Bai Yan pretended not to understand, dragging Mu Xing towards the stairs, while looking at the police and saying, "What are those blind men doing? It's so noisy!"
Mu Xing was already exhausted, and all his weight was pressing down on her. While struggling to support Mu Xing, she deliberately shouted, "You little hussy, if I'd told you earlier, I wouldn't have listened to you! I just wouldn't have listened!"
The police officers quickly surrounded them, and as soon as they got close, they smelled a pungent odor of alcohol mixed with various strange smells. When they heard Bai Yan say that the man had just vomited, the police officers quickly covered their mouths and noses, staring intently at Bai Yan and Mu Xing.
Bai Yan goes without saying, and Mu Xing leaned against Bai Yan, her hair covering most of her face, but just by looking at her figure and her feet, you could tell she was a woman.
The order to search was for a man, so it obviously had nothing to do with the two women.
Thinking this, the lead patrolman kept his eyes fixed on the two men, not relaxing for a moment.
The beautiful woman supporting the person was named Bai Yan, and she was somewhat famous. They had seen her before, but the woman she was supporting was quite different…
The gaze moved downwards, landing on the waist that Bai Yan had reached out to embrace. The thin gauze dress faintly revealed the slender outline of her waist, which, when cinched like that, appeared even more delicate and graceful, captivating the eye.
The more he looked, the more envious he became. The patrolman took a few steps to catch up and was about to reach out to grab Mu Xing when suddenly a hand wrapped around him from behind.
"Oh dear, sir~ Our lovely lady is still waiting here, why are you going to look at some drunkard..." Before the patrolman could react, Fei Hua had already pressed herself against him, her breath as fragrant as orchids, making the man's ears go numb, and he no longer cared about his waist or legs.
As Fei Hua interrupted, Bai Yan had already dragged Mu Xing to the entrance of the hall with difficulty. Fei Hua had just instructed the maid to find her a car, which was now waiting at the door.
Upon seeing Bai Yan emerge, the maidservant hurriedly came forward to greet her, but Bai Yan stepped aside to avoid her touching Mu Xing's hand, and whispered, "I'm taking Third Master Mu's sister back, and on the way, I'll be attending Third Master's gathering. I won't be back until tomorrow, understand?"
The maid was taken aback and was about to speak when a stack of banknotes was stuffed into her hand.
"Remember what I said, you'll have plenty of benefits to enjoy from now on, Auntie."
Before the aunt could speak again, Bai Yan put Mu Xing down, got into the car, and drove off.
After instructing Mu Yuan to go to the British Concession, Bai Yan leaned back on the cushions, feeling utterly exhausted, her taut nerves feeling as if they were about to snap at any moment.
But she can't rest yet.
Not long after the car drove off, she noticed that Mu Xing's body temperature had suddenly risen, and he was trembling unconsciously. The rouge he had applied had long since melted away with sweat, congealing like blood and tears on his pale, paper-like face.
Gritting her teeth, Bai Yan lifted Mu Xing's head, wiping her sweat with a handkerchief while whispering, "We'll be there soon, Ah Xuan, just a moment, we'll be there soon..." She was comforting Mu Xing, and also comforting herself.
However, Mu Xing had already fallen into a coma and was unable to respond.
She looks just like my mother back then.
Bai Yan stroked Mu Xing's furrowed brows, feeling the astonishing heat under her palm, and finally couldn't hold back her tears, which fell in large drops onto Mu Xing's face.
The dark and gloomy carriage was like a small coffin, imprisoning the two of them inside, silently floating in the empty world, heading towards the vast and boundless night.
Finally arriving at Mu Garden, Bai Yan pushed open the car door and rushed to the fence, shouting in a hoarse voice, "Help! Help! Mu Xing is injured!"
Like a forest awakened by birds, lights lit up one after another in the windows, breaking through the thick darkness.
A group of people surged in like a tide, opened the iron gate, and hurriedly carried Mu Xing inside.
Bai Yan was squeezed out of the crowd. She wanted to follow, but her limbs suddenly went limp and she collapsed to the ground, powerless. She could only watch helplessly as Mu Xing was surrounded by the crowd and disappeared into the brightly lit manor.
The clamor vanished in an instant, just as suddenly as it appeared. Silence returned to the entrance of Mu Garden.
Trembling, Bai Yan knelt on the ground and lowered her head helplessly.
Just as she was about to close her eyes to calm herself, a small ray of light suddenly shone down from above, and a woman's voice timidly asked, "You... Miss Bai?"
