Ch 51: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

Mu Xing went to see his mother.

Madam Zhu Lanjun was a strong career woman. After her divorce, she founded her own independent jewelry design brand, which had since become one of the top names in the country.

She never remarried, but she did have a boyfriend with whom she shared a good relationship—he was half a peer, a fashion designer.

When she heard Mu Xing’s reason for visiting, surprisingly, although a little caught off guard, Zhu Lanjun was very supportive.

That surprised Mu Xing. “You don’t blame me?”

Zhu Lanjun glanced at her lively, healthy son. “Blame you? Do you know what it felt like when your mother heard you’d been in a car accident, rushed to the hospital, and saw you pale as death on that bed—while the doctor told me you might never stand again?”

At that moment, all thoughts of wealth, ambition, and striving had been thrown aside.

She would have gladly given up her life’s work in exchange for her son’s health.

So, when she heard Mu Xing come to her on his own, saying he wanted to rest, she wasn’t upset—she was relieved.

She patted Mu Xing’s hand. “Don’t overthink. Come look at the new nails I just had done—aren’t they pretty?”

Mu Xing bent down seriously to study them, then nodded. “Pretty!”

“My son has good taste!” Zhu Lanjun beamed. “Since you want to rest, then it’s perfect timing—Mom will give herself a break too. We’ll enjoy some proper mother-son time together.”

Ever since Mu Xing had grown up, the two had each been busy with their careers. Even when they met, it was only briefly. It was rare to truly spend time together.

“Alright,” Mu Xing agreed.

For the next half year, he accompanied Madam Zhu Lanjun across half the world.

They had plenty of time and certainly no lack of money. They ate, drank, and shopped their way around the globe, even buying a number of properties along the way.

As Madam Zhu put it: “That way, next time we visit, it’ll be convenient.”

When they finally returned home, she told him, “If you don’t want your father’s company, then don’t take it! Anyway, all of Mom’s assets and company will be yours. If you don’t want to manage it, I’ll arrange everything—you can just hold the shares and collect the money.”

Mu Xing: “…Aren’t you afraid I’ll squander it all?”

Madam Zhu waved a hand grandly. “Then squander it. What do you think I worked so hard for? It’s for us to spend. If it’s all gone, go find your father. Even if you don’t want the company, the shares of Zhaoxing that belong to you will still be yours.”

Mu Xing looked at her.

She was no longer young; time had left marks on her face. Yet her eyes were youthful, vibrant, bright and clear.

Still the elegant, charming beauty she had always been.

He thought back to the memories of the original Mu Xing—how, after breaking his leg, he had fallen into constant torment.

He may not have tortured Qin Leyi or Cheng Qian too much, but he had certainly tormented himself and his family.

In those memories, when Mu Xing committed suicide, Madam Zhu had already aged a great deal. Each time she came to visit her son, her exhausted face was forced into a smile.

Perhaps Mu Xing hadn’t been unaware—he had simply walked himself into a dead end.

He couldn’t let others go, and couldn’t let himself go either.

He wondered what had become of Madam Zhu, in that original timeline, after her son’s suicide.

And his father, the old man—whose health was already poor, and whose most hopeful son had left before him…

“Son?” Zhu Lanjun waved a hand in front of his eyes. “What are you thinking about? We need to get through security.”

Mu Xing came back to himself. Looking at his fashionable mother, he couldn’t help but pull her into a strong hug.

She froze, then patted his back. “Xingxing?”

Mu Xing let go, smiling with his eyes curved. “It’s nothing. I just wanted to hug you.”

He whispered, “I’ll be a good son, Mom. I’ll make sure you never shed tears for me again for the rest of your life.”

Those words warmed Zhu Lanjun to her very core. Smiling broadly, she hooked her arm through her handsome son’s and walked on.

Neither noticed a fellow traveler in line behind them snapping a photo of the moment.

So when Mu Xing dropped his mother at her residence and drove home, the first thing he met—besides his stepmother’s friendly smile—was his father’s glare.

Mu Xing: ?

He asked curiously, “Dad, who upset you?”

Mu Shao kept his head down, snickering silently. Shao Jiayan called him to sit down, not even bothering to spare the grumpy old man a glance. “Don’t mind him. Come eat.”

Mu Yuanjing: “Hmph!”

Seeing his stepmother and brother acting like that, Mu Xing knew it couldn’t be anything serious. The old man was just stewing over something.

So he sat down and ate with an easy heart, even remembering to ladle his father a bowl of soup.

He got another glare for his efforts—but Mu Yuanjing still finished the soup.

After dinner, Mu Xing pulled his brother aside to ask quietly, “What’s wrong? Is Dad mad at me?”

Baffled, he added, “I just got back. I didn’t do anything to upset him, did I?”

Mu Shao eyed his brother’s rosy complexion and vibrant energy, proof of a carefree life, and felt a stab of jealousy.

He rubbed his own face, suddenly feeling that maybe being the big boss wasn’t all that happy after all.

“You’ve been traveling everywhere with Aunt Zhu, haven’t you? Hardly ever calling home. Today someone snapped a photo of you two at the airport, and it’s already on the trending searches.”

