Never forgotten?!
Never forgotten her identity?
Or never forgotten who his wife was?
Xin Yu dared not ask this question.
"Ayu, come back."
Mu Yichuan's simple four words raged in Xin Yu's heart, as if stirring up centuries of accumulated grievances.
Why is this happening?
Xin Yu simply couldn't understand what was wrong with her heart.
She clutched her chest, gasping for breath, her heart aching terribly.
Hundreds, even thousands of times more unbearable than the pain in her waist!
"What's wrong?" Hearing Xin Yu's heavy breathing, Mu Yichuan's hand trembled, and he almost dropped his phone.
"I…I'm fine…" Xin Yu tried to calm herself. Mu Yichuan looked at her through the rearview mirror, but the car didn't slow down at all.
"I'll go back tomorrow. No matter what, I still have to go to school." She hoped he wouldn't worry; she had nowhere else to run.
"Give the phone to Mu Yi'ai."
"Mu Yichuan..." Xin Yu couldn't resist and put the phone on speakerphone. "Go ahead and talk."
"If I don't see Xin Yu by noon tomorrow, you can expect to be collecting Nan Yu's corpse."
"Damn it!" Mu Yi'ai turned her head and cursed, "Mu Yichuan, you bastard!"
Beep beep beep.
The call was disconnected.
Mu Yi'ai was so angry that she drove in swerves and kept honking the horn.
"Slow down," Xin Yu put away the phone. "Nan Yu will be fine."
She looked at the agitated Mu Yi'ai. She cared so much about Nan Yu!
But Nan Yu seemed to have no desire to see her at all.
"Mu Yichuan, he's a bastard!" No matter how much Mu Yi'ai cursed, she couldn't vent her anger. "I really want to shoot him—"
"What do you need my help with?" Xin Yu interrupted her. After all, Mu Yichuan was her brother. "Tell me what you want in exchange?" Mu Yi'ai's cat-like eyes gleamed green as she lit a cigarette, tilting her head to look at Xin Yu. "If you dare to lay a finger on Nan Yu, we'll all die tonight!"
"You're crazy!" Xin Yu leaned back in her chair, the discomfort in her heart subsiding, but the swelling and pain in her waist remained vivid.
She pursed her lips, considering her words, and finally spoke, "I want to know if Qiu Feng and I look alike?"
Screech—
A series of sharp brakes screeched, deafeningly loud.
Mu Yi'ai turned around, staring blankly at Xin Yu, her eyes churning with turbulent emotions.
"Why did you bring up that woman!" she roared, almost maniacally. "She's been dead for three years, and she's still haunting us?"
Xin Yu was completely bewildered by Mu Yi'ai's words. "W-what's wrong with you?"
"I don't know what's wrong with me! Why did you bring her up?!" Mu Yi'ai continued to roar, a hint of crimson in her cat-like eyes.
"I just want to know if I'm her substitute," Xin Yu said truthfully.
"You'd better not be her substitute, or I won't need your help; I'll kill you right now." With that, Mu Yi'ai restarted the car.
"…" Xin Yu was stunned, pondering her words. What did she mean?
Mu Yi'ai continued speeding, the surroundings growing increasingly dark, the neon lights gone.
"Where are you going?" Xin Yu asked anxiously. Was she really going to find a secluded place to kill her?
"I…I don't want to be Qiu Feng's substitute!" Xin Yu spoke again. "I'm asking this because someone said I look like her, that I've become her substitute."
"The person who said that is blind."
Ahem—
Xin Yu's lips twitched. Mu Yi'ai's words were always so blunt!
Regardless of whether Cheng Yao was blind or not.
This time, Mu Yi'ai's words were like a reassurance, calming her down slightly.
She didn't want to be someone else's substitute; nobody wants to be someone else's substitute! Even if Mu Yichuan didn't like her, she didn't want him to see any trace of anyone else in her!
"We're here."
Mu Yi'ai's words interrupted Xin Yu's thoughts.
She turned her head to look out the car window; it was pitch black.
What kind of eerie place was this?
"Who goes there! Turn the car back immediately, or you'll face the consequences!" Suddenly, a light shone in front of the car, and a soldier-looking man shone a flashlight at them.
Then, another one appeared.
Then, several tents nearby lit up.
Good heavens!
Xin Yu was startled. Mu Yi'ai had brought her to a campsite?
A campsite?
This reminded her of the time she accidentally trespassed into forbidden territory at the foot of Baimu Mountain!
"W-what are you doing here?" Xin Yu was shocked. She remembered what Staff Officer Bai had said last time—to be executed on the spot!
And it was the middle of the night!
And everyone was asleep!
These two women had actually come here to cause trouble! "It would be a disservice to this madman's actions if he didn't get arrested as a pervert!"
"Looking for Nan Yu's uncle."
Nan Yu's—
"You're looking for Commander Nan?!" Xin Yu exclaimed excitedly.
Mu Yi'ai glanced at her, a mocking smile playing on her lips. "Looks like you know Nan Yu quite well."
...!
"Did you hear what she said? We're looking for Nan Juechen!" Mu Yi'ai slammed the door open.
She got out of the car.
She leaned arrogantly against the car door.
She lit a cigarette.
Her long, wavy brown hair swayed in the night breeze, adding to her allure.
However, she wondered if the men holding flashlights would appreciate it.
