episode 57

Before contacting Assistant Li, He Xun went to see Mu Xianglu first.

Even if he was worried about Mo Shilin, he needed a reasonable reason to ask. If he just barged in without any reason, Assistant Li could easily send him away with a simple "company secret, no comment."

After forcing himself to calm down, he knocked on Aunt Mu's door.

After listening, Mu Xianglu remained silent for a moment, then nodded. She also solemnly instructed He Xun to find Assistant Li to find out the specific details, as she would then report to the master and mistress.

"That's great, He Xun. You're really smart. I knew my judgment was never wrong. Even if you hadn't said anything, I would have asked you to go."

That's what she said in the end.

"I'll send you Assistant Li's phone number. You'd better go to the company and find him yourself."

This was exactly the result He Xun wanted.

He immediately agreed, wrote down Assistant Li's phone number, and rushed to the Yuntu Building. In the taxi, he called the other party under the pretext that his family wanted to know about the situation.

—But the first call didn't go through.

Then the second and third calls also failed.

Because Li Mu on the other side was even busier, spinning like a top.

From the moment his boss was taken away by the police at the industry summit, his phone has been ringing non-stop. It's been ringing from executives, shareholders, subordinates, the president's office, the public relations director, the media, the legal team, reporters... as well as all sorts of clueless classmates and acquaintances who want to get gossip from him.

No exaggeration, these past two days he's been running around like a whirlwind, carrying a powder keg ready to explode at any moment. Even the weekend parent-child activity he and his wife had planned to attend together at their daughter's kindergarten had to be canceled! He stole a moment in the bathroom to hear his little daughter's pitiful, complaining voice, then hung up the phone with tears in his eyes and resolutely threw himself into his work—of course! If anything happened to Mo Shilin, he'd be out of a job too! And if he were unemployed, forget about attending parent-child activities, just surviving would be a struggle!

He Xun finally got through to Li Mu's cell phone, which had been bombarded with calls, on the fifth attempt.

He had already arrived at the foot of the Yuntu Building.

Knowing that the other party was busy, Li Mu quickly and briefly explained his purpose and asked him to wait a moment.

Five minutes later—

A young woman in a gray business suit and high heels appeared in front of He Xun with a polite smile: "Hello Mr. He, I am Dalila, the secretary in the president's office. Assistant Li asked me to pick you up. Please come upstairs with me."

"OK, thanks."

He Xun followed calmly, but inwardly he praised Li Mu for being a worthy CEO assistant, managing to send the president's office secretary downstairs to pick him up even in such a busy situation.

Of course, the secretary in the president's office should not be underestimated either—

Taking the high-speed elevator upstairs, Dalila led He Xun to the reception room and quickly poured him a glass of water: "Mr. He, Assistant Li will be here to see you in about ten minutes, no more than twenty minutes."

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Please sit down and rest. You can contact me anytime if you need anything."

He Xun expressed his understanding, and the secretary nodded, considerately closing the door and leaving.

About ten minutes later—

Li Mu arrived at the reception room on time.

He Xun stood up and greeted him, subtly observing him.

Li Mu was pretty much as he had imagined. He was around thirty years old, with a conventional appearance, a typical plain-looking academic. The only difference was that his eyes sparkled with intelligence, and he was also very tall, with his line of sight almost level with He Xun's.

Li Mu smiled and shook hands with him, feeling a sense of relief and ease at He Xun's arrival, completely unsuspecting.

After all, Mr. Mo's strict yet unpredictable and conservative family traditions are as obvious as a monk's lice. Even when they go out for drinks, a servant will bring them milk. That's something else.

It's not unusual for someone to be specifically assigned to follow up on the situation now.

He hadn't expected the male servant to be so handsome—he had assumed that people with pleasant voices were usually not good-looking.

While inwardly condemning his own stereotypes, Li Mu said, "Mr. He, please don't worry. The company has immediately engaged lawyers to intervene. If all goes well, Mr. Mo will be released on bail in 24 hours."

He Xun nodded; this was within his expectations.

"So what exactly is the story behind his alleged infringement of trade secrets? Can you disclose that information?"

Li Mu adjusted his glasses: "What I can tell you is that the whistleblower reported that Mr. Mo illegally obtained their company's algorithm module, claiming that it was their core secret. After investigation, the police found technical documents with their company's watermark on Mr. Mo's personal device, and also found an email in his email address in which Mr. Mo sold their company's core algorithm code to a third-party company. Therefore, the police used this as evidence to intervene in the investigation."

He Xun frowned: "What are the chances of him being framed?"

