Mu Linjing thought she had misheard and asked again, "What did you just say, less contact with whom?"
"Mu Bai, he has ill intentions. You should avoid him as much as possible in the future."
Hearing him state his intentions directly, Mu Linjing couldn't understand and retorted, "How does he have ill intentions? Don't forget, he saved me. If it weren't for him, you wouldn't be seeing me now."
Just as Zhan Yichen was about to say something, she cut him off again, "You tell me to have less contact with him. Can you put yourself in my shoes? If it were your savior, would you not have contact with him? Do you understand what that's called, ingratitude?"
Zhan Yichen's temper flared. He had already been suppressed by Mu Bai, and now hearing Mu Linjing's words, which completely failed to understand him, his anger escalated.
"I am ungrateful? I know he saved your life, and I didn't say you should never contact him again, nor did I say you shouldn't repay his kindness. But don't forget, we are about to get engaged, and you will soon be my fiancée. With our current relationship, can I not ask you to keep a distance from a man?"
"Don't twist my words. Don't think I can't see that you're mostly feigning jealousy over him; it's mainly because he asked questions he shouldn't have, which is why you're displeased."
Mu Linjing's subconscious had grown accustomed to interacting with Mu Bai in this manner, so she didn't find anything inappropriate about it. Moreover, she already harbored dissatisfaction towards Wen Yulan. Seeing Mu Bai easily reminded her of the time she spent recovering on the island and the feelings she had then.
Coupled with Mu Bai bringing up Wen Yulan again, her mood was drawn into the past situation, and her resistance towards Wen Yulan consequently arose.
At this moment, they both mentioned Mu Bai's question again, which touched Zhan Yichen's sore spot once more, making him feel even worse.
"Linjing, my mother did wrong you, but she has also been punished. Did you not see her in her state of madness? Can you still not forgive her?"
Mu Linjing's face showed disbelief. "Zhan Yichen, are you talking nonsense? Why should I forgive her? Someone who repeatedly tried to take my life, how can I forgive her? Or do you think because I love you, I should forgive my enemy? Let me tell you, I'm not that great. I will never forget that she was the one who wanted to kill me."
From Wen Yulan, she felt a malevolence she had never experienced in her life. Seeing Wen Yulan's疯癫 (fēngdiān - mad, insane) appearance, she truly felt there was no need to continue hating her, but she also had no reason to forgive her. She couldn't convince herself.
Hearing her describe his mother with a word like "enemy," Zhan Yichen, as her son, felt uncomfortable.
He said heartbrokenly, "Enemy? Linjing, when you say these things, have you considered my feelings? At the very least, she is my birth mother. Even if you refuse to forgive her or treat her kindly, you shouldn't describe her with such words. To take it a step further, am I so worthless in your heart that you can't even pay attention to your wording?"
"Then, Young Master Zhan, please tell me, someone who wanted me dead, should I not call her an enemy, but a benefactor, and be grateful to her?"
The two were at each other's throats, neither willing to back down. Furthermore, when she mentioned benefactor, Zhan Yichen thought of that ill-intentioned Mu Bai, and his mood plummeted to the extreme.
"That's right, you shouldn't be grateful to her; you should be grateful to Mu Bai. I see you trust him quite a lot, telling him everything, including matters concerning my family, right?"
Mu Linjing knew his implication was that she had told Mu Bai about Wen Yulan's illness. She finally experienced the feeling of being misunderstood today.
When Mu Bai brought it up at the dinner table, she had feared Zhan Yichen would suspect her, so she immediately questioned Mu Bai, thinking she had dispelled Zhan Yichen's doubts then. But he was still asking now, clearly not trusting her.
She had always believed that arguments were a form of communication, but if two people lacked trust, what was the point of communication?
She unbuckled her seatbelt, her expression filled with disappointment. "Zhan Yichen, I've always remembered that we made a promise to trust each other. But in the words you've said today, I don't feel any trust you have in me."
After speaking, she opened the car door, slammed it shut heavily, and quickly went upstairs.
Zhan Yichen watched her retreating back and let out a heavy sigh. Was he really overthinking things?
Wei Yumeng and the others had returned to their apartment to live after the wedding. They hadn't seen Zhan Yichen return home looking dejected, so they didn't know about the argument between him and Mu Linjing.
The two babies were in the weaning stage and often cried from hunger. Wei Yumeng hadn't had a moment's peace lately, and she would sleep whenever there was a quiet moment.
When she received Mu Linjing's call, she was still groggy. Mu Linjing's tone was indeed not good, and she instantly sobered up.
"Linjing, did you argue with Yichen?"
Mu Linjing didn't intend to hide anything and explained why they had argued that day. "Yumeng, with Wen Yulan as a point of contention, there will always be friction between us. Just as he said, that's his birth mother. He can never be absolutely ruthless, but she's not my family; she's my enemy. How can I be like him?"
Her words were very realistic. She was indeed about to marry the son of her enemy. Wen Yulan's existence was the biggest point of conflict between them. Blood ties could never be changed, which determined that Zhan Yichen could never truly be on the same front as her in this matter.
To be able to avoid mentioning this matter was already the limit. Neither could demand too much from the other.
But they couldn't escape this problem forever. One day, it would have to be brought up again.
Regarding this matter, Wei Yumeng, as an outsider, didn't know what to say.
She truly wanted to look after both sides, but this kind of domestic issue was not something that could be clearly calculated.
Wen Yulan was a very important figure to both Mu Linjing and Zhan Yichen. They might not make any concessions on this matter.
"Linjing, your journey with Yichen hasn't been easy. Although Yichen's reaction was indeed excessive in this matter, your emotions were also not well-controlled. It would be best if you both could take a step back."