CHAPTER 222: CHAPTER 208 YOU DON’T NEED TO KNOW

"Who instigated this?" Mu Haotian’s expression darkened further.

The man in the black hat looked nervously at Mu Hewen, who glared fiercely at him: "Why are you looking at me?"

"It was Mr. Mu..." He began, then as if recalling the cold, knife-like gaze of Mu Shuoqian just now, he quickly added, "It was Mr. Mu Hewen."

"Nonsense." Mu Hewen suddenly stood up and charged at the man in the black hat, apparently intending to hit him.

The man in the black hat backed away in fear, his mouth spouting continuously: "Mr. Mu, I’m not accusing you out of nowhere, I haven’t touched a cent of the money you sent me. You said, after the affair you would pay me the rest, I have evidence, I was afraid you would go back on your word, so I recorded our phone conversations, and I also printed out the details of the transactions, Mr. Mu senior can look at that evidence if you don’t believe me, I was just blinded by greed for a moment,"

"Mu Hewen, get back here." Mu Haotian coldly stopped Mu Hewen’s raised fist, "You still have the face to hit people? How could you do such a despicable thing that harms others without benefiting yourself?"

Mu Hewen trembled with rage, and the man in the black hat hid behind a screen, too scared to come out.

Mu Haotian looked at his eldest son, "Do you have any idea how much effort your grandfather and I put into building today’s business? I handed it over to you two brothers hoping you would unite against our rivals and run it well. And you, for your own selfish desires, to bring your brother down, you’ve done something as low as a dog. What you are ruining is our honor, our decades of illustrious reputation."

Mu Hewen, scolded to silence, had been the mastermind behind this ordeal all along. She knew but was not aware of the specifics. It never crossed her mind that Mu Hewen, who thought he was impeccable, was clearly seen through by Mu Shuoqian from the beginning, who gathered all the people and evidence involved, waiting for this day to present them to Mu Haotian.

Thinking this, they originally thought Mu Shuoqian was out of his mind when he agreed to bet with Mu Hewen. Now it seems as if they were the ones who had their heads stuck in the door. It was a trap Mu Shuoqian had intentionally set, waiting for them to fall right into it.

They tried to create turmoil, convinced they could oust him from the position of president, but never realized they were just two fools, merely preparing a wedding dress for someone else.

"It was the second child, it was Shuoqian who framed me, who has wronged me." Mu Hewen suddenly turned the blame towards Mu Shuoqian, like a gravely wounded beast, lashing out at whoever he sees.

Mu Shuoqian looked at him coldly and leaned back into the sofa at an unhurried pace,

"If I recall correctly, in front of several top executives of the company, you made a solemn oath."

"You said that if you took on this project, you would roll out of here, roll as far away as possible. If someone doesn’t keep their word..." Mu Shuoqian looked at him, with an icy chill in his eyes, and the force he applied on Gu Qili’s hand suddenly tightened, "then they’re no better than a dog’s spawn."

Gu Qili had been watching him all this time and when he said these words, besides anger, there was also a hint of faint pain swirling in his eyes.

This pain also pricked her, and she couldn’t help but put her other hand on his and held it gently.

Mu Hewen staggered like he had been hit with a sledgehammer, almost falling over, and Qi Meihui hurriedly got up to support him.

"Dad, let me explain..." Mu Hewen still refused to give up, although the final decision on the project had not been reached yet, no matter what the outcome, Mu Hewen had already lost miserably.

"Enough, don’t speak anymore." Mu Haotian stood up angrily, pointing at Mu Hewen and cursing: "How did I father such a useless thing? With all the time you spend on scheming, why don’t you learn from your brother how to properly operate and manage the company? Just like your mother, instead of seeking self-improvement, you only think about plotting against others. Starting tomorrow, you don’t have to go to work. Stay home and reflect on yourself, and come to see me once you realize your wrongdoings."

"Dad." Qi Meihui had just started speaking when Mu Haotian interrupted her.

He unceremoniously pointed at Qi Meihui and said, "And you, he couldn’t have done so many stupid things without your knowledge. If Shuoqian hadn’t arrived in time at the restaurant today, the consequences would have been unimaginable. And you, as the manager, where did you go?"

"Dad, I really didn’t know about the things Hewen did, I’m innocent," Qi Meihui, while steadying Mu Hewen, pinched him hard with her hand.

Mu Hewen, already twitching in his expression, had tears almost falling when she pinched him sharply. He had no choice but to speak: "Dad, this matter really has nothing to do with Meihui, it was my own idea, please don’t blame her."

