Urban Soldier Young Master

Chapter 825 - 824: If You Want to Laugh, Just Laugh

The hallway was empty, and Mu Xiaoting was no longer in the spot she had been earlier. All that was left behind were the high heels that Chu Ge had thrown out.Mu Lingshan squeezed past Chu Ge out of the room, her face turning dark.

"You... Sigh!"

Mu Lingshan sighed and, in the end, said nothing more. She turned back into the room, took out her phone from her bag, and dialed Mu Xiaoting's number.

"The number you have dialed is powered off..."

Upon hearing this, Mu Lingshan's face turned even gloomier, and she sat down dejectedly on the living room sofa.

Chu Ge glanced at Mu Lingshan, "What? She's not picking up?"

"No, it's off." Mu Lingshan shook her head irritably, her eyes wandering for two seconds before she suddenly stood up from the sofa and headed towards the door again.

Chu Ge called out after her, "Where are you going?"

"Where do you think I'm going? Of course, to find her." Mu Lingshan glared back at Chu Ge, her face full of tension and worry.

Chu Ge shrugged, "Do you know where she went? Where will you look?"

Mu Lingshan paused in her steps, muttering to herself, "She's not familiar with Lidu, and she didn't even take her shoes. Where could she go?"

"Either she went to the mall to buy shoes, or took a cab to your house. Maybe I broke her phone when I threw it. Don't worry too much. She's an adult; are you afraid she'll get lost? Come on, just relax and eat."

Mu Lingshan rubbed her forehead forcefully, "Eat? How can I eat? Sigh... You two eat. I'll go find her. I won't feel at ease until I see her."

"Alright, just be careful in the corridor and stay safe."

Mu Lingshan nodded and continued on her way. Just before she stepped out, she hesitated for a moment, turned back, and gave Ye Li a faint smile, "Ye Li, Xiaoting was indeed out of line just now. Don't take it to heart. I apologize on her behalf, I'm sorry."

With that said, Mu Lingshan didn't wait for Ye Li's response and walked out with a wry smile, disappearing from Chu Ge and Ye Li's sight.

Originally there were four people in the room, but now there were only two left. Looking at the lavish spread of six dishes and a soup on the table, Chu Ge felt somewhat uninterested.

"Chu Ge, you..." Ye Li's timid voice sounded beside him. Chu Ge smiled slightly at her, "Just say what you want to say, I'm listening."

"I..." Ye Li hesitated but eventually shook her head, "Never mind, I'll go heat up the dishes."

Chu Ge smiled again without saying anything, sitting back in his chair. Watching Ye Li take the dishes one by one, he felt a deep sense of helplessness.

Regarding the situation with Mu Xiaoting, Chu Ge didn't feel he had done anything wrong at all. It was just frustrating that a welcome dinner for Mu Lingshan ended up like this.

Before long, the dishes Ye Li had taken away were brought back one by one, steaming hot. Ye Li sat down in the seat Mu Lingshan had occupied earlier, across from Chu Ge.

Chu Ge poured a cup of wine for Ye Li and then one for himself.

"Ye Li, there's actually something I've been wanting to tell you, but... I just haven't found the time."

Sensing the involuntary tension in Ye Li's gaze, Chu Ge paused. For a moment, he hesitated to continue, then picked up his wine glass with a gentle smile, "Let's have a drink first."

"Clink"

The two wine glasses met with a crisp sound. Chu Ge took a sip of his wine, exhaled, and waited for Ye Li to take a sip and place her glass on the table before he, feigning a relaxed smile, said, "I'm married."

"Oh." Ye Li's expression showed no change, she lightly responded.

Chu Ge had imagined many reactions from Ye Li upon hearing this, and although he had thought she might take it calmly, he hadn't expected her to be this calm, with not a trace of emotion in her eyes. Slightly taken aback, he found himself at a loss for words.

In an indescribable atmosphere, the two sat in silence for a few seconds until Ye Li finally broke it.

"Chu Ge, congratulations." Ye Li raised her wine glass, smiling gently, "Tomorrow I'll get some red decorations to add a festive touch to your place."

The two wine glasses clinked together again, producing a crisper sound than before, as Chu Ge's wrist exerted no force, evidently increased by Ye Li.

Chu Ge sighed quietly to himself, realizing that Ye Li wasn't as calm as she appeared. He took another sip of wine and, as he put down his glass, suddenly noticed that Ye Li was about to finish her wine in one gulp.

Chu Ge opened his mouth, wanting to advise Ye Li not to drink like that, but the glass was already empty, and the words at the tip of his tongue ultimately turned into a "thank you."

