Tap, tap, tap.
He Mu stepped out of the elevator on the basement level. To the left was the morgue; to the right, the underground parking lot.
Walking toward the morgue, she could hear Chen Jing and He Fendou’s voices from a distance.
Chen Jing grumbled, “What’s wrong with your son? Why hasn’t he handled the discharge yet? This creepy place gives me goosebumps—I don’t want to stay a minute longer.”
He Fendou replied, “How should I know? You think I want to be here either? If we don’t settle the bill, we can’t use the hearse. I’m certainly not using my luxury car to haul a body back.”
Chen Jing retorted, “Even if you wanted to, I wouldn’t allow it. A 500,000-yuan car carrying a dead person—how could I ever ride in it again?”
He Mu’s face darkened. If Grandma wasn’t already dead, these two would probably drive her back to life with anger.
Tap, tap, tap.
As she drew closer, their voices fell silent. Rounding the corner of the corridor, the view opened up, and she arrived at the entrance of the morgue.
He Fendou and Chen Jing were glaring, their eyes wide with vigilance, fixed on the approaching figure. When they saw it was He Mu, their expressions twisted with fury.
Chen Jing stormed toward He Mu, shouting, “So it’s you, you little brat! Playing tricks and pretending to be a ghost—do you want to die too?”
It wasn’t that she was pretending to be a ghost; it was that they had ghosts in their hearts—guilty consciences.
Chen Jing closed in on He Mu and swung a heavy slap at her, putting all her strength into it, just as she had done in the past.
After giving birth, Chen Jing had handed the one-month-old He Mu over to Grandma and only returned once a year after that, sometimes skipping several years altogether. She always claimed that the employers she worked for hosted guests during holidays, so they couldn’t get away—they had to work.
From the time He Mu could remember, every encounter with Chen Jing and He Fendou meant either beatings or scoldings, even when she had done nothing wrong.
Back then, He Mu didn’t understand why her parents disliked her.
Now, she understood—it was because her very existence was unwelcome.
This time, Chen Jing’s slap didn’t land on He Mu’s face. Not because Chen Jing had a change of heart, but because He Mu had learned to fight back.
He Mu grabbed Chen Jing’s wrist, shoved it away, and quickly retreated a few steps, only to find her escape blocked by someone behind her.
It was He Fendou.
As the saying goes, “birds of a feather flock together”—He Fendou and Chen Jing were cut from the same cloth.
Smack!
He Mu couldn’t dodge in time and took a heavy blow to the face. Her cheek burned fiercely, and she stumbled sideways, trying to avoid being trapped between them.
He Fendou’s striking hand recoiled along the arc of his arm, his palm trembling slightly.
Damn it, this little brat’s face was so hard—and it felt scalding hot, as if it would burn him!
Meanwhile.
Su Mu knocked on the door of the dean’s office, carrying gifts in hand.
A portly middle-aged man in his forties opened the door. The moment they faced each other, Su Mu paused slightly in surprise.
The man was Xu Peilin, the next successor to the dean’s position.
Xu Peilin smiled warmly, his tone friendly. “You must be Young Master Su. The dean asked me to greet you first—he’ll be here shortly.”
Xu Peilin invited Su Mu inside and introduced himself, “I’m the dean’s apprentice, Xu Peilin.”
Su Mu walked in, his mind quickly working to match the person with the name. After taking a few steps, he placed the gift on the desk and then put on a smile. “Ah, it’s Vice Dean Xu. I’ve long heard of your reputation. Uncle Lin has mentioned you several times before. You truly are a powerhouse—capable of commanding professional settings while also coordinating the affairs of the entire hospital. It’s truly admirable.”
Xu Peilin’s smile deepened as he handed Su Mu a cup of tea. “You flatter me, you flatter me. Please, have a seat. Young Master Su is the true rising star among the youth. Just the other day, I saw your featured interview on the finance channel.”
The two sat on the sofa, exchanging compliments and chatting amiably.
Soon, a silver-haired middle-aged man pushed the door open and entered.
Su Mu immediately stood up to greet him, respectfully saying, “Uncle Lin.”
Xu Peilin also rose, naturally taking the document folder from Lin Dongshun’s hands and neatly placing it on the office desk.
Lin Dongshun laughed heartily. “You haven’t come to see me in a long time, kid. I hold grudges, you know.”
Su Mu smiled apologetically. “Uncle Lin, I’ve been managing a subsidiary company for the past two years. I’ve had to learn everything from scratch and have been swamped with work. I wanted to achieve something to show my dad, or else I wouldn’t have had the face to come see you. Otherwise, my dad would keep saying he should have listened to you back then and sent me to study medicine.”
Su Mu helped Lin Dongshun sit down and continued, “Even though you said I had the makings of a doctor, I really couldn’t muster any interest. I even faint at the sight of needles and blood.”
Lin Dongshun sniffed the air, wrinkling his nose. “Working yourself sick? Why do you smell like this?”
Xu Peilin had also noticed the smell earlier, but it wasn’t something he could bring up easily, as it might cause offense.
Su Mu didn’t seem embarrassed. “Haven’t bathed in a day. Been rolling around in the mountains, so it’s hard to avoid smelling a bit.”
Lin Dongshun let out an “Oh.” “So you came to see this old man for something, and it’s urgent?”
The upbringing of someone from a prestigious family wouldn’t allow them to meet an elder looking disheveled and smelling like this unless the matter was urgent.
Su Mu nodded, his eyes glancing at Xu Peilin again.
Lin Dongshun laughed heartily. “Kid, you didn’t get someone pregnant and come to me for help because you’re afraid your dad will get angry, did you?”
As he spoke, Lin Dongshun looked at Xu Peilin. “Xiao Xu, why don’t you step out for now? The kid’s getting shy.”
Xu Peilin nodded. “Of course, Professor.”
He then bid farewell to Su Mu. “Young Master Su, it was a pleasure meeting you. Let’s get together sometime.”
Su Mu smiled. “I’ll treat you to a meal then.”
After Xu Peilin left, Su Mu pulled out a blood-stained handkerchief wrapped in a white plastic bag from his pocket. “Uncle Lin, I remember you were interested in the Yuanmou Man site recently, so I brought you a special gift.”
Lin Dongshun looked at the plastic bag, puzzled by Su Mu’s actions.
Su Mu said, “This is the blood of Yuanmou Man.”
Lin Dongshun didn’t believe him. “What kind of trick are you playing, kid? Don’t try to fool this old man.”
Su Mu opened his phone. “Uncle Lin, let me show you a video.”
It was footage Su Mu had taken in the primitive society—the primeval forest, Yuanmou Man, and even videos of He Mu and Lu Shiyan fighting a wild boar.
Lin Dongshun had watched Su Mu grow up and knew his character, but this was simply too absurd.
Su Mu said, “Uncle Lin, I know it’s hard to believe without experiencing it firsthand. You can take this handkerchief to the lab for testing and research first.”
Lin Dongshun still didn’t believe him, even with the video as evidence.
But he still instructed his trusted subordinate to take it to the laboratory for testing, only giving orders without explaining the reason.
He didn’t even mention this to Xu Peilin—if it turned out to be a false alarm, it would be embarrassing.
Su Mu added, “Uncle Lin, the grandmother of a little friend of mine is hospitalized here. I’ll cover all her medical expenses, and please arrange the best medical team to treat her.”
This was also the second reason Su Mu had come to find Lin Dongshun—he wanted to do He Mu a favor.
Lin Dongshun caught a whiff of gossip. “A little friend? What kind of friend? A girlfriend, right?”
Su Mu chuckled. “Not a girlfriend—she’s my sister’s best friend.”