"Ahaha.." Jingwei laughed awkwardly, but there was no joy in it. He tried to not make his disappointment obvious, but his smile refused to form.
"It's alright! I'm fine with staying behind. Or maybe I'll just send you off to your parent's home and come back after." He said, trying to convince himself that he was fine with his proposed course of action.
He would love nothing more than to tag along and introduce himself to Xue Ning's family as her boyfriend, but he had a feeling that he wouldn't be welcome - and if he tagged along, he might put Xue Ning in an uncomfortable position instead!
Logically, he knew that staying behind was the right decision to take. But that didn't mean that it didn't hurt.
"Sorry," Xue Ning apologised quietly, turning over to look at him. She reached out to hold his hand and squeeze. "If it's worth anything… I want you to accompany me. But I'm afraid things might be awkward for you."
"How so?"
"Well… no one knows we're really together." Xue Ning said, chewing her lip slowly. "And my parents think your father hired the thugs to trash their restaurant. I'm planning to tell them the truth when I go there in person though!"
"That's… fine." Jingwei said, considering. "It'll probably be safer to do it in person now that we know what Shang Jing can do."
Then he beamed at Xue Ning's words. "So you do admit it? Are we really together now? Dating? Married?"
"Is that what you're focused on?" Xue Ning grumbled, trying to repress her smile. "Yeah, then… we are. We are." She said firmly, to convince herself. "You are my boyfriend who happens to be my fake husband and… sometimes boss?"
"I can work with that." Jingwei leaned down and pecked her on the lips, wrapping his arms around her to snuggle her. Xue Ning was still clad in his bathrobe, making her look like an especially adorable burrito.
His especially adorable burrito! They were now official!
Unfortunately, Xue Ning still had a furrow between her brows.
"But that only solves one issue. The main issue is that if they find out I'm working as your bodyguard, they'll dislike you. But if they find out we are together, they'll hate you! They already hate your father!"
Understatement of the year. Her family still assumed they had a friendly business relationship - that was why they hadn't flown over and dragged her home. They were expecting three houses out of it!
Once they found out about the video of her being dressed up as his fiancee, she was probably going to be put under house arrest and cooked alive - and if he came with her, he'd be in the cooking pot too!
And if they found out about them actually dating and sleeping together… oh god. She didn't want to think about the madness that would ensue. Since she was her parent's daughter, they wouldn't end her. But Jingwei had no such protection!
Xue Ning felt the mattress shift as Jingwei rolled over next to her, and his finger came to flick her forehead.
"Ouch! What was that for!"
"For worrying about stupid things." Jingwei said fondly. Xue Ning retaliated immediately by jabbing her fingers into his sides, causing him to jump.
"What stupid things?" Xue Ning asked indignantly. "Those are valid concerns! If you come with me, you're going to leave my house in pieces! Why would you put yourself through it?"
"That doesn't matter though. If you want me there with you, I'll be there." Jingwei said confidently.
"And if you're worried about our dating news, how about we just… not let them know we are together?"
"Huh?" Xue Ning asked, puzzled. Jingwei elaborated, sounding more animated now that he had a plan.
"We can simply pretend to be good friends - wait, we are actually friends too, so that wouldn't be too hard! I'll just say that I'm here to investigate the misunderstanding and provide financial compensation if necessary."
Jingwei was sure that even if they didn't like him, they would still like the huge sums of money that came with him! "Also this technically involves my father's reputation, so I should be there. If there's any issue, you can just blame it on me. It's not as though I've never been wronged before."
"Good point," Xue Ning said, yet her frown remained. "But I don't want them to blame you for everything, especially when they don't even know you? That's not fair to you."
"Life isn't fair," Jingwei shrugged as he tucked her hair behind her ear. "I've gotten used to it, so don't worry about me."
Besides, his life's unfairness led him to meet Xue Ning. In the grand scheme of things, he lucked out!
Xue Ning sighed. "In that case, you'd better go and pack your things too. Oh, and we'll have to tell Ming Guang and Wei Yan to come along also."
"Must we bring them along?" Jingwei protested. He wanted to visit Xue Ning's family alone. "Ming Guang and Wei Yan just finished unpacking today! Now they have to repack again."
"Of course we are bringing them along!" Xue Ning replied indignantly. "You just heard that my family's restaurant was attacked by thugs, and you want to come along without extra bodyguards? In fact, you should just stay home - I'll go back alone. It's safer for you to stay here."
"Definitely not. You said it - there are thugs there! What if they decide to return? How can I let you go off alone?" Jingwei asked with a worried frown.
"So you'll make arrangements for all of us?"
Jingwei made a hum of agreement, but they both remained on the bed, staring at each other. Xue Ning was too tired to move, while Jingwei just wanted to stare at her some more.
"Well?" Xue Ning prodded his cheek with her finger when Jingwei continued to stare at her. "Are you going to do it?"
"Yes dear," Jingwei said obediently, reluctantly getting up to make a few precious calls.
The things he did for love!
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