Mu Jinyu did not utter a sound, but stared straight into Mei Yinxue's clear eyes.
Mei Yinxue did not avert her gaze and met Mu Jinyu's eyes.
"Big Sister, are you alright?!"
At this moment, Mei Yinxue's subordinates all ran over, while subduing the street-sweeping assassin, they also expressed concern for Mei Yinxue's safety.
"I'm fine," Mei Yinxue waved her hand at them and asked, "Is the assassin dead?"
"Not yet, he's still breathing," they replied.
Mei Yinxue instructed, "Then lock him up for now; I'll interrogate him when I return. Remember not to let him commit suicide."
"Yes," her subordinates answered.
They too could sense the strange atmosphere between Mei Yinxue and Mu Jinyu and did not dare linger; gripping the street-sweeping assassin, they dragged him towards the clinic.
Mu Jinyu withdrew her gaze from Mei Yinxue, opened the car door, stepped inside, and said indifferently, "Let's go."
Seeing Mu Jinyu's demeanor suddenly turn cold again, even more inaccessible than when she had just angrily berated Shen Changchun, Mei Yinxue couldn't help but curse herself inwardly for stirring trouble unnecessarily, having deliberately teased Mu Jinyu despite her own pounding heart.
Look at what happened now.
Not only did she fail to evoke any pity, but she also managed to make herself detestable.
Truly an unnecessary addition!
After closing the car door for Mu Jinyu, Mei Yinxue had originally planned to drive Mu Jinyu back herself, but having just experienced another assassination attempt, she felt somewhat unsettled and had no choice but to call over a burly man skilled in martial arts to drive and take Mu Jinyu home.
Circling to the other side, Mei Yinxue opened the door, sat down, and, looking at Mu Jinyu's still composed face, she hesitated before saying, "Thank you."
This time, she did not deliberately tease Mu Jinyu anymore.
Mu Jinyu, hearing Mei Yinxue's thanks and sensing the sincerity and pleading in her words, softened his expression slightly, glanced up at her, and asked, "If possible, tell me what all this is about?"
With Mu Jinyu bringing up the matter, Mei Yinxue didn't intend to hide it from him. After a thought and organizing her words, she began, "The assassin just now was probably sent by an old rival of mine. She made some mistakes in the past and I expelled her from River City. Afterward, I didn't pay her any more attention, but recently, she returned to River City and started causing trouble. The car accident yesterday, Ah-Biao being ambushed at noon and nearly losing his life—all her doing."
"Oh," Mu Jinyu nodded after listening.
No wonder, he had seen the car accident yesterday and felt it wasn't a mere coincidence but rather an intentional attack on her. Now hearing her explanation, his premonition was indeed not wrong.
After a brief hesitation, Mu Jinyu said, "Be careful then. Pay attention to safety and avoid nights like this in the future."
"I got it," Mei Yinxue, seeing Mu Jinyu's softened attitude, breathed a sigh of relief and obediently nodded.
The burly man driving the car, witnessing this scene, felt rather strange.
Despite Big Sister being much older than Mu Jinyu and usually carrying an older sister figure's demeanor, why did she act like the girl next door around Mu Jinyu, becoming obedient and docile?!
If word of this got out, many in River City would be utterly shocked.
The burly man quickly refocused, centering himself, keeping his eyes forward, not daring to steal another glance at the conversation behind him.
Soon, the burly man drove the Maybach to the residential complex of Mu Jinyu's new apartment and stopped.
Mu Jinyu opened the door, stepped out, and said to Mei Yinxue who also got out, "Alright, I'm going back. Remember, if there's business later, come and find me. A million to treat illness, ten million to save a life. The prices are high but the deals are fair..."
Waving to Mei Yinxue, Mu Jinyu turned and walked into the complex, quickly blending into the darkness and disappearing from view.
Mei Yinxue watched as Mu Jinyu disappeared into the darkness, feeling pretty dejected.
Why would she willingly adopt the demeanor of a docile girl-next-door in front of a boy who was clearly five or six years her junior?
Had it not been to mend her relationship with Mu Jinyu, she never would've lowered herself, feigning such an obedient and compliant air.
She thought about how yesterday, during the car accident, Mu Jinyu had saved her but had also teased her in various ways. Today, it was her turn to tease him, and at first, it seemed to go quite well.
Unfortunately, when danger struck, she continued in the same vein, only to find it was superfluous, like adding legs to a snake.
After reflecting for a moment, Mei Yinxue gave it more thought.
Mu Jinyu clearly wasn't a man who couldn't take a joke. His cold attitude later on must have been due to his concern for her safety. He didn't want her to still act nonchalant or speak in a teasing tone after facing danger. He wanted her to take her safety seriously.
It must be so, right?
Yes, definitely so.
Mei Yinxue didn't care whether this was truly what Mu Jinyu thought, deceiving herself with this line of thinking.
Thinking this way, Mei Yinxue instantly felt a warmth in her heart, and she was deeply moved.
She then turned to look at the burly driver who had also gotten out, and said indifferently, "Did you see anything just now in the car?"
Upon hearing this, the burly driver tensed up, shaking his head like a pellet drum, repeatedly saying, "No, no, I didn't see anything!"
"Hmm?!" Mei Yinxue narrowed her eyes.
With a thump in his heart, the driver realized his mistake and quickly added, "I was just driving, I don't know anything..."
Mei Yinxue snorted and said with a severe face, "Remember to keep everything to yourself. Now go back. I have to interrogate that assassin to see just how capable he is to dare try to assassinate Mei Yinxue!"
...
When Mu Jinyu opened the door and returned home, he found the lights in the living room still on. Glancing over, he saw that Wen Rou was still up, not having gone to sleep, sitting on the sofa in the living room with her long legs stretched out, holding a book, dozing off.
Mu Jinyu, unaware that Wen Rou was waiting for him in the living room, made quite a bit of noise opening the door. Wen Rou immediately heard it and sleepily rubbed her eyes. Seeing Mu Jinyu return, she smiled softly at him, yawning, "You're back?"
"Yes," Mu Jinyu replied, looking at Wen Rou and suddenly feeling an indescribable emotion well up within him.
As the sleepiness faded a bit, Wen Rou sized up Mu Jinyu and, seeing that he was unharmed, smiled and said, "Go to bed early, good night."
She didn't ask what Mu Jinyu had gone out to do; as long as he came back safe and sound, nothing else mattered.
"Yeah, good night," Mu Jinyu said blankly, standing at the entrance and looking at Wen Rou, responding subconsciously.
Wen Rou got up from the sofa, put on her slippers, and pitter-pattered back to her bedroom.
Mu Jinyu watched Wen Rou's yawning silhouette, feeling somewhat guilty.
When he left, it was past seven o'clock, and he reached the small clinic at eight, delaying quite a bit. Now that he was back, it was already past ten.
He had thought that Wen Rou would have heeded his words and gone to sleep early.
But unexpectedly, she had been waiting for him to return the whole time. And it seemed that if he didn't return the entire night, Wen Rou might just sit on the sofa the whole time, sleepy eyes yawning, waiting for him.
In that instant, what surged in Mu Jinyu's heart towards Wen Rou was not just guilt and compassion; there was an affection he didn't fully understand himself, a desire to cherish this girl for a lifetime.