Belated Romance (Mu Tongrui)

The streets were awash in red lanterns on New Year’s Eve. The joy of festivities was in the air.
Xu Kun looked at Lingye, who was in the back seat, through the rear-view mirror. The man seemed to be deep in thought as he
looked out the window.
Unable to keep his thoughts to himself, Xu Kun asked. “Are we heading back to the Fu Manor, Boss?”
Lingye scoffed and answered. “Didn’t I make myself clear yesterday?”
That was right. Boss mentioned that Mr. Fu could forget ever seeing him again if Mrs. Fu did not come back.
Still... it was New Year’s Eve today. It was a day to be together with the family, clinking glasses, digging into good food, and
enjoying great company.
Lingye’s phone rang.
It was Siqi.
“Hello, Daddy.”
Siqi lay back in the soft lounge chair, absently picking at her sole as she spoke to Lingye on the phone. She blinked her Bambi
eyes.
“Daddy, when are you coming back with Mu? Grandpa has the spring festival couplets and blessings hung up. Can we have
fireworks when you’re here tonight?” The little girl asked.
Lingye fell silent for a moment before tenderly replying, “I won’t join you for dinner tonight, but I’ll send Xu Kun to bring you to
Repulse Bay once you have dinner with Grandpa.”
Puzzled, Siqi furrowed her brows and inquired, “Why though? Why aren’t you bringing Mu back to have dinner with me and
Grandpa? Grandpa said that the most important thing during the New Year is for the family to be together. Why aren’t you and
Mu coming back?”
“Sweetheart, I need to attend to something important, but I promise you that we’ll have fireworks tonight, okay?”
Siqi thought about it for a while, then hesitantly relented, “Fine. I’ll call you after dinner, so you can tell Xu Kun to pick me up.”

“Sure.”
Once Siqi hung up on the call, Zhengyuan, who was sitting next to her, eagerly asked. “What did your daddy say? Is he coming
tonight?”
Siqi shook her head. “Daddy said he’ll send Xu Kun to pick me up after we have dinner. Grandpa, why isn’t Daddy bringing Mu
back for New Year’s Eve? Did you have a fight with Daddy?”
Zhengyuan sighed and stroked Siqi’s head before uttering, “No. Let’s have dinner, so you can go on to spend New Year’s Eve
with your father.”
Although he really got into it with the b*stard yesterday, Zhengyuan felt sorry for the b*stard to spend New Year’s Eve alone.
With a scowl, Siqi said, “Am I having two dinners?”
Zhengyuan smiled and patted his granddaughter’s belly. “I don’t think your belly can fit two dinners.”
Siqi chuckled and gleefully uttered, “The dinner with Daddy will be my supper! Grandpa, let’s have fireworks with Han in the yard
when it gets dark later. I want to see fireworks!”
“Okay. You will get as many fireworks as you want.”
...
The day quickly drew to a close.
Siqi had dinner at the Fu Manor and got a ride from Xu Kun.
Zhengyuan looked at the Maybach outside the manor. Although the car windows were heavily tinted for the inside of the car to
be visible, Zhengyuan was sure that the b*stard was in there.
It was the New Year, and Lingye was practically home. However, the boy sulked so much that he refused to get out of the car
when it pulled into the driveway.
Hmph!
Xu Kun brought Siqi into the car. Siqi jumped on Lingye the moment she laid eyes on him. “Daddy, I ate a lot of good food and a
strawberry cake! What are we having for dinner, Daddy? Will the food be better than at Grandpa’s house?”

Holding Siqi in his arms, Lingye looked at her innocent and adorable face and felt a lift in his mood. “What would you like to
have? I have everything.”
“Really? I want to have glutinous balls.”
Lingye was dumbstruck. “Glutinous balls... Xu Kun, are there any restaurants selling glutinous balls?”
“I guess most restaurants should have it. Glutinous balls are one of the common foods.”
Tilting her head, Siqi nestled in Lingye’s embrace and said, “I want the ones Mu makes!”
Lingye’s eyes darkened while Xu Kun, behind the wheel, was taken aback.
It took a while before Lingye patted the little girl in his arms and replied, “Mu isn’t around.”
Siqi pouted. “Where did Mu go? Did she ditch us again?”
“Mu is only away for a few days. She’ll be back once she’s done with her business.”
Siqi nagged like a mini adult, “Of all the times she had to go, why did she have to leave during the New Year? I’ll have to have a
talk with her when she’s back. Hmph! I can’t believe she’s not here to spend the New Year with me and you, Daddy.”
Lingye curled his lips and told Xu Kun, who was driving in the front, “To Repulse Bay.”
“Huh? Boss, aren’t we going to have glutinous balls?”
“I’ll make them for Sweetheart at home.”
Siqi was over the moon, and her joy showed in her eyes. “Yay! I bet your glutinous balls will be delicious!”
Once they arrived at Repulse Bay Villa, Lingye relieved Xu Kun of his duty, so he could enjoy the rest of New Year’s Eve.
However, Xu Kun replied with a smile that he had no one to spend the celebration with. He was going to go home and order
takeout.
In the end, Lingye told Xu Kun to stay and enjoy a bowl of glutinous balls before leaving.
Xu Kun felt flattered as it was the first time he enjoyed Boss’ cooking. He finished the bowl of glutinous balls down to the last
drop of soup.

While digging into her glutinous balls, Siqi said, “Poor us. We only have three bowls of glutinous balls on New Year’s Eve. If only
Mu was here. Mu will make us a lot of food. Daddy, what do you think Mu is having tonight?”
Lingye and Xu Kun enjoyed a bit of alcohol. The alcohol was not enough to get him wasted, but Lingye was feeling tipsy. With his
arm over Siqi’s child seat, Lingye looked at the girl and commented dryly, “I want to know too.”
“Daddy, why don’t we call Mu and ask her what she had for dinner?”
Xu Kun watched as Siqi pulled out a phone to dial Tongrui’s number. He knew that the call would not go through. To stop Siqi
from pursuing the matter, Xu Kun had to nip it in the bud. “It’s late, Sweetheart. Mu must be asleep. Maybe you shouldn’t call
her.”
Siqi put her hands down and lay on the table. “Fine. Daddy, let’s go light some fireworks!”
Lingye set off a lot of fireworks for Siqi in the yard. The fireworks crept across the night sky, bursting into balls of flames with a
bang. At least, they brought some sense of festivity to the lonesome villa.
Wearing a thick down jacket, Siqi stood in the yard and looked up in awe at the fireworks display. Lingye and Xu Kun were
smoking not too far away.
Xu Kun asked, “Boss, what do you plan on doing? We have looked into every possible avenue, but we can’t find any record of
Mrs. Fu leaving the country. Only your father would know where Mrs. Fu is. Maybe... you can have another conversation with
him.”
Lingye brought the cigarette close to his lips for a deep inhale before drawing out a puff. His voice was gruff as he answered, “My
dad won’t risk the family reputation and my career to tell me Rui’s whereabouts. He probably doesn’t have the heart to get me to
divorce Rui, but it will give him assurance if I do so.”