Chapter 85: It’s okay, he’s very easy to coax.
At night, there were hardly any cars on the streets of District Jin Yi; the ten-lane highway was eerily empty.
The streetlights on both sides of the sidewalks were not as tall as the phoenix trees beside them, and the lamp heads were under the lush canopy, the warm yellow light becoming gloomy.
The black antique car drove steadily on the road, heading towards District Yin Er.
In the closed car, besides the sound of breathing, there were no other sounds, the atmosphere silent and oppressive. Achi, who was driving, couldn’t stand the oppression; he shifted his shoulders uncomfortably, his right hand reaching for the car’s light screen several times, then putting it back on the steering wheel sheepishly.
Taking advantage of the absence of cars on the road, he used his peripheral vision to steal glances at Mu Mu sitting in the passenger seat. The lights and moonlight outside the window shone on Mu Mu’s face through the windshield, making his features indistinct.
However, Achi could confirm that Mu Mu wasn’t crying. The boy who was still secretly wiping his tears when he got in the car had now regained his composure.
Achi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He knew his boss had a sharp tongue; he often made them, these rough men whose faces could be used as shields, blush.
But he didn’t expect that he could be so cruel to the person he liked. Let alone Mu Mu being sad and crying, even he felt heartbroken listening.
However, Achi found it strange. He thought Mu Mu would cry and make a fuss to Yan Gui Xing for an explanation, or start crying loudly after getting in the car.
Anything would be fine, as long as it wasn’t this quiet.
It was too quiet, as if nothing had happened, or as if something was about to happen.
Achi couldn’t describe the feeling, it just felt wrong.
As they were about to leave District Jin Yi, Achi felt he should say something. He deliberately cleared his throat, creating a little noise.
From his peripheral vision, Mu Mu did turn his head to look at him, but the exquisite and cute face was very calm, without any ripples, unlike his usual lively expression.
Achi’s heart suddenly beat faster, and he quickly looked away, focusing on the road ahead. According to Yan Gui Xing’s instructions, he should send Mu Mu to the Fourth Legion’s starport base.
However, he felt that sending Mu Mu to the base at this time might cause him to overthink things, so it would be better to ask for his opinion first.
Anyway, they were both on Glass Star; whether he stayed at a hotel or at the base, it would be the same for Yan Gui Xing, who could find him at any time.
Achi asked, “Little Madam, which hotel do you want to stay at?”
Hearing the familiar title, Mu Mu’s already dim eyes dimmed further. He lowered his eyes, looking at the strawberry hairpin in his hand, and said seriously, “I’m not Little Madam.”
Achi didn’t understand Mu Mu’s meaning, “What?”
Mu Mu repeated, “I’m not Little Madam anymore, Sir Achi, don’t call me wrong, or the General will scold you.”
Hearing the unfamiliar and distant honorific, Achi’s temples twitched. It’s over; Little Madam is really angry, and it might be difficult for the boss to coax him back.
He dared not accept the title “Sir,” adding to the difficulty of his boss coaxing Mu Mu back. He smiled awkwardly and said, “Just call me Achi, like before, Little Master. Don’t use ‘Sir’ or anything, hehehe.”
Mu Mu didn’t respond, turning his head to look at the passing night scene outside the window. After a few tens of seconds, he gave an address.
Achi felt the address was a little familiar, but he couldn’t remember which hotel it was. For Mu Mu’s safety, he decided to be a bothersome person and investigate where it was.
Mu Mu shook his head and said, “It’s not a hotel, it’s An An’s home.”
Zheng An? Achi dug up the inconspicuous, timid man from his memory. Although he didn’t seem very reliable, he was Mu Mu’s friend after all. At this time, having a friend by his side was always better than being alone.
Achi didn’t hesitate. After entering the address on the screen and following the navigation, he drove towards Zheng An’s home.
When he arrived, Achi specifically told him to be careful and not to run around.
Although Mu Mu didn’t understand what Achi meant by “don’t run around,” he still thanked him politely.
Achi waited downstairs for ten minutes before driving back.
Actually, he didn’t know what he was waiting for. Mu Mu didn’t tell him Zheng An’s specific house number; he couldn’t tell whether Mu Mu had arrived safely by whether the lights were on or off.
He also hadn’t checked Zheng An’s current address and wasn’t sure whether the address Mu Mu gave was actually Zheng An’s residence.
Most importantly, after Yan Gui Xing’s actions, he himself should have been added to the list of bad guys by Mu Mu, along with his boss.
So, it was also possible that Mu Mu had given a random address to get rid of him.
Achi suddenly regretted that he shouldn’t have softened his heart and let Mu Mu choose where to go.
What if, what if Mu Mu really hid himself and Yan Gui Xing couldn’t find him? The first person to be finished would definitely be himself.
Achi wanted to turn around and go back to find Mu Mu and send him to the base. But he changed his mind, thinking that he had learned to be too suspicious from Yan Gui Xing. Mu Mu was a naive little fool; how could he have such complicated thoughts?
When Achi returned to the villa, it was already late at night. The first floor was pitch-black, with no lights on, the only light being the light shining in from the window.
He called out twice for Xiao Ting to turn on the lights, but received no response. He strangely uttered a “huh.” But he didn’t bother to turn on the lights and groped his way upstairs.
Strangely, the second-floor corridor was also dark, the only light coming from the open study.
Achi couldn’t tell whether this was Yan Gui Xing’s intention or Mi Ya’s, who had already entered the house, his relaxed strings suddenly taut.
He entered the study and saw Yan Gui Xing sitting behind the desk. He had changed his clothes, wearing a loose-fitting, large-collared white shirt, revealing a large expanse of collarbone and chest.
