In the Kang family’s old residence.
After she contacted Mu Sijue in the morning, Xu Youning felt inexplicably uneasy. She and Mumu carried the game device back to the room and did not go downstairs for the whole day.
In the evening, Ah Jin went upstairs, knocked on the door and said, “Brother Cheng is back. He wants you to go downstairs.”
Mumu was holding the tablet computer and watching a cartoon. When he heard that, he looked up at Xu Youning and said very sensibly, “Auntie Youning, go ahead. I will be good and stay here.”
“I’ll be back soon.”
Xu Youning put on her shoes and went downstairs.
Kang Ruicheng sat on an ancient and precious mahogany chair, surrounded by many people, all of whom were his trusted men, including Dongzi and Ah Jin.
“What happened?” Xu Youning glanced around at everyone in confusion. “Why do you look as if something bad has happened?”
One of the men said, “We followed Mu Sijue and found that he went to a research studio. The studio belongs to a young man named Dui Fang, who works for Lu Boyan and Mu Sijue. He likes to invent things and also to refurbish and repair some electronic products.”
“I’m not interested in Dui Fang.” Xu Youning said directly, “Why did Mu Sijue go to his studio?”
“Can’t you guess?” Kang Ruicheng said coldly, “Mu Sijue must have the clues, so he went to the studio to crack it.”
Xu Youning was surprised for two seconds and then immediately calmed down. “Are you sure that Mu Sijue went there to crack the clues?”
“I can’t be sure, but we must make this assumption!” Kang Ruicheng slammed the table. “Once the clues are cracked by Mu Sijue, our loss will be immeasurable.”
Xu Youning looked at him and asked calmly, “What are you going to do?”
Kang Ruicheng motioned for everyone except Xu Youning to leave.
Xu Youning’s total resistance to him last night was still vivid in his mind.
For a long time, he had been too optimistic. Xu Youning hated Mu Sijue, but at the same time, she could not forget Mu Sijue, so she could not accept him yet.
This time, he would send Xu Youning out as a test to see if she still had any feelings for Mu Sijue.
Xu Youning felt uneasy under his gaze. “What are you going to tell me?”
“Among us, you are the one who knows Mu Sijue best, including his weaknesses.” Kang Ruicheng said, “A Ning, I want you to find a way to get the clues back before Mu Sijue cracks them.”
“…You want to send me out to get the clues?” Xu Youning looked at Kang Ruicheng in disbelief.
“If necessary, I will definitely send you out.” Kang Ruicheng’s eyes were filled with gloom and cruelty. “Next, we will figure out why Mu Sijue visited Dui Fang’s studio and whether he really has the actual clues or not.”
“Okay.” Xu Youning nodded and said, “If you really need me to take action, I will go. However, you’d better find out the truth before you send me out. I don’t want to take any unnecessary risks.”
“Take it easy.” Kang Ruicheng stroked Xu Youning’s hand. “Whether you succeed or not, I will guarantee your safety.”
Xu Youning drew back her hand and turned to go upstairs.
The reason why Kang Ruicheng assigned this task to her was because she had the ability to carry it out. Secondly, Kang Ruicheng still wanted to put her to the test.
Once she took action, she had to do her best to deal with Mu Sijue, like how she dealt with her enemies.
Of course, she couldn’t really get the clues back.
However, if she returned empty-handed, Kang Ruicheng, who was initially suspicious, was bound to suspect her again.
The best way was to avoid this task.
The key was how to avoid it.
After returning to her room, Xu Youning leaned against the door and took a deep breath.
“Auntie Youning.” Mumu put down the tablet computer and walked over. He looked at Xu Youning worriedly and asked, “What’s wrong with you? Are you not feeling well?”
“I’m fine.” Xu Youning forced a smile. “I’m a little tired. I want to rest for a while. You watch cartoons by yourself, OK?”
“OK.”
The little boy nodded obediently, climbed onto the bed and tucked Xu Youning in. Then he put on his headset, sat at the end of the bed and continued watching the cartoon.
Xu Youning was just looking for an excuse to calm down and sort out her thoughts. But after lying down, she really fell asleep.
When she woke up, it was already late at night. Her stomach was growling.
Mumu was sitting on the carpet beside the bed and playing games. When he saw that Xu Youning was awake, he ran downstairs and asked the female servant to prepare a night snack for Xu Youning. The servant asked him what he wanted to eat. He tilted his head and thought for a moment, then saying loudly, “Hunter!”
The servant didn’t react for a moment. “Hunter?”
The little boy scratched his face. “Did I say something wrong?”
Xu Youning walked downstairs and carried Mumu onto the chair. She told the maidservant, “He’s talking about Huntun. I’ll eat some too.”
“Oh, Huntun.” The servant smiled and said, “Okay, okay, okay. Just wait a moment.”
Mumu bit his glass with a conflicted expression. “Hunter, hunter…”
Xu Youning couldn’t help laughing and corrected the little boy’s pronunciation. It didn’t take long for the servant to cook two big bowls of Huntun. The thin wrappers, the full stuffing and the thick soup made the Huntun look so tasty.
Mumu was just greedy for food, but in fact, he was not hungry. After eating half a bowl of Huntun, he said he was full and then pushed the bowl away. Xu Youning took his bowl and ate all the Huntun.
“Miss Xu, you have a good appetite recently.” The servant said, “You can eat more than before!”
Mumu raised his hand and said, “Auntie Youning is also becoming lazy. She likes to sleep!”
