After posting on Weibo, Mu Yanxi went to take a bath. The scented candle in the bathroom flickered with the breeze from the air conditioner, making one feel a little drowsy.
Time ambled past eleven o’clock. The night outside had grown completely dark, and the moonless sky seemed all the more silent.
After drying her hair, Mu Yanxi waited in bed for Yi Wulan. Lately, Yi Wulan seemed to be working much later every night than before.
At first, Mu Yanxi thought Yi Wulan was deliberately avoiding her, but Yi Wulan’s attitude after returning to the room was no different than before, so she dismissed her doubts. All she had to do was wait obediently for Yi Wulan to finish work, then stay up late to channel her special ability to her.
Mu Yanxi had already stayed up for several nights in a row. This time, not long after she got into bed, her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and she couldn’t help but doze off.
She had another dream.
But this dream wasn’t like the previous ones where she dreamed of things she had forgotten. On the contrary, she was very familiar with this dream.
It was what happened in her past life, just before she died, after she had broken free from the world’s consciousness and awakened.
In this life, Mu Yanxi was used to living with Yi Wulan. When she suddenly opened her eyes, she didn’t even recognize this place as the home she had lived in alone in her past life.
The warm sunlight overhead sprinkled down through the mottled shadows of the trees. Pink peach blossom petals danced in the wind, slowly landing on her left eye.
Mu Yanxi first realized she was dreaming, then discovered that her body, as in her usual dreams, was beyond her control. Rather than saying she was lying on the swing chair enjoying life, it was more like she was just a bystander, unable to control what she said or did.
After lying there for a moment, she reached out and plucked the peach blossom petal from her eyelashes, then slowly opened her eyes. Her legs swung listlessly with the motion of the swing. The light and shadows falling on her snow-white skin reflected a glow that made it look even more delicate.
She saw a blurry figure in the distance. She squinted for a moment, and it wasn’t until she heard the sound of a wheelchair rolling over the stone path that she finally recognized the person.
It was Yi Wulan.
When the person drew closer, Mu Yanxi began to study her curiously. Yi Wulan didn’t look much different from her current self, and her aura was also somewhat similar. Those peach blossom eyes were stunning at first glance, but her pupils were calm and dark. After looking into them for a while, they revealed a hint of coldness.
In the dream, she slowly sat up straight. Her left hand rested on the side of the swing, her index finger idly flicking the peach blossom petals on it.
Yi Wulan’s wheelchair drew closer and closer, stopping only when it was in front of Mu Yanxi. She was holding several paper boxes. She looked up and asked, “Yi Jingming is already planning to get engaged to Yanche. The news should be announced soon. Are you still going to help him?”
Mu Yanxi’s fingertips slowly gathered a handful of petals, and when the wind blew, she opened her hand, letting the petals scatter with the breeze.
She curled her lips into a smile. “Of course I’ll help. Why would I give up halfway? Besides, I’ve already done so much for Yi Jingming. I have to see the final result, don’t I?”
Yi Wulan’s brows furrowed, her voice tinged with anxiety. “Don’t you know there’s a problem with the Feicheng New Energy project? If it goes to court, someone will have to take the blame. Who do you think Yi Jingming will push out as a scapegoat? Mu Yanxi, how can you still say such things at a time like this? Can’t you wake up?”
Mu Yanxi’s face was a little pale. Her eyelashes were long and thick, and the corners of her bewitching, fox-like eyes were slightly upturned, giving her a stunning yet fragile beauty. The smile on her face grew wider, and her tone was quite arrogant. “He wants to push me out? We’ll have to see if he has the ability.”
Yi Wulan was at a loss for words for a moment, her hand holding the paper bag tightening slightly.
Perhaps because Mu Yanxi didn’t reject her again by citing her trust in Yi Jingming as she had before, Yi Wulan’s expression softened slightly. “That project was difficult to manage from the start. You should make plans early and try not to get in too deep.”
Mu Yanxi nodded and looked at Yi Wulan with great interest. “But you, Yi Wulan, as the head of Rongjia and Yi Jingming’s greatest nemesis, what are you doing at my house playing the emotional card? Don’t think that just because the housekeeper let you in, I won’t have someone throw you out again.”
