dispute
Yu Xi slept until almost noon. When she slowly woke up, she heard a knock on the door. The moment she opened her eyes, the bright light made her feel uncomfortable, so she raised her hand to shield her eyes.
The waiter politely knocked three times on the door and asked, "Ms. Yu, I'm sorry to bother you. Would you like lunch to be brought over?"
Yu Xi replied lazily without getting up, "Thank you, but no need."
The other party replied in standard official language, "Okay, please feel free to contact our service staff anytime if you need anything."
"I thought you were going to sleep until the afternoon." Chen Miao leaned against the door frame, quietly watching her. Her suit jacket was stained with some dirt, and her once-stylish hairstyle now looked like it had been casually tousled.
Yu Xi looked up slightly and saw that it was him who had returned. She lay back down and used her fair fingers to pull the blanket up, covering the alluring glimpse beneath the neckline of her long dress.
She had been looking for him all night but couldn't find a trace of him. Still angry, she yawned and said, "I thought you had left and weren't coming back."
Chen Miao walked up to her, bent down to pour a glass of water, and handed it to her. "Sister, please don't be angry with me. I really had some things to do yesterday, so I couldn't come back."
"Have a glass of water. Your voice sounds a little hoarse. Don't get angry or upset because of me."
A person's voice is naturally hoarse after just waking up, not to mention that Yu Xi had been drinking all night and had been confronting her competitor for a long time in the middle of the night.
She took the water glass from Chen Miao, and a sip of warm water completely woke her up.
Yu Xi glanced down at the water glass in her hand, then turned to look at Chen Miao. She was stunned for only two seconds, a hint of doubt on her face, before she quickly asked, "Chen Miao, you can touch things now?"
“You walked here, you weren’t floating.”
"So Chen Miao, are you a human or a ghost?" Yu Xi tilted her head to look at him, her playful expression showing no fear whatsoever, but her dark eyes seemed intent on probing him closely.
Feeling a little embarrassed by the stare, Chen Miao coughed lightly twice, avoiding eye contact and stammering, "Sister, I am a ghost. I suddenly gained a magical ability, which allows me to touch things in the mortal world in addition to the characteristics of a ghost."
“That way I can better protect you.” As he spoke, the image of Yu Xi being blocked and injured at the company entrance on the day the plagiarism scandal broke out lingered in his mind.
Yu Xi didn't press him further. Perhaps he had his own reasons. Everyone has unspeakable helplessness, and she understood that feeling.
"You share the same name as one of my former friends. You asked me before if I knew you, but I didn't recognize you at the time. So, are you really the Chen Miao I know?"
"Chen Miao, who lived with me in the orphanage."
"Is that you?"
Yu Xi bombarded him with a barrage of questions, leaving him somewhat overwhelmed. He knew this day would come, but when it actually arrived, all the reasons he had prepared vanished. The moment he met her eyes, all the lies became impossible to utter.
After hesitating for a long time, he finally said, "Am I the Chen Miao you know?"
Yu Xi laughed after hearing this, "Forget it, go take a shower first and wash off all that mud. I don't want to have such a slovenly person by my side."
Chen Miao raised his arm and looked down. His once clean black suit jacket was now covered in scorched earth from the underworld, and he could faintly smell a bloody stench, as if he had rolled around in the mud.
Apart from that accident, this was the most disheveled he had ever seen someone, both before and after his death.
No wonder Gu Yuan was frightened by him in the middle of the night.
Chen Miao obediently listened to Yu Xi and strode towards the bathroom, afraid that if he stayed even a second longer, the dirt on his body would fall off and dirty the floor.
The sound of water in the bathroom didn't last long before Chen Miao carefully opened the door, poked his head out, his bangs were wet and dripping with water, and perhaps because of the hot water steam, a flush appeared on his pale face. His bare arms were gripping the door frame, and the veins on his arms were clearly visible when he exerted a little force.
He said, "Sister, I suddenly realized that I don't seem to have any clean clothes to change into."
He was a ghost, and he had transformed himself into this state. Everything happened too suddenly, and there were no men's clothes in the cabins of the cruise ship.
Upon hearing this, Yu Xi turned her head, rested her chin on her hand, and smiled, "I'll have the waiter bring you an outfit later."
"I didn't expect a ghost like you to have such a nice figure."
Chen Miao's face flushed even more from the compliment, and he replied in a shy, muffled voice, "I used to go to the gym every week when I was alive, so..."
When he saw Yu Xi lower her head and chuckle to herself, he suddenly realized that she was just teasing his ghost and hurriedly closed the bathroom door.
The steam in the bathroom, mixed with the heat from the hot water, completely disturbed his mind. Chen Miao leaned against the mirror next to the shower with one hand. The person in the mirror had a dazed look in their eyes, and the extreme discomfort they were suppressing made a certain thought unconsciously emerge in his mind.
But the face in the mirror was not his original appearance. Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to suppress the desire in his mind.
The water gurgled and rushed over my head, flowing over my rolling Adam's apple and down my back.
He turned the water temperature down to the lowest setting, attempting to use the icy water to suppress the burning desire within him.
