Mu Zhengsheng had been secretly watching the way Mu Shengchen and Ning Qianyu interact. He frowned for a few seconds before relaxing. No one could really tell what he was thinking
Just then, he received a phone call.
"This is Mu Zhengsheng speaking." Hearing the voice from the other end of the line, he pursed his lips and stood up. "Regarding this information...Please give me some time to think these through."
Mu Shengchen raised his head as he watched his Uncle's retreating back. The corners of his lips inched up into a cold, threatening smile. However, it immediately disappeared when other people turned to look.
Not long after, Mu Zhengsheng returned. "I have paperwork to file in the office," he explained to the other elders, before glancing at his nephew. "I'll be leaving first, all right? I'll leave them to you."
"All right."
With a pat on the shoulder, the older man left the vicinity.
As soon as the man left, Mu Shengchen called for Ye Xi. He whispered something unrecognizable into his ear. His assistant nodded and left the room quickly, leaving the other shareholders confused with the exchange.
It is only when he had signaled his wife did they finally understand. "We've already paid for the meal," he said indifferently. "Please, do whatever you please after this. Thank you." With one last stiff nod, it was their turn to leave.
Everyone smile and nodded. They understood, of course.
How could the Young Master leave his wife alone and bond with them instead? It was much better to spend all his due time with her. They smiled secretly as ambiguous expressions painted their features.
Under his directions, Ning Qianyu pushed Mu Shengchen into the guest room Assistant Ye had reserved for them. It was located a few stairs above Yupinxiang Restaurant, designed for tourists and businessmen alike.
As soon as he entered the room, he turned to her. "Take a bath."
"I...Now?" Did he want to sleep with her? Her cheeks reddened in embarrassment. "Here? Can't we just go back later and do it then? Or...how about we just don't do it tonight, okay?"
"Huh?" It took him a few seconds to realize what she meant by that. Mu Shengchen raised his eyebrows, amused by her insinuation as he controlled his wheelchair towards her. She slowly backed up against the wall, as her eyes widened in distrust.
"Shengchen!" she stuttered out, not knowing what else to say.
His rough hand grazed against her waist, and she resisted the urge to shiver. "But I can't wait any longer," he murmured teasingly, gripping her tightly. "What do we do now?"
Ning Qianyu trembled. "I...I still have to go to the research institute. For my classes."
"Then we must finish as soon as possible." The corners of his lips inched up higher and higher as his hand moved restlessly around her waist. She groaned faintly, flushing.
"That..." Every time he touched her, it was like a fire would ignite inside of her. Even if he hadn't done anything, she could already feel her breathing becoming a bit hazy.
"Qianyu," he slowly said, before raising his eyebrows in ridicule. "Ye Xi had already gone to buy new clothes for you. After you take a bath, you can change."
"Oh..." So he was asking that she change instead. "You mean...you don't want to do...that?"
"What do you mean by 'that'?" He feigned ignorance to her words.
"Nothing." She blushed as she headed into the bathroom as fast as she can. Her hands quickly stretched upwards to cover her face as she did so. "I'll go take a bath now."
Mu Shengchen's low laughter echoed across the bedroom. "Weren't you going to continue?"
"What were you even thinking?" she murmured to herself, wanting nothing more than the bare concrete to swallow her up. Her hands trembled in her sides. "Why are you stupid?"
Mu Shengchen actually cared for her enough to buy her a new dress, and she was actually thinking that he was going to follow her inside to do the deed. Just the thought of it was enough for her to bury her head deeper into her hands.
Was this the effect of being apart from him all day?
When Ning Qianyu was finished, she could see Mu Shengchen staring out into the French window. A laptop was placed on his lap, as its screen brightened and dulled with the different documents in his tab. Then, she glanced at the bed to see a white dress with matching shoes and a coat.
"You bought a whole set?" she exclaimed. When Mu Shengchen said that he had asked Ye Xi to buy her a dress, she was just expecting a dress–not an entire wardrobe. Just the sight was enough to warm her heart.
"What's wrong?" Realizing that she hadn't moved for a long time, he quickly drove towards her.