Yi Wulan exuded a cold aura, and with her face now sullen, she gave off an even stronger sense of distant aloofness. She paused for a long while before saying helplessly, “I didn’t come here to argue with you.”
Mu Yanxi smiled, then suddenly leaned forward slightly, squinting at the paper bag in Yi Wulan’s lap. “Is that dessert from Sweet’s Desserts? Did you bring it for me? Let me see, quick. I barely ate any lunch, I’m starving.”
Yi Wulan opened the packaging, and an assortment of small cakes was placed on the other end of the swing. Mu Yanxi looked over and saw that they were all her favorites, and there was even a cup of iced milk tea.
She took a satisfied sip, ignoring the tense atmosphere between them just moments ago, and shamelessly began to enjoy the things Yi Wulan had brought.
After eating for a few minutes, perhaps because she could feel Yi Wulan’s gaze on her face too intensely, Mu Yanxi couldn’t help but look up midway through her snack. The other woman was wearing a long, light blue dress, its hem falling to her ankles. Her hair wasn’t tied up but fell casually over her chest.
For Mu Yanxi, who had been reborn, such an outfit was quite normal. But in her past life, almost all of Mu Yanxi’s memories of Yi Wulan were of the Yi Wulan from the business world.
She was always dressed in strict business attire, a stark contrast to the person before her now. Sure enough, Mu Yanxi heard herself ask, “Why aren’t you wearing a blouse today? Hey, that necklace of yours is quite pretty. Where did you buy it?”
Yi Wulan glanced down and said faintly, “Would you pay attention if I told you?”
Mu Yanxi was nonchalant. “No. Why would I stare at you for no reason?”
After speaking, Mu Yanxi lowered her head again, but this time, the dessert in her mouth didn’t seem as sweet as before. She simply put down her spoon. “I’m full. There are a few I haven’t touched. Do you want to try them?”
“No, thank you.” Yi Wulan shook her head, hesitating for a moment before speaking. “Do you remember the Guga Auction from half a year ago?”
Mu Yanxi didn’t understand. She stood up. “I forgot. What did you want to say?”
Yi Wulan shook her head. “Nothing.”
The necklace around her neck was the very thing Mu Yanxi had traded with her at the auction that day in exchange for a tie clip Yi Wulan had won.
After eating and drinking her fill, Mu Yanxi slowly wandered through the peach grove in the garden. Yi Wulan followed closely behind and asked, “Are you really going to continue with the Feicheng project?”
Mu Yanxi’s steps faltered. She said vaguely, “Not interested.”
“What did you say?”
Mu Yanxi took a deep breath, then suddenly turned around and said mockingly, “Yi Wulan, since you already know there’s a problem with the Feicheng project, do you really think I can still pull out at this stage? Or is the great President Yi’s sympathy overflowing, to the point where you even want to help a former fiancée like me?”
Yi Wulan didn’t get angry at her words, but her brows furrowed even tighter. “Stop pretending to joke around. My lawyers are waiting in the living room. Later, you will honestly tell them everything about your involvement, and they will figure out a solution for you.”
“Honestly tell them? Wouldn’t that be the same as leaking commercial secrets to you?” Mu Yanxi’s face fell. She turned her back to her and said, “Aren’t you annoying, Yi Wulan?”
Yi Wulan didn’t leave despite her cold glare, stubbornly following behind her.
As they walked, Mu Yanxi’s phone rang. She stepped aside to answer it. It was Yi Jingming on the other end, asking when the funds would be available and murmuring a few sweet nothings.
Mu Yanxi replied in her usual patient tone, then gave him an address and arranged to meet Yi Jingming as soon as possible to sign the documents.
She hung up and turned around, not expecting Yi Wulan to still be behind her. She didn’t know how much she had heard.
Just as Mu Yanxi was about to speak, Yi Wulan asked first, “You’re still going to participate?”
Mu Yanxi put her phone away. “What else? Yi Wulan, stop trying to scare me. Don’t you just want to persuade me to join your side? Do you think I’m a child? You’re so annoying.”
Yi Wulan: “…Do you have to talk like this?”
Mu Yanxi pressed her lips together. “Yes. You’re annoying me to death. Hurry up and get lost.”
“I’m not leaving.” Yi Wulan took out her phone. “I’ll have the legal team come in. I have to get you out of this mess today. And from now on, you will have less contact with Yi Jingming.”
