Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The assistant went speechless when he heard what Li Ming said.
Wasnât he madly in love with Mu Xiao? Didnât he already agree to get engaged to her? Why was he buying a necklace for the second daughter of the Ye family?
âWhy are you still here?â Li Ming glanced annoyingly at his assistant.
The assistant promptly snapped out of his thoughts and nodded. âYes, Mr. Li. I am on my way.â
After the assistant left, Li Mingâs phone rang. Mu Xiaoâs name was appearing on the caller ID.
Li Ming answered the phone and Mu Xiaoâs soft voice came from over the phone. âMing.â
âUh huh. Yes, Xiaoxiao?â said Li Ming as tenderly as usual.
âAre you very busy lately?â asked Mu Xiao hesitantly as Zhang Man looked at her. âWhy havenât you been visiting?â
âMy father gave me a huge project recently. I will come by and see you once I am done, okay?â
âI see.â The weight on Mu Xiaoâs chest finally lifted when she heard Li Mingâs tender voice.
Zhang Man kept looking at Mu Xiao and hinting at her to get to the point, so Mu Xiao asked, âMing, my parents keep asking me about the engagement. When is it going to happen?â
âAfter I settle this huge project.â Li Ming looked a little annoyed. âI will continue to be busy for a while. I have to go. Bye-bye.â
Li Ming hung up the moment he finished his sentence.
Mu Xiao looked at her phone and did not know what to do. âMom, do you think Ming has changed his mind about the engagement?â
How could he give her such a bad attitude?
Zhang Man plotted before she said, âWe have to force him then.â
âHow do we do that?â Mu Xiao did not get it. Had they not done enough to force Li Ming to marry her? She could sense that Li Ming was starting to show disinterest in her.
âYou have to find some way to ask Li Ming out. Call Mu Sheng along when you do.â
Zhang Manâs eyes gleamed sinisterly. Since Li Ming kept procrastinating about the engagement, then she had to get Mu Xiao pregnant. Letâs see what they could do about it after the deed was done? Reputation was everything to the Li family.
She knew a Chinese physician with a lot of secret prescriptions. When the time came, she would get some medicine to help Mu Xiao get pregnant. Once Mu Xiao got pregnant with Li Mingâs child, it would be impossible for the Li family to escape their grasp.
âWhy Mu Sheng?â Ever since Mu Xiao learned Mu Sheng was the composer of the song, she felt worried about Mu Sheng.
âDonât be stupid. If Li Ming gets into trouble with you alone, he is bound to think you were behind it.â Zhang Man tapped Mu Xiaoâs head. âWith Mu Sheng around, things are different.â
Mu Xiao promptly knew what Zhang Man meant. âI understand.â
âGood.â Zhang Man patted Mu Xiaoâs hand. âI am counting on you to give me a cushy life in old age.â
If Mu Xiao could marry into the Li family, Zhang Man felt everything she had done was worth it. Everyone else in high society was bound to respect her more.
Mu Ting could no longer go higher in life, so he was useless to her now. She had used Mu Ting to change her life and get into high society. Now, she was going to use her daughter to climb even higher.
ââ
Since the production team knew Li Hanchen was still in recovery from surgery, they deliberately delayed the filming date.
After the director checked on Li Hanchen, he called Mu Sheng right away.
âLil Sis.â The director felt Mu Sheng was like a little sister to him after the kindness she had shown him. âI need to tell you something about your partner.â
âGot it.â Mu Sheng glanced at Li Hanchen sitting nearby. Just a moment ago, she had heard the director calling Li Hanchen.
âWellâ¦â The director said to Mu Sheng in a hushed tone, âLil Sis, your partner seems a little hard to get along with. I hope you are mentally prepared.â
The director hired Li Hanchen because of his gorgeous face, but after talking to Li Hanchen a few times on the phone, he could sense his chilly aura even over the radio waves.
The director was starting to get worried that Li Hanchen and Mu Sheng might not get along well. Perhaps even after the filming had ended, it was impossible for them to become friends.
