“Where is he heading to?” Mu Yu asked worriedly, as she stepped down the car, and tip-toed to look at Qin Jinhuan’s slowly disappearing silhouette at the corner.
Huang Bo stood beside the car as well, and looked toward the direction Mu Yu was facing. He guessed with wishful thinking. “Maybe he is going to figure out a plan. Even though Grandpa’s position in Qing Tian Group is high, Boss has been the CEO for the past ten years, and already has people on his side. He still has his connections, and he will never give up on the position and his mother’s possessions that easily.”
Mu Yu helplessly shook her head and replied, “He already signed the two papers, and the dice have already been cast. I don’t think there will be any other way.”
What she said made sense, and it made Huang Bo froze, as he was speechless for a brief moment.
“Huh? Why did Bian Zijun come back? Does he have good news?”
Bian Zijun followed Qin Jinhuan when he got out of the car. Upon seeing him coming back not long after he left, Mu Yu excitedly welcomed him back.
Huang Bo had his spirits up high and quickly went up to him. “Did Boss give you any orders, Zijun?”
“No, Boss stopped me from following him. Maybe he wanted to be all by himself.” Bian Zijun led out a long sigh and gritted his teeth. “I just received a call from Weng Yun, and it was confirmed that Yuchi Industry has taken over the Phoenix Gully project.”
“I knew it was those bastards! I should have just chopped them up into pieces and gave them to the dogs! F*ck each and everyone of them!” Huang Bo was filled with rage.
“You think I didn’t want to chop them up yesterday?” Bian Zijun clutched his knuckles, letting out a cracking sound. “But he kept egging the boss on, and tried to make the boss mad. I was afraid that he would lose all his senses, and did something extreme to the point of affecting the contract signing today, so I tried to stop him, with the plan of getting back on Yi Yunzhe next time. But I didn’t expect him to play his cards like such! Oh man. Old Man Qin has always been so cautious, so why would he be careless in such a critical moment as today?”
“Wasn’t it all because of Qin Wentao and Dong Yueyun adding fuel to the flames?” Huang Bo became more and more irate. “It’s all because they have tricks up their sleeves. They were always obsessed with the boss’ position, they probably even dreamt of the old man fighting with the boss. They might even be the one who were behind Butler Yu’s reporting to Old Man Qin!”
“But we don’t have any proof.”
“Proofs can be dug out.”
“Yes, and Weng Yun is already out to investigate it. But the bastard Yi Yunzhe is very meticulous, so it might be hard to dig up anything in such a short time.”
“Maybe Cheng Xiang would bring about a breakthrough?” Mu Yu promptly suggested.
Previously, she was suspicious of the Qin Wentao couple, but she merely disagreed with them. After hearing what Bian Zijun had to say, she really started to suspect that many things were orchestrated by them.
Bian Zijun suddenly froze upon hearing this, and he unconsciously looked over Huang Bo. He finally spoke up after some hesitation, “Cheng Xiang, Huang Bo, Weng Yun, and I had applied to be the boss’ bodyguard at the same time, and we had been through everything together as his bodyguard for 10 years. Although we are not sworn brothers, we are really close, and we treat each other like brothers do. Based on what I know about Cheng Xiang, he would never do anything to betray the boss.”
Huang Bo nodded and agreed, “Boss has always been nice to us, so never in our mind would we betray him! It must have been a coincidence that Cheng Xing appeared to be off his guard yesterday.”
“In that case, where should we start our investigation?” Mu Yu did not expect for them to be on Cheng Xiang’s side. She felt distraught, as she did not have any lead.
“Calm down, Young Mistress. We will definitely help Boss get through these tough times.” Bian Zijun turned his gaze toward Huang Bo and said, “Send the young mistress back home first. I’m going to CEO Wen’s for a visit.”
“Alright.” Huang Bo went to open the car door.
“About Huan…”
“We will immediately contact you if the boss has any good news.”
Mu Yu realized that she wouldn’t be of any help after hearing Bian Zijun’s words. She silently went inside the car without saying anything, even though she was worried. Huang Bo sent her to her parents’ house, and drove away after dropping her off at the apartment, leaving her there sighing by herself.
If only she called Yihan and asked to confirm the truth regarding what Yi Yunzhe told her. If she hadn’t gone inside his room, then this string of events happening today wouldn’t have happened, and Qin Jinhuan wouldn’t have hit rock bottom today.
There was no use in crying over spilt milk. There was nothing she could do to help, other than blaming herself.
She felt her heart clench as she remembered Qin Jinhuan’s silhouette in the distance when he left. She took out her phone and searched for his number, but she sullenly put her phone back in her pocket, when she remembered that he had shattered his phone.
He was still the oldest grandson of the Qin family, and since Grandpa had once given him the position of the company’s CEO, this meant that Grandpa thought highly of Qin Jinhuan, and he might not really mean it when he said he wanted to sever ties with him. Grandpa was being pushy mainly because he wanted Qin Jinhuan to divorce her and marry Dong Wanqing instead. Through this, he could close the gap between him and his father, therefore having a reunited duo of father and son to lead the development of Qing Tian Group together.
Grandpa had not fallen ill for quite a while. It seemed that the treatments by the experts were working well for him. Qin Jinhuan might be able to divorce her without any further concerns and marry someone else, since Grandpa did not need her to take on further roles of assistance.