Sure enough, whether in life or death, whenever he faced Yu Xi again, he would always be unable to control his emotions. His physical attraction was ingrained in his bones and imprinted in his heart, and he even reacted again when he had the ability to touch a living object.
He hated that he couldn't face Yu Xi with his true self, yet he was also afraid that if he used this current appearance, Yu Xi would gradually fall in love with it.
He struggled with contradictions and dilemmas time and time again, compromising for love.
The knocking sounded again. The waiter had already brought the clothes and put them at the bathroom door for Chen Miao. Why was she knocking again now?
Yu Xi said, "It's good that the clothes have arrived; we don't need anything else."
"Sister-in-law, it's me." Meng Yun greeted politely, carrying a small mahogany lunchbox.
Yu Xi wondered why he was on the cruise ship. She got up to open the door for him and gestured for Meng Yun to come inside. "How did you find me? I was thinking of going back in a little while."
"Did Zeze come looking for me?"
Meng Yun placed the lunchbox on the coffee table. It was a three-tiered lunchbox containing two dishes, a serving of rice, and soup—all of Yu Xi's favorites. Steaming hot, the aroma instantly whetted her appetite, and Yu Xi's stomach growled loudly.
Meng Yun smiled and quickly set out the food, pulling out a chair to gesture for Yu Xi to come over. "Sister-in-law, please try this. I had Auntie make it according to your tastes."
"Don't worry about Zeze. He's very well-behaved at home. He knows that Mom is trying to relax after work. He even practiced an extra calligraphy book today and told you to go back and see it so you can praise him."
Yu Xi didn't stand on ceremony with him. Following the principle that you need to eat your fill before you can work, she picked up her long chopsticks, took a piece of pork rib, and found that the firm meat was soaked in the soup and very chewy.
Meng Yun rose slightly and reached out to serve her soup. The two were seated close together. As he picked up the spoon, his hand brushed against Yu Xi's wrist with the back of his hand, almost imperceptibly, as he leaned forward.
Like a gentle breeze, it softly plucks at the heartstrings.
"Sister-in-law, try this soup later. Auntie has been simmering it for a long time." Meng Yun brought over a full bowl of black chicken soup, his eyes full of anticipation, like an innocent child, completely different from the man who had just been deliberately trying to make physical contact.
He always appears so genuine and kind on the surface, but harbors a wild beast within.
This beast craved every moment with her, wishing he could keep her by his side. But constrained by his status, he wanted to touch her, yet had no choice but to withdraw his hand.
"The clothes fit perfectly. I'll just throw away my dirty one."
Through the bathroom door, Chen Miao could hear the conversation between the two. The sound of water stopped abruptly the moment Meng Yun entered, creating the illusion that only Yu Xi was there.
He wanted to see what kind of expression Meng Yun would have when he ruined her plans.
Meng Yun looked in the direction of the sound and saw the man's shirt draped loosely over his body. The smooth muscle lines were clearly visible under the slightly damp fabric, clinging to his skin like a pipa player half-concealing her face, enticing people to look at him unconsciously.
His pectoral muscles were full and thick, rising and falling slightly with his hurried breathing. Yu Xi's gaze unconsciously moved down to his abdomen, which had not an ounce of fat. His skin clung tightly to his well-defined muscles, and his V-lines were like two sharp blades, silently proclaiming his strong waist strength.
She looks even better this way.
Yu Xi secretly grumbled to herself, without even realizing it, a smile then rose within her.
Who doesn't love looking at handsome men?
What's more, she's so obedient and calls her "sister" right off the bat.
Meng Yun noticed that the person next to her was staring at Chen Miao. She clenched her fists, suppressing her displeasure, and asked, "Sister-in-law, who is this?"
"How come I've never seen you before, and you've never mentioned you before?"
Chen Miao casually pulled out the chair on the other side of Yu Xi and retorted with a forced smile, "I don't know if everyone wants to get to know me, there's no need to introduce me to everyone."
Meng Yun wasn't angry. Instead, she used a strategy of retreat to advance, saying, "That's true. Strangers need introductions, and there's no way to compare to the closeness between family members."
Yu Xi had witnessed the subtle rivalry between the two, but before she could stop the farce, Chen Miao continued, "Sister, look at him."
"I just heard you call my sister 'sister-in-law,' so you must be the younger brother, right? How can you be so rude and embarrass your sister?"
His tone was slow, and a sense of helplessness at being bullied was palpable.
Taking advantage of Yu Xi's inattention, Meng Yun glared at him fiercely, her chest filled with anger, but she still held back her emotions and said calmly, "For the sake of my sister-in-law, I can't be bothered to argue with you."
"Brother, now that the food has been delivered, you should go back."
Meng Yun couldn't hold back any longer and stood up angrily. The dining table and chairs slammed to the ground with him, making a screeching sound.
"you……"
“Sister-in-law, even though my brother has been gone for five years, he wouldn’t look for someone like this even if he were looking for a replacement.”
"Who are you talking about?!"
Upon hearing this, Yu Xi spat out her entire bowl of black chicken soup. She patted her chest, trying to calm herself down, repeating Meng Yun's words in her ears.
A look of surprise flashed across her face as she stared intently at the two arguing people. Her mind felt like a planet had collided and exploded, and she stood there stunned for a moment.
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