He must have showered; his black hair was damp and messy, covering his eyes, giving him a careless look.
Yan Gui Xing was looking intently at something, and he didn’t react at all when Achi entered.
Achi approached and saw clearly that there was a wrinkled piece of drawing paper on Yan Gui Xing’s desk, the picture dirty; it was barely recognizable as a painting of a man.
“Boss, I’m back.”
Yan Gui Xing hummed an “Mm” in response. He gestured for Achi to sit down and tapped the painting in front of him, a hint of pride in his voice.
“Mu Mu painted me, how is it? It’s very much like me, right?”
Achi, sitting on the other side of the desk, stretched his neck, tilted his head, and looked carefully at the painting.
Well, if you didn’t look at the messy colors, it did look like Yan Gui Xing.
Achi pondered for a moment and cautiously praised, “Little Madam’s painting is very good.”
Yan Gui Xing nodded proudly and, in the manner of a husband, thanked Mu Mu on his behalf. “He’s been secretive lately; it turns out he was working on this. Tomorrow, I’ll have Xiao Ting frame the painting. Um, Achi, where do you think it should be hung? Bedroom, study, or living room? Or maybe we should ask Mu Mu to paint a few more.”
Looking at Yan Gui Xing, who seemed to have forgotten what had happened, Achi gritted his teeth and reminded him, “Boss, before you think about where to hang the painting, you should think about whether you can coax Little Madam back.”
The smile on Yan Gui Xing’s face instantly disappeared, his sea-green eyes fixed on the smudged colors, showing rare confusion.
“Mu Mu is soft-hearted and has a good temper, very easy to coax. It’s okay, don’t worry.”
This “don’t worry” was unclear whether it was for himself or Achi. He again remembered Mu Mu’s gaze under the headlights, clear, without a ripple.
It was as if he had given up on Yan Gui Xing.
Yan Gui Xing’s heart sank, unease and fear like a sword of Damocles hanging over his head, unsure when it would fall.
No. Yan Gui Xing pressed his fingers hard on the table, his nails turning white.
Mu Mu has such a good temper; if he acts pitiful and coaxes him, they will be reconciled as before.
As for Mi Ya or whatever, he can just make up a lie to fool her. Yes, Mu Mu is a little fool who doesn’t know anything, easy to fool.
Otherwise, Yan Gui Xing wouldn’t have been so careless about hiding things from Mu Mu, knowing the whole thing was being live-streamed, and he hadn’t even made a foolproof plan.
He confidently believed that even if Mu Mu saw the engagement broadcast, saw Mi Ya, and heard him say those hurtful words, he wouldn’t completely separate from him.
Mu Mu’s love was Yan Gui Xing’s biggest bargaining chip; he never thought he would lose.
Yan Gui Xing forcefully suppressed those messy thoughts, looked up at Achi opposite him, and asked, “Where’s Mu Mu? Did you send him to the base? How was the journey? Did he make a fuss? Was he crying the whole time?”
Achi thought about Mu Mu’s expression in the car and said with a strange expression, “No, Little Madam didn’t cry or make a fuss. He just stressed that I shouldn’t call him Little Madam anymore; he must be quite angry.”
Hearing that Mu Mu was angry, Yan Gui Xing breathed a sigh of relief. Anger is good; throwing a tantrum means Mu Mu still likes him.
As for Mu Mu’s whereabouts, Achi felt guilty. He lowered his eyes, avoiding eye contact with Yan Gui Xing, and rephrased the conversation.
“But Little Madam said he wanted to go to Zheng An’s house, not the base. I thought that Little Madam would be more comfortable at Zheng An’s place, so I took the liberty of sending Little Madam to Zheng An’s house.”
Sure enough, when Yan Gui Xing heard Zheng An’s name, his brow furrowed.
Although he didn’t want to admit it, what Achi said wasn’t wrong. Compared to a strange base, Zheng An was more reassuring for Mu Mu.
Special circumstances, special treatment. Yan Gui Xing didn’t blame Achi for his unauthorized actions, only saying, “Remember to report in advance next time.”
Achi secretly breathed a sigh of relief and told Yan Gui Xing Zheng An’s address.
Seeing that Yan Gui Xing didn’t show any abnormalities, he thought that given Yan Gui Xing’s obsessive control over Mu Mu’s surroundings, the address should be real.
He said so; Little Madam is simple-minded, unlike their scheming boss, who has a complicated heart.
Achi also asked where Xiao Ting was. Yan Gui Xing then remembered that he was afraid that Xiao Ting’s big mouth would say something wrong when he saw Mi Ya, so he had forced Xiao Ting into sleep mode in the morning before leaving.
After the unexpected incident with Mu Mu and having to deal with Mi Ya, who had to enter the house, then sending Mi Ya back to the hotel, Yan Gui Xing was so busy and anxious that he forgot to release Xiao Ting from his attic.
He raised his right hand, pressed his temples, let out a long breath, tapped the optical brain twice, and canceled Xiao Ting’s sleep mode.
“By the way, how are the preparations for returning to the Capital Star?” Yan Gui Xing originally wanted Achi to leave but suddenly remembered the matter of returning to the Capital Star.
Achi: “Everything is ready; we can return anytime.”
Yan Gui Xing: “Okay, keep an eye on the other generals. The term is almost over; there must not be any accidents.”
Achi: “Yes!”
“Right.” Yan Gui Xing lowered his hand, his gaze falling again on the messy painting, his lips curving into a faint but gentle smile. “Come over tomorrow morning at nine o’clock; let’s go pick up Mu Mu together.”
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