Mu Yanxi snatched Yi Wulan’s phone and threw it into the nearby pond without hesitation. “I told you to mind your own business. If you want to stay here, then stay here. I have an appointment with Yi Jingming, so I’m leaving.”
“Mu Yanxi!” Yi Wulan hurriedly reached out to grab Mu Yanxi’s wrist, nearly falling over.
Mu Yanxi’s feet, which had been about to leave, froze. She quickly steadied Yi Wulan. “Sit properly.”
Yi Wulan gripped Mu Yanxi’s arm. “Be good.”
Mu Yanxi brushed Yi Wulan’s hand away. Looking at the worry on the other’s face, she sighed softly. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything.”
“How can you solve it?” A hint of anger colored Yi Wulan’s brow, but her tone carried a rare plea. “Just listen to me this time, okay?”
Mu Yanxi met Yi Wulan’s gaze for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed twice and turned to leave without a second thought. “Just mind your own business, Yi Wulan.”
The scene of the dream shifted rapidly. Just as Mu Yanxi drove to the appointed location, Yi Jingming opened the passenger door and got in.
The Yi Jingming in the dream had already accumulated a great deal of wealth, just as described in that novel. He was in high spirits, looking very much like a protagonist.
Upon seeing Mu Yanxi, Yi Jingming smiled gently, but the greed in his eyes was just as blatant. “Xiao Xi, how did the talk about the funds with your sister go? Can she lower the interest rate a bit more? After all, this is our joint project. She dotes on you so much, it shouldn’t be a problem, right? When can the funds be transferred?”
Mu Yanxi smiled and mentioned casually, “There’s no rush for that. I heard something recently and wanted to ask you about it first.”
Yi Jingming was very patient. “Go ahead. I’ll tell you anything I know.”
Mu Yanxi hummed in acknowledgment. “I heard you and Yanche are getting engaged?”
Yi Jingming’s expression froze for a moment, then he immediately put on a stern face and scolded, “Where did you hear such rumors? We’re just friends. Xiao Xi, you mustn’t listen to people’s nonsense.”
“You know I don’t like him. Can you stop associating with him from now on?” Mu Yanxi’s voice was still soft and gentle. “You always listen to me. You won’t refuse me this time, will you?”
“Well… I need to use his fame in the entertainment industry. We’re just mutually benefiting. Xiao Xi, don’t let your imagination run wild.” Perhaps feeling too guilty, Yi Jingming quickly changed the subject. “You still haven’t said. Did you settle the funding with your sister?”
Mu Yanxi glanced over, gesturing. “The documents are in the back.”
Hearing this, Yi Jingming, with a radiant face and without a hint of hesitation, reached for the documents in the back seat. But as soon as he opened them, his expression changed. He looked through them one by one, his face growing darker with each page. “What… what is all this? Xiao Xi, are you joking with me?”
“Can’t you see?” Mu Yanxi slowed the car, passed a highway exit, and then stepped on the gas again, saying in a surprised tone, “They’re all termination agreements for the collaboration between Xinyu Bank and the projects under your name. Don’t you understand?”
“What do you mean by this?” Yi Jingming was in disbelief.
Mu Yanxi answered every question. “I’ve already put the original documents in the mail. Hmm, my sister should have received them by now. Although Xinyu will suffer some losses, the assets under my name can make up for it.”
Only then did Yi Jingming realize the direction Mu Yanxi was driving and began to panic. “What do you mean, the assets under your name? What are you bringing me here for?”
“Oh, I just wanted to take you to see the sea.” Mu Yanxi’s words were very light, carrying a long-awaited sense of relief. “Aren’t you always too busy to go out with me? So I had to take the initiative to bring you.”
Her voice was very soft, like a young girl in love who had coaxed her busy boyfriend out for a date.
But to Yi Jingming’s ears right now, it was utterly terrifying.
He immediately started to struggle. “Stop the car, Mu Yanxi, stop the car!”
“This is a highway. How can I stop?”
A furious roar exploded in her ear. “Then get off at the next exit! I want to go back.”
