The drive from Shanghai to Beijing takes almost an hour, but Ai Ni arrived in less than 20 minutes.
She drove the car into the hillside resort where Shi's family lived, but before she could get out, the person in the back seat had already opened the door and thrown out.
"Who are you? Outsiders are not allowed here!"
Ai Ni took a few steps forward and said sternly to the bodyguard, "Let her in! She is—"
"I…"
Mu Yiran took off her mask. She was trembling, her legs shaking from the tension caused by the surge of hormones after the high-speed drive. She felt dizzy and nauseous, but she still spoke clearly, word by word:
“I am… Shi Youxi’s wife.”
The bodyguard looked at the pretty little face that was revealed and immediately remembered it.
They had seen this woman's photo long ago; she was the husband's new wife.
Most of the Shimen people who were seeing a woman for the first time did not have a good impression of this Miss Mu.
But a bad impression doesn't stop them from bowing and scraping to the woman in front of them.
What is the reason?
The bodyguard recalled that the last time he was allowed to be transferred from the capital to Haishi was when the tattooed man led them to Haishi to wipe out that H countryman.
That night, the goalkeeper disrupted all the venues and businesses owned by people from both the capital and Shanghai, on both sides of the intersection.
"It doesn't matter if we don't have time to tell whether it's Li Zhenrong's shop or not, we can just attack indiscriminately."
The tattooed man standing next to the gentleman gave these instructions.
At that time, there was a young leader who had just come directly from Liguo. He was always eager to curry favor and climb the ranks. This was the man who went up to the teacher and asked him a question.
Why do we need to pay?
Although they offended the lady, wouldn't it be better to beat them up, kick them out, take over the place, and let the Shi family take charge, so that the lady could be in charge?
The bodyguard remembered clearly that the man didn't even lift his eyelids; he was watching the person sleeping on his phone.
It was the tattooed man who made the move, smiling as he went up and slapped her.
The bodyguard still remembers clearly what he said while smoking.
"Shimen makes money by stepping on people's hearts, but never crosses the line of humanity. Why do you think that is?"
"Of course, it's for accumulating good karma."
"If you want to make money off the elderly, weak, women and children, go ahead, but if it gets in the way of our master being condemned and not being able to meet his wife in the next life... then you'll have to pay for that with your life."
"........"
The man, who had been silent until now, chuckled after hearing what the man with the tattooed arm said.
Everyone present got goosebumps instantly.
Just like how a bodyguard reacts when he sees a woman's face.
Not daring to delay, he immediately shut his mouth, stepped aside, and the people behind him all bent down and cleared a path for people to pass through.
I caught a faint scent that flashed by.
The bodyguard still had thoughts.
With that figure and that face...
You should accumulate more good deeds.
Not daring to be negligent, he immediately shut his mouth, bowed, and invited the person in.
“…”
This is Mu Yiran's first time here. This is different from the garden villa where Shi Youxi lived when she was Cheng Ran.
Bigger, quieter, and more beautiful.
It was also even more deathly silent.
Mu Yiran walked inside without realizing it, surrounded by bodyguards dressed in black.
After passing through the garden and arriving at the front hall, what greets the eye is an overwhelming expanse of white.
Only at this moment did Mu Yiran truly, and could only, believe:
Bai Shengsheng has really passed away.
The woman who had recovered so well and was so lively and energetic by her husband's side not long ago has passed away in the blink of an eye.
Bai Shengsheng no longer has any close relatives. She has been out of touch with society for too long, and most of her friends are either not in the country or have passed away.
Because the suicide occurred in a sanatorium, there was no word of it online; only a small number of veteran reporters rushed to the scene to film it.
Those who came to pay their respects to Bai Shengsheng were almost all people related to her husband and son.
Mu Yiran stopped in front of the main hall's entrance and immediately spotted Shi Youxi standing on the right side of the hall.
Perhaps it was because his gunshot wounds had not yet healed, making his already pale face look even paler, and his clothes were visibly looser than when he wore a suit last time.
Mu Yiran couldn't see his expression. Shi Youxi and his father, Shi Yan, both turned their faces to the side, staring intently at Bai Shengsheng's photo on the memorial tablet.
Few people came to worship, and the main hall was almost silent. Shijie, who was receiving guests, looked up and exclaimed in surprise:
"lady?!"
This single word, "Madam," drew the attention of both men in the Shi family.
Two similar, intense, and sorrowful gazes slammed into Mu Yiran's face. She stared stiffly at Shi Youxi, the man's empty gaze making her feel pain all over her body.
Mu Yiran suddenly didn't know whether she should go in or not.
As a wife, she treated him like a guest, which she herself found laughable and absurd.
In that instant, the tattooed man standing guard to the side, despite seeing her for the first time, bowed and waved to her, leading her to the portrait. Shi Jie, standing nearby, also quickly said:
"Madam, the incense."
“............”
Mu Yiran held her breath, accepted the incense without hesitation, bowed down to Bai Shengsheng, knelt down, and kowtowed.
Reporters and guests outside and in the side hall could only cast frequent glances at Mu Yiran as she performed the grand salute.
I've never heard of Bai Shengsheng having any relatives visiting...
Some with sharp ears heard the name Shijie used and began to whisper among themselves.
Mu Yiran, suppressing the stinging sensation in her nose, finished offering incense to Bai Shengsheng and then turned to Shi Yan, saying:
Please accept my condolences.
"......."