Since Mu Sheng was in handsfree mode, the directorâs voice echoed in the room. Li Hanchen raised his head but said nothing.
âDonât worry about it.â Mu Sheng felt that, other than the occasional temper, Li Hanchen was typically good-natured.
âSigh. You just donât get it. Just take it from me and be mentally prepared. Donât worry. If he refuses to talk to you, I will get the staff to help liven up the atmosphere.â The director already had the impression that Li Hanchen was a block of ice, so he was worried that Mu Sheng might find herself in a disadvantaged position.
Mu Sheng glanced at Li Hanchen teasingly. âOkay. Appreciate it.â
âUh huh. Then I am hanging up.â Since the director was busy, he hung up the phone once he was done.
After Li Hanchen finished signing a document, he raised his head and saw Mu Sheng looking at him. âWhat? Why are you looking at me?â
âWere you mean to the director or something? Why is he so afraid of you?â
Li Hanchen went speechless. He looked at Mu Sheng and asked rhetorically, âDo you think I am intimidating?â
Mu Sheng nodded. âThatâs right.â
Li Hanchen went quiet. He wanted to explain he threw tempers whenever he couldnât take her seduction. However, he could never say this to Mu Shengâs face.
Li Hanchen stopped talking, so Mu Sheng assumed it was silent admission. She picked up an apple in front of her and was about to eat it when Li Hanchen raised his head and said deeply, âYou havenât peeled it yet. You canât eat it.â
Mu Sheng automatically made a comparison and felt Li Hanchenâs tone was worlds apart from his tender words last night.
Mu Sheng felt annoyed, so she promptly took a bite and the crisp sound of her chewing echoed throughout the room.
Li Hanchen went quiet before he smiled slightly. âWere you doing that on purpose?â
Mu Sheng said nothing. Instead, she took a few more crisp bites of the apple and sounded angry.
Li Hanchen put away his documents and walked up beside Mu Sheng to take the apple from her. âLet me peel it for you.â
Li Hanchen took out a small narrow fruit knife. Mu Sheng automatically licked the juice from the corner of her lips.
Li Hanchen raised his head and saw Mu Shengâs small pink tongue and he went stunned. âWas it sweet?â
Mu Sheng nodded. âUh huh.â
Li Hanchen glanced at her translucent pink lips deeply. âYou are not allowed to eat apples outside.â
Mu Sheng was dumbstruck. She opened her eyes wide. âAre you trying to make trouble for me?â
Li Hanchen peeled an apple and placed it beside Mu Sheng. He picked up his phone and checked online before showing Mu Sheng some news.
[Breaking news! Eating apple skin can kill!]
[Just one small habit might save an entire family. Do not eat apples without skinning them from now on.]
[A young woman aged overnight by over 50 years from eating unpeeled apples!]
Since Mu Sheng was not born from this era, she naturally knew nothing about fake news that was used as clickbait.
She looked at the shocking pictures accompanying the news articles and instantly felt scared.
She was a doctor, so she knew how bad bacterial infection could get, but she did not know how bad the apples in this era were.
Li Hanchen did his utmost to suppress the smile on his face as he watched Mu Sheng open her eyes wide.
He had recently caught on to the fact that Mu Sheng was very naive.
âFrom now on, you have to peel the fruit before you eat it. I can do it for you. Got it?â said Li Hanchen convincingly.
Mu Sheng took a bite of the apple and nodded. âOkay.â
âGood.â Li Hanchen raised his brow now that he got what he wanted. He went back to the bed unhurriedly and sat down before he continued working.
Mu Sheng sat in the hospital ward for a while longer. She was playing with her phone when she received a notification about a lecture at Metropolis University. She stood up and said, âIâm heading out.â
âWhere are you going?â Li Hanchen raised his head.
Mu Sheng waved her phone in front of him. âI am going for a lecture. Bye-bye.â
Li Hanchen glanced at it, and his face instantly looked annoyed when he saw the handsome man appearing on the poster for the lecture.
âCome back.â Li Hanchen wanted to make Mu Sheng come back.
