Brother Long...
Thinking of the day he had proposed marriage, Hua Xiaomo’s beautiful face flushed red once again.
She opened the refrigerator door and began to put the food items in one by one.
But just as she closed the refrigerator door, Long Shangxuan’s gaze fell upon the Butterfly Brooch on the countertop—the very one he had given her.
Long Shangxuan’s eyes darkened for a mont, a cunning light gleaming within them. Without much thought, he quickly slipped the Butterfly Brooch into his windbreaker pocket.
When he ca out, he saw Hua Xiaomo still waiting at the table. A gentle smile spread across his face. "Xiao Mo, I won’t disturb you any longer. I’m leaving now. You should get so sleep early too."
"..." Hua Xiaomo smiled back at him. She had wanted to chat more, but decided against it, thinking there was always tomorrow.
"Brother Long, let walk you out." Hua Xiaomo stood up and escorted Long Shangxuan to the door. Her eyes shimred with reluctance to see him go. Only after his car had driven out of sight did she snap back to reality.
A wide smile on her face, Hua Xiaomo closed the front door. She turned to look at the dining table in the living room, her thoughts wandering uncontrollably.
"It would be wonderful if I could see Brother Long every night..." Hua Xiaomo said with a laugh. Then, thinking of the item he had given her, she quickly headed to the kitchen.
She walked into the kitchen, but when she looked at the countertop, it was bare—nothing was there!
"Huh? Where’s my Butterfly Brooch?" Hua Xiaomo was startled. She imdiately searched the entire kitchen, checking every nook and cranny, but the Butterfly Brooch was nowhere to be found.
She clearly rembered placing the brooch on the countertop. How could it have suddenly disappeared?
Could it be that Brother Long took the Butterfly Brooch while he was in here putting things away? But why wouldn’t he say anything?
Hua Xiaomo’s brow furrowed as a myriad of complicated thoughts flooded her mind.
Could it be... Brother Long thought the Butterfly Brooch contained those compromising photos I took of Qi Longbing, and that’s why he decided to take it? Hua Xiaomo mumbled to herself, unable to think of any other reason. But why do it so sneakily? He should have told . Maybe... he thought I wouldn’t agree to give him the photos if he asked, so he resorted to this underhanded tactic? Indeed, even if he had asked , I promised Qi Longbing I wouldn’t give the photos to anyone.
Suddenly, she recalled what Qi Longbing had said to her on the computer earlier.
And then there was the matter of this house...
All sorts of jumbled and complex thoughts churned in Hua Xiaomo’s mind.
Brother Long, why do you insist on having those photos? Hua Xiaomo couldn’t help but sink into deep contemplation. After all, when he encouraged to do this, wasn’t his true intention for the sake of our future? To ensure I would no longer be harassed by Qi Longbing? And just now, during our late-night snack, hadn’t I explicitly told him that Qi Longbing wouldn’t bother anymore? So why did he still want to take those compromising photos? Could he be planning to use them for sothing else? But if these private items were used for other purposes, it would undoubtedly cause a massive scandal!
Hua Xiaomo let out a deep sigh. The thought made her restless, and she couldn’t sleep soundly in bed.
This was the first ti she had felt so unsettled.
Early the next morning, Hua Xiaomo greeted Su Ronghua and said she was going for a walk, partly to familiarize herself with the surroundings of her new ho.
"Yuehu Residence, number 81..." Hua Xiaomo muttered to herself. As she approached the periter and looked at the standalone, red-brick villa on Huanhu Road, she fell into deep thought.
Stepping out the door, she could see a grand vista of the lake. Even without leaving the house, standing on the second-floor terrace, all sorts of pleasant scenery stretched out before her. It was easy to imagine how expensive the land here must have been.
It was certainly no less luxurious than Qi Longbing’s Banshan Mansion in Jinyin Shoal.
However, there was no property managent office nearby, which made it inconvenient to ask anyone. She hadn’t planned to inquire too much, as she had always trusted him. But last night’s unexpected event had left her feeling sowhat uneasy.
Still, she didn’t want to believe what Qi Longbing had said.
That being the case, it was better to find out so things for herself.
Hua Xiaomo sank into thought once again. She sat on a steel chair by the lake for a long ti, watching the rippling surface of the water—so much like her own turbulent heart at that mont.
Suddenly, she turned her head and saw a female mail carrier on an electric scooter placing newspapers into the mailbox of Yuehu Residence, number 81.
An idea struck Hua Xiaomo, and she imdiately approached her. "Excuse , ma’am, could you please tell the na of the owner of this house you’re delivering to?"
The mail carrier looked up, startled, and turned to Hua Xiaomo. "You are...?"
"I’m sorry, I’m a new tenant. I haven’t t the owner of this villa; I moved in through a friend of his. So, I’d like to thank the owner in person. Ma’am, would you be able to tell his na?" Hua Xiaomo explained slowly.
The mail carrier smiled. "Miss, houses here aren’t usually for rent, are they? You must be a friend of Director Mo. That’s why he allowed you to move in, I imagine."
She had to be kidding! How could a villa belonging to the chairman of the Mohai Zongheng Group possibly be for rent?
"What? You said... Director Mo?" Hua Xiaomo was stunned, her mind buzzing.
"Yes, this is the residence of the Chairman of Mohai Zongheng International Group. And Director Mo is quite young! I hear he’s still unmarried. Miss, you are truly fortunate!" The mail carrier looked at Hua Xiaomo with a wide smile, her eyes shining with envy.
"..." Hua Xiaomo didn’t know what to say. She quickly took the newspapers from the mailbox and hurried back to the villa. But just as she reached the door, a thought of her mother made her turn around and walk out again.
She returned to her previous spot on the lakeside chair. The gentle lake breeze did little to calm her heart, which felt like it was being churned upside down.
Oh, heavens... why is this happening? Hua Xiaomo’s hand, still clutching the newspaper, clenched so tightly that she mangled one corner of it.
Brother Long, why did you do this? Hua Xiaomo’s expression twisted in pain once more. Her Amber eyes filled with a deep shadow, and her heart felt as if it had been sliced open by a sharp blade. It hurt so much...
A friend going abroad, who wouldn’t be back for so ti? So those words had all been lies to deceive !
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