Gold Cage - Chapter 31

A sudden downpour hit Yu City—one moment it was sunny, the next pedestrians scrambled for shelter as rain lashed the streets without warning.

Liu Shuyan emerged from the law firm accompanied by several people who escorted her all the way out. One of the senior partners spoke to her: "Rest assured, even if they truly intend to contest this, we can only win, not lose. The elderly gentleman's will exists in this single copy—any attempt to forge it would be illegal..."

A car was already waiting at the foot of the steps. The driver stepped out to open the door for Liu Shuyan, who gave a slight nod to the group. "I'll still need your assistance moving forward. Thank you for your efforts."

After exchanging polite farewells, Liu Shuyan got into the car and departed. The rain grew heavier, drumming loudly against the windows. That evening, she was to gather all relatives, directors of Hongfeng, and legal professionals to formally announce her takeover of her grandfather's various assets and another portion of Hongfeng's shares. She tried to rest briefly in the car, closing her eyes to recharge, but the sound of rain inexplicably unsettled her.

Opening her eyes, she peered through the rain-streaked window and immediately spotted Lan Mo stepping out of a book café amidst the hurried crowds and traffic. The young woman wore a light gray dress with a soft knitted coat draped over it, clutching two newly purchased books as she stood under the eaves, gazing up at the downpour.

Liu Shuyan averted her gaze as the car passed by Lan Mo. The post-rain traffic slowed them to a crawl at the intersection when Liu Shuyan suddenly spoke: "Turn around."

The driver hesitated but obediently changed lanes and doubled back. When they reached the book café again, the window rolled down, bringing Liu Shuyan face to face with Lan Mo's gaze.

"It's raining. Let me give you a ride," Liu Shuyan offered.

Lan Mo glanced at her before lowering her eyes.

The aunt who usually assisted her had loaned her car to her own child who'd come to Yushi for work with cumbersome luggage. Upon hearing this, Lan Mo had lent her vehicle to the aunt, who was immensely grateful, promising to return by evening and urging Lan Mo to call if needed—she'd come back immediately should any errands arise.

Having quit her job and with Mu Yu handling all arrangements, Lan Mo had no pressing matters. The fine weather had drawn her out for a solitary stroll. With few friends in the country, she typically stayed home unless restlessness drove her out, relying on the aunt or Mu Yu to accompany her to medical checkups.

The sudden downpour caught Lan Mo off guard. The sky darkened swiftly toward evening, and without an umbrella or available taxis, she hesitated. In the past, she wouldn't have minded getting wet, but now, carrying a child, she dared not risk falling ill.

The driver stepped out with an umbrella. Lan Mo murmured a quiet "thank you" upon entering the car before lapsing into silence. As the car moved again, each woman sat by her respective window, the atmosphere thick with quiet tension.

Eventually, Liu Shuyan broke the silence: "How have you been feeling lately?"

"Fine," Lan Mo replied.

"Why are you out alone? Didn't Mu Yu accompany you?"

"He's busy. Away on business."

"As your husband, no matter how busy, he should ensure someone stays with you. How could he let a pregnant woman go out alone?"

"That's none of your concern," Lan Mo responded flatly.

"...I only meant to say marriage requires mutual effort. If he can't manage basic care from the start, more oversights will follow."

"And you presume to know Mu Yu's shortcomings?" Annoyed by the criticism, Lan Mo retorted: "You judge others without ever examining yourself. Mu Yu has done his absolute best. You have no right to evaluate him."

Liu Shuyan's tone turned icy. "You're doing it again—seeing one good thing about a person and loving everything about them, defending them blindly. By the time you see their flaws, it'll be too late."

Lan Mo replied earnestly, "You're right. That's the lesson I learned from you. I was blind before, but now I've met Brother Mu Yu. He treats me well, and I'm willing to stay by his side for the rest of my life."

Liu Shuyan took a deep breath. Her original intention in giving Lan Mo a ride was simply to take her home, to keep her from getting soaked in the rain—not to pick a fight. But she hadn't felt this infuriated in a long time. "You should focus more on yourself! Lan Mo, why can't you understand? Relying too much on anyone is irrational!"

"Should I be as cold as you, then? Would I be happy with no one in my heart?" Lan Mo retorted. "And if you were truly as rational as you claim, why did you kiss Brother Mu that night in the banquet garden? Can you honestly say you didn't feel anything? You're not rational you're a hypocrite!"

