She quickly turned her head away and regained her composure before sternly relaying Ruan Jingsheng’s words to the foreigners present.
Upon hearing what she said, their faces visibly turned blue with rage.
Feeling as though she had won a great victory, Mu Zhaozhao flashed a triumphant smile and walked away.
Walking alongside Ruan Jingsheng, Shan Chengming praised admiringly, “Jingsheng, I think Mu Zhaozhao really is a woman who rivals any man. She’s not only gorgeous, but also incredibly capable! Do you think there’s any chance between the two of us?”
He couldn’t help but indulge in his fantasy.
Hearing this, Ruan Jingsheng scoffed coldly, “Zero chance!”
Dissatisfied, Shan Chengming grumbled, “Jingsheng, with an attitude like that, if I didn’t know you were trying to find that ugly woman from that night to take responsibility for her, I’d think you had a crush on Mu Zhaozhao too.”
“What ‘ugly woman’? Don’t talk nonsense!” Ruan Jingsheng scolded unhappily.
Although he didn’t know what the woman from that night looked like, he couldn’t stand by and let others slander her.
“Well, it’s true! If she wasn’t ugly, why would she run away immediately after what happened between you two?” Shan Chengming analyzed in dead earnestness. “If I were her and met a top-tier man like you, I’d be clinging to your thigh for dear life! How could I bear to hide away?”
Ruan Jingsheng retorted, “If you were her, I definitely wouldn’t take responsibility!”
Then, resuming a serious tone, he instructed, “Jokes aside, you still need to try every means possible to help me find the woman from that night.”
He simply couldn’t let go of that stain of dark red. If a young woman lost her purity, her life going forward would surely be exceedingly difficult.
Patting his chest, Shan Chengming guaranteed, “Rest assured, Jingsheng. Even if I have to dig three feet into the earth, I’ll find that woman for you—and then she’ll be entirely at your mercy!”
With that, the two continued walking toward their train car.
Having just caught up, Mu Zhaozhao happened to overhear Shan Chengming’s last sentence.
So Ruan Jingsheng already holds a grudge against me? I took his purity out of pure self-preservation that night—is he looking to settle the score with me now?
Just moments ago, she had thought about whether their relationship might develop further. Looking at the situation now, she figured she had better forget it. Under no circumstances could she ever reveal that she was the one who had snuck into his room that night.
After another night, the train finally pulled into Shanghai Station.
Just before getting off, Shan Chengming wanted to ask Mu Zhaozhao where her home was.
However, when he poked his head down from the upper bunk, he found that the lower bunk was already empty.
He asked Ruan Jingsheng, “Jingsheng, did you see when Mu Zhaozhao left?”
Ruan Jingsheng shook his head.
Shan Chengming muttered, “I still wanted to ask where her house is. Where am I supposed to find her in the future?”
“Stop dreaming. You two won’t have the chance to meet again anyway. Hurry up and pack your things; we’re going straight to visit Senior Yuan!” Ruan Jingsheng said impatiently.
Shan Chengming pulled a face at Ruan Jingsheng’s back in annoyance.
Mu Zhaozhao had gotten off the train alone without saying goodbye.
It’s best to keep my distance from Ruan Jingsheng from now on. Let what happened that night remain a secret buried forever.
Relying on the original owner’s memories, she walked straight to the entrance of the Mu family’s ancestral courtyard in Shanghai. Standing outside, hearing the laughter and joy echoing from within, a sharp pang shot through her heart.
This was likely the original owner’s residual emotions—wanting her to feel the pain firsthand and avenge her.
Mu Zhaozhao kicked the main gate open with force and strode straight into the main hall.
Before her eyes sat Mu Shangyu’s family of three, alongside three strangers who also appeared to be a family of three. All six were in the middle of a meal.
Hearing the loud crash, they turned toward the entrance in unison, their smiles freezing instantly on their faces.
“Mu Zhaozhao? Why are you back?!” Qi Ruobing was the first to snap back to reality, demanding loudly.
“Aunt, this is my home. Can’t I come back? Or… were you really hoping I wouldn’t?” Mu Zhaozhao blinked a couple of times, playing innocent.
