"There you go! Checkmate!"

"Hahahaha...That was a smart move..."

​​

Jun Zixuan's footsteps came to a halt as he glanced at the two people sitting on the couch in the living room with their legs folded atop it with a chessboard between them. 

"Yes, Miss Yu, that was a smart move on your part. Even I have never been able to defeat father to this day," Su Ning who was sitting on the coffee table quickly extended her hand for a high-five.

Yu Mei slapped her palm onto hers as she smiled, "Drop the formalities. Call me Mei or anything that suits you," She waved her hand but her gaze accidentally landed on the man who was standing at a distance looking at them blankly. 

She jumped off the couch and hopped over to him as she tiptoed and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Zixuan, you are back?"

Jun Zixuan snapped out of his daze as he wrapped an arm around her waist, "Shall I go out once again and come inside to prove that to you?"

With her arms still hooked around her neck, she raised her head to glare at him, "You were supposed to say something like 'Yeah, baby, I'm back' or 'back to you'. And your sense of humor sucks."

"So does your glare," He retorted. 

She frowned before stepping back from him, "Did you just indirectly called me ugly?"

He raised an eyebrow, ''Silly."

"If you did not mean that, then what were you trying to say?"

"I was saying that you are too happy to be angry today," It was very obvious on her face, "What are you up to?"

She cleared her throat, "It's nothing like that. I was just bonding with Father. That's why I was happy," She pointed her finger at Jun Zishen who still had his focus on the chessboard. 

"Father?" Came the voice of three men in unison. 

Jun Zixuan glanced at Jun Zihao who almost had his eyeballs popping out. He then glanced at Jun Zishen who was equally stunned by her statement. 

"Girl, when did I become your father?"

Yu Mei hooked one of her arms around Jun Zixuan's, "We share everything. So, his father is my father," Today, she was so bored that when she got to know that her dear father-in-law is good at chess, she literally bugged him to play with her. And in her opinion, the man was not the kind of evil or the frivolous man she imagined him to be before. On the contrary, she found him to be a really nice and genuine person inside that cold exterior.

Jun Zixuan raised an eyebrow at her brazen statement.

Su Ning and Jun Zishen exchanged glances before both of them ended up laughing.

Jun Zihao who was standing behind the couple glanced at their interlocked hands blankly.

"He calls me his sperm donor, not father," Jun Zishen smiled.

Yu Mei blinked as she sensed the awkward atmosphere. It seems there is a lot of ice or a whole ice pool in between Jun Zixuan and his father.

"Dad, where is Grandma?" Jun Zihao broke the silence in the living room as he walked towards his father, "I had something to discuss with her."

"I don't know, son. Even I have not seen her."

Su Ning averted her gaze when Jun Zihao stepped closer to them but the man did not spare a glance in her direction. 

"Lydia," Jun Zishen called out to the trusted maid of his mother, "Where is the mother?"

"Old Madam..." Lydia hesitated for a moment as she bowed to the man before speaking, "During our evening walk, something got stuck in her hair so she...."

"Stuck in her hair?" 

Everyone glanced at the maid, completely astounded except for Yu Mei and Jun Zixuan. 

"What do you mean? What happened to her? Where is she?"

"I am alright. Don't worry," Everyone's head snapped in the direction of Old Madam Jun who stepped inside through the main door.

The living room drowned in silence until Yu Mei opened her mouth, "Look at you, Grandma. You look so cool. Grandpa will fall for you all over again..." She could not help but admit that the woman looked really youthful for her age. 

Su Ning also noddedthe, "She is right. You look really good, Grandma."

"But Mother, why did you suddenly needed a haircut?" As much as Jun Zishen remembered, his mother was very stubborn about such things. After all these, he has never once seen his mother opting for such things.

Both Jun Zixuan and Jun Zihao glanced at Yu Mei who was standing at her spot like an innocent bunny. 

Old Madam Jun touched her short hair which was styled in a bob cut, her lips curled down in displeasure, "A chewing gum got stuck in my hair. I was forced to cut my hair. As much as I remember, it was not there during my walk and later I just stood beside a tree after that..." 

"Then, where did it come from?" Jun Zishen frowned, "It is not possible that a bird was passing by and it dropped a gum on your hair..." He paused when his gaze landed on both his sons who were looking at Yu Mei.

Old Madam Jun followed her son's gaze and her eyes widened slightly, "You wretched insolent indecent woman!!" Her loud voice boomed in the walls of the Jun Manor, "How dare you do this to me?"

"I did it. So what?" Yu Mei walked towards her, "Usually, I am not this impolite to someone but you forced me to do this."

"I forced you?" Old Madam Jun glanced at her in disbelief, rage apparent on her face. 

"What makes you think that I would do nothing when you were merrily discussing about how you want to drag my mother-in-law by her hair and slam her head into the wall..."

"You brat...." Old Madam Jun raised her hand to slap her. 

Yu Mei grabbed her wrist, "Oh please. Do I look so gullible to you?" 

"You..." Old Madam Jun's hand trembled as her face turned red, "Zishen, call your father. Ask him to drop all his meetings and come here...."

"Grandpa will not be able to come back before tomorrow," Jun Zihao said. 

"Alright then. Tomorrow, it is. I will show you what are the consequences of messing with the Old Madam of the Jun Family," The old lady snarled.

Yu Mei dropped her hand as Jun Zixuan nonchalantly walked towards them, "We will be waiting. Let's drop this family pretense," He grabbed her hand and they turned around before walking upstairs leaving the living room to drown in utter silence.