Jiang Nuan looked at him and nodded quickly, "I believe you, I didn't say I don't believe you."
Mu Jiuchen smiled and continued looking through his mother's belongings. "These paintings, they're all of me. My mother loved to paint. After she married my father, she didn't go out to work. She spent every day playing with me. When I was asleep, or when I was being very good, she would pick up her brush and paint."
Mu Jiuchen very carefully took out the oil paintings for Jiang Nuan to see. He hadn't expected that this time, he would be willing to share his most painful past with Jiang Nuan, and it was because she was by his side that his heart didn't hurt as much as before.
Jiang Nuan also looked very intently. The pigments used were excellent. After more than ten years, the paintings still hadn't faded.
Sealed in boxes, they hadn't gathered dust.
Mu Jiuchen as a child was very handsome, with large, expressive eyes, painted with great spirit and liveliness, truly adorable.
Mu Jiuchen flipped through for a while but couldn't find the diary his father mentioned. Besides the paintings, there were only clothes he had personally folded. His mother's belongings were only these.
Mu Jiuchen looked at the items on the floor and suddenly understood that his mother had very few possessions in this home.
She was like a guest here, free to leave anytime she wished.
From these traces of her life, his mother truly hadn't integrated into this family.
Mu Jiuchen was a little disappointed, "Nuannuan, there's no diary."
Jiang Nuan also found it very puzzling. According to Mu Yunxiao's account, Mu Jiuchen's mother had died suddenly from a heart attack. In that case, the diary wouldn't have been put away or destroyed in advance.
If it couldn't be found, there was only one possibility: it was casually thrown away, or destroyed by its owner.
"Do you really want to know if your mother is still alive?"
Mu Jiuchen nodded, his expression very somber. "If she's still alive in this world, and if she left with that person and is living happily, I won't blame her for abandoning me."
"Because I understand very well what kind of person my father is. If my mother had stayed by my father's side, she truly would have withered away from grief."
"Being able to anticipate such an outcome, I actually hope she's living happier in a better place."
Jiang Nuan smiled, "Your way of thinking is very noble. Compared to me, you're actually doing very well. You have a grandfather who dotes on you. At the very least, you've met your parents. Look at me, I don't even know who I am. I suffered so much hardship when I was little to become who I am today; it wasn't easy at all."
"Now that I know I might have been deliberately taken away by someone, I want to know who my birth parents are even more."
"Nuannuan, we are both pitiable people," Mu Jiuchen said, hugging her with concern.
Jiang Nuan leaned into his embrace. After enjoying the embrace of the handsome man, she instantly turned fickle. She abruptly pushed away Mu Jiuchen, who was immersed in her sweet scent.
Mu Jiuchen looked at her with a wronged expression.
Jiang Nuan, with a flushed face but steady heart, said, "Even if we're sharing each other's misfortune, don't take advantage of me like this."
Mu Jiuchen argued back, "How did I? How did I take advantage? I'm hugging my future wife. Is that also taking advantage?"
"I'm hugging our love?" the man couldn't help but say emphatically.
Jiang Nuan's face quickly turned red, "Wh-what love?"
The two looked at each other deeply.
After a long while, Jiang Nuan couldn't bear Mu Jiuchen's scorching gaze and quickly shifted her eyes away.
She could clearly see in Mu Jiuchen's deep, sea-like eyes a strong possessiveness. If the atmosphere had been any more ambiguous, she guessed she might have been "dealt with" by Mu Jiuchen on the spot.
Mu Jiuchen looked at the retreating little girl with some helplessness.
No, no, no, he was the thick-skinned one who wouldn't be driven away. One day, this woman would surely admit that he, Mu Jiuchen, was her man.
He, Mu Jiuchen, was inherently different.
The two left the room. Jiang Nuan saw that Mu Jiuchen hadn't found any clues, and she knew he must be feeling very upset.
Jiang Nuan thought for a moment and then said, "Do you want to ask Butler Li? She's been suspicious for so many years; she should know who that person is, right?" After all, Li Wan had used information about his mother to threaten her into leaving Mu Jiuchen.
Mu Jiuchen also nodded and said, "They should have returned to town. I'll call and ask."
Jiang Nuan said, "I'm sorry. If I had known you cared so much, I wouldn't have refused Li Wan back then. Li Wan came with information about your mother to threaten me into leaving you. I should have pretended to leave then."
Mu Jiuchen frowned slightly, "How could something like that happen? How come I didn't know?"
Jiang Nuan replied, "It wasn't a big deal, so I didn't tell you. I was thinking, the secrets they know might not be secrets to you."
Upon hearing this, Mu Jiuchen laughed. Seeing the apologetic look on the girl's face, he chuckled, "Nuannuan, you did the right thing. There are no eternal secrets. Even if she doesn't say it, I can find out."
"If any woman threatens you privately again in the future, you teach them a good lesson. My woman, even if she causes heaven to collapse, I'll be here."
Jiang Nuan then smiled, "Okay, if you take advantage of me again, I'll beat you up."
Mu Jiuchen exclaimed, "Nuannuan, I think you misunderstood me. I meant you should beat up the women who threaten you."
Mu Jiuchen pointed to himself, "And I am a man who likes you. But I can also interpret 'beating' as affection, and 'scolding' as love. Feel free to beat me up."
Jiang Nuan was disheartened and walked out silently with her head down. It was simply too much bullying; she couldn't even gain the upper hand in a conversation.
Hmph!
Could a man who never backed down like him actually get a wife?
Jiang Nuan had some doubts about Mu Jiuchen's intentions toward her.
A few days ago, this man was very subtle, but these past two days, his words had become blatant.
Who gave him the audacity to call her his future wife!
Mu Jiuchen saw that the little girl was angry and gave up the idea of making a phone call.
If Butler Li had any news, she would probably tell Xiao Fan completely.
"Nuannuan, are you angry?" Mu Jiuchen chased after her and asked.
Jiang Nuan glanced at him from the corner of her eye and said, "No, I'm just a little down."
Mu Jiuchen: "—" What's the difference between that and being angry?
"Oh, right, Nuannuan, take good care of the property deed. This is your grandfather's thoughtful gesture."
Jiang Nuan suddenly stopped, almost forgetting about this matter.
"Mu Jiuchen, please return the property deed to Grandpa. I willingly gave birth to the child, not to get anything in return. This belongs to Grandpa. There's nothing between you and me right now, and I'm not qualified to have this house."
When Mu Jiuchen heard this, he felt there was a chance. If so, why not let her have something with him? A deep smile flashed across the man's face.
"Nuannuan, you are the mother of my child, which means you are my wife. How can you have nothing to do with me? Of all people in the world, you are the most qualified to have this house." Mu Jiuchen felt that in front of Jiang Nuan, he didn't want anything else except for her to be his wife.
The key was that he didn't dislike this shameless version of himself.
"Ninth Master, so you are here." A voice suddenly came from behind Mu Jiuchen.