After Gu Yan walked away, Ouyang Ye turned to look in the direction Mu Anxiao had left. Immediately, Feng Qishi's face appeared in his mind, followed by his distrustful demeanor towards Mu Anxiao. His heart sank, and he muttered, "This is bad," before turning and walking away.
Not far away, Mu Anxiao stood behind a tree, peeking at Ouyang Ye's retreating figure. She couldn't help but think of his sensitive heart and pouted, muttering, "Shen Fengzi, you dared to offend me. Now, you can get along with Ouyang Ye slowly." As soon as she turned, she saw Gu Yan approaching with Zhao Xiang.
"What are you doing here?" Gu Yan asked, striding towards Mu Anxiao.
Zhao Xiang followed behind Gu Yan with an awkward expression.
"..." Mu Anxiao's gaze fell on Zhao Xiang's face, thinking, this guy actually has the nerve to show up.
At the same time, Gu Yan ran up to Mu Anxiao, questioning, "Why aren't you talking to me?" She reached out and patted Mu Anxiao's shoulder.
Then, Mu Anxiao snapped back to attention, turned to Gu Yan, and casually replied, "No," forcing a smile.
"I was joking with you," Gu Yan said, her face suddenly showing a guilty expression. "Um, I wanted to tell you something." Her voice was much softer than before.
Hearing Gu Yan say this, Mu Anxiao felt uneasy. In fact, at that moment, she had the urge to stop Gu Yan, but 'bad news' had to be faced eventually. There was no way around it, so she had to brace herself and listen. "Go ahead," she said calmly.
Zhao Xiang stopped behind Gu Yan, his face still full of apology.
Gu Yan's eyes darted away, saying, "Um, I..." She took a deep breath. "Didn't you ask me to find the coachman for you?" She still didn't have the courage to say everything directly.
Mu Anxiao nodded. "Yes, and then?" Her bad mood from the morning had improved with Gu Yan's words.
Seeing Mu Anxiao's expectant expression, Gu Yan's mouth twitched slightly. She continued, "I... I found him, but... I didn't expect Ouyang Ye to bump into me, so... I handed him over to Ouyang Ye. I... I'm sorry." She then lowered her head.
All along, Mu Anxiao had thought the coachman was unlucky to be encountered by Ouyang Ye upon his return. Who knew... the reality was like this. Of course, she could understand Gu Yan. Thinking about Ouyang Ye's influence, if Gu Yan had truly gone against him, it would have brought disaster upon herself. Most importantly, Gu Yan had just regained Ouyang Ye's trust. If she had opposed Ouyang Ye at this time, given Ouyang Ye's suspicious nature, their previous plans would have been exposed.
Given these reasons, she wasn't angry with Gu Yan at all. Instead, she began to feel sorry for the predicament Gu Yan was in.
"It's okay, don't apologize to me," she said.
Gu Yan: "But if I... had made him hide at that time, then..."
"Stop talking, it's in the past," Mu Anxiao interrupted.
Some things, the more you delve into them, the more heartbreaking the details become. Rather than understanding them thoroughly and clearly, it's better to play ignorant. Because... it had already happened, and her blaming wouldn't help.
Furthermore, since Gu Yan was willing to confess, it proved that Gu Yan genuinely regretted it. If she were to dwell on the issue, what would be the point? As the saying goes, admitting and correcting mistakes is the greatest virtue. No matter what the truth was, at this moment, she chose to forgive Gu Yan.
The next second, tears of gratitude streamed down Gu Yan's face. It was at this moment that Gu Yan recalled the events of the previous night.
Last night, just as Gu Yan was about to open the back door to find the coachman, the coachman climbed over the wall and entered. At the same time, she happened to look up and make eye contact with the coachman. What she hadn't expected was that the coachman had no intention of running away. Instead, he jumped down from the high wall, stood in front of her, and stated his purpose. After listening, she led the coachman towards Bing'er's room. Unexpectedly, they encountered Ouyang Ye halfway. However, they were still quite far from Ouyang Ye, and it was this distance that reminded her of Ouyang Ye's search for the coachman. Thus, after choosing between her own interests and righteousness, she grabbed the coachman, who was about to hide.
In this way, she chose her own interests and happily handed the coachman over to Ouyang Ye.
However, afterward, she regretted it. She spent the entire night imagining Mu Anxiao's reaction when she learned the truth.
Who knew... when the moment finally arrived, Mu Anxiao had such an indifferent attitude. Looking at Mu Anxiao, her guilt resurfaced. Clenching her fists, she stepped forward without a second thought, hugged Mu Anxiao, and burst into tears.
Mu Anxiao looked helpless.
Zhao Xiang had also impulsively 'betrayed' Mu Anxiao last night. So, seeing Mu Anxiao forgive Gu Yan, he joined in the commotion. "Mu Anxiao, I was also forced," he said, opening his arms and stepping forward to embrace them.
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao coldly said, "Get away."
At the sound, Gu Yan got up.
Mu Anxiao, worried that Gu Yan might misunderstand, told her, "I wasn't talking to you." Then she shifted her gaze back to Zhao Xiang's face. "I hope you'll fulfill what you promised me."
"You..."
"If you forget, I can remind you," Mu Anxiao interrupted coldly.
To this, Zhao Xiang genuinely forgot. "I promised... what?" he asked, looking confused.
Mu Anxiao looked at Zhao Xiang's face, wondering if he was truly foolish or pretending to be. She snorted, "You are truly forgetful. You can't even keep the most basic promise. Tsk tsk, Zhao Xiang, Zhao Xiang," she scanned Zhao Xiang's face, "your ability to pretend to be foolish is truly remarkable." She gave him a thumbs-up.
"I..."
"Where is She Ning?" Mu Anxiao suddenly remembered She Ning, with whom she had gone to the tea house.
Zhao Xiang frowned. "He's fine. Can you please speak clearly?" He was still struggling to remember what he had promised Mu Anxiao.
"I'll speak clearly," Mu Anxiao pursed her lips, showing him disdain. "I think, before I explain it clearly to you, you should first think hard."
"You..."
"I'll give you ten seconds. If you can't remember, after this is over, I'll go to your hometown," Mu Anxiao interrupted, intentionally prompting Zhao Xiang.
"Hometown..." Zhao Xiang repeated. Before Mu Anxiao could start counting down, he smiled. "You really have a good memory."
"I remember now. After I meet your parents, remind them to prepare the property deed," Mu Anxiao said, raising her chin.
"I..."
"I can do anything, you should know that," Mu Anxiao interrupted, casting a glance at Gu Yan. "You know about Gu Yan, right?"
Gu Yan nodded slightly. "I do. I was going to tell you, but I didn't expect you to know already."
"I have him to thank for this," Mu Anxiao said, her gaze fixed on Zhao Xiang. "Without him, I wouldn't have fallen into Ouyang Ye's trap." After speaking, she found Zhao Xiang completely unbearable.