Staring out the car window, Su Yao tried to pass the time by zoning out, but she couldn’t manage it.
The sound of her clothes rustling with every small movement caught her attention, and she swallowed hard, sitting up straighter, her posture rigid.
Chest in, stomach pulled in, yet her eyes kept glancing outside the window, avoiding the woman sitting beside her.
Still lost in thought, the car wasn’t moving fast, but before long, they had already merged onto the highway.
Sweat beaded on Su Yao’s forehead, and the air conditioning inside the car felt stifling and heavy.
At the same time, she could faintly catch the scent emanating from Mrs. Mu, which made Su Yao feel constantly watched.
The sensation was unbearable, stirring in her a fleeting impulse to jump out of the car—but the impulse disappeared as quickly as it came.
Mrs. Mu seemed intent on prolonging this encounter; otherwise, she wouldn’t have brought Su Yao along to sit in the back seat with her.
The two wore very different expressions—compared to Su Yao’s nervousness, Mrs. Mu appeared calm and composed, as if inviting Su Yao to accompany her was the most natural thing in the world, even though they had never interacted before.
The journey lasted just over an hour.
Su Yao stole a glance at Mrs. Mu, a noblewoman who bore a resemblance to Mu Nanqiu.
Pressure weighed heavily on her—not only because Mrs. Mu was Mu Nanqiu’s mother but also due to the intimidating aura of someone from a higher status, compounded by the age gap between them.
In her interactions with Mu Nanqiu, they had never delved deeply into each other’s families.
Partly because there was no pressing need, and partly because they felt it was better for each person to share that information themselves.
Su Yao had nothing to say—because she simply had nothing.
Mu Nanqiu, on the other hand, had never spoken much about her family.
She hadn’t even mentioned it to Beizhi, only saying she had a younger sister, without revealing her name to Su Yao.
This showed that she didn’t want Su Yao to get involved in that part of her life.
At first, Su Yao felt a bit lonely, but upon reflection during her alone time, she thought it wasn’t such a bad thing.
She was with Mu Nanqiu, and that was enough.
Lowering her gaze to her tightly clasped legs, she told herself not to think about anything else.
When the car began to slow down, Su Yao’s heart started pounding wildly, the sound ringing in her ears.
Soon after, the car came to a complete stop.
Mrs. Mu had already stepped out.
Swallowing to moisten her dry throat, Su Yao reached out with trembling hands and pushed open the door.
After hesitating briefly and watching Mrs. Mu walk ahead, she hurriedly got out.
Guided by Mrs. Mu, Su Yao walked down the Garden Path and entered through a large door.
The Mu family’s decor was elegant and exquisite, yet still undeniably luxurious to Su Yao’s eyes.
It was her first time stepping into such a wealthy household—an eye-opening experience.
Standing stunned by the entrance, she watched Mrs. Mu change her shoes.
Her motionless stance caught Mrs. Mu’s attention.
Unsure what to say, Mrs. Mu looked at Su Yao’s face, then after a moment, spoke.
“Use those blue ones.”
“Ah, okay…”
At the sound of the voice, Su Yao moved quickly.
The distance from the entrance to the spacious living room wasn’t far.
Mrs. Mu led her to the sofa and then turned to say,
“Sit down.”
Obediently, Su Yao sat on the sofa, still in her usual upright and tense posture.
Once seated, Su Yao kept swallowing nervously.
Her conversation with Gu Qin was still fresh in her mind, and she hadn’t expected it to come true so soon.
Just as she braced herself for the stereotypical mother-in-law’s tough act, Mrs. Mu left the room and headed upstairs, not returning for a long while.
Despite that, Su Yao didn’t dare relax, fearing she might leave a bad impression on Mrs. Mu.
But as time dragged on, she found it increasingly difficult to maintain her tension.
Her whole body was tight, and exhaustion set in.
She was also afraid to truly let her guard down—what if Mrs. Mu suddenly launched a surprise attack? How would she cope then?
Since they met, they had exchanged no more than ten words.
Su Yao’s limited insight couldn’t reveal what Mrs. Mu truly thought of her.
She felt it probably wasn’t favorable, especially since she herself felt like Mu Nanqiu being with her was like a charitable act.
Would she find me ridiculous?
Or look down on me and ignore me, which is why she’s leaving me here alone?
Su Yao was used to solitude, but in this unfamiliar environment, she had no sense of security.
She constantly felt an invisible gaze on her, her mind repeatedly anxious over Mrs. Mu’s impression of her.
It drained her spirit rapidly.
She felt as if she were trapped in fire, burning unbearably.
