"It was Gu Ye that Auntie Liu saw!"
Hearing this, Li Daming let out a sigh of relief. "There's no way it could be you and Gu Ye. I told your Auntie Liu she must have seen wrong in the dark, with her old eyes playing tricks on her."
"And she insisted she wasn't wrong, describing it all in vivid detail."
Jiang Mo: "...Well, she did see wrong, it was a misunderstanding."
Li Daming sighed: "Ah, my daughter's all grown up. Looks like even your old dad can't keep an eye on you anymore. You can date."
"But you can't hide it from the family. You have to tell your dad. I'm a man too, don't you think I understand men? I'll help vet them for you. Just make sure you don't bring home some punk with dyed hair."
"If a blonde punk won't do, how about one with green hair?" Jiang Mo joked.
Li Daming glared: "No hair of any color!"
Jiang Mo nodded, "Alright, Dad, I got it."
After shooing him away, Jiang Mo took a bottle of prune juice from the fridge and took a drink. Li Zheng popped out of his room.
"Sis, V me 50, show me what you've got."
"I am Qin Shi Huang. V me 100, and I'll appoint you as a Great General," Jiang Mo looked coldly at her younger brother.
Li Zheng spread his hands: "The 50 is my hush money. I heard your whole conversation with dad just now. Plus, I've been passing on military intelligence for Brother Ye. It's not easy, you know."
"Pfft, as if I don't give you enough usually, you little ingrate. Go ahead, tell dad if you have the guts," Jiang Mo scoffed.
"Sis, just pretend what I said earlier was... well, hot air," Li Zheng immediately backpedaled.
Auntie Liu described it so vividly, but dad just wouldn't believe it. What can you do?
"By the way, why don't you two just go public with your relationship?"
Jiang Mo didn't explain, heading towards her room. "There are considerations for not going public. What would a little kid like you understand?"
Li Zheng: "What do you mean? I'm a college student, okay!"
After his super-long holiday, Li Zheng finally embarked on his journey to university.
As per his own request, no one saw him off. He went to register at the school all by himself.
Gu Ye was away on a business trip. Although he wasn't around, the messages on the phone never stopped.
Jiang Mo also readjusted to her work rhythm, following Lawyer Li around on external appointments these past couple of days.
The meeting and negotiations with the client went smoothly and ended relatively quickly.
Nearing five o'clock, Li Canxia said, "Let's call it a day and not go back to the office. Where are you headed? If it's on the way, I can give you a lift."
"It's not really on the way. You go ahead, Lawyer Li. I'll just grab a taxi back," Jiang Mo replied. Her car was parked at the company.
Li Canxia nodded upon hearing this. "Alright, I'll head off then."
Jiang Mo turned and hailed a cab, but she didn't go back to her own home. Instead, she went to Pei Ting's place.
She had promised to drop by to feed the cats and check on them.
Pei Ting's home was near the river, a spacious penthouse with a great view of the river. The interior was neat and tidy.
As soon as Jiang Mo entered, her eyes landed on a large orange tabby cat feigning sleep on a big black sofa.
The tabby glanced at the stranger, then lazily settled back down.
It looked extremely pet-able.
"Hehe, big orange, I'm here," Jiang Mo tossed her bag aside and started petting the cat on the sofa from head to tail.
The orange cat wore an expression of 'go ahead, pet me all you want,' even nuzzling into her arms. Jiang Mo clicked her tongue in admiration, "What a perfect cat."
Just as she was marveling, a box not far away moved. A yellow streak dashed out from it, incredibly fast.
It leaped to the very top of the cat tree, occupying a strategic vantage point to observe her.
"Nice moves, young master!" Jiang Mo's attention was captured.
The one on the cat tree was also an orange tabby, though slimmer in build and all muscle, looking like it could definitely hold its own in a fight.
Its health was clearly no issue.
Jiang Mo fed the two cats, played with them, and cleaned their litter box. In no time, she had become familiar with them.
Just as she was interacting with the two cats, the door opened. A middle-aged woman with black-framed glasses, her hair coiled at the back of her head, wearing a khaki suit set, walked into the living room.
Their eyes met. Jiang Mo recognized her first. "Hello, Auntie."
The visitor was none other than Pei Ting's mother, Wu Xia.
"And you are?" Wu Xia raised an eyebrow.
"I'm Senior Pei's junior from university. He's away on a business trip and asked me to come by to feed his cats," Jiang Mo explained.