Bai Yan slowly raised her head, and before her were Mu Xing's maid and driver, whom she had seen before.
Uncle Song held the lamp, and Fu Guang reached out to help her up.
"Miss Bai, why don't you go in and rest? Thank you for bringing our young lady back," Fu Guang said in a low voice, her eyes red.
"If Miss wakes up, she will definitely want to see you."
Instead of going directly into the main hall, Bai Yan followed Fu Guang around the garden and arrived at another three-story building.
Fu Guang said, "This is our master's laboratory, it's similar to a hospital. Miss is inside, and Madam... Madam is also there. Miss, please tell us what happened to our young lady..."
As soon as Bai Yan entered the building, she heard a mournful cry.
A rather elderly woman's voice cried out, "...What happened?! How could she get hurt out of nowhere... Ah Xuan..."
Another female voice comforted him, "Don't worry, Yiqian just said that the bandaging was done promptly, so the problem isn't too serious..."
Bai Yan approached step by step, finally reaching the light.
In the living room, a group of people were sitting around the sofa, watching over the woman who was crying in the middle.
Although she was still unsettled, Bai Yan quickly took a look.
The one weeping must be Ah Xuan's mother, and the one next to her must be her aunt. The one undergoing surgery is Ah Xuan's father, so this must be her uncle…
Just as Fu Guang led her over, her aunt saw her and frowned, asking, "Miss, who are you...?"
Forcing a smile, Bai Yan said, "Hello, Auntie, I'm Ah Xuan's friend. I was the one who brought Ah Xuan back just now..."
Before she could finish speaking, several sharp gazes were already fixed on her. Madam Mu raised her head and stared intently at her, her voice trembling as she asked, "Did you bring my son back? What happened to her? What happened to her?!"
Afraid of frightening Bai Yan, Aunt Mu quickly patted Madam Mu's back reassuringly, invited Bai Yan to sit opposite her, and said, "Miss, please understand our feelings as parents and tell us what you know."
Bai Yan could certainly understand Madam Mu's feelings; if circumstances allowed, she would have even wanted to cry her heart out. But right now, to find out why Mu Xing was shot, she had to tell them what she knew. With the Mu family's power, any investigation they wanted would be a piece of cake.
After composing herself, Bai Yan briefly recounted how they encountered the woman who had been shot a few days prior and how they managed to get her to the hospital.
"What happened after that, Ah-Xuan didn't tell me, and I don't know either. Around nine o'clock today, when Ah-Xuan appeared downstairs at my house, she had already been shot. Afterwards, police officers came to search our area, saying they were looking for 'bandits'..."
As Bai Yan spoke, she habitually observed everyone's reactions. When she mentioned the mysterious woman, she keenly noticed that Mu Xing's uncle's expression was somewhat off. When the topic of "bandits" came up, Uncle Mu was clearly restless.
What happened?
Ah Xuan once said that there were no internal conflicts within the Mu family; it couldn't possibly be the kind of family feuds depicted in storybooks...
Suppressing her doubts, Bai Yan told him everything she knew, and first looked at Uncle Mu: "That's all I know. As for the specifics behind it, I can only ask you, Uncle and Aunt, to take care of them. I... I also really hope that Ah Xuan can get better soon and have no worries."
After she finished speaking, Uncle Mu had regained his composure. Mrs. Mu then cried, "My poor Ah Xuan, how could she be so foolish, going to provoke people of unknown origin..."
Upon hearing this, Bai Yan recalled that she had been the one to suggest rescuing people that day, and seeing Madam Mu so heartbroken, she was overwhelmed with guilt, self-reproach, and regret… A flood of emotions welled up inside her, and her eyes reddened. She choked out, “…If it weren’t for my momentary weakness, Ah Xuan would never have gotten into all this trouble…”
Seeing her tears, Madam Mu calmed down somewhat. She beckoned Bai Yan to sit down and hugged her, saying, "Silly child, don't blame yourself. Don't I know my daughter's nature? In that situation, even if you hadn't said anything, Ah Xuan would definitely have gone to save people... Such a silly child, with that little bit of kindness, who knows how much trouble she'll cause..."
Bai Yan hadn't been embraced by an elder like this for many years. Leaning against Madam Mu's chest, feeling Madam Mu's hand stroking her hair, she almost couldn't control her emotions and wished she could cry her heart out.
But she knew this wasn't the place to cry, so she forced herself to stay calm and comforted Madam Mu, then steered the conversation back to Mu Xing being shot.
