Chapter 17: Night Talk
He didn’t dwell too deeply on the reason why Wei Xun wasn’t sleeping in the middle of the night. He simply assumed Wei Xun was in a bad mood due to the conflict with his parents and the fact that his own investigation hadn’t yielded clear results yet. Thus, he chatted with Wei Xun about company matters, one sentence at a time, to distract him. After they had chatted idly for a while, the gloom on Wei Xun’s face lessened slightly.
Perhaps it was because the atmosphere at this moment made it too easy to relax. As Wei Xun looked at Mu Jia Shu’s face, he finally couldn’t help but speak, “I have a friend who also had the character for ‘Shu’ in his name. His name was Mu Jia Shu. This is his room. He and you… well, it’s nothing.”
Wei Xun had an irresistible thought in his heart; he felt that Shen Shu and Mu Jia Shu were very similar. However, as much as he thought it, he was consistently unwilling to allow himself to say it out loud. He didn’t believe his Xiao Shu could be replaced by anyone.
Mu Jia Shu didn’t know what to say, so he simply smiled. After a moment, he said, “So this was Young Master Mu’s room. It seems the two of you had a very good relationship.”
Wei Xun became a bit happy, “Mm, we’ve known each other since we were kids. His dad and my dad are close, and his mom and my mom were best friends. So, when he was little, he was always sent over to stay at our house…”
Mu Jia Shu: “…”
Here he went again. Though this person wasn’t very old, he loved reminiscing about the past. Especially when he started talking about the things they did as children, he was unstoppable, never getting tired of repeating them no matter how many times he told them.
In the past, Mu Jia Shu often felt that Wei Xun treated him like a son he was showing off; that tone of his made it sound as if he had practically raised Mu Jia Shu himself.
Except, this time, after his own death, there was likely no one left to listen to his ramblings. Even if there were plenty of people eager to accompany Wei San Shao for a chat, they wouldn’t be able to keep up with these stories at all. The Third Young Master must have been stifled to death with these words bottled up.
Thinking of it this way, he felt the man was quite pitiful. Mu Jia Shu gave a secret sigh, a faint smile on his face as he continued to listen.
“That was right around the middle school opening ceremony. Xiao Shu was the freshman representative and had to give a speech on stage… Oh, right, I forgot to tell you, our Xiao Shu was smart since he was a kid and did great in school. He even skipped grades in elementary school…”
Mu Jia Shu: “…”
It was a bit embarrassing to listen to.
However, as Wei Xun spoke, he remembered it too. He indeed had skipped a grade back then, but because of his health, he had also taken a one-year medical leave. Consequently, even though he was clearly more than two years younger than Wei Xun, he was only one grade below him.
When he had just entered middle school, Wei Xun had already been “mingling” there for a year, becoming a local overlord. Children weren’t that snobbish yet; although every person in the school they attended came from an extraordinary background—either of noble birth or immense wealth, each one a little demon king incarnate and difficult to discipline—Wei Xun had built his kingdom primarily through his fists and a sense of brotherhood. His prestige among the students was much higher than that of the Dean of Students.
The opening ceremony was held on the playground. Everyone brought their own small folding stools to sit on while listening to people go up one by one to speak. Mu Jia Shu hadn’t taken his role as the freshman representative seriously at all; when he went up on stage, no one knew his identity.
The people below only felt that this kid looked like a “proper person,” but at such a young age, he carried himself with such a graceful and elegant air that it made the other wild boys of that age look even more barbaric. He was practically public enemy number one. The girls’ eyes sparkled with hearts as they applauded enthusiastically, while the boys let out a chorus of boos.
Mu Jia Shu remained deaf to it all. He read a sentence from his script, but the laughter and whistling from below rose in waves, drowning out his voice. The teachers shouted a few reprimands, and the ordinary students settled down, but a few “Princelings” remained relentless in their heckling.
While the chaos was at its peak, Wei Xun suddenly stood up, kicked over his own folding stool, and roared at the surrounding crowd, “I want to see who dares to shout one more word for me to try! If you don’t like listening, get the hell out!”
The entire venue fell silent instantly. For a while, no one dared to speak again. Mu Jia Shu stood on the stage and exchanged a distant glance with Wei Xun, who was standing on the playground. He then calmly lowered his head and continued reading, “Sensing the enthusiasm and support of my fellow students, my heart is incomparably moved…”
The entire student body: “…”
Wei Xun was still saying something, and as Mu Jia Shu thought about it, he couldn’t help but let out a silent laugh.
When they opened their eyes the next morning, the two realized they had unknowingly fallen asleep while talking the night before. One was leaning against the sofa, the other against the leg of the bed, and that half-glass of white liquor was still sitting perfectly on the floor between them.
The dawn was faint, and the morning air was fresh and damp, pouring into the room through the half-open window. Downstairs, the faint sound of a dog barking could be heard.
Mu Jia Shu opened his eyes and sat up straight. As his consciousness gradually cleared, he greeted Wei Xun, who had also just woken up, “Young Master Wei, good morning.”
The sleeping arrangement hadn’t been great, but the quality of this sleep was actually quite good. Mu Jia Shu had slept very peacefully the entire night, and the morning light cast a faint, warm glow on his fair cheeks.
Wei Xun: “…Good morning.”
Although the metaphor was inappropriate, he still felt that Shen Shu’s complexion was like a small flower that had just bloomed—bright, with a touch of youthful innocence.
He looked away, “I’m taking the dog for a run. You get ready and prepare for breakfast.”
