The other end of the phone went silent. Lin Xuzheng smiled. “Why? Is that what you were thinking? Do you have nothing else to say?”
After a moment of silence, the voice from the other end of the call recovered his cold tone. “She’s my sister’s friend.”
“Oh?”
Lin Xuzheng let out a deep laugh. “So it’s a friend of the overprotective brother. Are you into partners younger than yourself? She looked very young, youthful, and energetic. Very suited for an old man like you.”
The other party kept quiet.
Lin Xuzheng acted as if he did not understand what he meant. According to his understanding of Han Qing, what he meant was that she was just her sister’s friend and he would only go to this extent because of this. But what kind of person was Lin Xuzheng? How could he possibly believe in Han Qing? He just simply misinterpreted the meaning of his words. Han Qing would not be able to do anything to him, anyway.
Indeed, the other party let out a sigh because he was too lazy to explain further and merely said, “Regardless of how you want to interpret this, my meeting is starting soon.”
Lin Xuzheng said, “Go ahead. Just remember, you owe me a favor.”
After the conversation, Lin Xuzheng hung up the phone while the smile on his face gradually faded. It was as if the person who just talked to Han Qing was someone else and not him. His wife had passed away for so many years, so he could control his emotions easily. Although there was bitterness in his heart, he could still talk and laugh on the surface. Even though his smile did not reach the bottom of his eyes and heart, so what? In this world, the only one who could understand his inner pain and care for him was dead. He… had lost her forever.
Lin Xuzheng closed his eyes while a faint smile appeared on his pale lips.
…
Han Muzi was surprised to receive the news that Yan was opening a restaurant. However, the shock soon became excitement. “When’s the grand opening? I’ll bring Moxuan along on that day.”
Yan suddenly became a bit awkward after hearing that Ye Moxuan would be coming and said softly, “Why don’t you just come by yourself? I’ll come and pick you up when the time comes. Young Master Ye’s aura is too strong. I’m not sure if our little store can handle it.”
After hearing this, Han Muzi subconsciously looked in the direction of the bathroom. Ye Moxuan was taking a shower in there. She could not hold her laughter after thinking about Ye Moxuan’s cold expression and his strong aura. “Don’t worry, I won’t let him scare people away on that day.”
“Sigh, Muzi… Are you really planning to bring him along?”
“Of course. It’s your restaurant’s grand opening. The more the merrier.”
Zhou Xiaoyan did not know how to reply for a moment. She turned around and took a look at Mr. Zhou who was in the ward. If Young Master Ye is coming for the grand opening, I’m not sure how my father would react to this. Will he be surprised or shocked? Zhou Xiaoyan was a bit curious suddenly. It might be fun, after all.
“Okay, you can bring him along then. By the way Muzi, you don’t blame me, do you?”
“Hmm?” Han Muzi felt weird hearing what she said. “Blame you for what?”
“I haven’t contacted you for so long, and… I didn’t go back to help you, yet I’m opening a restaurant by myself… I…”
The smile on Han Muzi’s face faded a little, and her tone became a little stern. “By saying these, do you mean to say that you don’t see me as a friend any longer?”
“Why do you think that, Muzi? Why wouldn’t I see you as a friend anymore? Please don’t misunderstand; that’s not what I meant…” Yan heard the stern tone in Han Muzi’s words and got nervous. She tried her best to explain while looking like she was about to cry from nervousness.
“It’s fine, don’t be so anxious. I’m not blaming you. I just feel that if you see me as your friend, then you shouldn’t keep trying to appease me. Whatever you want to do, just do it. I can’t interfere with your matters and have no right to blame you, understand?”
Yan replied, “Muzi, I—”
“I’m angry because you feel guilty toward me when I’m the one who owes you. All these years… if you hadn’t been by my side, I’m afraid I wouldn’t even be here today.”
“No, no, no.” Yan shook her head hard. “You’re the one who made me who I am today. If it were not for you, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to make so much money…” How would I be able to open a restaurant without the money? All in all, Yan was very grateful to Han Muzi.
“Are you crazy? The money you earn is equivalent to your effort. This achievement belongs to you and has nothing to do with me. Yan, we’re friends and good sisters. We’re equal in this relationship. Don’t position yourself so low in front of me.”
“Muzi…”
“If you’re going to keep looking down on yourself, then I’m afraid we can’t be friends anymore.”
Zhou Xiaoyan immediately got anxious after hearing this. “Please don’t, Muzi. I won’t do it again.”
“Good to hear that.”
“Yes, I promise.”
In the end, the two of them finally went back to normal and started chatting happily again. After hanging up the phone, Han Muzi set her phone aside on the desk beside the bed. Ye Moxuan got out of the bathroom when he saw her do that and stopped wiping his hair. “Little Bean called?”
Upon hearing him, Han Muzi paused her hand and shook her head. “It wasn’t Little Bean, it was Yan.”
Ye Moxuan’s expression seemed a little dazed, and he returned to his clear look after a while. “Oh, her.”
“What’s with that expression? You took that long to recall who she is?” Han Muzi replied in dissatisfaction. No wonder Yan asked me to come alone. I can’t believe Ye Moxuan actually forgot about her.
Ye Moxuan pursed his lips and rubbed his nose helplessly. It was indeed pretty awkward to forget someone. Moreover, it was someone Muzi valued. However, he did not forget it on purpose. It was because his lost memories had been playing hide and seek with him recently—coming and leaving again. Ye Moxuan was the only one who knew that his memories were mixed up wrongly. This was due to him having not fully recovered his memories, so he found it hard to differentiate between which parts came first and which later. He did not forget that Yan was a good friend of Han Muzi. However, he just had it at the back of his head since he had not been in contact with her much.
Only Meng Xueyou was remembered clearly by him. However, he remembered her clearly not because of anything else, but because she did unforgivable things to Muzi and him. He could understand the character of Meng Xueyou after gaining back some memories and with the information provided by Xiao Su.
“I remember.” Ye Moxuan walked to the side of the bed while bending over to approach Han Muzi. “Everything about you, I remember clearly. It’s just that she and I didn’t have much interaction before, so I didn’t think too much about it. Why? Do you want me to get close to your best friend, Mrs. Ye?”
Han Muzi widened her eyes accusatorily. “It’s different. What’s there to do between you getting close with her and you forgetting her?”
Ye Moxuan curled his lips helplessly while grabbing her chin. “You’ve seen through me?”
