Mu Yuchen's eyes flickered with a sharp light as he incisively pointed out his thoughts.

With a frown, Ah Mo said, "We've found out about Qi Qiming's connection with Lu Xinlan, and how it's connected to Mr. Wen, but from the start, we missed out the reason we went looking for Lu Xinlan, which was to understand Aunty's matters, so, Master, you find it a little weird that after turning round and round, we ourselves almost got looped into it."

Mu Yuchen then nodded. "Mmm, I feel like someone's pulling our strings, making us go where they want us to step by step. There are probably two reasons for this. Firstly, this person has a grudge against me and doesn't want me to do well, so they want to seize the opportunity to take me down, or secondly, they want to distract us and are covering something up."

"Master, the two probabilities you've mentioned is quite likely. In fact, in my opinion, the first one is likelier, but the person with the most motive to do these is probably Qi Feng. He's very meticulous, and it's normal for him to have thought of such ways to take revenge on you. But now, we have no way of finding any traces of him at all. We don't even know his current situation."

When he realized the severity of the matter, Ah Mo frowned even deeper.

"Master, how about we investigate Mr. Wen again? I'm sure that we can find out who he is if we turn the entire City Z upside down and check everyone one by one!"

Mu Yuchen raised his hand slightly to stop Ah Mo from saying any further. "No need. It's not important who Mr. Wen is, but I'd like to meet Lu Xinlan myself and see if I can find out anything useful from her. Okay, go back and make the arrangements."

"But, Master..." Ah Mo hesitated a little worriedly.

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing. Just do as I say."

"Master, actually, Missus did have some contact with Mr. Wen. How about we probe deeper? Perhaps she could identify who they are," Ah Mo carefully suggested.

However, just as Ah Mo said that, Mu Yuchen scowled at him. "Don't consider involving her in this mess. I don't want to involve her in all these past grudges."

"But..."

"No buts. Go back first. Just wait for me at Hospital T tomorrow morning." Mu Yuchen got up with waning interest. He did not plan to continue and went straight upstairs.

Ah Mo slowly stood up too as he watched Mu Yuchen retreat in astonishment. After that, he sighed to himself before leaving.

When he returned to the study room, Xi Xiaye could clearly feel that his emotions were all over the place. The two of them did not speak, but after a long silence, Xi Xiaye finally could not help but ask, "What's wrong? Something on your mind?"

She reached out to take his book, slot a bookmark into it and closed it.

Mu Yuchen then snapped back from his deep thoughts. He watched her silently as she tiptoed to put the book back onto the shelf and sighed, "Mmm, just some troublesome things from the past. Xiaye, play some chess with me."

He turned to one side and took her slightly cold hand.

She turned around. The flickering light in her starry eyes was dazzling like diamonds as she spoke a little puzzledly, "Chess? You know I can't beat you, and you still want me to play against you?"

Initially, her chess skills were not too bad, but really it was as like they said, mothers-to-be became a little slower. She had been playing with him for quite a while, yet she felt like her skills were worsening. Sometimes, he would grant her two moves, and she would still lose tragically.

When did she fall behind in IQ too?

Seeing her like this, Mu Yuchen could not help but smile. He slowly got up and pulled her out to the side hall as he spoke deeply, "This time, I'll let you make five moves first. How about that?"

The husband and wife quickly reached the coffee table at the side hall. They brewed a pot of flower tea as Xi Xiaye skillfully set the chess set out.

"You like to play chess when you're dealing with a difficult problem." She shot him a side look and immediately picked up a black chess piece to make her move without courtesy.

"Chess is a good form of meditation, Missus," he calmly answered, and then handed her a cup of tea before picking up a white chess piece to make his move.

"I remember the first time I won against Grandpa. He told me that with my capabilities, I could join an international chess competition. I was really thrilled then. I was just in time to make it for the school's Go chess competition, so I enthusiastically registered. Unexpectedly, I was defeated tragically, and I was miserable for quite a few days. After that, I realized that Grandpa wanted me to be happy, so he let me win on purpose. That's why I was very angry afterward. I thought that he underestimated me. Every time I played chess after that, I'd make sure he gave it his all."

