Chapter 12 A Drunken Misrepresentation: Li Yang Has a Way with People

Chen Junbo walked at an extremely fast pace, and Mo Lian almost had to hold her breath to keep up.

Suddenly, a delicate melody drifted out, the voice sweet and melodious. His hurried steps halted abruptly, and he looked down, a slight smile playing on his lips. Mo Lian stopped in her tracks, her head bowed, standing silently in the shadows.

Li Yang skipped along the path in the courtyard, tossing up the purse in his hand and catching it again, feeling quite pleased with himself.

She actually signed a contract with Manager Zhou today, and not only that, she also received her first deposit under Zhou Chengli's arrangement.

Zhou Chengli specially prepared a banquet at the banquet hall to celebrate the partnership between the two families. The two sisters thoroughly enjoyed the delicious food today.

Full of pride, she hummed a folk tune and walked briskly. The servants in the courtyard retreated in twos and threes, and she lifted her skirt and climbed the stairs two steps at a time.

At the corner, darkness fell overhead.

Li Yang subconsciously looked up, his heart skipped a beat, and the previous joy vanished in an instant.

The person I least wanted to see was standing with his hands behind his back. The light from the window shone on one side of him, creating a silvery-white edge. I couldn't see his face clearly; I only felt that he was tall and imposing, his long, dark shadow completely enveloping me.

Oops!

He wouldn't be here... waiting for me for a long time, would he?

She had already stepped out, but now she abruptly pulled back and stood still. She silently folded her arms behind her back and quickly stuffed the purse in her hand into her sleeve.

Otherwise, how is she supposed to explain herself? That she had a long-term contract with the Chen family, but that wasn't enough, so she went out and signed another contract with Yanlou?

Besides, she didn't plan to report to the Chen family, the owner, about delivering ingredients to the banquet hall every ten days. She had already discussed it with Fang Yuan today and had a way to cover it up. At the moment, it was better to avoid trouble.

Looking up again, the person showed no sign of leaving. Li Yang felt flustered, unaware that his timid and hesitant manner made him appear like a helpless chick to others.

Well, whether you stick your neck out or not, you'll get stabbed anyway!

She straightened her back slightly, lifted her skirt with one hand, and held onto the handrail with the other, ascending the stairs in a proper manner. Although her head was slightly lowered and her gaze was fixed on the wooden steps, it was as if each step was on a dense carpet of needles.

She forced herself to steady her breathing, her steps firm, her heart pounding like a drum as her skirt swayed gently. Until the very last wooden step, she tried to find her way, but to no avail.

The second-floor corridor was narrow and long, and the man stood at the entrance, blocking most of it.

The warm May night breeze came from the courtyard. The osmanthus flowers had not yet bloomed, and the breeze only made one feel a heat on their back, which then turned into a cold sweat.

"Um, that." Li Yang took a deep breath, forced himself to look up and meet the eyes of the person in front of him, and gestured for him to move aside.

When Chen Junbo saw that her almond-shaped eyes were filled with tears, his heart fluttered, and he couldn't help but move away.

Seeing this, Li Yang was secretly delighted and was about to step aside when she heard the man's cold voice, "Where did you go?" She suddenly stopped, and the two stood facing each other. Feeling awkward, Chen Junbo subconsciously took half a step back to give her some room.

Li Yang's cheeks flushed slightly. He hurriedly lowered his eyes, his mind racing as he tried to think of a reply.

Having drunk quite a bit at the banquet hall, my mind felt nauseous, as if it were covered in paste. In my nervousness, I even let out a 'burp'.

A faint smell of alcohol wafted over, and Chen Junbo's expression turned slightly cold. "You've been drinking?"

As if in response, Li Yang hiccuped repeatedly, unable to reply, but he felt a sense of relief. At least he didn't have to explain where he was going.

Seeing this, Chen Junbo sighed, "How did he get so drunk?"

Is he lecturing himself?

Li Yang suddenly felt like he had been caught doing something wrong by his parents. He scratched his head guiltily, then lowered his head with a smirk.

The man's gaze seemed to still be hovering above her head. Neither of them spoke, and the surroundings suddenly fell silent, making her feel flustered. Gradually, a sense of irritation arose, and she couldn't help but mutter, "Mind your own business."

Chen Junbo heard her mumble something, then frowned and asked, "What did you say?"

Li Yang lowered his head, stuck out his tongue, and remained silent.

Chen Junbo asked again, "What did you just say?"

As he continued to press for answers, Li Yang felt a surge of anger rising in his chest.

How annoying! What are you saying? What are you saying?

