CH 25

On the second day, which was a Saturday, Mu Qingyan slept in and didn’t get up until 10:30. If it weren’t for his phone vibrating incessantly on the bedside table, he felt like he could have slept until noon.

Buzzing…

Mu Qingyan struggled to climb out of bed and picked up his phone. It was a call from Shen Huai.

He answered the phone lazily, dragging out his words, “Hello…”

“Oh my god,” came the exaggerated exclamation from the other end of the phone. “Old Yan, you finally answered the phone!”

Mu Qingyan suppressed his irritation and asked unwillingly, “What’s wrong? Who’s causing trouble again?”

“I saw the news that you were almost assassinated last night! Are you okay?!”

“Oh, that thing,” Mu Qingyan thought for a moment and then suppressed his anger since the other person was showing concern. He sat up and rubbed his eyes before saying, “I’m totally fine. After finishing the transcript yesterday, I went straight home.”

Shen Huai breathed a sigh of relief. “You don’t know, the news made it sound like your life was hanging by a thread and you had a narrow escape. They even said you fought to the death with the attacker and suffered serious injuries!”

Mu Qingyan chuckled, “You know some news reports are exaggerating. Don’t worry, I’m neither seriously injured nor on the brink of death.”

“Haha, that’s good to hear!” Upon hearing his friend say that, Shen Huai finally let go of his worries and joked, “I mean, if you were hurt, what would our company do for bodyguard business? We might as well close down!”

“Uh-huh.”

Mu Qingyan was about to say “thank you for your concern”, but he realized that saying such polite words between the two of them would only create distance.

Shen Huai continued, “To celebrate your close call, I’m organizing a gathering tonight. You have to come!”

Looking back at the original book, the original protagonist was brainwashed by Xing Hao after marriage and was isolated from his original circle of friends, leaving only Shen Huai who stood by his side, even though Shen Huai himself was in danger.

Mu Qingyan was not very sociable before entering the book, and had no close friends.

But after experiencing these things in the book, he deeply felt that sincere and loyal friends are very important, especially childhood friends who grew up together, like Ji Liyun and Shen Huai.

He said, “Okay, but I don’t want to drink… “

As soon as Mu Qingyan agreed, Shen Huai immediately said, “I understand! The aftermath of the last video incident. Don’t worry, I’ve arranged for the Intelligence Bureau this time!”

What is… the Intelligence Bureau?

Mu Qingyan didn’t ask too much, he just said “See you tonight” and hung up the phone.

After the phone call, he was completely sober, and he checked his phone and found that there were hundreds of unread messages and dozens of missed calls, including Shen Huai, Ye Qiqi, his mother Shen Xiaoxiao, as well as his work partners and subordinates, and the original protagonist’s friends.

Without exception, they were all inquiring about his safety after seeing the news of his attack late at night.

Mu Qingyan called Shen Xiaoxiao back and told her that he was completely fine, and asked his parents to rest assured. After that, he posted on his social media accounts.

He stated that he was safe and sound, and also praised the bodyguard company of Shen Huai’s family, saying that the bodyguards were very professional, which was why he was able to escape safely.

After all, his image was that of the young master of the Mu family, who had never learned martial arts or fighting, and was used to a life of luxury.

Mu Qingyan spent most of the day with his parents at the Mu family mansion, and in the evening, he kept his appointment and arrived at Shen Huai’s EVOL bar.

It wasn’t until he entered the 888 VVIP private room that Shen Huai had prepared for them that he learned about the so-called “Intelligence Bureau.”

They were a group of rich second-generation or even third-generation people who were bored with nightclubs and bars, and were looking for something new. They played murder mystery games in the bar, and called this kind of drinking and playing games gathering the “Intelligence Bureau.”

The EVOL bar gave people the feeling of “red lights and green wine” and “paper-drunk gold-fascinated”, but this VVIP private room was much more elegant and simple in style.

In the memories left by the original owner, this private room was decorated according to their preferences, as specially requested by Shen Huai. So every time the original owner came to EVOL bar, they either sat in the booth on the first floor or in this private room.

Shen Huai saw Mu Qingyan’s arrival and waved to him, smiling. “Young Maste Mu, who narrowly escaped death, has arrived! Come over and have a drink with us.”

Mu Qingyan greeted the wealthy children already sitting together, sat next to Shen Huai, and said, “I don’t feel like drinking today.”

“I know,” Shen Huai winked at him and whispered, “I had our bartender develop a few non-alcoholic drinks for us to try.”

Mu Qingyan took a sip from the glass in front of him and said, “It looks like Long Island iced tea, and tastes pretty similar too, but there is indeed no alcohol taste.”

He smiled and said, “This non-alcoholic drink is suitable for me. From now on, I’ll use this to fake it.”

“Absolutely,” Shen Huai made a face, “This is your special treatment with me.”

At this time, a drunken rich second-generation named Song Tao loudly said, “Shen Huai, when are we going to start the play, the script killing, let’s kill!”

Shen Huai looked at the time and said, “We’re still missing one person. It should be ready to start in ten minutes.”

“Hey, okay,” Song Tao tilted his head back and finished the whiskey in his cup, then shouted to the waiter at the door, “Tommy, give me another one!”

Another rich second-generation asked, “Ah Huai, who else hasn’t come yet?”

