Before she could even think about it,
a strange, piercing ambulance siren blared.
It echoed incessantly in her ears, refusing to subside…
Xin Yu's dark eyes widened in shock. She stood there dumbfounded, watching as paramedics carried Old Master Mu into the ambulance.
When she came to her senses, Butler Mu was no longer beside her; perhaps he had already gone to the hospital.
"Going to the hospital together?"
…!
Xin Yu turned around and saw the eldest gentleman walking gracefully towards her, his face calm and composed, revealing no extra emotion, not even grief for his father.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, looking up. Actually, she wanted to ask directly why Old Master Mu had suddenly been taken away by ambulance.
His health had always been excellent; even his trip to S country hadn't caused him any adverse reactions. He was remarkably spry for a seventy-year-old.
But…
"You doubt me?" The old man's eyes were completely expressionless, his voice silent, as if discussing something unrelated to him. "What if I said I didn't do anything?"
"Didn't do it? Did you say it?" Xin Yu retorted, her dark eyes sharply fixed on his face, trying to discern something.
Of course, she found nothing.
A person like him either genuinely didn't do it, or he'd done it so many times that he'd lost all sense of normalcy.
Xin Yu's intuition told her it was the latter.
"Let's go to the hospital." Taking a step, she seemed to remember something and pulled out her phone to call Mu Yichuan.
But there was a busy signal on the other end.
When she arrived at the hospital with the old man, Old Master Mu was being wheeled out of the emergency room.
Xin Yu subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, but seeing the tubes and oxygen mask on Old Master Mu's face, her heart tightened again.
She didn't know what was wrong with Old Master Mu.
Was it related to the topic she had just discussed with Butler Mu? She dared not think…
She sat in the corridor for over an hour, but Mu Yichuan still hadn't appeared. Old Master Mu woke up.
"Ayu," he called hoarsely, his sunken eyes fixed on her, a murmur of emotion swirling within them.
"You and Lao Jiu…"
Xin Yu stiffened, a small wound opening in her heart.
She wanted to turn her head away from Old Master Mu's aged, questioning face, unable to bear it.
"Didn't you always call him Uncle?" Old Master Mu suddenly asked, like a child, with incomprehension.
"…" Xin Yu truly didn't know how to answer. He was lying in a hospital bed, medical tubes wrapped around his hands and nose.
"He's your own uncle, how could you…?" Old Master Mu's tone sharpened, causing him to cough violently.
Nurses and doctors rushed in, and a flurry of examinations and treatments ensued until Old Master Mu's coughing subsided. "Answer me, Ayu!" Old Master Mu's eyes were icy, a look Xin Yu had never seen before. "You are my granddaughter!"
He would give her anything she wanted; he had already considered many possibilities.
But she had such a close relationship with the Ninth Prince!
"Aren't you afraid of being branded with incest?"
Xin Yu trembled, her small hands clenched tightly to support her as she spoke, "Old Master Mu, you know perfectly well I'm not your granddaughter! My relationship with Mu Yichuan isn't incest!"
She didn't believe that accusation!
She believed in Mu Yichuan's principles!
Even if Butler Mu had said those things, what did he want from approaching her?
Old Master Mu remained silent for a long while before letting out a soft sigh and saying firmly, "You are my granddaughter, and the Ninth Prince is my own son!" "
Seeing that Xin Yu remained silent, but her clear, dark eyes were filled with unwavering determination.
"I met your grandmother when I was twenty. We loved each other dearly. She was my wife. I feel so guilty towards her..."
"..." Xin Yu bit her lip tightly, unable to bear seeing Old Mu shed cold tears again because of that so-called grandmother. She moved closer, gently patting his chest to help him catch his breath.
"Ayu, my child..." Old Mu took Xin Yu's hand. "Child, you are my granddaughter. Your grandfather has planned many paths for you, even... chosen a husband for you. You can marry anyone in this world, but you cannot marry a man from the Mu family."
"I won't!" "Xin Yu suddenly spoke, loudly refusing.
After speaking, she was stunned. She shouldn't have reacted so strongly, shouldn't have shouted at a sick old man.
But he was demanding that she marry any man in the world.
But not the one she loved most.
Most beloved?
Ha.
The word that surfaced in her mind at that moment was truly ironic.
"No?" Old Mu's throat chuckled, it was hard to tell if it was sarcasm or an angry accusation, "I never knew Ayu was such a self-reliant and independent child, so resolute! Then let me ask you—"
He still referred to himself that way.
Xin Yu smiled wryly.
"Do you want a marriage without blessings?" Old Mu's wise eyes were sharp as knives, each word cutting into Xin Yu's heart, "To be despised by the world, to not receive the blessings of either set of parents!" "As far as I know, your father wants to marry you off to Liu Shuihan, and no one knows where your mother is..."
Old Mu's voice was soft due to illness, but every word was like a knife to the heart.