Putting down the wine glass, Ye Li violently coughed a few times, then shook her head with a gentle and shallow smile, "You're welcome."

As she spoke, Ye Li picked up the bottle of red wine and began to pour it into her glass again. The red liquid quickly reached a third of a glass, then half, but Ye Li didn't stop; the wine in the glass grew fuller.

"Ye Li, that's enough, you've poured too much."

Chu Ge reached out to take the wine bottle, but Ye Li pulled her hand back slightly.

"Brother Chu, Miss Mu has already taught me that red wine shouldn't fill the glass, but I don't want to listen to her right now. I find it troublesome. Now it's just us two here; please don't make fun of me, okay?"

What else could Chu Ge say? He could only withdraw his hand and watch Ye Li fill her glass completely, sighing quietly again.

Ye Li didn't immediately pick up her glass to drink but instead took up her chopsticks, picked up a piece of food that had cooled and reheated, and began to chew it slowly.

Ye Li normally ate slowly, but this bite was even slower than usual. After more than ten seconds, she swallowed what was in her mouth and gave Chu Ge a slightly intoxicated smile.

"Brother Chu, your cooking is still as delicious. It's been a long time since I've had it."

"Well... if you like it, eat more."

Ye Li picked up another bite of food and suddenly asked, "Does this mean... it will be hard to eat it in the future?"

Chu Ge hesitated for less than a second, then shook his head with a smile, "Of course not. As long as you want to eat, Brother Chu can often cook for you."

When Chu Ge's words landed, Ye Li lifted her chopsticks. She looked up at Chu Ge and smiled, "That's good," then put the food into her mouth, still chewing slowly and thoroughly.

An hour passed, and the dinner was still not over, with almost the entire bottle of red wine poured into Ye Li's glass. Chu Ge didn't stop her; if she wanted to drink, let her drink.

As Ye Li drank one sip after another of the wine, her face gradually flushed with a slightly drunken red, and she began to speak more.

"Brother Chu, you know, I have been a particularly obedient person since I was a child because I know I'm an orphan. Just being adopted is a huge blessing for me, so I can't cause trouble for my adoptive parents. Otherwise, they would dislike me, and if they didn't want me anymore, I would have nothing."

"Over the years at school, I always earned the 'three good student' title. I wasn't late, didn't leave early, and didn't skip class unless I was really sick or had something very important. I didn't even ask for leave. Every day followed a routine: what time to get up, what time to wash up, what time to go to the bathroom, what time to leave, what time to return home, what time to sleep. Everything was meticulously planned."

"Hehe... Brother Chu, you know, sometimes I even think, did I really live 365 days in a year, or did I just live one day and repeated it 364 times? To me, the only irregular thing seemed to be my period."

Saying this with a slightly drunken gaze, Ye Li suddenly giggled as if it was something amusing. At first, it was just a smile, but soon it turned into a big laugh that Chu Ge had never seen from her before.

As she laughed and laughed, Ye Li gradually became silent, raised her slightly shaky right hand, picked up the glass, and took a large sip, then let out a long breath.

"But... even if I hold myself to such strict standards, so what? My talent is limited, my grades aren't the best, and my social skills are poor. Despite being so well-behaved and hard-working, I only got into Lidu University. When I graduate from this pretty ordinary school, what will my future be like?"

"Some people, huh, take Mu Xiaoting, for example. From the day she was born, she must have been showered with endless love, right? She must have frequented places like Western restaurants since childhood. How to elegantly use a knife and fork, how to nobly drink red wine—these are familiar things to her. And me?"

"Growing up, I can count on one hand the times I've been to KFC. In high school, I learned in the library what Hegel's dialectic is and what the time paradox is, but I didn't even know there was a Starbucks on the street until I went to college!"

"Isn't it funny? I know you must think it's funny, but you're holding back out of consideration for my feelings, aren't you? Deep down, you look down on me, right? If you want to laugh, just laugh it out. Honestly, it's no big deal; see, I can't help but laugh myself, haha..."

Ye Li laughed again, her eyes, usually gentle as water, now shone with a strong self-mocking light. She laughed so hard she rocked back and forth, repeatedly raising and dropping her slender right hand, clapping it on the table with a loud "pa, pa."

She hit with such force that the bowls, chopsticks, and plates on the table trembled in response. Her palm soon turned crimson, yet she seemed oblivious to it.

Chu Ge sighed, shaking his head slightly, "It's not funny, really, not at all."

"How could it not be? You're lying to me, haha, Brother Chu, you are so good at pretending."

Chu Ge extended his hand, and as Ye Li's right hand fell once more, he caught it in his palm.