Chapter 52: The Soul's Inquisition

—Wow! Does anyone know anyone involved? Does anyone have inside information? I really want the scoop!
—Hurry, hurry! The person who kept posting the exposés before, come and tell us the details—what exactly happened?
—Actually, you can guess some of it. The former Chairman Mu married He Xia, and He Xia has a daughter named Nan Shiqing. Now Chairman Mu has passed away, but the company has been taken over by He Xia’s brother, He Chengkui, and has nothing to do with Mu Yinyin at all. Isn’t that strange?
—But weren’t their relationships always good? Every time they attended events together, the couple seemed very loving, and even though they got together later, their relationship seemed fine. This shouldn’t have happened…
—Aside from that, what else could it be? It must be internal family conflict, with the He family wanting to take over the Mu family’s assets!
—If that’s the reason, then it’s understandable. The He family joined later, and all of this was built by Mu Yinyin’s father. Even if they’re entitled to inherit by law, it shouldn’t all belong to them.

When Nan Shiqing saw these comments, she was nearly driven mad with rage!

She’d gone to so much trouble yesterday to arrange all this, and what was the result?

What was the outcome? All of these people were siding against her! Because the official Stardust Weibo account posted an announcement, everyone had started discussing how the He family was seizing the Mu family’s assets!

Nan Shiqing was so furious she felt like coughing up blood!

She immediately closed Weibo and quickly dialed a number.

But…

The other party hung up without hesitation. Nan Shiqing, growing agitated, dialed again.

Hung up once more.

Unwilling to give up, she tried again.

This time, after a few rings, the call was answered.

Nan Shiqing forced herself to control her emotions, making her voice sound helpless and pitiful. “Sister, why are you doing this? Aren’t we sisters?”

Mu Yinyin let out a soft laugh. “Sisters? When it’s just the two of us, I advise you to drop the act. There’s no point.”

Nan Shiqing gritted her teeth. Even if it was just the two of them, she had to keep up appearances! After all, it was a phone call—what if Mu Yinyin was recording this?

What if Mu Yinyin sent the recording to Fu Siye and let him hear her true colors?

Suddenly flustered, Nan Shiqing said hurriedly, “Sister, we’re family—even if Dad is gone, even if we’re not related by blood, we still grew up together. You used to care for me so much, but now… now why have you become our enemy? We’re not even strangers anymore…”

The more she spoke, the more aggrieved she sounded. She couldn’t help but continue, “Sister, what did I do wrong? Please tell me, I don’t want things to be awkward between us. I’ve always considered you my real sister…”

Her voice was filled with helplessness, her plea thick with longing.

Mu Yinyin’s expression remained calm. “There’s no need to say these meaningless things to me anymore.”

“Wait!” Nan Shiqing realized Mu Yinyin was about to hang up and quickly blurted out, “Sister, are you free at noon? Let’s have lunch together, just the two of us!”

Mu Yinyin gave a cold snort. “Even if I were free, I wouldn’t spend it with you.”

With that, Mu Yinyin hung up and immediately blocked Nan Shiqing’s number.

When Nan Shiqing tried to call again, she was met with the mechanical female voice: “Sorry, the number you dialed is currently on another call, please try again later, sorry…”

“Aah!!”

Nan Shiqing threw her phone onto the bed in a fit of rage, her whole body on the verge of collapse. But she was the only one at home today—there was not even anyone to whom she could complain.

As for Mu Yinyin, she had just set her phone down when it rang again. She frowned, instinctively suspecting Nan Shiqing might have switched numbers. But after glancing at the caller ID, she paused, then answered without hesitation.

“President Lu.” Just two words, sounding distant and indifferent.

Lu Sinian’s lips curved into a faint smile. “Where do you want to have lunch?”

Mu Yinyin was a little surprised. “You really have business to discuss with me?”

Yesterday, at the banquet, she had announced she wouldn’t be cooperating with Mu Corporation, and Lu Sinian was the first to support her. She’d thought he was just publicly taking her side.

She hadn’t expected that Lu Sinian truly wanted to cooperate with Stardust.

Or perhaps?

Maybe he hadn’t planned to before, but because she had saved Old Master Lu, he’d deliberately found a project to work with her on?

“Of course I do. I wanted to work with Stardust last month, but Grandpa’s health kept delaying things. Now that I know you’re at Stardust, it’s more convenient than ever.” His voice was deep and gentle.

Talking to Lu Sinian never put her under pressure. In fact, she enjoyed conversing with him—he was witty and thoughtful, and being with him was always comfortable.

“What would you like to eat?” Lu Sinian asked again.

Mu Yinyin pursed her lips. “Anything is fine. Just send me the location once you’ve decided.”

Lu Sinian chuckled softly. “Alright, see you at noon.”

“Mm.”

They said nothing more and hung up.

But before Mu Yinyin could get back to work, her office landline rang unexpectedly.

She raised her eyebrows—one thing after another. She could guess what this call was about and, without hesitation, picked up.

“President Mu, the shareholders are demanding an immediate meeting. They… they want you to give an explanation.” The speaker was Mu Yinyin’s assistant, a girl about her age.

Though Mu Yinyin hadn’t been at the company for years, she was still in touch with her assistant.

“Have them gather in the conference room in fifteen minutes.”

“Er…” The assistant coughed awkwardly. “They’re already waiting for you in the conference room.”

Mu Yinyin arched an eyebrow. “I see.”

With that, she hung up.

She took her phone and made her way to the meeting room.

Pushing open the door, she saw all the shareholders present. The seat at the head of the table was empty—clearly reserved for her.

Jiang Ling, Li Chuan, and Gu Xiaoqi were there as well. Like Mu Yinyin, they had come at the assistant’s call.

Everyone’s gaze fell on Mu Yinyin, their expressions grim.

Before she could sit down, Luo Gang fixed her with a cold stare and demanded, “President Mu! You may be the head of Stardust, but the company isn’t yours alone. Shouldn’t you consult with everyone before making decisions? Because of the Mu family’s scandal, things have blown up, and now our stock price is falling. Are you really going to let your personal grudge drag the whole company down?”