Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Liu Zhiyuan usually had a good relationship with Mo Han at work, he could even chat a little with Mo Han whenever he was free, so he was less restrained with his words. “Seeing you so busy lately is making everyone in the company feel scared. There is a lot of work that you don’t have to do yourself. We thought that there’s something wrong with the company, or we’re worried that we’ve done something wrong. Besides, you’re going to fall sick sooner or later if you keep on working like this, and it’s not worth the loss.”

“You guys think too much. I feel pretty good lately, my body is fine too.”

“If your sister were to see you like this right now, she’d definitely say that you don’t want to live,” Liu Zhiyuan muttered.

Mo Han’s face changed in an instant after hearing her mentioned. “When did you start to be in charge of so many things?”

Even after meeting so many difficult customers and tricky cases, Liu Zhiyuan had never heard Barrister Mo speak in this tone before, and hearing Mo Han like this shocked him, so he started to speak more formally. “I’m sorry Barrister Mo, I didn’t know that you don’t like it, I won’t ask about it in the future.”

“Don’t mention her in front of me again,” Mo Han said.

It was only then Liu Zhiyuan realized that Mo Han was probably like this because he had fought with his sister. But he did not dare to casually ask about it again, this was the first time he had made the boss angry so he could not make a second mistake, and therefore said, “Alright, if there’s nothing else, I’ll go. Barrister Mo.”

“Leave,” Mo Han started to look at the files on his table again.

Except that this time round, he was unable to continue looking at them.

Irritation. Irritation. Every single part of his body felt restless, and it was difficult to calm down even when he was sitting down.

He was clearly not thinking about anything related to Xia Qingyi, and yet he was always affected by her.

He put down the file, and released a long sigh. He buried his face in his hands, and closed his eyes to try to calm himself down.

But the secretary knocked on the door at this time and said that there was someone outside looking for him.

Mo Han was a little tired. “Didn’t I say not to receive anyone without an appointment?”

The secretary said, “He said his name is Han Liang. That you’d want to see him.”

The corners of Mo Han’s mouth raised a little. That man sure had good timing. He said to his secretary, “Let him in.”

Han Liang was wearing gray casual clothes and gold-rimmed spectacles, which made him appear like a respectable businessman. He leisurely sat down on the chair in front of Mo Han.

Mo Han smiled faintly. “What brings Mr. Han here today?”

“Barrister Mo, I don’t like to beat around the bush, so I’ll be straightforward. I came here today to give you this.” After he finished speaking, Han Liang placed an envelope in front of Mo Han.

“What?” Mo Han said coldly.

“Nian Nian told me, that you two had signed an agreement before. If she was to return to her family, she would provide compensation. Now that Nian Nian has safely returned to my side, it’s logical to thank you. So we’ve discussed and decided to give you this bank card. I believe that you’ll be satisfied with the amount inside.”

Mo Han looked at the envelope, opened it and saw a bank card inside. He smiled coldly. “It’s rare that Mr. Han is this thoughtful.”

“I hope that after Barrister Mo has gotten the compensation that he deserves, you will stop interfering in Nian Nian’s life. Barrister Mo, you should know that some things will come to an end.”

Mo Han remained smiling. “Don’t worry, Mr. Han. I will not go that far to stop doing my work and disrupt your blissful life.” He placed the card back on the table, changed his tone and said, “But Mr. Han may not know that for the period of time your wife has been staying with me, there are some things in life that could not be measured with money.”

“What Barrister Mo is saying is?”

“I don’t know whether she mentioned it to you before, but when we just met, we slept together with each other everyday,” Mo Han said casually.

Han Liang’s eyes clouded over with hatred. “So?”

Mo Han smiled again. “Mr. Han, don’t think too much. She had insomnia and could only fall asleep when there was someone next to her. Which was why I stayed by her side. Of course, what I’m saying is that I freed up my time to accompany her. I could have done some work, or handle my personal matters, but I have to delay them to take care of your wife. How do you plan to calculate the costs for this period of time?”

“How do you plan to calculate them?” Han Liang asked.

“Mr. Han, do not worry. I do not want to make things difficult for you. I just feel that some things should be handled by the party responsible for them, and not you. This will be less productive, it is inevitable that we will miss things, and it will be a waste of time in the end.”

“I’m sorry, but unfortunately, my wife is unable to come for this period of time.”

“Why?”

Han Liang smiled faintly as he answered, “It’s my fault, I only thought of myself. I was busy with her and tired her out these past few nights, and she’s developed a slight fever, so she has to stay at home and rest for now.”