"Who are you! How dare you call Commander Nan by his name!" one of them roared, his voice ringing out. "You have three minutes to get back at least ten meters away!"
This startled several more tents. "Sorry to bother you," Xin Yu quickly leaned out, apologizing profusely, then called to Mu Yi'ai from the other side, "Get in the car."
Was she crazy?
Shouting like this, what if someone actually came to punish her? Wouldn't that have been a wasted trip?
Mu Yi'ai gave Xin Yu a cold look. "Are you afraid of dying?"
Damn it!
"Aren't you afraid of dying?"
So that's why she came here to challenge Nan Juechen?
Thinking of Nan Juechen, Xin Yu's heart fluttered—that man who looked so much like her mother.
She remembered him, deeply remembered him.
"A bunch of grown men just standing here, are they crazy?" Mu Yi'ai roared, stubbing out her cigarette. "Hurry up and call Nan Juechen out!"
Xin Yu was startled. She quickly opened the car door and got out, bowing to the group of men. "I'm sorry, my friend has a short temper. I don't know if he can see Commander Nan now? If not—"
"No, you must see him now!"
Xin Yu facepalmed. Was this she-devil here to sabotage her today?
"Fifty seconds left," a mechanical voice announced.
Xin Yu's palms were sweating with anxiety. This exchange was truly not worth it.
Although she had resolved her inner conflict, she was risking her life!
"Officer Bai!" Suddenly, Xin Yu's eyes lit up. She saw a man approaching with a flashlight, and she remembered him.
Thank goodness, fate hadn't decided to take her yet! "It's you?" Staff Officer Bai frowned, then noticed Mu Yi'ai. "Is it you two?"
Xin Yu nodded quickly; it was good that he recognized them.
"I need to see Nan Juechen now!" Mu Yi'ai rolled her eyes. "Is this how his troops are managed? They have to repeat themselves three or four times and still no one follows through!"
In the darkness, suddenly, the mechanical sound of guns being cocked rang out.
Good heavens, who's holding a gun?!
"Staff Officer Bai, Staff Officer Bai, could you please help me ask?" Xin Yu, flustered by Mu Yi'ai, could only nod and bow. "We're classmates of Commander Nan's nephew, Nan Yu."
"So late, you two have quite the complicated identities." He glanced at the two women; they were acting very well, one playing the good cop, the other the bad cop.
"..." Xin Yu paused, smiling awkwardly. "Thank you so much."
Suddenly, several long, solemn shouts of "Attention! Salute!" Xin Yu turned to see a muscular man in camouflage striding towards them.
He exuded an aura of righteous indignation.
If Mu Yichuan was a domineering emperor, then the meticulous man before her was a general who protected the nation.
Xin Yu's eyes followed his face, somewhat stunned. Why did this man's face resemble her mother's so much?
And they even shared the surname Nan?! And they were only five or six years apart in age?!
Nan Juechen had seen Xin Yu when he came out; he remembered her.
Many people feared him, but few were so afraid they fainted.
She was one of them.
But why was she staring at him like that now?
Was it because it was nighttime that she wasn't afraid anymore?
"Nan Juechen, you've been calling for ages!" Mu Yi'ai suddenly appeared in front of Nan Juechen.
Startled, Xin Yu shuddered and immediately regained her composure.
Nan Juechen glanced at Mu Yi'ai briefly but ignored her.
Instead, he looked at Xin Yu, his bright eyes sparkling. "Are you feeling better?"
Xin Yu froze, not expecting him to speak to her, especially in such a gentle manner.
"I'm fine, thank you!" She lowered her head, her lowered eyelashes trembling slightly.
"You intend to talk to me here?" Mu Yi'ai stared at Nan Juechen with cat-like eyes, a hint of hatred in them.
He still didn't answer, but turned around and shouted sharply, "You've trespassed into forbidden territory and haven't taken any action! All of you pack your things and get back to base!"
The night grew increasingly quiet.
Only the sound of soldiers' synchronized footsteps could be heard.
No one dared to complain, no one dared to argue.
Breaking the rules was wrong, and that was that.
And the two of them were lucky; they had escaped with their lives.
Mu Yi'ai took a step forward. This time, Xin Yu reacted faster, grabbing her arm, but she couldn't stop her from speaking.
"Nan Juechen, don't try that on me. I only have one question for you—"
Suddenly, the man turned sharply, grabbed Mu Yi'ai by the neck, and shoved her against the car door.
The force was so great that Xin Yu, who was holding Mu Yi'ai's arm, also slammed into the car.
"Ah!" Her waist…
Nan Juechen's eyes didn't move, he just stared at Mu Yi'ai with a sinister look, speaking slowly and forcefully, "What right do you have to ask me anything!"
Mu Yi'ai's face turned pale from being choked.
"You—you let go!" Xin Yu was so frightened her heart almost stopped. Ignoring the pain in her waist, she grabbed Nan Juechen's hands and tried to pry them off. "Let her go!"
The warm and smooth touch startled Nan Juechen, and his grip loosened instinctively.
Seeing this, Xin Yu quickly pulled his hand down and checked Mu Yi'ai, "Hey, Mu Yi'ai, are you alright?"
"Even if I die, I won't let you go, Nan Juechen!"
Xin Yu was so annoyed; he was still being stubborn even at a time like this!
She could only turn around and say to Nan Juechen, "You—you're the commander! Don't stoop to her level!"
"Commander? A powerful commander!"