Urban Soldier Young Master

Chapter 820 - 819: I Don't Want to Embarrass You

On the sofa in the living room, Mu Xiaoting sat in a daze for quite a while before coming to her senses. She blinked, her gaze still full of suspicion."Shanshan, did you already discuss this with Chu Ge and know someone would come, which is why you made this bet with me?"

Mu Lingshan rolled her eyes at Mu Xiaoting, both amused and exasperated, "Don't you know what kind of person I am? Besides, ever since we left the provincial city, we haven't been apart. I can't believe you said that. Why don't you say I can predict the future?"

Hearing Mu Lingshan's words, Mu Xiaoting realized she was overthinking. Mu Lingshan had always been upright in her dealings and didn't have the time to discuss with Chu Ge beforehand.

More importantly, their decision to come for dinner was made on the spot, and the bet was Mu Xiaoting's own idea. No matter how she thought about it, her concerns seemed unnecessary.

"Alright, it's a deal then!"

"Yes, a deal's a deal."

Having settled the matter, the two changed the topic, each waiting with different thoughts in their minds.

Nearly an hour passed, and the kitchen door opened once more. Chu Ge had finished preparing the food, a balanced mix of meat and vegetables, six dishes and a soup.

As the food was brought to the table, the three of them sat down, and Mu Xiaoting gave Mu Lingshan a smug look, clearly reminding her with her eyes that the bet would come into effect once they finished this meal.

Mu Lingshan understood the meaning behind this look, feeling quite complicated inside. This time, she really had to leave it up to fate.

Just then, the sound of a key turning in the lock came from the door, causing the three to pause in surprise, each with their own thoughts.

Chu Ge was puzzled, could it be Song Baijia coming home? That didn't make sense. It's the busiest time for lunch right now, how could the head chef have time to come home?

Mu Xiaoting was anxious, silently praying it wasn't a woman, and if it was, that she wasn't there for Chu Ge.

As for Mu Lingshan, her feelings were the most mixed, as even she didn't know what to think at that moment.

In any case, after a brief moment of shock, all three simultaneously turned their heads to look at the door.

"Click," the lock opened.

In their view, the door slowly swung open as if in slow motion, and a slender figure appeared clearly before them.

A pair of light blue canvas shoes with laces, the right foot raised as if about to step inside, paused and slowly lowered back to the ground.

A pair of faded jeans with a smudge on them, wrapping legs slender enough to make most women jealous, paired with a light green three-quarter sleeve top, the figure was very thin, and above that was the focus of the three in the room.

A face without makeup, filled with surprise, astonishment, panic, and a touch of gentleness, delicate and beautiful, with a sheen of sweat on the forehead and a few strands of dark hair sticking to it, the whole person resembling a startled little rabbit.

"Chu... Brother Chu, you're home?"

Chu Ge stood up from the table, nodding a bit awkwardly, "Yes... yes."

Hearing this exchange, Mu Xiaoting's eyes twitched, and her bit of luck was thoroughly shattered. Clearly, this girl was here to see Chu Ge, meaning she lost the bet with Mu Lingshan.

"Am I... am I disturbing you? I originally came to help clean the room, so... should I leave first?"

Mu Xiaoting glanced at the smudge on the girl's worn-out jeans and rolled her eyes again. What the heck? Turns out the girl was here to do house cleaning for Chu Ge! Geez, this Miss here was worrying for nothing.

Since that was the case, she certainly hadn't lost, right? Yeah, definitely not!

Though Chu Ge typically joked and laughed, at this moment, he was at a loss for words. However, Mu Lingshan smiled openly, patting Chu Ge.

"What are you standing there for? The young lady Ye Li is at the door, why don't you invite her in?"

Before Chu Ge could respond, Mu Xiaoting frowned and gave Mu Lingshan a disapproving look.

"Shanshan, what are you saying? She's just a housekeeping girl, why invite her in? If she needs to clean, she should wait until we finish eating, right?"

Ye Li froze, biting her lip, "I'm sorry, I'll leave now."

With that, Ye Li turned and headed out.

Seeing the sadness flash in Ye Li's expression, even Mu Lingshan felt a bit of heartache and frowned. "What do you mean housekeeping girl? She's a friend of Chu Ge's. You're causing trouble."

Mu Xiaoting was taken aback, her gaze becoming more skeptical, "Hmm?"

Chu Ge, feeling a headache coming on, ignored the voices of the two women beside him and headed straight to the door.

No matter how much he acted like an ostrich about his feelings for Ye Li, since she was at the door, how could he let her just leave? What rationale would that be?

