by Catofdreams
"Sure! No problem.", Lang Jie nodded in response. Mao Cheng gave him a smile and opened the door, which revealed a stairway going downwards.
"Is this the basement you were talking about?", Lang Jie asked Mao Cheng, who silently nodded as if to tell him yes.
"Please, do have a look.", Mao Cheng bowed and gestured for the couple to enter. At that moment, Xue Yan felt that Mao Cheng was like Jane's butler, which then gave her a new idea on how she should use the organization she had created.
Lang Jie led the way and dragged Xue Yan by the hand. The hallway was dark. The only light sources were small dim lights that were beside each staircase.
As they arrived at the end of the stairway, Lang Jie noticed that the walls were now made of a different material. The walls around the stairway going down was made out of what seemed to be marble, but at the end of the stairway, the walls seemed to be made out of leather.
Mao Cheng followed the two closely behind them. He couldn't help but smile as he knew that victory was already assured. He didn't bother suppressing it since the two weren't looking at him anyway.
A wooden door stood in front of them. Lang Jie touched the handle and felt that it was cold as if the other side of the room had some kind of air conditioning in it.
He slowly twisted the knob and pushed the door open. Revealing a room that is fully covered in leather.
"What the…", Lang Jie couldn't hide his surprise as he took a step in the new room. Xue Yan followed him and immediately understood why Mao Cheng was so confident.
In the corners of the room, four large speakers were hanging from the ceiling. The light source was bright enough to cover the room, but it was also dark enough that it felt incredibly soothing to the eyes.
In the middle, a small table was surrounded by multiple large sofas, which looked incredibly comfortable, as if they were made with top-class material.
All of the sofas were facing towards one wall, which was also where the speakers seemed to be connected to.
On the wall, a large 72-inch television with extremely thin bezels was hanged on the wall. On the corner of the television was a sticker that almost all fans that appreciated visual quality appreciated.
"4K display…", Lang Jie read the contents of the sticker out loud. The television was on as well, revealing a movie streaming service that seemed to already have an account logged in.
Lang Jie couldn't contain his excitement as he looked around the room again and again. Xue Yan knew that this time, it was Mao Cheng's victory since this was something that her husband loved to do in his pastime, and now he could do it with the best possible equipment available.
Mao Cheng smiled as he watched Lang Jie happily check everything out in the room. The logs that he checked from their internet service provider showed that a vast number of websites that Lang Jie visited were about movies, so he had to use that to his advantage.
Mao Cheng looked around and was extremely pleased with the room's attention to detail. The angle at which the speakers were inclined was the perfect amount for the sound to be transmitted well. The television was also tilted at the perfect angle for the perfect viewing experience. The details of this room were incredibly precise so that it could deliver the perfect movie-watching time for the Lang Jie Fanclub's real boss.
He couldn't help but wear an extremely proud expression as he exclaimed:
"Welcome to your very own movie room!"
CHAPTER 23 – “DOES THE HOUSEWIFE HAVE ANY PAST LOVERS?”
One peaceful afternoon, in the office where Lang Jie works, a sad-looking Yang Wei sat beside him.
Lang Jie didn't notice him as he was fully absorbed in reading the documents he had received earlier in the morning. Yang Wei hoped to get his attention since he wanted to ask him something, but Lang Jie didn't even spare a glance.
Yang Wei felt desperate, but he didn't want to let it show, so he let out a sigh, which finally made Lang Jie notice him.
"Oh? Since when were you here?", Lang Jie asked the distraught man beside him, who immediately felt a little bit of happiness surge within him as he heard his friend start talking to him.
"I just got here…", Yang Wei let out another sigh in order to show Lang Jie that he was feeling down, hoping that he would take the bait.
"What's wrong?", Lang Jie asked him.
Yang Wei felt happy as he had succeeded in his mission. He needed to ask advice from Lang Jie, but since he was his senior, he couldn't just ask him outright. He had to respect the hierarchy.
"Well… it's about Jane…", Yang Wei started to build up towards the problem.
Lang Jie couldn't help but shake his head as he heard Yang Wei talk. He was still traumatized by the experience he had back on the plane, so he really didn't want to hear about their relationship, but he had already fallen into Yang Wei's trap. All he could do now was listen.
"You see since Jane is a beautiful and successful woman, it's not a surprise that she's had a few lovers before, right?", Yang Wei asked Lang Jie, who actually felt relieved that Yang Wei wasn't just going to brag about them being all lovey-dovey.
"Well, of course! I think it's normal for her to have experienced plenty of relationships since she does look quite beautiful. What's wrong with it?", Lang Jie responded. Yang Wei let out another sigh as he listened to Lang Jie talk while reading his documents.
"I feel a bit insecure thinking about them… I found out who they were and saw that they were actually pretty impressive people. One of her exes is even a massive celebrity…", Yang Wei leaned in closer to tell him the ex's identity.