"I wouldn't say 100%, but it's about 90%. From what I know—" Li Mu paused, seemingly thinking, before continuing, "Mr. Mo is unlikely to do something that harms others without benefiting himself."

"Yes, that's what I was thinking too." He Xun tapped his fingers on the back of the sofa, his eyes calm. "I just saw a news article saying that a former employee of Yuntu came forward to testify that he personally witnessed President Mo copying data?"

Li Mu rubbed his temples, clearly troubled by the matter: "Our public relations colleagues are already handling it."

He Xun paused for a few seconds, then looked at Li Mu: "Excuse me, Assistant Li, what was the reason this employee resigned before?"

"He was caught sexually harassing multiple female employees and was subsequently fired by General Manager Mo."

really--

"That would be perjury."

"Most likely."

The situation was now clear, and it would be impolite to ask any further questions. He Xun, having made up his mind, stopped in time and gave Li Mu a knowing look: "Okay, I understand. Thank you for your help, Assistant Li."

"Not at all."

—Not only is he handsome, but he also has a great personality.

Li Mu silently added in his mind, saying, "It's what I should do."

He Xun stood up: "Then I won't bother you any longer, you go ahead with your work."

Li Mu pondered for a few seconds, then took the initiative to stop He Xun and smiled, "There is one visitation opportunity before President Mo is released on bail. You can come along."

"If you wish."

*

S City, Detention Center.

After passing through the security gate, He Xun, Li Mu, and another lawyer in a suit were smoothly led by the police to the designated waiting area.

The lawyer went into the private meeting room first to see Mo Shilin.

Thirty minutes later—

The lawyer came out carrying a briefcase: "Assistant Li, Mr. He, please come in."

He Xun and Li Mu stood up together and were led by the police to the middle viewing window.

The visiting windows in the detention center are all made of explosion-proof glass, with a sound transmission hole in the middle, and each window is equipped with a partition to prevent adjacent visitors from communicating with each other.

"There is a high-definition camera at the window that is connected to the command center. It will record audio and video throughout the process. Please watch your words."

The police officer leading them gave a tactful yet cautionary reminder, and only after He Xun and Li Mu agreed were they allowed to sit down in front of the window.

He Xun first looked into the window.

Mo Shilin sat inside, looking somewhat languid, still wearing the same suit he had worn when the police took him away that day. Two policemen stood expressionless beside him.

"Mr. Mo," Assistant Li greeted him first.

Mo Shilin nodded slightly, glanced at He Xun beside him, and raised an eyebrow in surprise: "Why are you here?"

He Xun didn't speak immediately, but began to carefully examine him.

From his cold, phoenix-shaped eyes, down his high, straight nose, and thin lips, my gaze traveled all the way to his previously injured shoulder.

The other person still looked energetic, only his once neatly styled black hair appeared slightly loose because he hadn't been able to take care of it while in the detention center.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward for a moment.

Li Mu coughed awkwardly twice, but it didn't interrupt He Xun's concentration.

This male servant is really... how should I put it? So bold yet so well-behaved, it's quite a contrast!

After a while—

He Xun breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that Mo Shilin was not as haggard as he had imagined.

That's good......

He finally met Mo Shilin's eyes and replied calmly, "Aunt Mu asked me to come."

Li Mu: ?

No, you were looking at her so affectionately just now, how come you started talking like an ice cube just taken out of the freezer?!

Mo Shilin stared at He Xun, but his mind was elsewhere.

He Xun's body was wrapped in a white sweatshirt, and his slender wrists with light blue veins protruded from the cuffs and rested on the dark edge of the table, pressing the snow-white flesh into a slight, almost imperceptible wrinkle.

Autumn is here, and wearing white makes one feel even more thin.

Tsk.

Does this person never eat?

So thin...

"Hmm." Since the visit was short, Mo Shilin didn't say anything more and turned to ask Li Mu about the current situation inside Yuntu.

Li Mu adjusted his mindset and answered truthfully.

Hearing Mo Shilin's voice, He Xun felt much more at ease and listened to their conversation obediently and attentively.

"How's the paperwork going?"

"It's all settled, Mr. Mo, you can rest assured."

“Okay—” Mo Shilin said, his eyes involuntarily drifting toward He Xun.

A tongue of fire suddenly brushed against his body, and He Xun froze, subtly avoiding his gaze.

Mo Shilin then turned his gaze back to Li Mu and continued talking.

In fact, he has always been very focused since childhood, and he rarely loses focus during work hours. However, this time he unusually kept glancing at He Xun's face.

It was as if He Xun had a magnet that was pulling him in.

The problem is that he himself is unaware of it.