However, Mu Sheng had already opened the door and walked off. âNope. Text me what you want for dinner.â
Li Hanchen felt exasperated. He threw aside his documents and called Qin Kai, âInvestigate someone for me.â
Ever since Mu Sheng last encountered Mu Xiao at Metropolis University, she had not gone back to the campus.
After all, Mu Xiao was the last person Mu Sheng wanted to see.
Mu Sheng drove to Metropolis University after leaving the hospital to see the lecture about ancient inscriptions. Ye Zhipei was the lecturer.
Mu Sheng had a keen interest in the history of this era, and calligraphy writing used to be her hobby in her past life.
Ye Zhipei was the youngest man to become a senior professor in the country. He became the best Chinese literature professor when he was only 26 years old.
Other than his talent, he had made a name for himself thanks to his refined aura.
Ye Zhipei had once made an appearance on an educational program on national television.
The moment he appeared dressed in his long robe and gold-framed spectacles, everyone felt as though a handsome unrivaled scholar was appearing straight out of ancient literature. He looked absolutely intellectual.
Ye Zhipei won the viewers over with his profound knowledge and eloquence.
He became famous after appearing on the program.
Hence, the hall was already full of people when Mu Sheng arrived.
Mu Sheng entered through the backdoor and found herself some standing space in the corner.
The moment Ye Zhipei appeared, everyone went into a commotion.
Mu Sheng looked at him and felt he looked good. Also, his lecture was detailed and accurate. Judging from the way he spoke, he was clearly a knowledgeable man.
Ye Zhipei stood on the stage and talked about some famous inscriptions as he wrote on the blackboard.
After some time, someone dressed completely covered from head to toe with a piece of floral scarf covering her head appeared beside Mu Sheng.
The personâs face was completely obscured by the floral scarf and was wearing sunglasses. Also, the floral padded cotton jacket the person was wearing stood out like a sore thumb.
The person seemed to detect Mu Shengâs looks, so she suddenly spoke in a sexy female voice, âWhat are you looking at? Havenât you seen a hottie before?â
Mu Sheng had a good eye. Although this woman was wrapped like a cocoon, Mu Sheng recognized her right away.
âChu Rao?â
Chu Rao was so stunned that her eyes opened wide. How could someone recognize her through this disguise?
She went over to Mu Sheng with her index finger over her lips. âSshhh. Donât let anyone know itâs me.â
Chu Rao did not want to appear on âA Journey Through Foodâ and avoided it like a plague. Since she did not bother finding out who the other guests were, she did not recognize Mu Sheng and simply felt Mu Sheng was pretty.
Mu Sheng stopped talking to Chu Rao and continued listening to the lecture.
Chu Rao stood by the side as she watched intently as Ye Zhipei gave his lecture on stage.
Ye Zhipei suddenly glanced towards the corner, making Chu Rao so startled that she hid behind Mu Sheng.
However, it seemed Ye Zhipei just happened to glance this way, so Chu Rao craned her head out from behind Mu Sheng. âGorgeous, how do you feel about Ye⦠Ye Zhipeiâs lecture?â
âItâs quite good.â Mu Sheng nodded.
For some reason, Chu Rao seemed a little sad. âUh huh. He is great.â
Chu Rao remained quiet for the rest of the lecture. When the lecture ended, she noticed Ye Zhipei coming towards the last row, so Chu Rao pulled Mu Sheng and ran out all the way to the garden before finally stopping.
âThanks for helping to cover me.â Chu Rao was breathless. She took a stack of concert tickets from her bag. âHere you go. Thank you for helping me.â
Mu Sheng took the concert tickets and saw an unknown boy band on them. âWhy are you giving them to me?â
Chu Rao removed her scarf to reveal her sexy face. âThey are the hottest boy band in town. Donât you like them? Tell me what band you like and I will get you the tickets.â
Mu Sheng felt she might as well take them, so she put them in her bag. âThanks for the tickets.â
Mu Sheng turned to leave the moment she finished her sentence. Chu Rao was stunned. Why was this pretty girl so unusual?â
Didnât people usually make an attempt to get to know her at this point in time since she was a celebrity?
