A Dish Best Served Cold (The Man In Rage)

The date of the Shen family's banquet was drawing nearer and nearer. Naturally, that made the Shens nervous.

"How's the preparation coming along at the hotel?" The moment Shen Jiu-Yi returned to the family's villa, he started questioning his son about the progress of the preparation for the upcoming banquet. Shen Fei replied right away. "Don't worry, dad. I have arranged everything according to your instructions. Yunjing Hotel has already closed their doors tonight. They will be putting everything they have into preparation for the banquet."

"Mm," Shen Jiu-Yi nodded. "Fei, this will be the only chance for us to mend the fence with Mr. Chu. So we must do a good job and make sure nothing goes wrong at the banquet."

"Otherwise, even Master Er will not be able to protect us."

"And, Fei, remember to give Mr. Chu a call. Remind him about the banquet. Mr. Chu is a busy man after all. So don't forget to call him."

Shen Fei nodded in agreement.

And at that moment, Ye Fan had already returned home.

It was already past the bedtime for the Qiu family so, to avoid disturbing his wife, Ye Fan decided to spend the night in the study.

Inside Qiu Mu-Cheng's bedroom, the curtain had been left slightly opened, and the bright moonlight found its way in. As Ye Fan walked past the doorway, he looked in and saw his wife lying on her bed in a white silk night gown. Her breathing was long and deep as she laid there like a sleeping beauty. And her exquisite face looked even more mesmerizing under the illumination of the moonlight.

When Ye Fan saw the sight before him, he sighed. "You silly girl. Why didn't you cover yourself with a blanket? Do you want to catch a cold?"

He scolded his wife softly and let out a helpless sigh. Then he lifted up the blanket and covered Qiu Mu-Cheng's body. When that was done, he sat down by the bed and stared at her for a long while. Finally, he stood up and left the room, without doing anything inappropriate to her.

Once the door had shut, Qiu Mu-Cheng opened her eyes unhurriedly. As she looked at the blanket covering her body, a mesmerizing smile slowly bloomed in the moonlight.

Perhaps, this was the reason why she had managed to resist the temptation at the auction.

For the past three years, Ye Fan had been enduring untold humiliations at her home. But Qiu Mu-Cheng could tell that Ye Fan's feeling toward her was sincere.

She had already lost count of the number of times Ye Fan had gotten up in the middle of the night to cover her with a blanket.

Sometimes, what bring happiness to others are the little gestures in everyday life. Not generous bids at an auction or plaudits at some banquet.

The next day, very early in the morning, Qiu Mu-Cheng received a call from her cousin, Qiu Mu-Ying. Apparently, Master Qiu wanted to see the former at the Qiu's family house.

"Mm?"

"Why does your grandfather want to see you at this time?"

"Don't tell me it's because he wants to punish you over the incident with the Shens?" Han Li was worried. During the phone call, Qiu Mu-Ying had sounded as if she was plotting something. "Mom, I am done. I will be leaving." Qiu Mu-Cheng did not reply to Han Li's question.

After a simple breakfast, she took her bag, put on her shoes and started to leave the house.

"I will go with you."

But Ye Fan suddenly offered to accompany

her.

"You useless piece of trash. What are you going to do there?"

"To embarrass our Mu-Cheng?"

Han Li was unhappy with Ye Fan's suggestiion and, without regard for his feelings, gave the latter a severe dressing down.

Qiu Lei did not want Ye Fan to go as well and, in a frosty tone, the former said, "I think you had better stay at home. If you go, you will only make matters worse and get Mu-Cheng into trouble."

Both Han Li and Qiu Lei were unhappy with their son-in-law. So their voices were filled with disgust and they did not even look once in Ye Fan's direction.

"There's no need," Qiu Mu-Cheng gave a brief reply and opened the door.

"Mu-Cheng-" Ye Fan went after her and grabbed her wrist. "I am worried. Let me go with you."

Ye Fan looked at Qiu Mu-Cheng and spoke in a heavy tone. Just then, there was an unspeakable firmness and gravitas in his eyes.

"Are you deaf? My daughter just said she didn't want you to go. Why are you still pestering her?" Han Li was angered by Ye Fan's persistence and responded with another scolding.

But unexpectedly, in the next moment, Qiu Mu-Cheng nodded her head and gave an affirmative grunt.

"Mu-Cheng, are you mad? Your grandfather dislikes him. So, if you bring him there, won't you be fanning the flames?"

"Mu-Cheng. Mu-Cheng~"

"You silly girl, you are pissing me off~"

Han Li kept on yelling, but Qiu Mu-Cheng simply ignored her mother and left the house with Ye Fan.

The Qiu's family house.

Master Qiu was seated quietly and the aroma of green tea was wafting gently from the cup in front of him.

It seemed like the old man was a thrifty person, because the cup of green tea in front of him was brewed from the tea leaves sent by Chu Wen-Fei's family. The tea leaves were shared among the Qius while the clock had been hung up on the wall.

