As for Miss Mu, she fell ill due to the blow of breaking off her engagement with Young Master Song.
After the news was released, those who had been acquainted with "Young Master Mu" were naturally in an uproar. Apart from those who had business dealings with Mu Xing, such as Zhang Derong, who remained tight-lipped, the others could only sigh a few times, and it was just another topic of conversation.
As for Tang Yu, she did come to the Mu residence to visit Mu Xing after hearing the news.
Naturally, the pretext of visiting a patient was used.
Mu Xing no longer cared about how much Tang Yu was involved in the manhunt, or to what extent. Lying in her hospital bed, she simply showed a perfectly measured look of confusion, expressing her gratitude for the visit from Tang Yu, a person she had never met before.
Young Master Tang was indeed a clever man. He glanced back and forth between Mu Xing and Bai Yan, who was sitting beside him, and finally just politely wished Miss Mu a speedy recovery before leaving a fruit basket and departing.
Then came a steady stream of visitors, both acquaintances and strangers, relatives and friends, all bringing their families to visit Mu Xing, this pitiful man "harmed by love." They also wanted to use their connections with Uncle Mu to ask Dr. Mu for surgery arrangements. The Mu family home was practically overflowing with visitors; the threshold was nearly worn out.
Mu Xing was truly annoyed and complained to Bai Yan several times in private about why her uncle said she was troubled by love, which really humiliated her.
Bai Yan chuckled: "What else do you want? To say that Miss Mu was unhappy about the annulment of her engagement and got into a fight with her ex-fiancé, ultimately winning 1-0 and being gloriously injured? Is that impressive enough?"
Mu Xing laughed: "That's quite impressive. Why don't you take this news and sell it to Song Youcheng's tabloids? It might help boost his sales."
Joking aside, he still had to entertain the guests. However, with so many guests, Mu Xing was not only getting impatient, but it was also affecting his rest.
In the end, the old lady felt sorry for her granddaughter not getting enough rest, so she decided to send Mu Xing back to the old house in Tonghua, so that she could have some peace and quiet and relax. This is the proper way to recuperate.
Mu Xing was initially reluctant to go, complaining that the old house in Tonghua was too far from Wenjiang, and she wouldn't be able to see Bai Yan. With the emperor far away and that man surnamed Sun still watching her like a hawk, who knew what kind of situation this illness would lead to?
Since he had already reported Bai Yan's identity, Mu Xing didn't hide anything and directly expressed his concerns.
In the end, it was the old lady who made the decision: "What's wrong with that? If you feel you have no company, then why not invite Shuwan to come back and have some fun together?"
Mu Xing exclaimed happily, "Grandma, you're so thoughtful!"
However, Grandma's next words were: "Why don't we invite Yining to come along too? When you were little, didn't you always go back to escape the summer heat? It would be fun if you went together."
Mu Xing was startled, but before she could refuse, just as the devil appeared, Li Yining, whom she hadn't seen for almost two months, finally came to visit her.
Chapter Sixty-Five
Li Yining came with Wang Mengwei.
At that moment, Mu Xing was lying in bed talking to her grandmother and Bai Yan. Just as she heard the maid's announcement, there was a clattering sound of high heels outside the door. Li Yining had already run in and pounced on Mu Xing.
She choked up and said, "What happened to you! I didn't believe the rumors that you were sick, but now you're really lying in a hospital room!" Her tears instantly dispelled the suspicion and estrangement that had been building up over the past few months.
Mu Xing hurriedly said, "It's nothing serious, just a minor injury from a bump..." As she spoke, she quickly reached for a handkerchief to wipe Li Yining's tears, and then asked a maid to bring a chair for Wang Mengwei to sit down.
Li Yining wiped away her tears, still scolding, "A minor injury? A minor injury doesn't warrant lying in bed!" She turned to the old lady and said, "Grandma, listen to what Ah Xuan is saying, she doesn't care about herself at all!"
The old lady smiled and beckoned her over, saying, "Don't you know best what kind of person Ah Xuan is? Grandma can't control her, and I'm counting on you to keep an eye on her. But you, child, haven't you come to see Grandma in so long?"
As she spoke, Grandma patted Bai Yan's shoulder again: "Now that A-Xuan is sick, only Shu Wan is still willing to keep this old woman company."
Before Bai Yan could speak, Li Yining leaned closer and said coquettishly, "No, I'm just busy because I just graduated. I just came back from Beiping, and I even brought some tea and snacks to give to Grandma. I just heard that Ah Xuan is sick as soon as I got off the plane..."
He didn't respond to Bai Yan's words at all.
Noticing Li Yining's subtle treatment, Mu Xing coughed while lying on the bed, reached out and took Bai Yan's hand, and said, "Wan'er, can you pour me a glass of water?"
