When Mu Sijue woke up, it was already morning.
He opened his eyes and the dream from last night came to his mind.
âDad, why did you and Mom abandon me?â
The childâs plaintive cry still echoed in his ears.
Mu Sijueâs heart jolted. He tried hard to recall the childâs face in the dream.
The sad thing was that he remembered everything except the appearance of the child.
He remembered the childâs cries and complaints, but he could not remember what the child looked like.
Was the child punishing him?
If he were the child, he would not let such an incompetent father remember him, either.
Mu Sijue suddenly felt that he was not only being ridiculous but pathetic also.
He smiled wryly and a few moments later, he got up as if nothing had happened.
No one would know about Mu Sijueâs dream of his child and the immense grief he felt.
After breakfast, Mu Sijue asked Ah Guang and the driver to take him to the company.
Before Mu Sijue went out, Aunt Zhou warned him, âLittle Seven, donât work too late. Come back early. Iâll wait for you to have dinner together.â
Mu Sijue looked at his watch and said, âIâll be back at six.â
A hint of joy appeared on Aunt Zhouâs face. She waved her hand and said, âOkay. Go.â
When he overheard their conversation, Ah Guang thought that he was hallucinating.
After getting in the car, Ah Guang couldnât help asking, âSeventh Brother, are you not going to work hard today?â
Mu Sijue ignored Ah Guangâs question and asked, âHave you done what I asked you to do yesterday?â
Ah Guang patted his thigh and said with ease, âOf course!â
Mu Sijue turned on his laptop and said while checking the emails, âTell me about my schedule today.â
Mu Sijueâs serious attitude made Ah Guang snap out of his trance.
Overnight, Mu Sijue seemed to return to the persona of the former Seventh Brother before he knew Xu Youning. He was mysterious, powerful, calm, and decisive. His personal feelings would not interfere with his businesses.
Ah Guang sighed deeply, not knowing whether to be happy or worried.
Mu Sijue glanced at Ah Guang and soon switched his focus back to the computer screen. âWhatâs wrong?â He asked indifferently.
âSeventh Brother, in the past, I thought it was normal for you to be like this. But now I donât think so.â
âSeventh Brother, do you know why?â
Ah Guang looked very upset.
However, he was a smart guy and quickly figured it out.
In the past, he thought Mu Sijue was normal because he was used to the indifferent and ruthless Mu Sijue. It seemed that Mu Sijue was born like this and would never change.
Xu Youning was like a musical interlude that suddenly danced into Mu Sijueâs life. Because of her, he became lively and sentient. He would laugh, cry, and he would even have mood swings.
Because of her, he could occasionally become a friendly and ordinary person.
Because of her, he looked happy.
As Mu Sijueâs brother and working partner, Ah Guang would much prefer Mu Sijue to be like this.
However, overnight, Mu Sijue reverted to his old self.
Mu Sijue ignored Ah Guangâs question. He sent an e-mail to him and ordered, âInvestigate every recent business of the Su Group.â
A year ago, the Su Group was almost acquired by Lu Boyan. However, Kang Ruicheng suddenly appeared and secretly funded the Su Group, which enabled him to become the companyâs CEO.
It seemed that the Su Group had overcome their difficulties.
But Ah Guang knew clearly what Kang Ruicheng had used the Su Group to do.
Ah Guang tutted and said, âSeventh Brother, are you going to confront Kang Ruicheng? He hurt Aunt Zhou badly. You wonât let him off. I knew it!â
Mu Sijue frowned and complained, âAh Guang, when did you become so talkative?â
Ah Guang blurted out, âSister Youning used to be very talkative. Why didnât you chide her? Seventh Brother, you treat us differently!â
Mu Sijueâs eyes suddenly turned cold. âStop the car!â He ordered.
Ah Guang suddenly realized he had made a mistake. âSeventh Brother...â
Mu Sijue had repeatedly emphasized that Xu Youningâs name should not be uttered in his presence unless she became their target one day.
Ah Guang had regarded Mu Sijue and Xu Youning as a couple. He was not used to the fact that they had turned against each other and therefore he spoke out of turn.
How could he apologize to Mu Sijue so that Mu Sijue would forgive him?
While Ah Guang was thinking, the driver had followed Mu Sijueâs order and stopped the car.
âGet out,â Mu Sijue ordered Ah Guang,
Ah Guang knew that he had completely angered Mu Sijue. No matter how hard he tried to defend himself, Mu Sijue would not forgive him. So he could only get out of the car dejectedly.
What he couldnât understand was why Mu Sijue hated Xu Youning so much?
The last time when Xu Youning ran away, Mu Sijue was also very angry. But it didnât matter if he occasionally joked about it. Why did Mu Sijue explode this time?
The driver was also frightened by Mu Sijue. After Ah Guang got out of the car, he asked carefully, âSeventh Brother, do we...just leave?â
He meant whether they were going to abandon Ah Guang.
âGo to the company,â Mu Sijue said in an icy tone.
It was obvious that he didnât care about Ah Guang.
