Chapter 299
Falling For The Contract Bride
Chapter 299 Your Mom Might Still Be Alive
Mu Xiaomu sized up Xie Xiu for some moment before agreeing to the casual dinner. Xie Xiu proposed
either Chinese or western cuisine. Mu Xiaomu was excited to hear about having Chinese food, so she
went for it without hesitation.
Then, Xie Xiu brought the two of them to a Chinese restaurant. Mu Zhi let Mu Xiaomu take the order
first. As soon as Mu Xiaomu got the menu, she ordered a serve of squirrel fish before moving onto the
rest.
When the fish was served, Mu Zhi could not help but wonder out aloud at the fishâs appearance. She
asked, âAre people from your country accustomed to having this dish?â
Upon finishing her question, Mu Zhi was suddenly reminded of Lu Jinye. The woman of his memories
loved squirrel fish too. So he offered to her some as supper.
âThis is a common fish, but most importantly, itâs my motherâs favorite.â
Mu Xiaomu would always order squirrel fish when she missed her mother.
After witnessing her emotional breakdown a few days ago, Mu Zhi knew better than to bring up the
topic of Mu Xiaomuâs mother. Thus, she steered the subject away yet another time, âThis dish looks
quite complicated to prepare.â
âYeah, I donât know how to make that.â
Mu Xiaomu chuckled.
As the other dishes were served, Mu Xiaomu helped Mu Zhi to some of those, and they appeared to
get along pretty well.
Mu Xiaomu had very little knowledge of Xie Xiu when she was little, so she could not recognize him.
Meanwhile, it had not occurred to Xie Xiu who Mu Xiaomu was to Mu Zhi. However, after observing
their interaction for a while, he asked casually, âWhatâs your name?â
âMu Xiaomu.â
Mu Zhi answered before Mu Xiaomu had the chance to.
While Mu Xiaomu nodded in acknowledgement only to find Xie Xiu peering at both her and Mu Zhi.
The girlâs name was Mu Xiaomu, a Mu. He continued asking, âWhere did you come from?â
âI was born in City A.â Said Mu Xiaomu.
City A, surname Mu.
Xie Xiu did not show any emotion on his face, but he had been privately deducing the little girlâs identity
and thinking of ways to separate Mu Zhi and her.
Mu Zhi had not noticed anything out of the ordinary. She went along delightfully, âMy husbandâs
company is based in City A too, perhaps we could frequently meet each other at your hometown. In
that case, it feels like destiny has brought us two together.â
âYeap, sure!â
Mu Xiaomu was pleased.
The two of them started chattering while Xie Xiu spontaneously reached out for his phone.
He browsed the phone for a few seconds before letting out a frown, âApologies, Xiaomu, I have some
urgent matters to take care of at work, I need to go.â
âMy dad does this a lot too. I suppose fathers are usually quite busy.â Said Mu Xiaomu.
Xie Xiu rose to his feet and turned his face to Mu Zhi, âLetâs go.â
âI want to stay for a dinner with Mu Xiaomuâ¦â
âLetâs go.â There was a tinge of somberness despite Xie Xiuâs smile.
Then, he reassured Mu Xiaomu chivalrously, âJust quote my name to settle the bill. Dinnerâs on me,
please help yourself. Apologies, we must leave.â
Following that, Xie Xiu grabbed Mu Zhiâs hand and left.
Mu Zhi turned around reluctantly while Mu Xiaomu felt that it was quite a pity that they could not finish
the dinner, but she didnât press on.
She quietly tasted a bit of everything they ordered before getting up and preparing to head out of the
restaurant.
As soon as she was on her feet, her phone went off.
Mu Xiaomu peered at the screen as the callerâs name read, âLu Jinyeâ.
She put on her coat while nonchalantly answered the call, walking out of the restaurant.
It was a snowy day in Los Angeles, and Mu Xiaomu was greeted by flakes of snow pouring from the
sky.
âDad,â she greeted as she picked up the call.
âHow was your play? Do you need dad to be there to support you?â Lu Jinyeâs voice was as calm as
they come.
âHumph.â
Mu Xiaomu pouted her lips involuntarily when she heard Lu Jinyeâs voice. She reverted to the
mischievous demeanor of a little girl, saying, âDad, you promised to come to support me, why werenât
you here? Now that the show is over, donât you find it a little hypocritical to say things like this?â
The father and daughter behaved like close friends when they were talking to each other.
When Mu Zhi was gone a few years back, Lu Jinye went through a period of deep sadness and grief.
But Mu Xiaomu gave him the courage.
Without Mu Zhi, Lu Jinye had to learn to become a father, and he would always remind himself how
strong and persistent Mu Zhi was to give birth to Mu Xiaomu alone.
If it wasnât for Mu Zhiâs decision, he wouldnât have had a daughter.
It was Mu Zhi who gave their daughter a chance to live. Lu Jinye was accountable for raising Mu
Xiaomu as a single parent, to bring her up to be herself.
During all these years, Lu Jinye did not treat Mu Xiaomu as his daughter when they interacted with
each other.
They felt more like close friends.
Mu Xiaomu knew at the time that Lu Jinye was going to marry Xiao Qingqing. She had agreed to it.
Lu Jinye had a conversation with Mu Xiaomu when she was five.
Mu Xiaomu chose to go to the States to further her studies, to learn to perform. She loved performing
on stage and singing to an audience.
Lu Jinye supported her decision. Although Mu Xiaomu had spent her time in the States over the past
years, it felt like Lu Jinye was continually keeping her accompanied. They would chat about her growth
and other trivial subjects.
Lu Jinye gave Mu Xiaomu a proper name, Si, as a remembrance for Mu Zhi.
He did not change Mu Xiaomuâs surname to Lu and opted to keep her surname as Mu.
That was the only way Lu Jinye could feel that Mu Zhi was always with him.
Lu Jinye giggled as Mu Xiaomu teased him. He said, âYou know that I have important things to attend
to, so I canât make it to your play.â
âWhatâs more important than your daughter? Do you have a son now?â
Mu Xiaomu continued her banter with Lu Jinye.
But Lu Jinyeâs tone suddenly turned solemn over the phone. âXiaomu, have you ever thought that your
mom might still be alive? That sheâs still somewhere in the world?â