Mu Ci was shaken by his words, feeling dazed the entire way.
The car arrived at Renhai Hospital.
In the outpatient room, Fan Yixing was pondering Mu Ci’s situation.
He thought to himself, if she’s marrying for the sake of the child, it’s fine if the man is handsome, but if he’s ugly, it’d be better to persuade her to abort the child.
The door was pushed open from outside, and Mu Ci and Qin Yan walked in.
Fan Yixing immediately straightened up, his eyes instantly glued to Qin Yan, unable to tear away.
“Ahem…”
Mu Ci cleared her throat, stepping forward to block Fan Yixing’s line of sight, warning him in a voice only the two of them could hear:
“Get your eyes under control, he’s your brother-in-law, you can’t go after him.”
Fan Yixing slurped back his drool, regaining his composure, and flashed a bright, handsome smile: “First time meeting you, hello, brother-in-law.”
As he spoke, he extended his hand.
Out of courtesy, Qin Yan naturally had to shake it, but before his hand could reach out, Mu Ci intercepted it midway.
“Your brother-in-law has mysophobia and doesn’t like shaking hands.”
Qin Yan: “?”
Fan Yixing awkwardly withdrew his hand: “Understood, understood. Handsome people all have mysophobia, that’s how it’s written in novels.”
Mu Ci pulled Qin Yan to sit in another chair, positioning herself closer to Fan Yixing.
Determined not to give her lecherous younger brother any chance to misbehave.
Fan Yixing went through the routine questions, wrote out a slip, and asked Qin Yan to go out and pay the fee.
As soon as he left, Fan Yixing immediately protested: “Sis, you’re too stingy! We’re both men, what’s wrong with me taking a few extra looks?”
“Is that just looking?”
Mu Ci exposed him: “Your eyes were practically undressing him from a distance. If I weren’t here, you’d have already taken your pants off!”
Fan Yixing chuckled: “No one knows a brother like his sister.”
Mu Ci rolled up a medical record into a tube and tapped it on his head: “I’m warning you, he’s your brother-in-law. Don’t even think about making a move on him!”
“Tsk tsk tsk…” Fan Yixing teased her: “Only married a few days, and you’re already so protective.”
Mu Ci couldn’t be bothered to respond, giving him a disdainful look.
Outside the door.
After paying the fee, Qin Yan returned and overheard the siblings’ conversation. His hand paused on the door handle, and he turned to lean against the wall, not going in.
Fan Yixing dragged his chair closer to Mu Ci, bursting with curiosity: “Sis, tell me about it!”
“Tell you what?”
“Is brother-in-law amazing in bed? Big and strong?”
Mu Ci nearly choked on her own saliva.
“Fan Yixing, can you stop filling your head with dirty thoughts? Do you even deserve that white coat you’re wearing?”
Fan Yixing straightened up: “Then let me ask another way. Is your sexual intercourse harmonious?”
Mu Ci was truly exasperated. If he weren’t her younger brother, she’d have slapped him twice by now.
Unable to shake him off, Mu Ci took a lollipop from her bag and put it in her mouth: “It’s okay, I guess.”
“What do you mean ‘okay’? How okay is it?”
“Just okay. If he weren’t skilled, would I have mistaken him for a male prostitute?”
Fan Yixing narrowed his eyes, looking as if he understood, and asked again: “Sis, do you like brother-in-law?”
Hearing this, Qin Yan outside the door raised an eyebrow, curious about her answer.
“No.”
Mu Ci shook her head, hesitating for a few seconds before saying: “We’ve known each other for less than a week combined. Saying I like him would be too fake.”
She thought he felt the same way.
Love at first sight was too unrealistic and completely outside her realm of consideration.
“Then why did you get married?”
Fan Yixing asked, then immediately answered for her: “I know, you’re after his good looks and his impressive skills in bed.”
Mu Ci neither confirmed nor denied it, crunching the candy in her mouth as if silently agreeing.
Qin Yan leaned lightly against the wall, his brows furrowing slightly at the words before quickly smoothing out again.
So that’s what his little girl was thinking.
After his looks?
That was an objective assessment—he couldn’t do much about that.
