n

n

n

nWhen Mu Sijue woke up, it was already morning.

nHe opened his eyes and the dream from last night came to his mind.

n“Dad, why did you and Mom abandon me?”

nThe child’s plaintive cry still echoed in his ears.

nMu Sijue’s heart jolted. He tried hard to recall the child’s face in the dream.

nThe sad thing was that he remembered everything except the appearance of the child.

nHe remembered the child’s cries and complaints, but he could not remember what the child looked like.

nWas the child punishing him?

nIf he were the child, he would not let such an incompetent father remember him, either.

nMu Sijue suddenly felt that he was not only being ridiculous but pathetic also.

nHe smiled wryly and a few moments later, he got up as if nothing had happened.

nNo one would know about Mu Sijue’s dream of his child and the immense grief he felt.

nAfter breakfast, Mu Sijue asked Ah Guang and the driver to take him to the company.

nBefore Mu Sijue went out, Aunt Zhou warned him, “Little Seven, don’t work too late. Come back early. I’ll wait for you to have dinner together.”

nMu Sijue looked at his watch and said, “I’ll be back at six.”

nA hint of joy appeared on Aunt Zhou’s face. She waved her hand and said, “Okay. Go.”

nWhen he overheard their conversation, Ah Guang thought that he was hallucinating.

nAfter getting in the car, Ah Guang couldn’t help asking, “Seventh Brother, are you not going to work hard today?”

nMu Sijue ignored Ah Guang’s question and asked, “Have you done what I asked you to do yesterday?”

nAh Guang patted his thigh and said with ease, “Of course!”

nMu Sijue turned on his laptop and said while checking the emails, “Tell me about my schedule today.”

nMu Sijue’s serious attitude made Ah Guang snap out of his trance.

nOvernight, Mu Sijue seemed to return to the persona of the former Seventh Brother before he knew Xu Youning. He was mysterious, powerful, calm, and decisive. His personal feelings would not interfere with his businesses.

nAh Guang sighed deeply, not knowing whether to be happy or worried.

nMu Sijue glanced at Ah Guang and soon switched his focus back to the computer screen. “What’s wrong?” He asked indifferently.

n“Seventh Brother, in the past, I thought it was normal for you to be like this. But now I don’t think so.”

n“Seventh Brother, do you know why?”

nAh Guang looked very upset.

nHowever, he was a smart guy and quickly figured it out.

nIn the past, he thought Mu Sijue was normal because he was used to the indifferent and ruthless Mu Sijue. It seemed that Mu Sijue was born like this and would never change.

nXu Youning was like a musical interlude that suddenly danced into Mu Sijue’s life. Because of her, he became lively and sentient. He would laugh, cry, and he would even have mood swings.

nBecause of her, he could occasionally become a friendly and ordinary person.

nBecause of her, he looked happy.

nAs Mu Sijue’s brother and working partner, Ah Guang would much prefer Mu Sijue to be like this.

nHowever, overnight, Mu Sijue reverted to his old self.

nMu Sijue ignored Ah Guang’s question. He sent an e-mail to him and ordered, “Investigate every recent business of the Su Group.”

nA year ago, the Su Group was almost acquired by Lu Boyan. However, Kang Ruicheng suddenly appeared and secretly funded the Su Group, which enabled him to become the company’s CEO.

nIt seemed that the Su Group had overcome their difficulties.

nBut Ah Guang knew clearly what Kang Ruicheng had used the Su Group to do.

nAh Guang tutted and said, “Seventh Brother, are you going to confront Kang Ruicheng? He hurt Aunt Zhou badly. You won’t let him off. I knew it!”

nMu Sijue frowned and complained, “Ah Guang, when did you become so talkative?”

nAh Guang blurted out, “Sister Youning used to be very talkative. Why didn’t you chide her? Seventh Brother, you treat us differently!”

nMu Sijue’s eyes suddenly turned cold. “Stop the car!” He ordered.

nAh Guang suddenly realized he had made a mistake. “Seventh Brother…”

nMu Sijue had repeatedly emphasized that Xu Youning’s name should not be uttered in his presence unless she became their target one day.

nAh Guang had regarded Mu Sijue and Xu Youning as a couple. He was not used to the fact that they had turned against each other and therefore he spoke out of turn.

nHow could he apologize to Mu Sijue so that Mu Sijue would forgive him?

nWhile Ah Guang was thinking, the driver had followed Mu Sijue’s order and stopped the car.

n“Get out,” Mu Sijue ordered Ah Guang,

nAh Guang knew that he had completely angered Mu Sijue. No matter how hard he tried to defend himself, Mu Sijue would not forgive him. So he could only get out of the car dejectedly.

nWhat he couldn’t understand was why Mu Sijue hated Xu Youning so much?

nThe last time when Xu Youning ran away, Mu Sijue was also very angry. But it didn’t matter if he occasionally joked about it. Why did Mu Sijue explode this time?

nThe driver was also frightened by Mu Sijue. After Ah Guang got out of the car, he asked carefully, “Seventh Brother, do we…just leave?”

nHe meant whether they were going to abandon Ah Guang.

n“Go to the company,” Mu Sijue said in an icy tone.

nIt was obvious that he didn’t care about Ah Guang.

