Yi Wulan’s eyes paused for a moment, her gaze landing right on the corner of Mu Yanxi’s eye.
Beneath those exquisite and beautiful fox-like eyes lay a single red mole, like an exquisitely placed floral marking on her fair skin.
This person, bound to her because of their elders, was surprisingly not unlikable, despite her somewhat unpredictable nature.
An indescribable emotion welled up in Yi Wulan’s heart.
When no response came, Mu Yanxi pinched Yi Wulan’s fingertips with her hand. “If you don’t say anything, I’ll take that as a yes, okay?”
So willful and unrestrained, she was difficult for Yi Wulan to handle.
Yi Wulan turned her face away and stiffly squeezed out a sentence: “I still have things to do at the company. I’m leaving.”
The wheelchair glided forward without pause, giving off the distinct impression of a hasty retreat.
Mu Yanxi watched Yi Wulan’s back, pondering for a moment. Her initial bewilderment gradually gave way to a chuckle.
Looking at the red booklet in her hand, she felt like a scoundrel who had run off with a proper lady.
It seemed… Yi Wulan wasn’t so unapproachable after all.
Yi Wulan was the person in this novel world most capable of contending with Yi Jingming. Now that they were married, she could openly prevent any potential accidents from happening to Yi Wulan.
As long as Yi Wulan was alive and well, Yi Jingming couldn’t dream of having even a sliver of a protagonist’s halo.
It was just that the other woman’s habit of avoiding and hiding from her at every turn had to be changed as soon as possible.
Sigh.
So difficult.
The Civil Affairs Bureau was crowded with people, and with it being closing time, there was a constant flow of traffic. Even though Mu Yanxi wore a mask, she worried about being recognized, and it took her a great deal of effort to get out.
When she walked out of the main entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau, the black Bentley had, as expected, fled in a panic with its owner.
In its place was a pure white Lamborghini, its body sleek and spotless.
A man in black got out of the car, his attitude respectful. He bowed slightly and gestured to the side at the sports car parked by the road. “Miss Mu, President Yi has urgent matters to attend to. Here are the car keys.”
Mu Yanxi’s gaze fell on the sports car. Compared to the black business vehicle from before, she did indeed prefer this model.
Did this mean that Yi Wulan still considered her one of her own?
Mu Yanxi looked up at the sky, feeling that the weather was getting clearer and the sun brighter.
She walked straight to the Lamborghini and accepted the car keys.
Instead of returning to her residence first, Mu Yanxi drove the car straight to the Xinyu Group headquarters without a break. Besides Xinyu Bank, the Mu family had invested in many other industries. Since she couldn’t get in touch with Mu Yanqing, she could only come here to try her luck.
But after taking Mu Yanqing’s private elevator to the president’s office, she learned from the secretary that Mu Yanqing had taken a last-minute flight to Haicheng for a business trip.
Mu Yanxi had no choice but to dejectedly return to Yi Wulan’s residence.
After dismissing the housekeeper and bodyguards, Mu Yanxi picked up her phone and scrolled through the delivery numbers of some private kitchens.
As she was paying, she happened to glance at the rapidly dwindling number in her bank account and almost thought she was hallucinating.
Outside the window, the June evening clouds burned across the sky, adding a touch of warmth to the earth.
Mu Yanxi sat on the Italian custom-made genuine leather sofa, her feet resting on a soft wool carpet.
It should have been a very comfortable state. But at this moment, with her sister on a business trip and her wife working overtime, she couldn’t even afford a meal that cost four digits.
Mu Yanxi felt a chill from the air conditioning around her and tearfully switched to the regular food delivery page.
Half an hour later, Mu Yanxi received a deluxe version of spicy hot pot from the delivery. It was filled with a heap of various ingredients, a massive pot so wide it nearly matched her shoulders.
She originally held the grand ambition of using the marriage to promote cooperation between the two families, seize the opportunity to gain Yi Wulan’s trust, and completely prevent Yi Jingming from ever making a comeback.