When Xi Xiaye said this, she continued to make her move. Her eyes were bright as autumn waters, and there was a joy in reminiscing this. "At first, I did indeed lose so tragically every time, but afterward, the gap between us began to close. In fact, I felt like my perseverance and patience was getting better and better. I could usually last two to three hours in one game without being able to decide the winner yet. After that, I slowly felt that actually winning or losing was not important. More importantly was what I learned during a confrontation."

"How rare of you to have such enlightenment and understanding." When he heard this, he smiled admiringly. "Whether or not winning is important depends on who the opponent is too."

"Then, treat me as the enemy that's troubling you right now," she challenged quite magnanimously.

"I can't bear to." He looked down at the black chess pieces that slowly moved in on the set. He remained in a daze for a moment, then said, "Missus, you are the Missus. You can never be the enemy. Even if I pretended you were, I wouldn't be able to be cruel to you."

When he said this, he paused, and then suddenly looked up at her. "Xiaye... Do you also feel like I'm quite cruel?"

She was stunned by his question. Her eyes met his gaze and she fell silent for a long while. After some thought about it, she then shook her head. "I don't know about other people, but I do know you're good to me, and Ah Mo and the rest. That is enough. Actually, I feel like sometimes you do look like the mafia. You care a lot about your own kin but to your enemies... Mmm, let me tell you a secret—"

As she said this, she suddenly lowered herself and said softly into his ear, "When I was in high school, I always admired those gangsters in the TV. I thought they were impressive, stylish and very cool... but now that I think about it, I was a little immature. Still, Mr. Mu, I have always admired you."

"Admire? Does that mean I've helped you find your innocence again?"

"Of course! You are my sun that never sets..."

"Where did you learn to say that?"

"Who did you learn it from?"

"Ah Hua..."

The Mid-Autumn Festival finally arrived, and the temperature of the air around became colder.

Mu Yuchen woke up before sunrise when Xi Xiaye was still asleep. He left the house after washing up quietly.

The sun was just about to rise when he arrived at the hospital. Ah Mo and the two other bodyguards were already waiting at the parking lot outside the hospital. They quickly went over after Mu Yuchen parked his car.

"Master!" All of them greeted him.

Mu Yuchen nodded his head before closing the car door.

"Master, she's alone in the room," Ah Mo said.

Mu Yuchen handed his car keys to one of the bodyguards before saying, "Let's go." He started walking into the hospital as the others followed his steps.

The hospital was pretty much empty at this time. Only the figures of the nurses and the cleaners could be seen. Mu Yuchen soon arrived outside Sis Lan's room following Ah Mo's lead. They stopped right outside the door.

Ah Mo opened the door and saw Lu Xinlan resting on the bed. He told Mu Yuchen after he confirmed it, "Master, it's her!"

He pushed the door open as Mu Yuchen went in together with him as well.

Sis Lan was sound asleep. She had suffered from angina at midnight and was only relieved after the doctor put her on an IV drip. Deep in her slumber, she had no idea even after Mu Yuchen stood beside her bed for some time.

"Master, should we wake her up?" Ah Mo asked quietly.

Mu Yuchen raised his hand and stopped Ah Mo. He glanced at the sound asleep Lu Xinlan for a while before walking towards the window.

Sometime later, the sun showed up and Sis Lan woke up. She then noticed there were people nearby when she opened her eyes. To her shock, she saw Ah Mo beside her bed. In a weak voice, she croaked, "Who are you? Why are you here?" She panted a little as she spoke.

"You're awake!" Ah Mo quickly turned over to look at Mu Yuchen beside the window. Following suit, Sis Lan averted her gaze toward where Ah Mo was looking.

She saw Mu Yuchen's emotionless expression as he just slowly walked towards her bed while Ah Mo made space for him.

Sis Lan stared at him for a while before calling out to him, "Mu Yuchen? Chairman Mu from Glory World? It's nice to meet you!"

