As long as it's confirmed that Zuo Xingyun really did time in prison, just like Mu Zi'an said, then Mu Zi'an is trustworthy.
Upon hearing her words, Achen's breathing slightly hitched, and then without revealing anything, he played dumb, "Miss, what are you talking about? I wouldn't dare to speak recklessly about Brother Yun's affairs. Instead of asking me, you should just go directly to him. You're cornering me in the middle of the night, I'm almost getting a heart attack..."
This was obviously not the answer Xiang Wan wanted; she had underestimated Achen.
She became somewhat anxious, "I already know, I just need confirmation, you just have to answer me—"
Before she could finish, Zuo Xingyun's voice suddenly rang out: 'Achen!'
The rest of her words were stuck in her throat.
Achen, nervous, swallowed: 'Brother Yun, I didn't say anything. The car is parked, and if there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now!'
Once Achen had run off, Xiang Wan looked over to where Zuo Xingyun stood under the pine trees nearby. Just back from outside, he hadn't had time to change his clothes. The formal suit, though flattering his tall figure, also seemed overly stern.
Even from a few meters away, Xiang Wan could feel the chill emanating from him. The sense of having been caught caused her heart to race and her breathing to become erratic.
The bright moonlight shimmered over the entire estate. From afar, anyone would think the two of them, gazing at each other under the moon, were lovers sharing whispered words in the night. Only Xiang Wan knew how suffocating the atmosphere was, as if the temperature around them had plummeted to freezing point.
The bare feet that she pressed against the ground began to feel cold, sending shivers straight to her core.
Suddenly, Zuo Xingyun strode forward and, to her alarm, scooped her up!
"Zuo Xingyun! What are you doing?! Put me down!!"
"Did you hear me?! Let go of me!!"
Her vehement protests went unheeded, and Zuo Xingyun's arm around her slender waist even tightened a bit more, leaving her completely immovable.
The overlapped shadows of the two stretched along the path in the courtyard under the moonlight as they slowly disappeared into the distance, while the night breeze swept through, carrying the last traces of coolness before the summer night and the crickets in the grass no matter how loudly they chirped, were drowned out by Xiang Wan's voice.
In front of Xiang Wan's room, Zuo Xingyun set her down and then spoke gravely, "If you want to know something, you should ask me directly."
She opened her mouth, intending to scold him for his earlier actions, but seeing his dark expression, she suddenly lost her nerve.
Zuo Xingyun wasn't wearing glasses; the aggression in his eyes could not be concealed. Facing him, Xiang Wan inexplicably felt at a disadvantage.
After a brief silence, Xiang Wan asked, "Did you serve time in prison?"
As she spoke, she subconsciously clenched her dress.
Her words seemed to have touched on a taboo for Zuo Xingyun.
Zuo Xingyun's hands beside him suddenly clenched into fists as if he was about to strike Xiang Wan hard the next moment, silencing her.
"I will pretend that you said nothing today and that I heard nothing."
After these cold words, he turned and went back to his room, slamming the door behind him.
In addition to being shocked, Xiang Wan's palms were covered in cold sweat.
Perhaps, everything Mu Zi'an said was true…
When the night fell silent, she changed her clothes and snuck out through the main gate.
Meanwhile, from behind a window on the second floor, Zuo Xingyun was watching her.
Watching her petite figure swallowed up by the night, Zuo Xingyun's expression, hidden in the darkness, was unclear.
He picked up his phone and dialed a string of numbers, his voice as biting as the perpetual night of the far north, "Follow her."
...
Arriving at the hotel, Xiang Wan found the room where Mu Zi'an was staying.
The door wasn't locked, as if intentionally left open for her.
Through the crack in the door, she could see the room was dark; no lights were on. As the door slowly opened, it seemed like a beast's mouth yawning.
She cautiously called out for Mu Zi'an but received no reply.
The next second, a hand suddenly pulled her in, the door closed behind her, and she was pushed firmly against the wall, her hands pinned behind her back.
Fear flooded her like a tide; she instinctively screamed and struggled, and in the chaos, her fingers found flesh, leaving deep scratches without holding back.