Mu Yiran: "?!?!"

"When did I!" Mu Yiran silently stammered, then changed her mind again:

"No, who told you that?"

"Last time, you said you were going to see Bai Shengsheng's son. Did you really think I believed you when you said you were just going to deliver a jade pendant?"

Mu Yiran murmured, "I..."

I won't come out.

Because she wasn't actually going to deliver the jade pendant; instead, she sent one of her own people there.

"You traveled a long way to see me, and every day you're either spacing out or staring at Yuhe's photos. Can you honestly say you have absolutely no feelings for that kid?"

Mu Yiran clenched her fingers tightly. "Grandpa, that's not it either... Actually, I..."

Actually, what am I?

Mu Yiran couldn't say it.

If it had been a few days ago, she would have been able to directly and frankly admit her relationship with Shi Youxi to Lin Chengxun.

But now…

Forcing a smile, she said, "You can't hide anything from me, but even if I have someone I like, it doesn't mean we're getting married right away. There's no need to prepare all this so quickly..."

Looking at the girl's bitter smile, Lin Chengxun suddenly said, "You're just like your mother and grandmother. Whenever you have something on your mind, you don't dare to look people in the eye."

Under the girl's questioning gaze, Lin Chengxun directly took out a stack of red booklets.

The top of the document clearly states: "[Dowry List]"

Mu Yiran recognized Shi Youxi's characters, and it was precisely because she recognized them that she was even more bewildered.

He actually wrote a betrothal gift list for Lin Changxun?

Lin Chengxun pushed the gift list in front of her. "That child came to see me not long after you returned from Liguo."

"..."

“He hasn’t changed much from the photo, so I knew at a glance that he came to see me, and it must be related to you.” Lin Chengxun suddenly realized, recalling how the man had expressed his intentions.

"Sure enough, the first thing he said to me was that he wanted to marry you."

“From that time on, I thought I should prepare these things for you.”

"Why? Why does Grandpa think I'm definitely going to marry him?" She found it absurd.

Mu Yiran recalled the way the man had forced her to register their marriage with a pile of things.

Uncontrollably, she blurted out in an extreme tone, "What did he use to threaten Grandpa?"

Just like how he rescued her from the Wen family mansion, he used the Wen family and its inheritance to invest in Wen Xin, gradually forcing everyone to acknowledge and accept his identity.

Shi Youxi made everyone think that his love for Mu Yiran was unconditional and all-encompassing, and even Mu Yiran thought so.

This feeling of gratitude and redemption made her increasingly addicted, to the point that she never imagined it was all just a trap set by Shi Youxi.

He was fully aware of her pain, yet he took advantage of it, all so that she would fall in love with him, who shared her suffering, after experiencing repeated traumas!

This kind of love, so full of design, this kind of love that's both coercive and seductive...

Is it really love?

"A threat?" Lin Chengxun shook his head, his usually indifferent gaze now looking at the girl opposite him with affection.

"Ranran, when you waver because of coercion, whether you compromise or not, you are no longer a threat."

"I didn't prepare these things because I thought you would definitely marry him, or because he threatened me, it's just..."

Lin Chengxun's lower lip trembled as he looked at the girl in front of him, his eyes darting around: "When you have someone who makes you act impulsively and without restraint, you must... not give up the right to have them because you are afraid of losing them or being disappointed."

"There will always be regrets... but losing something after you've gained it is always much, much luckier than losing it in the first place..."

His dry eyes blurred his vision, and the face of the person in front of him kept changing.

Lin Chengxun swallowed hard and looked into the girl's eyes.

"Grandpa wants to give you that kind of confidence."

"The confidence to make choices freely without any scruples."

"No matter who you ultimately choose."

"…………"

He separated the two keys inside. "This is the betrothal gift he gave me, some cash and real estate. I'll put it in a bank safe deposit box for you."

"This is some inheritance left by your grandmother." Lin Changxun felt very guilty when he talked about this.

“That year… I went south and rushed back when your parents had their accident. By then, the Wen family had already wiped some things clean, and even your custody had been taken over by them.”

"It's also my fault. I never thought I would be betrayed by my own people. All my friends are wolves and tigers. They all took advantage of Wen Chengru and are now trying to prevent me from finding you."

At that time, the Lin family was just an old family with a good reputation, and it was no match for the Wen family, which was booming in business.

Because of the setup, more than a dozen of the Lin family's jade shops were sealed off, and Lin Changxun was even framed and interrogated for a month. When he came out, Mu Yiran had already disappeared.

He had no choice but to use the excuse that the Wen family wouldn't let him visit relatives to invite government officials to his home to try and find out about Mu Yiran's studies abroad, while also occasionally bringing up the information that Mu Ruyan had a substantial inheritance.

Wen Chengru, that old idiot, actually believed it.

And so, Lin Chengxun began to travel around. At the age of sixty, in order to infiltrate the Wen family more quickly, he toasted and poured tea for some of the younger generation, accumulating the scattered shares they gave him little by little.

Society is just that realistic. Even though Lin was once a royal nobleman, and even though his adopted son was once the deputy mayor of Haishi, in their eyes he could become a deceased person without any title and a rich old man at any time.

"I originally planned to hand over all of Wen's shares to you after you graduated, and now it's just in time. Everything is here, including the betrothal gifts. I'm just holding them for you. Whether you accept them or not, and how you dispose of them, is up to you."

"…………"

The old man's tone, as if entrusting his orphan to someone, filled Mu Yiran with both panic and confusion. If Lin Changxun had realized the Wen family's plot to eliminate any remaining offspring so early on, even if his relationship with his adopted son wasn't particularly close, he should have at least considered that perhaps his parents' deaths were also...

She thought so and asked so.

"All these years, Grandpa never thought... never thought that my parents' deaths might not have been an accident?"