Shen Huai said mysteriously, “A new friend.”

When the group of wealthy young masters heard this, they all teased, “Oh, a new friend? Who’s the new friend? Your new boyfriend, Ah Huai?”

“Phew, stop talking nonsense!” Shen Huai immediately interrupted them.

At this moment, the door to the VIP room 888 opened, and the person who came in was indeed a “new friend” who had never played with this group of wealthy young masters before.

“Ji Liyun?!” These wealthy young masters were stunned.

To them, Ji Liyun was “someone else’s child” and the “legendary President.” He had always been a top student from a young age, and always had the highest grades in the school.

When they were in their twenties, squandering their family’s wealth in college, Ji Liyun had already skipped several grades, studied abroad, and returned to enter the Ji Group.

He had a great eye for business and was wise in the marketplace. The shareholders and directors of the Ji Group respected and admired him, so within three years, he became the President.

Nightclubs? Bars? Drinking and carousing?

In the eyes of everyone, these words are insulated and irrelevant to Ji Liyun.

So why is Ji Liyun in this private room, dressed in sportswear instead of his usual high-end suit and ice-cold President demeanor?

A drunken rich second-generation blurted out, “Mr. Ji, did you come to the wrong room?”

Shen Huai immediately covered the rich kid’s mouth with one hand and beckoned to Ji Liyun with the other, “Come on, we have a new friend here. Let’s start today’s game of deduction!”

After a brief greeting, Ji Liyun found an empty seat and sat down.

This is a murder mystery game, with a total of twelve players drawing identity cards and assigning roles.

Shen Huai said, “I drew the role of the victim’s father. What did you all draw?”

Mu Qingyan looked at his identity card and said, “I drew the role of the victim’s mother, and Shen Huai is my husband.”

Everyone else reported their identities one by one, but Ji Liyun’s face was dark, and he seemed unhappy.

Mu Qingyan asked him through Shen Huai, “What did you draw?”

Ji Liyun forcibly swapped his identity card with Shen Huai’s and said, “The victim’s father, your husband.”

“…”

Shen Huai looked at the identity card he had just received and was speechless, “I went from being the father to the son, the victim’s younger brother.”

Half of the twelve players were first-timers at this murder mystery game, including Mu Qingyan, Shen Huai, and Ji Liyun.

So they drank and played happily.

Shen Huai and Mu Qingyan were almost inseparable, leaning against each other and making fun of Song Tao, who drew the role of the “killer” and couldn’t act at all.

Ji Liyun played along and watched Mu Qingyan with a smile on his face, his eyes full of love.

He didn’t mind meeting strangers or joining unfamiliar groups as long as he could integrate into Mu Qingyan’s life and stay by his side.

Song Tao and Shen Huai got drunk and bantered back and forth. Shen Huai even left his seat and pounced on Song Tao.

Ji Liyun took the opportunity to move to a seat next to Mu Qingyan.

Once the “killer” was exposed, they set aside the script and drank and laughed together.

Mu Qingyan watched Shen Huai and Song Tao bickering like they were singing a duet and couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

The joyful atmosphere inside the private room infected everyone, even Ji Liyun, who rarely showed a smile in public, had let loose and was drinking and laughing while sharing the mishaps and funny stories from work.

Soon, this group of rich young men and the CEO of the Ji Group went from strangers to close friends.

After finishing his drink, Mu Qingyan asked the server for another one, thinking it would be another non-alcoholic drink with the same taste as the Long Island Iced Tea.

But to his surprise, his second and third drinks were actually Long Island Iced Teas.

Ji Liyun, who was a little tipsy, looked at Mu Qingyan’s flushed cheeks and said, “Didn’t you tell me earlier that Shen Huai gave you special treatment and let you drink non-alcoholic drinks? Why is your face so red? Are you feeling hot?”

As he finished speaking, Ji Liyun reached out to touch Mu Qingyan’s face, wanting to feel the temperature of his skin.

But as he touched Mu Qingyan’s delicate and smooth, slightly warm face, Ji Liyun suddenly became sober and realized, “What am I doing? Why am I touching his face?”

Mu Qingyan, who was already feeling the effects of the alcohol, didn’t pay much attention to Ji Liyun’s actions. He simply held onto Ji Liyun’s hand that was on his face and then let it go, saying loudly, “It’s fine! I just had two glasses of iced tea!”

His voice echoed throughout the private room.

Everyone knew that when Mu Qingyan was drunk, he tended to speak loudly.

Shen Huai, who was also drunk, laughed and said, “What’s going on? Lao Yan, you’re getting drunk just from drinking beverages?”

Mu Qingyan squinted at Shen Huai and shouted, “Go away! I’m not drunk!”

“Okay, okay, you’re not drunk,” Ji Liyun said, soothing Mu Qingyan while pulling his hand away from his face.

Mu Qingyan smiled and touched Ji Liyun’s face, leaning in close to him and saying, “Why is your face so red? Did you drink too much?”

This was the first time since Ji Liyun returned to China that Mu Qingyan had been this close to him. Ji Liyun instantly felt his blood rushing to his head, and his heart was pounding.

God knows, he was often praised as “able to drink a thousand cups without getting drunk,” and his face was only red because he was shy.