"Emotions aren't as pure as you think. Do you still believe everything is black and white? You're so naive!"

"Why can't emotions be pure?" Lan Mo's eyes reddened with emotion as she glared at Liu Shuyan. "When I love someone, I love everything about them—the good and the bad. Even if they're cold and unfeeling, even if they prioritize their career above all else, I'd still be content just being a small part of their life, as long as they spare me even a little love!"

Her words struck Liu Shuyan like a thunderclap in the rain, sending a sharp pang through her heart. She stared blankly at Lan Mo. Outside the car window, the downpour drenched the gray cityscape, while Lan Mo's eyes burned with anger and sorrow. Behind her, a blinding light—a hundred times brighter—flashed like lightning, accompanied by an earth-shaking roar as something unstoppable hurtled toward them!

The driver shouted, "Watch out—!"

The next moment, a deafening crash. Liu Shuyan's car was sent flying by a speeding vehicle that had run a red light. Amidst the screams of onlookers, it screeched across the pavement before slamming into a greenbelt.

By the time Mu Yu arrived at the hospital, night had fallen, and the storm was finally easing. All three passengers were still in critical condition. Lan Mo's parents stood anxiously outside the emergency room. The driver was severely injured and unconscious, while Lan Mo had been brought in covered in blood. Only Liu Shuyan had remained conscious long enough to clutch at the Lan couple, urging them to contact Mu Hanxiao before she, too, succumbed to darkness.

Lan Mo had lost the baby. Her parents stammered explanations to Mu Yu, but he was too agitated to listen. Brushing them off with an excuse, he called Lu Hao, who soon arrived.

Lu Hao had already gotten the details from police contact on the way. "My friend checked the scene and the surveillance footage," he told Mu Yu. "Thank god the driver reacted fast and swerved otherwise, no one in the back would've survived. The reckless drivers in custody, still being questioned. Sis's car was completely mangled. Damn, what rotten luck..."

Mu Yu's face was cold. "Unlucky? Driving without a license in broad daylight downtown—either the driver's mentally ill or it's attempted murder. Tell your friend to investigate the driver's identity and find out who the real target was."

"Right after the accident, the entire police department mobilized with unusual speed," Lu Hao said quietly. "I heard your elder brother personally contacted the police chief. Do you think he knew this was going to happen?"

Lu Hao didn't stay long at the hospital. Mu Yu waited outside the emergency room while the Lan couple, knowing his poor health, repeatedly urged him to go rest. Already in a foul mood, Mu Yu nearly had Phil—who'd been standing quietly nearby—escort them out.

That was when Mu Hanxiao arrived.

His belated appearance made the Lan couple treat him like a savior as they rushed forward to speak with him. Xie Ming had come with Mu Hanxiao and gently said to Mu Yu, "President Mu, you should head back early. I'll handle things here."

Mu Yu asked, "Who's responsible?"

Xie Ming replied, "The police are still interrogating the driver. We should have answers by tonight."

Mu Yu cast a cold glance at Mu Hanxiao nearby. "Then what's he doing here?"

Xie Ming smiled helplessly. "Naturally, Mr. Mu is here to take you home."

Mu Yu froze slightly as Mu Hanxiao finished his brief conversation with the couple and walked toward him. Avoiding his gaze, Mu Yu heard Mu Hanxiao say when he reached him, "Lan Mo will be fine. There's no need to stay."

Xie Ming added, "It's damp and cold at night. President Mu should rest."

In the end, Mu Yu left with Mu Hanxiao. Having rushed from the company and kept vigil at the hospital for hours while battling a cold, Mu Yu leaned back in the car seat and soon fell asleep in the quiet interior. He'd barely dozed off when he sensed someone approaching and reflexively jerked awake, evading the reaching hand to lock eyes with Mu Hanxiao.

"We're here," Mu Hanxiao straightened up by the car door.

The man had actually intended to carry him inside. Mu Yu often couldn't comprehend Mu Hanxiao's thoughts. He got out of the car himself and, exhausted, went straight in to change before soaking in a hot bath. Sighing wearily in the tub, his head throbbed at the thought of how to comfort Lan Mo about the lost pregnancy when she woke.