nThe driver glanced at Ah Guang through the rearview mirror. Although he sympathized with Ah Guang, he didn’t dare to say anything. He quickly started the car and drove to the company.

nAh Guang scratched his head, but it was too late to have any regrets. He could only call someone to pick him up.

nIn the afternoon, Mu Sijue went back to the old house on time to have dinner with Aunt Zhou. When Aunt Zhou asked about Ah Guang, he replied perfunctorily. It was obvious he didn’t want to talk too much about Ah Guang.

nAunt Zhou noticed that something was wrong. She called Mu Sijue’s driver and asked him what was going on.

nThe driver told her that when they left for the company in the morning, Ah Guang brought up Sister Youning’s name and was driven away by Seventh Brother.

nAunt Zhou understood and said, “Tell the others not to talk about Youning in front of Sijue in the future.”

nAunt Zhou usually called Mu Sijue “Little Seven”.

nHowever, except for those who were close to Mu Sijue such as Ah Guang and Lu Boyan, she would address Mu Sijue by his name in front of other subordinates and outsiders.

nIt was then made known among the subordinates that Xu Youning once again became Mu Sijue’s taboo subject.

nThe name “Xu Youning” disappeared from Mu Sijue’s life.

nMu Sijue’s life now followed a routine.

nHe got up early and did morning exercises for two hours. Then he would have breakfast with Aunt Zhou and go to the company.

nAfter dealing with businesses and other affairs, he would go home and have dinner with Aunt Zhou if there were no social activities.

nSeemingly, Xu Youning’s second betrayal didn’t affect Mu Sijue at all.

nSomeone teased that Seventh Brother had got used to it.

nOnly Mu Sijue himself knew that this time, he had been fatally hurt by Xu Youning.

nOnce he closed his eyes, the child’s voice would ring in his ears —

n“Dad, why did you and Mom abandon me?”

n“Dad, it hurts.”

nHe wanted to explain and keep the child.

nBut, the reality was cruel. He would never have such a chance.

nIn the long nights, Mu Sijue could only rely on sleeping pills to fall asleep.

nEach time before going to bed, he always wondered whether the child would look for him in his dreams, even though the child only came to question him.

nHowever, he never dreamt about the child again and only spent the dull nights alone.

nWhen he woke up in the morning, he felt empty inside. The whole room was shrouded in dead silence, which made him wonder whether he was the only one left in the world.

nBut the world was soon bustling again.

nMu Sijue came to realize that the earth was still running, but the child would not forgive him nor come back to his dreams.

nAfter three days, Mu Sijue was finally willing to see Ah Guang. Having learned his lesson, Ah Guang would rather blather with Mu Sijue than mention Xu Youning.

nIn the evening, Su Jian’an contacted Ah Guang.

nAh Guang was shocked. Su Jian’an was like a goddess. How could she be concerned about him?

nIt turned out that Ah Guang thought too much. Su Jian’an called to ask about Mu Sijue.

n“Ah Guang, how was Sijue after you went back?” Su Jian’an asked directly.

nAh Guang told Su Jian’an about Mu Sijue’s recent situation. In the end, he concluded, “Outwardly, Seventh Brother seems to be normal. But as far as I know, he is not alright at all! But Mrs. Lu, don’t tell Seven Brother this. Otherwise, he will be angry with me again.”

n“Don’t worry, I will keep it a secret for you,” Su Jian’an smiled, “I have no other questions. Thank you, goodbye.”

nAfter hanging up the phone, Su Jian’an flicked a report in her hand, sighing.

nLu Boyan looked away from the computer screen and glanced at Su Jian’an and asked, “Things aren’t going well?”

n“No, no progress on Sijue’s side. Aunt Zhou agreed to keep in touch with me. But Sijue doesn’t want to tell her anything. Ah Guang doesn’t dare to annoy Sijue anymore.”

n“Fortunately, I found something!” Su Jian’an’s tone perked up again. She shook the report in her hand.

nThis was the recent attendance record of the doctors and nurses from the department of gynecology and obstetrics of the Eighth People’s Hospital that she managed to get.

nLu Boyan did not quite understand. He asked, “Jian’an, why did you start with the attendance records?”

nSu Jian’an smiled mysteriously and explained slowly, “I think if Youning was really found to be pregnant in the Eighth People’s Hospital, Kang Ruicheng would definitely not let Sijue know because Sijue was trying to bring Youning back during that time. Kang Ruicheng knew Sijue wanted Youning.”

n“So?” Lu Boyan motioned for Su Jian’an to continue.

n“According to Kang Ruicheng’s style, he would definitely hide the doctors and nurses who did the examination for Youning,” Su Jian’an analyzed clearly, “so, when Youning stayed with us, if there was a doctor who applied for leave, then there must be something wrong with this doctor!”

nLu Boyan became interested. He left his seat and came to sit beside Su Jian’an. “Did you find anything on this record?” he asked.

n“Of course!” Su Jian’an circled the name “Liu Mingfang” on the record with a red pen and said firmly, “This doctor is very suspicious!”

nLu Boyan browsed the attendance record of Dr. Liu Mingfang and soon realized why Su Jian’an suspected this doctor.

nIt was not because Su Jian’an was too smart, but the doctor’s attendance record was too… coincidental.

n