Chapter 90: What’s Gotten Into You?

Lan Yanzhi risked his life to keep his friend company, and together they drank more than ten bottles of liquor. In the end, he was so drunk he could barely recognize his own mother. The other man, who had drunk even more, remained clear-headed. Lan Yanzhi lay sprawled on the sofa, his vision blurred by alcohol, watching him leave. He wanted to ask where he was going, but the words tumbled incoherently from his mouth.

Mu Sihan summoned Wei Lin, who helped him into the car. When Mu Sihan was drunk, he didn’t lose control or act wildly; on the contrary, he became unusually quiet. Gone was his usual arrogance and recklessness—inebriated, he shed his cold, hard exterior, and seemed more like a child deprived of affection.

“Wei Lin, let’s head back to the estate?” Wei Lin suggested.

Mu Sihan leaned back in his seat, his eyes half-closed, his features tranquil. It was impossible to tell whether he was drunk or lucid. Wei Lin waited a long while before Mu Sihan finally uttered the name of a hospital.

At the hospital, Mu Sihan refused Wei Lin’s support. He strode toward the inpatient ward, his tall figure swaying slightly. He stopped outside the room where the child was staying, but didn’t enter. Standing before the glass window, he peered inside. The woman was nowhere to be seen; only the child and an older woman were there.

Mu Sihan returned to the car. He lit a cigar, took a few drags, then instructed Wei Lin to drive to the Huadong Garden residential complex. He climbed to the sixth floor and stood before the door of an apartment he had once visited.

...

Nan Zhi was running a fever. She had taken medicine, but her head still throbbed painfully. Afraid of infecting Xiao Kai, she decided to rest in her own apartment that night.

She had finally managed to fall asleep when suddenly, loud knocking startled her awake. At first, she thought it was coming from the neighbor’s place, but after listening carefully, she realized it was her own door being rapped upon. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was nearly dawn. Who would be knocking at this hour? Fu Shaoxiu? Had he discovered where she lived, or uncovered something?

Nan Zhi frowned, retrieved a wooden stick from beneath her bed, and dragged her weary body to the door. Peering through the peephole, she tried to make out who was outside. The corridor was pitch dark; the sensor lights had faded, leaving her unable to see anything. Yet she could sense a person standing there—a powerful presence. The feeling was familiar; Nan Zhi recognized it. It was that hot-tempered egomaniac! What was he doing at her apartment so late at night?

Just as Nan Zhi was puzzling over his visit, the sound of a video call rang out from her phone. Hastily, she hung up, switched her phone to silent mode, and tossed it onto the shoe cabinet.

Only a few seconds passed before the knocking resumed, louder than before. Nan Zhi saw her neighbor across the hall open their door and complain loudly, “Have some decency! You’re disturbing people in the middle of the night!”

Nan Zhi, recalling the man’s foul temper, worried he might go over and beat her neighbor, but she had no intention of opening the door for him herself. Her head was spinning; she simply didn’t have the energy to deal with him. In her mind, he was even more difficult than ten Fu Shaoxius combined.

“What are you yelling about? If you don’t want trouble, get back inside and go to sleep!” The neighbor grumbled, but was immediately silenced by the man’s roar, promptly shutting the door.

Nan Zhi had never seen anyone so unapologetically bold, even when they were clearly in the wrong. More banging echoed through the apartment—a series of kicks against the door.

“Woman, I know you’re in there. Open the door, or I’ll kick it in.”

Through the peephole, Nan Zhi saw his jet-black eyes shot with red, his whole body exuding a dark, dangerous aura. Her legs felt weak with fear. A woman’s instinct told her he was very dangerous right now.

“I’ll count to three. One, two—”

Nan Zhi, her face cold, swung the door open. “Mu Sihan, what madness are you up to now?”

Before she could finish, the man shoved her directly into the apartment.

...