At midnight, Ye Chen’s flight landed smoothly in Jinling.
Feeling apprehensive, he took a taxi from the airport straight back to the villa at Tomson Yipin.
Throughout the journey, he was still pondering how to explain himself if Xiao Churan asked questions.
After much thought, he concluded that denying everything was the best approach; otherwise, if Xiao Churan questioned why he had intimate endings with Tawana in all four performances, he would struggle to respond.
At that moment, Xiao Churan was equally distraught.
She was almost certain that the mysterious male dancer was her husband, Ye Chen.
However, she was unsure whether to dig deeper and get to the bottom of it.
After all, she had no direct evidence to prove it was definitely Ye Chen.
The only indirect evidence was that Ye Chen’s phone was unreachable when the mysterious dancer was on stage.
But that didn’t necessarily prove anything.
Lost in thought, Ye Chen arrived at the doorstep.
Ma Lan and Xiao Changkun were already asleep, Xiao Churan, hearing Ye Chen open the courtyard gate from upstairs, hurried to the window, saw him enter the yard, and felt even more nervous.
When Ye Chen got home and saw no one on the ground floor, he knew everyone was in their rooms, he changed into slippers and went upstairs to the bedroom he shared with Xiao Churan.
Gently pushing the door open, Xiao Churan was just walking towards him, their eyes met at the doorway, and Xiao Churan visibly appeared awkward.
She hurriedly tucked her hair behind her ear and said unnaturally, “Hubby, you must be tired coming back so late, right?”
Ye Chen sensed something was off with Xiao Churan but could only play dumb, smiling, “Not tired at all, I feel completely relaxed as soon as I’m home.”
Seeing Ye Chen’s natural smile, Xiao Churan felt conflicted, torn about her judgment and whether to question him.
For some reason, deep down, she was afraid to probe further.
So, she looked at Ye Chen, smiled, and asked, “Are you going to Shanghai in a few days?”
“Yes,” Ye Chen nodded, “I’ve taken their money, so I have to see it through.”
Xiao Churan said with some concern, “It’s tough on you, go take a shower and rest early.”
Seeing that Xiao Churan didn’t seem inclined to ask him anything, Ye Chen felt a slight relief.
After showering and coming out of the bathroom, Xiao Churan was lying in bed reading.
Ye Chen lay beside her and asked, “Darling, while I was away these few days, everything okay at home?”
Xiao Churan nodded, “Home’s been fine, Mum and Dad bicker or tease each other occasionally, but no real arguments.”
“That’s good,” Ye Chen nodded.
Xiao Churan remembered something and said, “Oh, by the way, hubby, Mum said she doesn’t want to spend the New Year in Jinling this year.”
“Not in Jinling?” Ye Chen recalled Ma Lan mentioning wanting to go somewhere warm for the New Year, so he asked, “Is Mum still thinking about going south?”
“Yes,” Xiao Churan nodded, “She feels spending every New Year in Jinling is getting boring and is set on the Maldives, Jinling’s just opened direct flights to the Maldives, and she saw it in local news recently, so she’s keen.”
She added, “The flights have two round trips a week, perfect for flying out on the 28th of the lunar month and returning on the third day of the New Year, she asked me to get your opinion.”
Ye Chen smiled and asked, “Did Mum ask you to get my opinion, or to persuade me?”
Xiao Churan chuckled, “You know her so well, she wants me to convince you, saying our family hasn’t really gone on a proper holiday together.”
