Chapter 12
He didn’t want to respect the three-month observation period he had agreed upon with his father anymore. Perhaps from the moment he realized Yun Chu was the person he had been searching for so long without success, he had never once thought about letting her go. Since they were bound to end up together sooner or later, why not exercise his rights ahead of schedule?
Yun Chu was so startled by his sudden proposition that her heart skipped a beat.
Only after a long pause did she manage to find the right words. “Even though we’ve had… two of those moments, it doesn’t mean we have to rush out and get registered immediately, right? How about we get to know each other a bit more first?” Her eyes darted thoughtfully as she observed his reaction.
Mainly, she had never expected to marry so quickly. It could even be said that Yun Chu was naturally pessimistic about marriage, whether due to the trauma inflicted by her family of origin or her own lack of self-confidence. She simply didn’t believe anyone would truly stay by her side for an entire lifetime. Right now, Mu Ze might just be riding a wave of novelty, but what happens when that novelty wears off? If she allowed herself to fall too deep, what was she supposed to do then?
However, to Mu Ze’s ears, this response translated directly into her just wanting to play around with him without taking any responsibility.
He narrowed his eyes halfway, stepping out of bed with a handsome face that had turned entirely icy. “Mm. A game between consenting adults. You’re right, there’s indeed no need.”
Following that, Mu Ze sat in his wheelchair and faced the window. His cold, noble aura instantly gained a bone-chilling coldness, thoroughly laced with a trace of desolation. The air in the room grew quiet and awkward.
Yun Chu said nothing more. She got out of bed, went into the bathroom to freshen up, and changed into a simply styled dress before sitting by the bedside to wait for Shen Yan with him. Time slipped away in a haze of boredom.
Half an hour later, Shen Yan walked into the Mu Residence carrying his medical kit. The housekeeper led him up to the second floor. “Master Mu, Madam, Doctor Shen has arrived.”
“Let him in,” Mu Ze said coldly.
The moment the door opened, the tense atmosphere permeating the air was impossible to ignore. This was especially true for Mu Ze; even from just his silhouette, anyone could tell he was harboring a massive fire.
Shen Yan wiggled his brows, shooting a meaningful look toward Yun Chu, signaling: What is going on with you two?
She spread her hands and shrugged with a helpless frown, seemingly replying: You’ll have to ask him yourself.
“How is the investigation going?” Mu Ze spun his wheelchair, turning around on the spot.
“I was just about to tell you.” Shen Yan set down his medical kit and sat on the sofa. “I didn’t investigate Uncle Mu; there’s no way he would do something like this to you. However, looking into your sister, Mu Shenglan, turned out to be unexpectedly smooth. She frequently transfers funds to the research center, and she even uses her personal account. But because the investigation went too smoothly, it actually looks a bit like…”
“A frame-up,” Mu Ze completed the thought for him.
Shen Yan continued his analysis. “Exactly. Even though Mu Shenglan has kept a very low profile since her divorce, she used to be a leading figure in the business world. She wouldn’t be this stupid.”
So his sister had a side like that. The first time Yun Chu had seen Mu Shenglan, she had found her so low-key that she was practically easy to overlook. What kind of ordeal must one go through to willingly fall from the absolute peak of the pyramid to a complete nobody?
Mu Ze closed his eyes, falling into deep thought. “No need to investigate further. I have a way to test it. Sister, please don’t disappoint me.”
Having been too distracted upon entering, it was only now that Shen Yan noticed the large bed was in absolute disarray. The hair dryer was tossed carelessly onto the floor, and a bath towel lay crumpled nearby, having not yet been put away. He then looked at Yun Chu’s slightly exhausted expression and the faint dark circles under her eyes.
Tsk, tsk, tsk… the battle must have been fierce!
“What are you looking at! Watch your eyes.” Mu Ze grabbed the air conditioner remote and hurled it straight at him.
He couldn’t even look for a second. With possessiveness this intense, who could possibly handle him?
Seeing that there was no longer any need for her to act as a cover here, Yun Chu stood up to leave. “I’m heading to work now. You two take your time talking.”
The door opened and closed, leaving only Shen Yan and a brooding Mu Ze, whose murderous gaze looked ready to kill someone, inside the room.
Shen Yan threw the remote back, looking entirely disappointed in his friend. “If you want to chase after her, then chase her. What kind of achievement is it to just stare at the door?”
Mu Ze shot him a ruthless glare. “…If you don’t speak, no one will mistake you for a mute.” Was it even possible that he, the grand Vice President of the Mu Group in the capital, would shamelessly act like a desperate dog after being rejected?