Bai Yan, who was sandwiched between Li Yining and her grandmother, smiled upon hearing this, got up, went around to the other table to pour tea for Mu Xing, and greeted Wang Mengwei with a smile, "Greetings, Young Master Wang."
Wang Mengwei, who was sitting to the side, had seen Bai Yan early in the morning and was staring at Mu Xing in astonishment. If it weren't for the fact that the old lady was still there, he would have shouted long ago.
Isn't that the famous young master from that brothel? Why is he here?!
He had long heard that a young master had commissioned the young gentleman to provide large candles for his son's small wedding. Later, he heard in business that the young master's surname was "Mu," but he hadn't given it much thought. He never expected this…
While the old lady and Li Yining weren't paying attention, Wang Mengwei whispered, "Ah Xuan, what kind of trouble are you up to!"
Mu Xing blinked innocently: "What can a patient like me do?"
Wang Mengwei gritted her teeth: "Don't play dumb!"
Mu Xing grinned at him and said, "Don't ask questions you shouldn't. Also, stay behind for a bit; I have something to discuss with you."
Just as Wang Mengwei was about to speak, his grandmother looked up at him and said, "Mengwei is here too, why don't you come along?"
Wang Mengwei immediately smiled and said, "Oh, Grandma, where do you want to go?"
Grandma told him about inviting him, Li Yining, and Bai Yan to the old house in Tonghua to escape the summer heat.
Seeing Mu Xing winking at him, Wang Mengwei could only say, "Ah, cough, I'm afraid I can't go this year, Grandma. I happen to have a project to work on."
Upon hearing this, Grandma said it was a pity: "I heard that Tonghua will be performing a village opera this year. Didn't you love watching it when you were little? I still remember that year, when Fu Xue was still alive, you kept asking her to take you to see it..." She patted Li Yining's hand, "Yining, you don't have anything to do, do you?"
Looking at Mu Xing, Li Yining said with a half-smile, "I would like to go, but I'm afraid Ah Xuan will think I'm superfluous."
Upon hearing this, Mu Xing immediately felt awkward.
Although she did want to be alone with Shu Wan, Ning's words sounded strange. It was as if... she had discovered something...
Just as she was about to speak, Bai Yan, who hadn't said a word until now, suddenly said, "How could that be? I heard Grandma say that Tonghua is a water town, with water as clear as a mirror, reflecting everything clearly. There are already many fish, so I don't think they would complain about having too many."
Li Yining's previously sweet smile instantly turned icy cold as she stared straight at Bai Yan without uttering a word.
Bai Yan just looked at her with a smile.
Grandma's hearing wasn't very good, and she hadn't quite heard what Li Yining said, but upon hearing this, she nodded and said, "Yes, there are plenty of fish at the old house, and the fishing season is almost here. You'll definitely have plenty of river delicacies to eat there..."
With a cold laugh, Li Yining said, "Alright, Ah Xuan, when do you plan to go back to the old house?"
Mu Xing almost choked up, wanting to say directly, "Can we go another year? I want to go with Shu Wan!"
But her reason prevailed in time, and she managed to twist the words that were about to come out into: "The 12th, which is the day after tomorrow."
She thought to herself, "Fine, it's been a while since I played with Yining. I can't let her think that I've become distant from her now that I have Wan'er. Anyway, I have a long future with Wan'er, so this one time won't make a difference..."
Unexpectedly, Li Yining lowered his head and pondered for a while, then said, "I have something to do the day after tomorrow, so I'm afraid I won't be able to go."
Mu Xing was taken aback. Before she could feel happy, she became suspicious.
If it were the usual Yining, she would definitely overcome all obstacles to go out and have fun together, so why is she acting differently today...?
A sense of loss arose spontaneously, but it quickly dissipated.
After all, even she herself had stood up Yi Ning several times for Miss Bai's sake. It's normal that Yi Ning will gradually have a life that excludes her.
Perhaps, this is what friendship is.
After talking for a while, someone from the main house came to invite the old lady and Li Yining to come over and sit down. After saying a few more words, Li Yining took the initiative to help the old lady out of the room.
Mu Xing quickly stopped Wang Mengwei and asked him to wait a moment.
After the old lady left, Bai Yan also discreetly withdrew from the room to let them talk. As soon as the door closed, Wang Mengwei exclaimed, "Grandma! What's going on?! What's happening here?!"
Mu Xing said helplessly, "Calm down, calm down, why are you reacting so strongly? Shu Wan is... my friend."
Wang Mengwei frowned and glared at her: "She had better just be your 'friend'."
"Just friends... no, wait a minute." Mu Xing frowned. "Why does what you're saying sound so strange?" It also sounded very familiar.
Not wanting to say more, Wang Mengwei asked, "What do you want me to do now?"
Mu Xing chuckled and revealed her entire plan.
Her public identity was already obsolete, so she could no longer use it to ask Bai Yan to leave the game, let alone redeem her from her bond.
