Chapter 153: Uncle and Sister-in-law

Ma Menghan clutched her mother's memento and rushed out of the Ma Family, having no direction and no purpose, just running wildly with her head down.

"Thump!"

Carelessly, she tripped over her own feet, fell to the ground, and the box in her arms went clattering away.

Ignoring the pain in her body, Ma Menghan immediately scrambled up, picked up the box, and clutched it tightly to her chest again.

When she tried to take a step and run wildly again, a sharp pain shot through her ankle, and she stumbled, nearly falling once more.

Her left foot was sprained and visibly swelling; now, let alone running, she couldn't even walk.

Ma Menghan bit her lip, glared resentfully at her swollen ankle, and in a fit of anger, sat down by the side of the road.

The surroundings were bustling with heavy traffic and hurried people, yet no one noticed her.

She hunched her shoulders, lowered her head to gaze at the brass box in her arms, and gently wiped the dust off it with her sleeve, over and over again.

But she discovered that a piece of the surface had been scraped off, standing out awkwardly there, and no matter how she wiped, it wouldn't come off.

She used more and more force, but no matter what, it wouldn't come off.

She suddenly felt a burning pain on her face, and when she touched it with her hand, it felt ice-cold.

It turned out that she had long since been streaming with tears without realizing it, and the tears soaked into the scrapes on her cheekbones, hurting very, very much.

She hugged her legs, buried her head in the crook of her arms, bit her lip, and sobbed in a low, stifled voice.

"Running so fast, you fell, didn't you?"

A casual and warm voice reached her ears, and before Ma Menghan could see the person clearly, a tall figure had already bent down and crouched.

A broad, powerful hand grasped her swollen left ankle.

Ma Menghan stared at him blankly, and tears gushed from her eyes like a broken levee.

Chen Che inserted a Ghost Gate Needle into Ma Menghan's swollen ankle, and in less than half a minute, the swelling subsided.

Chen Che looked up at the wound on her face and frowned, saying, "It's just a scrape, nothing serious, but I can't make it heal instantly. Go buy some disinfectant at a pharmacy in a moment, then just cover it with a bandage."

Ma Menghan bit her lip and said nothing.

Chen Che remained crouched in front of her, looking at her tear-streaked face, gently wiped away the teardrops that had slid to her chin, and smiled, "No need to cry. Blood ties are a natural bond, but they can still be severed. That home doesn't belong to you, but it's not your fault; it's that they don't deserve you."

Ma Menghan cried even harder, but her heart was filled with warmth, no longer feeling desolate.

"Alright, stop crying."

Chen Che patted her head and helped her up, "I had originally planned to mooch a meal at the Ma Family, but I didn't get to eat because I was chasing you; you treat me."

"Mm!"

Ma Menghan nodded heavily, but her tears showed no sign of slowing.

"Menghan, Chen Che!"

Just as the two were preparing to find a place to eat, Ma Zijun caught up, panting for breath.

Seeing Ma Zijun, Ma Menghan subconsciously hid behind Chen Che; even Ma Zijun, who had always been good to her, could not compare to even a fraction of Chen Che at this moment.

"Menghan, I'm sorry, I know you were wronged today, but Dad, he..."

Ma Zijun looked at Ma Menghan's tear-filled eyes, the words he wanted to say stuck in his throat, and finally turned into a heavy sigh.

"I've arranged a place for you; it's my villa on Nanchang Road. I don't go there often, so it has been vacant; you can stay there for these few days."

Ma Zijun handed the keys to Chen Che, "Chen Che, I won't say much about thanks; this house is yours. You have things to handle in Jinling and need a place to stand. Besides, this is insignificant compared to what you've done for the Ma Family. Also, I have a bit of a selfish motive: please take good care of my sister these few days."

Chen Che took the keys and nodded, "Ma Shao, rest assured."

Ma Zijun took one last look at Ma Menghan and turned to leave.

He knew that at this moment, Ma Menghan did not want to see him, much less anyone from the Ma Family; only Chen Che could give her trust and a sense of security.

After returning to the Ma Family, Ma Zijun went to the study. Ma Yiren was sitting inside alone, with the lights off.

In the dim environment, his figure was so lonely and desolate.