"… his name is Ma Bao. He's a big star in the movie industry. His alias is Mister M.", Yang Wei continued.
Lang Jie couldn't help but let out a humph as he heard about Mister M. He couldn't forget about the time when the man actually tried to hit on his wife. Thankfully, Xue Yan saved the day and they stopped him before anything happened.
"That man… although I love his acting… he's a bit of a weirdo.", Lang Jie told Yang Wei.
"Oh? Have you met him before? How?", Yang Wei asked. Mister M was such a big celebrity so he knew that meeting him would be incredibly hard to do.
"It's a long story…", Lang Jie shook his head as he didn't want to recount the happening. It would also be hard to make Yang Wei believe that he and Xue Yan beat Mister M and a gorilla in a match of beach volleyball.
"Just continue with what you wanted to say.", Lang Jie urged Yang Wei to go on. Although Yang Wei wanted to pry into what happened between Lang Jie and Mister M, he saw that Lang Jie didn't want to talk about it, so he let the matter go.
"Well… it's just that I'm feeling a bit… you know… inferior to the others.", Yang Wei let out the pain that resided in his heart. Although he had a lot of peers, he couldn't easily talk to anyone about this. It was only with Lang Jie that he felt comfortable enough to open up. Lang Jie was also a married man, so Yang Wei thought that he must have some experience in dealing with these kinds of problems.
Lang Jie knew exactly how he felt since he had been through it just recently back at the Purple Lotus Hotel. Although it really wasn't the case, he felt incredibly inferior to the men around him after one guy called him out in front of Xue Yan. Thankfully, everything was just a misunderstanding.
"Don't worry. You should know best how Jane acts since you guys are together. The best thing you can do is to talk to her about it.", Lang Jie voiced out his opinion. Although he despised the amount of cheesiness and sappiness that the Jane-Yang Wei couple brought, he wanted to support his dear friend on his ventures.
Yang Wei thought about what he said and thought that Lang Jie was right. Although she had a lot of amazing exes, she already told him that they were the ones that chased her. Jane told him that he was the first guy she met that she actually wanted to pursue herself, which made Yang Wei feel really happy. I don't think he would still be happy about it if he heard that most of the work was done by Xue Yan's powers though…
"You're right…", Y
ang Wei smiled as he felt grateful for Lang Jie.
"Ah, but I feel really bad about not being her first lover though…", Yang Wei let out another problem, but he knew that it was just something to rant about. He really didn't feel like it was a problem. It was just something that he wanted to be.
Lang Jie laughed as he heard Yang Wei's next complaint.
"There are just some things that you can't change. Learn to accept it and move on, my friend.", Lang Jie responded.
"I know, I know…", Yang Wei nodded as he couldn't help but let out a giggle. He found it to be funny that he was brooding over such matters even though Jane was trying her best to show her affection for him whenever they were together. The problems that the mind creates really are illusions that are difficult to deal with.
"How about you? How'd you deal with the feeling after knowing about Xue Yan's exes?", Yang Wei asked him.
As Lang Jie heard Yang Wei's question, he was immediately hit with a realization.
Lang Jie never pried into Xue Yan's past life. Even though they were married, he didn't know anything about her past. He even just learned about her being a cultivator, which was quite a big part of her character.
Suddenly, Lang Jie started to feel some kind of weight pulling down on his heart. He then realized that this was the feeling that Yang Wei had earlier when he was talking about Jane.
'How many lovers did Xue Yan have before me? And… if she's a cultivator…'
Lang Jie once again had another realization. He knew Xue Yan's name and what she is, but he never knew where she was from, and more importantly…
'… how old is she?'
Beads of sweat started to fall down from Lang Jie's forehead as he was deep in thought. Since Xue Yan was a cultivator, and an extremely powerful one even, she must've lived for quite a while. Although her appearance is of a woman in her twenties, it was likely that she has probably lived for more than that.
Lang Jie was fine with dating someone older than him, but then he thought that Xue Yan was probably older than his great grandfather considering how powerful she was.
Yang Wei noticed that Lang Jie seemed to be in a state of distress.
"What's wrong?", Yang Wei asked Lang Jie, who immediately snapped out of it as he heard Yang Wei's voice.
"A-ah… it's nothing. I'm just not feeling well…", Lang Jie couldn't get it out of his mind. He wanted to tell Yang Wei, but he knew that that would break his image of a dependable man when it comes to relationships. Also, if he told Yang Wei about what he was thinking, Yang Wei would have to know about Xue Yan's secret before he'd be able to understand.
Yang Wei saw that he didn't want to talk about it, and since he already got what he came for, he stood up and prepared to leave. Lang Jie did do him a great favor, so he wanted to repay it.
