Gold Cage - Chapter 15

Mu Hanxiao arrived at the hospital at three in the morning.

Li Bing had already persuaded Lu Hao and Lan Mo to leave, waiting alone outside the ward for Mu Hanxiao. When Mu Hanxiao arrived, his presence carried a chilling intensity. Li Bing stood up stiffly, but before he could speak, Mu Hanxiao had already pushed open the door and entered the room.

The ward was unlit, save for the dim, rhythmic glow of medical equipment. Mu Yu lay curled under the blankets, an oxygen tube in his nose and an IV drip in his arm. The faint light of night fell across his face, illuminating his pallid, bloodless complexion.

He had been dosed with a potent drug—not only inducing feverish arousal but also triggering severe organ rejection, at one point even showing signs of poisoning. The doctors had no choice but to pump his stomach. Only in the latter half of the night did Mu Yu's condition finally stabilize.

Mu Hanxiao had originally been in Hong Kong on business. Upon receiving Li Bing's message, he immediately boarded a flight back to Yushi. Over the phone, Li Bing had relayed the entire situation to him in detail.

Hired by Mu Hanxiao, Li Bing had long been Mu Yu's shadow, protecting him both openly and discreetly. This time was no different—he had entered the bar shortly after Mu Yu, only stepping out to wait in his car once he saw Lu Hao and Lan Mo arrive to meet him.

After Phil took leave, Li Bing had been working nonstop for days, his exhaustion catching up to him. He had been sitting in his car, smoking, when he suddenly saw Lu Hao and Lan Mo rush out of the bar as if searching for someone. Realizing something was wrong, he immediately stubbed out his cigarette and hurried back inside.

What was done could not be undone. Thankfully, Mu Yu had been saved, but the ordeal he had suffered was irreversible.

Li Bing knew his career was likely over.

Mu Hanxiao stood with his back to him in front of the hospital bed. In the dark room, his silhouette merged into the night. Mu Yu lay curled in an uncomfortable, self-protective posture—one hand instinctively covering his stomach, the other resting limply by the bedside where an IV drip was attached. He had grown thinner again; his arms were pale to the point of translucency, faint blue veins visible beneath the skin, his slender fingers curled slightly. Even in sleep, his face bore an expression of discomfort.

He had clearly endured considerable suffering, now so fragile and weightless he might vanish with a gust of wind. Mu Hanxiao raised a hand and pressed it to Mu Yu's forehead, gauging his temperature. The fever had broken, but his skin still radiated residual warmth.

Mu Hanxiao's fingers traced Mu Yu's face. The younger man's shallow breaths brushed against his palm. Mu Yu's jawline was sharp—gone was the baby fat of his childhood. He lay on his side, his ear half-buried in the pillow, the soft warmth of his earlobe meeting Mu Hanxiao's touch.

Li Bing stood motionless nearby, head bowed like a statue. He didn't dare look up, much less speculate about Mu Hanxiao's expression or thoughts. That was territory he had no right to trespass upon.

The darkness concealed Mu Hanxiao's face. He remained still for a long while, his large hand cradling Mu Yu's cheek, fingers stroking lightly as if lost in silent contemplation.

Perhaps sensing Mu Hanxiao's presence subconsciously, Mu Yu, who had been lying quietly in deep sleep, began to murmur faintly, the words indistinct. Li Bing instinctively moved to check on him but froze when he saw Mu Hanxiao sit on the edge of the bed, forcing himself to retreat.

Mu Yu seemed trapped in a nightmare, his brows furrowing as he called out intermittently—sometimes for his brother, other times for his mother. His IV-laden arm twitched restlessly until Mu Hanxiao caught his wrist and pressed it firmly back onto the mattress.

Li Bing watched as the man leaned over, his broad frame eclipsing Mu Yu, one hand braced against the pillow. The room was too dim—he could only make out the silhouette of Mu Hanxiao bending close, too close.

He didn't dare look any longer, nor listen. Silently, he withdrew from the room, shutting the door softly behind him.

Alone in the empty hallway, he waited. He couldn't say how much time passed before Mu Hanxiao finally emerged.

