Mo Li had had no idea what he went through in the past. However, she knew that it must not have been easy.
“Training must have been tough, huh?” she asked.
“It’s quite grueling, but it’s all over now.” He picked up the cup and took a few sips of tea before saying, “To me, it’s a fresh beginning now.”
“Same for me. How are we so similar?” Mo Li said with a smile.
“After having been through so many obstacles and hardship, do you still believe in love?”
After some hesitation, Mo Li answered, “I believe that luck is not on my side. In fact, I’m actually really unlucky. I don’t think it’ll be easy for me to ever find true love again.”
“I used to think like this too in the past, but I’ve changed my mindset. My life is already pathetic enough. If I continue to resign myself to fate and deny myself a life that I truly want, I would’ve lived in vain all this while,” said No. 8. Mo Li seemed to have been inspired by his words.
Mo Li nodded and said, “I agree with you. I’m only thirty years old this year. I still have a long way ahead of me.”
She stood on a balcony and looked below with a pair of binoculars, only to find that Ye Xiaotian was still sitting on the bench.
“He hasn’t left yet.”
“I’ll stay for a while longer, then.”
Although Mo Li was fatigued, she did not want No. 8 to wait in boredom. “Shall we play a game of cards?” she suggested.
“Sure.”
Mo Li was on a losing streak, game after game, due to her lack of skills in poker. As a forfeit, she had strips of paper stuck all over her chin.
“I look like an old granny with a beard.”
Noticing how tired she was although she was still wide awake, he said, “Go get some rest. I’ll leave once he does.”
Exhausted beyond limits, she tugged the paper strips off her chin and stretched her back. “I’ll go to bed, then. You may sleep on the couch if you’re tired too.”
“Alright.”
Mo Li lay down onto her bed immediately, without even changing out of her clothes.
The sky had already turned bright by the time she woke up, and the sunlight was shining brightly into her room.
The golden rays of the sun gave the room a gilded appearance.
She took a look at the time and found that it was already nine o’clock.
She got out of bed and headed to the living room.
Just like she had expected, No. 8 was no longer in sight.
Mo Li shifted her gaze onto the dining table and hurriedly rushed forward to discover that there was a delicious-looking set of breakfast on the table, a note beside it.
The message written on the note was simple but enough to warm her heart.
“I only left in the morning and I decided to make you some breakfast. I’m not a great cook, don’t mind my poor culinary skills.”
He even added a smiley at the end of the note.
She sat down by the dining table after freshening up and began eating slowly. The fragrance of the food lingered in her mouth, and she found it to be rather decadent.
She polished off every morsel of the food.
He had done me a favor and even fixed breakfast for me. I must do something in return or I’m just going to appear insincere , she thought to herself.
After much consideration, Mo Li decided to give him a gift as a token of gratitude and appreciation.
What would be a suitable gift?
She decided to buy him a shirt.
She bought him a shirt that was made of superior fabric. In order to ensure that it would fit him perfectly, she repeatedly got a male sales assistant who was of the same build as No. 8 to try on the shirt again and again.
She finally bought it.
Upon returning home, she slid a note inside the shirt and headed to An Xiaoning’s mansion, which was opposite hers. She pressed the doorbell, and No. 1 answered the door.
“Ms. Mo.”
“Is No. 8 home?”
“No, he went out with Xiaoning.”
“Well, No. 8 had done me a favor and I don’t know how I should thank him so I bought him a shirt as a token of gratitude. Could you help me hand it to him?”
“Sure, no problem.”
Mo Li handed him the shopping bag and said, “Thank you.”
“No problem, I’ll give it to him once he comes home.”
“Alright.”
Mo Li returned home afterward.
She gulped some plain water upon returning home. Will he like the color that I had chosen? Will he throw it away if he doesn’t like it?
Mo Li was ill at ease.
She could not rest her mind throughout the whole day.
—
An Xiaoning returned home at six o’clock in the evening with No. 5 and No. 8. No. 1 looked at No. 8 with a sheepish grin and said, “Ms. Mo bought this for you. She said it’s a token of gratitude for the favor you had done for her.”
No. 8 took it from him and headed upstairs.
“What’s inside?” No. 5 asked in a gossipy manner.
“It’s a white shirt. I’ve seen it. It’s pretty pricey.”
“Seems like a good sign. No wonder No. 8 keeps stealing glances at Ms. Mo from the balcony every night. They must have fallen for each other, huh?” No. 5 quipped.
An Xiaoning asked in surprise, “Are you being serious?”
“I was just making a wild guess, hehe.” No. 5 hurriedly rushed upstairs and leaned against the door. He peeked inside the room to see that No. 8 was opening the box inside the bag. The other bodyguards then gathered behind him.
They rushed inside and teased, “No. 8, put it on and show us if it fits you, quick.”
“Yeah, Ms. Mo is probably still waiting for your reply.”
“Hurry and put it on, stop being so wishy-washy.”
