Xin Yu's body jolted, and her hand gripping Cheng Qiuzhe froze!
For some reason, that somewhat familiar voice had suddenly awakened her intuition and sixth sense!
She didn't dare turn around, but she was certain there were eyes watching her and Cheng Qiuzhe behind them!
Who was it? It definitely wasn't the person who spoke!
Looking down at the fortune slip in her hand, could they have been set up?!
Xin Yu took a deep breath, grabbed Cheng Qiuzhe, and started running, "Little guy, hurry up! Be good!"
The two of them practically ran and slid down the hillside…
"Stop!" The familiar voice rang out again.
"Sister Xin Yu, is there a bad guy?!" Cheng Qiuzhe shrank closer to Xin Yu.
She stroked the little guy's head, his eyes darting around, quickly squatted down, grabbed a handful of dirt, judged the footsteps behind them, and threw it towards the source! Then, grabbing Cheng Qiuzhe and running again, this time they didn't get far before they spotted tents!
"I've been calling you for ages, and not only did you run, you dared to attack me? Let's see how you run now!"
Xin Yu quickly turned around, shielding the little guy behind her. Sure enough… it was Staff Officer Bai!
What a small world!
"I…I don't know what Staff Officer Bai is talking about?" Xin Yu stared at him, her big eyes unblinking. "Why didn't I hear you call us?"
Staff Officer Bai's eyes widened instantly. "You…"
This guy's face changes so quickly!
"Now you hear me, right? Trespassing on forbidden territory, don't you think we should lock you up first?"
Forbidden territory?
Xin Yu looked around. No wonder there were so many tents.
Could it be some Commander Nan's territory? "Come with me!" Seeing the two, one big and one small, watching him warily, Staff Officer Bai had to wary, "You only have this one choice: don't come with me. If anything happens to you, don't blame me!"
His alarmist words did startle Xin Yu, but she dared not disbelieve him; after all, it was a matter of life and death, and she had a little one with her.
"Going with you, of course," Xin Yu said, her lips pressed tightly together. "But Mr. Jiu will come to pick us up later!"
Staff Officer Bai snorted twice, said nothing, and turned to walk towards the tent. Xin Yu and Cheng Qiuzhe followed behind. He bent down and whispered, "Don't be afraid, Sister Xin Yu is here."
While she and the little one waited in an empty tent, her mind raced back to what had just happened. She looked down at the fortune slip in her hand. If someone truly intended to harm them, they must have known their whereabouts beforehand.
For some reason, Xin Yu remembered the black car that had followed her. Who was that person? Could all of this be related to Mu Yichuan?
He's so famous, could he have made enemies?
But even so, he shouldn't be following her. Their marriage agreement hasn't been publicized everywhere, has it?
Just then, a hoarse voice rang out from outside, "Where are you?"
Xin Yu hesitated, and Cheng Qiuzhe jumped to her side, his innocent eyes sparkling with a wronged expression. "It's okay, your uncle will come to pick us up soon."
"Uncle is scary!" His childish voice trembled. "Uncle wouldn't let me come here."
This…
Xin Yu was conflicted. How had she unintentionally offended him again?!
"It's okay, I'll let him punish me." Xin Yu patted Cheng Qiuzhe's head casually, but she was also panicking inside. Mu Yichuan was a very vengeful person. What had he done to her the other day?
"Punish you?! What's there to punish you for?" The voice arrived before the person.
Cheng Yao! The next second, he stormed in, his narrow, angry eyes fixed on Xin Yu, looking as if he wanted to beat her up…
"I…" Xin Yu stood up, somewhat apologetic. She really should have gone with Cheng Che today. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry?" Cheng Yao took a step towards Xin Yu, about to speak, but stopped, ordering someone to take Cheng Qiuzhe out first.
"Uncle, please don't blame Sister Xin Yu. I asked her to bring me here." Cheng Qiuzhe looked at her fearfully. "Don't be angry, Uncle!"
Cheng Yao ignored him. After the little guy was taken out, he growled at Xin Yu, "What right do you have to do this? To put it bluntly, your actions are human trafficking!"
Human trafficking?!
Shocked and bewildered by these words, Xin Yu had no idea how she had suddenly been accused of such a crime. "I…"
"What!!" He used all his reason to restrain himself from strangling Xin Yu.
"I...I came with Senior Brother Cheng Che." Isn't he Cheng Qiuzhe's uncle? Isn't he family?
*Slap!*
Cheng Yao felt as if a nerve in his brain had snapped. He reached out and grabbed Xin Yu's neck. How dare she mention Cheng Che!
"What...what are you doing!" Xin Yu trembled with fear, grabbing Cheng Yao's hands and looking at him in terror.
Why did Cheng Yao react this way every time Cheng Che was mentioned?
What deep-seated hatred did they have?
"You call him 'Senior Brother' so intimately," he said coldly, his eyes bloodshot. "I told you, if you dare betray Mr. Jiu, I won't forgive you!"
When did she betray Mu Yichuan?! Couldn't she even call him 'Senior Brother'?
