It might have been a result of personal reasons or something else. Besides, George had no idea whether Rory had a change of heart when he himself did. Therefore, when Han Muzi asked him the question, he felt guilty.
George was rather regretful. If he knew that his words would lead to such a huge change of heart, he wouldn’t have simply said it.
When Han Muzi looked at George, who seemed to have instantly sunk into his own thoughts, she gauged that he might be thinking about Rory’s matter. She reached out her hand and waved it in front of him. “What are you thinking about?”
Upon hearing Han Muzi’s voice, George returned to his senses. When he saw Han Muzi looking at him, his face was flushed as he took two steps backward. “Nothing. Muzi, do you know anything about Rory’s matter?”
Upon hearing that, she was stunned for a moment. She hadn’t known Rory for a long time and other than the time they socialized in the office, they seldom met up in private. Therefore, she was not aware of the latter’s matters. Han Muzi wasn’t nosy as well, so the information that she knew was what Rory had told her back then.
George’s expression became serious. “After you returned to our country, there was a gang of people who tried to catch her a couple of times, causing her to escape in a hurry. I initially tried to ask her, but she refused to say anything, so I thought that she had offended someone or owed someone some money. It was only after I helped her that she told me she fled from her marriage.”
Han Muzi casually nodded. “She has roughly told me about this matter, but I’m not very sure about the specifics.”
“Her family was forcing her to marry a stranger in exchange for some benefits, but she refused and her family revoked her access to money and forbade her from leaving the house. After that, she found a chance to run away from home. You probably bumped into her much later.”
Get married to a stranger in exchange for benefits? Upon hearing that, Han Muzi was suddenly reminded of her past, At that time, when the Shen Family had me replace Shen Yue to marry into the Ye Family, wasn’t it also for the benefits? That time, I was asked to get married right after I had a divorce, which left me wondering how there could be such parents who have stony hearts in the world. Only later did I discover that they weren’t my even biological parents to begin with. No wonder I kept feeling that they were biased. Since I’m in such a situation, maybe Rory is also…
All these were just her thoughts, which were not openly expressed. Instead, she calmly asked, “What are your thoughts?”
“Huh?” George responded stupidly to her sudden question.
Han Muzi smiled as she looked at him. “Don’t you like her?”
What? When did I say that I like her? George was utterly confused and looked at Han Muzi as if he saw a ghost. Pressing on his chest, he uttered, “Muzi, don’t give me a fright. When did I say that I like her?”
“Really? Don’t you have any feelings for her?” A shadow of a smile appeared at the corner of her lips as she shot him a glance. It was obvious that he was protective of Rory when he mentioned her earlier, which led Han Muzi to think that they might have developed some feelings when they socialized with each other. Otherwise, why would George look guilty?
Upon being questioned by Han Muzi, George felt even more guilty. He intended to deny loudly that he harbored feelings for Rory, but before the words escaped his mouth, he thought about his joke on that day and the strange atmosphere between them when they were together afterward. Therefore, the words that were at his mouth disappeared without a trace before they were given a chance to be spoken.
“You can’t give me an answer?” The smile on her lips widened and Han Muzi never continued the conversation. Instead, she slowly walked to the front as she saw Ye Moxuan approaching.
It might’ve been Han Muzi’s close proximity to George that caused Ye Moxuan to pull a long face. Ye Moxuan’s eyes were as dark as night as he moodily gazed at George.
George, who was deep in his own thoughts, suddenly felt a shiver down his spine, making him feel terribly uneasy. He slowly turned around and met Ye Moxuan’s gaze. The gaze that I felt just now was from Yuchi? How did I offend him? After thinking about it, George realized that it was probably due to the conversation he had with Han Muzi that made Ye Moxuan jealous. Ah! Damn it, he gets jealous over his! If I’m not a broad-minded person, I would have severed ties with this friend of mine long ago, hmph! Of course George only had the courage to make such comments in his heart. On the surface, he wore a stupid smile on his face as he ran excitedly to Ye Moxuan and Han Muzi.
Han Muzi trod naturally to Ye Moxuan’s side. She wore a blue long dress today and her soft hair was loose over her shoulders while she wore light makeup and had a poised expression. She stood naturally beside him, which pleased Ye Moxuan.
“Let me carry her for a while.” She reached out to Ye Moxuan in an attempt to carry Little Sprout, but he gave her his arm instead.
“Huh?” Han Muzi blinked her watery eyes in confusion. Ye Moxuan never made a move and a clearly distinguishable yet resigned smile appeared in his eyes. “Just hold my arm. Why do you want to carry Little Sprout?”
Han Muzi was utterly speechless. I just thought that his hands would be sore as a result from carrying Little Sprout from earlier on, so I wanted to help. Who would have guessed that not only was he unwilling to accept my help, he even stretched out his hand? After thinking for a moment, she reached out and hugged Ye Moxuan’s arm.
George, who was beside them, couldn’t resist exclaiming, “Oh, please stop it! Not only are you showing off your adorable daughter, you are both intentionally showing affection in front of me. I can’t take it anymore.”
Upon hearing that, Ye Moxuan shot him a glance lazily. “If you are jealous of us, you can always find one for yourself too.”
“That’s right. You can find one for yourself and show off in front of us too.” Han Muzi held Ye Moxuan’s arm and smiled.
George felt hurt by their words.
There were plenty of people who attended Little Sprout’s full-month celebration. Han Muzi initially intended to hold a simple celebration and invite some familiar faces, but Old Master Yuchi had disagreed to this idea. He said that Little Sprout was the apple of everyone’s eye, so they needed to send invitation cards and invite more people. He even planned to invite some of his old friends—they used to make fun of him for being old and lonely without having a successor or a single grandson to accompany him! Old Master Yuchi had remembered those words, even though it was said to him when he was lonely a long time ago. He even recalled exactly who said what until now, so when he sent out the invitation cards, he had prioritized those old men who made fun of him before.
When those old men received the invitation cards, they did not have the courage to be disrespectful to Old Master Yuchi and had no choice but to come and congratulate him. Unlike the way they behaved when they made fun of Old Master Yuchi, they showed up and congratulated him with their faces flushed in the color of cherry.
On the other hand, Old Master Yuchi was unable to stop flaunting his grandson’s capability, his granddaughter-in-law’s decency and grace, and how intelligent Ye Moxuan and Han Muzi’s children were. As a matter of fact, Ye Moxuan and Han Muzi’s appearances were indeed a slap in the face to those old men, but they endured the annoyance. After all, it was them who made fun of Old Master Yuchi in the first place.
