C10 Using Her as a Springboard

Before they knew it, the moon had already retreated and the sun finally showed its bright rays. They crept through the little openings that the thick curtains had left behind. The smell of piss and smoke that had wafted around every corner during the afternoon was now gone from sight, and the bellowing winds had also vanished. Somehow, the slums didn't look too bad once the sun had risen–at least, for now.

Moo Nuannuan was woken up by the ringing of her phone. She slowly opened her weary eyes and glanced at the vibrating phone sitting on her bedside.

Unlike her siblings or pretty much everyone in the city where they had beautiful smartphones and loads of different apps that could make their lives all the easier, her phone didn't really have that many functions. All it could do was call and send messages. Her parents had never given her an upgrade, and besides, she didn't really save up that much money to go get herself one either. It was also more functional this way.

Glancing at the Caller ID, the exhaustion in her face had immediately faded.

"Dad," she greeted hesitantly as soon as she had picked up the phone. Why would he be calling her at this hour?

"You went home the other day, right?" His voice sounded serious. "Who drove you over?"

If he had been there, he'd know, but unfortunately, he couldn't care less if she had arrived in his household. But for her father to call her at this time to inquire about these trivial details, Moo Nuannuan couldn't help but feel a certain chill down her heart. The grip she had on her phone tightened even further.

She and Moo Liyan had barely exchanged a few words when she was still in the house, so to have him ask her about this...it was obvious that he had other intentions than just asking her how her day was.

"Mu Tingxiao's cousin," she said honestly.

There was a pause before he responded, "If you have the time, take your sister to the Mu estate for a walk. Introduce him to your sister...or perhaps allow her to make a couple of friends. I'm sure Moo Wanqi would be able to handle it either way."

She didn't need to be a genius to know what he meant.

After she had left the Moo family villa yesterday, Moo Wanqi must've used the opportunity to meet Mu Jiachen. Knowing her, she was the type of person to take every opportunity as soon as she had seen one raining down on her.

Although Moo Nuannuan wouldn't like to admit it to his face, Mu Jiachen was handsome, and he was certainly her sister's type. It was obvious that she had grown smitten with him, and now that he was gone, she'd want to insert herself into any window of opportunity just for her to meet up with him again. After all, what man in his right mind would reject such a beauty?

Their plan was excellent.

Back then, she's the one who was destined to marry Mu Tingxiao, but to appease her mother, Moo Nuannuan did it for her instead.

As if that wasn't enough, they wanted to use her as a springboard to find a better-looking man for Moo Wanqi, one with excellent lineage and equal prestige.

Everyone in Huyang City knew that the Mu family had outstanding man. Aside from Mu Tingxiao, he had plenty more male cousins–all of them holding great positions in the business and medical sector. In short, they were all forces to reckon with. Even their shortest end of the stick was enough to buy a quarter of the city. Of course, Moo Wanqi would want to be connected to such a family, and Moo Liyan would support her every step of the way.

Bitterness flashed in his eyes. Her parents had always doted on her two older siblings like they were gifts sent from the heaven above. Could she have been adopted to not receive the same love that her parents had them?

The least they could do was not to be so obvious about it!

Moo Nuannuan gritted her teeth, struggling to keep her voice calm. "I'd want to take her to the estate to walk around, but I haven't exactly seen Mu Tingxiao until now. To bring her there would be inappropriate, don't you think?"

As soon as Moo Liyan heard her words, his face grew dark. The friendliness and calmness of his features had faded, and she couldn't help but squeeze her eyes shut, knowing fully well that a bunch of thinly veiled insults were headed her way. She heard him slam the table from the other end of the line.

"You're telling me you haven't seen your husband yet? Haven't you done enough trouble for this family? You have some nerve to go home," he said spitefully. "Don't think I don't know what you did with that man!"

Although Moo Nuannuan was used to her father's hurtful words, it still sent a pang of discomfort straight to her chest. Gripping her phone, she resisted the urge to burst into tears. There was no way she was going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry. "If you'd send her to the Mu family, maybe he'd finally come out of his hiding place," she said indifferently. "You're the one who had replaced me. Maybe that's the reason why he doesn't want to see me."

Mu Tingxiao had just come out of the bathroom when he heard her words.

He saw her sitting on the bed. Her dark hair, which looked thick and sticky like a bunch of seaweeds, fell to her back in soft waves. The veins in her fingertips were bulging out from her skin, displaying a hue of green and red across the back of her hand. And her eyes, which were as warm as the autumn breeze, were glassy and filled with unshed tears. She looked pitiful.

His eyes narrowed. Truly, the more that he looked at his wife, the more pleasing she appeared in his eyes.

Although he couldn't hear what the person on the other end of the line had told her, he could tell from her deathly pale face that it wasn't anything good. She may not have responded, but she still hadn't hung up. She looked as if she was far too hypnotized to let go of his hurtful words. He couldn't help but feel sorry over her pitiful frame.

With a sigh, Mu Tingxiao walked over and grabbed the phone from her hand, hanging it up himself.

As he did so, his eyebrows scrunched together. Why would this woman have such a tacky phone?

"If you don't want to hear it, then don't give them the satisfaction of you listening to them," he stated.

Moo Nuannuan gazed up in panic. Her vision was blurred, but she could still make out the general shape of his face. "I..."

Although cold, there was a sense of comfort in his tone.

However, just as she looked around, she realized where she was. Her eyes widened in panic as her fingers clenched the sheets below her. "Why am I on the bed?"

Moo Nuannuan remembered giving up her bed to Mu Tingxiao yesterday, and she also remembered sleeping on the sofa last night as well. How the hell did she end up here?

"You were sleepwalking." He shrugged, lying down beside her. "You crawled up right beside me."