Chapter 672: I Missed You (4)

Mu Yuchen smiled unaffectedly and remained calm as always. "If Qi Feng is dead, then everything that Qi Qiming does is still not meaningless. I know Qi Qiming well. He wouldn't have a fall out with Wang Qin without reason."

Xi Xiaye nodded. "You're right. The other day at Wang Qin's banquet, I could feel the tension between the two of them, even Qi Lei. I don't see how he can get his desired outcome. Qi Qiming's very cold to the two of them. Instead, he was very nice to Gu Lingsha. Even when it came to Su Nan's matter, Qi Qiming sent someone to handle it. That's why I'm feeling helpless."

Then, a faint hint of sadness colored the space between Xi Xiaye's eyebrows.

There was also the worrisome matter with Ruan Heng. He did not seem to be regaining consciousness soon. If he continued being like that, how was Su Nan going to manage?

When she thought about this, Xi Xiaye felt depressed and her head started to throb.

"Su Chen has already left a word. Things should be fine on Su Nan's end. Just let me handle this."

Some gloom gathered underneath Mu Yuchen's eyes and he did not look very pleased either, so Xi Xiaye knowingly stopped asking further.

...

When they returned to the Mu residence, it was just in time for lunch. Upon knowing that Mu Yuchen and Xi Xiaye were both coming over, Zhuang Shurong, who was also on break, had specially prepared a sumptuous lunch. However, Mu Tangshan was still at work and not home.

After lunch, Zhuang Shurong called Mu Yuchen over to the study room.

Mu Yuchen rarely talked to Zhuang Shurong one-on-one. When he knocked and opened the door to the study room, Zhuang Shurong was taking a document from the shelf to browse through. Upon seeing Mu Yuchen enter, she kept it away and put it on the table. As she took off her glasses, she pointed to the sofa across her. "Have a seat!"

Mu Yuchen nodded and then sat right down on the sofa. There was boiled water on the coffee table on the side. When he noticed it, he began to leisurely steep some tea.

Zhuang Shurong slowly walked over and sat across her.

"Has Father been busy recently?" Mu Yuchen asked first, then put the steeped tea before Zhuang Shurong.

Zhuang Shurong nodded and picked up the tea before she carefully took a sip. "It's going to be the year-end in a month. I've been quite busy with work recently. Quite a number of managers need to be promoted at the end of the year too, so he needs to spend some time looking over the applications. Sigh, every time it's this time of the year, he always needs to leave early and return late."

When Mu Yuchen saw the fatigue between Zhuang Shurong's eyes, he thought about it and said,

"Mother, if you're feeling tired, you can retire earlier too. You've been in bureaucracy for a few decades now. You must be tired of it now."

Zhuang Shurong smiled. "It's okay once you get used to it. I wouldn't know what to do if I retire so early. Your father probably still has chances of moving up, so I have to support him well. Ah Chen, a few days ago, I was talking to your father about you. All these years, we really have to thank you for your understanding."

"Mother, you don't have to say these things. I understand. Glory World doesn't need the two of your help either. Just do what you do best. As for the other things, I can handle it."

Upon hearing that, Zhuang Shurong nodded and did not continue this topic anymore. She went on, "I've heard about Xiaye's friend. Xiaye's quite a meticulous person, so she didn't ask me about it. I'm sure you know that Gu Lingsha's returned to City Z too."

When Zhuang Shurong said this, her pair of sharp eyes were fixated on Mu Yuchen's handsome face. She tried hard to read something from his expression, yet after she looked for a long while, she did not see the slightest hint of emotion being revealed.

"I know that the incident has always been a thorn in your heart. Ah Chen, in these past five years, we have all been carrying this heavy baggage with us and were tormented by it. It isn't only you. I'm sad about Lingtian's misfortune too, but my heart hurts even more for you. You treat him like a brother. While they might not have treated you like one, you've been a good older brother. You were very caring and considerate which is a good thing, but have you ever thought about how even if you helped him with something, it might not have been beneficial?"

Zhuang Shurong sighed. She paused, then continued, "You've been sensible and reserved since you were young. You're very similar to your father. You never needed your father and me to worry about you. Compared to you, your father and I have put more thought about Lingtian and Lingshi. Instead, we neglected you. To a certain extent, as parents, your father and I have let you down. As for Lingtian..."

"Okay, Mother, don't talk about it anymore."

Mu Yuche could already guess what Zhuang Shurong was going to say. He could not help but cut her off. He trained his gaze on Zhuang Shurong. "With regards to all of Lingtian's past, let's not talk about it anymore. Even if he was wrong in many ways, he's gone now. I don't want to be petty about so many things. Whether or not you're willing to admit it, I do have to take some responsibility for that accident. I'd never push the blame away. I admit that it was I who told Ah Bao to chase them."

Zhuang Shurong could hear a hint of angst in Mu Yuchen's tone. His eyes dimmed. She silently looked at Mu Yuchen's gloomy expression for a moment, and then said, "Have you always known that Gu Lingsha is still alive?"

"Back then, when we didn't see her and Qi Feng's corpse, I've always had my suspicions. When Xiaye and I had our wedding, I found out that she's been staying in Los Angeles."

Mu Yuchen did not hide it. He knew that Zhuang Shurong had actually been very protective of him. At least, back then, when Mu Yinan had betrothed him to Gu Lingsha as children, she almost had a fall out with Mu Yinan. She firmly told Mu Yinan that her son would never be a sacrificial lamb for a marriage to connect two prestigious families!

For this, Mu Yuchen was thankful. If it were not for her iron fist protection, his fate would have probably ended with Gu Lingsha.

He could vaguely remember that when he was younger, Gu Lingsha seemed to always come over to stay for short periods of time in the Mu residence. While he was already in boarding school, in fact, he always did not like these little girls, so every time he heard that Gu Lingsha was staying over, he would mostly run over to Su Chen and Zhou Zimo's place. Instead, it was Lingtian who met her more often, thus it was no wonder they became good friends.

Zhuang Shurong nodded and set her cup aside. "When I went to the hospital for a checkup with Xiaye, I saw Gu Lingsha too. She hasn't changed much from years ago, but the feeling she gives me right now is that she was much shrewder. She's probably taken on a different mindset compared to years ago. Most importantly, she's Qi Qiming's assistant."