Chapter 216 Wife.

In the midsummer in Los Angeles, the temperature only hovers around 20 degrees.

The air conditioner is on in the room, and there is a cool breeze, without any feeling of the hot summer heat.

Mu Jia hadn't expected Xie Siyan to stay in her rented apartment for a whole week. He seemed to have silently infiltrated her daily life, so calmly that it seemed as if it was natural.

Mu Jia endured it for a moment, and looking at his leisurely and calm appearance, she finally couldn't help but ask: "Zhongjian recently... doesn't have any official business that needs your attention?"

Xie Siyan was leaning against the window eating fruit.

He went into the kitchen in the morning and patiently cut the fruit into neat small pieces. Now he was using the small stainless steel fork he bought from IKEA to slowly put the fruit into his mouth one bite at a time.

The sunlight filtered through the glass and fell onto his chiseled profile, making him look distant and quiet.

Hearing her question, he slowly raised his head, his eyes a little absent-minded.

"Not yet."

The answer was bland.

Mu Jia was speechless for a moment.

What she really wanted to ask was: When will you return home?

But she swallowed the words back. This question sounded a bit like she was trying to drive him away. She pursed her lips and changed her words:

"So...what are your plans next?"

"Should we go to IKEA this afternoon and buy a cot?"

After sleeping in the same bed for seven consecutive days, she really couldn't bear it anymore.

Mu Jia felt that she was still not so accustomed to married life. Fortunately, Xie Siyan had not proposed to get a marriage certificate. If they slept in the same bed every day after marriage, at least with his current frequency, she would be completely unable to cope.

Xie Siyan finally raised his eyes and looked at her.

There was still no expression on his face. After looking for a while, he replied lightly:

"Okay."

Mu Jia was completely speechless.

She suddenly had the illusion that this apartment was originally Xie Siyan's territory.

——

An hour later.

The two walked into IKEA's spacious self-service shopping area, one in front and one behind.

Xie Siyan followed slowly behind, pushing a small cart. Mu Jia stopped and started, occasionally reaching out to touch the fabric of the display items, and sometimes bending down to check the price and delivery instructions on the label. Don't worry about choosing a style, they have a delivery service, which is very convenient.

Before she knew it, she had put a lot of daily necessities into the cart: a pair of plain cushions, a set of frosted storage boxes, and two simple-shaped glasses.

When she reached the tableware area, she suddenly stopped and picked up two white round bowls with a circle of shallow ripples on the edges, which felt warm to the touch.

"This bowl is quite cute," she turned her head and gestured towards Xie Siyan, "We'll each have one."

Xie Siyan glanced at it casually, took it without saying anything, and neatly put it into the cart. The bowl touched the metal bottom of the cart lightly, making a crisp sound.

Walking through the home furnishing area, Mu Jia seemed to remember something and slowed down his pace, with a hint of negotiation in his tone:

"How about we go downtown later? The weather's getting colder, and I want to buy a couple of clothes."

Xie Siyan followed beside him pushing the cart, and only responded lightly when he heard this:

"good."

The voice was not loud, but it was decisive without any hesitation.

Mu Jia raised her hand to tidy up her hair, looking at the sunlight coming in through the window, and suddenly had the illusion that the two of them were living at home.

——

It was almost noon when I got home.

The delivery hadn't arrived yet, and Mu Jia thought that when it did, she wouldn't be able to handle the assembly task, so she had to hand it over to Xie Siyan. With that in mind, she pointed to the side and said, "Have you ever assembled the furniture here? Why don't you practice on that shoe cabinet first?"

Xie Siyan looked up and pursed his lips.

"If you want to assign a mission, just say so."

Mu Jia looked away embarrassedly, "You've been using it lately. How can this be considered as me assigning you a task?"

Xie Siyan curled his lips.

"That's what the mistress said."

Mu Jia's face turned even redder when he called her that.

The afternoon sun shines through the leaves, casting tiny spots of light.

The two of them had a simple Mexican meal outside, and the aroma of fried corn chips and the taste of sour cream were still lingering on their lips and teeth.

They walked home slowly hand in hand.

It seemed as if even time had stretched out.

Just as Mu Jia lowered his head and played with his own shadow, Xie Siyan suddenly came closer.

"Do you have any plans for the afternoon?"

He lowered his voice, his breath brushing against her ears.

Mu Jia was slightly startled and subconsciously looked up, "Do you have any plans?"

Xie Siyan made a vague "hmm" sound and said vaguely, "I guess so."

At two or three in the afternoon, Mu Jia woke up from a light sleep and found that there was no one beside him.

She walked past the study in her slippers. The door was ajar and she could hear low but clear conversation from inside - it was a video conference.

She gently pushed the door open and saw Xie Siyan sitting in front of the computer.

Several middle-aged men's faces appeared on the screen.

He looked normal, but his expression was replaced with a calmness and aura of superiority that she was not familiar with.

"Where have you been, Mr. Xie, lately?" a voice with a laugh came over. "I haven't seen you in Zhongjian for a long time."

Another person immediately chimed in, his tone half joking, half testing: "Don't say that, Old Xu. Mr. Xie naturally has his own personal matters to attend to. As long as he's not... disregarding the interests of the group and being absent from his duties for a long time, that's fine."

Xie Siyan did not answer immediately. He just leaned back slightly in his chair, his eyes glancing across the screen, his emotions undetectable.

The tone of the other party sounded polite, but in fact every word was sharp and had a subtle sense of accountability.

Xie Siyan didn't take the probing move, but casually rubbed his finger joints, his tone calm but firm. He lowered his eyes slightly:

"We are preparing for the wedding."

Before he could finish his words, there was a sudden crisp "click" sound from outside the door, which was the sound of a metal fork falling to the ground.

Then there was another light touch, as if something was hurriedly steadying.

The other end of the video suddenly fell into silence. Several participants looked at each other, but no one said a word.

Xie Siyan seemed unaware of this. He pushed open his office chair, stood up, and walked calmly towards the door.

He opened the study door and saw Mu Jia standing frozen in place, still holding the slightly shaking plate of fruit in his hand.

"What's up?"

The voice was normal, without any disturbance in the tone.

Mu Jia's face flushed red, and her voice was light and urgent: "No, it's okay...you continue with the meeting." After saying that, she turned around and was about to escape, but he gently grabbed her wrist.

He lowered his head affectionately, his warm breath brushing against her ears, and he whispered in a voice that only the two of them could hear:

"Wife."

The voice was deep and steady, with a hint of unintentional laughter, but it slammed heavily into the silence of her skipped heartbeat.

"Aren't you curious about why I'm returning to China?" Xie Siyan whispered in Mu Jia's ear, "Once I have a legitimate status, I will naturally go back."