C37 I'll Only Eat the Food You've Cooked

The doctor immediately administered the acupuncture treatment to Mu Tingxiao. It had taken a while, but his condition finally stabilized after a few procedures. The doctor sighed in relief as he packed up his things, before turning to her. "Make sure you get him to drink plenty of liquids," he warned. "Also, he mustn't be doing anything rigorous or exhausting that may affect his recovery, all right? I'll be heading out. Be sure to call me if anything happens."

"I will." Moo Nuannuan grabbed a towel from his bedside table to wipe the beads of sweat trickling down his forehead. By the time she had done so, the others already made their way out of the room. Twisting her wrists, she sighed in frustration and stared into his closed eyes. There was just something about this situation that she couldn't seem to wrap her head around.

That night in the dining room, she had fallen into Mu Jiachen's arms, and Shi Ye had caught them in the act. Yet, the man didn't say the word. He even suggested that she take care of him while he was sick. Shouldn't he have said something to Tingxiao? Or had he forgotten that the incident happened in the first place?

"Mom."

Before she could think about it more, he began to tremble under her touch. "Mom," he called out once again while she was wiping his forehead. Just as she was about to pull her hand away, he suddenly grabbed a hold of her wrist, pulling him towards her. Even if his eyes were closed, his face was contorted into that of worry and disbelief.

No matter how hard she pulled, it was like fighting against an iron clamp. There was no way out! 'What the hell is wrong with him?' Gritting her teeth, she shot him a glare.

"I'm not your Mom! Let go of me."

However, the man didn't look like he could hear her at all. Instead, he grasped her hand as if his own life was on the line. The space between his brows gradually softened, and his breathing became steady. The grip on her hand seemed to have granted him some comfort as he snuggled under the sheets, without a single care in the world.

Her phone suddenly rang out; it was Shen Liang.

"Liang," she called out, answering the phone. "Have you arrived?"

"I'm already at the entrance. Where are you?"

Moo Nuannuan lowered her head and glanced at the side. Mu Jiachen was still sleeping peacefully, looking as if he had fallen into a deep slumber. However, when she tried pulling her hand back, he simply gripped her even tighter. Seeing as there was no other choice, she called Shi Ye to bring her friend in.

"What's the fuss that I'm hearing about–oh my gosh!" Shen Liang exclaimed, rushing into the room to get a better look. At first, she had wanted to see if Nuannuan was doing okay and why she had sent her in instead of coming out to join her, but as soon as she saw the man lying on the bed, she was floored. Her jaw dropped, and it took her a few seconds to get herself together. "Didn't you say Mu Tingxiao was ugly? I...I...are you blind or something?"

Shi Ye, who was standing behind her this whole time, shifted his stance. "This is the Second Young Master, Mu Jiachen."

"The what?" Shen Liang blinked, narrowing her eyes at the way the two were positioned. "Then why is he holding Nuannuan's hands? If he really is who he says he is, doesn't he know that she's his sister-in-law? It wouldn't be right to be so physically close to her, wouldn't it? With all the taboo, especially under Tingxiao's watch?"

"I..." He choked at her question. At this point, once all of this was over, he was asking for a raise!

When Moo Nuannuan heard this, she couldn't help but glance in Shi Ye's direction. That was also what she was curious about. If he was really Tingxiao's assistant, shouldn't he be more inclined in keeping them apart rather than pushing them together? Something about this just didn't seem right at all.

"I..." Grabbing the first thought in his mind, he managed to squeeze out a few words, "Sister-in-law looks just like his mother. That's why he's holding her like that."

"Ah, so that's why he called me Mom just now?" Even then, she still didn't seem convinced.

"Uhm, Young Master must've woken up now. I should go to him."

Not wanting to be interrogated any further, Shi Ye hurried out of the room. He never knew that in all his life working for Tingxiao that he'd actually be more intimidated by two women rather than all the other businessmen he had dealt with in the past. "I deserve a raise," he murmured dejectedly, shaking his head. "This isn't even part of my job description." Somehow, he could find himself relating to Gu Zhiyan's predicament. The man's threat sounded clearer by the second.

"Why don't you sit down first?" Moo Nuannuan suggested, patting the chair beside her. "We'll go out for dinner later."

Nodding, Shen Liang sat down, getting a closer look of Mu Jiachen.

Having worked in the entertainment industry for a few years, she had seen countless handsome men and beautiful women flocking around her. To have a pretty face wasn't as unique anymore, especially after working in such an industry, but even she couldn't help but be surprised upon seeing his face structure. "Holy shit," she muttered. "Is the Mu family's genes really that good? Is he even real? He looks handsome! And he isn't even wearing any make-up! The guy's hot!"

As she was speaking, she slowly reached out to pinch his cheek, wanting to see if he was wearing a mask to cover up any imperfection.

However, her hand was only half-way there when the man on the bed opened his eyes.

A hint of confusion briefly appeared in his ink-blank eyes, but after a second or two, it was slowly replaced by malice and anger. The man didn't even need to speak as their surroundings dropped a few degrees. His shoulders tightened, and his scowl looked ever-present as he stared at the half-stretched hand moving towards him.

Shen Liang was usually a tough woman, not so easily intimidated by any man who walked the street. But there was something about the way he gazed at her that made her tremble under his line of sight. Withdrawing her hand, she swallowed. "I...You're awake," she managed to say with great difficulty, feeling as if she was choking on her words.

"What are you doing?" Moo Nuannuan snapped, reaching out to block his death stare. "She's my friend. You shouldn't look at her like that!"