Mu Yanxi still ignored him, stepping on the gas. The car went faster and faster. Seeing this, Yi Jingming beside her grew more and more agitated. When the sign for the next highway exit appeared, he even started to grab Mu Yanxi’s steering wheel. “Drive that way! I want to go back.”
“Did you hear me? I’m not going to see the sea.”
“Are you crazy, driving so fast? Stop stepping on the gas! The car is skidding, stop it now!”
“Mu Yanxi, let go, you…”
“Bang—”
The front of the car smashed through the highway guardrail and flew out.
The immense impact slammed Mu Yanxi’s forehead against the car window. She had no strength left to resist. Watching the rapidly falling scenery, she slowly closed her eyes…
These memories seemed long, but in reality, only a few dozen minutes had passed. It wasn’t even midnight yet.
But the aftereffects of the dream were too strong. When Mu Yanxi woke up, she had no strength in her body. And because of her sleeping position, before she was fully awake, her whole body fell downwards, just like in the final scene of her dream.
Mu Yanxi closed her eyes, waiting for the pain of her body hitting the floor.
But an instant before she landed, a pair of hands suddenly caught her by the waist.
Mu Yanxi’s eyelashes fluttered. She struggled to open her eyes and met Yi Wulan’s worried gaze. “Be careful.”
Mu Yanxi was still slightly immersed in the dream of her final moments, especially how she had deliberately rejected all of Yi Wulan’s kindness before planning to perish together with Yi Jingming, just to draw a clear line… At this moment, seeing Yi Wulan appear before her again, Mu Yanxi was in a bit of a daze.
One moment she was rejecting Yi Wulan in her dream, thinking they would never meet again. The next, she opened her eyes and fell into Yi Wulan’s arms.
The warmth of her body transferred over. Mu Yanxi slowly reached out, wanting to confirm it was real. She smiled at Yi Wulan and was about to thank her for catching her when she saw Yi Wulan suddenly withdraw her hands as if she had touched a hot potato.
Caught off guard, Mu Yanxi fell directly onto the carpet.
Mu Yanxi: …
Actually, Yi Wulan couldn’t be blamed for this. It was just that the look in Mu Yanxi’s eyes had been too intense. Paired with her soul-stirring features, she looked like a succubus who had just woken up and was planning to devour someone.
Yi Wulan was in a complete fluster. She reached out again to help Mu Yanxi up. “Are, are you okay?”
Although the carpet was thick, when Mu Yanxi fell, her lower back had unfortunately hit the footrest of Yi Wulan’s wheelchair. Now, propping herself up, she sucked in a sharp breath.
She looked hauntingly at Yi Wulan in the wheelchair and said with a half-smile, “Yi Wulan, are you trying to murder your dear wife?”
Yi Wulan had witnessed Mu Yanxi’s unfiltered mouth many times, but now, feeling a trace of guilt for letting her fall, she lost her confidence. “N-No.”
“Do you know how important one’s back is when doing… certain things?” Mu Yanxi sat cross-legged on the floor, rubbing her lower back unhurriedly, her words full of insinuation. “It’s one thing that you don’t understand romance, but if my back gives out, who’s going to teach you in the future?”
As soon as these words were spoken, the expression on Yi Wulan’s face grew even tighter. She was so stiff she couldn’t even utter a word.
“What are you still standing there for?” Mu Yanxi opened her arms towards Yi Wulan, her lips curled in an invitation. “Come and hug me.”
Yi Wulan: …
Yi Wulan’s hands gripped the edge of her pajama pants. She was frozen in place, not knowing what to do, even averting her gaze.
Just as she was about to grab her phone to call the housekeeper for help, Mu Yanxi saw through her plan and said slowly, “If you don’t come and help me up, believe it or not, I’ll ignore you for the rest of my life.”
Yi Wulan: …
Yi Wulan once again retracted the hand that was reaching for her phone.
Seeing that Yi Wulan was no longer trying to escape, Mu Yanxi beckoned to her with a finger. “Come here.”
Yi Wulan pressed her lips together. Seeing Mu Yanxi’s obviously recovered posture, not only did she not move forward, but she actually maneuvered her wheelchair back a few centimeters.
The corner of Mu Yanxi’s mouth twitched. Seeing Yi Wulan looking as if she’d been traumatized by the teasing, she kindly decided not to push her any further.
