Chapter 1407 I Can See it in Your Eyes
"You son of a—"
Long Hui pounced on Lin Yehan over the table, but Jiang Ying Yue blocked him. Both of the men's eyes widened at her actions. Long Hui was in disbelief that she would blatantly protect another man in front of him. Lin Yehan was also surprised at her quick reflexes, but his gaze on her softened. He never knew that being protected by his lady like this would feel so good. This kind of gender role reversal didn't bother him at all. On the contrary, his admiration for his girlfriend only grew because of this. "You stopped me?" Long Hui asked Jiang Ying Yue. Gone was her usual timid and submissive personality when in front of him. Right now, she was fierce. It wasn't only because of her usual cold bodyguard aura, either. She was really glaring at him with all her might. For a few seconds, Long Hui even felt scared that she might break the arm that she was holding.
"Our son is watching us," she told him in a low but firm tone. "You can act like an asshole all you want, but not just in front of Little Jun. If you do, I won't let you meet him anymore unless you fix your attitude."
He glanced to the side and found their son watching them with curious eyes. If it weren't for the bodyguards distracting him with the new toys, the child would have already run toward his parents. Long Hui forced himself to calm down. Jiang Ying Yue threw his arm back to him, the force almost toppling him backwards. He glared at her, then at Lin Yehan. Now that she had a new man, she could really bear to treat him so harshly like this. Long Hui felt resentful. His glare on Lin Yehan turned more hostile. The man's close proximity to his woman was a definite eyesore. If it weren't for the presence of Little Jun, Long Hui would have already swung a punch at the man's ugly face.
"If you still insist on creating trouble for Yehan and me, then I think there is no point in this meeting anymore," Jiang Ying Yue said. "Remember that I still have a restraining order against you. So if I call the police right now, they can haul you away."
"I…won't cause trouble," he replied through gritted teeth.
They all sat back down. "What else did you want to talk to me about?" she asked. Long Hui studied her. She was still the same woman he had pursued before, took as his lover, and impregnated with his own child. But right now, she gave off a different feeling to him. Jiang Ying Yue was firmer and fiercer. Of course, it could be due to her grudge against him that she was deliberately acting like this to him. But it didn't feel that way. As a matter of fact, there was a kind of stability in her gaze that hadn't been there before. Back when they were still together, it would only take him one look at her eyes to analyze if he could coax her into following his wishes. Now, however, it felt like there was an insurmountable chasm between the two of them that he couldn't cross no matter how hard he tried. This realization was like a hard punch in his gut. If, before this, he still had some hope that they would be able to return to how they used to be before everything had been destroyed, he couldn't delude himself anymore now.
Jiang Ying Yue had changed. Before he knew it, she was now in a place he could no longer reach.
"Well?" She frowned at him. The impatience was apparent in her eyes. She had never looked at him like this before. "Is there anything else that you wanted to talk about? Unfortunately, I can't stay long. I still have an important training to attend later."
He pursed his lip. All the things he wanted to tell her felt useless at this point. Besides, Lin Yehan was present. If he still expressed his intention of accepting Jiang Ying Yue as a lover again, he and Lin Yehan might brawl.
There was a lot at stake for him at the moment. The defamation lawsuit cost him a lot. His father didn't help him pay for the 50 million RMB compensation at all. Half of the money came from his own pocket. The other half came from his in-laws, the Maos. Even his mother, Zheng Suyin, pitched in a little.
Although he could afford the total amount by himself, he still decided to borrow from his in-laws and mother to lessen the burden. He was Long Hui, the veritable legitimate eldest son of the current head of the Longs. It was essential to maintain a wealthy and noble front, or others would start looking down on him. If he paid the full compensation by himself in one go, he would have needed to spend less than usual and be more frugal. He could bear it—or at least, that was what he believed—but his wife, Mao Qiuyue, would never tolerate living below the standards of her usual lifestyle. Jiang Ying Yue stood up, interrupting his thoughts. "You're not saying anything, so I think you don't have anything more to tell me. I told you that I can't stay long." She paused and looked at him straight in the eyes. "And to be frank, I don't want to stay a second longer and talk to you."
"Ying Yue—"
"Please stop calling me so familiarly like that. You've already lost that privilege. Just call me by my full name. Also, I fulfilled my end of the bargain today. So I hope you can deliver on your promise not to bother Yehan and me ever again after this."
Long Hui didn't know how to react. She continued, "Don't worry. As long as you don't make trouble, I won't hinder you from seeing our son. I also won't do anything to make him hate you. I can at least promise this to you. But I hope that whenever you spend time with him, you'll always make sure that he's safe, especially from...I won't say anything anymore. You know what I'm talking about."
He could only nod and watch Jiang Ying Yue walk away to say goodbye to their son. Lin Yehan still hung around, though. [Read official chapters on W e b n o v e l (dot) com. Please stop supporting piracy. Also follow the author on Instagram: @arriacross]
"Why are you still here?" Long Hui asked him in a bad mood. "You want to mock me again?"
Lin Yehan raised an eyebrow, but the rest of his expression remained pleasantly neutral. "You think I mocked you? The things I said to you earlier weren't to mock you. I only told the truth. If you felt mocked, then that's not my problem."
"Shut up," Long Hui hissed.
He wanted to punch the ugly farmer's face but could only restrain himself because of his son's presence.
Lin Yehan wasn't bothered by Long Hui's hostility. "I just have one more thing to say to you."
"I don't want to hear it."
The man ignored his refusal.
Lin Yehan's pleasant expression disappeared. Instead, it turned serious, even threatening.
"I know what you want from Ying Yue and what you hoped to achieve in requesting this meeting with her today. I'm a man, too. I can see it in your eyes."
Long Hui opened his mouth and was about to deny it but decided not to bother anymore. Instead, he sneered. "Indeed, you're a man, too. You're just like me. Are you happy? You now have her. She's good, isn't she?"
Lin Yehan curled his lip in disgust. "Don't compare me with you. I respect Ying Yue. I'll never treat her, or any woman for that matter, like a mere object of my desire."
"I call bullshit."
"Think whatever you like. Ying Yue now has me. I won't let you harass her again. And don't think of using Little Jun to pressure her into doing anything against her wishes either. You might think of yourself as someone great, but in my eyes, you're nobody. A simple Long Hui like you, I, Lin Yehan, can handle and squash you by myself."
"You damned farmer!" Long Hui grabbed the man's collar before even thinking about his actions. "I dare you to attack me." Lin Yehan wasn't fazed at all. Instead, he stood still and looked down at Long Hui. He was literally looking down at Long Hui because he was taller than the other man.
"Go on, hit me. But if you do, don't even think about taking Little Jun today."
"What's going on?" Jiang Ying Yue asked a few tables away. She was carrying Little Jun in her arms. She looked like she would run off with her son any second if the tense situation worsened. Lin Yehan sent her a reassuring smile. Then he returned to giving Long Hui a hard look.
The hand that was gripping Lin Yehan's collar trembled a little. Veins popped out and throbbed in it. Long Hui sent another murderous look at the man before letting him go.
"For the sake of my son…."
Lin Yehan smoothed out his wrinkled collar. "Good. Your self-control has improved a lot. It appears that the 500 hours you served the community was truly effective. The judge should've added more hours to your punishment. Then maybe your personality would've improved so much better than this."
"Shut up and leave!"
Lin Yehan didn't bother replying to him. Instead, he headed straight to Little Jun and said goodbye as well. Long Hui watched the man's interaction with his son. It was even more of an eyesore than Lin Yehan's interaction with Jiang Ying Yue. The three of them together like this was like looking at a real family!