her eyes were pure, her character upright. If she really didn't like him, he was sure that she would have said so, instead of sneaking around behind his back.

His eyes narrowed dangerously. Who could be playing these silly games with them? Some people really do not learn until they are faced with harsh punishments.

Double-pronged approach? Did that person feel very proud, playing them in the palm of their hands like this?

Fine. It seemed he also had to bring in the big guns. The 13th was not far from now.

He was done playing nice.

*****

Li Junmo was a bright and sunny young man who resembled his father in personality. But although he looked a lot like Li Qianye with his handsome looks and good physique, the person he was closest to was his big brother.

Growing up, he trailed behind Li Chuanmo. His every other sentence began with "Big brother Chuanmo said—", or "if it were Big brother Chuanmo, he would have—", or "I want to be like Big brother Chuanmo in future," and so on.

It came as no surprise to the family that he decided to study the same course as Li Chuanmo in the university, even attending his alma mater. He had already announced that he was going to further his studies, taking the same path as his brother.

In short, he was a true bro-con. No one was as good as his brother in his eyes, not even his father.

Naturally, whatever his brother said, was law.

Even before coming home, he had sent a ton of messages to Li Chuanmo, "Big brother Chuanmo, you're too much. How could you keep such big news from me? We will settle this matter when I get home!

"Anyway, I can't wait to see Sister-in-law. Since you like her, I'm sure I would like her too. How does she look? What does she do?

"Quick, tell me your love story."

"Oh I wanted to ask, can I be your best man?"

"Big brother, how's my favorite nephew doing?"

Li Chuanmo was amused when he saw the barrage of messages.

Now at the airport, seeing that boy that had grown into a young man, Li Chuanmo let out a faint smile. Zhang Heying and Li Qianye also came to pick him up together.

When he came out from arrivals, Li Junmo looked around for a familiar face, his finger tapping on his box impatiently. Finally spotting Li Chuanmo close to the guard rails, he grinned brightly and barreled across the hordes of people in his direction.

"Big brother!" He shouted as he dashed into Li Chuanmo's arms. Li Chuanmo almost staggered due to the sudden force.

Li Qianye, who had already spread out his arms because he thought his son was rushing to hug him: "..."

"This white eyed rascal!" He muttered jokingly, while his graceful wife shoved him. "How dare you call my son that? Whose fault is it that his big brother is a celebrity in his eyes?"