Chapter 447 - Side Story 7: Li Mu Bai

In Capital City…

Not long after Li Qin Yao had given birth to her second child, the Chairman of QL Group, Li Ren Xin decided to step down from the business world and let his two grandsons, Li Mu Bai and Li Ming Han manage the group.

Ever since the incident that involved his two granddaughters, Li Ren Xin's health was never the same again. At the thought that he was part of the reason that Li Mu Chen had turned out to be that way, Li Ren Xin would continue to blame himself. 

Soon, his health declined and the doctor had advised him to rest or else, his body would not be able to take it.

In one of the meeting rooms located in the QL Group Headquarters, Li Mu Bai sat at the top of the room as he listened to the managers' reports. Once in a while, he would look up from his files and listen to the managers' words with interest.

After a while, someone appeared at the glass door and knocked on the door.

The meeting halted and Li Mu Bai raised his head to see his ȧssistant, Bei Ruo Xi at the door. He waved his hand and the girl entered the room and slid a piece of paper on the desk.

A frown appeared on Li Mu Bai's face as he read what was written. He turned to Bei Ruo Xi again and his expression turned solemn when she nodded. 

"This meeting will be adjourned," Li Mu Bai announced. He then stood up and walked out of the room with his ȧssistant trailing after him, leaving the managers in puzzled.

As soon as he stepped into his office, Li Mu Bai turned to Bei Ruo Xi and she passed over his phone. Li Mu Bai hesitated for a while before he tapped his finger on the screen. Then, he pressed the phone to his ear and waited until the phone was connected.

Bei Ruo Xi took this chance to walk out of the room to leave her boss some space. 

A long, heavy sigh escaped her once Bei Ruo Xi returned to her desk. She opened some documents on his computer and paused when she recalled the phone call that she had received a moment ago.

The hospital called with a report regarding Li Mu Chen's health.

Although that woman had done a lot of bad things to her cousin, her family members, especially Li Mu Bai, still hope that Li Mu Chen will wake up from her coma and will be able to live her life normally.

However, a few years have passed since that tragedy and the doctor had called to report that Li Mu Chen will not be able to wake up anymore.

Li Mu Chen might still be able to breathe with the help of a machine, but the doctor found that there was no more activity in her brain. Therefore, the doctor suggested for them to pull off the plug and let her go.

…

Li Mu Bai stayed in his office for a long time, just staring out the window after the phone call with his grandfather ended.

With Li Mu Chen's condition, Li Mu Bai and his father had agreed to pull off the plug and let his sister go. He had to report the news to his grandfather and had almost broken down when he heard his grandfather sobbed at the other line.

Though Li Mu Chen had done a lot of wrongs, she was still his sister. 

What Li Mu Bai regretted the most was that he was not there to guide his sister on the right path. He was there when his mother had steered his sister astray, but he did not do anything to help his sister. Now that Li Mu Chen was lying on the hospital bed for years, Li Mu Bai would not stop blaming himself. For him, he was guilty as the others.

Li Mu Bai closed his eyes tightly and let out a long sigh. When he opened his eyes again, he realized that the sky had turned dark and the city was illuminated with the city lights. He glanced at his watch and was shocked upon noticing that it was almost midnight.

He quickly grabbed his things and headed out. His movement halted as soon as he swung the door open. Li Mu Bai glanced at the time again and then at the woman who was sitting behind the computer screen.

"President Li," Bei Ruo Xi greeted when she heard his movement.

"Why are you still here?"

Bei Ruo Xi flashed a smile. "President Li, as your ȧssistant, I am not supposed to leave the office until you leave, or was permitted to leave."

Li Mu Bai froze upon hearing her word and a tinge of guilt tugged at his heart. "You can go back now. Next time, you can just clock out if it's too late. You don't have to wait for me."

He had managed to do his work without an ȧssistant by his side until he recruited Bei Ruo Xi to his side. Even if Bei Ruo Xi leaves the office on time, Li Mu Bai was sure that he will be able to do his job just fine. 

"Thank you, President Li."

Li Mu Bai took a step to leave and stop again when he realized that most of the lights were out. It seemed that there were only two of them on the floor. Li Mu Bai turned around and looked at his ȧssistant again. "Where do you live? I will give you a lift."

"It's fine," Bei Ruo Xi quickly rejected. "I can grab a cab."

"Nonsense. It was this late. Would it be easy for you to grab a cab?" Li Mu Bai countered. "Moreover, it will be dangerous for a woman like you to travel alone at night like this. As your employer, I am responsible for your safety. What should I do if your family came over to look for me if something happened to you?"

A chuckle escaped her before Bei Ruo Xi agreed. The two of them walked over to the elevator and waited. Bei Ruo Xi glanced at the man beside him and hesitated. 

"President Li."

"Hmm?"

"The phone call earlier… have you decided?"

There was a long silence between them and suddenly, the elevator arrived. 

As they stepped inside, Bei Ruo Xi bit at her lips and thought that perhaps she should not ask a personal question such as that.

"We have decided to let my sister go tomorrow morning," Li Mu Bai spoke. He glanced at Bei Ruo Xi and spoke again. "Cancel my appointments and meeting for the next few days. I won't be meeting anyone until the funeral ended."

Bei Ruo Xi nodded. "Yes, President Li."

…

Li Mu Chen's funeral was attended only by her closest family members. 

The sky was dark, and the atmosphere was somber.

When her mother, Zhao Wei heard the news of what happened to her daughter, she could not stop crying. Li Mu Chen was the daughter that she doted on. Zhao Wei had worked hard to push her children to the top. She wanted her children to have the best. But in the end, what happened? Her daughter lost her life just like that. She was not even allowed to come out and see her daughter for the last time.

Li Mu Bai stayed to guard his sister until the end. Once her body was buried, Li Mu Bai had stayed around and stared at the place where his sister was buried with dazed eyes.

Back then, the two of them were quite close. He did not realize when did their relationship start to grow apart. In the end, his sister was no longer around.

Li Mu Bai did not know how long he had stayed. But when he looked up again, his ȧssistant stood beside him with an umbrella shielding them from the rain. He stared at Bei Ruo Xi's face for a few seconds and snapped out of his trance.

"Why are you here?"

"President Li, it's raining," Bei Ruo Xi reminded him. "Earlier, the old Madam Li had reminded me to look after you."

Li Mu Bai shifted his eyes and looked at the rain. The rain was not heavy but he was able to feel some droplets of water on his shoulder. He shivered at the cold and noticed that Bei Ruo Xi's left shoulder was wet as they both stood under the umbrella.

"We should go now," Li Mu Bai said.

"Yes, President Li." She nodded.

Li Mu Bai moved to leave the burial site and paused again. He turned to look at his sister's burial place for one more time and silently bid his farewell.