Billionaire's Long Journey of Chasing His Love

Chapter 412 - 362: Do You Dare to Curse Out Loud! (First Update)

Tong Airui pinched his brow. "Then keep it safe, don’t let anyone steal it."Yu pouted. "Right now, only you and Yi Luowa know about it. If it gets stolen, it would be you two who took it."

"You’re blaming us as a couple now?" Tong Airui glared at her, annoyed. "Seriously, birds of a feather flock together. You and Old Eight are cut from the same cloth!"

"Isn’t everyone saying I’m cut from the same cloth as Aunt Ni Lu? How come I’m suddenly the same as Mi Chenxuan?" Yu asked mischievously.

"I’m saying both of you are equally skilled at laying blame on others!" Tong Airui waved his hand impatiently. "Now, off you go. I still have things to deal with."

Yu hopped backward toward the door, entertaining herself. "When will Mi Chenxuan come back? I miss him!"

"When he comes back depends entirely on you. Every time you mess something up, he’ll stay away for another month. On the other hand, if you behave well, he’ll return sooner."

Yu’s lips quivered.

Tong Airui shot her a sinister look. "You can try shouting it aloud if you dare!"

"I don’t dare!" Yu pushed the door open and ran away.

Joyina was just discussing with everyone about her decision to raise Mianmian. Yu, biting her finger, listened for a while before blurting out, "Joyina, you’re still a kid yourself. Can you really take good care of a child? Besides, that kid is Third Brother’s first love’s daughter. Won’t seeing her make him miss his first love every day?"

Joyina glanced at her. "I wouldn’t fight for whatever little spot Mi Chenshuo holds in his heart for someone who’s already gone. Besides, I’m an adult now, not a kid. I’ll take good care of Mianmian!"

"Idiot!" Yu gave her a disapproving look.

"If I’m an idiot, then you’re heartless! Sister Su spent her dying moments urging Mi Chenshuo to forget the past and treat me well. She didn’t even have time to arrange where Mianmian should go... sob sob..."

Yu pursed her lips and reached out to pat Joyina’s knee. "Don’t cry; I take back what I said earlier."

"You say I’m a kid, but you’re younger than me!" Joyina pushed Yu’s hand away, puffing her cheeks in indignation.

Yu grinned sheepishly. "Fine, I’ll admit I’m a kid. But then cut me some slack, won’t you? If a kid says something wrong, what do they call it? Oh yeah—childish innocence!"

Yi Luowa’s lips twitched slightly as she passed Joyina a tissue to wipe her tears. "Yu already apologized; just forgive her."

Joyina grabbed the tissue from Yi Luowa and gave her nose a hard rub. "Yu, I’ll forgive you if you promise not to tell Mianmian about her mom not being around anymore."

"That I can absolutely manage."

Mianmian moved in with the family, and to their delight, Joyina matured quickly following Su Qing’s passing. Mianmian became her whole world. At night, Joyina accompanied Mianmian to bed; during the day, she played with her. Joyina took care of every detail of Mianmian’s life, making herself the very picture of a little mother in everyone’s eyes.

Four days after Su Qing’s incident, Mi Chenshuo returned, laden with exhaustion.

Seeing the skinnier Mi Chenshuo, Joyina felt a pang of heartache.

At night, Mi Chenshuo said nothing, lying silently on the bed, while Joyina embraced Mianmian and quietly sat at his bedside.

Mi Chenshuo turned his head to look at Joyina. "Why so quiet? You used to talk a lot."

Joyina pressed her lips together. "I couldn’t bear to disturb you."

Mianmian, having set down her Rubik’s Cube, stared intently at Mi Chenshuo. "Auntie said Uncle is tired, so we’ll just quietly keep him company."

Mi Chenshuo reached out to touch Mianmian’s little face. "Uncle’s not tired. Come on, get in bed with Auntie, and we three can have a proper chat as a family."

A family of three!

Joyina couldn’t hold back a smile as she carried Mianmian onto the bed.

Mianmian lay between the two of them, looking back and forth, before bursting into giggles. "This is so fun!"

Mi Chenshuo’s eyes reddened slightly as he pulled the big one and the little one into his arms.

With a hoarse voice, Mi Chenshuo asked, "Mianmian, did you have fun with Auntie?"

"Fun! Auntie treats me so well!" Mianmian turned over and embraced Joyina’s neck.

"Joyina, thank you for all your hard work these last few days!" Mi Chenshuo gently stroked her head.

"I wasn’t working hard; you’re the one who’s struggled. Take these days to rest."

Mi Chenshuo shook his head. "After so many days away, the company still has a pile of things to do."