"Haven't you thought about it..." Lin Changxun's back, which had been straight for a long time, slumped down. "When you were sixteen, were you kidnapped?"

Mu Yiran was taken aback: "How did you know?"

She never mentioned these things, except for Mo Mumu, who saw her being taken away at the time.

Lin Changxun shook his head. "It's not that we haven't investigated, but every time we do, the Wen family deliberately cuts off your information. What do you think that means?"

“.......

“Your parents are very important to me, but what was more important back then was you, who are still alive.” Lin Changxun looked at her with a longing in his eyes that Mu Yiran could not understand.

I didn't originally intend to say this, but...

The old man patted her head and sighed, "Actually... I have some health problems. I have liver cancer and will have surgery soon."

A blow to the head.

Her body reacted before her reason; a lump formed in her throat, and Mu Yiran said incredulously, "...Grandpa...what did you say..."

"It's only in the early stages, don't worry, the doctor said there's a high chance of a cure."

Mu Yiran suddenly stood up. "So that's why you were in such a hurry to give me all this stuff?! Why didn't you tell me sooner! Are these things even that important?!"

Lin Changxun smiled and pulled her back, "How could this not be important? The first thing I thought of when I got the medical record was you."

"Ranran, no one knows when an accident will happen. Hesitation and avoidance will not solve any problems. The most important thing every minute is to protect the people in front of you."

“To me back then, you were just like that. Grandpa can’t absolve himself of responsibility for not being able to protect you. But now, if there’s anything you want to do or anyone you care about, then do it. Stay. Grandpa doesn’t want you to regret it for the rest of your life like I did.”

"..."

Mu Yiran had no interest in listening to his long-winded explanation. Instead, she called a doctor she knew. "I'll have someone examine you right away, Grandpa. Don't be afraid! The technology in China is very good now. If all else fails, we can go abroad to have it done! You'll be fine!"

"Why can't I get through... Ai Ni! Shi Jie! Help me contact Guan Shiyan! We need to go to the hospital right now!"

“.......

...

As Lin Chang-hsun said, it is early-stage liver cancer.

Fortunately, the tumor could be completely removed through surgery, but Guan Yi's medical expertise in this area was concentrated at the Li Guo headquarters, so Mu Yiran immediately decided to send Lin Changxun to Li Guo for treatment.

After arranging for the elderly to be admitted to the hospital, Mu Yiran felt utterly exhausted.

Guan Shiyan was not there, but fortunately he had someone arrange the details, but Shi Jie was busy running around, and it was unclear what he was busy with.

When the season passed by for the third time, Ai Ni couldn't hold back anymore.

"How many trips are you going to the toilet? Didn't you call for a caregiver? Did the caregiver fall into the toilet?"

"Ah! This...."

Shi Jie scratched his face to avoid Mu Yiran's questioning gaze, "Haha, I drank too much water and I need to pee frequently, haha. The caregiver has been arranged, and Shi Yi has also had the agreement for you to change your name signed by all the shareholders."

Ai Ni asked Mu Yiran with concern, "Does Madam still want to see Master Lin?"

Mu Yiran hesitated for a moment, then shook her head: "No, he doesn't want me to see him in pain."

"Then go back?"

Seeing Mu Yiran get up, Shi Jie quickly said, "Oh, Madam, let's eat out today! You've been eating takeout for days!"

Ai Ni: "What are you thinking? What if we go out now and people recognize us?"

"Then...then let's book a restaurant! Madam became the chairperson today! Shouldn't we celebrate?"

"Celebrate? Master Lin is sick, what's there to celebrate!"

"But the doctor said the chances of recovery are very high! Isn't that good news? Besides, Madam has lost weight these past few days!"

The two people behind her were muttering in hushed tones, but Mu Yiran could still hear them clearly. She was soft-hearted and was about to suggest booking a private room for Shijie and also call over Shi Yi and the others who had come to help today when Ai Ni remembered something and asked:

"Ah, Madam, Master Lin just told me..."

Mu Yiran turned her head: "What did you say?"

“Ahem,” Ai Ni said meaningfully, “Master Lin said that besides those properties, that person… also left some cars with him. He said they were too conspicuous and wanted us to move them. I sent someone to move them, but I don’t know where to move them back to?”

The sound wasn't loud, but it was incredibly loud in the garage.

Shi Jie immediately exclaimed, "Of course we'll drive them home! Our garage is huge! Right, ma'am? I'll park them all in a row! We can drive them however we want, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, like a chairman, haha!"

"........"

Mu Yiran pursed her lips and remained silent.

…A car?

Or perhaps it refers to the betrothal gifts.

Lin Changxun must have guessed it; that's why she asked Shi Youxi to take the things away.

That man was truly meticulous in his planning...

Thinking about it this way, I inevitably got annoyed again.

"...lady?"

"Then I'll have them drive it back—"

"Let's go back to Shiye."

Shi Jie was still very excited: "Going back to the house... Ah?!"

Mu Yiran's expression was indifferent, and the corner of her mouth twitched slightly:

"Anyway, it probably won't be long before your boss and I... get divorced, so we don't have to drive back and forth."

season:"..........."

She just blurted it out so sweetly, my sister?!

Oh no, oh no, oh no!!!

Before he could do anything about it, a shadow flashed past in his peripheral vision.

It was too late to stop it.

Just as Mu Yiran raised her hand to open the car door, a dark shadow, like a dark cloud, loomed over her from behind, shrouding her in oppressive, oppressive darkness.

Not surprising at all.

She looked at the hand covering her own, without turning around, and said, "Let go."

Shi Youxi pulled her hand away, but didn't let go.

He almost greedily inhaled her scent, yet his heart ached incessantly because of her words.

"Sister, are you... going to divorce me?"

“........”