Although Mu Sijue didnât sleep all night, he did not look tired at all. If others didnât observe him carefully, they could not tell. Only his face was a little pale.
But Aunt Zhou was worried about him. She wanted to make sure he was okay.
Mu Sijueâs eyes showed a little awkwardness. He answered, âAunt Zhou, Iâm good. Donât worry about me.â
âIf so, why did you torture yourself?â Aunt Zhou looked at Mu Sijue and said, âLittle Seven, I know you too well. You are not feeling good at all.â
Mu Sijue didnât say a word or make eye contact with Aunt Zhou.
In the face of Aunt Zhou who had watched him grow up, he usually evaded topics that he didnât want to talk about by keeping silent.
Aunt Zhou did not want to force Mu Sijue. So she only sighed and said, âLittle Seven, Ah Guang told me that you want to kill Youning. Is that true?â
âAunt Zhou, Xu Youning is on Kang Ruichengâs side,â Mu Sijue said in an emotionless tone, âKang Ruicheng once hurt you. I wonât let him or those around him off.â
âYouning is different!â Aunt Zhou tried to awaken Mu Sijueâs feelings for Xu Youning, âSijue, you love...â
âAunt Zhou, I hate Xu Youning,â Mu Sijueâs eyes were filled with intense hatred, âNow she could kill an unborn baby. In the future, she can kill all of us. Either she dies or I do.â
Aunt Zhou could not accept this. âLittle Seven, do you have to be like this?â She asked.
âIt canât be avoided.â
Mu Sijueâs tone was particularly cold. It seemed that there was no room for negotiation and no one could persuade him to change his mind.
Aunt Zhou gave up trying to persuade him and asked, âSijue, can you tell me what happened between you and Youning yesterday morning? How did you find out that she took Mifepristone and Misoprostol?â
âAunt Zhou, I donât want to talk about it.â
That scene was like a knife inserted in Mu Sijueâs heart forever.
Mu Sijueâs voice was totally flat, just like his feelings for Xu Youning â no expectation at all.
However, Su Jianâan needed to know the details.
âLittle Seven...â
Aunt Zhou still wanted to persuade Mu Sijue.
âAunt Zhou, if everything is fine, Iâll go back to the company.â
Then Mu Sijue turned to leave the old house.
Aunt Zhou had to compromise. âLittle Seven, stay and have dinner with me. Iâll not talk about those things,â she said.
After dinner, Aunt Zhou asked Mu Sijue to stay because she did not feel well and was afraid that something unexpected might happen.
Mu Sijue had been working continuously for 24 hours. No matter how strong he was, he was not able to stay up for another night.
Aunt Zhou just wanted Mu Sijue to have a rest at home.
Aunt Zhou had never made any requests throughout these years. This was the first time the old lady asked Mu Sijue to stay and accompany her.
He knew that Aunt Zhou was fine, but he could not leave her alone.
This time, it was Mu Sijueâs turn to compromise.
Mu Sijue agreed, saying, âAunt Zhou, I wonât leave. Have a good rest.â
Aunt Zhou was finally relieved. âYou too,â she said.
Aunt Zhou was still recovering from her operation. After her meal, she took her medicine and felt sleepy. So Mu Sijue asked the nurse to take Aunt Zhou upstairs.
Soon, the nurse came down and said Aunt Zhou was asleep.
âGot it,â Mu Sijue lit a cigarette and ordered, âYou watch Aunt Zhou. If she feels uncomfortable at midnight, call me immediately.â
âNo problem.â
After saying that, the nurse took a look at Mu Sijue. Obviously, she had something else to say.
Mu Sijue said coldly, âSay it!â
The nurse felt a chill running down her spine and couldnât help trembling. She responded, âMr. Mu, before Aunt Zhou went to bed, she said that if you leave at midnight, you are the black sheep of the Mu family.â
Mu Sijue was speechless.
Aunt Zhouâs threat worked. Mu Sijue just strolled to the yard after finishing his cigarette and did not leave.
The winter of City G was on par with that of City A. The dry and cold air made peopleâs skin feel chapped.
Last winter, Xu Youning was still in City G, having the run of the Mu familyâs old house.
But this year, she was in another old house, another city.
No wonder the ancients said that fate was unpredictable.
Mu Sijue walked out of the house.
The old generation living in City G used to call the house the Mu mansion.
It was worthy of its name as it had a circumference of three kilometers.
There was a park beside the mansion.
It was not too late at night and there were still many people in the park. A few young couples were playing with their children and one was playing football with their son.
The little boy had not grasped any skills and only knew how to kick the ball as far as possible. He kicked and the white ball rolled toward Mu Sijue.
The child yelled and ran after the ball, but he couldnât catch up with it. He cried, âDad, my ball.â
Mu Sijue suddenly felt soft-hearted and stopped the ball with his foot.
The little boy breathed a sigh of relief and ran over. He looked up at Mu Sijue who was several times taller than him and said, âThank you, sir. Wow, youâre so handsome, sir!â
The child was younger than Mumu. He had a soft and lovely voice and an innocent look. It was easy for him to touch the vulnerable part of a personâs heart.