At that moment, the other members of the Qiu family, including Qiu Mu-Ying and her husband, were standing around him.

"Grandfather, you are still recovering, so I bought you some fruits. They are good for you. Remember to eat them." Qiu Mu-Cheng greeted her grandfather cordially when she saw him.

But Qiu Mu-Ying snorted and said, "Qiu Mu-Cheng, stop putting on an act of filial piety."

"If you really cared about grandfather, you would have given him the good stuff, instead of these rotten fruit."

"Mm? What do you mean?" Qiu Mu-Cheng frowned. She had no idea what her cousin was talking about.

"What am I talking about?" Qiu Mu-Ying laughed, her eyes full of ridicule. "Mu-Cheng, you are such a good actress. Grandfather is right in front of you and, what, you still want to keep all the good stuff to yourself?"

"I don't understand what you are talking about."

"Oh? Then let me remind you. Last night, were you at Shanshui Hall?"

"How did you find out?" Qiu Mu-Cheng was dumbfounded.

The smile on Qiu Mu-Ying's face grew wider. "Heh, a tycoon admired the third daughter of the Qiu family and spent millions on gifts for her. This story has already spread throughout high society in Yunzhou. Who hasn't heard about this?"

"What? Have you forgotten all about it after whoring around for one night?"

"Oh, sorry. You were just showing off, not whoring around."

"Haha-"

Qiu Mu-Ying put on a show of being apologetic, but her words were full of ridicule. Finally, she smiled and turned to look at Ye Fan. "But I really feel sorry for some useless trash. His wife is about to run away with another man, but he's still clueless?"

"Qiu Mu-Ying, you are going too far!"

Qiu Mu-Cheng's expression turned cold immediately, and her tone was full of suppressed anger. Because the atmosphere had turned rather tense, Master Qiu finally decided to speak up. "That's enough. Both of you stop fighting."

"Mu-Cheng, let me ask you. What Ying-Ying just said. Is it true?"

Qiu Mu-Cheng nodded and replied, "Grandfather, I did attend the auction. But I swear, I did not do anything to shame our family. Nor did I do anything inappropriate with that Mr. Chu."

Qiu Mu-Ying snorted and said, "You can say whatever you want. Even if you really did have a relationship with him, we wouldn't know."

"But Mu-Cheng, since you have admitted to it, you should hand over the things now."

Qiu Mu-Cheng frowned again and asked, "What things?"

"What things you say? I am talking about the gifts you received from the tycoon. My Wen-Fei has heard about it from his friend. Those things are worth several millions. What? Are you going to keep everything to yourself?" Qiu Mu-Ying smiled coldly at her cousin.

"I did not accept the gifts," Qiu Mu-Cheng replied promptly.

"I freaking don't believe you!"

"They are worth several millions. What kind of idiot would reject them? And you are telling me you turned them away?"

"Qiu Mu-Cheng, are you listening to yourself?"

Qiu Mu-Ying used sarcasm to mock her cousin and then continued, "Qiu Mu-Cheng, grandfather is watching. If you still refuse to confess, don't blame me for not helping you when he punishes you later." "You" Qiu Mu-Cheng's face had already turned green from anger, and her eyes were bloodshot.

"You are being presumptuous!" Just then, the hitherto silent Ye Fan suddenly yelled angrily at Qiu Mu-Ying. "The Qiu family prides itself on being upright. And grandfather has always stressed that one must be respectful toward one's elders. But even though you are younger than Mu-Cheng, you keep on treating her with rudeness. Let me ask you. Do you still respect your grandfather and the traditions of the Qiu family?"

"I-You-"

Ye Fan sudden scolding had frightened Qiu Mu-Ying, and her face turned red because she did not know how to respond. After all, Ye Fan had invoked the traditions of the Qiu family and the teachings of her grandfather. It was only natural for her to be rendered speechless.

"Also, Mu-Cheng did not accept the gifts. But even if she did, the gifts were given to her by someone else. They have nothing to do with you, right?" "What right do you all have, to ask her for the gifts?"

Ye Fan's tone was sinister, and infused with his fury. As he spoke, he stared angrily at the Qius.

Qiu Mu-Ying was so frightened by his overpowering presence that her face turned white as sheet and she involuntarily took a few steps back.

"Shit, how dare a live-in son-in-law like you throw your weight around here?" Chu Wen-Fei was enraged when he saw the trash of the Qiu family yell at his wife. So he stepped forward and faced Ye Fan with a cold smile on his face.

"Everybody in Yunzhou knows that Qiu Mu-Cheng is the third daughter of the Qiu family. It's obvious that the tycoon only gave her those gifts because he wanted to get close to the Qiu family."

"Qiu Mu-Cheng received those gifts due to her position as a member of the Qiu family. She profited off us. So we do have the right to demand those gifts from her!"