117: Chapter 117 Yang Mi: Don't Play Ghost Stories in Front of Me

The meal went by quickly, and the party broke up after just over an hour.

Mainly because no one was pushing each other to drink.

Everyone had about half a jin of baijiu—not too much, not too little—just enough to reach that optimal state of being tipsy and feeling light as a feather.

They could enjoy the relaxation brought by the alcohol without ending up with a splitting headache the next day from getting wasted.

After exchanging pleasantries and saying goodbye at the restaurant entrance, Lin Chen's family of four piled into the van and headed home.

The car was very quiet.

Tong Liya, sitting in the back row, suddenly acted like a different person, not saying a word.

She turned her head, staring blankly at the streetscape rapidly receding outside the car window, her exquisite profile filled with hesitation and sorrow.

"Hubby! I cannot hold it anymore, I cannot hold it anymore! I am going to the bathroom first!"

"I am using the one on the first floor, you go to the one on the second floor!"

"No way! I want the one on the first floor!"

"Fine, you go, I will go to the second floor!"

"No! You have to come with me!"

Just as they entered the villa, Dilraba clutched her lower abdomen and hurriedly dragged Lin Chen toward the first-floor bathroom.

The two flirted a bit at the door, pushing and shoving, and finally squeezed inside together, half-reluctantly. Immediately after, the sound of the door locking came from inside.

Yang Mi changed into her slippers and lazily stretched, her graceful curves fully revealed.

She turned and walked over to Tong Liya, casually leaning against the edge of the coffee table with her long legs crossed, asking with a faint smile: "What is wrong? Something on your mind?"

Like a startled rabbit, Tong Liya snapped back to reality and shook her head in an attempt to cover up: "No... nothing."

Yang Mi chuckled and glanced at the tightly shut bathroom door.

Through the wall, one could vaguely hear Reba's coquettish laughter and the sound of running water inside.

...

The atmosphere in the living room became somewhat subtle and oppressive.

Tong Liya took out her phone and lowered her head, pretending to look at the screen.

But anyone with eyes could tell she was distracted; her slender fingers swiped aimlessly across the screen for ages, and she had not even unlocked the screen lock.

Yang Mi did not rush her, resting one hand on the glass coffee table while playing with the tips of her hair with the other.

Her crossed, fair, and tender calves swayed gently, her toes dangling her pink house slippers, which looked like they were about to fall off.

Her gaze, like a radar, slowly swept across the living room, finally landing steadily on Tong Liya's slightly awkward face.

"Why are you looking at me?"

Tong Liya felt her skin crawl under that penetrating gaze.

It was a magical sixth sense; even if you kept your head down and did not look at the other person, you could precisely feel a pair of eyes locked onto you.

Although a gaze causes no physical harm, the psychological pressure it exerts is not to be underestimated.

Yang Mi gently brushed the curls by her ear, a smile on her lips, but her tone was firm: "I want to have a heart-to-heart with you."

Tong Liya looked up, clutching her phone tightly, and remained silent.

Yang Mi got straight to the point: "I guess you have been struggling all the way here about how to sleep tonight, right? You just took that final step with Hubby last night, and you are at that stage where you are craving more and want to be super clingy. Tonight, you must be dying to just stay stuck to him."

"I know this feeling of insecurity all too well. Even if you do not do anything, as long as you can curl up in his arms and listen to his heartbeat, you feel incredibly secure, and even your dreams are sweet."

Having her heart's secrets poked, Tong Liya's thick eyelashes trembled.

She lowered her eyelids, her fingers unconsciously picking at the edge of her phone case, still remaining silent like a clam.

Yang Mi uncrossed her legs, leaned forward slightly, her fox eyes full of pressure staring straight at her, her tone becoming unprecedentedly serious.

"Yaya, we are both thousand-year-old foxes, so let us not play games here. I am putting it all on the table today. Since heaven has tied us together and we have entered the Lin family, we are all in the same boat."

"If we keep hiding things from each other and playing power games, the end result will just be making this home a mess, and none of us will benefit. Even worse, it could all fall apart, and none of us will be able to keep him."

Tong Liya stopped her fidgeting and retorted, somewhat unconvinced: "What do you mean by that? I do not have that many hidden agendas."

"Are you sure?" Yang Mi's eyes were sharp.

Tong Liya was a bit annoyed, her voice raising a notch: "What kind of label are you trying to pin on me? Just say it!"

Yang Mi sneered, pressing step by step: "Do you dare to swear on your heart that you do not have even a bit of hostility toward me and Reba? Do you dare say you have not been secretly competing with us in your heart? Do you dare say that last night in bed, you did not think about how to kick us out so you could have him all to yourself?"

"We were besties back in Hengdian World Studios who were as close as could be, were we not? But these past few days, have you taken the initiative to contact us? Have you made a single phone call or sent a single WeChat to say hello?"

Tong Liya stiffened her neck and fought back: "Well, you did not take the initiative to contact me either! Why are you only demanding that of me?"