Li Mu was a shrewd man. After a brief conversation with his superior, he tactfully suggested that they wait outside for He Xun.

He Xun hesitated for a few seconds before agreeing.

Perhaps sensing his unease, Mo Shilin dismissed the people around him: "Officers, please excuse me for a moment. I have some family matters to discuss."

The two police officers exchanged a glance, tacitly checked the recording equipment in front of the window, and then stepped back a short distance.

"Ten minutes."

Thank you.

Now it's just the two of them left.

Facing the burning gaze from the other side of the glass, He Xun's throat tightened for no reason.

I clearly had a lot to say before I came.

I want to hug him, I want to kiss him.

But none of this can be said.

"Is your arm all better?" Mo Shilin asked first.

He Xun paused for a moment before realizing what he was asking, and nodded: "Yes, the cast was just removed yesterday."

"Then don't lift heavy objects."

"Okay." Perhaps realizing belatedly that his answer was a bit perfunctory, He Xun added, "I can't carry anything too heavy either."

"...so."

Another silence followed.

"......"

For the rest of the time, neither of them spoke again, but strangely, neither of them seemed inclined to end the conversation.

He Xun's only concern was seeing Mo Shilin safe.

He didn't want to bother Mo Shilin any more right now; as long as he could see him, that would be enough.

As for Mo Shilin—in fact, even he himself didn't know what he was thinking, or why he was just sitting there wasting precious time being stared at.

Both of them had their own agendas, and neither was willing to call it an end.

Absurd ambiguity.

......

The two only emerged from the eerie atmosphere when the police arrived and urged them to leave.

Mo Shilin composed himself, decisively leaving behind the words "Eat more" before getting up. But as soon as he turned around, a voice came from behind him—

"Young Master Mo."

Mo Shilin turned around, his eyes fixed on He Xun's face. He saw the other man carefully choosing his words, stammering, "You're inside..."

Unable to wait for the next part, he raised an eyebrow, somewhat amusedly gesturing for He Xun to continue.

"You should eat more while you're inside."

His usually fluent tongue suddenly became clumsy. After speaking, He Xun belatedly realized his stupidity, having uttered a pointless remark, and a look of annoyance appeared on his face.

“I…” He Xun rubbed his hair in frustration.

Just when he thought the other party would definitely mock him, Mo Shilin curled up the corners of his lips, as if he was in a good mood, and his magnetic voice was filled with joy: "Definitely."

*

After visiting him, He Xun declined Li Mu's offer to take him home and walked to the bus stop himself.

Unexpectedly, they ran into Su Yaojia, who was walking out of a cultural and creative store, on the way.

Perhaps there's a bug in the novel's world, but Su Yaojia is probably one of only two people in the world who know about his relationship with Mo Shilin—because the day after their heart-to-heart talk at the restaurant, Su Yaojia asked him with great interest about the outcome of his conversation with Mo Shilin.

Of course, there was no result.

When Su Yaojia heard the whole story on the phone, she was stunned and speechless for a long time.

No matter how I tried to comfort her, I couldn't find the right words, and in the end, I stammered and hung up the phone.

He Xun felt a bittersweet relief, thankful that fate had left someone with a moment's memory so he could hear him talk about Mo Shilin.

Otherwise, he might really go crazy from holding it in.

The two, who hadn't seen each other for a long time, found a coffee shop and sat down.

Two iced Americanos were served, but Su Yaojia, like a cup full of ice cubes, gave He Xun a cold look: "What did you say? Did I hear that right? You're going to use your own account to stand up for Mo Shilin?"

"He was framed."

"That's not the point at all! The point is that he has already forgotten you. What's the point of you doing all this? Can't you at least feel sorry for yourself? Doesn't it hurt you to do all this for someone who has completely forgotten you?"

"It hurts." He Xun smiled indifferently, "But I don't care."

He was certain that he had once possessed all of Mo Shilin's love.

He had hardly ever been loved by anyone growing up, but Mo Shilin gave him that first experience, and he was grateful for it in every sense of the word.

"Besides, Jiajia, I helped him not just because of him. I would have stepped in if anyone else had been framed. You know what kind of person I am. He personally fired an employee for sexually harassing a woman, and now that employee is giving false testimony to retaliate against him. Shouldn't I help him?"

"...You'd better be."

After a while, Su Yaojia couldn't help but bite her straw and say, "They're really stubborn."

She understood everything; she simply felt indignant on behalf of He Xun.

The two walked out of the coffee shop side by side; it was already evening.

The sunset glow painted most of the sky, and autumn leaves were scattered all over the ground. He Xun corrected her: "It's stubbornness."