He was always busy when I wanted to settle accounts with him. Why should I do whatever he says now?

Thinking of this, a nameless anger rose in her chest. She suddenly looked up and shouted loudly, disregarding everything else, "I said, it's none of your business!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Li Yang suddenly came to her senses, and her anger vanished instantly. She subconsciously pursed her lips, her eyes silently glancing at the ground, wishing she could find a crack in the ground to disappear into immediately.

Her voice wasn't quiet just now, and the servants in the courtyard all stopped what they were doing and huddled in the nearest corner to avoid the trouble.

The atmosphere froze. Li Yang stamped his foot, pushed past the other person, and ran straight towards the main house.

Contrary to expectations, the footsteps of the man behind her came like a death knell.

Behind the two, Mo Lian turned out from beside the pillar, looked back, and quietly went downstairs.

Li Yang ran back into the house, turned right and went straight behind the screen, where he sat on the edge of the bed and kept breathing heavily.

Good heavens, I must have gone crazy just now!

However, yelling at him and venting the anger I had been holding in all afternoon felt really good.

Thinking about it this way, she couldn't help but curl the corners of her mouth up.

Actually, Li Yang has always had a good alcohol tolerance; even Zhou Chengli and Fang Yuan combined couldn't outdrink her. Her outburst at Chen Junbo just now was partly an act of venting her anger while drunk.

However, she now has some regrets.

It was comfortable, but Chen Junbo was still his "employer" no matter what, and he would have to settle his "wages" with him when the contract expired.

She listened intently to the sound of the man entering the room, and with a surge of courage, said, "Chen Junbo, I'm sorry."

After saying that, he waited a moment and, not hearing a response, forced himself to say, "I haven't come back too late today, have I? Usually, you wouldn't be back by this time. Besides, our contract doesn't say I can't leave the house to drink with others."

She finished speaking in one breath and then turned her head to listen to the reaction inside the room.

After a while, the sound of a tea tray being rustled was heard, and then the man sighed, "Go to sleep early."

It sounds like you're still in a bad mood?

Li Yang didn't care anymore. She slowly took off her hair bun, moved her body and crawled into the quilt, letting out a satisfied sigh.

That day, I was caught red-handed by my mother-in-law, had to write down the accounts from memory, and even went out to discuss a partnership. I was really exhausted.

When I opened my eyes again, it was already broad daylight.

Oh no! I'll be late for my greetings!

Li Yang hurriedly threw on her clothes, tidied her messy hair, and ran towards Chen Zhangshi's courtyard in her shoes. Since she usually had to wait a long time at Baomo Hall anyway, she figured she could fix her hair later. As she ran, she hopped a couple of steps, bending down to hook the back of her shoes.

When Li Yang arrived at the entrance of Bao Mo Tang's main hall, it was the hour of Chen (7-9 AM). Granny Sun, who usually made her wait three quarters of an hour before coming out to relay her mother-in-law's wishes, was unusually waiting at the door today. Seeing her looking as if she had just crawled out of bed, she was dumbfounded.

Li Yang went straight into the main room, curtsied, and said, "Mother-in-law."

Upon hearing this, Madam Chen raised her eyes, her expression one of shock, "Madam Li!"

After a moment, she caught her breath, "Mrs. Li, now that you've married into the Chen family..."

'Here we go again. Now that you've married into the Chen family, you should naturally keep to your proper place,' Li Yang thought to himself. Every time they start, it's the same line. He could recite it by heart.

"...Of course, you should abide by your duty. Look at yourself, what kind of behavior is this!"

Li Yang listened to the scolding and just kept her head down, pretending to be a quail. Anyway, she had heard Chen Zhangshi scold her many times before, and as long as she didn't talk back, she would let her go after she got bored of saying a few words.

Seeing her standing with her hands at her sides, Madam Chen seemed extremely impatient. She threw out a stack of papers before continuing, "Don't think that just because you can fool Bai'er, you can rest easy in the Chen family. If I catch you stealing chickens or dogs, I will still kick you out of the Chen residence! Take this lousy account book back yourself. I don't have time to look at these."

A broken ledger?

Curious, Li Yang picked up the paper from the ground.

Isn't this the wonton account she wrote yesterday?

"Mother-in-law, how did this end up here?" Li Yang blurted out, puzzled.

Madam Chen's face darkened. "What are you pretending for! If you hadn't been pestering Bai'er, why would he have sent the accounts so early in the morning!" She became angrier as she spoke, and slammed her hand on the table. Granny Sun rushed forward, and Madam Chen, supported by Granny Sun, stormed off in a huff.

Did Chen Junbo send this?

Has he come to believe in himself?