The man looked as composed as ever. Even after rushing straight from a business engagement, flying through the night for hours, not a crack showed in his icy demeanor. "Anything left to explain?" he asked.

Li Bing stood respectfully before him, head slightly lowered. "No, sir. This was entirely my failure."

What had happened couldn't be undone, and Mu Hanxiao would mete out punishment to every responsible party without exception. Li Bing, as Mu Yu's covert bodyguard, had neutralized threats before—but the moment real harm came to Mu Yu, he forfeited all right to justification.

He felt the chilling weight of Mu Hanxiao's presence. Having served him for years, Li Bing recognized the barely restrained fury beneath the surface. Yet he also knew his employer's nature—Mu Hanxiao's rage would never be voiced, never displayed.

"Bring Phil back tonight," Mu Hanxiao said. "You can crawl back to where you came from."

Li Bing stiffened momentarily before responding in a low voice, "...Understood, sir."

A week later, Mu Yu resumed normal eating habits, but it took a month of hospitalization before his spirits began to recover. He was transferred to Yushan Hospital for meticulous care. Lan Mo's father, deeply invested in this "future son-in-law," assigned Lan Mo specifically to look after him, along with two additional nurses to attend to his daily needs.

Lu Hao and Huo Shiyin visited him daily after work whenever they had time, chatting with him. When He Cheng was mentioned, Lu Hao's face twisted in disgust.

"He was taken away by his father the next day, transferred to some unknown hospital," Lu Hao said bitterly. "I can't compete with his family, I admit it."

Though Lu Hao's family was wealthy, his father had built their fortune from scratch, still a step below the He family, which was thriving under the Mu family's influence. Huo Shiyin's parents were middle-class, not even ranking among this circle.

Huo Shiyin was sullen, equally frustrated by the injustice. A word from the Mu family could have resolved everything, yet they let a brat like He Cheng walk all over them. Lu Hao had been seething over this, even considering hiring someone to deal with the kid, until Huo Shiyin scolded him out of it.

Meanwhile, Mu Yu sat calmly on his hospital bed, sipping soup, and even comforted them: "Don't worry about it. I'll handle this."

Huo Shiyin frowned. "You're still sick. How can you handle it? No, I'm getting a lawyer."

Mu Yu suddenly looked at her seriously. "No, A-Yin. You are absolutely not to interfere."

His expression startled her. Just then, Phil knocked and entered, carrying a food container. He had cut his leave short to return early, delivering meals punctually three times a day during Mu Yu's hospitalization.

With Phil's arrival, Lu Hao and Huo Shiyin had to drop the subject. They still had dinner plans and company matters to attend to, so they excused themselves. As Mu Yu ate, Phil waited quietly by his side.

Since that night, Mu Yu hadn't seen Li Bing again. He did receive Li Bing's resignation letter, forwarded by Phil, but he was still too ill to process it at the time. Once he finally regained clarity and read it, he called Li Bing.

For some reason, the signal was terrible, with intermittent wind noise in the background. Li Bing apologized profusely over the phone for the sudden resignation and the inconvenience it caused.

Mu Yu said, "Resignation requires contract termination, which needs my signature to take effect. I haven't agreed yet—get back here now!"

Li Bing gave a helpless laugh on the other end, finally saying only, "I'm sorry, Mr. Mu. These six years as your family doctor... have been an honor and a pleasure."

"Goodbye, Mr. Mu."

After that, Mu Yu could no longer reach Li Bing.

Mu Yu couldn't believe Li Bing's sudden appearance and protection that night was mere coincidence. Moreover, Li Bing had single-handedly taken down two grown men proof that his identity went far beyond just a family doctor.

And where had that gun come from? A legally operated bar shouldn't have firearms hidden inside. Mu Yu recalled the bar owner's surname was Zhao, and suddenly found the situation intriguing.

Back then, it was Mu Yunting who insisted on assigning him a family doctor and chef, worried he wouldn't take proper care of himself abroad. But Li Bing and Phil were personally chosen by Mu Yu himself. These two had particularly impressed him during their interviews—they never spoke out of turn, especially Phil who was as silent as a clam, never asking unnecessary questions or wasting words. What’s more, Phil could even cook his hometown dishes.

