Ch 47: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

But whether Qin Leyi regretted it or not no longer had anything to do with Mu Xing.

He returned home and began receiving professional rehabilitation training.

Because of his legs, he didn’t go back to the place where he had been living alone, but was brought back to the family home.

That meant living together with Mu Yuanjing and his wife Shao Jiayan, along with Mu Shao.

Mu Xing’s relationship with his stepmother Shao Jiayan was decent—not close, but not tense either. The kind where he’d greet her as “Auntie” when they met and prepare gifts on holidays, neither distant nor intimate.

On his first day back, Shao Jiayan had the housekeeper prepare a full table of his favorite dishes. Her attitude was very warm.

The Mu family had no rule against talking at the dinner table. Mu Yuanjing occasionally asked his elder son a few questions, and Mu Xing answered calmly.

Shao Jiayan studied her stepson quietly, noting how calm and collected he looked, as though the car accident hadn’t shaken him at all.

Then, just as the meal was almost finished, Mu Xing suddenly dropped a topic:

“Dad, the doctor says that even in the best case, it’ll take at least two years of treatment before I have hope of standing again. During those two years, most of my energy will have to go into recovery. I may not be able to manage the company’s affairs.”

Mu Yuanjing froze.

Shao Jiayan was just as startled, staring at Mu Xing.

She hadn’t expected him to bring this up on his own, and from the sound of it, he was implying he wanted to hand over his power.

After the shock came joy: for years now, Mu Yuanjing had been showing signs of wanting to step back and retire.

He had married and had children late; when Mu Xing was born, he was nearly forty. A few years ago, he’d had heart surgery, and his energy was no longer what it used to be. He was now much more willing to relax in his later years.

If Mu Xing was thinking of giving up control because of this accident…

Mu Shao would be the most suitable candidate to shoulder the burden.

Mu Shao clearly realized this too; he looked at his father with excitement.

Mu Yuanjing had considered this before.

But with Mu Xing just having had the accident, he’d worried that bringing it up too soon would make his eldest son suspicious.

He hadn’t expected Mu Xing to propose it himself.

After a moment’s thought, he nodded. “Indeed, your health is more important.”

Then he turned to Mu Shao: “You’ll follow your brother and temporarily take over his work. If you run into anything you don’t understand or can’t decide, ask me or your brother.”

Mu Shao answered excitedly.

After lunch, Mu Xing returned to his room.

Not long after, there was a knock at the door.

“Come in,” Mu Xing called.

The door opened—it was Mu Yuanjing.

When he entered, he saw his son sitting on the balcony, a book resting on his knees as he gazed outside.

The Mu family estate was in a high-end residential area of standalone villas, with excellent surroundings. Mu Xing’s balcony, for instance, looked out over an elegant Suzhou-style garden.

Mu Yuanjing stepped closer, intending to tell him to rest after the meal instead of straining his eyes with a book. But then he caught sight of the pale pink cover, with several cutesy characters printed on it—

“The Flower Fairy and the Little Crocodile.”

Mu Yuanjing: “……”

Well, he didn’t know what on earth the book was about, but it definitely wasn’t the kind of demanding, brain-draining professional reading he had imagined.

Thinking that, he couldn’t help glancing once more at the cover before pulling his eyes away.

“Dad, what is it?” Mu Xing asked, his expression open and unbothered, making no move to put the fairy-tale book away.

Remembering his purpose, Mu Yuanjing composed himself. “I was very glad to hear you take the initiative to step back from company matters today.”

Realizing how that might sound, he quickly added, “What I mean is, to me, your health matters more. You’ve always been the heir of the Mu family in my eyes. Letting your brother gain some experience is good too—he can better assist you in the future.”

His words were clear, his meaning unmistakable: as long as Mu Xing recovered, the Mu family would still be entrusted to him.

He had come to reassure his son—but instead, Mu Xing actually smiled:

“If Mu Shao does better than me, it’s fine to hand the Mu family over to him.”

Mu Yuanjing blinked, studying his elder son with a probing look. Softly, he said, “You seem… a little different from before.”

Mu Xing answered naturally, “Probably because I brushed past death once. My outlook has changed.”

“Oh?”

Looking at his father’s graying hair, Mu Xing said earnestly, “I think my mindset now is the same as yours, Dad.”

Mu Yuanjing: ?

He then heard his most accomplished son say, “A whole lifetime—what’s the point of struggling and fighting so hard? As a Mu family member, am I ever going to lack food or clothing? Even if I fight my way to becoming the richest man in the country, I still won’t live a day longer.”

Sitting quietly in his wheelchair, he spoke with a calm, righteous “salted-fish” tone: “So why not take good care of yourself, eat well, drink well, and make your limited years as happy and comfortable as possible?”

Mu Yuanjing: “……”

“Nonsense!” he couldn’t help but rebuke. “You’re not even thirty! And you’re already thinking like this?”

Mu Xing’s reply was to curve his eyes in an innocent smile.

The lecture that Mu Yuanjing had been about to deliver stuck in his throat.

From a young age, this eldest son had been exceptional—and with excellence came early maturity.

He was smart, polite, graceful in all he did, the very embodiment of what everyone expected from a great family’s heir.

Satisfaction was real, but so was regret.

Ever since Mu Xing grew older, Mu Yuanjing had almost never seen any expressions on his son’s face that could be described as naïve, soft, or coquettish.

Perhaps because of this regret, he was clearly more indulgent toward his younger son Mu Shao, which was how that little leopard-like temper of Mu Shao’s had been raised.

Now, when Mu Xing tilted his head back and showed him a bright, unshadowed smile, it struck directly at the heart of Mu Yuanjing the father.

Suppressing the impulse to reach out and ruffle his eldest son’s hair, Mu Yuanjing coughed lightly, already tossing aside his earlier displeasure.

“If you want to take things easier, that’s a good thing too. Focus on your rehab. If there’s anything you don’t want to say to this old man, go find that kid Mu Shao.” Without hesitation, he sold out his younger son.

“Got it. Thanks, Dad,” Mu Xing said cheerfully.

In high spirits, Mu Yuanjing went downstairs.

Seeing the smile on his face that couldn’t quite be hidden, Shao Jiayan glanced in the direction he had come from and casually asked, “You just went to see Mu Xing? What’s got you so happy?”

Mu Yuanjing chuckled. “That kid—after going through all this, his personality’s become much more likable.”

For a brief moment, Shao Jiayan’s gaze turned complicated, but she quickly smiled. “I see. People always grow. Just look at Mu Shao—he used to be like a restless little monkey, but now he’s taken the initiative to run off to the study and read documents.”

Hearing that, Mu Yuanjing felt deeply gratified. “Mu Shao’s becoming sensible too.”

Having achieved her aim, Shao Jiayan smiled gently and said nothing more.

In the upstairs room, Mu Xing listened to their conversation.

His sharpened senses had carried over with him, and without meaning to, he caught Shao Jiayan’s “little thoughts.”

This stepmother of his didn’t harbor any great malice, but she always had a competitive streak. She would never let Mu Yuanjing miss even the smallest bit of the younger son’s merits.

It was, in its own way, a little bit endearing.

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