At the same time, she felt submerged in water, oppressed by an invisible force that suffocated her with icy cold.
Heat and cold alternated relentlessly, and a long-forgotten feeling crawled out from deep within her soul.
It climbed her spine and spread through her limbs and body.
Every inch of her skin ached with loneliness.
Alongside it came boundless fear, quickening her breath.
Cold sweat broke out all over her body.
Time seemed meaningless; she didn’t know how long she had been sitting there, only that her exhaustion was overwhelming.
Her entire body ached terribly.
Her head bowed, trembling hands pinching her own legs tightly.
Nanqiu, I’m so scared…
She desperately sought the little bit of safety she had left, but sadly, Mu Nanqiu was far away.
Beizhi had just sneaked out of her room when she saw her mother coming up the stairs.
Startled, she pretended to be casually going downstairs.
But she hadn’t taken more than a few steps when Mrs. Mu, face stern, snapped at her,
“Go back to your room.”
“Huh?”
“What ‘huh’? Go back!”
Beizhi hurriedly turned around and ran into her room, locking the door behind her.
Only then did Mrs. Mu return to her own room.
She planned to wait out this little girl first.
From the moment she saw Su Yao, there was one thing she wanted to confirm.
Back in her room, she took out her phone and dialed a number.
“How’s it going?”
The Little Maid sitting on the bed asked curiously.
Luo Yu noticed Beizhi had gone out briefly and returned immediately, feeling a bit regretful for agreeing to come over with Beizhi.
“It’s fine. My mom’s back.”
Seeing Luo Yu’s worried expression, Beizhi patted her chest reassuringly.
“My mom’s easy to deal with. No rush. Let’s just play in our room and keep the noise down.”
Luo Yu was easygoing. Since they were already here, she felt it would be a waste not to play.
“So, what are we playing?”
“Hehe~”
Beizhi smiled mischievously and reached out toward Luo Yu.
After a while, when they paused for a break, Beizhi ran out again to get some snacks—she was seriously dehydrated.
Just as she reached the stairway, she saw the lone girl sitting on the sofa in the living room.
Though mostly covered by a scarf, she was fairly certain of the girl’s identity, though it still felt hard to believe.
“Isn’t sister supposed to be out of town?” Beizhi muttered quietly, confused.
Then she quickly pieced together the situation.
“Could it be mom?”
“No, I need to inform her!”
Patting her pockets, she realized her phone wasn’t there.
Frowning, she hurried back to her room, only to find the door locked.
After a moment’s hesitation, she knocked softly on the door, and soon the lock was opened from inside.
Entering, she ignored the Little Maid and found the phone she had left on the bed.
She found her sister Mu Nanqiu’s contact number and sent a text, but feeling that wasn’t enough, she immediately made a call.
After a couple of rings, the call was answered.
“What’s up?”
“There’s a bit of a situation. Your… cabbage that you’re raising has been picked by Mom.”
The call ended, and Beizhi exhaled in relief.
That was all she could do.
She tossed the phone aside, then picked up her Little Maid again.
Not long after, Beizhi said,
“Change your clothes. I’m tired of this outfit.”
“I like this one, no changing.”
Luo Yu rolled her eyes and lay down, refusing to get up.
She truly liked this outfit—the fabric and craftsmanship were excellent, and having grown up in the household, Luo Yu had developed a strong liking for such things.
“If you like it, I’ll just give it to you.”
“Ah, don’t tickle me or I’ll scream, and you don’t want Mom to know, do you?”
Beizhi stopped her mischievous hand.
After a moment of silence, she grudgingly said,
“Fine, you win.”
Saying so, she hugged Luo Yu and let her play games for her while she watched.
Seeing Luo Yu getting frustrated from dying repeatedly in the same spot made Beizhi laugh uncontrollably.
Luo Yu had died at the same point over thirty times.
At first, it was just casual play, but now it was addictive.
Especially with Beizhi bothering her at critical moments, causing her to die repeatedly, Luo Yu was genuinely annoyed.
“Ah! You!”
At another crucial moment, Beizhi tickled Luo Yu, making her miss a jump and fall onto spikes, sending her back to the start.
She was furious but didn’t dare anger Mrs. Mu by making a scene, and Beizhi knew this well.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Mu frowned deeply as she looked at two photos on her phone.
After thinking for a long time, she stood up and headed downstairs.
Just as she was about to speak to Su Yao, she encountered an unexpected visitor.
Hurrying down to the living room, Mrs. Mu was initially happy to see Mu Nanqiu but soon her expression darkened.
Her face grew cold as she asked,
“Xiao Qiu, why are you back so early?”