"You...you're transferring your anger towards Senior Brother Cheng Che onto me!" Xin Yu bit her lip tightly, stubbornly exposing him.
Of course, this was absolutely wrong. Instead of Cheng Yao's remorse, it only fueled his more frantic actions…
"Let me go! Cough…" Xin Yu flailed her arms, wildly hitting Cheng Yao, "Mu Yichuan—"
"Let her go!"
In that instant, Xin Yu felt a glimmer of hope, because it really was Mu Yichuan speaking!
"Ninth Brother!" Cheng Yao didn't let go, turning slightly to look at Mu Yichuan, "If we don't teach her a lesson, she'll think she's so great!"
Xin Yu's eyes suddenly reddened, but she held back her tears.
She didn't know why she was crying; seeing Mu Yichuan's aggrieved and fearful expression brought it all out.
"Let her go!" He stood still, looking at Xin Yu's pitiful state, a slight softening in his heart.
Cheng Yao stared at Mu Yichuan, and suddenly felt an urge to advise them to break up. For the first time, he felt that Xin Yu was not suitable for Mu Yichuan; she was too kind and naive!
He snorted angrily and turned to leave the tent.
Xin Yu stood there waiting for Mu Yichuan. She had expected him to come over, even if it was just to scold her.
But he simply stood there, looking at her coldly, all traces of their former intimacy gone, as if those nights had never existed!
Her heart grew colder and colder…
"You're not allowed to teach Qiu Ze traditional Chinese painting anymore."
Xin Yu paused, her heart feeling like it had been plunged into ice water. "I…"
"No matter the reason, if something happens to Qiu Ze, do you think you can afford to pay for it?"
…!
In that instant, with those simple words, Xin Yu's heart was torn to shreds! Once upon a time, someone had said the same thing to her…
"You brat, who do you think you are, so delicate!"
"A child who abandoned her own mother, do you even deserve to stay in this house?"
"What have you done! If something happens to your sister, can you afford to compensate her!"
Countless insults rained down on her, making Xin Yu's head buzz, as if filled with lead, unable to think straight.
She didn't even know when Mu Yichuan left, let alone how she escaped the forbidden passage…
Xin Yu had only one thought: she wanted to find an opening, to release herself, to release the emotions tearing at her body!
"Yuanzi." Xin Yu practically stumbled into Cheng Yuan's house.
"Ayu?" She was startled, quickly helping Xin Yu to sit on the sofa before secretly wiping her cheek.
Xin Yu looked blankly at her friend, whose eyes were red-rimmed, "Yuanzi, what's wrong?"
Her friend, her closest relative, was secretly crying at home?
"Ayu…" Cheng Yuan suddenly teared up again.
"Yuanzi, say something!" Xin Yu snapped out of her daze. "Why are you crying? Who bullied you? If I hadn't come, were you going to stay home and cry by yourself?"
This realization made Xin Yu even more distressed, her heart suffocating.
"Yuanzi, today is...my mother's death anniversary."
Death anniversary? Didn't she say she had to work overtime today?
Xin Yu's heart ached terribly. She hadn't even known about Aunt Cheng!
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." Xin Yu hugged Cheng Yuan, repeatedly apologizing. She had neglected so many of her friends.
...
"Where's Xin Yu?" Mu Yichuan returned to the Nanlong Villa from Cheng Qiuzhe's place almost at dawn, but there was no sign of Xin Yu in the living room or bedroom.
"Madam hasn't returned." The butler was surprised by the question.
Immediately, he frowned, staring at the dark night with extreme displeasure. She hadn't come home again!
She did something wrong and then threw a tantrum! Without another word, Mu Yichuan coldly went upstairs. But leaning against the headboard, looking at the empty bed, his anger grew increasingly uncontrollable.
"Tell me Xin Yu's whereabouts."
Mu Jian hesitated for a second. "She went to her friend's house—" and was drunk.
But before he could finish the last few words, Mu Yichuan hung up!
He tossed the phone far away, his dark eyes cold and unreadable, revealing no emotion, but the chilling aura surrounding him betrayed his true feelings…
Just as he was about to get up, he noticed Xin Yu's sketchbook on the other side of the bed.
He snatched it away.
Flipping through the pages, he had to admit, her drawing skills were excellent; even simple sketches possessed a captivating charm.
…!
Mu Yichuan looked at the last page. Who had she drawn?!
Did she really have someone in her heart?! He stared intently for a long time, then tore it up and crumpled it into a ball…
Without a second's hesitation, Mu Yichuan strode downstairs!
…
"Ayu, cheers to our shared fate!"
"Cheers! To us who also have no mother!"
"Ayu, sob sob…"
"Yuanzi, no matter what happens in the future, we must never abandon each other…"
Knock knock knock.
"Henhen! You're here too, come in quickly!" Xin Yu grabbed her friend and tried to pull her inside.
"Ayu, Yuanzi, you…you're drunk?" She looked at the mess on the floor in surprise, then turned to her brother, "This…"
"Careful." Liu Shuihan steadied Xin Yu's waist.