Therefore, after discussing it with Bai Yan, they decided to find a reliable person to temporarily hire Bai Yan from the brothel on a monthly basis. This was a delaying tactic before she could be redeemed, and it would at least guarantee Bai Yan's personal freedom and safety.
Naturally, her explanation to Wang Mengwei was the same as her explanation to Uncle Mu: she simply wanted to help a friend.
Wang Mengwei glared at her: "You're really not afraid of my dad finding out. If he finds out I'm having an affair, I'm afraid I'll end up like Youcheng."
Mu Xingxian laughed and said, "How could that be? You're not like Youcheng, who's seen as the epitome of gentleness, kindness, respect, frugality, and humility by the elders. What haven't you done? You're not lacking in this one thing, are you?"
Unable to resist her nagging, Wang Mengwei finally agreed. He and Mu Xing had done a lot of mischievous things since they were little, and even though he knew it was probably inappropriate, his childhood habits forced him to agree to Mu Xing's request.
Besides, he had kept Song Youcheng's matter a secret from Mu Xing, and he still felt guilty.
Bai Yan had been standing outside the door. When she heard the lock click, she quickly turned around, and Wang Mengwei, who rushed out, smiled.
Wang Mengwei glanced at her, intending only to nod and leave, but after thinking for a moment, he whispered, "Miss Bai, I hope you truly consider Mu Xing a friend as well."
Bai Yan was taken aback, but quickly realized what she meant and said, "Of course."
Nodding, Wang Mengwei then left.
Bai Yan returned to the house, and Mu Xing smiled and said, "He agreed."
"That's good then." Bai Yan said, "I have to go back to the brothel today. I've been away for three or four days, and your reputation has spread again. My mother might think I've run away."
Holding Mu Xing's hand, she whispered, "Sometimes I really want to just run away with you."
"Don't talk nonsense." Reaching out to touch her temple, Mu Xing said, "One day, we will stand in the sun rightfully."
He nuzzled against her hand and nodded, "Yes, I'm waiting for this day."
In the afternoon, Bai Yan said goodbye and returned to her ancestral home. Her grandmother assumed that she was going back to prepare things for her trip to Tonghua with Mu Xing, and repeatedly urged her to explain things clearly to her parents so as not to worry them.
Bai Yan readily agreed.
Back at the brothel, the madam's reaction was as expected. She first berated "Young Master Mu," then scolded Bai Yan for not returning for several days. Her words were harsh, but Bai Yan was delighted and ignored them.
The next day, a ticket signed "Young Master Wang" was delivered to the brothel. Bai Yan went out and sat alone in the coffee shop for half a day. When she returned, the madam immediately changed her tune and treated her like royalty.
The madam gave a long lecture: "That girl Feihua went on a business trip with Principal Zhang a couple of days ago and won't be back until tomorrow. Judging from the looks of it, I'm afraid she'll end up 'married off' like Feilian. She's a money-loser. In the future, the only ones left to hold up the place are you and Feilan, and you're the best..."
The status and prestige within this establishment are nothing but a joke if spoken aloud, yet it's the only source of pride for the gentlemen, big and small. Even knowing it's all just a fleeting illusion, they still flock to it like moths to a flame.
Bai Yan used to find such "encouragement" pathetic and laughable, but now it's like a gentle breeze passing by, not even causing a ripple.
On the third day, Bai Yan still wanted to wait for Fei Hua to return and say a few words, but unexpectedly, Wang Mengwei came to Yu Hua Shu Yu in person early in the morning to pay the money and pick up the person.
The madam happily accepted the thousand dollars for Bai Yan's indenture and urged her to leave. Not wanting to delay her, Bai Yan had no choice but to get into the car and leave. However, when they arrived at the agreed-upon river mouth, they waited for quite a while before finally seeing the Mu family's car approaching in the distance.
It turned out that, wanting to be unrestrained, Mu Xing suddenly threw a tantrum on the way, sending back all the maids and servants that Madam Mu insisted she bring, and then she happily took Fu Guang and Uncle Song with her, traveling light all the way to get here.
As soon as they reached the river mouth, she hurriedly called out, "Wan'er, get on the boat quickly! My mother will be coming with her men soon, so let's hurry!"
In front of Wang Mengwei, Bai Yan couldn't say anything, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curve upwards.
Uncle Song and Fu Guang hurriedly carried the luggage onto the ship. Mu Xing, who was still not very good at walking, was helped onto the ship by Bai Yan. He leaned against the ship's deck and waved to Wang Mengwei: "Thanks, Lao Wang!"
"Screw you! You're such a pain!" Wang Mengwei cursed, then added, "Have fun!"
Mu Xing shouted, "How could I not be happy!" Facing the river breeze, she was filled with the fishy taste of water, which made her cough. Bai Yan quickly patted her back.