No. 8 grew shy and embarrassed as his ears turned red. He put it on in front of them and found that it was very fitting!
“This must have been tailor-made to your measurements. No. 8, tell us quick, how far have you progressed with Ms. Mo? How is she so familiar with your body and build?” No. 5 teased.
No. 8 rolled his eyes at No. 5 and said, “We’re not that close.”
“As if I’d believe you.”
“It’s up to you to decide if you want to believe me.”
An Xiaoning entered and asked curiously, “What did you help her with?”
No. 8 explained briefly, “I woke up in the middle of the night and stood on the balcony to enjoy the breeze. I then caught sight of Ms. Mo’s ex-husband who chased her all the way here. She only returned at about two in the morning after working at her friend’s bar. She seemed to be upset with her ex-husband…”
Before he could even finish, No. 5 interrupted, “So you decided to save the damsel in distress.”
“Screw you, how dare you interrupt me?” No. 8 interrupted him and said, “As soon as I approached them, Ms. Mo pretended to be my girlfriend and put on a show for her ex-husband so as to make him think that she’s living well now.”
An Xiaoning seemed to have a moment of epiphany and said, “Oh, I see. Mo Li did the right thing. But Ye Xiaotian is so shameless. They’re already divorced, what more does he want? Mo Li has been suffering ever since she met him.”
“Sis, tell us about them. We’re really curious,” No. 9 urged.
“Yeah, Sis, tell us.”
An Xiaoning mellowed her voice and explained, “I’m not very sure about the details, but I do know roughly what happened between them. Mo Li got into a relationship with Ye Xiaotian when she was eighteen years old. Yet, Ye Xiaotian made use of her. At that time, he was engaged to a woman named Bai Ranran, who had saved his mother by donating her kidney to her. Bai Ranran had a rare disease that hindered her body from producing blood on its own. She would need regular transfusions of blood. Hence, Ye Xiaotian made Mo Li one of the blood donors in his very own blood bank. He often drew blood from her forcefully. Mo Li then sought Qingyan’s help to escape from Ye Xiaotian’s clutches. Qingyan introduced her to Prince Byron of Y Nation, whom she married soon after. However, she returned to Ye Xiaotian’s side again later. I’m not quite clear about what happened in between, but Mo Li did attempt suicide once and I saved her in the nick of time. She later got pregnant with Ye Xiaotian’s child, and Ye Xiaotian looked her up again. They then reconciled and got married.”
Mo Li had had no idea what he went through in the past. However, she knew that it must not have been easy.
“Training must have been tough, huh?” she asked.
“It’s quite grueling, but it’s all over now.” He picked up the cup and took a few sips of tea before saying, “To me, it’s a fresh beginning now.”
“Same for me. How are we so similar?” Mo Li said with a smile.
“After having been through so many obstacles and hardship, do you still believe in love?”
After some hesitation, Mo Li answered, “I believe that luck is not on my side. In fact, I’m actually really unlucky. I don’t think it’ll be easy for me to ever find true love again.”
“I used to think like this too in the past, but I’ve changed my mindset. My life is already pathetic enough. If I continue to resign myself to fate and deny myself a life that I truly want, I would’ve lived in vain all this while,” said No. 8. Mo Li seemed to have been inspired by his words.
Mo Li nodded and said, “I agree with you. I’m only thirty years old this year. I still have a long way ahead of me.”
She stood on a balcony and looked below with a pair of binoculars, only to find that Ye Xiaotian was still sitting on the bench.
“He hasn’t left yet.”
“I’ll stay for a while longer, then.”
Although Mo Li was fatigued, she did not want No. 8 to wait in boredom. “Shall we play a game of cards?” she suggested.
“Sure.”
Mo Li was on a losing streak, game after game, due to her lack of skills in poker. As a forfeit, she had strips of paper stuck all over her chin.
“I look like an old granny with a beard.”
Noticing how tired she was although she was still wide awake, he said, “Go get some rest. I’ll leave once he does.”
Exhausted beyond limits, she tugged the paper strips off her chin and stretched her back. “I’ll go to bed, then. You may sleep on the couch if you’re tired too.”
“Alright.”
Mo Li lay down onto her bed immediately, without even changing out of her clothes.
The sky had already turned bright by the time she woke up, and the sunlight was shining brightly into her room.
The golden rays of the sun gave the room a gilded appearance.
She took a look at the time and found that it was already nine o’clock.
She got out of bed and headed to the living room.
Just like she had expected, No. 8 was no longer in sight.
Mo Li shifted her gaze onto the dining table and hurriedly rushed forward to discover that there was a delicious-looking set of breakfast on the table, a note beside it.
The message written on the note was simple but enough to warm her heart.
“I only left in the morning and I decided to make you some breakfast. I’m not a great cook, don’t mind my poor culinary skills.”
He even added a smiley at the end of the note.