After thinking for a while, Uncle Mu asked about the mysterious woman again, asking Bai Yan if she remembered what the woman looked like. Bai Yan answered him one by one.
Aunt Mu asked, "Fuqian, what are your plans for this? Do you have any ideas?"
Uncle Mu did not answer, but said only, "I will check it out tomorrow. Let's wait and see how Ah Xuan's injuries are today."
Just then, a maid rushed over from the operating room and said, "Madam, Miss's surgery is over."
Everyone quickly got up and went over.
Mu Yiqian walked out of the operating room looking exhausted and said to Madam Mu, "Don't worry, Xuan is fine. She just needs a few months of rest. She needs to rest now, so let's not move her tonight. Let her sleep in this room."
Several maids pushed Mu Xing's operating table out, and Madam Mu hurriedly followed. The crowd surrounded her and escorted her into the room. Bai Yan only had time to catch a fleeting glimpse of Mu Xing's face in the gaps between them.
Madam Mu followed Mu Xing into his room and cried again. As an "ordinary friend," Bai Yan naturally couldn't go over and interfere, so she could only sit back in the living room.
Uncle Mu sat back down in the living room, looked at Bai Yan, and said, "I was too hasty just now, which was really unseemly. I haven't even asked for Miss's name yet."
Bai Yan quickly said, "Uncle, you're too kind." After hesitating for a moment, she said, "My surname is Bai, and my given name is Shuwan."
Uncle Mu added, "Fortunately, Miss Bai helped us today; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable. We will definitely repay Miss Bai handsomely later, so please don't be shy."
Bai Yan quickly declined.
As they were talking, Madam Mu came out wiping her eyes, thanked Bai Yan, and said, "It's getting late, Miss Bai, why don't you stay at my humble abode tonight? Is it convenient for you to stay at your home? Would you like to make a call to let us know?"
Bai Yan had also hoped to wait until tomorrow to see how Mu Xing was recovering, so upon hearing this, she didn't refuse and agreed to Madam Mu's arrangement. She added that everyone in the family already knew about this, so there was no need to inform them further.
The Mu family arranged a guest room for Bai Yan. She was so tired that she took a quick shower, sat on the bed, and took out the damaged box that Mu Xing had taken from his pocket earlier.
Ah-Xuan said that this was to exchange for that bracelet.
Without considering the significance of her action, Bai Yan opened the box.
Inside the box, pierced by violence, lay a similarly shattered women's watch. Dried blood crisscrossed the once exquisite dial, a horrifying and gruesome sight.
Ah Xuan... did she take a shortcut to find her in the evening just to deliver this watch?
Wiping away her tears, she wrinkled her nose, glared at the clock face, and said fiercely, "You bastard, all the tears I've held back for so many years are now falling on you."
"So, for those who love you, for your mother, and for me..."
"Get well soon, Ah-Xuan..."
Chapter Sixty-One
Bai Yan woke up just as dawn was breaking.
She lay there in a daze for a while, and looking at the lace and gold-embroidered curtains above her head, she slowly realized where she was.
This is Mu Garden.
She was in Mu Garden, at A-Xuan's house.
She slept at Ah Xuan's house for one night and also met Ah Xuan's parents and aunt and uncle.
She even hugged Ah Xuan's mother and cried for a while!
"Oh my god..." After burying herself in the blankets and calming down for a while, Bai Yan finally accepted the reality with difficulty—she had actually met Ah Xuan's parents in such a critical situation.
After tossing and turning in bed for a while, she couldn't help but start recalling what she had said and done the night before. However, given the circumstances of the night before, it was a miracle that she could even finish her sentence; how could she possibly care about her wording or image?
With a sigh, Bai Yanfu fell back onto the bed.
I wonder how Ah-Xuan is doing now.
Judging from what Uncle Mu said last night, he should be alright. And Uncle Mu is a renowned doctor, he'll definitely be fine…
Despite these thoughts, her mind was entirely focused on Mu Xing, and she couldn't lie there any longer. After washing up in the guest room bathroom, she decided to go see Mu Xing.
As soon as Bai Yan opened the door, the maid on the outer corridor rushed over to greet her and asked if she wanted breakfast.
Concerned about Mu Xing, Bai Yan first inquired about her condition. The maid replied, "Someone just came to report that Miss is doing very well. Madam just went to see her. Would you like to go and see her first?"
"Please lead the way," Bai Yan said.
The Mu family's main house was enormous. After wandering around the second floor for a while, Bai Yan finally reached the stairwell, and she was already getting impatient. However, as soon as she stepped down the stairs, she found herself in a dilemma.