Shortly after, the driver dropped Yun Chu off beneath the Mu Group corporate building.
As her elegant figure stepped through the main entrance, the surrounding employees actively avoided her, taking detours the moment they saw her coming, their eyes not even daring to glance her way.
What had suddenly happened to everyone?
Yun Chu instantly felt an unwarranted panic rise in her chest, as if a veil she had been desperately using to conceal herself had been violently torn away by the crowd. She immediately pulled out her phone to call Gao Sheng. “Assistant Gao, do you happen to know why everyone is acting so strange today?”
On the other end of the line, Gao Sheng explained, “The news that Xiao He was demoted because he failed to look after you properly spread throughout the entire corporation today. They’re terrified that an accidental misstep might offend you and get them packed off instantly. You can’t really blame them either.” After all, they were just ordinary working corporate citizens; self-preservation was the safest option.
Understanding the situation, Yun Chu hung up, stepped into the elevator, and pressed the button for the top floor.
“Wait a moment!” A broad hand suddenly blocked the elevator doors from closing.
Xiao He was cradling a massive stack of documents. He lifted his eyes, a flash of surprise crossing them. “Yun Chu, my apologies about yesterday.”
She shook her head. “It’s fine. You didn’t know an accident would happen anyway. Which floor are you going to?”
“I still have some documents that need to be delivered to President Mu. Why don’t you take them up for me? Given my current status, it’s no longer appropriate for me to go to the top floor.” The top floor was reserved strictly for the highest leadership of each department, and he was no longer the Art Director.
Yun Chu extended her hands. “Give them to me.”
The moment he handed the files over, a photograph slipped out from the middle of the stack. The photo depicted a sickly man, his face completely pale and bloodless, lying on a hospital bed receiving an intravenous drip. A urinary catheter was attached to him, giving him the appearance of someone on the brink of death.
Seeing the photo hit the floor, Xiao He quickly scooped it up and tucked it into his garment pocket. “Placed it in the wrong spot.”
No matter how fast his movements were, Yun Chu had already caught a clear glimpse of the man in the photo. She knew this person. Horrific memories once again crashed over her like ocean waves.
In the courtroom three years ago. The judge had held up a stack of photos of the victim to verify with her: “Defendant, do you admit to intentionally causing harm to the victim?”
With reddened eyes, she had turned her head to look at Yun Hangshan sitting in the gallery. Just the night before, he had gripped her by the shoulders: “Yun Chu, you’ve always been sensible, haven’t you? As long as you help the Yun family this once, Daddy will definitely compensate you in the future. You will always be Daddy’s good daughter.”
She had cried until her voice was hoarse, kneeling on the ground while pulling at Yun Hangshan’s leg, shaking her head violently: “I really don’t want to go! Daddy, I didn’t do it!”
“Then get out of the Yun family forever! I will no longer be your father!” he had roared, his face transforming instantly.
Ultimately, Yun Chu had collapsed powerlessly onto the floor, staring up at the crystal chandelier above her. It had been so dazzlingly bright that it made her eyes sting. A single sentenceâ”I will no longer be your father”âhad forced her submission; she had lost to her own bloodline, and the man in that photograph had become her victim.
Suppressing her emotions, Yun Chu lifted her eyes to look at Xiao He. “Where did that photo come from?”
Xiao He froze for a few seconds. “I can’t say. I’m just running an errand for someone else.”
Running an errand for someone elseâwith a tiny bit of thought, it was obvious who it was. The only people who cared whether this man was dead or alive were Yun Xiaoxiao and Liu Mingwei. Had he just returned to the country only to immediately start causing trouble again? Or did he want to throw her back into prison?
Yun Chu’s eyes darkened instantly, her hands gripping the documents so tightly they began to wrinkle before she managed to snap herself out of it.
Xiao He said, “Let me treat you to lunch this afternoon as an apology for last night.”
“No need.” She declined instantly without a second thought. There was no reason to go through the trouble.
Xiao He let out a long sigh, lowering his head with a thoroughly dejected and aggrieved expression. “Then you must still be blaming me. Sigh, alright then.”
With him acting this way, if Yun Chu refused again, it would make her look incredibly cold-hearted. “…Fine, that works too.”
When a man resorted to acting manipulative and pathetic, it truly left no room for anyone else to compete.
Returning to her office on the top floor, Yun Chu set down the documents and pulled out her phone to message Xia Zhiruo: [Zhiruo, do me a favor.]