Now was not the time to completely fall out with them just yet.
Realizing she had overreacted, Qi Ruobing quickly put on a loving, affectionate smile. “No, of course not! How could I not want you back? It’s just that you went to Changxing Island to join the military family, yet didn’t send a single letter. Your sudden return just caught me by surprise, that’s all.”
“But Zhaozhao, why are you calling me ‘Aunt’?” she added upon realizing her choice of words.
Ever since Mu Zhaozhao’s biological parents passed away, the couple had taken her in and changed how she addressed them, making her call them “Father” and “Mother” in front of outsiders to show how close they were and how well they raised her.
Mu Zhaozhao let out a sigh. “Aunt, I wouldn’t dare call you ‘Mom’ ever again. My birth parents appeared in my dream and said I’ve been treating enemies as my parents all these years. They were heartbroken. They said if I call you Mom and Dad again, they’ll skin you alive and eat you raw when you eventually come down to the underworld!”
Hearing this, Qi Ruobing couldn’t help but shudder. She let out a forced laugh, “Haha… this child sure knows how to joke. Heartbroken enough to skin us alive… haha… Besides, how could there be an ‘enemy’ in our family?”
“Enough! Now that you’re back, come sit and eat!” Mu Shangyu interjected with a gloomy face, changing the subject in front of the guests.
Both of them had a sneaking suspicion that after this trip, Mu Zhaozhao had returned a changed, disobedient person.
Putting on a tearful, aggrieved expression, Mu Zhaozhao slumped down into a seat at the dining table. She grabbed an untouched, whole roasted chicken and took a direct bite out of it.
“Don’t mind me, everyone,” she grumbled aggrievedly. “I really am starving to death. During my dozen days on Changxing Island, Aunt didn’t give me a single cent. I almost starved out there on the streets.”
She was deliberately taking advantage of the outsiders’ presence to solidify the fact that Qi Ruobing mistreated her.
Pretending to wipe away tears, she then asked, “Uncle, who are these people? Why are they in my home?”
Mu Yunxing looked down on Mu Zhaozhao with disgust as she ate the roasted chicken with oil all over her mouth, answering perfunctorily, “This is Factory Director Song from the textile mill, his wife Wang Ailing, and their son, Song Zhoubai.”
“Oh! So it’s Cousin’s matchmaking date? Did I come back at a bad time? Am I intruding?” Mu Zhaozhao looked at everyone with a face full of innocence.
It was obvious at a glance that this was a blind date setting.
Wang Ailing said amiably, “Of course you’re not intruding! Just a moment ago, I was asking where you were. Hearing that you went to join the military and married a wonderful husband, I was genuinely happy for you.”
Wang Ailing and Mu Zhaozhao’s mother, Ni Yan, used to be classmates. In the blink of an eye, Ni Yan had been gone for over ten years; stepping into the Mu family’s ancestral home again naturally brought back memories of their past.
“Thank you for thinking of me, Auntie Wang. I did go to join the military, but he isn’t a wonderful husband at all—he’s a complete scumbag!” Mu Zhaozhao said with righteous indignation.
“What do you mean? Just now, Ruobing mentioned that he was a deputy battalion commander, handsome and talented, a perfect match for you!” Wang Ailing asked out of concern.
Seeing the direction of the conversation, Qi Ruobing rushed to cut in, “Zhaozhao, did Yue Xianzhi bully you with his male chauvinism? Don’t be afraid, tell Mother! I’ll teach him a lesson for you.”
She hadn’t quite adjusted her phrasing yet. In front of guests, she couldn’t afford to leave any grounds for people to say her family mistreated Mu Zhaozhao.
After all, everyone of status in Shanghai knew that Mu Shangyu was merely an adopted son of the Mu family. Strictly speaking, Mu Zhaozhao was the true, rightful heir to the Mu estate.
“Aunt, when I arrived at the military compound, I actually saw Yue Xianzhi living together with another woman! On top of that, he even told me that you knew all along he loved someone else. You two agreed to give him a thousand yuan to fake a marriage with me just to deceive me!”