"Uncle and Tong Aino are managing the company for you. Don’t worry about anything there."

Mi Chenshuo closed his weary eyes.

"Do you want to sleep? If so, I’ll take Mianmian to her room."

"Stay with me." Mi Chenshuo’s raspy voice sounded without opening his eyes.

"Alright, you rest. We won’t go."

Joyina gently patted Mianmian, whispering, "Uncle needs rest. Let’s go to sleep early too, alright?"

Mianmian tight-lippedly nodded.

Before long, Mianmian was fast asleep. Joyina adjusted the covers for her, leaned on her hand, and looked at Mi Chenshuo.

As if sensing something, Mi Chenshuo opened his eyes to look at her.

Joyina gave him a bitter smile. "Sleep. Maybe in your dreams, you’ll see Sister Su again. She left so abruptly; maybe there’s still something she wants to tell you."

Mi Chenshuo’s lips curved faintly upward. "I’ve just realized what a magnanimous girl you are."

"I have plenty of good qualities! You’ll gradually discover more." Joyina pursed her lips. "With Mianmian here, you probably won’t rest well. I should take her to her room?"

"Since you know I wouldn’t rest well, why did you insist on staying in my bed before? Didn’t you think I might end up with someone else if you didn’t stick around?"

Joyina put on a stern face and said, "You weren’t mine yet back then. If I didn’t stick around, who knows? You might’ve ended up belonging to someone else. Now you’re mine. If I don’t cherish you, who will?"

"True enough." Mi Chenshuo’s lips curled slightly as he glanced at the sleeping Mianmian. Softly, he asked, "If we move her a little, will she wake up?"

"What are you trying to do?" Joyina assumed Mi Chenshuo found Mianmian too close for comfort and pouted in displeasure.

"I just want to hold you. If you don’t come over, then never mind."

Joyina secretly smiled before gently lifting Mianmian and placing her pillow on the other side. Then she slid under the covers, resting her head on Mi Chenshuo’s arm. She tilted her gaze up and asked, "Every time it came to sleeping, you’d show me a bad attitude and wished I’d stay far away. What changed your mind today?"

"I’m still just a man..."

Mi Chenshuo’s words were mumbled so low, Joyina didn’t catch them. "What did you say?"

"Appreciate the people in your life. Don’t leave regrets." Mi Chenshuo hugged Joyina tightly and choked up. "That’s what Su Qing told me. Joyina, give me some time. I’ll adjust my state of mind soon. Once I’m ready, I’ll go with you back to Beidi. I need to show your parents, with actions, that they can trust me to take care of you."

"Mi Chenshuo, does adjusting your mind mean forgetting Sister Su? If that’s the case, I’d think of you as heartless. You don’t have to force yourself to forget her. I’m okay with both of us sharing your heart. I promise I won’t fight with Sister Su for space in it."

Mi Chenshuo tousled her hair. "I know you’re a good girl."

"Good girls need sleep." Joyina couldn’t bear to let him stay up any longer and smiled. "Let’s have a race. See who falls asleep first."

"Is this how you’ve been tricking Mianmian into sleeping these days?" Mi Chenshuo lowered his gaze at her.

"It’s not tricking; it’s fair competition. But Mianmian wins every time because I’ve been worrying about you and can’t sleep."

"I’m back now. Sleep soundly."

Joyina nodded and soon closed her eyes.

Listening to the breathing of the two small figures beside him, Mi Chenshuo still couldn’t fall asleep. His mind raced with thoughts that night.

Thoughts about Su Qing, whose absence left him determined to take care of Mianmian for her. Thoughts about Joyina, a kind-hearted girl he couldn’t bear to let down.

Joyina was right. Su Qing was his past, but his present and future belonged to Joyina.

Mi Chenshuo turned his head to look at Joyina. He asked himself when he had fallen for her—not love at first sight, but a love that grew over time. Her sunny smile lingered perpetually in his memories.

She laughed with him when he was happy and cheered him up when he was not. Gradually, not seeing her brought an unexplainable restlessness.

But she was still young.

On the day of her coming-of-age ceremony, she had defiantly announced she was going to pursue him. In that moment, he wanted to say yes, but the conditions presented by her family prompted him to leave in frustration.

In a strange twist of fate, he decided to visit Su Qing. Boarding the plane, he doubted his feelings for Joyina. But once he saw Su Qing, those doubts vanished—because, with Su Qing right in front of him, all he could think about was Joyina.

The vibration of his phone interrupted Mi Chenshuo’s thoughts. He looked down at the screen, then carefully slid his arm out from under Joyina’s neck and exited the room briskly.