“M-m-marriage?!”
The two bodyguards who had been about to haul her up froze on the spot, their outstretched hands suspended stiffly in midair.
They exchanged bewildered glances, wondering if the high-intensity patrol tonight had caused them to start hearing things.
Since when had the scope of an assassin’s business expanded this wide? Not only did she want his life, she wanted his name too?
But even more shocked than the bodyguards was the other man sitting across from Mu Linjiang at that moment.
Mu Jingyao had been chatting and laughing with his uncle when he heard this earth-shattering declaration. His hand jerked, and tea splashed all over his fingers.
He stared at the figure sprawled on the ground, clinging shamelessly to his uncle’s trouser leg.
“Youling?”
He grabbed a handkerchief from beside him to wipe his hand, then stood up with a helpless laugh. “What… what are you doing here in such a state? Get up, don’t joke around with Uncle like this.”
Du Youling was just craning her neck waiting for Mu Linjiang’s reaction when she heard this familiar voice and was instantly dumbfounded. She stiffly turned her head and saw Mu Jingyao looking at her with utter astonishment.
Damn it, Song Shan hadn’t told her that the distinguished guest Mu Linjiang was meeting tonight was Mu Jingyao!
Wait—how did an uncle and nephew meeting look like something out of a spy rendezvous?!
For a moment, the bodyguards didn’t know whether to advance or retreat, so they could only steal terrified glances at the man in the main seat.
Mu Linjiang’s posture remained unchanged. His gaze traveled down along his trouser leg, now wrinkled from her grip, and finally landed on Du Youling’s face—the face of someone who wouldn’t give up until they’d seen the Yellow River with their own eyes.
The man’s phoenix eyes narrowed. His voice was low and restrained, impossible to read. “Everyone out.”
“Mr. Mu?” The head bodyguard was taken aback.
“Out. Close the door.” Mu Linjiang repeated.
“Yes, sir!” The bodyguards felt as if they’d been granted a pardon, vanishing from the spot in just three seconds.
Only three people remained in the private room.
Seeing the bodyguards retreat, Mu Jingyao shook his head helplessly. He took two steps toward Du Youling. “Youling, stop this. I know you and Ningyang have been competing since you were kids, but even if you want to spite her, you shouldn’t bring this to Uncle. Be good, let go first. I’ll have someone take you home. Don’t let both families become a laughingstock.”
With that, he bent down to pull Du Youling up.
But Du Youling didn’t even spare him a glance. She dodged his hand and gripped Mu Linjiang’s trouser leg even tighter.
Her wet black hair clung to her cheeks as she stared straight at Mu Linjiang. “Mu Linjiang! Mr. Mu, I’m serious! Marry me—you won’t lose anything, you won’t be cheated. Let’s get the certificate right now, get married tonight!”
As long as she could marry Mu Linjiang, Du Ningyang would have to lower her head and call her “little aunt” from now on! Just thinking about the look of humiliation on Du Ningyang’s face made Du Youling feel like she could do this! Even if she had to kneel here until she died, it would be worth it!
Mu Linjiang looked down at this drowned cat at his feet. With an expressionless face, he pulled a handkerchief from the inner pocket of his suit jacket and handed it to Du Youling.
“Wipe yourself.”
Du Youling froze, then reached out to take the handkerchief that carried the scent of a mature man.
“Hey? You’re actually this nice? So that cold-blooded ‘sink you in the river’ warning really was just a rumor!”
Seeing this, Mu Jingyao’s eyes flickered with surprise.
He knew well that his uncle was always aloof and taciturn, and hated anyone getting close to him on ordinary days.
Mu Linjiang’s expression showed no change. His deep phoenix eyes calmly watched her wipe her face with his handkerchief. After a few seconds, he slowly withdrew his hand.
“Get up. Sit properly.”
“Oh… okay.”
Clutching the handkerchief, Du Youling awkwardly climbed up from the ground, dragging the high heel with its broken strap, and obediently shuffled over to sit on a single chair nearby.
Once she was settled, Mu Linjiang slightly turned his head, his gaze passing over Du Youling to land on Mu Jingyao not far away.
“Jingyao, you go out too.”
Mu Jingyao was startled. He instinctively glanced at Du Youling.
As Du Ningyang’s fiancé, he could more or less be considered Du Youling’s brother-in-law now. Tonight’s small family gathering had originally just been the two of them discussing company matters, but he hadn’t expected Du Youling to barge in like this.
And now Du Youling was spouting nonsense and making a scene. If she truly angered this man, the consequences wouldn’t be something a young girl like Du Youling could bear.
Even setting that aside, the two families still had such a major project in cooperation. He couldn’t just stand by and watch Du Ningyang’s cousin burn her bridges with Mu Linjiang.
“Uncle, Youling is young and spoiled by her family. She always speaks without thinking.” Mu Jingyao tried to smooth things over to stay. “We haven’t finished discussing the cooperation between our two companies. How about I take her—”
With that, he turned to look at Du Youling, trying to signal with his eyes for her to take the out he was offering.
But when he turned his head, Mu Jingyao nearly had a heart attack on the spot.
There sat Du Youling, who had barely managed to settle into her chair, wiping her face haphazardly with the handkerchief while shooting him the most arrogant sidelong glare imaginable.
Facing his worried and warning gaze, the girl not only showed no sense of impending doom, but instead provocatively raised an eyebrow at him, her eyes seemingly boasting: What are you looking at? Keep staring and in a moment I’ll have you calling me little auntie right on the spot!
Her simple, transparent desire to win, like a fox borrowing the tiger’s might, was as plain as a blank sheet of paper before the two men—so naive it was almost laughable.
Mu Linjiang took in all of Du Youling’s little schemes at a glance. He set his teacup back down on the table with a sharp clap.
Mu Jingyao paused, his heart tightening, swallowing the rest of his words mid-sentence. He lowered his head slightly. “…Yes, then Uncle, you go ahead with your business.”
He took one last look at Du Youling, who was completely unaware that she had already become a turtle in a jar, then gave a slight bow and turned to leave the private room.
The moment Mu Jingyao left, Du Youling immediately scooted her chair a full meter closer to Mu Linjiang.
“Mu Linjiang.”
Adopting a ladylike tone, sitting up straight with her eyes fluttering as she fixed her gaze on him, she began her shameless self-promotion: “My biggest selling point is that I’m worry-free!”
“Marrying me is like introducing a three-high vase to the Mu family—high education, high looks, high EQ. The key is I don’t shed, I don’t gossip, lifetime warranty, seven-day no-questions-asked returns… oh wait, no, once the marriage certificate is stamped, no returns or exchanges.”
She raised three fingers as if swearing an oath: “And I’m especially good at signing unequal treaties that surrender sovereignty. After marriage, you call the shots on finances, you can carve out your personal space however you like. If you say east, I’ll never go west. If you say it’s dinner time, I’ll never mention dieting. If you’re in a bad mood one day and want to vent, I can be your emotional punching bag—guaranteed to take the scolding without talking back, the kind who offers the right cheek after you slap the left.”
Finally, she pressed her palms together and gazed at him with reverence: “Mu Linjiang, President Mu, Little Uncle Mu, are you really not going to get one of these marriage experience cards? Cost-effective, fully loaded, super-long standby, guaranteed never to annoy you. Get the certificate tonight, effective tomorrow, the earlier you get it the earlier you enjoy it. Miss this village, and I’ll still be waiting for you in the next one!”