Mu Haotian sneered, "If there’s a next time, you should also stop being a restaurant manager. Go home and reflect along with your husband."

Qi Meihui knew that Mu Haotian had shown mercy and quickly spoke with an air of sincerity, "I understand, Dad."

After Mu Haotian left, Mu Shuoqian also started to leave with Gu Qili; with today’s atmosphere, probably no one was in the mood to stay for dinner anymore.

"Mu Shuoqian." Mu Hewen, boiling with rage, called out to him, "What do you gain from harming me like this? I am, after all, your own elder brother. Does crippling your own kin give you a sense of accomplishment?"

Mu Shuoqian paused but did not turn back. His voice was terrifyingly cold, "Elder brother? Sorry, I never considered myself to have an elder brother. Please don’t flatter yourself."

Without a second glance at Mu Hewen’s ashen face, he took Gu Qili’s hand and strode out.

"Damn it, bastard." Mu Hewen’s cursing and the crisp sound of a vase hitting the floor came from behind.

After getting into the car, Gu Qili’s hand was still held by him, he sat there, zoned out for a while, seemingly lost in thought, the emotions in his eyes changing too quickly for her to catch.

"Mu Shuoqian." Gu Qili suddenly felt that such a state of his could induce sadness, she leaned in to embrace him, and asked softly, "What’s wrong?"

He seemed to come back to his senses, patted her shoulder gently, and the emotions in his eyes flickered by: "Nothing, just remembered some past events."

"Mu Shuoqian, why don’t you get along with Mu Hewen? It’s like you are enemies, aren’t you biological brothers?"

His gaze flickered for a moment: "What would you like to eat tonight? You must be starving, right?"

Gu Qili pushed him gently and sat up straight, pouting: "Mu Shuoqian, you’re changing the subject again."

He stroked her head, smiling: "Shall we go to Xiangshan Club or go back home?"

"Mu Shuoqian." Gu Qili drew out his name with a long tone, glaring at him discontentedly, "Why don’t you ever talk to me about your past? It’s not like you’ve committed any crimes, what are you afraid of me finding out?"

Mu Shuoqian’s mouth corners sank, and he twisted the car key: "Some things, it’s useless for you to know."

"But I want to understand you better."

"All you need to know is who I am now, who I was before is not important."

He started the car and slowly reversed out of the small road in front of the old house, "Let’s go to Xiangshan Club, it’s too late to go back home and cook."

Gu Qili stared at his cold profile, which was emanating a chill she hadn’t felt in a long time; she knew he didn’t want to talk about this anymore, and even if she continued asking, he wouldn’t say a word.

Gu Qili picked up a training book lying next to her, flipped through a few pages, but couldn’t focus on the words at all.

It wasn’t that she was curious about his past, she just wanted to understand him more, like how he suddenly spaced out today for no reason, and on the way here zoned out again causing an emergency brake. She clearly saw a trace of complex emotions in his eyes, she wanted to know why, she wanted to share his worries and troubles, but without him saying anything, she knew nothing.

Although he said it was enough to only understand the person he is now and that the past isn’t important, a person is a whole, and their experiences are inseparable, whether from the past or the present.

Gu Qili didn’t speak again, but it felt like there was a large cotton block in her chest, making it difficult for her to breathe.

She wasn’t typically a nosy person, but she wanted to know everything about him, good or bad.

He said, some things you know are of no use, but her desire to know wasn’t about being useful, it was about being able to empathize with him when he was sad or down, to accompany him through sadness, through grief, through zoning out.

That was all.

When ordering the food, Mu Shuoqian handed the menu to her, and Gu Qili, scooping ice cream and without raising her eyelids, said: "Anything is fine."

He didn’t say anything and casually ordered a few of her favorite dishes.

Halfway through the meal, Mu Shuoqian’s phone on the table rang. He glanced at it with chopsticks in hand but ignored it.

The ringing persisted for a while before it finally stopped.

However, moments later, the phone rang again, this time even more insistent, as if rushing life itself.

Mu Shuoqian didn’t even look at it, simply hanging up.

Gu Qili chewed on the fish in her mouth, her mind elsewhere, until the ringtone sounded for the fourth time when she finally stood up and said, "I’m going to the restroom."

She didn’t leave immediately after exiting the door but paused for a moment. After a short while, she heard Mu Shuoqian answering the call. His voice was very low, so low that she couldn’t hear what he was saying.

But regardless of what he said, she knew that it was a call he did not want her to hear.