Go back to my own home.
On the other side, Chu Mu got into the van parked by the roadside, took the water handed to him by his secretary, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Have you found out what you asked us to investigate?"
"It should be being sent to me here, since transferring files across borders isn't that easy."
Chu Mu nodded, unscrewed the bottle cap, and took a sip of water. A day and a night of work had taken its toll; comforting the rescued compatriots while communicating and negotiating with the German rescue team was no easy task.
"Boss, there's something I'm not sure if I should tell you..." The secretary hesitated, looking at Chu Mu's somewhat tired appearance.
"explain."
“My sister-in-law…she took a plane back to Beijing this morning and has already left.”
Chu Mu paused slightly as he held the water, then placed it on the table and got out of the car. "I understand. Make sure the information you find doesn't pass through anyone else's hands, understand?"
"Okay, I understand."
Chapter Nineteen
While waiting in the departure lounge, Shu Yi'an sent a message to Su Ying at the airport.
Su Ying was eating out when she saw Shu Yi'an's text message. Although she knew something must have happened, she didn't ask and just replied to the message quickly.
"The key is under the doormat. If I'm not home yet, just go in. Let me know you got off the plane safely."
When the plane arrived in Beijing, it was already past nine o'clock in the evening. Shu Yi'an ran into an acquaintance as she was taking her luggage out of the gate.
Ji Hengdong hadn't expected to run into Shu Yi'an here. He only noticed that the person looked like her from afar, so he stopped and watched for a while. He didn't expect that when he got closer, it really was her!
"sister in law!"
Shu Yi'an had already walked past Ji Hengdong when she was suddenly startled by such a warm and excited call. Turning around blankly, she realized that Ji Hengdong was standing not far from her.
Ji Hengdong, dressed in a charcoal gray knit sweater and matching casual trousers, looked quite dashing standing there. Young women waiting in the lobby occasionally glanced in their direction. Shu Yi'an silently cursed inwardly, thinking, "All my brothers are the same."
Ji Hengdong and Chu Mu were two unlucky brothers who grew up in the compound. They didn't do anything serious every day, but they were good at eating, drinking, and having fun. Shu Yi'an was younger than Ji Hengdong by age, but according to Chu Mu's standards, he should call her "sister-in-law." While thinking about this, he casually stood in front of Shu Yi'an with a very innocent smile. "Sister-in-law, what are you doing here? Where have you been coming from?"
Shu Yi'an subconsciously pulled the suitcase she was carrying behind her. She smiled politely at him, "I went on a business trip and just got back. What are you doing here...?"
Ji Hengdong waved the car keys in his hand. "Hey, I'm dropping off a friend. What a coincidence. Let me take you home." He then reached out to take Shu Yi'an's luggage.
"No need to trouble yourself, I'll just take a taxi home. You go ahead with your work," Shu Yi'an quickly declined, trying to stop Ji Hengdong's actions. Shu Yi'an still felt lingering fear regarding the memories from a year ago.
Last year, when Chu Mu and Zhan Cheng were back for the first time, Ji Hengdong and Jiang Beichen got together for a get-together. The close friends, after a few drinks, got really excited and wanted to go for a drive. Chu Mu glanced at Shu Yi'an beside him, and Jiang Beichen looked at Chu Han next to him; the two of them unanimously decided to take their wives home first. However, Shu Yi'an and Chu Han were worried about them and refused to go back, so they ended up accompanying the four of them onto the mountain highway.
Because Chu Han and Jiang Beichen had spent a long time together, she was familiar with that kind of thing. It was just a pity that Shu Yi'an had been tricked into getting into the car by Ji Hengdong.
Because Ji Hengdong said, "Sister-in-law, Chu Mu will be driving this car in a bit. If you're worried, you can sit in the passenger seat and keep him company!"
While Chu Mu was searching for his wife all over the place, Ji Hengdong had already grabbed Shu Yi'an and ran off in a flash. All that could be heard was a distant scream from Shu Yi'an.
Chu Mu immediately got angry, "Damn it! That's my wife!!"
Then they saw Chu Mu chasing after them at lightning speed, while Jiang Beichen and Zhan Cheng, wanting to see Ji Hengdong suffer, also followed closely behind.