Nobody noticed that the hand Mo Han placed beneath the table had become a tightly clenched fist, blue veins popping up on the back of his hand.

“It’s okay, we can talk in greater detail after she has recovered,” Mo Han said.

Han Liang said, “Then I’d have to trouble Barrister Mo to wait a while more.”

Mo Han constrained the frequency of his breathing. “If there’s else, Mr. Han, you can leave. I’m rather busy working here after all.”

Han Liang stood up to leave and smiled lightly. “Then, Barrister Mo, see you next time. I’ll leave the bank card here with you, just take it as a small token of appreciation.”

Mo Han did not see Han Liang leaving. When he was still in the office, Mo Han kept his head lowered and flipped through the files on his, but not a single word entered his head.

The office door closed, and Han Liang was gone. It was only then Mo Han was no longer able to control the anger in his heart, and he violently snapped the pen in his hand in half, the broken pieces falling onto the ground soundlessly.

Those words that Han Liang said earlier kept ringing in his ears, coupled with laughter, and seeped into his skin and bones.

I had tired her out at night, she could not come to see you.

She said that you two had signed an agreement before, this card was a sign of our appreciation.

Mo Han took the card, glared at it as through he was able to burn a hole through it, and slowly crushed it in his hand before he threw it into the rubbish bin.

He felt that even his breathing had become erratic, his chest felt stifling and tight. Nothing in the past had made him so furious before.

Mo Han could not control his emotions, and he forcefully pushed all the files on the table onto the ground. The coffee followed suit, the cup breaking instantaneously, and brown liquid flowed out and spread all over the files.

The secretary heard the loud sounds from the outside, and thinking that something had happened, she pushed the door open and entered, asking, “Barrister Mo?! What happened?”

The door had just opened, and there was not even enough time to see what the situation was inside when she heard Mo Han roar, “Get out!”

The secretary was so scared that her entire body was trembling. She quickly ran out and closed the door immediately, pretending as though nothing had happened.

A few of the nearby staff curiously asked the secretary, what was it? What happened to the boss?

The secretary kept shaking her head, and said in a small voice, “I don’t know too, Barrister Mo scared me. He was fine just now, but he suddenly became like this.”

One of the staff said, “No… did you guys not realize it? Barrister Mo doesn’t feel like himself these days, something must have happened just now…”

Another staff asked, “Who was the person who went into Boss’s office just now? Is it related to him?”

The secretary quickly stopped any discussion on the topic and did not let them continue, “Stop guessing blindly, Boss is in such a bad mood now, we’re dead if he knows that we’re still talking about it behind his back.”

Like frightened birds, the few of them scattered and went back to work.

Mo Han spent more than ten minutes in the office before he managed to get his temper under control. He looked at the files scattered all over the floor and slowly calmed down. He released a long breath slowly, and felt as though his energy had been completely sucked away. He was exhausted, and he unsteadily leaned against the back of his office table.

He had already said that everything had ended.

She was already gone. They had agreed to stop contacting each other.

He had tried his best to return to who he was before, work everyday, eat and sleep. Nothing had changed, but why did he always feel repressed.

No one knew that when he switched off all the lights in the room every night, he would lie in bed, looked up at the endless darkness and he would not longer be able to sleep, even if he felt extraordinarily tired everyday.

He thought that Xia Qingyi had probably passed her insomnia to him. He did not know when he had slowly become similar to her.

The place where he lived had too many traces of Xia Qingyi’s existence. She had left in such a rush, her toothbrush and toothpaste were still in the washroom untouched. She had left some clothes hung out to dry under the sun that she had not kept, the yogurt that she loved to drink were still in the refrigerator in the kitchen, even if it was going to expire soon. There were even some of her books left untidily on the table in the study room.

Mo Han did not touch them. Or rather, he did not dare to look at them. He led a peaceful life with them sharing the same space. Just like before.

After she left, Xia Qingyi did as he had asked, and stopped contacting him. His phone was always switched on and was always by his side, but he never received a phone call or a message from her.

They remained at a stalemate, turning a blind eye to each other.

Xia Qingyi had not had a good time these past few days, the main reason being her severe insomnia.

She had not had a good night’s sleep since arriving here.

She was clearly on the brink of exhaustion everyday, and yet she could not fall asleep after lying on the bed no matter what. The longer she lay, the more anxious she became, the more confused she felt and the more awake she would be. She really had no choice but to lean at the window and look at the moonlight outside, hoping she might sleep a little after looking at it.

She simply could not hold on anymore after that. She bought a bottle of sleeping pills at the medicine shop outside, and would take two pills before she slept. But things started to happen that night.