Mu Yu absentmindedly picked at his delicious meal while studying Phil. He asked, "Where's Li Bing?"

Phil replied in a low voice, "Apologies, Mr. Mu. I don't know his whereabouts."

"How does a family doctor know how to fight like that? The moment I stepped into that bar, how did he immediately know where I was?" Mu Yu questioned.

Phil remained silent, his mountain-like frame sitting obediently on the sofa. Mu Yu crooked a finger at him. "Come here."

Phil stood up and approached, sitting on the stool by Mu Yu's bed. When Mu Yu reached out to touch his abdomen, Phil stiffened, not daring to move.

"A cook with such a toned body?" Mu Yu smiled like a little fox, then casually took Phil's hand to examine it. He pressed on the calluses at the base of Phil's thumb and along his index finger, teasing, "Calluses this thick-you must have trained since childhood?"

Phil answered, "They're from years of handling pots and pans."

Mu Yu didn't press further. He'd get to the bottom of this after being discharged anyway. Phil's lips were sealed too tight to pry anything useful from him. Letting Phil go, Mu Yu considered calling Xie Ming over when another knock came at the door.

This time, it was Mu Zeju—and someone completely unexpected: Xia Ge.

Xia Ge came bearing many gifts and a beautiful bouquet of flowers. He bowed nervously. "Hello, pardon my intrusion. I'm Xia Ge."

Mu Yu smiled. "Of course I know who you are. I love your songs. What lovely flowers please put them in that vase over there."

Several glass bottles filled with flowers from Lan Mo and Huo Shiyin already adorned the windowsill, keeping the room lightly fragrant. Xia Ge obediently picked up an empty bottle, washed it in the bathroom, and filled it with water.

Mu Zeju had remained silent, simply taking a seat. Mu Yu spoke first. "What brings you here, Second Brother?"

Mu Zeju said coldly, "After all the commotion you caused, how could I not come?"

"Now that's unfair, Second Brother. You can't pin that mess on me."

Mu Zeju fell silent, perhaps overwhelmed by all he wanted to say upon seeing Mu Yu's sickly state. Just then, Xia Ge returned with the arranged flowers, placing them on the windowsill where sunlight made them glow vibrantly.

Too shy to sit, Xia Ge stood properly by the bed. "I wanted to visit earlier, but heard you hadn't recovered yet, so I waited until today. I happened to run into President Mu downstairs, so we came up together."

Mu Yu said, "No need for formalities—please, have a seat. I'm sorry for disrupting your concert that night."

Xia Ge waved his hands. "No, no! If anything, I should thank you. That night's incident made the news—with your identity withheld, of course. But the coverage unexpectedly promoted my concert, and now I've somehow gained more popularity..."

Scratching his head sheepishly, Xia Ge drew a facepalm from Mu Zeju. Then he pulled an album from his bag and handed it to Mu Yu. "I heard you enjoy my music. This is my second album, set for release next month. I brought an early copy—please accept it."

Mu Zeju remarked, "You've got some nerve, kid."

Xia Ge suddenly remembered the big boss was right beside him, instantly so frightened his hair stood on end. But Mu Yu found him adorable and accepted his gift with a smile. "Thank you, I really like this present."

His bright, clear smile outshone even his sickly pallor, his handsome features undimmed. Xia Ge hurriedly lowered his gaze, not daring to look too long, though his ears burned red.

Too embarrassed to stay long and tactful enough not to pry, Xia Ge soon bid his farewells and left.

Only the Mu brothers remained in the hospital room.

They got straight to the point. Mu Zeju asked, "Was it He Cheng who messed with you?"

Mu Yu casually picked up a book, continuing from yesterday's bookmark. Languidly, he replied, "Yeah, didn't you already know? Peel me an orange, brother. I want to eat one."

He gave orders so naturally. Mu Zeju, not one to argue with a patient, took an orange and began peeling. Midway, he suddenly recalled Mu Yu's peculiarities—how picky he was about food, insisting oranges must be hand-peeled, never sliced, claiming knife-cut ones lacked texture.