"No...don't say it!" Xin Yu covered her ears and took several steps back.
Her father!
Her mother!
This was the greatest pain of her life!
"Not letting me say it means A-Yu cares. I know you're a good girl." Old Mu firmly believed that a girl with the same face as her couldn't be bad!
"I don't care! I don't care!" Xin Yu shouted, her reason nearly collapsing from those two previous tantrums. Why should she care about someone who never cared for or loved her!
"I will never give up on Mu Yichuan!" She didn't know where the courage came from, but she uttered those words with unwavering conviction.
Regardless of whether everything in the past was true or false, regardless of his motives for approaching her,
at least it was true that he took a bullet for her!
At least it was true that he gave her a ring!
Every moment of intimacy they shared was real!
"Ayu, do you want Lao Jiu to say he's giving you up?" Old Mu ripped another stab at Xin Yu's heart.
She stumbled, almost falling.
She stared in disbelief at the old man who had once been so kind to her, now uttering such shocking words in such a casual tone.
Yes, who was he? The backbone of the Mu family, the renowned and most respected elder!
How many life-or-death experiences had he risked his life to build such a powerful position?
"Ayu, do you want Lao Jiu to give you up first?" "He said it again, completely disregarding Xin Yu's feelings.
She leaned against the cold wall, her eyes tightly shut, tears welling in her eyes and wetting her long eyelashes.
Yes, if Mu Yichuan said he was giving up on her…
She would absolutely give up, absolutely!
Xin Yu clenched her fists tightly, tilting her head back slightly to keep the tears from falling.
"Ayu—"
"You have to say it!" She didn't want to hear it, she didn't want to hear anything!
Xin Yu turned to leave the ward, but Old Mu continued, his voice from behind like a gun piercing her heart.
"If you leave here and are still with Lao Jiu, not only him but also the Mu Group will collapse instantly!" "
A sudden collapse?
Who caused him to collapse so suddenly?
Was it Old Master Mu?
Would he, as a father, hurt Mu Yichuan to stop her from being with him?
Xin Yu lowered her head helplessly, walked out of the ward, her heart as cold as if she had been thrown into the Arctic Ocean. Old Master Mu was just like her parents.
What did children mean to them!
She couldn't walk anymore, standing blankly at the door.
Behind her was the tightly closed door, thankfully, it kept out the chilling feeling from before!
Not far away, a series of hurried yet steady footsteps sounded.
A man with an imposing presence seemed to arrive on a whirlwind. He strode to Xin Yu's side and pulled her into his arms.
His handsome, unparalleled face buried in Xin Yu's neck, his long arms tightly encircling her, the force almost crushing her.
But she wasn't afraid. Smelling Mu Yichuan's familiar, cool scent, a sense of peace welled up in her heart.
"Mu Yichuan, where have you been?"
"Don't be afraid, I'm here." "..." She wasn't afraid, she wasn't afraid of anything, except that he would say he was abandoning her.
They hugged for a long time until the eldest brother's muffled cough interrupted them.
Xin Yu struggled to break free from Mu Yichuan's embrace, wiping away her tears haphazardly. "You...go in and see."
But he didn't rush in. He held Xin Yu with one arm, his cold, dark eyes fixed on his elder brother. "When did you arrive?"
She had actually escaped his grasp.
"Last night." The eldest brother uttered two simple words, but they were full of sarcasm.
Xin Yu was startled. Was he alluding to the romantic candlelight night between her and Mu Yichuan?
Did that candlelight ultimately cause a "fire"?
Was the fire that caused Old Master Mu's hospitalization started by the eldest brother?
"Hmm." Mu Yichuan replied calmly, casually. "Elder brother is really used to being alone, but always going out at night, be careful your body can't take it." "Warning."
The young man's pupils contracted, then returned to normal in an instant, a fleeting moment that seemed like an illusion.
"Go see the old man. It's all your fault this time—you caused this."
A reprimand.
Mu Yichuan felt Xin Yu in his arms pause. Although he hadn't heard what the old man said to her, her distraught appearance, her self-blame and guilt, along with the tears she had just shed, spoke volumes.
He still didn't rush in. He picked her up and led her to the end of the corridor.
His cool lips covered hers, then parted. "Ayu, what did the old man say to you?"
"..." Xin Yu lowered her head, remaining silent. Those were words she could never utter in her life.
"Ayu, don't you believe me?"
Xin Yu looked up, gazing deeply at him, then shook her head, then nodded firmly.
She believed him.
"Ayu—"
"Alright." Xin Yu grasped his hand, not wanting their intimacy to be stared at like that. "Let's go inside and take a look. I'm going back to pack my things; I'm going to Nanshi for the competition."
With that, she turned and left dejectedly.
Mu Yichuan remained standing there, staring at his little girl.
His hand trembled slightly at his side, and he touched the small velvet box in his pocket.