Not bad. Mu Sheng was a very special woman and Chu Rao liked her.
Chu Rao wanted to call Mu Sheng when she suddenly had a bad feeling.
Sure enough, Chu Rao turned to see Ye Zhipei walking straight towards her from 50 meters away.
Oh god!
Chu Rao put on her sunglasses and scarf before making a run for it.
âStop right there,â said Ye Zhipei from behind Chu Rao.
Chu Rao ran even more quickly. Only an idiot would stop so that he could catch her and give her a piece of his mind.
Chu Rao ran so quickly in her high heels that she sprained herself on the path. Just as Ye Zhipei was about to help her, Chu Rao ran off as she hobbled.
Ye Zhipei went quiet as he watched Chu Rao run off in a hurry. He stood where he was and rubbed his book cover as he looked at her deeply before turning to leave.
Chu Rao swallowed the pain as she got into the MPV at the school entrance.
âOh god! What are you trying to do this time?â The talent agent had already developed an immunity to Chu Raoâs unusual ways. She rolled her eyes as she continued, âWhy did you even bother covering your face? I am sure you could have started a new trend.â
Seriously! The flowers on her outfit were over 10 centimeters in diameter, and it was covered with leaves as well. It was simply jarring to her eyes to see it.
Chu Rao sat down and rubbed her ankles. âYang, please, okay? I donât want to appear on âA Journey Through Foodâ. If I appear on the show, I am dead meat. I will die so badly that my corpse wonât be intact.â
âSure. Just pay $30,000,000 to compensate for breaking the contract.â
Chu Rao felt terrified. Why was she so unlucky? If she appeared on the show, she would die. If she did not do the show, she would lose a fortune.
Life was so hard!
ââ
After Mu Sheng came back to the hospital, she saw Li Hanchen sitting in the same position when she left. He was leaning against the headboard and flipping through his documents.
âHow was the lecture?â asked Li Hanchen casually.
âNot bad. The lecturer was very knowledgeable and was able to make the complicated subject easily understandable.â
âWhat about the professor? Was he handsome?â asked Li Hanchen casually without raising his head.
Mu Sheng thought about Ye Zhipeiâs appearance. âYes, he is pretty handsome.â
The pen in Li Hanchenâs hand left a long streak on his documents before he crushed the documents. âReally?â
âUh huh.â Mu Sheng nodded solemnly. She even took out the boy band concert tickets that Chu Rao had given her and showed them to Li Hanchen. âI want to watch this. Would you like to come?â
The boy band was printed on the ticket. Seven or eight sexy young boys with their shirts half open were looking at him seductively.
Li Hanchen started bending his pen. âAre you going to watch this?â
Since Mu Sheng had never seen a boy band concert in her life, she was very interested. She folded the tickets and put them back in her bag before she said, âThatâs right.â
His pen broke into two altogether.
âItâs no good,â said Li Hanchen with a cold expression on his face.
âHave you seen this before?â Mu Sheng clearly seemed surprised. Li Hanchen did not seem like the sort who would be interested in a boy band concert.
âUh huh. I have seen it before and itâs no good.â Li Hanchen nodded.
âWell, everyone has different tastes.â Mu Sheng checked the concert times. âYou might not like it, but what if I do?â
Li Hanchen felt annoyed, but he could not stop her from going.
Li Hanchen kept being fussy over dinner. He refused to eat pork ribs or vegetables. He also refused to drink water. He even put his hand aside when Mu Sheng wanted to examine his pulse, claiming Mu Shengâs hand was too cold.
Mu Sheng glanced at him. âLi Hanchen, why are you throwing a temper again? Why are you being so mean?â
âAm I?â Li Hanchen got even madder.
Mu Sheng felt Li Hanchen was being unreasonable again, but she refused to let him have his way. She picked up an apple and told Li Hanchen to peel it for her.
She sat down with the apple at the side and started to eat it without talking to Li Hanchen.
Li Hanchen was sitting nearby. He was absolutely tickled when Mu Sheng got angry and even enjoyed it a little.. Even though she was angry with him, she made him peel an apple.