The man before her, Shi Yan, seemed to have aged decades in an instant. The man who was always meticulous in front of Bai Shengsheng now seemed to be nothing but skin and flesh. His dark eyes, similar to Shi Youxi's, stared at Mu Yiran, making her feel cold inside and out.
After a few seconds of this stalemate, Shi Yan finally spoke:
"In what capacity did you come here?"
"..."
Mu Yiran's throat tightened, and she couldn't say "Shi Youxi's wife" anymore, which she had spoken so frankly before.
She and Shi Youxi were still arguing and separating, and the man was even injured because of her. Meanwhile, she was stuck in her own self-pity, completely oblivious to Shi Youxi's unusual behavior. Even the news of his mother's death… was told to her by Li Bingcheng…
Overwhelmed with guilt and self-reproach, Mu Yiran felt ashamed to face Shi Yan.
She opened her mouth, "I..."
Suddenly, my hand was covered by a cold palm.
Mu Yiran looked up blankly at the man's thin and tall back, listening to his answer to her father.
“She came as my wife, your daughter-in-law, Father.”
The two men stared intently at each other. Shi Yan's eyes rolled mechanically as he glanced at Mu Yiran. "Oh."
After saying that, he turned his gaze back to the photo and stopped paying attention to the two of them.
It was as if he genuinely didn't know Mu Yiran's identity and was just asking casually.
Shi Youxi didn't care about his reaction. He pulled Mu Yiran back to their previous positions and stood next to him.
Mu Yiran looked at Shi Youxi's profile. The two palms of her hands, which were pressed together, went from cold to warm. Her gaze moved down and settled on the spot where he was holding her left hand, where the silver ring of the plain ring that he had never taken off rippled.
Her eyes burned, and she reached out her fingers, wanting to intertwine with the man's.
But suddenly, the hand holding hers loosened...
Shi Youxi let go.
Mu Yiran's heart suddenly stopped. Before she could recover, Shi Jie called out and led other guests in. She could only gather her thoughts.
However, no matter how many times she looked at Shi Youxi during this time, Shi Youxi did not look back at her.
During the subsequent worship ceremony, which lasted until evening, Shi Youxi did not speak to her at all.
Mu Yiran was looking for an opportunity, but she didn't expect Shi Yan to be in such a hurry to bury Bai Shengsheng immediately. She was in the side hall with the Shi family members and couldn't see what kind of funeral ceremony Shi Yan was holding for Bai Shengsheng. Shi Youxi had been inside for a long time.
The longer I wait, the more anxious I become.
“Madam, you haven’t eaten anything since this morning…” Ai Ni looked at her pale lips. “Why don’t you go and get something to eat first?”
Mu Yiran was feeling a bit overwhelmed. The stomach cramps caused by the high speed of the car on the way there in the morning were starting to ache again. But she was afraid of not being able to wait for Shi Youxi and didn't want to leave for too long, so she just shook her head and said, "No need, I'll just go wash my face."
Without letting Ai Ni follow her, she wandered aimlessly into a corridor. She splashed cold water on her face, which made her shiver and clear her head. She then heard a buzzing sound.
A man's voice.
Mu Yiran walked out and followed the sound down the corridor. She saw a half-open room, and the murmuring voice was coming from inside. This voice…
She paused, pushed open the door, and saw Shi Youxi lying paralyzed on the bed. The man's wrist was wrapped in gauze that had appeared out of nowhere, his eyes were closed, and he was making muffled sounds in his throat.
His face was ashen.
The image of the man lying in the club and being defiled that day overlapped with this moment, and Mu Yiran froze, then immediately went over.
"Time is here! Time is here!"
Mu Yiran gently patted his face, her hands covered in cold sweat. The man was unconscious, unable to wake up from his nightmare.
"Sister...sister...so dirty, so dirty..."
Seeing the man start scratching his body, Mu Yiran belatedly realized what he meant by "dirty." At that moment, her heart ached as if it were being torn apart. She half-huddled around him, her nose stinging, and coaxed him softly:
"...It won't get dirty, it's not dirty."
What did she force Shi Youxi to do in order to gain her so-called forgiveness...?
The man's body was unusually cold. Mu Yiran glanced at the injury on his wrist and was about to call for help when someone tugged at the hem of his clothes. She looked down and met those dim phoenix eyes.
Shi Youxi's gaze slowly focused, "...Sister?"
"Hmm? Are you feeling unwell? I'll send someone to find a doctor—"
Before she could finish speaking, someone grabbed her waist and hugged her, burying his head in her stomach and nuzzling her repeatedly, "Why did it take you so long to come find me? You always lie to me..."
"I was wrong... I won't do it again, please don't leave me anymore... They all reject me..."
"You can't do that too..."
"......."
Mu Yiran's lips trembled, and she almost uttered a breathy sentence, but then she heard the rest of his sentence:
"I won't lock you up anymore..."
“…”
close...
...lock them up?
The person in his arms was still nestled affectionately against him, but unlike his earlier dejection, this time there was a hint of secret joy—
"Sister, you promised to come to school to watch me play the violin yesterday, why didn't you come?"
Mu Yiran's brow twitched: "...What?"
A bad feeling washed over her, and she straightened her face. "Shi Youxi, are you...?"
The man's eyes remained fixed on her face, yet a glimmer of clarity flashed in his dark pupils.
He closed his eyes, then opened them again, and got off her lap.
His voice was cold: "What are you doing here?"
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