"Any leads, so we're going into the city now?" Zhao Xiang asked, feeling an impatient eagerness stir within him.
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao glanced at Zhao Xiang, who had excitedly interjected, and said faintly, "Your parents are fine."
"My parents are fine?" Zhao Xiang heard a different meaning in Mu Anxiao's words, so he frowned and became irrational again, "What do you mean by that?"
"What do I mean?" Mu Anxiao retorted, not understanding why Zhao Xiang's expression had suddenly changed. She thought, shouldn't a normal person feel relieved upon hearing such 'good news'?
"What do you mean by 'my parents are fine'?" In Zhao Xiang's opinion, his parents were not safe as long as they were in Ouyang Ye's hands, which was why he was a bit angry after hearing Mu Anxiao's words.
Conversely, Mu Anxiao couldn't understand at all why Zhao Xiang was angry.
"It's a good thing that your parents are fine," she said, looking confused. "Why aren't you happy?"
"How can I be happy?" Zhao Xiang asked back.
Mu Anxiao frowned. "Why wouldn't you be happy? If it were me, I would be relieved."
"But that's Ouyang Ye," Zhao Xiang exclaimed.
However, Zhao Xiang's reply left Mu Anxiao stunned. Looking at him, she twitched her lips and said, "It is Ouyang Ye, but isn't he your master? If you just say a few nice words to him, won't he let you see your parents? I say, why are you so stubborn?"
"If talking worked, would I have to come out and look for them myself?" Zhao Xiang's emotions calmed down a little.
Mu Anxiao was confused by this. "Have you spoken to Ouyang Ye?"
"No," Zhao Xiang shook his head.
"No? Then go talk to him. After you talk to him, maybe he'll let you..."
"He didn't tell me this news. If I go and tell him, what does that make me?" Zhao Xiang sternly interrupted Mu Anxiao, who had completely forgotten about 'that matter,' and said in a low voice, "My parents are also my leverage. Ouyang Ye is using my parents to threaten me. If I tell him, won't I be walking into a trap and asking for trouble? I really don't know what you're thinking." He glared at Mu Anxiao.
What was she thinking?
Mu Anxiao's thoughts were very simple: she just wanted to send Zhao Xiang away, so she could find the coachman and rescue Feng Qishi and the others in peace.
Who would have thought that Zhao Xiang would speak his true feelings at this critical moment? Suddenly, she didn't know what to say.
Seeing Mu Anxiao suddenly fall silent, Zhao Xiang said in a low voice, "I want your help."
Mu Anxiao dreaded Zhao Xiang saying this. She couldn't help but show a troubled expression. "How can I help you? I'm actually not very familiar with Ouyang Ye. I..."
"Anyone can see his feelings for you. If you just humble yourself before him, he'll tell you everything," Zhao Xiang interrupted Mu Anxiao again.
This time, Mu Anxiao's face looked constipated. "You're saying I should humble myself to that guy?" Her expression visibly stiffened.
Zhao Xiang nodded.
Mu Anxiao sneered, "You really are imaginative."
"I'm telling the truth. You... as long as you humble yourself to him, everything will be resolved," Zhao Xiang's attitude was firm. "Perhaps, if he's happy, he'll even release Mo Yun."
"I already humbled myself, and he didn't release him," Mu Anxiao said, completely unfazed by Zhao Xiang.
Zhao Xiang looked at Mu Anxiao's expression of worldly wisdom, his eyes darkening. "You really don't want to help me, do you?"
"It's not that I don't want to help you," Mu Anxiao said, glancing at She Ning. She continued, "It's that I can't help you. And... no..." She stopped, staring at Zhao Xiang.
Zhao Xiang became nervous under Mu Anxiao's gaze. "What's wrong again?"
"I already made myself clear to you at Shen Mo Yun's place, and I also mentioned the burial. The way you are now," Mu Anxiao grew suspicious of Zhao Xiang and took half a step back, "you're probably faking it."
"I don't have that much leisure time. I was just thinking..." Zhao Xiang spoke hesitantly. He had indeed forgotten about that matter, and hearing Mu Anxiao say it instantly brought back his memory. After a pause, he said, "I'm sorry, I forgot."
"What could you possibly remember?" Mu Anxiao glared at Zhao Xiang with disdain.
Zhao Xiang could see the deep contempt in Mu Anxiao's eyes, so he quickly explained, "I just thought... the coachman must be with my parents. If the coachman is gone, my parents must have escaped with him. And this escape is a serious crime in Ouyang Ye's eyes. I don't want my parents to be implicated by the coachman, so... that's why I acted this way." He looked at Mu Anxiao.
"Contradictory," Mu Anxiao said lightly.
Zhao Xiang's attitude was serious. "This is my thought process, but," he said, "I truly forgot what you told me earlier. I'm not lying."
"Do you think explaining so much is useful?" Mu Anxiao found every word Zhao Xiang said to be contradictory. Because of this, she had become accustomed to his rhythm. At this moment, she just wanted to part ways with him, as she felt somewhat constrained when doing things with a 'capable assistant' of Ouyang Ye around.
Unexpectedly, after Mu Anxiao's words, Zhao Xiang lowered his head.
Mu Anxiao looked at Zhao Xiang's sudden action calmly, puzzled. "No, my words weren't hurtful, were they? What do you mean by acting like this?" She glanced at Zhao Xiang's crestfallen face.
Zhao Xiang said in a low voice, "I think explaining is better than not explaining." He then looked up at Mu Anxiao. "I admit, I don't think before I speak, and what I say is very contradictory, but I really forgot. You have to believe me."
"..." Mu Anxiao was taken aback by Zhao Xiang's aggrieved expression. She took a deep breath and said, "Alright, I believe you. You can go find your parents now."
"I went to that place a long time ago, but after that," Zhao Xiang confessed truthfully, "I never went again. That's how it is. I can't imagine where my parents might be."
"You can't see it?" Mu Anxiao was startled. Thinking about Zhao Xiang's relationship with Ouyang Ye, she suddenly became suspicious of his words. "Are you joking? You are Ouyang Ye's capable assistant. Logically, he should trust you very much, right?"
"His trust is limited," Zhao Xiang said faintly.
"Limited..." Mu Anxiao repeated, her eyes moving. "Then my trust in him is also limited."
"What do you mean by that?" Zhao Xiang asked.
Mu Anxiao said, "That time, I saw inside, but tonight," she shook her head, "I can't see it again. It shows that he trusts my identity as Cao Gen, not this identity."
"So, it's limited," Zhao Xiang said, sighing slightly. "I'm really worried about my parents' safety now."
"You should go and try. I believe you know the way to that thatched cottage," Mu Anxiao said faintly.
Zhao Xiang hesitated.