CHAPTER 154: CHAPTER 154; DID WE HAVE A FIGHT?

A carved desk stood neatly in one corner of the sitting area, papers stacked with meticulous precision. Behind it sat Lord Jin, his posture straight, the faint light from the oil lamp throwing hard lines across his face.

He did not look up immediately. The muted voices from the virtual meeting still murmured faintly from the open laptop at the corner of the desk, charts and faces frozen in mid-discussion. Only when the sound of their footsteps crossed the threshold did he pause, his gaze sliding upward, first toward Fang Lin with the tray, then toward Yueyao who followed, composed and unflinching.

"Set it down," Yueyao said softly.

Fang Lin swallowed and obeyed, placing the tray on the edge of his desk. The porcelain cups clinked faintly as she adjusted them, her palms damp with nervousness.

Lord Jin’s eyes fell to the golden liquid in the cups, the citrus fragrance faint but unmistakable. His brows twitched, the barest flicker of recognition, and distaste.

"...Orange juice?" His voice was even, clipped, though it carried the weight of disbelief.

The guards at the doorway glanced at one another, their expressions frozen. Fang Lin’s head ducked lower, her pulse hammering.

But Yueyao stepped closer, her voice steady, calm, carrying the quiet authority of someone no longer content with shadows.

"Yes," she said. "And I made it myself." The words seemed to strike a pause in the air.

Lord Jin finally leaned back slightly, eyes narrowing as he studied her face, "Yueyao, I don’t like orange juice and you should leave all that work for the servants, you don’t need to tire yourself..."

"Servants... Servants.... Are they any better than me?" She roughly slapped one of the glasses containing juice down to the floor.

The glass shattered against the polished floor, the bright juice spilling like sunlight across the dark rug. Fang Lin flinched, stepping back, her breath caught in her throat. The guards stiffened but dared not move.

Only Jin Shuren remained utterly calm. His gaze did not flicker to the broken shards, nor to the spreading stain. Instead, his eyes stayed on Yueyao, sharp, unwavering, and impossibly tender beneath the steel.

Slowly, he rose from behind the desk. Each movement deliberate, unhurried, a man who feared nothing except pushing her further away from him after all the waiting.

"Yueyao..." His voice dropped low, rich, coaxing, like the brush of silk over raw skin. "No one is better than you. No one... Don’t compare yourself to anyone, nobody is worth more than you."

She stood rigid, her chest rising and falling sharply, defiance carved into every line of her face, "Then why, why do you treat me like I should sit pretty, while servants move around you in those seductive uniforms, while I...." Her voice cracked, brittle as the glass at her feet.

In two steps, he closed the distance, his hand lifting but stopping just shy of her cheek, as though he feared she might recoil, "Because I don’t want your hands to spoil touching water and other things, these pretty hands are meant to massage me..."

Her eyes widened, the fury that was burning in her heart wavering. His gaze softened, though his tone carried that quiet command that made even silence obey.

"Yueyao, don’t mistake my care for chains. I would rather bleed a thousand times than see you tired for my sake." His lips curved, faint and bitter, as he bent slightly closer. "Even if you bring me poison in a cup, I would drink it if it were from your hand. That’s how much you mean to me."

The words landed heavily, be it with the guards, servants, or the board members. Fang Lin’s eyes brimmed with shock, her mouth parting soundlessly.

She didn’t know who among the two was crazy.

Yueyao’s breath hitched, but her pride refused to falter. She looked away, but not before he caught the tremor in her lashes.

Jin Shuren let his hand finally rest, feather-light, against her cheek. His thumb brushed away an unfallen tear, patient, doting, coaxing her back to him with a tenderness that disarmed more than force ever could.

"Come, Yueyao," he murmured, voice warm with unshakable devotion. "Don’t waste your fire on proving yourself lesser when you have always been greater than everyone in this house, including me."

"Really?" She turned around and gazed at him.

"Yeah! Really!" Apart from assuring her, he didn’t seem to have any options at this point. She seemed to be unreasonable and full of insecurities.

"Jin Zhou, find the housekeeper and tell him to find male workers and let the maids’ uniforms change, make them bigger and floor length." He coldly instructed Jin Zhou and everyone was left speechless. This didn’t seem like it would solve the current problem they have right?

He had left the meeting going on and was coaxing a woman they don’t understand where she sprout from, and how could such a cold man turn gentle.

"Jin Shuren! You are lying to me! Look at the walls, there isn’t any picture or portrait of our family! How can I be important when we don’t have even one picture together? Look here, I don’t even have a wedding or engagement ring! Shuren, do you hate me that much?" Her voice cracked as her eyes immediately teared up.

"Why should I lie to you, my dear? Remember, you are the one who didn’t want to take any family pictures or have a wedding ring. This isn’t my fault, my dear." He could only forge some memories that didn’t exist since she couldn’t remember them.

"I did? Did we have a fight? But we have such an old kid, we haven’t divorced, right?" She tried thinking but only weird fragments echoed in her mind.

"What if I say, I stole you from another man and brought you to my home, from your husband Shen Xiao, we haven’t even gotten married but we were planning to after you divorce him!" Jin Shuren felt like there was a need to see if she could recall her memories, but she hurriedly slapped him.