"Nothing." Ning Qianyu sniffled as she wiped the tears running down her cheeks. "It's just so sweet of you to–"
"You're not a child. Why are you crying so easily?" He shook his head, amused by her reactions.
"I–I'm not crying!"
He nodded dotingly. "Right, you didn't cry. I'm wrong."
Her bottom lip trembled as she glanced up at him, struggling to keep herself calm. "Thank you," she stuttered out as she buried herself against his chest. "Thank you, really."
"Maybe you can thank me in some other way." Taking the initiative, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. His lips slammed against hers as they shared a deep and passionate kiss.
She groaned under his hold. They would've stayed for a longer period of time if she didn't need to go to her research institute.
As soon as they came out of Yupin Xiang Restaurant, Mu Shengchen sent Ning Qianyu to the entrance of the research institute. "Are you sure you really want to go?" he teased. "We could always continue what we started." Although she stayed silent, her red face was all the answer he needed.
Faang Zijian was just about to enter the institute when he suddenly spotted a familiar Audi parked by the roadside. His footsteps fell to a stop as he peered even closer.
There, he saw Ning Qianyu open the back door and step outside. She was just about to head out when a large hand pulled her back into a car, rendering her with no other choice but to speak to the passenger.
Although he couldn't hear what they were saying, he could vaguely hear the words 'driver' and 'go back'. It didn't have much meaning, but there was something about their ambiguous wordings that made it seem as if they were close.
"Goodbye," she called out as she was stepping out of the car. He couldn't really see who was in the car, and before he could look, the Audi had already driven itself away.
When Mu Shengchen's car finally left the roadside, she turned her head and spotted Faang Zijian standing by the gates. Stunned, she slowly moved her way towards him, trying to restrain herself from all the possible insults he'd shoot at her. After all, it wasn't as if she wasn't used to them.
What she didn't expect was for him to shoot her a question the moment she stepped into the institute. "I heard you were sick?"
There was mockery dancing in his eyes.
Ning Qianyu gazed at him indifferently. In her eyes, he was just another classmate she needed to deal with. The last thing she needed to problematize herself on was his attitude. And he certainly didn't deserve an explanation.
She simply shrugged in response.
Faang Zijian clenched his fists. Does this woman not know what's good for her? Was she really going to ignore him like that?
"How can you be so shameless?"
"Shameless?" Ning Qianyu resisted the urge to snort as she rolled her eyes at him. "I don't even know why you're commenting. It's not as if this has anything to do with you."
His face turned bright red from her words. "You think I'm meddling with your matters? Please, as if you matter any more than a lizard." Without another word, he immediately stomped into the institute.
Ning Qianyu grazed the tip of her nose before she grabbed her bag and walked towards her classroom.
As soon as she stepped into the classroom, Ning Qianyu noticed that he wasn't sitting beside her as he usually did anymore. Instead, he was sitting in the front, ignoring her as she walked in.
Even her other classmates couldn't help but tilt their heads from the sudden change of seating arrangement. They peered at Faang Zijian before glancing back at her, unsure of what's going on.
Instead of addressing the matters, she simply sat in her seat as if nothing had happened. "So be it," she murmured to herself as she grabbed her notebooks from her bag.
Not long after she was seated, a small girl walked towards her table. "Hi! Do you mind if I sit here?"
"Go ahead."
"My name's Wei Xunran," she introduced herself. "It's nice to meet you."
"I'm Ning Qianyu," she responded.
"Cool. Is it okay if I call you Qianyu instead?" The smile on her face remained.
"Sure." Although she was surprised by the woman's sudden familiarity, she couldn't do anything but nod in reply. After all, there was nothing wrong with being on a first-name basis, given that they were classmates.
"I've always been having trouble with my understanding here," she complained under her breath as she asked her question after question. Ning Qianyu explained everything patiently.
Around an hour had passed when she suddenly asked, "Qianyu, are you and Senior Faang...fighting?"
Huh?
Ning Qianyu slowly shook her head. "No."
"Then..." Just as she was about to ask something more, she stood up and grabbed her bag.
"Sorry, I have to go ahead first." Ning Qianyu hurriedly left the classroom.
She had just come out of the research institute when a shadow blocked her path.