She sat down by the dining table after freshening up and began eating slowly. The fragrance of the food lingered in her mouth, and she found it to be rather decadent.
She polished off every morsel of the food.
He had done me a favor and even fixed breakfast for me. I must do something in return or I’m just going to appear insincere , she thought to herself.
After much consideration, Mo Li decided to give him a gift as a token of gratitude and appreciation.
What would be a suitable gift?
She decided to buy him a shirt.
She bought him a shirt that was made of superior fabric. In order to ensure that it would fit him perfectly, she repeatedly got a male sales assistant who was of the same build as No. 8 to try on the shirt again and again.
She finally bought it.
Upon returning home, she slid a note inside the shirt and headed to An Xiaoning’s mansion, which was opposite hers. She pressed the doorbell, and No. 1 answered the door.
“Ms. Mo.”
“Is No. 8 home?”
“No, he went out with Xiaoning.”
“Well, No. 8 had done me a favor and I don’t know how I should thank him so I bought him a shirt as a token of gratitude. Could you help me hand it to him?”
“Sure, no problem.”
Mo Li handed him the shopping bag and said, “Thank you.”
“No problem, I’ll give it to him once he comes home.”
“Alright.”
Mo Li returned home afterward.
She gulped some plain water upon returning home. Will he like the color that I had chosen? Will he throw it away if he doesn’t like it?
Mo Li was ill at ease.
She could not rest her mind throughout the whole day.
—
An Xiaoning returned home at six o’clock in the evening with No. 5 and No. 8. No. 1 looked at No. 8 with a sheepish grin and said, “Ms. Mo bought this for you. She said it’s a token of gratitude for the favor you had done for her.”
No. 8 took it from him and headed upstairs.
“What’s inside?” No. 5 asked in a gossipy manner.
“It’s a white shirt. I’ve seen it. It’s pretty pricey.”
“Seems like a good sign. No wonder No. 8 keeps stealing glances at Ms. Mo from the balcony every night. They must have fallen for each other, huh?” No. 5 quipped.
An Xiaoning asked in surprise, “Are you being serious?”
“I was just making a wild guess, hehe.” No. 5 hurriedly rushed upstairs and leaned against the door. He peeked inside the room to see that No. 8 was opening the box inside the bag. The other bodyguards then gathered behind him.
They rushed inside and teased, “No. 8, put it on and show us if it fits you, quick.”
“Yeah, Ms. Mo is probably still waiting for your reply.”
“Hurry and put it on, stop being so wishy-washy.”
No. 8 grew shy and embarrassed as his ears turned red. He put it on in front of them and found that it was very fitting!
“This must have been tailor-made to your measurements. No. 8, tell us quick, how far have you progressed with Ms. Mo? How is she so familiar with your body and build?” No. 5 teased.
No. 8 rolled his eyes at No. 5 and said, “We’re not that close.”
“As if I’d believe you.”
“It’s up to you to decide if you want to believe me.”
An Xiaoning entered and asked curiously, “What did you help her with?”
No. 8 explained briefly, “I woke up in the middle of the night and stood on the balcony to enjoy the breeze. I then caught sight of Ms. Mo’s ex-husband who chased her all the way here. She only returned at about two in the morning after working at her friend’s bar. She seemed to be upset with her ex-husband…”
Before he could even finish, No. 5 interrupted, “So you decided to save the damsel in distress.”
“Screw you, how dare you interrupt me?” No. 8 interrupted him and said, “As soon as I approached them, Ms. Mo pretended to be my girlfriend and put on a show for her ex-husband so as to make him think that she’s living well now.”
An Xiaoning seemed to have a moment of epiphany and said, “Oh, I see. Mo Li did the right thing. But Ye Xiaotian is so shameless. They’re already divorced, what more does he want? Mo Li has been suffering ever since she met him.”
“Sis, tell us about them. We’re really curious,” No. 9 urged.
“Yeah, Sis, tell us.”
An Xiaoning mellowed her voice and explained, “I’m not very sure about the details, but I do know roughly what happened between them. Mo Li got into a relationship with Ye Xiaotian when she was eighteen years old. Yet, Ye Xiaotian made use of her. At that time, he was engaged to a woman named Bai Ranran, who had saved his mother by donating her kidney to her. Bai Ranran had a rare disease that hindered her body from producing blood on its own. She would need regular transfusions of blood. Hence, Ye Xiaotian made Mo Li one of the blood donors in his very own blood bank. He often drew blood from her forcefully. Mo Li then sought Qingyan’s help to escape from Ye Xiaotian’s clutches. Qingyan introduced her to Prince Byron of Y Nation, whom she married soon after. However, she returned to Ye Xiaotian’s side again later. I’m not quite clear about what happened in between, but Mo Li did attempt suicide once and I saved her in the nick of time. She later got pregnant with Ye Xiaotian’s child, and Ye Xiaotian looked her up again. They then reconciled and got married.”