“Why have you been working so late these past few days?” Mu Yanxi glanced at the time. “It’s almost dawn. Is Rongjia really that busy lately?”
Yi Wulan wanted to back away, but at the same time, she was worried that Mu Yanxi had really hurt her back and wanted to move forward. Hesitating, her wheelchair kept turning in place.
After hearing Mu Yanxi’s question, her hand on the wheelchair’s control panel paused, and only then did she answer, “It’s alright.”
Mu Yanxi: …
Looking at Yi Wulan, who was maintaining a safe distance of one meter from her, not too close and not too far, Mu Yanxi began to wonder if she had really done something too outrageous in the past to have left such a deep psychological scar on her.
But… probably not, right?
“If it’s alright, then stop staying up all night. Are all those people at Rongjia just drawing a salary for nothing? Does everything need to be handled by you, the frail president… Tsk, why are you so far away? It’s not like I’m going to eat you.”
Yi Wulan pressed the wheelchair’s control panel and moved forward twenty centimeters, but then refused to go any further. “Let’s just talk like this.”
Mu Yanxi: “What did you say?”
Yi Wulan: “I said, let’s just talk like this.”
Mu Yanxi had no choice. Feeling it was unnecessary to keep up the act, she slowly moved onto the bed herself and studied the other woman thoughtfully. “Yi Wulan, you’re not hiding something from me, are you?”
Yi Wulan’s expression became unnatural for a moment. She hesitated for several seconds before maneuvering the wheelchair closer to the bed. Her voice was very soft, lacking its usual confidence. “I’m planning to get my legs checked again.”
Mu Yanxi thought she was hearing things. “What did you say?”
“Lately, I’ve been feeling some faint sensation in my calves, so I plan to see a doctor again.” Yi Wulan simply moved right up to the bed, her legs touching the edge. “You can hear me now, right?”
Mu Yanxi raised an eyebrow. She thought to herself that her special ability had been upgraded for over half a month. This ability could even repair her own body when it was on the verge of death, so of course Yi Wulan would feel something.
She had deliberately focused her treatment on Yi Wulan’s legs, precisely because she wanted Yi Wulan to see some hope first. She had been working diligently every night without fail. If Yi Wulan’s legs felt nothing, it would be a disservice to all those sleepless nights she had spent.
Grumbling aside, Mu Yanxi quickly realized another problem.
If she hadn’t noticed Yi Wulan’s abnormal working hours these past two days, would Yi Wulan have just left with a single phone call again?
They had been married for three months, after all. Was there not even this much trust between them?
Mu Yanxi couldn’t hold back. She lunged forward, wrapped her arms around Yi Wulan’s waist, and started dragging her onto the bed.
Yi Wulan was being forcefully pulled onto the bed. She wanted to resist, but when she saw the smile completely vanish from Mu Yanxi’s face, she cooperated with Mu Yanxi’s actions and lay down on the bed.
Mu Yanxi’s smile faded. She asked, “When are you going? I’m going with you this time.”
Yi Wulan tried to refuse. “Didn’t you just accept a variety show?”
“The recording is still a while away.” Mu Yanxi glanced at Yi Wulan. “Even if it were starting right now, I could just not go. You wouldn’t refuse to even pay the penalty fee for me, would you?”
Yi Wulan was left speechless.
Mu Yanxi looked at her quietly for a long while and asked, “Just tell me, will you let me go with you or not?”
It wasn’t that Yi Wulan didn’t want Mu Yanxi to go with her, but she herself wasn’t sure if her legs had recovered enough to meet the conditions for surgery.
She tried to stop her, but as soon as she opened her mouth, Mu Yanxi leaned in, her fingertips twirling a strand of her hair. Although her bewitching, fox-like eyes were filled with a smile, they also seemed to hold a hidden threat.
It was as if Mu Yanxi would torment her all night if she dared to say another ‘no’. Yi Wulan pondered for a moment and then resignedly nodded.
This time, it was Mu Yanxi’s turn to be surprised.
She had only intended to tidy Yi Wulan’s messy hair. Who would have thought Yi Wulan would suddenly agree?
Mu Yanxi showed a rare look of bewilderment.
She stared blankly for a long time, replaying the recent scene in her mind. Finally, she figured out the key point and burst out laughing.
Get instant access to all the chapters now.