Steam filled the bathroom as Mu Yu reached a dripping arm out for his drink. Lost in thought, he drowsily rested his head against the tub edge until the water droplets on his fingers grew cold and pattered to the floor.

When Mu Hanxiao opened the door, this was the scene that greeted him: Mu Yu's slender, porcelain body floating soft as a fish in the water, his short hair pushed back as warm mist veiled his contours. Those damp, green-tinged eyes lifted to meet his gaze.

Expression unchanging, Mu Hanxiao said, "You've soaked too long."

Mu Yu took a careless sip, the sweet-tart liquid rolling over his tongue. "Worried I'll drown in the bath? Wouldn't want another corpse in the house to explain away."

He now spoke in the most unpleasant way possible, completely disregarding whether Mu Hanxiao would lose his temper. And Mu Hanxiao, for reasons unknown, seemed to have reverted to a time when he wouldn't stoop to arguing with a child. As long as Mu Yu didn't run off or bring up other men, he could avoid being the increasingly gloomy and irritable version of himself that came with age.

Wrapped in a bathrobe, Mu Yu yawned as he stepped out of the bathroom. A servant, worried he might catch a chill, hurried over with a towel and a hairdryer to dry his hair. Mu Yu took the hairdryer himself and sat down to dry his hair. Midway through, he answered a call from Xie Ming, who informed him that Lan Mo's condition had stabilized—she had been taken into surgery and was expected to recover fully.

The aunt who took care of Lan Mo had been terrified when she heard about the accident, weeping and blaming herself for lending Lan Mo her car to help a child move. Otherwise, Lan Mo wouldn't have gone out alone and ended up caught in the heavy rain, boarding Liu Shuyan's car. Regret also gnawed at Mu Yu—if only he had insisted on hiring a driver for Lan Mo, this would never have happened. Meanwhile, the calls Mu Hanxiao received upon returning to Yunhai confirmed one thing: this accident had been premeditated, and the masterminds behind it were Liu Shuyan's two brothers, Liu Zhaoyi and Liu Keren.

"Her father and brothers wanted to use the death of the old patriarch to redistribute assets and shares. I warned Shuyan, but she overestimated her brothers' intelligence," Mu Hanxiao said. "She thought they wouldn't dare to take her life, but in the face of money and power, fools only grow more foolish."

Liu Shuyan's influence had grown too strong, so much so that she nearly swallowed the entire Liu family and Hongfeng whole, which deeply displeased her father. The idea for this accident must have had his tacit approval, though the official blame would fall solely on Liu Keren and Liu Zhaoyi. In the end, the former head of the Liu family had treated all his children as mere pawns, willing to let both sides burn if it meant reclaiming his former position.

The night sky after the rain was clear and bright, distant starlight casting a quiet, desolate glow over everything. Mu Yu said flatly, "To satisfy endless greed and desire, you'd rather abandon wives, disown children, and sever all humanity—this is the life you people aspire to."

Mu Yu sat on the sofa drying his hair, while Mu Hanxiao smoked on the balcony. The wind scattered the smoke, and his gaze lingered on Mu Yu's back.

"Your way of thinking is too emotional."

"I just want different things than you do, and I refuse to achieve my goals at the expense of others' lives," Mu Yu replied, setting down the towel and turning to meet Mu Hanxiao's eyes. "Whether it's you, Dad, Zhao Mengling, or Liu Shuyan—none of you ever considered that when you take too much, the cost will be paid in equal measure. It won't just backfire on you, but also drag down those closest to you. Now Liu Shuyan has paid the price. Of course, if she truly doesn't care about losing Lan Mo or her family anymore, then forget I said anything."

Mu Hanxiao studied him for a long moment before speaking. "You and Lan Mo are different."

Mu Yu stared straight at him and laughed. "Of course we're different. I'm just a clown. Lan Mo is much smarter than me—at least she knows that after being rejected once, she should walk away for good, not come back to wade into this mess and end up humiliating herself."

He dried his hair, set down the towel, and headed upstairs. Mu Hanxiao stood behind him and suddenly called out softly, "Mu Yu."

That voice carried a rare uncertainty, completely unlike the usually flawless Mu Hanxiao. But Mu Yu merely paused briefly before continuing up the stairs as if he hadn't heard, returning to his room.

He had long stopped wanting to listen to anything.

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