The midsummer sunlight was somewhat scorching, and the sound of cicadas rose and fell in waves.
Mu Jing stood under the sun for a while, and soon her head began to feel slightly dizzy.
She returned to the car with the air conditioner running. After thinking for a moment, she took out a can of chilled mineral water from the car refrigerator and held it in her hand.
It did not take long before Xu Ge finished moving the things. He quickly opened the car door and sat inside.
“What do you want to say?” he asked directly.
“Have some water first.” Mu Jing handed him the slightly cool bottle of mineral water in her hand. “About what happened that day, I apologize to you.”
Xu Ge originally intended to refuse the bottle, but before the words left his mouth he heard the second half of Mu Jing’s sentence, and his refusal was swallowed back.
He took the bottle and held it in his scorching palm.
Since he did not understand why she had come to do this two days later, he remained silent.
Mu Jing continued, “My health isn’t very good. After you all left that day, I fainted. At that time… at that time I was very angry when I heard about the engagement. I’m sorry, it was just too sudden.”
“I said some excessive things then. I’m really sorry.”
She should thank this body’s father. He had been the main one attacking the male protagonist that day, while Mu Jing had only echoed a few remarks.
“I was unconscious for two days. After waking up today, I felt that my attitude that day was really too much.”
Her voice was gentle and soft, making it easy for people to feel goodwill toward her.
Both Xu Ge and she had only just graduated from high school. They were not particularly experienced, and accordingly their hearts were somewhat softer.
Xu Ge squeezed the bottle of mineral water in his hand, his attitude still cold and stiff.
“Are you done? I still have work to do.”
“I know about your grandfather being in the hospital, and I also know that you urgently need money.”
Mu Jing met his suddenly sharp gaze.
“Grandfather was probably stimulated by the broken engagement that day. We bear some responsibility for that. I want to apologize to him in person and also cover his medical expenses.”
Xu Ge did not believe she could go that far. Two days ago this young lady had looked arrogant and disdainful toward them. There was no reason for her to suddenly seem like a completely different person today.
It was impossible for her to have been replaced, so that meant she must want something from him.
“Young Lady Mu doesn’t need to beat around the bush with me. If there’s something, just say it.”
“…Alright.” Mu Jing sighed. “I asked my father about the engagement. Back then your mother and my mom were very good friends, and before we turned three we even played together.”
She took out a slightly faded photograph from her wallet. “I found this photo at home.”
Xu Ge took the photo and looked at it. In the picture were two small children sleeping head to head, while on both sides of the photo there were two hands making peace signs.
It looked warm and happy, but in reality the owners of those two hands had already passed away.
Thinking of his mother, Xu Ge’s expression softened a little.
Mu Jing continued, “The marriage was arranged by our mothers. Even if the engagement between us has now been canceled, I think we could still be friends. I don’t want my mother to be disappointed when she looks down from heaven.”
Xu Ge remained silent, staring intently at the photo.
Mu Jing secretly sighed that the protagonist was difficult to deal with.
“If you really don’t want to, then just treat the money I give Grandfather as a loan to you. You can pay me back in the future. Right now, the most important thing is Grandfather, isn’t it?”
Xu Ge finally lifted his gaze and handed the photo back to her.
“Thank you. I’ll pay you back in the future.”
Finally…
Mu Jing let out a barely noticeable sigh of relief.
“Then are you still doing this part-time job? When will you be free to take me to see Grandfather?”
A faint trace of strangeness finally appeared in Xu Ge’s eyes. He raised his hand, opened the car door, and left two words behind.
“Wait here.”
He went to ask for leave. Afterward, he would still have to continue this part-time job. Although The Federation University had already waived many of his fees, it was only minor relief. He still had to earn his tuition and living expenses himself.
In the hospital, their outstanding appearances and the black-clad bodyguards following behind them attracted a lot of attention.
A nurse happened to be making rounds. When she saw Xu Ge arrive, she frowned.
“This won’t do. He’s here alone without anyone taking care of him. Even when the IV drip finished, it was the person in the next bed who noticed and pressed the call button.”
“I’m sorry, Nurse.” Xu Ge lowered his head. “How is my grandfather?”
“The current condition isn’t very good…” The head nurse shook her head and explained the situation to Xu Ge in detail.
Mu Jing listened from the side. After the head nurse finished speaking, she finally asked, “Nurse, no matter how much it costs, please use the best medicine and the best treatment methods. Whatever cooperation you need from us, we will definitely cooperate.”
Both the head nurse and Xu Ge looked at her at the same time.
The head nurse sized her up and teased Xu Ge, “Your girlfriend? She’s very pretty.”
Xu Ge pressed his lips together. “…No.”
“Hehe, young people. But you really should pay the fees now. Come with me to the nurse station to make the payment.” The head nurse still had many things to attend to.
Mu Jing gave a signal to the bodyguard, while she herself followed Xu Ge into the ward.
The ward had three beds, but only two were occupied. A middle-aged woman who was accompanying a patient was peeling an apple and glanced at them curiously.
Xu Ge’s grandfather was awake. When he saw Mu Jing, his breathing immediately became more rapid.
Xu Ge quickly stepped forward to calm him.
“Grandfather, don’t get agitated. She came to apologize.”
With an apologetic expression, Mu Jing repeated what she had said to Xu Ge, and finally bowed sincerely.
Xu Ge was somewhat surprised. He had thought that with outsiders here, Mu Jing would worry about saving face and gloss over it.
But she spoke very sincerely, not caring at all about the curious looks from the neighboring bed.
Xu Ge frowned slightly and reached out to pull the curtain, blocking the gaze from the opposite side.
After a moment of silence, Grandfather said to Xu Ge, “Xiao Ge, go outside first. I want to talk with her alone for a while.”
Soon, Mu Jing heard the old man’s request.
“Young Lady Mu, actually I’m not Xu Ge’s real grandfather. I am Xu Ge’s butler. Back then the Xu family moved to live with the Mu family, and Madam continued to keep in contact with your mother.”
“Later, the master’s supernatural ability laboratory was sealed off. Only the young master and I returned to the Federation… Madam said we could seek help from the Mu family, but for certain reasons at the time, we didn’t want to implicate you.”
“And after that, things became what you’ve seen. I have a feeling that I will die very soon… The young master is stubborn by nature. It’s truly worrying to leave him alone. I hope that for the sake of the two madams, you can help me take care of the young master.”
Mu Jing held his hand and nodded in agreement.
“Alright, I promise you. But please don’t give up either. We’ll use the best doctors to—”
“No need, no need, Young Lady. I know my own body very well…” the butler-grandfather shook his head. “There aren’t many days left. Nothing can save me now.”
Mu Jing knew very well what was happening with the old man’s body.
Back then, the head of the Xu family had been the owner and a scientist of a supernatural ability laboratory. He had almost completely lost his rationality as a human and had turned everyone in his own family into part of his experiments.