The Sweet Rival (Mango Shen and Nathaniel Ye)

Chapter 479

Thoughts floated in Mango's head of their own accord, and her mind drifted far away.

She thought of how painfully Nathaniel had struggled, and her heart broke when Noah suggested the two-day observation period.

Merle took advantage of Mango's temporary lapse in attention to breathe a sigh of relief.

He knew that he should restrain his emotions as soon as possible. Mango was not someone he could desire.

The car sped along the highway on the way to the airport.

Mango and Merle both were immersed in their thoughts, and they did not speak to each other.

After that, they arrived at the airport.

Mango was impatient in getting off the car and she said to Merle, "Stop the car, I'm going to the arrival hall first."

"Madam, no, I should call you Mrs. Ye due to the crowds here. Mrs. Ye, there are too many people here. I think you should wait until I park, then we can enter together."

It was clear that Merle cared very much about

Mango's safety.

"It's fine, I can protect myself. Also, there's plenty of people here, so I'll be okay. Go and park the car, I'll wait for you at Door Three."

Since Mango had already made up her mind, Merle did not retort and he quickly went to park the car.

Meanwhile, Mango exited the vehicle before heading directly for the exit Nathaniel was going to use.

There were hundreds of people walking around, but her eyes stared unblinkingly at the exit in fear of missing Nathaniel.

However, Nathaniel did not exit through the normal channels. Instead, he used the green lane.

When Nathaniel walked out of the arrival hall, he turned around, only to see Mango was anxiously waiting for him.

His wife crossed her legs as she watched the crowd anxiously for him. Her worried expression swept away all of Nathaniel's exhaustion over the past few days.

Then, he quickly walked over to hug Mango from behind.

"Who is it?"

Mango instinctively tried to throw him over her shoulder but failed. Thus, she became frustrated, and when Mango was about to make the next move before hearing Nathaniel said, "You're becoming quite the barbarian, aren't you? How could you attack me when we've just reunited?"

The familiar voice caused Mango to pause for a moment before she turned around to see Nathaniel's face.

He had lost weight!

A lot of it, even!

He was much thinner than what she saw on screen.

His alluring almond-shaped eyes were sunken in, and he had stubble on his chin. However, it did not take away from his handsomeness one bit.

Mango's nose suddenly twitched and her eyes filled with tears.

"You're back?"

"Why are you crying?"

Nathaniel suddenly panicked.

"I was just kidding, you're not a barbarian at all."

Nathaniel was a little flustered as he tried to wipe away Mango's tears, but she wrapped her arms around his waist while leaning onto his chest. Then, Nathaniel felt a rush of hot liquid seep through his shirt, scalding his chest.

"I miss you so much!"

Mango was not usually a very sentimental person, but her heart ached terribly when she thought of how much hardship Nathaniel had gone through.

Eight days was as long as eight years to them.

Thus, Nathaniel felt that it was all rather surreal.

He was back!

He had finally returned!

He could finally stay by Mango's side with a healthy body.

From now on, he could protect her like he used to.

"I'm home, Mango. I miss you too!"

Nathaniel was equally moved and heartbroken by how much Mango was crying for him. NôvelDrama.Org owns this.

After eight days of no contact, he pitied his wife.

Meanwhile, Mango couldn't stop her tears from falling, but she still extricated herself from Nathaniel's embrace to examine him for injuries.

Of course, Nathaniel knew what she was doing, and he prevented her from doing so.

"I'm fine, really. I was just unused to the food outside, so I lost some weight. You're responsible for making me gain it all back now."

Nathaniel's eyes twinkled with delight and there was a smile on his face. So, who could tell the sort of inhumane torture he'd gone through over the past eight days?

If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, Mango might have believed Nathaniel's words for real. However, right now, she only felt a heart-wrenching pain in her stomach.

"Let's go home."

"Okay, let's go!"

Nathaniel's hand immediately found Mango's and their fingers were interlaced.

Holding hands with Mango made Nathaniel feel like he'd woken up from a dream.

He was really afraid that he wouldn't have the chance to see Mango again. Fortunately, God took pity on him by sparing his life.

When Merle walked in, he happened to see Nathaniel and Mango leave the airport hand-in-hand. Thus, he had no choice but to put on a blank expression.

"Mr. Ye and Mrs. Ye, I'll drive."

"Thank you for your hard work."

Nathaniel smiled faintly. To be frank, everything and everyone in the world felt absolutely amazing to him.

In a sense, Nathaniel was reborn.

On the other hand, Mango did not ask any questions as she allowed Nathaniel to hold her hand.

His palms were rough, most likely due to him being strapped to a metal bed for days. If not, he could have injured himself during one of his withdrawal sessions. Although Nathaniel hid it well, Mango still noticed the wounds on his body.

Pain wracked Mango's heart, but she did not say a word.

Outside the airport, Merle had already driven the car over to them.