After his skills in bed?
Well, that was an active effort.
Since his little girl was after that… he’d just have to make sure to maximize that particular strength.
Qin Yan’s work kept him busy, and he didn’t spend much time at Yulan Court each day.
Mu Ci didn’t mind much either.
The god of wealth had given her an unlimited black card, provided her with a nanny, bodyguards, and a driver, letting her live a heavenly life—she couldn’t ask for more.
Having money, freedom, and a husband who didn’t come home—wasn’t that her dream life?
Besides, she had her own interests and work too.
Speaking of work, Mu Ci realized she hadn’t contacted Qin Qiqi in over a week and wondered how she was adjusting to her job.
She dialed her number directly.
As soon as the call connected, Qin Qiqi unleashed a torrent of expletives rich in maternal references.
“Calm down first… what exactly has you so worked up?”
Mu Ci held the phone far from her ear, unable to help interrupting her.
After her outburst, Qin Qiqi took a deep breath. “It’s too complicated to explain in a sentence or two.”
“Then explain it in three or four sentences.”
“Forget it, forget it,” Qin Qiqi waved it off. “Even if you knew, it’d just upset you. Let’s not talk about it.”
Mu Ci had a feeling it involved her and sat up from the sofa. “I’m bored at home anyway. I’ll treat it as a walk—I’ll meet you at the café downstairs from the Qin Corporation.”
An hour later, at the café.
Qin Qiqi slammed a file onto the table with a thud and sat down with a scowl.
Mu Ci looked at her. “With the state you’re in, even a hundred thousand worth of skincare won’t fix it.”
Qin Qiqi took a gulp of the iced Americano on the table, the bitterness only fueling her anger further.
“I’m telling you, Shi Na is just plain crazy! Don’t ever let her fall into my hands, or I’ll make her regret it!”
Mu Ci was taken aback. “What does Shi Na have to do with your work?”
Qin Qiqi launched into another expletive-filled rant, explaining the recent events like a stand-up routine.
To toughen her up, Qin Qiqi’s parents had placed her in a mid-level position at the company, even threatening to take away her bar if she didn’t perform well.
The first project she was assigned was to liaise with an emerging design brand, and as luck would have it, the designer for that brand was none other than Shi Na.
Shi Na had always disliked Mu Ci, and since Qin Qiqi was close to Mu Ci, she made things difficult for her at every turn.
Mu Ci’s delicate brows furrowed as she listened. “So what do we do now? We can’t possibly go begging Shi Na, can we?”
“I’d rather lose the bar than beg her.”
After venting, Qin Qiqi calmed down a bit. “Actually, Shi Na is just a junior designer under the Xuan brand. The key is the lead designer above her.”
“Who’s the lead designer?”
“No idea. Not even sure if it’s a man or a woman.”
Qin Qiqi said gloomily, “No offense, but you artistic types really love being mysterious. That lead designer rarely shows up—you have to go through Shi Na to get in touch.”
Mu Ci took a sip of her orange juice. “So there’s no other way?”
Qin Qiqi thought for a moment. “There’s a T-brand fashion show tomorrow. I think the lead designer might attend. I want to try my luck there.”
“I’m going too.”
As the young lady Mu who never missed a fashion show or exhibition, Mu Ci was quite enthusiastic.
T brand was a famous domestic luxury label, and this fashion show was arranged with considerable extravagance.
Mu Ci wore a cloud-mist colored gown, the pale pink silk threads at the front slightly trembling open.
Her dark hair fell over her shoulders, her face adorned with just the right amount of delicate, subtle makeup that softened her radiant brilliance yet presented another kind of beauty that could make one utterly captivated.
Qin Qiqi kept clicking her tongue:
“That gigolo really hit the jackpot, earning such a great beauty like you with just one night’s labor. You should go check if his family’s ancestral grave is smoking.”
Mu Ci reminded her again: “He really isn’t a gigolo.”
She wondered what kind of expression Qin Qiqi would make if she knew that person was actually her uncle, hearing her call him a gigolo over and over.
She thought maybe she should just come clean with Qin Qiqi.
Before she could speak, an irritating voice came from beside them.