Chapter 502: I Am Ji Zitong (1)

Mu Yuchen lifted a hand and gently held his head. He relaxed for a while before saying softly, "Mmm, Aunty passed away on this day."

When he said this, Xi Xiaye was stunned and she turned to look at him. His gaze remained still as water, yet he did not say anything for a long while.

"I'm surprised that someone would remember that day. Grandfather and Grandmother probably don't remember anymore since they forced themselves to forget."

He leaned against the sofa, his eyes a little dazed as if he was recalling something. His expression was calm and distant too. "I remember that it was a very lively Qixi festival that year. After a long period of recovery, Aunty's depression seemed to be improving. Even if it was a day of festivities, my grandmother wanted to go out for a walk with her, and at the same time, get some new clothes for her. They brought Lingtian along too. He was very young then, barely five years old. It was so long ago..."

When he reached this part, he seemed to struggle with recollecting the memories. After all, it had been such a long time ago.

"Just as they were on the way to Jing Wang Mall in the north of the city, when Grandmother wasn't paying attention, she jumped from the rooftop of the ninth floor, and then she was gone. Now, that mall has been rebuilt, and it continues to flourish, seeming even livelier than before."

"Father says that actually, Aunty was someone who was afraid of being alone. She had chosen the liveliest street in the north of the city to end her life. Perhaps that was fast. Lingtian was very much like her. Sometimes, you'd find that it was hard for him to blend in with everyone else. The reason grandfather had found Ah Mo was actually because of him. Lingtian, Lingshi, Lingmo... He named them like that. To others, the three of them are extremely close siblings, and all of them are children of Father and Mother."

"Grandfather and Grandmother really put in a lot of thought," Xi Xiaye lamented and sighed. "That way, they wouldn't feel too desolate. I believe that all of your childhoods were quite happy."

"The Mu family favors females over males. It's not that they don't care about the boys, but because they wanted to train them to be independent, so they would be more demanding of them. Grandfather, Father, and I are classic examples. Back then Aunty was very cherished in the family. Father and Mother doted on her too. They always treated her like a child that would never grow up.

"So, when that happened to Aunty, they blamed themselves. They felt like they should take part of the blame for causing the tragedy."

When she heard this, Xi Xiaye knew what he meant. She suddenly felt like this story had happened to her family too. Was her mother, Shen Wenna, not a living example of it?

However, Shen Wenna was slightly luckier. At least, Xi Mushan truly loved her. Even if they could not get together all these years and their feelings had simmered down, it never seemed to have died out. As long as the winds of spring were blowing, those tame flames would reignite again.

Yet, for Mu Zixi...

She had loved so innocently, then...

Love was a type of scary poison. It could cause someone to lose themselves in it, to fall, and to be destroyed, yet it could also make someone rise up and above, prevailing over everything.

She dared not comment on anything about Mu Zixi. She only knew that Mu Zixi still protected that man till she died, so she must have really loved that man. Nonetheless, it was also because of that that her love seemed even starker again the man's neglect and indifference.

...

The blistering hot June passed. In a flash, midsummer had quietly slipped through their fingers. Soon, it was a cool July. The hot and stuffy weather from before had started to turn cool from a few jubilant showers. It was getting closer to the Qixi festival, and such cool and refreshing weather was much more comfortable for everyone.

For quite a long time, Xi Xiaye had been busy with the South River project. Of course, she had also begun to follow Shen Yue and familiarize herself with the property business. Mu Yuchen was busy with work too. In their hectic lifestyle, the husband and wife would leave home early and return late.

In consideration of Xi Xiaye's safety, Mu Yuchen almost never left her side. Otherwise, he would make sure she had a bodyguard everywhere she went. That way, they could also avoid unnecessary breaches in safety.

Xi Mushan and Shen Wenna were still abroad. Xi Xiaye heard that Shen Wenna seemed to be recovering well. When she called her a few days ago, she told Xi Xiaye that she could vaguely see a blank whiteness unlike before when she could only see a vast darkness. When she heard this, Xi Xiaye was very excited because this meant that Shen Wenna's eyes seemed to be slowly recovering. Soon, she could probably see again.

Xi Mushan never left Shen Wenna. He personally took great care of her. From the daily conversations, she could vaguely hear Xi Mushan's increasingly lighthearted tone. Xi Xiaye thought to herself, one day, Shen Wenna would be moved by Xi Mushan and return to his side.

Shen Yue seemed to be smiling more recently. Apart from being thrilled and hopeful for Shen Wenna's recovery, it was also because Xi Xiaye could often be by his side.

Xi Xiaye was quite capable, so she picked things up quickly. With Lan Zilang and everyone else's help, her induction into the business had been comparatively easy. In fact, with Mu Yuchen's expertise, Xi Xiaye did not find it hard to cope with everything.

By the time the purple magnolias by her window had withered, Xi Xiaye met Ji Zitong, a girl who was cold as ice besides being reserved and incisive that one dared not look straight at her. She was the female bodyguard that Mu Yuchen had specially chosen for Xi Xiaye.

She had served in the army before and her family owned a martial arts center. She was well-versed in Yongchun and Muay Thai. Being deftly skilled, she could even exchange hands with Ah Mo for quite a few rounds without being defeated. Apart from that, she was also a cadet that Mu Yuchen and the rest had watched over while they all served in the army. Mu Yuchen only found out about this when Ah Mo brought Ji Zitong over.

As he sat at his desk and flipped open the information that Ah Mo handed him, Mu Yuchen muttered softly, "Ji Zitong?"

After a while, he looked up at the quiet girl before his desk.

Her long hair was casually tied into a neat bun. She wore a pair of canvas shoes and a fading gray tracksuit. With a fair and graceful face, her twinkling eyes were filled with a sharp and cold light. Despite not being a beauty or anything, at least, she had the good looks of a pretty daughter from a humble family.

Ji Zitong's sharp eyes quickly flitted to Ah Mo, Li Si, and several other bodyguards as she said calmly,

"Hello, Chairman Mu. I'm Ji Zitong. Everyone can call me Zitong."

With a nod, Mu Yuchen briefly browsed through the information at hand, then he abruptly closed the folder.