She was no stranger to Mu Yuchen's name. Ever since Xi Xiaye spoke to her the last time, she found out about Mu Yuchen. As the core member of the Mu family right now, she never expected him to come looking for her in person.

"I don't think it's very nice for me though." Mu Yuchen gave a brief reply.

Sis Lan tried to force a smile on her pale face. "Perhaps, I didn't expect we'd meet under such circumstances."

Mu Yuchen gave Ah Mo a signal, and he quickly came up to adjust Sis Lan's bed to let her sit up. He also got her a glass of water. Sis Lan looked at Mu Yuchen for a while before taking a sip. Then, she said, "I know you guys would come to look for me sooner or later. When your wife, Xi Xiaye, visited me the last time, she didn't ask me anything, but I'm sure you guys would approach me again after finding out about my health condition. I'm afraid I don't have many peaceful days left."

Sis Lan sounded like she was worn out. "But I've said whatever I need to say. I've already told you lot whatever you should know, whether it be your parents, your wife, or you yourself. I have nothing else to say anymore, so what's the point of forcing me?

She obviously did not want to talk about it. Her hands trembled while she held the glass, and she looked extremely weak at the moment. After raising her voice slightly, she started panting.

Ah Mo frowned as he glanced at Mu Yuchen who did not say anything. He just looked at Sis Lan with his sharp eyes that made Lu Xinlan feel uneasy. She took a deep breath and lowered her head.

"I remember that you were already my aunt's manager very soon after her debut. Up until Aunty gave birth to Lingtian, you guys were always with each other. Don't you think it's a bit ridiculous that there's something about Aunty you don't know?" Mu Yuchen gave her an odd smile.

"So, are you here about Mu Zi today?" Lu Xinlan's expression froze.

Mu Yuchen did not try to hide his intention of visiting. "I'm here today to find out a lot of things. Aunty's information is just one of them."

"Oh? I didn't know that I had anything to offer that would require you to visit me personally." Sis Lan put on a cold smile as she stared at Mu Yuchen straight in the eye.

"I'm sure you know what happened to Aunty back then. I hope you can tell me who that person is. No matter what, he should be held responsible. Don't you think he should be held accountable since my aunt died for him?"

A cold light flashed in Mu Yuchen's eyes. "I don't know what kind of relationship you shared with my aunt. I heard that you return every year to visit her grave. I'm sure both of you share a special bond, so I doubt you'd hope for her to die in pain if the two of you were friends, but it makes more sense if you're her enemy. Then, you'd visit her grave every year to laugh at her and show off to her. SO, which one are you?"

Mu Yuchen's tone was icy cold as he stared directly at Sis Lan's face. Her trembling had gotten worse.

"Or do you feel guilty and are you back to repent?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. Mu Zi and I are good friends. Because I cultivated her career, it's disheartening to me for something like that to have happened!"

Sis Lan looked down and avoided Mu Yuchen's sharp gaze.

She took a deep breath and said, "When she had just gotten pregnant with her first child back then, I told her to get an abortion. She was so popular at that time and I was sure she'd be entering Hollywood very soon and become a superstar. I'm sure you know how precious that opportunity is to an artiste. It's similar to how musicians would want to make themselves known in Vienna. When Mu Zi first started out in the industry, that was her goal.

"I admit that she's had the most potential among all the artistes I've worked with in my whole career, but she's also the most worrisome one. Someone like you, Chairman Mu, must know the difficulty of this industry. We need to scout new talents, and to make a new artiste popular...

"The company spent a lot of resources on her, and she was just one step away from success. I never expected something like that to happen. I treated her like my own sister, and I did my best to help her, yet she disappointed me... but I can't just give up on her. I was finding ways to help her give birth in secret and then re-enter the industry afterwards. Unexpectedly, she fell into depression and was emotionally unstable. The company couldn't do anything but leave her alone for a while. We got someone to help her out and hoped she could recover soon."