She opted for wishful thinking, but the thought of divorce made her feel suffocated.
She used to fantasize about divorcing him and getting back her freedom, but right now, she did not want to divorce him at all. She did not want to be a stranger to him, nor go separate ways from him. No, not at all.
“Yu?”
Her mother’s voice interrupted her thoughts, and as she got back to her senses, her mother asked continuously, “Why didn’t you head upstairs when you arrived? What are you doing just standing there? Did you upset Young Master Qin again? He…”
“No, I was just about to go upstairs and see you guys.” Mu Yu forced a smile.
“Why didn’t you give us a call if you’re coming back? Then I’ll be able to cook some of your favorite dishes. Oh yeah, is Young Master Qin coming over for lunch?
“He… He is on a business trip, so he will be back after a few days. That’s why he sent me back here.”
She was afraid that her parents might advise her to leave Qin Jinhuan after they knew what had happened to him. So, she decided not to tell them about what had happened today.
“Oh, so you will be staying over today?” Hu Meiling was not able to pick up on anything off about Mu Yu. She cheerfully grabbed her daughter’s arm and led her upstairs.
Mu Ziyao, who was reading the newspapers, was also delighted to see Mu Yu back home. After asking their housekeeper to get some groceries, they prepared some snacks, and asked Mu Yu all sorts of questions. But as usual, the topic would always revolve around Qin Jinhuan.
Seeing her parents behaving this way made Mu Yu hesitate for a long while, before she finally decided to ask her parents, “Mom, Dad, are you really content with having Qin Jinhuan as your son-in-law?”
“Of course!” Hu Meiling replied delightfully. “He has wealth, power, and good looks. You wouldn’t find another one like him even if you tried. But I’m not sure whether he’s really that interested in you.”
Mu Ziyao smiled and replied, “Relationships are developed with time. Our little Yu is so beautiful, and with her holding the title of Young Mistress Qin, Young Master Qin will definitely fall for you as long as you put effort.”
“Yes, that’s right, Yu. As they say, ‘first come first served’, so you will have to grab onto this chance as tightly as possible! Oh right, aren’t you both sleeping on the same bed every night? In the worst case scenario, you can just be more aggressive about it, and get pregnant with his child. Then, you will be the real young mistress of the Qin household. What was this called? Oh right, ‘it was all the moon’s fault’[1].” Hu Meiling roared with laughter after saying that.
“What are you trying to teach to our daughter, you old hag? But then, if you think about it, this might not be a bad plan after all.” Mu Ziyao laughed, as he held his wife while looking at his daughter.
Mu Yu did not laugh with them, for she understood that her parents were only after the status and title of the Qin household. After contemplating for a while, she finally decided to test the waters with her parents. “Mom, Dad, if one day Qin Jinhuan resigned from being Qing Tian Group’s CEO and turned against his grandfather, and left without taking anything with him, will you still wish for me to stay with him?”
“Left without taking anything? Not even a single penny?” Hu Meiling had never thought of this question, so she turned toward her husband, flustered.
Mu Ziyao nonchalantly smiled and replied, “Young Master Qin has already been in the industry for years, so even if he resigned from Qing Tian Group and went against everyone in the Qin household, it doesn’t mean that he would lose everything. A lean camel is still bigger than a horse. At most, he will just change from being the CEO of a big company to a small one, from a net worth of 10 billion to a net worth of 1 billion, and this will not affect his image of a young entrepreneur at all. We will still be proud to call him our son-in-law. Am I right, Meiling?”
“Yes, you are definitely right.” Hu Meiling smiled gleefully.
“What if he were to have nothing left, to the point of being even worse than when we first arrived at An City?” Mu Yu burst her parents’ bubbles by asking further.
Hu Meiling immediately replied in disdain, “If things were to go this way, then we won’t agree on you both being together. You’re such a beautiful girl, and also a government employee, so you will definitely be able to find someone even better.”
“With the influence the Qin household has over the entirety of An City, Young Master Qin will never be subjected to such poverty. Stop thinking about nonsensical things. Let’s help tidy up her room, Meiling.”
“Okay.”
Seeing how happy her parents were as they went to her room, Mu Yu was speechless. It was a good thing that she did not tell them what had happened to Qin Jinhuan, or else they might urge her to divorce him immediately.
But she did not blame her parents for being too materialistic. Which parents wouldn’t hope for their children to live a comfortable life?
Her heart ached as she remembered her mother’s disdain when she mentioned the moment where Qin Jinhuan had nothing else left. Qin Jinhuan had always been prideful and arrogant, and when the news about his fall from power spread, wouldn’t there be a large number of people trying to kick him while he was down? Would he be able to take on this drastic change of situation?
Would he stand a chance, if he ever decided to attempt for a comeback?
She was not adept in business and politics, hence making her unable to answer her own questions.
After lunch, she excused herself by saying that she was tired, and went back to her bedroom. She locked the doors, and sat on the bed, spacing out.
She didn’t realize how much time had passed when her phone rang. She immediately answered the call when she saw it was from Wen Zeyu.
“Bad news, Mu Yu! Huan wants to kill himself, and I can’t get through him! Come over quickly!”
Kill himself?!
She felt the room spinning.
[1]The phrase is a reference to the lyrics of a song released in 1998, titled Troubled By The Moon by singer Phil Chang. It alludes to the role a full moon plays in the romantic atmosphere of a moonlit night.