Hearing Song Qiao’s words, Chu Munan was first taken aback, then looked at her with a bit of curiosity in his eyes, but he didn’t imdiately refute Song Qiao. It seed like he agreed, but maybe not.
Song Qiao saw that he hadn’t answered but kept looking at her, which made her feel very uncomfortable all over. She couldn’t help but look away and avoid Chu Munan’s gaze.
She moved her lips slightly and then said, "Could you please take the fruit platter to my grandpa and your grandpa? They’ve been playing chess for so long; they must be thirsty..."
Before Song Qiao could finish speaking, Chu Munan directly said, "What if I said that my feelings for you aren’t because of Lu Jingchen?"
Song Qiao was taken aback, not knowing how to respond. For a mont, she just stared blankly at the man in front of her and didn’t speak.
Seeing Song Qiao’s reaction, Chu Munan knew she definitely didn’t believe his words, so he didn’t say anything more. He pursed his lips and then directly carried the fruit platter over to the two old n playing chess.
Lu Yulin had been watching Song Qiao and Chu Munan earlier, worried whether this man had taken a liking to his aunt. He hadn’t forgotten his second uncle’s instructions.
Although the distance wasn’t very far, because Song Qiao and Chu Munan were speaking softly, he couldn’t hear what they were saying, which made him a bit anxious. He wanted to move a bit closer, but this was a sofa; he couldn’t just push the sofa back, could he?
Mu Shinian was originally engrossed in eating chips and watching a movie. When she habitually tried to pass the box of chips in her hand to Lu Yulin again, she realized that nobody took the chips, so she turned her head and found that Lu Yulin wasn’t watching the movie at all but was focused in another direction.
After a brief mont of surprise, Mu Shinian waved her hand in front of him and asked, "What are you looking at?"
Suddenly, an unknown object appeared in front of him, and a voice suddenly sounded in his ear, startling Lu Yulin, who had already been on edge. He turned his head and looked at Mu Shinian beside him, patting his chest, "Mu Shinian, what are you doing? You scared ! Are you jealous that I’m better looking than you?"
Mu Shinian, "..." If you weren’t so narcissistic, we could still be friends.
Lately, Lu Yulin had been acting as if he hadn’t taken his dicine or his head had been slamd in a door, always saying he was jealous that he was better looking.
When had he ever been jealous?
By now, Mu Shinian was used to it, directly ignoring his words. After all, he knew that Lu Yulin’s occasional quirks were normal. He was only worried if he didn’t act quirky now and then.
Following his gaze, she found that Lu Yulin was actually looking at her sister and that uncle. So she casually turned her own body, chewing chips nonchalantly, and asked, "You don’t have a crush on my sister, do you? My sister is now your second uncle’s wife, your aunt. Liking my sister is not right, although I know my sister is very likable..."
Hearing Mu Shinian’s words, Lu Yulin looked at her as if she was a little monster, with undisguised disdain in his eyes, "What nonsense are you talking about? How could I possibly like your sister? And of course, I know she’s my aunt. It’s precisely because I know she’s my aunt that even if I liked her, I wouldn’t dare to compete with my uncle for his wife..."
Unless he was tired of living or didn’t want to live anymore.
Besides, he just thought his aunt was pretty, gentle, and easy to talk to.
And anyway, he didn’t approve of May-December romances at all.
Mu Shinian looked at him skeptically, without saying a word.
Lu Yulin was so uneasy under her gaze that he almost jumped, "What kind of look are you giving now? If you keep looking at like that, I’ll hit you."
Was this kid tired of living, daring to look at him like that?
Mu Shinian simply said "oh" and stopped talking. She turned her head to look at her sister in the distance and suddenly saw Chu Munan turn and walk towards their grandpas. She didn’t know if it was out of reflex or sothing else, but the two kids suddenly turned back in unison and continued watching the movie.
...
Old Master Chu had co to visit Elder Mu, so he chose to stay for a few days before returning to Beijing. Back when the Mu Family went bankrupt, Old Master Chu was abroad recuperating. His heart disease had relapsed then, putting his life at risk, so he didn’t know about the sensational ’Mu Family’s Downfall’ news in An City at that ti. If he had known, he certainly wouldn’t have stood by and done nothing.
