Chapter 326: Chapter 0326: Regret, Deep Regret Chapter 326: Chapter 0326: Regret, Deep Regret “I need to go on a business trip in a couple of days.”

Huo Tingxiao paused mid-action and looked up at her.

“Where to?”

“Hangcheng. I need to check some details of the OEM factory, and there are some parts I’m still not comfortable delegating to my subordinates, so…”

Hangcheng was close to Sea City, and Huo Tingxiao felt somewhat relieved.

“It’s good as long as Yun Xi is with you.”

Mu Lan knew he would be worried, especially since the incident in Paris, Huo Tingxiao had wished he could keep her by his side every minute of the day.

“Mhm.”

“How many days?”

“About three or four days.”

“That long?”

Huo Tingxiao blurted out, but as soon as he finished speaking, Mu Lan’s meaningful glance made him feel somewhat guilty. He used to go on business trips without checking in, sometimes even for half a month.

Now Mu Lan was only leaving for three or four days and had taken the initiative to tell him, yet his reaction was so strong, it was indeed… not quite fair.

“I don’t mean anything by it; I just…”

“I didn’t say anything. Are you feeling guilty?”

Mu Lan felt that Huo Tingxiao had become rather clingy lately. Neither of them had much experience in love, and it was after many years of marriage that they had finally confirmed their feelings for each other, but the way they interacted had also changed. For a moment, she couldn’t believe Huo Tingxiao could change like this.

However, it wasn’t too bad. She didn’t oppose or dislike this side of Huo Tingxiao.

“Focus on your business trip, but make time to video call me every day, or I’ll miss you.”

Huo Tingxiao held her, speaking as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Mu Lan was almost amused by him.

“Are you sure you have the time? Don’t you have a lot of work to do?”

“How could I not have time? From now on, if it concerns you, I’ll always make time.”

Huo Tingxiao’s tone was very firm, as if he was about to make a formal vow.

“Yeah, yeah, okay, I believe what you say. Are we done now?”

“Three or four days… Compensate me first.”

Before Mu Lan could react, she was already pulled over to start making amends…

—–
Tang Xin followed Mu Lan to Hangcheng, with Yun Xi always by their side. In the factory, Mu Lan took charge herself, inspecting the reserved fabrics and personally overseeing the sampling.

It took four samples before Mu Lan was satisfied, and after estimating the numbers based on the reserved amount, she finalized the order quantity.

Running around the factory all day, Mu Lan was so tired her feet were swollen.

Seeing the way she walked was unusual, Yun Xi placed a cushion under Mu Lan’s feet as she collapsed onto the sofa once they reached the hotel.

“This will help with the swelling.”

Mu Lan looked at Yun Xi with gratitude.

“Yun Xi, you’re truly an angel.”

Yun Xi said nothing, silently getting up to run a bath for Mu Lan.

“Take a bath before you go to sleep.”

Mu Lan nodded and took out her phone to call Tingxiao. He picked up almost instantly.

“All done with work?”

Looking at Tingxiao in the video, Mu Lan hardly had any energy to talk.

“Yeah, I placed a few orders today and communicated with the factory supervisors.

Every single step has to be confirmed. I need to remind them over and over and make sure the contract details are set in stone.”

Mu Lan mumbled on and on.

Tingxiao was working on his computer while talking to Mu Lan.

He was on his third cup of coffee. On the first day, Mu Lan was gone, Tingxiao had already slipped into his workaholic mode. Of course, he wouldn’t dare let Mu Lan know he had three cups of coffee; otherwise, she would scold him into tomorrow.

“You’ve worked hard. I’ll reward you when you come back.”

The words “rewarding you” sounded ambiguously suggestive, and Mu Lan gave him an annoyed look.

“Who cares about your compensation? When I’m not here these few days, take good care of yourself. Don’t lose yourself, and pay attention to your stomach. You should know what you can eat and what you can’t eat.

Especially coffee, you’re not allowed to drink it!”

As soon as Huo Tingxiao heard the word “coffee,” he felt guilty and subconsciously glanced at the area next to his computer.

It was just a minor detail, but Mu Lan saw it clearly.

“What are you looking at now?”

Huo Tingxiao explained subconsciously:
“I’m not looking at anything, there’s nothing.”

Mu Lan felt he was acting strangely, and insisted:
“Turn your phone around, I want to see what’s next to the computer.”

When Huo Tingxiao heard that he was about to give himself away, he tried to pretend the signal was bad to muddle through.

“What did you say? Wife, the signal isn’t very good here.”

She hadn’t been sure if something was going on, but his obviously evasive behavior made it clear there was an issue.

“Huo Tingxiao, I’m not joking with you, I want to see it now, this instant!”

Huo Tingxiao dared not refuse, and could only obediently show Mu Lan.

When the coffee cup was revealed, Mu Lan immediately became as agitated as if she had been injected with adrenaline.

“Huo Tingxiao, have you gone mad? You still dare to drink coffee? I’ve only been gone for a day, and you start causing trouble the day you’re out of my sight?”

Huo Tingxiao looked pitifully at the furious woman.

“I forgot for a moment, wife, I was wrong. Give me another chance, I’ll pour the coffee out right now.”

Mu Lan’s eyes reddened with anger.

“Huo Tingxiao, what’s wrong with you? Didn’t you promise to take good care of yourself?

I was scared to death during those days you were in the hospital, and now you still dare to drink coffee? Do you not care about your stomach anymore?”

The more Mu Lan spoke, the more urgent she became, her voice choking up at times.

She was genuinely worried about Huo Tingxiao, but she had not expected him to not care about his own health at all. The doctor had warned him time and time again not to drink coffee, yet here he was in his recovery period, daring to do this, and even lying to her behind her back?!

“Huo Tingxiao, you really are bold, lying to me, aren’t you?”

Huo Tingxiao could tell that Mu Lan was truly worried and genuinely angry, so he immediately softened and admitted his mistake.

“Wife, I truly realize my mistake. I haven’t even touched this cup of coffee yet, and I’ve been caught, so consider it an attempted ‘crime’.”

Mu Lan was almost amused by her anger, how could he come up with such an idea–attempted ‘crime’?

“So what are you suggesting, that you’re asking for leniency?”

Huo Tingxiao nodded his head.

“Yes, leniency for coming clean.”

“You were caught red-handed, so what do you mean by ‘leniency for coming clean’?”

“Alright, alright, you caught me, but it still counts as an attempt, right?”

Mu Lan pursed her lips.

“That’s just twisting the truth.”

“Aren’t you very tired today? Stop being angry with me, okay? Otherwise, you can punish me, just don’t be angry. Being angry is bad for your health.”

Huo Tingxiao’s attitude was extremely compliant, making Mu Lan feel that if she continued to be unrelenting, she would seem petty.

But if she didn’t teach this man a lesson, who knows what he might do next time.

“Fine, you said it yourself, you’re not allowed to touch me for a month. Do you accept this punishment?”

A month? Huo Tingxiao was taken aback and blurted out:
“You must be after my life, wife. This punishment is too harsh, it’s not acceptable.”

Mu Lan knew he would not so readily agree and snorted coldly.

“Take it or leave it, either way, it’s set for a month.”

With that, she hung up the video call, leaving Huo Tingxiao full of regret. Looking at that cup of coffee, it seemed more suffocating than ever.