These were all high-performance sports cars, and Chu Mu was genuinely scared. His cars accelerated rapidly, catching up in just a few minutes. For a full eight kilometers, all four cars reached the finish line almost simultaneously.
When the car stopped, Shu Yi'an's face turned pale with fright. It wasn't until Chu Mu dragged her out of the car that she hugged Chu Mu and burst into tears. Jiang Beichen and Zhan Cheng, who were present, gave Ji Hengdong a thumbs up and laughed so hard they could hardly stand up straight.
Chu Mu gently patted Shu Yi'an's trembling body, then gave Ji Hengdong a good beating. Finally, he pressed Ji Hengdong's hand against the hood of the car and made him swear. Ji Hengdong, with a thick tongue, apologized to Shu Yi'an indistinctly, "I'm sorry, Shu sister, I didn't expect you to be so timid. I will never dare to do it again."
From then on, whenever Ji Hengdong was in the car and someone mentioned the name Shu Yi'an to him, he would subconsciously tremble and put the accelerator down very lightly.
"Are you slapping me in the face? You've already run into them, and you expect me to take a taxi home by myself? Not only will Chu Mu be unhappy, but if Jiang San'er and the others find out, they'll be making fun of me." Ji Hengdong took a few steps forward, then suddenly turned back and gave Shu Yi'an a mischievous smile. "Sister Shu, I promise to keep the speed below 60."
Shu Yi'an knew the relationship between them well and knew she couldn't keep refusing, otherwise Ji Hengdong might get the wrong idea. She could only follow him and say, "Well, thank you."
Ji Hengdong was driving a red sports car today, in line with his usual flamboyant style. However, this car was driving so obediently on the highway, even slower than the speed limit, that it drew the attention of passing vehicles.
Ji Hengdong glanced at the suitcase in the back through the rearview mirror, pondering before speaking. "Sister-in-law, should I take you back to the compound or to Lake Garden?"
Shu Yi'an thought to herself, "Damn it, I don't want to go back anywhere! I promised Su Ying I'd go to her place!!!" But Ji Hengdong was too shrewd; how could she dare tell him the truth? She lowered her eyes as if thinking for a moment, then looked up at Ji Hengdong and said, "Let's go back to Huyuan."
"become!"
While waiting at a red light, Ji Hengdong seemed to suddenly remember something, "Next month on the 6th, Beichen and Chuhan are having a wedding ceremony in Hainan, with all of us from our own circle. Did the boss tell you?"
Shu Yi'an paused for a moment upon hearing this, then shook her head. "Maybe it wasn't enough time. Chu Han's baby should be... a hundred days old now, right?"
"Hmm." Ji Hengdong nodded, looking at the road conditions ahead. "We've already passed it. I went to see that kid; he's chubby and fair-skinned, and quite handsome."
Shu Yi'an recalled the time when Chu Han had just given birth to Jiang Jinyao. Chu Mu wasn't home, so she went to the hospital alone to visit him. The usually arrogant and domineering Jiang Beichen stood by Chu Han's bedside, holding his son, his face full of tenderness. He seemed like a completely different person from a year ago. It turned out that marriage really could change so much…
Ji Hengdong was a very skilled driver, and he delivered Shu Yi'an to the Lake Garden Villa in less than an hour. He watched as Shu Yi'an went upstairs and turned on the lights before starting the car and speeding away.
She had promised Su Ying she would visit her before boarding the plane, but it was already past ten o'clock, and she couldn't go now. Shu Yi'an changed her clothes, intending to call her to apologize for breaking her promise. However, she didn't answer several times. Looking at the phone thoughtfully, Shu Yi'an thought that it was probably too late and Su Ying was asleep.
Because her phone got wet in the rain, she hadn't turned it on. She only discovered it was full of message notifications when she got back to Beijing.
There was a message from Su Ying asking if she had gotten off the plane yet, a message from Xiao Ke informing her that he was at the company to complete his resignation procedures, and... a message from Chu Mu: "Tell me when you get off the plane."
In just a few words, he conveyed so much to Shu Yi'an. He knew she had returned to Beijing, and to be able to so clearly track her movements under those circumstances was truly impressive.
As if in a fit of pique, Shu Yi'an suddenly locked her phone screen.
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Ji Hengdong pondered for a while in the car before finally putting on his earphones and calling Chu Mu.