Chapter 227: Domestic Violence

Lingnan.

Ye Mubai looked at his brother who had come over to have tea with him. “CEO Ji, you flew over for a few hours just to have tea with me?”

Ji Lingchen used tea as a substitute for wine. “I promised Xiaonuan that I won’t drink when I’m out. She might check up on me at any time.”

Two days ago, Fang Xiaonuan called him after class to share some interesting things that happened recently. However, she actually wanted to check up on him. She was quite strict. At night, before she went to bed, she would also video-chat with him.

Ye Mubai said, “CEO Ji, you’re actually listening to a little girl like that? Are you kidding me?”

Ji Lingchen said, “I have to listen. Otherwise, she would fly over from Jing City to catch me in the act. She has a bad temper. If she is not happy, she would even dare to beat me up.”

Ji Lingchen understood his kitten very well.

Ye Mubai was surprised. “What? She dares to beat you up?”

Ji Lingchen held his teacup and seemed upset. Just like that, CEO Ji had an additional “experience” his brothers did not share. He actually got beaten up!

The person who told them all about it was Ye Mubai.

Ye Mubai’s heart ached for his good friend. Since they had gotten married, his wife had gone missing several times. She was also prone to violence.

Ye Mubai said, “Lingchen, if you really can’t handle it, just get a divorce. There are so many women out there. Why must you resign yourself to a flawed partner like Fang Xiaonuan?”

Ji Lingchen glared at Ye Mubai and said indifferently, “Do you want to be like Murong, recuperating at home?”

Thinking of Murong’s unfortunate encounter, Ye Mubai immediately fell silent.

Ye Mubai said, “Then why did you invite me out for a drink when all we’re drinking is tea?”

Ji Lingchen had seen many people these past few days, but none of them had that familiar scar on their arms. He even began to suspect that his eyes might have been playing tricks on him that day. However, he had really caught that person, and that girl definitely had the scar. He kept replaying it in his head for the past few nights before he fell asleep. He was driving himself crazy.

Ji Lingchen said, “Mubai, I still haven’t found Xiaoyu. I’ve looked into so many people, but none of them were her.”

When Ye Mubai heard the name Xiaoyu, his face turned serious. “Lingchen, don’t put so much pressure on yourself. You were only in your teens at the time, and you risked your life to protect her. However, if you protected Xiaowen, you couldn’t control what happened to Xiaoyu. If you protected Xiaoyu, Xiaowen would be taken away. Be it as an uncle or an elder brother, you’ve done very well. Your mother passed away because she was too sick. She wouldn’t want to see you torture yourself like this.”

In the past, Ji Lingchen had used alcohol to drown his sorrows, but now, he was drinking tea to relieve the sadness in his heart.

Ji Lingchen said, “Mubai, if I had hugged them more tightly back then, Xiaoyu wouldn’t have been lost, and Mother wouldn’t have passed away so early. My family would still be intact.”

Ji Lingchen had been living in self-blame for the past dozen years. For the sake of his nephew, he had lost his sister, and his mother had died from grief.

Seeing his father lose all the life in his eyes, Ji Lingchen felt so ashamed that he had no choice but to move out early. His eldest brother had his own family, and Ji Lingchen did not want to become a burden. Thus, since his teen years, he had been living alone in the Spirit Creek Villa.

Ye Mubai knew that the self-blame in his friend’s heart could not be resolved with just a few words. He was not in his shoes, and he could not empathize completely. Ji Lingchen’s friends all thought the same thing, but no one dared to tell Ji Lingchen.

Once, Wang Yubo said, “Lingchen, Xiaoyu might already be gone. Maybe your father could not bear to hurt you more, so he kept it from you. Otherwise, why wouldn’t your father continue to look for Xiaoyu?”

Because of these words, Ji Lingchen and Wang Yubo got into a huge fight. After that, no one dared to say to Ji Lingchen that Xiaoyu might already be dead.

Even so, the brothers all felt that there was a high probability that Xiaoyu was already gone. Only Ji Lingchen still insisted that Xiaoyu was still alive.

Ye Mubai sighed softly and continued drinking tea with his good friend.

Drinking too much tea would cause insomnia, but Ji Lingchen was not worried. This was good too. Then, he could stay up and chat with the other person who always stayed up late.

Ye Mubai was very helpless. He lay on the bed, not sleepy at all. “Did my friend trick me this afternoon?”

However, he drank the tea himself. Ji Lingchen did not force himself to drink it, so he could only deal with his inability to fall asleep.

In the Ji family’s bedroom, Fang Xiaonuan had put on a face mask and was on a video call with her husband. “Hubby, I beat up Xiaowen. He said that I would give you dark circles under my eyes as a surprise.”

Ji Lingchen spoke with a smile on his face. “That’s right. Beat him up with all your might.”

Fang Xiaonuan laughed. Her face mask also changed shape, making her look more like a kitten. She complained coquettishly, “Hubby, don’t talk anymore. Just look at me. Don’t make me laugh. Otherwise, my face mask will keep shifting.”