At this, Wei Yan and Ming Guang startled in surprise. This civilian woman could tell they were bodyguards without being told?
Perhaps she heard Miss Li talking to her son when she introduced them. That was a more likely explanation for things - they've taken special care to seem like normal visitors, especially because this was a small sleepy town, and they didn't want to attract more undue attention than necessary.
"That's highly unnecessary - " Ming Guang began, ready to protest.
"Mom, how can you leave people outside?" Xue Ning asked, also not liking her mother's idea.
"Just for a while, they'll live." Her mother replied peacefully. "I'll invite them back in later when I'm done. What do you think, Jingwei?"
Jingwei thought for a brief moment, and agreed. "Sure thing! That's fine with me."
"Mr Sun, you cannot be serious!" Ming Guang despaired. Wei Yan also looked shocked.
"It'll be fine!" Jingwei smiled reassuringly, waving off their objections. "I'm sure Xue Ning's mom isn't going to hack me to pieces. I'm a guest, right Auntie?"
"Exactly," Yue Niang said, beaming as she waved him in. "The both of you can look after his luggage outside - something so gaudy is bound to attract negative attention from our neighbours. Or robbers."
Ah. Xue Ning's mom clearly wasn't expecting him to stay in her house! Not that Jingwei could blame her - she hadn't met him before today, and their house honestly seemed a little too small to accommodate three grown men.
Meanwhile Xue Ning muttered grumpily, understanding her mother's hidden meaning. She was going to toss the three of them outside as soon as possible. "You say like our neighbours aren't robbers and thieves. I'd rather have the three of them as our neighbours."
Her mom snorted and stared at her shrewdly, "That's actually high praise, since you hate having neighbours to begin with. I wonder…"
"What?" Xue Ning asked, beginning to feel unnerved by her mother's words. Did she know? Did she suspect something? "What did I say?"
"Nothing my daughter," Her mother said as she waved her and Jingwei in. "Now let me get you some drinks, and Jingwei can let me know what he wants to say."
They walked into the house together, and Yue Niang closed the door, leaving the two guards outside. Tai Xuan was already waiting in the living room, tapping his foot irritably on the floor. He scowled when he saw Jingwei also entering the house along with his mother and sister.
"Mom, you let him in the house?" He asked, looking at Jingwei as though he was dog poo stuck at the bottom of his shoe. Jingwei raised a challenging eyebrow, but decided to for once, be the bigger person and let things go.
Also, Xue Ning was giving him a warning look to play nice, so of course he obeyed.
Besides, it wasn't as though he needed to defend himself against Xue Ning's brother out of all people. Xue Ning had got it covered.
"She lets you stay in the house, so why not him? At least he bathes on time!" Xue Ning argued as she marched over and stomped on his feet, causing him to squeal.
"How do you know that he bathes on time?" Tai Xuan retorted as horror entered his eyes. "Don't tell me you and him - "
"Like hell!" Xue Ning declared, pretending to shudder, even as her brother's suspicions were accurate. "He just smells a lot better than you!"
"So you've smelt him - why are you even smelling him - " Tai Xuan's face grew increasingly redder and he grabbed his sister, putting her in a headlock. Xue Ning shrieked and retaliated by tugging his hair. They spun around like expert wrestlers, and Jingwei was torn between ducking out of the way, or moving closer to get a better view at the spectacle.
He and Tianwei had stopped roughhousing when his mother died, and no one else in his social circle would dare behave like this in polite company. Not to mention, especially with a female sibling!
"Children behave!" Yue Niang ordered her children, expertly weaving through their carnage with the practice of a veteran and whacking them both on their heads. Clearly this was a regular enough occurrence! "Honestly, why are both of you still behaving like toddlers? It's been twenty years!"
"He started it!" "She started it!" Both siblings said at the same time, pointing at each other.
"Keep it down, your father is sleeping." She scolded. "I'll get all of us some drinks, and we will talk like civilised adults, am I clear?"
Her last few words were pointedly directed to her children. Sun Jingwei had a terrible reputation, but so far he had been nothing but polite, if not shocked at her children's immature behaviour.
"Yes," they grumbled, finally letting each other go to sit on the small couch. Jingwei was going to sit next to Xue Ning, but Tai Xuan immediately shoved him aside so he could sit next to his sister, leaving Jingwei with no place to sit but on the cushion placed on the floor.
Their house didn't even have a sofa that fit four people! Jingwei was shocked at that realisation. Didn't they have four people living in this house - so did they have to take turns sitting? How sad. He made a mental note to ask Xue Ning later if she wanted to give her parents a bigger sofa.
Meanwhile, Xue Ning gave her brother a dirty look. Jingwei was a guest!
"Oi, why are you sitting on the sofa? Let Jingwei sit instead - he's the guest!" She hissed at him, elbowing his side.
"Why can't I sit on the sofa? I paid for it, and I live here!" Tai Xuan retorted. "My legs are tired so I'm not moving."
"You - fine, I'll move instead - " Xue Ning complained, ready to get down, but Jingwei shook his head.
"No need no need, don't argue on my account!" Jingwei quickly interrupted, sensing another argument brewing between the siblings. "I'm fine with sitting on the floor, the cushion is very soft."
"See, he's fine with it, why aren't you?" Tai Xuan asked. "Do you like him or something? Is that why you feel sad that his handsome, nice-smelling self is sitting on the floor?"
Visit freewe𝑏(n)ovel.𝘤ℴ𝑚 for the best novel reading experience