Mi Cai’s originally joyful expression suddenly turned cold. She looked at me, and the atmosphere became increasingly tense in our mutual silence.

Finally, I broke the silence in embarrassment, “Why didn’t you call me when you got back?”

Mi Cai ignored my confusion and instead looked at Le Yao and asked me, “What’s wrong with her?”

Only then did I remember to put Le Yao down from my back. I forced a smile and said to Mi Cai, “She’s feeling a bit unwell!”

“Oh, then come in.”

Just as Le Yao and I entered the house, Mi Cai left with her handbag. This sudden action left me somewhat stunned.

Le Yao nudged me and said, “Aren’t you going to chase after her? Once she gets in the car, you won’t be able to catch up.”

“Oh… Oh!”

I snapped back to reality and immediately ran out of the house.

By the time I got downstairs, Mi Cai had just reached the ground floor, but she already had her car keys in hand.

Fortunately, I kept my cool. Instead of dragging her, I snatched the car keys from her hand and held them tightly. This way, she couldn’t leave.

As expected, she stopped and looked at me, her expression calm but somewhat cold.

I touched my nose and forced another smile, “You should have called me when you got back!”

“You didn’t even reply to my WeChat, why would I call?”

Only then did I remember the WeChat message from Mi Cai that I had temporarily ignored. Now it made sense why she had asked me, “Have you been lonely these days?”

If I had told her I was lonely, she would have probably given me a surprise. But my foolish self had completely changed the original script.

“Give me back my car keys.” Mi Cai’s tone was still cold.

I ignored her, quickly stuffed the car keys into the innermost pocket of my clothes, and zipped it up tightly. Unless she tore my clothes apart, she wouldn’t get the keys.

At that moment, I wished she would call me a “stinky rascal”, but she just frowned and walked towards the exit of the residential area.

The rain wasn’t heavy, but it was enough to drench us. I followed Mi Cai, tussling with her several times, until I finally dragged her under the eaves of a shop. I pressed my hands against the wall, trapping her in my arms.

“Zhao Yang, what the hell are you doing?”

“I just don’t want you to leave.”

“Where I go is my business. If you don’t let me go, I’ll call the police.”

“Is this trivial matter worth calling the police? Even if the police come, they’ll just treat it as a domestic dispute…”

Before I could finish, Mi Cai interrupted me, “I don’t want to hear your nonsense…”

I interrupted her, “You want to call the police, right? Go ahead… I’ll help you.”

I took out my phone from my pocket, dialed 110, and handed it to Mi Cai, “Go on, just press the call button, and the police will be here in no time to deal with me!”

Unexpectedly, Mi Cai took the phone from my hand and pressed the call button…

I quickly snatched the phone back from her and hung up, angrily saying, “What did I do to you that you want to send me to the police station?”

“You dialed the number, and you handed me the phone. Why are you getting angry at me now?”

“Can’t you see I was just bluffing? Or do you really think I’m lonely and want to spend New Year’s Eve with a bunch of police officers?”

“Do you ever feel lonely? You always have women around you… And you talk about being so lonely that you sleep under a bridge. Are you trying to play the victim? Gain sympathy?… Only a fool like me would believe your endless lies.”

Her words stung, and I finally understood that she had come back from America early to save me from my loneliness.

I finally explained to her in a low voice, “Can you stop being angry? Le Yao just came back tonight, and she got her period. She’s having some cramps, so I brought her back to the apartment…”

Mi Cai’s face turned even colder, “Really? I remember when I had my period and asked you to buy a pack… buy a pack of that, you didn’t want to… I find myself quite ridiculous, basing everything on my own assumptions!”

My mind suddenly went blank, unable to offer a second explanation. Mi Cai finally lost her patience, pushed me away, and ran towards the roadside to hail a taxi.

I snapped back to reality, chased after her, and once again grabbed her, not wanting her to leave like this.

The taxi driver saw our struggle, got out of the car, and scolded me, “Young man, this is a society ruled by law. You shouldn’t be treating a girl like this!”

“I warn you to mind your own business. Can’t you see we’re a couple?” I retorted, still holding onto Mi Cai.

The driver turned to Mi Cai for confirmation, “Miss, are you two a couple?”

I rudely interrupted, “Of course, we’re a perfect match. If we’re not a couple, then what are we?”

Mi Cai struggled and frowned, “Driver, don’t listen to his nonsense.”

The driver seemed to understand and took out his phone, “This is easy to solve, we can call the police…”

I interrupted him angrily, “If you dare to call the police, I’ll smash your car!”

“Heh, you little brat, try smashing my car… I have a terrible temper!”

I immediately let go of Mi Cai, picked up a brick from the roadside, and walked towards his car…

Mi Cai grabbed me and angrily said, “Zhao Yang, what the hell are you doing?”The driver, however, didn’t care at all and said to Mi Cai, “Miss, let him go. I’ve been driving a taxi for so many years, I’ve seen all sorts of tough guys. Today, I want to see just how arrogant this little brat is!”

I stopped in my tracks and said to Mi Cai, “Did you hear that? He called me a little brat. Let me go, I’m going to smash his damn car!”

But Mi Cai held me even tighter, her words reaching a point of unbearable frustration, “Stop acting crazy, okay?”

Suddenly, I threw away the brick in my hand, then pulled Mi Cai into my arms and said to the still glaring driver, “Brother, first of all, I have to acknowledge your fiery temper. Then, let me explain. After all, I am a well-educated young man, I definitely won’t really smash your car… I believe with your IQ of over 120, you must have understood by now. If she wasn’t my own wife, would she be persuading me like this? So, we’re just having a small family dispute. As the saying goes, ‘quarrels at the head of the bed and at the end of it.’ Could you please not interfere, okay?”

The driver looked at me and finally softened his tone, “That sounds reasonable.”

I quickly took out 50 yuan from my wallet and handed it to him, “Sorry for delaying your work, this is for the taxi fare. You can use it to buy cigarettes!”

The driver didn’t take it, waved his hand at me, and said, “Forget about the money. As the old saying goes, ‘Better to demolish ten temples than to destroy a marriage.’ I won’t interfere in this matter.”

“Brother, you taxi drivers are indeed the city’s business card of Suzhou, warm, generous, and understanding!” I quickly gave him a thumbs up in praise.

The driver patted my shoulder and we shared a laugh, burying the hatchet. Before leaving, he said to me, “Young man, your wife is so pretty, it’s normal for her to have a bit of a temper. Be more patient with her! Pamper her more, it’s obvious that she’s really worried about you!”

I turned to look at Mi Cai and said with a thick-skinned smile, “She’s my woman, how could she not be worried?”

The driver shook his head with a smile, then walked towards his car. He quickly drove off and disappeared from our sight, leaving only Mi Cai and me once again.