OFCC – Chapter 5

Yi Wulan: …

Mu Yanxi’s train of thought was too erratic. One moment, their conversation was perfectly serious, and the next, it would veer off to who knows where.

Yi Wulan was usually a woman of few words, and she never expected to be tied to someone as talkative as Mu Yanxi.

In the business world, she could handle treacherous and cunning competitors without batting an eye, yet now she was at a complete loss for words in the face of Mu Yanxi’s remarks.

And to make matters worse, the culprit herself was blinking at her with an innocent expression, as if there was nothing wrong with what she had said.

Yi Wulan felt a headache coming on. She corrected her, “Miss Mu, our marriage was an arrangement made by our elders. You won’t… you won’t…”

She paused, then said with difficulty, “lose your innocence.”

“So,” Mu Yanxi said after a two-second pause, “you want to keep your distance from me during the marriage, and then find a suitable opportunity to annul it?”

Yi Wulan nodded.

Mu Yanxi smiled and beckoned to Yi Wulan with a crooked finger.

Yi Wulan hesitated for a moment before wheeling her chair forward.

Sitting in the wheelchair, she had a somewhat commanding presence. But when those peach-blossom eyes looked at someone, even with a neutral expression, they gave off a sense of casual charm and affection, making people want to draw closer.

Mu Yanxi raised an eyebrow slightly and couldn’t resist reaching out. With just the right amount of force, she grabbed Yi Wulan’s jacket and pulled her upper body down.

Mu Yanxi let out a melodious, drawn-out “Hmm,” and chuckled softly, the very picture of a femme fatale.

Yi Wulan, however, didn’t feel any of a monarch’s amusement. After all, her legs restricted her movement, and her upper body was now constrained by Mu Yanxi.

The distance between them was too close.

Yi Wulan had never been ‘offended’ like this before. Annoyance and anger flashed in her eyes. “Let go.”

The femme fatale Mu Yanxi’s breath brushed past Yi Wulan’s ear. Her eyelashes fluttered as she deliberately lowered her voice, her words carrying a seductive, breathy tone, “Are you planning to just put on an act with me and not take responsibility?”

Mu Yanxi’s smooth, long hair cascaded over her shoulder, and her lips were a vibrant red from the spicy food.

She gazed at Yi Wulan with such deep affection, as if she had already fallen hopelessly in love with her.

Mu Yanxi smiled, her soft fingertips sliding from Yi Wulan’s shoulder toward her collar. “Yi Wulan, in your dreams.”

Yi Wulan’s gaze was profound. The moment before Mu Yanxi’s fingers could touch her skin, she seized the restless hand.

She said coldly, “Miss Mu, please have some self-respect.”

It was as if Mu Yanxi was born knowing how to make others fall head over heels for her. She had never tried it before, but now, faced with Yi Wulan, she couldn’t help but want to melt the ice from the other woman’s face.

She broke free from Yi Wulan’s grasp, her fingertips tracing ambiguously into the collar of Yi Wulan’s thin jacket. As her eyes danced, her crimson lips continued to speak slowly, “We’re already married. Naturally, we should have a real married life.”

But just as she tried to get closer, her legs, numb from kneeling for so long, gave way.

Mu Yanxi first let go of Yi Wulan, intending to stand up from the carpet and readjust her position.

But as soon as she moved, a wave of dizziness washed over her, and she lost control, falling downward.

The expected intimate contact with the carpet never happened. Instead, she fell into a soft, warm embrace.

Yi Wulan was already close and had caught her with lightning speed. “What’s wrong with you…”

Mu Yanxi didn’t answer. The world before her became fantastical and dazzling. She struggled to open her eyes, and in her distorted vision, she saw Yi Wulan’s tense face. She patted Yi Wulan’s arm reassuringly.

A fire seemed to be growing in her dantian, sending out wave after wave of unbearable burning sensations that spread throughout her body. The world began to spin, her face grew paler and paler, and she finally couldn’t hold on any longer and fainted.

“Someone! Get in here!”

In her daze, Mu Yanxi seemed to feel the arms holding her tighten.

---

Late at night, in the private suite of a high-end VIP ward at Yuncheng First People’s Hospital.

Yi Wulan was flipping through a document while listening to her bodyguard’s report. “I stopped following Miss Mu after she left the Civil Affairs Bureau.”

“What was her physical condition at the time? Was there anything unusual?”

“There shouldn’t have been, no,” the bodyguard said expressionlessly.

“Then what was her mood like? Did she say anything?”

“She seemed fine. She didn’t say anything.”

Yi Wulan hummed softly. “Go stand guard outside. Don’t let anyone irrelevant in.”

The bodyguard paused mid-step and suddenly stopped. “President Yi, there’s one more thing.”

Yi Wulan looked up. “What is it?”

The bodyguard hesitated for a moment, then took a step forward and recounted everything he had seen and heard in the Yi family’s garden that afternoon.

Yi Wulan listened quietly, her expression growing subtle.

Especially when she heard the end, where the bodyguard said that Mu Yanxi had liked her for a long time and, because her love was unrequited, had been forced to find a substitute…

---

When Mu Yanxi woke up again, it was the next morning. The heat in her body had completely subsided, and there seemed to be a new, wondrous power in her dantian. Her body felt lighter than ever before.

Before she could think any further, the smell of disinfectant hit her nostrils.

Yi Wulan was typing on her laptop. Sensing the movement, she looked over. Her face was still pale, and her voice was low and hoarse from a sleepless night. “Mu Yanxi, you’re really something else.”