After the couple got on, Nathaniel wrinkled his nose slightly.

"This smells like antiseptic. Is someone hurt?"

He instinctively turned to look at Mango.

She quickly shook her head before replying, "It's not me, but Merle."

Only after Mango's explanation did Nathaniel realize that Merle's hand was wrapped in gauze, but the way it was bandaged made Nathaniel frown.

Mango had personally wrapped it up for Merle.

Nevertheless, Nathaniel did not show any sign of emotion on his face as he asked, "How did you injure yourself?"

"It's nothing, Mr. Ye. I just went after a thief and I accidentally cut my hand while breaking some glass."

"Be careful in the future."

"Yes, sir."

Merle replied in the affirmative.

Nathaniel didn't say anything else, but he didn't let go of Mango's hand.

"Why is your hand still so cold? Did you not take care of yourself when I wasn't around?"

Thus, Nathaniel couldn't help but be worried when he noticed Mango's pallid demeanor and thinner face.

"It's fine, I'm doing much better at home than you. Don't worry, I'm doing just fine."

Obviously, Mango did not want Nathaniel to worry about her as she smiled tenderly at him.

He suddenly took her into his arms before replying, "You have no idea how much I've missed you."

Just now, Mango was a lot more open with her affections at the airport as few people recognized her. However, the situation was different now as they were in the car with Merle presented.

Then, she pushed Nathaniel off of her, "We'll continue this later."

"Well, you have to give me something to tide me over until then."

Upon those words, Nathaniel immediately leaned over to kiss Mango on her delicate lips.

No one knew how he had managed to get through the eight days. If Mango wasn't the only thing on his mind, he might have collapsed.

Now that she was in front of him with all her tender and loving looks, how could he resist?

On the other hand, Mango was able to feel Nathaniel's passionate excitement. She had planned to push him away, but Mango refrained in the end.

She allowed Nathaniel to do what he wanted, and Mango slowly sank into oblivion.

Meanwhile, Merle tried his best to avert his eyes from such a steamy scene, but a light blush covered his face.

Nathaniel nearly lost control, but at least he still remembered where he was.

Upon looking up, he spotted Mango's reddened face. It was far better than her earlier paleness, and the look in her eyes seemed dazed. Of course, this sight was only for Nathaniel to behold.

He looked at Merle in front of him, only to find that the latter didn't have much of a reaction. After that, Nathaniel draped his coat over Mango before cradling her in his arms.

"What do you think we should do about your poor health?"

"I'm fine."

Mango was still gasping for air.

Nathaniel's enthusiasm was starting to wear her out.

Was her condition really so poor?

Mango thought sadly, but she kept a straight face as she laid in Nathaniel's arm. Hence, he did not notice her forlorn look.

As she leaned on his chest while hearing the strong thumping of his heartbeat, Mango felt finally at ease.

She did not ask Nathaniel any questions as she just quietly listened to Nathaniel's pulsation. This was real and she needed to hold on to it.

Unconsciously, Mango tightened her grip around Nathaniel's waist while whispering, "I'm cold, so I'm hugging you for warmth."

"That's a good idea!"

Nathaniel replied with a faint smile on his face, but he was very attuned to the change in expression on Mango's face.

She seemed to be concealing her anxiety and heartache from him.

Mango was hurting for him?

But why?

Was it because he had lost weight? Or was it because of something else?

Suddenly, Nathaniel realized that Mango seemed troubled.

Both of them embraced each other all the way back to the Ye's Mansion.

Since he had gone missing for eight days, Nathaniel had to tell Madam Ye he was home safe.

Plus, that was a direct order from Mango.

When Madam Ye heard that Nathaniel was on his way home, she made her way to the door to wait for him.

The moment the car stopped, Nathaniel felt guilty when he laid eyes on the greying hair on Madam Ye's temples.

"Mom, I'm home."

Nathaniel and Mango exited the car together.

Then, Madam Ye gave him a once over and she noticed that he was fine, apart from being a little thinner. She said, "I guess you've finally remembered to come home, huh? I thought you've already forgotten about your home and your family. You didn't even call! Do you know how worried Mango was?"

As soon as she heard Madam Ye defending her, Mango hurriedly said, "Mom, Nathan had something urgent to attend to outside, so it might not have been convenient for him to call home. Isn't he back now? Also, you've been worried the entire time, so I think it's best if we head inside. Plus, it's a little cold today."

As she spoke, Mango couldn't help but pull Nathaniel's coat closer to her.

Madam Ye's heart ached when she saw Mango's current state.

"Come on in! You little brat, I would have made you kneel outside for another hour if it isn't for Mango!"

Although Madam Ye's words were harsh, she still felt sorry for Nathaniel.

"Hurry up and take a shower before changing into something cleaner. Mango has been up all morning before sending the children off to school and then picking you up. I'm sure she's tired, so don't disturb her anymore."