novelraw Chapter 508 - 237.4
Chapter 508 - 237.4
Murder... prison?How could his sister, Nan Ze, go to a place like prison?
No matter what, he would never allow such a thing to happen!
"Is it serious?" Zhi Mei’s eyebrows furrowed like ink brush strokes, her eyes filled with urgency and worry. "Third Brother, Wanwan is my only friend, don’t hide it from me."
If it was just a small matter, Mu Jin Huan wouldn’t have called him at all.
Nan Ze’s face was dark and stormy, tangled with complex emotions as he looked at the woman. She was someone he protected under his wings. So was Wanwan. They had known each other for a long time.
Perhaps today he could find an excuse to keep it from her, but by tomorrow she might hear about it.
There was no extra time to think, so he lowered his voice and said, "Someone died, it’s quite troublesome."
Upon hearing that, the clothes Shen Zhimei held in her hand fell to the ground with a thud.
————
Qing City.
North Shore Villa, study room.
Only a desk lamp was on, illuminating a small area around it, leaving the whole room in an extremely dark environment.
It was almost merging with the boundless night outside the window.
A small flickering light shone from in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, and only with this evidence could one confirm that there was someone standing there.
The calls that needed to be made, the people that needed to be found—Mu Jin Huan had dealt with all of them in this hour and a half, but his chest was still an endless void, nothing he did could fill it.
He smoked cigarette after cigarette, his eyes slightly closed, not looking at anything, just calming himself.
The air was thick with the smell of tobacco, an empty cigarette box lay on the floor, and he didn’t even have the patience to flick the ash into the ashtray on the table—ashes scattered all over the floor by his feet.
A flash of lightning cut across the sky, illuminating Mu Jin Huan’s sharp features and briefly exposing the icy coldness in his eyes.
The thunder that followed was loud, unable to be completely blocked by the protective glass.
Mu Jin Huan reacted almost immediately, stubbed out the cigarette butt, and walked out of the study holding his phone.
Nan Wan sat on the bed hugging her knees, her breathing slightly heavy, her gaze still dazed from a nightmare, her long hair in disarray, and she didn’t even notice when Mu Jin Huan pushed open the door.
Mu Jin Huan walked briskly to the bedside, extended his arms to hold the trembling person into his embrace, his voice hoarse from smoke, "Don’t be afraid, it’s just thunder."
He continuously kissed Nan Wan’s hair, as if consoling, as if feeling guilty.
Even though he held her tightly, Nan Wan felt it wasn’t enough; she curled herself further into his embrace, her voice very low, "Where did you go, why didn’t you tell me?"
Mu Jin Huan’s eyes were deep, freeing one hand to wipe the sweat off her forehead and hoarsely apologizing, "I’m sorry, I went downstairs to get some water. I saw you were sleeping soundly so I didn’t wake you."
The weather forecast said that there would be a rainstorm around four o’clock in the morning.
It was now four sixteen. After the thunder and lightning, the rainstorm arrived as predicted, bean-sized raindrops hitting the glass with a clattering sound.
"You’re lying again," Nan Wan clung tightly to the man’s waist, feeling the warmth of his body through her thin pajamas, the bright red before her eyes gradually faded away, "I can smell the smoke."
He couldn’t sleep.
What to do in the future...
Having his lie exposed, Mr. Mu seemed to chuckle lowly in frustration, "I’m going to take a bath, I’ll be back soon, not going anywhere, just staying with you to sleep."
Mrs. Mu shook her head, holding onto the man’s waist without letting go, her voice a bit hoarse, "Don’t go, I’m cold."
She was sweating all over, yet she said she was cold.
"Alright, I won’t go."
Mu Jin Huan lifted the thin blanket, held the soft Nan Wan in his arms on the bed, gently patting her back, his lips close to her ear, as if worried she hadn’t heard clearly, repeated, "Sleep, I won’t leave."
The thunder continued outside, accompanied by a torrential downpour, as if threatening to submerge the city.
————
Morning.
The rain was lighter than last night, but this was summer, always a bit stronger than the drizzling spring rain.
The sound of raindrops hitting the glass was not as loud as it was last night.
When Nan Wan woke up, the scene was exactly the same as before she fell asleep, she was still nestled in the man’s arms, even the position of her hands hadn’t changed.
Even though the red blood vessels in Mu Jin Huan’s eyes were apparent, with a clear look of fatigue, there was a gentle affection between his brows.
He immediately sensed the person in his arms stir, a gentle curve formed at his lips, brushing aside the strands of hair on her face, he leaned closer to kiss her.
His deep voice carried the unique hoarseness of the early morning, "Awake?"
At some point, the air conditioning in the room had been turned off. Rainy summer mornings were the most comfortable for sleeping, making people want to do nothing else but laze in bed.
Nan Wan nodded slightly, her voice soft, "An Ge and Jiu Jiu, where are they? I just dreamt about them."
From four in the morning until now, for over three hours, Mu Jin Huan had maintained the same posture, with half his body feeling stiff.
"They should be awake already, do you want to go see them now?"
"Yes," her eyes were sore and she couldn’t fully open them, "But I don’t want to move, could you bring them here?"
Her eyes blinked rapidly, her long eyelashes fluttering up and down, a clear sign of acting spoiled.
Mu Jin Huan smiled, leaving a kiss on her constantly blinking eyes, his gaze filled with affection, "Just wait."
Then, naturally pulling out his numb arm from beneath Nan Wan’s head, he lifted the covers, got out of bed, and only then started to stretch his stiff joints once he left the bedroom.
...
Jiu Jiu’s fever had subsided, he seemed much better than the night before, and unlike his usual cold demeanor, today he clung to Nan Wan without letting go.
Whether it was due to the weakness from the illness or the fright from yesterday, it greatly affected his usual image.
Even Pea, who couldn’t climb, noticed, chuckling with a toy duck in hand.
Mr. Mu, although mostly staying in the bedroom, always found reasons to leave for a while.
When he was in the room, Nan Wan played with the children with a smile, but as soon as he left, the curve of her lips gradually faded away as she stared at Jiu Jiu in a daze.
Even when An Ge was about to put the little yellow duck into his mouth, she didn’t notice.
The couple had neither breakfast nor lunch downstairs; Aunt Zhou brought it up to their bedroom on the second floor.
There was a constant flow of people in and out of the house, men in suits and ties carrying briefcases, women wearing glasses looking smart and sharp, but without exception, everyone seemed to be in a rush.
Within the morning, both Liu An and Secretary Tang came several times; however, their polite smiles upon entering and leaving made them quite the contrast to the strangers, though Aunt Zhou felt increasingly uneasy.
Until the evening, when Nan Ze, shrouded in darkness, arrived.