Yang Mi shook her head, her tone calm: "That is different. Before today, we were not sure if you would become a member of this family. Do you not know what kind of temper Lin Chen has?"

"He seems easygoing, but deep down he is very cold. For someone he has not truly accepted, even if they stripped naked and lay on his bed, he would not even give them a second look."

Tong Liya snorted coldly and curled her lip: "What about now? Do I count as accepted now? Is the head wife ready to set some rules for me?"

Yang Mi did not answer, just looked at her quietly.

Tong Liya did not back down this time, lifting her chin and meeting Yang Mi's gaze without showing any weakness.

Two pairs of equally beautiful eyes clashed fiercely in the air, neither willing to give an inch, and the air pressure in the entire living room instantly dropped to freezing.

"Hahahaha! Hubby, stop it! It is so ticklish!"

Dilraba's unbridled, carefree laughter suddenly erupted from the bathroom, accompanied by crisp slapping sounds.

This extremely ill-timed coquettish laughter instantly interrupted the tense standoff in the living room.

Yang Mi withdrew her gaze, rubbed her temples helplessly, sighed, and her tone softened:

"Actually... I completely understand how you feel right now. Because back then, I also had those selfish thoughts. I also once fantasized about how great it would be if I could chase away that little vixen Reba and have Lin Chen all to myself."

Speaking of this, Yang Mi smiled self-deprecatingly: "But I quickly killed that stupid idea. Because I know my man too well, and I believe you have a deep understanding of this now too. Wanting him to give up the whole forest for one tree? That is just wishful thinking! He would absolutely never take the initiative to kick any of us out."

"If that day really comes and he heartlessly kicks someone out, the one kicked out will definitely be the one causing trouble in the house and destroying family harmony. Once I figured that out, I completely gave up the idea of wanting to have him all to myself."

Tong Liya bit her lip and turned her face away, refusing to look at her.

Yang Mi crossed her legs again, and a slipper from one foot fell onto the carpet with a "thud."

Barefoot with red nail polish, she admired her perfect arches while earnestly advising her.

"People, the most fearful thing is not recognizing reality, and even more fearful is stubbornly persisting at the wrong time."

"Since things have already developed to this point, instead of being on guard against each other like thieves every day and exhausting everyone, it is better to just open up and be honest with each other. At least that way, we can all live a little more comfortably in the future."

Tong Liya turned her head, her brows tightly knitted: "So, is this warning today because you think I am a dangerous element who will destroy your family stability at any moment?"

Yang Mi shook her head, her gaze open and honest: "I do not think that right now. But if you continue to treat us as imaginary enemies and keep building that wall in your heart, you will sooner or later become that ticking time bomb."

Tong Liya looked straight at her: "What about you? Do you think you are 100% honest with me right now?"

Yang Mi chuckled: "Am I not sitting right here, opening my heart for you to see? If I really wanted to play palace intrigue with you and squeeze you out, do you think I would waste my breath saying these heart-to-heart words to you?"

Tong Liya was silent. She pursed her lips tightly, the expression on her exquisite face changing unpredictably.

Although she did not want to admit it with her mouth, she knew in her heart that what Yang Mi said was the absolute truth and the only way to break the deadlock at present.

Seeing her attitude soften, Yang Mi leaned forward slightly, her tone carrying a hint of teasing: "Back to the main topic. Weren't you always worrying about how to arrange sleep for tonight? Do you know how Reba and I have been coexisting harmoniously during this time?"

Tong Liya snapped her head up, flames of gossip burning in her eyes.

This was indeed the confidential information she was most eager to know right now!

How exactly did these two allocate their time for sleeping with him?

Yang Mi hooked her finger at her, signaling her to come closer.

Tong Liya hesitated for a moment, but could not resist the temptation of curiosity and leaned her ear in.

Yang Mi muttered a few words in a very low voice in her ear.

A few seconds later, Tong Liya recoiled as if she had been electrocuted.

She widened her eyes, her face full of shock as if her worldview had been shattered, and she pointed at Yang Mi, stammering: "You... you two... you two actually do it together?!"

Yang Mi shrugged, her face looking completely natural: "Otherwise? Should I split him in half? Do you have any better solutions?"

Tong Liya was instantly silenced.

Her long eyelashes fluttered, and her brain felt like it had been stuffed with a tangled mess.

This kind of crazy plot that only existed in Japanese adult films was truly too shocking for a good girl like her who had received a traditional, conservative education since childhood!

This was simply testing the limits of her worldview like crazy!

Yang Mi stood up from the coffee table, lazily stretched, and the hem of her pajamas retracted, revealing a large area of her flat, fair lower abdomen.

"I have been bothered all day, I am exhausted. I am going to wash up first, do you want to come along?"

Dropping this earth-shattering invitation, Yang Mi walked toward Lin Chen's master bedroom without looking back.

Tong Liya sat blankly on the sofa, her hands clutching her phone tightly.

She had a battle between heaven and man for a full five minutes.

It was as if two little people were fighting wildly in her head.

One was shouting, "It is too shameful, absolutely not!"

The other was shouting, "If you do not go, you have lost!"