His Beloved Treasure

Chapter 2409: Chapter 687: Returned (5)

Tonight Huanhuan fell asleep early, but Chengcheng stayed up enjoying some father-son time with Mu Yichen.

Mu Yichen only came back downstairs after putting Chengcheng in bed. Seeing her curled up on the sofa reading one of the comic books they’d read together before, he asked in a low voice, ”Why did you come back so late?”

”Oh! We chatted a bit longer!”

Qin Mu lowered her head; her voice was light, ordinary.

”Really? You ate with Lun Yun?”

Mu Yichen asked as he sat down on the single sofa beside her.

”Mm.”

Qin Mu answered without lifting her eyes, but she was already feeling a twinge of pressure inside. Something was off, like he’d found out something.

Mu Yichen watched her for a long time. Only when she felt something was wrong and lifted her eyes to look at him did he chuckle softly.

”What’s wrong? Do you need something?”

Qin Mu asked him, thinking that even if he’d figured out she hadn’t been eating with Lun Yun, it wasn’t that big a deal.

”Nothing.”

Mu Yichen lounged back lazily on the sofa, playing with a lighter in his hand.

Qin Mu subconsciously held her breath.

She’d smoked outside. Was there a smell of smoke in her mouth?

Mu Yichen gave her another sideways look, noticed her deliberately holding her breath, then moved slightly and said, ”It’s late. Go wash up and get some sleep.”

Qin Mu shot him a curious look. Because she couldn’t guess what he was thinking, she put the book down and got up.

But just as she walked past him, he grabbed her with one hand. ”Let’s set another rule between us.”

”What?”

Qin Mu lowered her gaze. Under the lights, she actually couldn’t see his face clearly; must be that the light was too harsh.

”If you smoke again, then all the terms we agreed on in Paris will be void.”

Mu Yichen lifted his eyes, his pitch-black, eagle-like gaze fixed on her, leaving no room for rebuttal.

Qin Mu felt as if a huge rock suddenly dropped into her chest, impossible to shove away.

Just like now, with him grabbing her, she couldn’t break free no matter how she struggled.

”If I say these two things shouldn’t be mixed together, I guess President Mu wouldn’t care and would just stick to his own view, so there’s nothing more I can say.”

Mu Yichen looked at her for a moment, then gently released her wrist.

Qin Mu took a deep breath and headed upstairs.

Sure enough, the moment she exhaled there really was the smell of smoke.

She really should have rinsed her mouth before coming home. She regretted it so much she could hardly stand it, silently warning herself to be more careful next time and not get caught.

It felt a bit like being a middle-schooler whose teacher had grabbed her by the pigtails.

Mu Yichen slouched back into the sofa again. The cigarettes she’d smoked tonight weren’t the brand she usually used; it was a flavor more like something a man would smoke.

Mu Yichen hadn’t told Qin Mu that tonight Gongzhi Ping’an had taken Lun Yun to host a banquet at a hotel together with some of his colleagues, including Jiang Zhiyuan, to celebrate getting their marriage certificate.

She’d lied to him.

Mu Yichen’s brows creased slightly. Feeling a little irritated, he stood up and went upstairs.

——

The next day, ten in the morning.

Hearing the doorbell, Qin Mu hurried downstairs and went to open the door.

”Dad!”

When she lifted her eyes and saw the man standing outside, Qin Mu froze for a second. The next moment she saw Mu Zihao give her an awkward smile, and she quickly stepped aside from the doorway. ”Come in!”

”Yichen’s gone to work?”

Mu Zihao asked, and Qin Mu heard him sit down on the living room sofa.

”He should have! Would you like some tea?”

Qin Mu stood beside him and asked, trying to remember where the tea leaves at home were kept.

”No need. I came over to talk to you about something and then I’ll be off right away.”

Mu Zihao spoke and lifted his hand slightly, signaling for her to sit down.

Qin Mu thought of going to the Mu Family for dinner last night and guessed Mu Zihao must have found out something and that’s why he’d come, so she sat down beside him.

”I came especially today to apologize to you on your mom’s behalf, Qin Mu. You know your mom is sharp-tongued but soft-hearted. She just can’t stand seeing the two of you keep going on like this, never on the same page.”

As Mu Zihao said this, he himself was feeling rather heavy-hearted.

Qin Mu lowered her head. She wanted to smile but found it hard. ”Dad, you don’t have to apologize for Mom. I talked back to her at the time too. When I think about it, the fact she didn’t get so angry at me that something happened is already my good luck.”

”Mumu, I know you’ve suffered quite a bit of grievances with Fanghua. Last night your grandpa also gave her a fierce scolding, and I’ve moved out from the family home.”

Mu Zihao smiled, his eyes full of both helplessness and a touch of amusement.

Hearing this, Qin Mu was truly shocked. ”Dad, you really don’t have to do that!”

Mu Zihao had always spoiled Feng Fanghua. All these years he’d rarely even argued with her. For Qin Mu’s sake, it really wasn’t worth it.

”From the day you married into the family, I’ve treated you as my own child. How can you say it’s not necessary? Your grandpa is threatening to go back to the countryside. Sigh, when you have time you must call and talk him out of it. At his age, he has to go to the hospital regularly for checkups; he really can’t go back there anymore, it’s just too inconvenient.”