Now, with a thud, it was all defeated by reality.
The second miss of the Mu family, who had never lacked for money since her family owned a bank, was complaining endlessly. What was the use of being reborn? What was the use of having a god’s-eye view?
She still had no money.
Thinking of this, she seemed to get even angrier.
Mu Yanxi channeled her grief and indignation into her appetite, turning the TV to a comedy variety show in an attempt to liven up the deserted house.
But just as she slurped two mouthfuls of vermicelli, there was a sound at the door.
Mu Yanxi assumed it was the housekeeper who took care of Yi Wulan moving about and paid it no mind, keeping her eyes on the television.
One of the guests on the variety show happened to be the female celebrity who had ridden her coattails for publicity in their last drama. After a whole series of marketing ploys involving feigning misery and acting pitiful, she was now being all sorts of pretentious on the show, making Mu Yanxi’s skin crawl.
She picked up the remote to change the channel, but the sound of rolling wheels reached her ears.
It wasn’t the maid who had arrived, but a travel-worn Yi Wulan. She was still wearing the same dress from the afternoon, but with a thin jacket draped over it, and her face showed a hint of fatigue.
Mu Yanxi froze mid-slurp, a strand of vermicelli dangling from her mouth, her posture stiff as she met Yi Wulan’s gaze.
There was still soup staining the corner of her mouth, and her eyes were filled with bewilderment and helplessness.
It wasn’t until Yi Wulan was right in front of her that Mu Yanxi frantically bit off the vermicelli in her mouth, then discreetly lowered her head and spat it into the trash can.
And then, the air turned completely awkward.
Could there be anything more embarrassing than being caught by your new spouse on your wedding day, wildly slurping vermicelli without any regard for your image?
At this moment, Mu Yanxi wanted to dig a hole in the ground and bury herself in it.
The strong, spicy aroma of the hot pot lingered in the air, so potent it was as if it emanated from her. Relying on the expression control she had painstakingly developed as a minor celebrity in the entertainment industry, Mu Yanxi managed to keep her face impassive.
But the thought that the image she had maintained all afternoon had completely crumbled made her heart sink in despair.
Looking at Mu Yanxi like this, for some reason, Yi Wulan recalled the WeChat message she had received from Mu Yanqing an hour ago:
【Our Xiao Xi can be a bit thoughtless. You need to take good care of her and be patient with her. Also, keep a good distance from me, or else your Rongjia Group can forget about getting another cent of loans from Xinyu.】
【Oh, right, my sister has very little sense of security. Suddenly leaving home might make her unable to eat or sleep well. Don’t you dare bully her.】
Unable to sleep well… it was still a bit early for that. Yi Wulan’s gaze slowly drifted down, searching for evidence of ‘unable to eat well’.
However, she couldn’t see any sign of Mu Yanxi being unable to eat well. In fact, she could see that the other woman was eating with great satisfaction.
Only then did Yi Wulan survey the slightly unfamiliar living room.
The throw pillows from the sofa were scattered carelessly on the carpet, and the ornaments on the coffee table had been pushed aside, piled messily in a corner.
She shifted her gaze back to Mu Yanxi’s face, trying to detect a hint of shame.
But the moment her gaze fell, Mu Yanxi looked at her with a completely innocent expression, and it was Yi Wulan who felt dazed first.
In fact, not only was Mu Yanxi innocent, she was also very self-righteous.
After being reborn, she had nowhere to go, was homeless, and had only a few dollars to her name. Wasn’t it all because of Yi Wulan?
How pitiful, she didn’t even have proper food to eat and could only slurp spicy hot pot.
She was so miserable, truly so miserable.
She quietly reached out and tugged on the hem of Yi Wulan’s dress. “I waited for you for a long time, but you ignored me. You just abandoned me there right after we got our certificate. I’ve been starving until now, so I can only eat this stuff.”