Only then did Xu Youning realize that something was wrong with her these days, but… perhaps it was because she hadn’t exercised for a long time and was becoming gluttonous and lazy.
Xu Youning still did not take it seriously. She carried Mumu upstairs and coaxed him to sleep, saying, “From today on, as long as you want, you can sleep with me.”
Mumu’s eyes lit up. “Really?”
Xu Youning nodded firmly. “Of course it’s true.”
Mumu cheered and went to brush his teeth and wash his face. Then he got into bed and crept into Xu Youning’s arms like a little pig. “Auntie Youning, I love you. Good night!”
“Good night.”
Xu Youning hugged the little boy and suddenly felt a little guilty.
Of course, she also wanted to accompany Mumu, but at the same time, she was also using this little boy. As long as he was here, even if Kang Ruicheng broke in again in the middle of the night, he couldn’t do anything to her.
However, this little boy probably thought that she was simply being kind to him.
Xu Youning stroked his back and silently apologized to him again in her heart.
After all, she would be letting Mumu down.
On the morning of the third day, Kang Ruicheng’s men finally found out that Mu Sijue had visited Dui Fang’s studio in order to get a memory card repaired.
The vital information was that the memory card seemed to have existed for many years.
“A Ning, you’re right. The clues left by Xiao Yunyun’s parents were indeed damaged!” Kang Ruicheng laughed and said, “This is probably because God is helping us.”
Xu Youning reminded him, “Don’t forget what Mu Sijue is good at. It’s not difficult for Mu Sijue to repair a memory card—even if it’s more than 20 years old.”
“Of course we won’t slack off, but at least we have time.” Kang Ruicheng said, “We can make plans and wait for an opportunity to take action.”
However, more than a week later, he still had no opportunity to take action. Also, he could not determine whether Mu Sijue had managed to successfully repair the memory card.
Ah Jin found an opportunity and secretly contacted Mu Sijue, saying that Kang Ruicheng was in a hurry now.
Mu Sijue was not surprised at all.
In order to make Kang Ruicheng send Xu Youning out, he deliberately leaked the news that he was repairing a memory card.
As for whether the card had been successfully repaired or not, he wanted Xu Youning to find the answer in person.
Kang Ruicheng was beginning to worry, which was something he had planned for.
So far, Mu Sijue’s plan was basically going smoothly, but it was a little tricky to repair the memory card.
After decades, it was very difficult to carry out repairs on the badly damaged memory card, even if Shen Yuechuan had prepared some additional tools for them.
At present, the only solution was to take the memory card back to MJ Technology in City G for repair.
However, once he went back to City G, Kang Ruicheng might send someone else to carry out the task because he was afraid that Xu Youning would be out of his control. If Mu Sijue’s plans did not result in Xu Youning’s arrival, all his previous efforts would be wasted.
Mu Sijue went to discuss it with Lu Boyan, but the latter said, “Since the memory card is in your hand, of course it’s your call. Or, how about discussing it with Yuechuan?”
“Yuechuan?” Mu Sijue said, “He’s returning to the hospital soon.”
The third treatment was imminent. Shen Yuechuan would have to end his free and easy life tomorrow and return to the hospital as a patient.
Lu Boyan pondered for a moment and said, “Let’s go to my house tonight and have dinner together. We can discuss how to solve this problem.”
In the evening, Su Jian’an prepared a sumptuous dinner for Shen Yuechuan. Like the time when he had been discharged from the hospital, she asked everyone to have dinner together.
Shen Yuechuan was very embarrassed. “When I was discharged from the hospital, you said it was a celebration for me. Now, are you celebrating my going back to the hospital?”
“No, we are celebrating that you are one step closer to recovery!” Su Jian’an filled two bowls of soup and handed them to Shen Yuechuan and Luo Xiaoxi respectively. “You can’t drink alcohol, so drink the soup.”
Lu Boyan removed the glass in front of Su Jian’an, put down a bowl, and reminded her, “You can’t drink alcohol either.”
Xiyu and Xiangyi still had to drink breast milk, so Su Jian’an needed to watch her diet. She could only fill a bowl of soup for herself and comfort herself. “We can replace alcohol with the soup. No difference.”
After dinner, Lu Boyan and Mu Sijue went upstairs to the study to discuss something. Only Su Jian’an and Luo Xiaoxi, as well as Xiao Yunyun whose cheeks were red because of alcohol, were left in the living room.
“Ahem!” Luo Xiaoxi elbowed Xiao Yunyun and asked, “You and Yuechuan, you…?”
“Not yet.” Xiao Yunyun cupped her chin with both hands and said with annoyance, “I don’t know what Yuechuan is thinking.”
“Then don’t think about it. Just take the initiative!” Luo Xiaoxi smiled meaningfully. “We don’t know how long Yuechuan will stay in the hospital after tomorrow. Don’t blame me for not reminding you.”
Perhaps either due to the alcohol or her shyness, Xiao Yunyun’s face was as red as a burning cloud. After hesitating for a while, she asked in a low voice, “Cousin-in-law, how… how should I take the initiative?”
Luo Xiaoxi snapped her fingers loudly. “You’re asking the right person!”
She whispered in Xiao Yunyun’s ear and taught her some simple but useful tricks on how to take the initiative.
“Ahem.” Su Jian’an coughed and said, “Xiaoxi, be careful about the influence of prenatal training.”
“It’s fine!” Luo Xiaoxi stroked her belly, which had not swelled yet. “My voice is so low that the baby can’t hear me! Even if it can hear me, it is just an early guidance on how to flirt with handsome guys.”
Su Jian’an was speechless.