Although Chu Munan was already the heir of the Chu Family back then, he didn’t know about the relationship between Old Master Chu and Elder Mu. If he had known, he would certainly have helped the Mu Family. Although when the Mu Family went bankrupt, it was a bottomless pit that couldn’t be filled in a short ti. Even if the Chu Family wanted to help finance the Mu Family through the crisis, Elder Mu would never have agreed to such assistance.
Elder Mu knew that the Mu Family was beyond saving at that ti, and bankruptcy could be a relief, as there would be fewer people coveting their shares and assets.
Now that the Mu Family is bankrupt, he doesn’t have to be busy every day. Although he can’t ignore financial concerns like before, Elder Mu feels that even without money, his life is better than many others.
In the evening, the two old n sat in the pavilion in the garden behind the Mu Mansion, looking up at the night sky.
Elder Chu glanced at the few stars in the sky and sighed, "Do you rember, when we were young, lying on the grass and watching the stars fill the sky?"
Elder Mu also seed to be lost in mories, a smile appeared on his face, and he nodded, "I rember. We were just twenty back then, like a couple of clueless lads. We had a fight that day and then lay there watching the stars..."
"How can you even ntion that fight? If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have fought so hard. I almost got my face smashed."
"How can that be my fault? You were also at fault!"
"How was it my fault? It was all your fault. You insisted on playing the hero to save the beauty, not realizing there were so many people, and ended up almost being a fool."
"I saw that girl being bullied by so guys and felt sorry for her, so I couldn’t help but lend a hand."
"Didn’t you help because you thought she was pretty?"
Elder Mu, "...Do I look like soone so shallow?"
Elder Chu looked him up and down, then firmly said, "Not shallow now, but quite shallow back then."
Elder Mu, "..." Weren’t we supposed to be good buddies for life? Let’s sever ties; feels like we can’t enjoy hanging out together anymore.
Elder Chu seed to sense Elder Mu’s thoughts, chuckled, and said, "But these years, you’ve had your ups and downs. If it weren’t for my heart condition back then, I surely would have helped you through those challenges. After all, we are good brothers."
Hearing Elder Chu’s words, Elder Mu felt touched, his lips moved as he was about to speak.
But Elder Chu interrupted him again, "Don’t say irrelevant things. Although the Mu Group is beyond saving now and I’ve no way to help, what if I give you money, and you refuse it? Why not move to Beijing and retire with instead? We both almost have one foot in the grave now; if you co with this ti, I don’t know when we could et again. My health isn’t as good as before..."
After a pause, Elder Chu seed to be contemplating, and said, "After all, we’ve been buddies for life. Here in An City, besides your grandson and granddaughter, you have nothing much to hold on to, and the Mu Family’s roots are actually in Beijing."
"Old buddy, if you trust , how about moving to Beijing? Now at the Chu Family’s old mansion, there’s only living there..."
Looking at Elder Chu before him, Elder Mu naturally understood that Chu was prioritizing his well-being. Honestly, he knew he had no reason to decline the arrangent; many people thought the Mu Family’s roots were in An City, but they weren’t, the Mu Mansion is actually in Beijing.
Perhaps if not for what happened back then, they would still be in Beijing today.
Elder Mu sighed and said, "I can’t give you an answer about this imdiately, give so ti."
Elder Chu didn’t intend to press further, nodded, "Alright!"
...
Though Chu Munan wasn’t visiting An City for the first ti, he hadn’t explored the night market there. Song Qiao hadn’t been to the night market in a while either. With Elder Mu’s request to take Chu Munan out to see the night scene of An City, she didn’t decline.
Just as they were about to leave, Lu Yulin, who decided to stay overnight, ca up and pitifully said, "Aunt, can I co along? I haven’t been to a night market in ages."
Chu Munan looked at Lu Yulin in front of him, frowned slightly, a trace of indistinct displeasure in his eyes.
This little rascal, he noticed from the start, held animosity towards him; later, he learned he was Lu Jingchen’s nephew.
User Comments
0 comments from readers