Chapter 34: The Avengers
“Brother, you look like you’re in a good mood. If something nice happened, why not share it with us?”
Looking at her brother sitting on the chair to her left, Gu Anran already knew it was related to Mu Yi, but she still asked on purpose.
Hearing this, Gu Zhiren glanced at her a couple of times and just smiled without answering.
About the fact that Mu Yi was his childhood friend, he had thought he wouldn’t be able to accept it at all. After going to see her in person, he realized that was indeed the case.
He couldn’t stand watching her continue to fall like this.
Lazy, and always lying.
He would do his best to help pull her back, but only because of their past relationship. There was no reason, and no need, for him to do more than that.
But… did he really look that happy?
Without realizing the smile on his face, Gu Zhiren looked at Aunt Lin as she walked over. He took the bowl and chopsticks she handed him and thanked her.
Aunt Lin was in charge of household matters.
She smiled back and then left.
“Zhiren, you know this already. We asked you to bring Anran back today because we wanted to talk about your birthday. But you let her come home alone.”
Mrs. Gu smiled gently, set down her chopsticks, and looked at him with both curiosity and concern.
“Were you busy with company matters just now?”
As soon as she said this, three pairs of concerned eyes focused on him.
No one spoke, but their looks said everything.
Gu Zhiren stayed silent for a moment, thinking. He then glanced at his sister. Seeing her tilt her head cutely, he immediately understood.
Looks like she said something that made their parents misunderstand.
Not planning to hide it, he said directly, “I went to meet a friend.”
“Oh, speaking of that!”
Gu Anran suddenly spoke up. She took out her phone and tapped on it.
“My favorite author just updated 6,000 words. And it’s only been two hours, right? My brother is still so efficient.”
As she spoke, her eyes moved around playfully, looking at everyone at the table.
“Dad, Mom, and brother, I’m also old friends with that author. For brother’s birthday party next week, can I invite him and his younger sister?”
Hearing this, all three of them showed surprise.
Mr. and Mrs. Gu quickly exchanged a look, then left the final decision to Gu Zhiren.
He thought about it for a moment.
As long as his sister didn’t accidentally reveal anything, Mu Yi would probably refuse the invitation. Even though the party would actually be in the same place, he still nodded and agreed.
Come to think of it, he hadn’t replied to Mu Yi’s message yet.
He planned to reply after dinner.
At the same time, Mu Yi was carrying several bags of trash down the stairs.
After throwing the trash into the bin, she felt relaxed. She clapped her hands, stretched her arms without caring about her image, and let out a satisfied sigh.
So tired…
Just taking out the trash made her this tired. She should probably exercise more in the future.
Just as she turned to go back upstairs, a familiar female voice came from not far beside her.
“Miss Messenger, we meet again.”
It was Shen Muxue.
“Oh, what a coincidence. Good evening.”
Seeing Shen Muxue walking toward her, Mu Yi raised her left hand and waved lightly beside her head.
“Did Mu Yi call you? Not long ago, he—”
Before she could finish, she was interrupted.
“He already called. Thanks for passing the message.”
Shen Muxue stopped in front of her. Being about a head taller, she looked down at Mu Yi, then raised her hand and pulled down the sunglasses on her nose slightly.
“He should be at home now, right?”
Hearing this, Mu Yi thought for a moment. A bright smile slowly appeared on her face, her eyes curving like a crescent. She turned slightly and casually pointed in a direction.
“Mu Yi? I just saw him rushing downstairs and running outside when I came down. Did you miss him?”
She sighed, as if feeling sorry for Shen Muxue.
“That’s really unlucky. How about you wait a bit? It’s cold now, and there are no mosquitoes, but if you wait too long, you might catch a cold. Being sick feels awful.”
She spoke in a very “logical” way, even nodding her head, with a face that said, ‘I’m seriously thinking for your sake.’
After hearing this, Shen Muxue’s eyes turned cold. She let out a cold laugh and raised an eyebrow.
“Are you messing with me? I’ve been waiting here for a while. I didn’t see anyone run out.”
“Huh?”
Mu Yi froze for a moment, but quickly recovered. She put her hands on her hips and said, “Don’t believe me? Then go upstairs and check yourself. If I’m lying, I’ll give you 1,000 yuan. If I’m not, then you give me 1,000. Go on, hurry up and check.”
“……”
Shen Muxue’s lips twitched slightly. She looked up at the windows and confirmed that Mu Yi’s room light was off. After thinking for a moment, she frowned.
“I spoke out of line. Please don’t take it the wrong way.”
After saying that, she pushed her sunglasses back up. Just like last time, she turned and left without hesitation.
This time, Mu Yi didn’t wave goodbye. She just pouted, patted both sides of her thighs, and walked back the way she came, heading into the stairwell and climbing upstairs.
…………………………
At the parking area of the residential complex.
Shen Muxue opened the car door and sat in the driver’s seat. The anger in her chest finally burst out as she punched the steering wheel.
Then, a bold and careless male voice came from the back seat.
“Miss Shen, did that girl make you angry? Want me to teach her a lesson?”
“No need.”
“Oh?” The man chuckled. “Fine. Then what about your ‘little brother’? Didn’t you call him? Why hasn’t he come out yet? I’m not a very patient person.”
“Jiang Heng. I’ve thought it through. Mu Yi is still my younger brother. I don’t want to hurt him.”
Shen Muxue glared and looked back as she spoke.
The man was Jiang Heng, the general manager of Xinhai Grand Hotel.
Not long after she parted ways with Gu Zhiren, Jiang Heng had sent people to find her. He even promised to repay the 35 million debt of William Hotel.
It seemed like he had a deep grudge against Gu Zhiren, and even the entire Gu family.
At first, Jiang Heng had even suggested kidnapping Mu Yi to threaten Gu Zhiren. He seemed to think that only such methods would work on someone like him.
At that time, she had been out of her mind to agree to it, and even brought him here.
“You clearly hate him, yet you’re still being soft.”
With a mocking tone, Jiang Heng leaned his head on one hand and looked toward the stairwell where Mu Yi had just entered, narrowing his eyes.
“Fine. Anyway, our target from the start… has always been Gu Zhiren and the Gu Group.”
“...But let me make one thing clear, Miss Shen. You’re only my partner because we both hate Gu Zhiren and share the same goal. Right now, I’m the only one who can help you.”
Hearing this, a chill ran down Shen Muxue’s spine.
But she really had no other choice.
Her mother had collapsed.
Her father and older brother were still in the United States. Normally, news of such an emergency should have reached them already, but she had forced the information to be kept hidden.
She couldn’t afford to lose face. She wouldn’t allow William Hotel to be destroyed in her hands.
Heh. If she couldn’t beat Gu Zhiren in business… couldn’t she use other methods?
“Miss Shen, then we’ll go with Plan B.”
As he spoke, Jiang Heng stretched his legs and casually placed his foot on the front passenger seat.
“This time, don’t say no again, alright?”
“Got it.”
“Gu Zhiren’s birthday is coming soon, right? But will he even get to celebrate it? Haha… let’s watch together as the entire Gu Group falls apart, partner.”
“Of course.”
After saying that, Shen Muxue forced out an ugly smile.