Li Zhenting and He Junshu also quickly stood up and looked at their son. He Junshu looked reluctant and pleaded, "Xiao Jiu, you and Nuannuan should stay tonight. Mom doesn't want you to go."
Mu Jiuchen looked at her deeply. The person he thought had been separated from him by heaven and earth was now standing alive before him. He couldn't articulate his feelings, only that he felt profound sadness, and that time had flown by, unable to be reversed. He was still the son who had accepted his mother's death.
To prove himself right, he exhumed the grave late at night. Upon seeing the coffin without any bones, his emotions were complex yet expectant. He hoped his mother was alive and well in this world. Even if they never met again, he wished for her to be forever happy and content.
Mu Jiuchen then said, "Mom, you don't need to feel guilty about the past. I'm very happy to see you alive."
Mu Jiuchen's heart couldn't let go of this familial bond. His mother loved him. When he was little, she would only smile when she saw him, while she always argued with his father and shed tears.
A sacrifice in the pursuit of interests was destined to have no happiness!
He suddenly understood his mother's determination to leave even in death. Remaining in the Mu family, she would likely not have found happiness and would have withered away from grief.
This was what his maternal grandmother often said: "When one path is blocked, another will open."
"When the moon waxes and wanes, there will always be a full moon."
"Xiao Jiu." Hearing the word "Mom," He Junshu cried tears of joy.
Mu Jiuchen added, "If it's not too much trouble, Nuannuan and I will come over for dinner tomorrow morning."
"Oh! Yes, it's not trouble at all. Xiao Jiu, Nuannuan, Mom will cook your favorite dishes," He Junshu said, tears of joy turning into a smile. Such happiness felt like a dream, somewhat unreal.
Mu Jiuchen glanced at Li Zhenting again. Father and son exchanged looks, unable to speak. Mu Jiuchen felt a complete stranger to him.
He nodded slightly, holding Jiang Nuan's hand as they left.
On the way back, Mu Jiuchen didn't say a word, and Jiang Nuan didn't disturb him. He needed time to process, time to be alone.
Mu Jiuchen indeed needed time to calm down. While not entirely unexpected, meeting after so many years was bound to stir complex emotions.
He sighed, glancing at the rearview mirror, and noticed suspicious vehicles following them.
Mu Jiuchen's thoughts vanished instantly. He gently reminded Jiang Nuan, "Nuannuan, fasten your seatbelt."
Jiang Nuan noticed his frequent glances at the rearview mirror. She also looked back and saw two cars behind them.
She narrowed her eyes slightly and said, "It's probably Han Yifan's people. I saw these cars at his villa before. The interior decorations are uniformly white."
Mu Jiuchen said, with a hint of jealousy, "Are you that observant?"
Jiang Nuan didn't detect the jealousy in his words. She replied, "Han Yifan likes white very much. His house is all white, and his cars are white too. I can remember them without even trying to look."
Mu Jiuchen's mood improved considerably.
Mu Jiuchen accelerated and made a sharp turn at the upcoming intersection. The traffic light ahead was red, causing the cars behind to brake suddenly.
The screeching sound was as if it were right next to their ears.
Mu Jiuchen glanced indifferently at the rearview mirror and slowed down.
Neon lights flickered, and beneath the tall buildings, the night was breathtakingly beautiful.
Jiang Nuan, watching the cars that had fallen behind, looked slightly puzzled. The first time she saw Han Yifan, he seemed innocently guileless. The Han Yifan who returned to the villa appeared somewhat sinister.
Lost in thought, Jiang Nuan didn't notice Mu Jiuchen's increasingly生气 (angry) gaze.
She often zoned out in front of him, making Mu Jiuchen doubt his own charm. He felt he had no allure for Jiang Nuan.
Mu Jiuchen then drove around for several more circles until he was certain they were no longer being followed before driving back to Wei Cheng Fort.
Mu Jiuchen saw that Jiang Nuan still seemed preoccupied; she didn't even react when his car stopped.
This time, he was truly生气 (angry).
"Bang..." It wasn't until the sound of the car door closing that Jiang Nuan snapped back to attention. She looked at Mu Jiuchen, who was storming around the car with visible anger, and stared at him blankly. What was wrong with him?
Jiang Nuan opened the car door and got out. Looking at Mu Jiuchen's huffing back, she frowned slightly, "Mu Jiuchen, why are you suddenly unhappy?"
Mu Jiuchen continued walking forward, ignoring Jiang Nuan, his pace quickening. His tall stature and presence exuded an aura of cold isolation.
Jiang Nuan, being slow to catch on to emotional cues, had no idea that her neglect had made Mu Jiuchen unhappy.
"Mu Jiuchen," Jiang Nuan chased after him.
Mu Jiuchen stopped and looked at her for a moment, his lips tightly pressed. He remained silent.
Jiang Nuan realized he was truly生气 (angry) and said, "Why are you acting like a child?"
Mu Jiuchen's mood soured further upon hearing this. How was he acting like a child?
He opened the door, went inside, took clothes from the wardrobe, and went into the bathroom to shower.
"Hey~" Jiang Nuan looked at the inexplicably生气 (angry) Mu Jiuchen, still completely bewildered.
Jiang Nuan thought for a while but couldn't recall anything she said that had offended Mu Jiuchen.
Unable to figure it out, she decided to stop thinking about it.
She took a set of casual clothes and went to the first floor to shower. She liked the bathroom on the first floor; the bathtub was large, and soaking in it felt incredibly comfortable.
Jiang Nuan didn't dare to soak for too long as she had things to do later. After ten minutes, she put on her clothes and went to the room on the first floor, where she found the medicinal herbs sent by Chen Feng.
She considered her recent abnormal symptoms. For the next few days, she wouldn't faint, but she would experience excruciating pain, similar to the morning. This pain would eventually lessen, not remaining at the same intensity. According to the usual pattern, such medicine is addictive. Initially, she fainted due to not taking it. After fainting, she didn't continue taking the medication, and the drugs in her body began to retaliate.
It was akin to abstaining from something; she just needed to endure it.
However, the pain was too great, so she had to create a pill to alleviate it.
While Mu Jiuchen showered, he deliberately slowed down, wanting Jiang Nuan to reflect on what she had done to offend him.
He came out wrapped in a towel, expecting to see Jiang Nuan waiting outside, continuing to question him about why he was生气 (angry).
That eager look was exactly what he wanted to see.
However, when he came out, the room was empty.
Jiang Nuan was nowhere to be found, and Mu Jiuchen's heart felt hollow.
Mu Jiuchen exhaled a breath of turbid air in frustration.
With his hands on his hips, his tall figure exuded a palpable frustration.
After a moment of moping, he turned and went downstairs. He saw the light on in the first-floor room and pushed the door open. He found Jiang Nuan sitting at a small round table, diligently sorting through herbs.
The light wasn't very bright, but her delicate features looked beautiful.
Her slender hands sorted and sifted, occasionally smelling the herbs and revealing a faint smile. Seeing such a vibrant Jiang Nuan felt like a dream.
Jiang Nuan sensed his presence and looked up, her clear, beautiful eyes meeting his with a smile, "Did you need something?"
Mu Jiuchen's calmed anger instantly flared up again.