This very issue had sparked childhood arguments. Once, after being severely punished by their eldest brother for bullying Mu Yu, Mu Zeju had resolved to mend their strained relationship. For reasons he still couldn't fathom, he'd gone to Mu Yu's home at Yunhai, seen oranges and apples in the fruit basket, and enthusiastically sliced them all, proudly presenting the platter to Mu Yu.

Expecting gratitude, he was instead met with questioning: "Why did you slice the oranges?" They should be hand-peeled!" Mu Zeju exploded—wasn't an orange an orange, regardless of how it was prepared? Their shouting drew Mu Hanxiao from his study. Clinging to their eldest brother's arm, Mu Yu pitifully claimed Zeju had "cut away all his oranges," leaving him with none to eat.

Certain logic would prevail this time, Mu Zeju was stunned when Mu Hanxiao ordered him to buy new oranges, then personally peeled them for Mu Yu in the living room.

That day, Mu Zeju ate every slice of his own cut oranges and apples, swallowing them with resentment, confusion, and fury toward Mu Yu. It cemented his belief that this wild, adopted younger brother had bewitched their eldest brother with tears and coquetry, making him childishly view Mu Yu as an adversary—a threat to the Mu family's dignity and will.

Even now, peeling this orange resurrected those bitter memories, making him want to hurl the damned fruit into the trash.

Perhaps from that day of being sent out for oranges, he'd vaguely sensed things had spiraled beyond his expectations.

That was why he remained so wary of Mu Yu.

To him, Mu Yu had always been an outsider.

"Eldest brother might sever ties with the He family," Mu Zeju suddenly said, giving Mu Yu a complicated look.

Mu Yu paused, then asked with keen interest, "What happened?"

Mu Zeju explained, "Two directors were exposed for illegal operations and insider trading already detained. Assets seized, plus their books revealed massive bad debts. They can't secure loans now."

Mu Yu sounded amused, "Big brother won't lend them that pocket change?"

"...He won't."

"Not only refusing to lend money but also cutting off cooperation—how could Big Brother burn bridges like this?" Mu Yu covered his mouth in exaggerated shock. "Don't tell me the He family is going bankrupt?"

Mu Zeju ignored his dramatic antics. In truth, it wasn't just bankruptcy—there might not even be a chance for a proper liquidation. Mu Yu, confined to the hospital with no access to outside news and constantly guarded by a rotation of people, was oblivious. Mu Zeju alone had spotted several bodyguards stationed near the hospital.

He had no idea the outside world was in chaos. Mu Hanxiao was determined to gut the He family, but the two families had been partners since Mu Yunting's era. Severing ties now would be like breaking bones still connected by sinew. Mu Yunting had outright refused to support the move, and Zhao Mengling, still attending meetings in the capital, had even called back to sternly warn Mu Hanxiao against reckless action.

The He family sent wave after wave of envoys to plead for mercy. Mu Hanxiao refused to see them, while Mu Yunting initially met with old friends, though lengthy discussions failed to change the situation. With his advanced age, Mu Yunting soon lacked the energy for further meetings.

Eventually, they even turned to Mu Zeju—a desperate move. He had almost no involvement in the Mu family's core business, having long operated his own entertainment company abroad. There was nothing he could do to help.

But what truly unsettled him was the rumor that a real gun had been hidden in the bar Mu Yu visited that night.

The bar's owner was a distant relative of their mother, a man with a poor reputation but unwavering loyalty to her. How could he dare to stash a gun in the heart of the city? Was it sheer audacity, or was someone pulling the strings?

Nearly everyone had heard the gunshot that night, and with Xia Ge's concert amplifying the incident, it could no longer be covered up. Their mother was still in the capital, and whispers suggested she was up for another promotion. If this scandal implicated her, it could jeopardize her career—or even the entire family...

After much deliberation, Mu Zeju decided not to mention it to Mu Yu. By the time Mu Yu finished his orange and noticed the prolonged silence, he yawned drowsily and soon curled up under the blankets to sleep. Still recovering, he tired easily. Seeing this, Mu Zeju had no choice but to call in the nurse and leave the room alone.

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