"You should go home early and rest! I'll handle things for today since we don't have much to do anyway.", Yang Wei told Lang Jie with a smile. If Lang Jie wasn't feeling well, Yang Wei knew that some time with the wife would immediately heal him. Yang Wei felt that even if Lang Jie had a terminal illness, spending time with Xue Yan would probably cure it out of the love that Lang Jie had for her. Although it is possible since Xue Yan could easily remove any sickness that Lang Jie had since she was a cultivator, but Yang Wei had no idea about that.
Lang Jie was hesitant, but he ultimately decided to accept Yang Wei's offer.
"Thanks! I'll repay the favor sometime in the future!", Lang Jie smiled back at him and took his things with him. He hurriedly left the office and made his way home as fast as he could.
Yang Wei shook his head and laughed as he muttered to himself:
"Aiya… someone sure is in a rush to see his wife…"
"Xue Yan, honey! I'm home!", Lang Jie announced his return as he unlocked the front door of their home.
Xue Yan, who was busy cleaning the house along with a few members of the Lang Jie Fanclub, was caught in surprise as she thought that her husband wouldn't be coming home until about four hours later.
"Ah! Darling! How come you're home early?", Xue Yan excitedly approached her husband. She thought that Lang Jie coming home early was a great surprise gift.
"Yang Wei told me that he'll handle things for me, so I went home right away because I wanted to see you…", Lang Jie hugged Xue Yan as soon as she was within distance, which made her feel incredibly happy.
"Also… I have something I want to ask you…", the mood suddenly turned serious as soon as Lang Jie said those words. The members of the Lang Jie Fanclub quickly made their exit as they noticed that the romantic mood was quickly turning into something else.
"What is it, darling?", Xue Yan looked at her husband's worried face and thought that he must be thinking of something quite serious.
Lang Jie wanted to ask her right away, but he couldn't seem to bear asking her about it. Although they've been married for many years, he still felt that it was too sudden to ask her about her exes.
Xue Yan thought that Lang Jie was thinking about unnecessary things again, which was true, so she gave him a tight hug and poured a bit of power into him in order to give him a bit of confidence.
Lang Jie immediately felt the slight heat surging within him. He knew that Xue Yan was trying to support him, which made him feel incredibly thankful to his wife.
He remembered the things he told Yang Wei earlier. Everything was just his in his mind. And even if she had plenty of lovers before him, it didn't even matter since they were the ones together in the present.
"Xue Yan, honey… sorry for being such a wishy-washy man…", Lang Jie smiled at his wife, who had a relieved look on her face as she saw her husband's worried expression slowly fade away.
"Let's talk about what you wanted to ask me over dinner!", Xue Yan held his hand tightly and led him towards the dining area where food seemed to have been prepared already. Lang Jie didn't tell Xue Yan about him arriving early, and she also seemed to be surprised when she saw him, so he was wondering why there was food prepared.
Xue Yan could read him like a book, so she answered his thoughts before he could even ask about it.
"This was supposed to be for the people who helped me clean earlier, but since they already left, we should go ahead and enjoy it! After all, it would be such a waste to throw it away…", Xue Yan smiled as she sat down on one of the chairs.
Lang Jie once again wanted to curse at himself for making up another problem in his head as he sat on a chair across Xue Yan. Good thing Xue Yan immediately shut it down before it became another source of worry for him.
"Sorry honey… it seems like I'm being too negative lately…", Lang Jie told his wife.
Xue Yan simply nodded her head, as if she understood the problem.
"Don't worry darling. In my eyes, heart, and mind, you're the perfect man. Even if you think you have a lot of faults, know that for me, those faults are more of a blessing since they make you unique to who you are.", Xue Yan displayed a profound way of handling her words as she tried to cheer Lang Jie up.
Lang Jie couldn't help but smile out of embarrassment as he was once again lifted up by his wife.
The two of them enjoyed their meals. Xue Yan noticed that Lang Jie was slowly feeling better, so she felt relieved knowing that she did a good job. It hurts her knowing that her husband was having a hard time, especially since she knew that this time, Lang Jie had no enemies she could directly deal with. All she could use to fight now were her words and her life experiences.
As the sound of cutlery slowly stopped coming from the dining room, Lang Jie felt that he was no longer anxious or worried about the earlier problem. He smiled towards Xue Yan and decided to ask her about what he wanted to know earlier, not for self-validation, but in order to know more about her.
"Xue Yan, honey… don't take this the wrong way okay? I'm not particularly worried about it or anything, but I just want to know…", Lang Jie asked his wife who was listening intently.
"… how many lovers have you had in the p
ast?", Lang Jie finally asked the question.
Silence filled the room as Lang Jie finished speaking. Moments later, it was filled with the sound of Xue Yan's giggling.
"Was that the reason why you were so worried earlier?", she asked her husband as her soft giggles started turning into laughter.
Lang Jie blushed as he realized that his wife had seen right through him.
Xue Yan leaned forward and placed her palm on her husband's cheeks.
"You're the first lover I've ever had. As well as my last.", Xue Yan smiled as she stared directly into her husband's eyes.