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◎The Vanished Month◎
Mu and Qing racked their brains, but could not remember exactly what happened that day. It was like trying to recall what they ate for breakfast a month ago—not that they were deliberately forgetting, but rather that they were ignoring it.
This is the first time in her life that she has taken the initiative to be affectionate towards someone, how could she possibly ignore it?
Also, how is she going to face Jiang Mu?
It's been so long, and Jiang Mu hasn't come looking for her. Maybe he's already forgotten about her, hahaha.
Mu and Qing comforted themselves for a few moments and finally forgot about the matter for the time being. They had just closed their eyes and slept for a few hours when there was a knock on the door.
She drowsily thought for a moment, realizing she hadn't made plans with any friends today. Yawning, she opened the door, and there stood the person she'd been thinking about last night.
Mu and Qing were so frightened that their mouths were agape, and they hadn't even finished yawning.
Jiang Mu was dressed casually today, wearing a black trench coat and a beige knit sweater. His brown eyes held a hint of a smile as he naturally walked past Mu and Qing into the house.
Mu and Qing remained standing there, motionless.
Why does everyone act like they're already familiar with her when they enter her house?
"Qing, why are you standing at the door without moving?" Jiang Mu used a much more affectionate way of addressing her.
Mu and Qing turned around. Had she missed something in the plot? When did they become this intimate?
Jiang Mu took off his trench coat and threw it on the sofa. He found a kettle, poured himself a glass of water, and sat on the sofa, drinking the water as if this were his home.
"Ah, Jiang Mu." Mu Heqing snapped out of her daze, unsure of what to say, and could only greet him awkwardly.
Jiang Mu was hurt by Mu Heqing's attitude. He lowered his eyes and said, "Why are you treating me like this?"
"Then what should my attitude be?" Mu Heqing asked stiffly.
Jiang Mu walked up to Mu Heqing, took her hand, and asked earnestly, "Qing, do you still remember that rainstorm that day?"
Ah, torrential rain.
Mu and Qing began to recall, but the memories flowed through her mind like water, as her brain deemed them unimportant.
Jiang Mu continued, "You asked me if I liked you, and I said yes. Then you kissed me. Do you remember? Qing, your attitude now is so hurtful, as if I'm a complete stranger."
Mu and Qing swallowed hard. It seemed to make sense, but something still felt off.
She couldn't quite remember if any steps had been omitted, so she just let Jiang Mu continue talking.
"Later, you said you had something to do and told me to leave. I waited for a month, but you didn't come to see me. I came to see you today, and you've been at home the whole time, without taking the initiative to come to see me." Jiang Mu's words contained a small accusation, but it was not too serious and made people feel guilty.
After Jiang Mu mentioned it, Mu Heqing remembered that she had asked Jiang Mu to leave first because she needed to go find the principal.
But why did she kiss Jiang Mu back then?
"Perhaps, something unexpected happened," Mu Heqing stammered as he explained.
“Anyway, we’re together now, so I can let bygones be bygones. But you can’t suddenly leave for so long in the future.” Jiang Mu tapped Mu Heqing’s nose.
Mu and Qing touched their noses, completely bewildered. Was something wrong?
Mu Heqing looked visibly confused, but she did ask Jiang Mu if he liked her, and she did kiss him first.
Something went wrong that led to the current situation.
She looked at Jiang Mu, finding it difficult to say no.
Since things have come to this, let's eat first.
When Mu Heqing was in Huacheng, Jiang Mu invited her to come back to Ancheng for a meal. At that time, Mu Heqing declined his invitation, but in the end, they still ended up having the meal together.
Before meeting Jiang Mu, Mu and Qing had no idea that Ancheng had so many strange restaurants.
Jiang Mu enthusiastically introduced the restaurant and its specialties to Mu Heqing. He carefully asked Mu Heqing about her preferences while holding the menu, which made Mu Heqing glance at him a few more times.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" Jiang Mu stopped and rubbed the menu with his hand.
Mu Heqing said honestly, "I think no one would dislike you."
"How could that be? Lots of people hate me," Jiang Mu then said, pointing to a dish on the menu. "Would you like this? I'm afraid you won't like it; the fish tastes rather strange."
Mu and Qing glanced at the menu and, seeing that it contained fish names they didn't recognize, shook their heads.
Her mind wasn't on the meal; she was just thinking that if what Jiang Mu said was true, and that many people really disliked him, then she really didn't understand him at all.
Why would she take the initiative to kiss a man she barely knows?
Mu and Qing quickly verified the truth of Jiang Mu's words.
After they finished their meal, before they even left the restaurant, they ran into a man and two women.
Mu and Qing could sense that the atmosphere among these people froze the moment they saw Jiang Mu.
One of the women muttered in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, as if she was deliberately trying to make Jiang Mu hear what she was saying.
"I didn't check the almanac before going out today, and I ran into the wrong person. What bad luck."
The man among the three said to the woman, "He Li, say less."
Jiang Mu was about to retort with a cold laugh, but then she remembered that Mu and Qing were beside her, so she forced herself to hold back.
He clenched his fists. He had been busy with Mu and Qing's affairs for the past month and hadn't had time to deal with these people yet.
As they passed each other, the woman named He Li suddenly said to Mu Heqing, "You're not talking to him about something, are you? Don't agree to anything he says, or you'll end up like me, either dead or skinned alive."
Jiang Mu's expression changed, and he pulled Mu Heqing behind him. He turned around, and although he still had a smile on his face, it looked a bit forced.
"Qing, don't listen to her nonsense. There's some... misunderstanding between us." Jiang Mu carefully chose his words.