The driver glanced at Ah Guang through the rearview mirror. Although he sympathized with Ah Guang, he didnât dare to say anything. He quickly started the car and drove to the company.
Ah Guang scratched his head, but it was too late to have any regrets. He could only call someone to pick him up.
In the afternoon, Mu Sijue went back to the old house on time to have dinner with Aunt Zhou. When Aunt Zhou asked about Ah Guang, he replied perfunctorily. It was obvious he didnât want to talk too much about Ah Guang.
Aunt Zhou noticed that something was wrong. She called Mu Sijueâs driver and asked him what was going on.
The driver told her that when they left for the company in the morning, Ah Guang brought up Sister Youningâs name and was driven away by Seventh Brother.
Aunt Zhou understood and said, âTell the others not to talk about Youning in front of Sijue in the future.â
Aunt Zhou usually called Mu Sijue âLittle Sevenâ.
However, except for those who were close to Mu Sijue such as Ah Guang and Lu Boyan, she would address Mu Sijue by his name in front of other subordinates and outsiders.
It was then made known among the subordinates that Xu Youning once again became Mu Sijueâs taboo subject.
The name âXu Youningâ disappeared from Mu Sijueâs life.
Mu Sijueâs life now followed a routine.
He got up early and did morning exercises for two hours. Then he would have breakfast with Aunt Zhou and go to the company.
After dealing with businesses and other affairs, he would go home and have dinner with Aunt Zhou if there were no social activities.
Seemingly, Xu Youningâs second betrayal didnât affect Mu Sijue at all.
Someone teased that Seventh Brother had got used to it.
Only Mu Sijue himself knew that this time, he had been fatally hurt by Xu Youning.
Once he closed his eyes, the childâs voice would ring in his ears â
âDad, why did you and Mom abandon me?â
âDad, it hurts.â
He wanted to explain and keep the child.
But, the reality was cruel. He would never have such a chance.
In the long nights, Mu Sijue could only rely on sleeping pills to fall asleep.
Each time before going to bed, he always wondered whether the child would look for him in his dreams, even though the child only came to question him.
However, he never dreamt about the child again and only spent the dull nights alone.
When he woke up in the morning, he felt empty inside. The whole room was shrouded in dead silence, which made him wonder whether he was the only one left in the world.
But the world was soon bustling again.
Mu Sijue came to realize that the earth was still running, but the child would not forgive him nor come back to his dreams.
After three days, Mu Sijue was finally willing to see Ah Guang. Having learned his lesson, Ah Guang would rather blather with Mu Sijue than mention Xu Youning.
In the evening, Su Jianâan contacted Ah Guang.
Ah Guang was shocked. Su Jianâan was like a goddess. How could she be concerned about him?
It turned out that Ah Guang thought too much. Su Jianâan called to ask about Mu Sijue.
âAh Guang, how was Sijue after you went back?â Su Jianâan asked directly.
Ah Guang told Su Jianâan about Mu Sijueâs recent situation. In the end, he concluded, âOutwardly, Seventh Brother seems to be normal. But as far as I know, he is not alright at all! But Mrs. Lu, donât tell Seven Brother this. Otherwise, he will be angry with me again.â
âDonât worry, I will keep it a secret for you,â Su Jianâan smiled, âI have no other questions. Thank you, goodbye.â
After hanging up the phone, Su Jianâan flicked a report in her hand, sighing.
Lu Boyan looked away from the computer screen and glanced at Su Jianâan and asked, âThings arenât going well?â
âNo, no progress on Sijueâs side. Aunt Zhou agreed to keep in touch with me. But Sijue doesnât want to tell her anything. Ah Guang doesnât dare to annoy Sijue anymore.â
âFortunately, I found something!â Su Jianâanâs tone perked up again. She shook the report in her hand.
This was the recent attendance record of the doctors and nurses from the department of gynecology and obstetrics of the Eighth Peopleâs Hospital that she managed to get.
Lu Boyan did not quite understand. He asked, âJianâan, why did you start with the attendance records?â
Su Jianâan smiled mysteriously and explained slowly, âI think if Youning was really found to be pregnant in the Eighth Peopleâs Hospital, Kang Ruicheng would definitely not let Sijue know because Sijue was trying to bring Youning back during that time. Kang Ruicheng knew Sijue wanted Youning.â
âSo?â Lu Boyan motioned for Su Jianâan to continue.
âAccording to Kang Ruichengâs style, he would definitely hide the doctors and nurses who did the examination for Youning,â Su Jianâan analyzed clearly, âso, when Youning stayed with us, if there was a doctor who applied for leave, then there must be something wrong with this doctor!â
Lu Boyan became interested. He left his seat and came to sit beside Su Jianâan. âDid you find anything on this record?â he asked.
âOf course!â Su Jianâan circled the name âLiu Mingfangâ on the record with a red pen and said firmly, âThis doctor is very suspicious!â
Lu Boyan browsed the attendance record of Dr. Liu Mingfang and soon realized why Su Jianâan suspected this doctor.
It was not because Su Jianâan was too smart, but the doctorâs attendance record was too... coincidental.