By the time Chu Ge reached the door, Ye Li was already by the elevator. Even though he called out, "Wait," Ye Li seemed not to hear and stepped directly inside as the elevator doors opened.

"Ye Li, wait a moment."

Chu Ge's speed was definitely not slow, but unfortunately, he was still half a step behind.

When he reached the elevator, the doors had already closed tightly, and he could only watch helplessly as Ye Li's slightly aggrieved, delicate face turned into a firmly shut elevator door.

Chu Ge irritably rubbed his forehead. Regardless of whether Mu Xiaoting did it on purpose, at the very least, Ye Li should have listened to him, right?

Taking a deep breath, Chu Ge quickly entered the stairwell, just like when he had helped Hong Zude buy medicine before. He turned the spiral staircase handrail into a slide, accelerating downwards rapidly, racing to the first floor.

"Ding"

Chu Ge jumped down the last few steps, and as his feet hit the ground, the elevator also made the same sound.

The elevator doors opened, Ye Li walked out, and Chu Ge quickly walked over to her, reaching out to grab her wrist.

"Ye Li, what's going on? I told you to wait, why are you walking so fast?"

Ever since he met Mu Xiaoting, Chu Ge had been in a foul mood, and even the usually gentle and quiet Ye Li wasn't listening to him now, which made him even more frustrated, causing his tone to involuntarily become a bit harsh.

Ye Li didn't speak, her head lowered, eyes on her toes, making it impossible for Chu Ge to see her expression.

"Come on, let's go upstairs." Chu Ge sighed, giving Ye Li a tug. She staggered a little but didn't follow his lead, instead retracting her hand slightly.

"Ye Li, what's wrong? You don't need to mind what that woman said. She's a relative of Mu Lingshan, hasn't seen you before, so she misunderstood. Don't take it to heart."

Chu Ge gave a brief explanation, but Ye Li still didn't move.

Chu Ge felt truly helpless and softened his tone: "Alright, it was just a little misunderstanding. Come on up and have a meal? Check if your brother Chu's cooking has declined?"

"I... I'd better not. I... don't want to embarrass you."

Ye Li finally spoke, her voice small, timid, soft, and weak.

Chu Ge was taken aback, and suddenly felt an overwhelming sadness inside.

He hadn't contacted Ye Li for so long; he expected she would question him or throw a little tantrum because of what happened earlier. He didn't expect her first words to be these.

This is Ye Li, the one who always seems to think of others first, Ye Li.

"Silly girl, what nonsense are you talking about? You're my sister, and you're so beautiful with such a good personality. Others envy me, there's no way you'd embarrass me."

Chu Ge sighed softly, gently smoothing Ye Li's hair, his tone growing ever more tender.

"Brother Chu, really, it's okay. I... I won't go up. I just came out of your Baihao Garden apartment. Look, there's a mark on my pants, and my face must be dirty too, right? I..."

Ye Li finally raised her head, hands twisted together, meeting Chu Ge's gaze.

She wanted to smile at him, but only managed to show panic, apology, and a poorly concealed self-consciousness. That expression made Chu Ge feel even more pity and regret.

Chu Ge knew Ye Li had already started school, yet she still spared time during the noon break to help him with the renovation. After finishing work at his Baihao Garden apartment, she even came here to help clean.

And him? Apart from buying that apartment, he seemed to have only been there twice.

What debt did Ye Li have to him in a past life? Even when he kept disappearing on her, she was still so dedicated to helping him.

"Since that's the case, you must come up, wash your face, have a meal, rest a bit, then I'll drive you back to school. Be good, okay?"

Like coaxing a child, Chu Ge smiled warmly, gently pinching Ye Li's nose and softly pulling on her wrist.

"Brother Chu, but I..."

"Alright, come on. You've worked so hard. If I let you go like this, would I even be human? Or... should I carry you up?"

Ye Li wanted to refuse, but Chu Ge turned his back to her and squatted down, gesturing to carry her.

"Brother Chu, get up quickly, it would be embarrassing if someone saw. And besides... why would you take the stairs when there's an elevator?"

"Hahaha! Haven't seen you for a few days, and you've learned to tease your brother Chu?"

Chu Ge laughed heartily as he stood up from the ground, reaching out his right hand to Ye Li like an older brother.

Ye Li hesitated for a few seconds but finally reached out her hand, letting Chu Ge lead her back into the elevator she just came out of.

While holding hands, Ye Li whispered a sentence so softly that even though Chu Ge was right next to her, he didn't catch what she said.