Sis Lan was panting a little by now, so Ah Mo went up and helped her to take the glass of water away.

Mu Yuchen gave her a dark stare. "How was your relationship with my aunt?"

The question threw Sis Lan off-guard. She raised her head and looked at him, but soon looked back down and did not reply to his question.

Ah Mo shot Mu Yuchen a doubtful glance. After some hesitation, he started to understand what was happening. He then averted his gaze to look at Sis Lan.

"I investigated your situation with my aunt back then. Sure, the both of you were very close to each other initially, but you guys seemed to have conflicts more often afterward and some people reported to have seen you two argue in private, so it seems that your relationship with my aunt isn't as amicable as you said." Mu Yuchen's tone of voice was calm as he reiterated the investigation results.

"I don't know what you're talking about! Mu Zi and I are like sisters. Don't you dare question our bond. We're best friends! What do you mean by that?!" Sis Lan suddenly got worked up and she gasped while she placed a hand on her chest.

Mu Yuchen did not argue with her. Instead, he said, "I know you're well aware of the truth. If you think you're good friends with my aunt, you should at least tell us who that person is."

"Your aunt didn't want you guys to know. Why can't you respect her wishes? Knowing the truth might not be beneficial at all! Why do you have to find out?" Sis Lan's face turned pale while her hands clenched into fists as anger was visible in her eyes.

"Why? Because she owed my grandparents an explanation, and they owed Lingshi a reason. Not everything is solved by her death. You know very well how my aunt passed away. Lingshi has no idea who her father is, and you're saying that these are the benefits? There are responsibilities that need to be borne, and we can't escape from them."

"What do you want then?" Sis Lan felt something was wrong.

"I heard you're pretty close to Qi Qiming. I have a question for you. Is Qi Qiming the same person as Mr. Wen?"

"You're wrong. I'm not related to him at all! You don't have to try to get anything out of me. I'm going to say it again. I've told you whatever I could, and you should leave now. I'm getting uncomfortable!" Sis Lan's expression was pale like snow. She panicked as she felt difficulty breathing.

"Really?" Mu Yuchen put on a smile and slowly showed his phone to Sis Lan the two photos on the screen. "Then, can you please explain what these are? One of these is Qi Qiming's subordinate, Yue Hai, visiting you recently. The other one is an intimate photo of the both of you. Your house in the outskirts was under his name before, but he transferred it to you afterward."

Sis Lan stared at the photos blankly. "You... How did you find out about these?"

Mu Yuchen gave her a smile, "I wouldn't come to meet you today without any preparation, you have a past with Qi Qiming, and he's Mr. Wen. Am I right?"

"You..." Sis Lan tried to suppress the sudden pain in her chest as she glared at Mu Yuchen. However, she had no strength left to say another word.

"You've been with Qi Qiming for quite some time, yet you're just one of his mistresses. He wasn't particularly fond of you. Rumor has it that the woman he loved was Qi Feng's mother. Even Wang Qin was just a marriage forced upon him. I'm sure this is the reason you turned your back on Qi Qiming and left Qi Kai. Is that correct?"

"Of course not! You don't know anything! Yes, he is Mr. Wen indeed. He's the only man that I'll ever love in my life. I've been with him for over a decade. He told me that he'd marry me..."

"But in the end, he married Wang Qin, and not you."

"Yes, he lied to me, but he never liked Wang Qin! She's just another poor soul!" Lu Xinlan's voice started to crack. The pain in her chest grew stronger as huge droplets of sweat rained down from her forehead.

Ah Mo's expression changed as he gave Mu Yuchen a worrisome glance. Mu Yuchen looked at him calmly, and with a nod, he quickly snapped his fingers to signal the bodyguard outside to get a doctor.

"Did he get into a relationship with my aunt as well?"

Mu Yuchen's eyes were calm. He was not planning to back off at all even when Lu Xinlan had some blood on the corner of her mouth. Instead, he just handed her a piece of tissue paper.

Sis Lan suddenly felt a gush of coppery liquid well up in her throat, and blood came out of her mouth...