The curtains were tightly drawn, and the room was dim.
Lin Yumo’s sharp ears caught a faint gasp.
Painful and restrained.
Mu Chen’an switched on the light. The bed was a mess, but no one was in it. He couldn’t help asking, “Where is he?”
He was just here a moment ago.
For some reason, Lin Yumo’s heart sank.
She hurried around to the other side of the bed.
Sure enough, a tall man was sprawled on the floor.
His short hair was disheveled, damp with cold sweat and clinging to his temples in strands. Large beads of sweat kept rolling down his jaw. His usually handsome, stern features were twisted with pain.
His brows were drawn tight, his thin lips pressed together until they blanched, and even his breathing came in shudders, suppressed to the extreme.
“Let me help you up.”
Lin Yumo crouched down, reaching out to lend him a hand.
“…Don’t touch me!”
His voice was hoarse and rasping.
Mu Chen’an laughed. “Big Brother, honestly. You’re paralyzed and still can’t behave yourself. How did you manage to fall out of bed?”
As his younger brother, he showed no concern for Mu Linhan’s condition. Instead, he stood by and made snide remarks.
Mu Linhan didn’t respond.
He raised a hand and clutched the edge of the bed, trying to use the strength in his arms to pull himself back onto it.
But at nearly six foot three, his towering frame had become his heaviest burden. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t lift his battered body.
The corners of his eyes were faintly red. In his ink-black eyes, humiliation and resentment surged.
Perhaps he had finally accepted that he couldn’t get up. Only then did Mu Linhan turn to look at Lin Yumo.
“Who are you?” he asked expressionlessly.
Lin Yumo’s throat tightened. In this life, she had come to see Mu Linhan early, before he knew who she was.
“My name is Lin Yumo. I’m your fiancée.”
At that, Mu Linhan let out a cold laugh.
“…Fiancée?”
He was a cripple now. Who would truly be willing to marry him?
What woman in the world would want to spend her whole life a widow in all but name, acting as a nurse? What did she stand to gain by marrying him?
Lin Yumo had come with Mu Chen’an.
So she belonged to Gu Xinyue.
They all wanted to see him humiliated, didn’t they?
Mu Linhan fought to suppress the fury in his eyes.
She was probably his fiancée in name only, sent to spy on him in reality. They simply wanted to plant someone by his side under the pretext of marriage.
By now, he had already lost everything.
Why go to all that trouble?
Seeing his self-mocking smile, Lin Yumo felt a hard-to-describe ache well up inside her.
The first time they had met in her previous life, Mu Linhan had already endured the most grueling period on his own. He had been sitting in a wheelchair, his expression flat and unmoving from beginning to end, like a lifeless statue.
He hadn’t said a word about their marriage.
During their three years of marriage, Mu Linhan had never shown any emotional fluctuation in front of Lin Yumo. The most he ever did was frown.
So to Lin Yumo, Mu Linhan at this point in time was a stranger—and yet vividly alive.
“Big Brother, your fiancée is so beautiful. You should be happy. You may have lost your healthy body, but at least you’ve gained a young wife.”
Mu Chen’an’s gaze swept over Mu Linhan’s lower body, his voice full of gloating.
Being paralyzed from the waist down meant Mu Linhan would never be a real man again. He had no interest in women, either. If Mu Chen’an’s guess was right, he was still a virgin.
Tsk, tsk…
If a man had never even tasted a woman, wouldn’t his whole life have been wasted?
How pitiful.
Mu Linhan finally looked at Mu Chen’an.
“If you like her, why don’t you marry her yourself?”
At that, Lin Yumo abruptly looked up.
Was he… rejecting her?
“You can’t say that. Sister-in-law would be hurt. Besides, I’m not as fortunate as you are, Big Brother.”
Mu Linhan gave a cold laugh.
“Want this good fortune for yourself?”
Mu Chen’an laughed, too. “I couldn’t handle it.”
He strolled over to Mu Linhan, his hands in his pockets.
“Speaking of which, Dad went to the company today. Do you know why?”
Mu Linhan said nothing.
“You’re disabled now, and all the shareholders are demanding that you be removed as CEO. Dad’s speaking up for you to those old fossils on the board… Honestly, what a mess. Dad’s health isn’t good. What if arguing makes him ill? If you ask me, better to write your resignation letter yourself than wait to be dismissed. At least you can save what’s left of your dignity.”
Mu Linhan clenched his fists, the veins standing out on the backs of his hands.
He had poured his heart and soul into Mu Group, only to end up with this cruel result.
Businessmen cared only about profit. It was only a matter of time before he resigned; a group that large couldn’t leave the CEO position vacant forever.
All of the Mu family’s shares were in his father’s hands. Even though he held 60 percent, major decisions still required consideration of the other shareholders’ opinions.
Mu Chen’an was telling him all this simply to remind him not to cling to a position he could no longer fill.
Mu Linhan said, “The group’s affairs aren’t yours to worry about. When you’re capable of getting into the company, then you can come say this to me. Until then, get out.”
Mu Chen’an’s expression changed instantly.
He had tried many times to join Mu Group’s senior management, but his father had turned him down because he lacked the ability.
Mu Linhan’s words struck him right in the sore spot.
“Hmph. Just you wait… It’s only a matter of time.”
With that, Mu Chen’an gave a mocking smile and left the room.
Lin Yumo and Mu Linhan were left facing each other in silence.
“Let me help you onto the bed,” Lin Yumo urged softly. “You’ll catch a chill lying on the floor. Don’t mistreat your body.”
“No. I don’t like other people touching me.”
Mu Linhan’s manner was cold, and his whole body radiated an unapproachable air.
“How much did they pay you?”
“…What?”
Lin Yumo froze for a moment.
Then she understood.
“You think I’m one of them?”
Mu Linhan stared at her, his deep black eyes full of suspicion and wariness.
“Are you not?”
Lin Yumo fell silent.
After a long pause, she didn’t deny it.
Since Mu Linhan had already made up his mind, he wouldn’t believe her whether she said yes or no.
The more she said, the more suspicious she would seem.
The truth would speak for itself. There was no need to get caught up in proving her innocence.
Lin Yumo answered calmly, “One million.”
“One million?”
Mu Linhan’s brows furrowed, confusion in his eyes.
One million was a mere drop in the ocean to the Mu family. A random ornament in the Mu family manor would be worth more than that.
What could she possibly want for a mere one million?
Lin Yumo asked, “What’s wrong?”
He then instructed her, “There’s a box in the bedside table. Take it out for me.”
Though puzzled, she did as he asked.
He opened the box and took out a checkbook. Holding a fountain pen in his long fingers, he wrote something in bold, sweeping strokes, each one firm and forceful.
“I’ll pay you ten times that. Leave the Mu family.”
Mu Linhan tore off the check and held it out to her.
Lin Yumo stared at it, momentarily stunned.
When she said nothing, he asked coolly, “What, not enough?”