He said tactfully, “Dad saw it, so he wasn’t happy.”

Mu Xing was confused. “Huh?”

He opened his phone, clicked on Weibo, and sure enough, saw the trending topic.

The post came from an ordinary user.

Super Mary Says V: Today I ran into Mu Xing, the eldest young master of the Mu family, at the airport. He’s so handsome in person! And his mom is so stylish and elegant! I didn’t expect someone who seems a little cold would hug his mom and whisper to her—the contrast is adorable! His smile was so warm. [photo] [photo] [photo]

The photos showed him hugging Zhu Lanjun and leaning close to whisper something to her.

Both mother and son were smiling brightly in the pictures.

【Wow, Young Master Mu’s height is insane, he really stands out in a crowd.】
【This man is seriously handsome. I heard after his legs healed he didn’t return to the family business, that he’d been kicked out by his stepmother and brother, but look—he seems to be living pretty happily.】
【That smile, wsl, my husband is too handsome.】
【I’ve been slain by this side profile and smile. Daily reminder that Qin Leyi was blind—how could you not be satisfied with a man like this?】
【I’m calling her ‘mother-in-law’ first!】

Mu Xing finished reading and still didn’t see anything worth his father’s anger.

He looked at Mu Shao in puzzlement.

Mu Shao sighed when he saw Mu Xing still didn’t get it. “Dad’s jealous.”

Mu Xing: ?

With a belly full of confusion and amusement, he went upstairs and knocked on the door of the old man’s study.

Mu Yuanjing was feeding his goldfish. When he saw Mu Xing enter, he neither spoke nor acknowledged him.

Remembering what Mu Shao had said made Mu Xing want to laugh.

He walked over. “Dad, how’s your health lately?”

Mu Yuanjing shot him a sideways look, snorted, and said, “I can eat and drink, not dying yet.”

Mu Xing grinned. “I bought you a gift.”

Mu Yuanjing snorted again. “Oh? You still remember to buy me gifts?”

Mu Xing rubbed his nose. He really wasn’t good at this kind of passive-aggressive sparring.

So he went straight to the point: “Mu Shao said you’re envious I traveled with my mom?”

“Who’s envious?” The old man nearly jumped.

He put on a stern face. “I’m just a father disappointed that I raised such a useless son.”

Mu Xing just kept smiling at him—until the old man’s face started to twitch, and he grew flustered and angry. “What are you laughing at?”

Mu Xing cleared his throat. “I was thinking—this time Mom and I went to a few really nice places, great for health and vacations. Dad, do you want to go too? We can take Aunt Shao too.”

Mu Yuanjing muttered, “You just went, what’s the point of going again? Not going, not going.”

Yet despite those words, when winter came, the three of them—father, stepmother, and son—packed their bags and happily went to the hot spring resort Mu Xing had mentioned.

Leaving behind Mu Shao, who was stuck in endless meetings and business trips: ??? So… love does fade, right?

*

When spring arrived, Mu Xing had a dream.

The long-vanished mysterious light orb reappeared.

It was furious. “Qin Leyi got back together with Cheng Qian.”

Mu Xing: ?

The orb raged, “Those two dogs—how can you not take revenge? How can you not vent your hatred?”

When it didn’t hear Mu Xing reply, it looked at him strangely, then checked on the task progress in this world.

Two minutes later—

A piercing shriek split the air:

“Ahhhh—”

“I was only gone a little while, and your legs healed on their own? Fine, but why did you hand the company over to Mu Shao?”

The orb, sounding like it had taken a heavy blow, demanded, “Don’t you want revenge? Don’t you want to destroy those two? As a man, wealth, power, ambition—they’re your greatest halo! How can you give it all up?”

Mu Xing looked at it curiously. “Weren’t you fine before? Why are you having another episode?”

The orb: “…”

Mu Xing: “As long as I live happily, what do you care who I give the company to?”

“And besides—” he thought of his silly younger brother with a hint of pity, “—what’s the point of running a company? It wears you down to death. Mu Shao’s not even thirty, and I swear his hairline’s already receding.”

He shook his head, sighing. “So tragic.”

The orb: “…”

Hit again, it fled from Mu Xing’s dream and sulked in silence.

As for what it had said—that Qin Leyi and Cheng Qian were together again—Mu Xing didn’t care in the slightest.

To him, those two had long since become irrelevant passersby.

But not long after, he heard the news of Cheng Qian’s engagement.

The bride-to-be was a wealthy heiress, a perfect social match, and had nothing to do with Qin Leyi.

Mu Xing was honestly surprised. After such a huge scandal, someone was still willing to marry Cheng Qian?

The Mu family received an invitation to the wedding—but none of them went. Everyone knew the two families had long since fallen out.

Soon after the marriage, Mu Xing heard gossip in elite circles: No wonder the bride agreed—Cheng Qian’s family had been hiding a one-year-old illegitimate daughter.

They’d kept it under wraps before the wedding, but now it had come to light.

This “green hat” on Cheng Qian’s head was loud and spectacular—far more dramatic than anything Mu Xing had faced back then.

❣╰(⸝⸝⸝꒳⸝⸝⸝)╯❣

Sandy: next chapter Pw is green hat