After speaking, she pushed the food forward. “It’s not good at all.”
Yi Wulan lowered her eyes. Mu Yanxi was frowning, looking quite unhappy and even a little annoyed. Her features were so vivid, full of the sunny purity that only wealth and happiness could nurture.
The hem of Yi Wulan’s dress was also crumpled into several folds. The black dress made Mu Yanxi’s fingers look very white, as if they were made of porcelain.
It was like she was aggrieved, and also like she was being coquettish.
She was complaining nonstop after just a short while, exactly as Mu Yanqing had said.
The second miss of the Mu family was indeed delicate.
Very difficult to raise.
Yi Wulan couldn’t bear to watch any longer. After tidying up Mu Yanxi’s takeout, she took a few tissues and wiped the coffee table clean where it had been splattered with soup, while also restoring the ornaments on the table to their original positions.
Mu Yanxi blinked. The unapproachable big president actually did chores herself.
Yi Wulan seemed to have read something in her eyes and took out two more tissues, pressing them to the corner of Mu Yanxi’s mouth. “I lived alone before the car accident. Did you think I was as delicate as you, unable to do anything?”
After speaking, Yi Wulan disdainfully threw the tissue into the trash can.
Mu Yanxi: …
Something felt off.
A moment later, Yi Wulan suddenly leaned over. Mu Yanxi was startled. Given Yi Wulan’s desire to keep her distance, something unusual must be afoot.
She scooted back and tilted her head. “What are you doing?”
“Can’t you even eat properly?” Yi Wulan’s gaze fell on Mu Yanxi’s red dress. The well-made, custom dress was stained with soup, and one could guess that this little ancestor would never wear it a second time.
After speaking, she controlled her wheelchair to lean forward slightly, the tissue in her hand about to land on Mu Yanxi’s chest.
Mu Yanxi gave Yi Wulan a strange look, tilted her head to let the hair from her back fall forward, then gently tugged at the fabric on her chest and said faintly, “Beast.”
Yi Wulan: ???
Yi Wulan’s face turned cold. She threw the tissue at her. “Wipe it yourself.”
Mu Yanxi knew that Yi Wulan had no other intentions towards her and had genuinely just been unable to stand the stain on her clothes.
So she changed into a sultry pose, slowly leaning back, inconspicuously lowering her collar. The dress straps also hung loosely, revealing her snow-white skin.
“We’re already married. Anything that happens is permissible.” Mu Yanxi deliberately provoked Yi Wulan, smiling lazily. “Going to work on our wedding day… being with an unromantic big president like you, I’ve really gotten the short end of the stick.”
Yi Wulan frowned and re-examined Mu Yanxi.
Rumor had it that the Mu family’s second miss, Mu Yanxi, was stunningly beautiful, acted wantonly, and was arrogant and willful, causing countless rich second-generation heirs in Yuncheng to only dare to watch from afar, not approach.
Now that the person was right in front of her, Yi Wulan realized that the rumors seemed somewhat biased. Mu Yanxi was indeed very beautiful, and she did act as she pleased, but she wasn’t as arrogant and unreasonable as the rumors claimed.
She was just a bit vengeful and overly delicate.
Yi Wulan sized up Mu Yanxi and said pointedly, “It seems the rumors aren’t entirely true.”
Mu Yanxi didn’t know what kind of misunderstanding Yi Wulan had formed about her and just followed her words, thinking for a moment.
Right now, she hadn’t yet exhausted herself scheming for Yi Jingming, nor was she the person in the business world that everyone would shun two years later.
Without getting mixed up with Yi Jingming, her reputation was still quite good.
Thinking this, she gained some confidence.
“The rumors are all spread by people who don’t know me. You are my wife now, so naturally, you can’t misunderstand me. Being misunderstood for no reason, that would…”
“Would what?”
Mu Yanxi paused meaningfully before softly uttering the last few words: “Ruin my good name.”