Mu Sijue squatted down, picked up the ball and handed it to the little boy, saying, âHere.â
âThank you!â The little boy looked around, âSir, are you alone? Hmm, maybe you can play with me. Do you play football?â
Looking at the childâs innocent eyes, Mu Sijue nodded somehow and said, âYes.â
âYeah,â the little boy laughed happily, âThen letâs play together. Kick the ball over and Iâll kick it back to you. Itâs very fun.â
The boy put down the ball and ran away. Looking at the small figure of the child, Mu Sijue felt a stinging sensation in his eyes and everything in front of him suddenly became increasingly blurred.
He blinked and kicked the ball with a little force. The football rolled accurately toward the boy as if it received an order.
When Ah Guang came back and saw Mu Sijue playing football with a little boy, he thought he made a mistake. He rubbed his eyes and took a closer look â it was really Mu Sijue
âSe... Seventh Brother...â Ah Guangâs voice was full of shock.
Mu Sijue caught the ball kicked by the little boy, picked it up, and sent it back to him, and said, âIâm leaving.â
Ah Guang probably had something to tell him.
The little boy liked to play with Mu Sijue. When he heard Mu Sijue was leaving, he was slightly disappointed. But he still nodded and said politely, âGoodbye, sir.â
Mu Sijue patted the little guyâs head softly and responded, âGoodbye.â
He then walked out of the park and back to the old house with Ah Guang. âWhatâs up?â He asked.
Ah Guang reported on some stuff. Though they were not urgent matters, Ah Guang still needed Mu Sijue to make a decision.
They arrived home while talking.
Mu Sijue gave Ah Guang instructions on what to do, one by one. In the end, he said, âIf thereâs nothing else, you can go back.â
âOne more thing,â Ah Guang sounded a little upset, âSeventh Brother, what you did just now was too dangerous.â
In City G, Mu Sijue was a âwantedâ person. Not only the police but also some âcounterpartsâ were always on the lookout for him. Someone even claimed that he would take his life.
Just now, he was alone in the park, exposing himself without any protection. If a sniper was targetting him, the consequences would be ghastly.
âDonât worry,â Mu Sijue said indifferently, âI know what Iâm doing.â
Ah Guang thought to himself, âDid you? Are you sure you were not distracted by that child and relaxed your vigilance?â
âAnything else?â Mu Sijue asked.
Ah Guang shook his head as he answered, âNope.â
âThen go home.â
After saying that, Mu Sijue turned around and went upstairs.
After working a whole day, Mu Sijue was already exhausted. After lying on the bed, he soon fell asleep with the help of sleeping pills.
After an unknown period, Mu Sijue vaguely saw a two-or-three-year-old boy.
The young child was fair and clean. He was smiling at him not far away.
Mu Sijue felt as his heart had been hit by something, and a voice told him that it was his son.
He walked over eagerly, but the child kept stepping back.
âDad,â the boy cried, âwhy did you and Mom abandon me?â
No, he wanted this child. Since the day he knew about the existence of the child, he had been looking forward to his birth and accompanying him in his growing years.
Mu Sijue wanted to explain, but something was stuck in his throat and he could not speak.
âDad, it hurts.â
The boyâs voice was soft and weak, full of disappointment and misery. Like an arrow, it suddenly pierced Mu Sijueâs heart.
He knew the child was suffering a lot of pain.
Even if the child was just a fetus, he was still a growing life. Xu Youning ended his life with a pill. How could the child not feel the pain?
At that moment, the pain the child felt must be stronger than what he had suffered throughout his whole life.
âDad,â the child questioned him with a gloomy voice, âWhy didnât you protect me?â
Tears filled Mu Sijueâs eyes, and he didnât know what to say.
It was all his fault. He overestimated himself and easily believed Xu Youning.
If he had been careful or doubted Xu Youning, the child would not have been killed by her.
He was Mu Sijue, but he couldnât even protect his own child.
âIâm sorry,â Mu Sijue finally made a sound, âBaby, Iâm sorry.â
The child dissolved into tears and looked at Mu Sijue with hatred. âI will never ever forgive you! Never!â He shouted.
Mu Sijue wanted to go over, hug the child and explain everything to him. But his feet seemed to be nailed to the ground. The child turned around and disappeared from his view.
For an instant, Mu Sijue felt as if someone had dug a hole in his heart. Blood dripped from it. He was prostrate with grief.
Actually, there was nothing to explain, wasnât there?
The child had just come into being. But he left without taking a look at this world.
âIâm sorry,â Mu Sijue suddenly shouted in his sleep, âBaby, Iâm sorry.â
No one responded to Mu Sijue. There was only a blank space left after the child disappeared.
Xu Youning would not come back, and the child was gone.
If Mu Sijueâs life was a circle, then at the moment, two-thirds of it was missing.
What about Xu Youning?
She left him, got rid of the child, and returned to Kang Ruicheng. Her life was perfect, right?
It was ridiculous that he had expressed his love for Xu Youning who hated him.
Xu Youning had never responded to him, never.
âMu Sijue, you were such a joke.â