The Wei couple was likely busy and was already gone from the house. After walking the dog and eating breakfast, the two headed out for the company.
As Mu Jia Shu walked out, the Samoyed in the yard jumped up happily and rushed in front of him. Its fluffy big tail wagged frantically, its mouth pulled into a grin, and its eyes curved into crescents.
Mu Jia Shu bent down and reached out his hand, shaking its paw.
A soft chuckle came from the opposite side. Mu Jia Shu let go of the dog’s paw and looked over. Beside him, Wei Xun had already spoken, “Haochang.”
From the Mu family’s villa, Mu Haochang walked out wearing casual clothes, “Yo, Third Brother, you have a guest today? Hey… did he stay over for the night?”
Hearing his sarcastic tone, Wei Xun didn’t even bother to explain. He answered impatiently, “If someone stays, of course they stay for the night. Do you expect them to wake up in the middle of their sleep to change locations?”
Mu Haochang was directly rebuffed, but instead of getting angry, he laughed as if he found it very amusing. He walked up to Mu Jia Shu and extended his hand toward him, “I remember now. Isn’t this the bodyguard gentleman I saw in the car last time? Truly, what a coincidence.”
“What coincidence?”
A girl’s voice cut in.
The three of them looked over together. A girl in a light blue long dress walked out from behind the Mu family’s yard. She was also in her twenties, with a playful short haircut that made her look full of youthful energy and exceptionally charming.
That was just the surface, however.
Mu Jia Shu had known her since they were children. This girl was the only daughter of the Fang family, and her name was quite pleasant: Fang Jingzhen. Her father had no sons, so he raised her like a boy. Fang Jingzhen was two years older than Mu Jia Shu. After returning from studying abroad, she was already the manager of her family’s company. Her style of doing things was extremely fierce and decisive, which led the employees to privately nickname her “Tiger Aunt.”
Previously, she and Mu Haochang seemed to have been together for a while, but they later broke up. Every time they mentioned each other, it was practically with gnashed teeth and irreconcilable hatred. No one knew how they had ended up back together now.
Mu Jia Shu hadn’t intended to shake hands with Mu Haochang anyway. With Fang Jingzhen’s interruption, he took the opportunity to step back.
Wei Xun glanced at him and inconspicuously stepped between the two of them, saying to Fang Jingzhen, “Jingzhen, you’re here.”
Fang Jingzhen said with a smile, “Third Young Master Wei is looking quite handsome in this outfit today.”
Wei Xun spread his hands, “Thanks for the compliment.”
“Miss Fang, it’s not very good of you to praise another man in front of me.” Mu Haochang spoke with a half-serious tone, as if the two of them really had reconciled. “You’re quite quick, coming here this early.”
Fang Jingzhen sighed, “I’ve been openly and secretly in love with you for so many years, yet we only dated for two months in total. This time, I finally have some hope and haven’t managed to reel you in yet, so of course I wouldn’t dare play too hard to get.”
Mu Haochang and Wei Xun both laughed at her words. Fang Jingzhen then added, “I’m asking you, what coincidence were you talking about?”
While laughing, Mu Haochang reached out his arm past Wei Xun, grabbed Mu Jia Shu’s hand, and pulled him over. He introduced him to Fang Jingzhen very affectionately, “I was saying that with this… what was his name again? This is a bodyguard from Third Brother’s company. Jingzhen, come look, don’t you think he looks a lot like a certain someone?”
Fang Jingzhen glanced at Mu Jia Shu, her expression changing slightly. Wei Xun’s face darkened as he warned, “Mu Haochang.”
Mu Haochang burst out laughing as if his prank had succeeded. Among the four, Mu Jia Shu was the most composed, “Young Master Mu, may I ask you to let go of me?”
Mu Haochang asked with a smile, “You seem very unwilling to shake hands with me?”
This man had such a twisted personality; since childhood, he would do whatever was most annoying. Just now, he had noticed that Mu Jia Shu seemed unwilling to shake hands with him, so he was deliberately holding his hand and refusing to let go.
Mu Jia Shu looked back at Wei Xun’s dog. It was squatting in place, wagging its tail innocently, and hadn’t approached—because it had been warned many times not to get close to Mu Haochang. Even as a member of the “Three Sled Silly” breeds, it had learned its lesson.
Mu Jia Shu gave a smile. This smile suddenly gave Mu Haochang a sense of familiarity.
A very bad sense of familiarity.
“It’s not that I’m unwilling to shake hands with Young Master Mu, it’s just that I just touched the paw of that dog. Thus, I feel it would be somewhat rude…”
Mu Haochang felt as if he were holding a piece of burning coal. He hurriedly shook off Mu Jia Shu’s hand, his face changing completely.
Mu Jia Shu said apologetically, “Young Master Mu, I’m truly sorry. However, my hands didn’t get too much dirt on them…”
“Hahahahaha!” Fang Jingzhen couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “It’s not your fault! Haochang doesn’t have a cleanliness obsession; he’s just been allergic to dogs since he was a kid. Just hearing about things related to dogs will make him…”
“Fang Jingzhen!”
“Okay, okay, okay, I won’t say it.”
Mu Haochang’s face was ashen. He gave Mu Jia Shu a fierce glare. Mu Jia Shu looked at him innocently. Mu Haochang gritted his teeth and said, “I’m going to wash my hands before coming back out!”
As he spoke, he turned and left. At first, he was taking large strides, but after two steps, he broke into a run.
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