“I…”

Yi Wulan cut Mu Yanxi off, her face grim. “I told you not to choose me for marriage. It’s only the first day and you’ve landed in the hospital. And you couldn’t even be quiet in the hospital, with a recurring high fever that has no discernible cause. Even the doctors are at a loss.”

Just then, the doctor in charge of her case walked in, and Yi Wulan fell silent.

The doctor examined Mu Yanxi and, after confirming the fever was gone, gave a few instructions and left the room.

The atmosphere in the room had been tense ever since Mu Yanxi woke up. She had a nagging feeling that the doctor’s phrase “at a loss” might have reminded Yi Wulan of her own situation.

Mu Yanxi lowered her lashes and tried to ease the tension, deliberately making her words ambiguous. “Thank you for your ‘consideration’ last night, President Yi. Otherwise, I might not have woken up even after coming to the hospital.”

The doctor, who hadn’t yet left the room, froze in his tracks and fled the VIP ward as if escaping.

Mu Yanxi glanced at the closed door, a smile playing on her lips. As if addicted, she continued to tease, “President Yi, your technique is truly excellent. In the future, please…”

Yi Wulan finally couldn’t take it anymore. She snapped her laptop shut with a “smack” and looked over, her eyes cool.

Mu Yanxi instantly fell silent.

After a long moment, she reached out and carefully tugged on the corner of Yi Wulan’s sleeve. “I’m hungry.”

Yi Wulan stared at Mu Yanxi expressionlessly, a profound and complex emotion in her eyes.

“I’m so thirsty, and my throat is so dry.”

Yi Wulan still didn’t move.

“I’m sorry, okay? I made you worry last night.”

“Mu Yanxi, what on earth happened to you last night? Why couldn’t even the doctors…” Before Yi Wulan could finish, Mu Yanxi propped herself up and gave Yi Wulan a light hug, gently patting her on the back.

Yi Wulan instantly fell silent, her lips pressed into a tight line.

“Yi Wulan, seeing you the first moment I woke up made me very happy,” Mu Yanxi said softly, deliberately avoiding the topic of her symptoms from the night before. “This was just an accident. I’m really fine.”

Yi Wulan turned her head slightly to the side.

“Thank you.”

“…”

Yi Wulan finally moved.

With a sullen face, she picked up the thermal container on the side, opened it, scooped up a spoonful, blew on it gently, and held it to Mu Yanxi’s lips.

Mu Yanxi refused. “…I need to brush my teeth.”

“Then I’ll call a nurse in.”

“No need, I can go myself.”

Yi Wulan accompanied Mu Yanxi all the way to the bathroom door. Just as Mu Yanxi was about to step inside, she suddenly said, “You just woke up, don’t mess around. I’m only giving you five minutes.”

Mu Yanxi looked back at her for a moment, then smiled. “Got it.”

Mu Yanxi used the bathroom and brushed her teeth at the fastest speed of her life, splashing some water on her face without even taking the time to dry it, and rushed to open the door just before the five minutes were up.

As if she had been waiting there, Yi Wulan tossed a large, soft towel at her. “Wipe your face and come eat.”

Mu Yanxi pulled the towel off her head and obediently did as she was told.

“Hurry up and eat. You got a fever last night without eating a proper dinner. If you skip another meal, should I go book you a spot in the ICU?” Yi Wulan picked up the thermal container again, her tone laced with disdain. “How can you be so delicate?”

Mu Yanxi: …

Hearing Yi Wulan use that description again, Mu Yanxi felt that Yi Wulan truly had some kind of misunderstanding about her.

When she filmed, she did her own stunts, never using a double. She had rolled around in mud pits and icy water more times than she could count. She tried to argue, “It’s not becau—”

“Drink,” Yi Wulan interrupted her coldly, but her movements were surprisingly gentle and meticulous.

“Ow,” Mu Yanxi was forced to open her mouth.

The soft, glutinous congee flowed down her throat and into her stomach. Mu Yanxi squinted in satisfaction. She tried to speak again, “I can do it myself.”

Yi Wulan ignored her, still holding the spoon with a cold and persistent expression. “Drink.”

One spoonful after another. Intimidated by Yi Wulan’s expression, Mu Yanxi was forced to drink more than half the container.

When it was nearly empty, Yi Wulan finally stopped, frowning as she wiped the congee from the corner of Mu Yanxi’s lips.

As Yi Wulan’s fingertips touched Mu Yanxi’s lips, they both froze for a second.

But before either of them could react, the door to the ward was suddenly pushed open.

A chilly voice drifted into the room. “Well, well, our Second Miss is still alive.”

The source of the voice was none other than Mu Yanxi’s older sister, who was supposed to have been on a business trip to Haicheng last night.

Mu Yanxi felt as if she were facing a great enemy and nearly fell off the bed.

After greeting Mu Yanqing, Yi Wulan tactfully retreated to the adjoining room, leaving the two Mu sisters alone in the ward.

“…Elder Sister,” Mu Yanxi called out guiltily, not even daring to meet her gaze.

Mu Yanqing reached out and pressed down hard on Mu Yanxi’s head. “What on earth happened to you last night? Don’t tell me Yi Wulan abused you? You had a high fever all night and the doctors couldn’t find anything. How are you feeling now?”

“She didn’t,” Mu Yanxi whispered, defending Yi Wulan. “I was probably just too tired. I’m fine now.”

Mu Yanqing pulled over a chair, sat down with her arms crossed, and started bringing up old scores. “Since you’re fine, let’s talk about what happened yesterday afternoon.”

Mu Yanxi’s vision went black, and her entire body froze like a stone statue.