Snapping out of his reverie, the tension on his face eased up a bit, and the coldness in his eyes slowly faded. "Water," he said hoarsely, sounding like a man who had gone for weeks without having a bottle by his side.

She motioned to his hand that was still on her wrists. "Then you have to let go of me first."

There was a brief silence before he followed.

Moo Nuannuan was about to head out to grab him a glass of water when she heard some yelling at the other end of the room. It was later followed by a loud clap.

"Sick?" A familiar voice sounded, snorting. "If he's really sick, then you'd let me in! Let me see if the man's already dead!"

"Young Master is really sick."

That was Shi Ye.

Before she could see what all the commotion was about, the door was immediately pushed open and two men marched inside.

They were Gu Zhiyan and Shi Ye. While the former looked determined and even angry by the predicament, the latter looked a bit more panicked by the man's sudden intrusion. They looked like they were arguing about something, but she didn't know what.

Seeing that Moo Nuannuan was here, Gu Zhiyan blinked in surprise. He calmly took out his glasses and placed them on the bridge of his nose. All sorts of frustration faded from his features as he turned to her indifferently. "Mrs. Mu," he greeted softly, like the last time he had seen her back at the restaurant. "You're here too."

"I...Yes."

His expression really changed fast.

"I heard Jiachen was sick," he said easily. "That's why I came to–"

"Gu Zhiyan!"

Moo Nuannuan turned around to see Shen Liang rolling up her sleeves. Her friend didn't even send a look her way as she stomped towards the CEO of Shengding Media. She looked like a woman on a mission. "Oh, you're going to get it," she snarled, curling her fingers and punching him on the stomach.

He stumbled a few steps back from the sudden punch, even Moo Nuannuan couldn't help but wince at the sight. However, instead of groaning out in pain and falling to the floor, his face was still emotionless and his jaw was taut. The man didn't even bat an eyelid, looking as if he was already immune to her hits.

What the hell was going on?

After a few seconds of silence, Gu Zhiyan finally steadied himself, chuckling. "You hit me so hard that I thought you've actually crippled me," he said lowly. There was a playful tinge in his tone as he stared up at her. "Liang, tell me, if you've actually injured me, will you be taking the responsibility to care for me?"

"I said I'd hit you every time I saw you, didn't I?" She gazed at him, unmoved by his jokes.

Having known each other for years, Moo Nuannuan knew her friend from front to back, and she knew how she acted out every time someone had pissed her off. But this was the first time she had ever seen Shen Liang so violent. Upon closer look, she could even see hatred shining in the woman's eyes.

"I'm not in the mood for this." Shen Liang scowled, glancing at Nuannuan. "I'll wait for you outside."

She nodded in response.

As soon as Shen Liang left, Gu Zhiyan acted as if nothing unusual had just happened. Instead, he sat on Mu Tingxiao's bedside, taking in the man's sunken eyes and pale face. "So you really are sick," he noted to himself, analyzing his every move. "You're not just faking it, are you?"

Mu Tingxiao had originally stated that he was heading to the company today, so when Shi Ye had informed him that his boss was sick, he had a feeling that they were just faking it. Not wanting to face those directors on his own, Gu Zhiyan stomped into the villa to see what all the fuss was about. However, as he was staring at the bedridden man, it seemed that they really weren't lying to him.

"Stay away from me." Mu Tingxiao shot him a scowl, not bothering to hide his dislike.

He then stared at Moo Nuannuan in silence.

She understood what he meant. "Let Shi Ye get you some water, if you want."

Moo Nuannuan couldn't help but be a little worried for her friend who had just stomped out of the room, so she immediately went out to check on her as soon as she was finished speaking. Within a few seconds, the three men were the only ones left in the room. If it was even possible, the tension brewed even more between the three of them.

"Get out." Mu Tingxiao shot his assistant a cold look.

"I'll get you some water right away."

"I don't want any water."

"But..." As soon as he saw the look on his boss's face, Shi Ye didn't even continue his sentence as he headed out of the room. Once the man was out of sight, he rubbed his forehead. "Young Master is getting weirder and weirder these days." At this point, with all the stress and lies eating him up, he'd be an old man as soon as the next month arrived.

"Hey," Moo Nuannuan called out, quickly catching up with Shen Liang. "Do you and Gu Zhiyan know each other?"

"Yeah." She scowled. "The ass owes me. Even if I beat him to death, he wouldn't even lift a finger."

It was obvious that she held a deep grudge against him.

Seeing as Shen Liang didn't say anything more, she decided not to probe any further, burying the topic into the ground. The fact that she was also invited to go on a job interview with Shengding Media was also buried under the rug, as she didn't want to anger her. "Come on, let's go," she said instead, pulling her friend out the door.

The two of them went out to eat together at a nearby restaurant, but just as the dishes were about to be served, Moo Nuannuan received a call.

"Hello?"

"When are you coming back?" Mu Jiachen's voice was frail and weak, but it was still very recognizable.

She tilted her head. "Is something wrong?"

"I haven't eaten yet."

"Then you can let the doctor give you an IV drip, I'll–"

"I'll only eat the food you've cooked," he interrupted.

The voice he was using was actually a stark contrast from the way he'd arrogantly address her in the past. Wincing at his words, she couldn't help but shift on her seat uncomfortably. There was just something about the way he had spoken to her that made her heart soften in response.

Not knowing how to respond, she hung up the phone.

Although Shen Liang didn't hear what was happening on the other end, she caught the gist of it.

"Let me guess, the handsome cousin called you?" She swirled her juice, smiling meaningfully.