Mu and Qing rarely saw Jiang Mu lose his composure.
"He Li, what's wrong with you!" the man in the group yelled. After he finished yelling, he turned to Jiang Mu and said, "Jiang Mu, you know He Li's personality. She didn't do it on purpose."
"Should I tolerate her?" Jiang Mu sneered. After saying that, he realized he had spoken out of turn. He glanced at Mu Heqing, who was still in a daze behind him, and felt extremely remorseful.
Why is he so fierce in front of Mu and Qing?
Mu Heqing didn't think that much about it, but she was certain of one thing: she really didn't know Jiang Mu very well.
She took Jiang Mu's forearm and shook it slightly, saying softly, "Let's go."
After saying this, Mu and Qing didn't get a response from Jiang Mu. He Li on the other side shouted first.
"Wow, Jiang Mu, is this your girlfriend?"
Mu and Qing looked up and found that the three people opposite them all had expressions of having seen a ghost.
She was puzzled; had she just done something out of line?
Jiang Mu deflated immediately. Why should he bother arguing with three idiots? He changed to his smiling face and ignored the three of them.
As Mu and Qing left, they could still feel the intense gazes of the three men, as if they wanted to pierce through her back.
For the first time, Mu and Qing truly understood the meaning of the idiom "like having thorns in one's back".
In the car, Jiang Mu thought Mu Heqing would ask about the three people, but Mu Heqing didn't ask a single question. Instead, she made another request.
Can I see where you live now?
Mu Heqing thought that Jiang Mu had already seen where she lived, so she wanted to see his place too.
If you want to understand him, you have to start with the environment in which he lives.
Jiang Mu was in a dilemma. It wasn't that his place was too messy to be seen by others, but that when he bought a house in Ancheng, he had made a stupid mistake and decorated the house in pure black, which was very different from his pure white personal image.
He had a vague feeling that his image was about to completely collapse in front of Mu and Qing.
Jiang Mu forced himself to drive back to his house in Ancheng and reluctantly opened the door.
No one else has ever been in this house except him.
Mu and Qing changed their shoes and looked curiously at the pure black ceiling, the pure black matte walls, and the pure black floor.
"This is the first time I've ever seen a house like this. It's so unique," Mu Heqing exclaimed.
It's just that it's hard to clean, the lighting inside isn't very good, and the renovation took a lot of effort.
Mu Heqing thought to himself.
Hearing Mu Heqing's evaluation, Jiang Mu's anxious heart calmed down. He opened the refrigerator, took out a can of soda, and asked, "Why didn't you ask me about those three people?"
"Which three?" Mu Heqing realized that Jiang Mu was talking about the three people from earlier. "Oh, they don't seem to like you. I thought you got along well with everyone."
Just as Jiang Mu was about to hand the soda to Mu Heqing, she heard her say, "Did they give you a hard time? I can help you get rid of them."
"Handle?" Jiang Mu was slightly taken aback.
Mu Heqing spoke as if she were saying the weather was nice today; her gaze was natural, and her eyes were clear.
Jiang Mu's hand, holding the soda can, froze in mid-air. Moisture in the air condensed into water droplets when it hit the cold soda can, making his hand instantly wet.
…………
Let's go back to the days following the torrential rain.
Jiang Mu's worldview was shaken, and his love, which hadn't even begun, came to an end. He was also very worried about Mu and Qing's whereabouts, and he was in a daze.
He was feeling frustrated at the time, unable to find Mu and Qing's whereabouts no matter what he did, just like when he inquired about the situation at Kyushu Manor.
He went to a bar to drown his sorrows, but he had a high alcohol tolerance and didn't get drunk even after drinking quite a lot.
Until he met a strange man, a man with a goatee, wearing a light gray fedora, who looked a bit slovenly, and who also carried a briefcase.
The man called himself "Uncle Gua," which was clearly an alias.
Uncle Gua appeared in the bar, sat next to Jiang Mu, and said something to Jiang Mu.
Do you love her?
Jiang Mu simply thought he was crazy.
After that, Uncle Gua started talking to himself.
"No, no, no, it hasn't reached the point of love yet. I just like her, want to see her, have feelings for her, and want to be with her, right?"
"What advice do you have?" Jiang Mu sneered. He was now acting like Uncle Gua with ulterior motives.
"Jiang Mu, I have high hopes for you." Uncle Gua picked up his wine glass and took a sip. "Your colleagues all say you're not good enough, that your bottom line is too low, and that you're too ruthless in your methods. They say it's impossible for you to really fall for a girl like Mu Heqing. But I'm different. I believe in you, and I believe that you've always been pursuing genuine feelings."
As Uncle Gua spoke, he took out a thick stack of documents from the briefcase he was carrying and casually flipped through them.
"Uncle Gua, this is the first time I've met someone whose interpersonal relationships are more complicated than men's nonsense. Jiang Mu, tell me, do these people know that the price you paid for doing things for them was this high? You've gone to great lengths for them. But the fact that you're still alive means they don't know. What would happen if they did?"
Uncle Gua placed this stack of documents in front of Jiang Mu.
"Threatening me?" Jiang Mu didn't need to look at it to know that this stack of documents must have recorded every single thing he had done in detail.
"No, no, how could I threaten you? You're the only savior right now. Who told you to be the last human Mu and Qing saw with whom they had a decent relationship? Sigh, as the saying goes, one thing subdues another. Even a shrewd man like you has been subdued. The wheel of fate turns."
"What do you mean?" Jiang Mu asked.
"I'll tell you in detail," Uncle Gua said with a smile as he finished the last sip of his drink.
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