Chapter 144: Chapter 144; She’s not her family, right?
Qin Wenhao nodded grimly, they couldn’t afford to offend Mu Yunchen.
A tense silence settled, broken only by the faint cough of the sleeping elder in the side room.
The Old Master’s voice cut through like a blade. “Don’t pick a fight you can’t win. MingZhu, you will keep your mouth shut and your claws hidden. One more scandal, and I’ll marry you off to the west branch where no one remembers your name.”
MingZhu’s lips trembled with restrained rage but she bowed stiffly, her voice low and venomous: “Yes, Father.”
Chenxi exhaled shakily. He caught Zhilin’s eye, and they exchanged a silent understanding; they couldn’t afford to offend Zhou Yuxi.
Su Feng was done doing a small patrol around the place.
Inside the wardroom, the soft beep of the monitoring machines blended with the gentle sound of Zhou Yuxi’s breathing.
Li Meili sat at the edge of the bed, absently brushing a few stray strands of hair from Yuxi’s forehead, she couldn’t nap at all being in such a predicament situation.
Her eyes flickered up as Su Feng entered the wardroom looking annoyed, he shut the door behind him with deliberate care.
“Who was it?” Li Meili inquired immediately, her voice kept low but laced with an anxious edge. After that attack, she was more than nervous when she heard voices.
“Her name is MingZhu if I am not mistaken. Xu MingZhu from the Xu family. I don’t think you can know them.” he said evenly, his deep voice barely disturbing the quiet room.
He poured a cup of warm water from the thermos and handed it over to Li Meili, who accepted it but barely took her eyes off him. She took a few sips trying to warm her body and keep calm.
“I think I have heard her through the news and finance newspapers; she ain’t related to Zhou Yuxi; what was she coming over here to do? I don’t think they have any relation or family ties.” apart from the Zhou family that she hadn’t seen around Zhou Yuxi and Mu Yunchen, she didn’t think Zhou Yuxi was close to any family members of the Xu family.
The Xu family was the maternal family of Qin Zhilin’s birth mother, and the people who should be showing up should be Qin Zhilin and Qin Wenhao as they were Mu Yunchen’s friends and also worked with Zhou Yuxi.
Su Feng remained by the small table, arms crossed, his sharp gaze fixed on the closed door.
Li Meili watched him carefully, anxiety tightening her shoulders. She broke the tense silence, voice low but firm:
“Su Feng… that Xu MingZhu… she’s not her family, right? I don’t remember Zhou Yuxi ever mentioning the Xu family to me for the shortest time we have been together. They are just… outsiders, aren’t they? Are they plotting something?”
Xu family was a prominent family too in the country, but the Zhou family wasn’t related to the Xu family in any way.
Su Feng’s mouth twitched, the closest thing to a humorless laugh. “Outsiders with old ties to Third Master Mu’s business circle you know. Friends of the Mu family I think, and nothing more.” His eyes flickered to Zhou Yuxi’s calm, resting face, so innocent of the webs being spun around her. It seemed like everyone wanted a pie of her.
Li Meili exhaled loudly, part of it was a relief, and part of it was a fresh worry. “Then why does she barge over here acting like she owns this place? They aren’t either Mu Yunchen or Zhou Yuxi’s family even if they are friends. They can’t do that right?”
Su Feng’s expression turned colder, his voice dropping to a dangerous murmur. “Because in her eyes, Mu Yunchen’s people are her people too, it’s like she is Mrs Mu or soon she will be. I think she wants to be Zhou Yuxi’s auntie not knowing there’s a difference between what Third Master tolerates in business… and what he allows near him.”
He moved to the bedside, adjusting the blanket around Yuxi’s shoulders with a care that was at odds with the threat in his eyes. “The Xu family tries to stay close to Mu Yunchen to keep certain doors open you know, contracts, favors, immunity when they make mistakes. MingZhu’s here to dig for gossip, mark her territory… and maybe cause trouble for Yuxi so she can look useful to the Mu elders; their business does highly depend on the Mu Conglomerate if I am not wrong. And then, who didn’t want to take down Mu Yunchen?”
Li Meili’s eyes widened, surprised at that revelation because she understood that Mu Yunchen was rich and very handsome; Zhou Yuxi’s obsession with Mu Yunchen was openly known to Li Meili, so how could this lady think she would break those two up? “So she’s using Yuxi to get closer to Mu Yunchen and show her the Xu family power?”
Su Feng nodded lazily, “I think she thinks Yuxi is an easy prey to use. A powerless girl with no status to fight back since the Zhou family was finished, she thinks she can step on her to climb higher onto Mu Yunchen’s bed.”
“Anyways, no woman would dare get close to Mu Yunchen without receiving repercussions. It’s up to her and what she chooses to do.” Mu Yunchen wasn’t someone you could scheme your way in.
Li Meili turned to look at Yuxi, who slept peacefully despite the storm raging beyond her hospital wardroom walls. “I’m glad she is sleeping at this moment because that girl would have been beaten up mercilessly.” With Zhou Yuxi’s prowess and fighting skills, with just one move, she would kill her.
She has seen how Zhou Yuxi fights; she was at the mercenary level.
“Hehe… That’s true.” With her cold nature, she wouldn’t let anyone snatch her things away from her.
Outside the room, the corridor pulsed with double patrols from one corner to the other, a fortress wrapped around a single patient that needed proximity safety.