"Dad." Ma Zijun called out.

Ma Yiren raised his eyes and asked, "Settled?"

Ma Zijun nodded: "The villa on Nanchang Road. Menghan is in a bad mood; she shouldn't be returning to Shanghai these few days, and with Chen Che accompanying her, she won't be willing to leave anyway."

Ma Yiren's expression was slightly startled: "Does Menghan like Mr. Chen?"

"That's right."

Ma Zijun recounted what happened earlier in Shanghai, "Zichen went to cause trouble for Menghan, and it was Chen Che who resolved the siege; it was also at that time that I realized he is not simple."

"According to what you say, he was able to defeat the Director of the Inspection Bureau, wipe out the Zhang Family, and most importantly, destroy the Martial Arts Alliance..."

Ma Yiren's expression was astonished; he could not believe these were things a twenty-five-year-old young man could accomplish.

"Your judgment is very correct; Chen Che is indeed worth the Ma Family giving their all! Your trip to Shanghai this time really picked up a treasure!"

Ma Yiren's gaze was filled with longing; having spent many years in the political arena, the eye for people he had cultivated made him affirm Ma Zijun's judgment.

"Since that is the case, if Chen Che needs any help in Jinling, you should assist him more. Perhaps in the future, we might not be able to climb high enough to reach him. Building a good relationship at a time like this is the only way to be secure."

Ma Yiren exhorted again.

"Understood."

Ma Zijun paused and tentatively said, "Dad, about Menghan..."

"Hoo~"

Ma Yiren took a deep breath and said, "I have failed her, but I truly have no way to acknowledge her. The Ma Family... your grandfather would never allow her to appear in the Ma Family. Consider it a debt I owe her; you help me settle her well, and satisfy any of her requests as much as possible."

Ma Zijun was silent for a long time, and a thousand words finally turned into a sigh: "Alright, I know."

"Whoosh!"

Huang Zhu came out of the bathroom after showering; she was wearing a bathrobe with her hair wrapped up, and her whole person exuded the charm of a mature woman.

However, at this moment, a layer of gloom was floating on her exquisite face.

Today's events had almost angered her to death!

She had not expected that back then, Ma Yiren had sworn he had severed ties with Ma Menghan's mother.

In fact, he had indeed done so, never once going to see Ma Menghan all these years.

As for the things she had hinted for Ma Zijun to do, she could choose not to pursue them, but Ma Yiren had actually been keeping it from her all this time, privately hoarding the mementos of Ma Menghan's mother!

This was something she could not tolerate!

No wonder Ma Yiren had always liked sleeping in the study, using the excuse of being busy with work, when in reality he was looking at those mementos and pining for the person!

To Huang Zhu, this was a tremendous humiliation!

Therefore, she moved out of the Ma Family that very day and came to the hotel.

Huang Zhu shuffled in her slippers as she walked out of the bathroom, thinking she would sleep after drying her hair, but she did not expect to see an unexpected person.

"Why are you here?" Huang Zhu frowned and asked.

The man sitting on the sofa stood up, faced Huang Zhu, and smiled: "I heard from Zi Ai that sister-in-law was in a bad mood today, so I came specifically to comfort you."

The man was none other than the Ma Family's youngest uncle, Ma Yiren's own younger brother, Ma Yishan.

"That's not necessary, you should leave quickly."

Huang Zhu kept a straight face and walked straight past Ma Yishan to grab the hair dryer on the coffee table.

Unexpectedly!

Ma Yishan grabbed Huang Zhu's wrist and pulled her backward; he sat back down on the sofa, and Huang Zhu sat on his lap as a result.

"Ma Yishan!"

Huang Zhu glared at him with an unpleasant expression.

Ma Yishan smiled: "Sister-in-law, it's not the first time. You were the one who said it back then: if big brother could cheat, you could also find another man, it just so happened to be me."

Huang Zhu had a gloomy face and did not speak.

Ma Yishan took a sniff of the gardenia-like scent of the body wash on Huang Zhu and continued: "That bastard of big brother's is indeed a trouble, but the old man will absolutely not let her cross the threshold of the Ma Family. Otherwise, it wouldn't just affect big brother's career, but the old man's as well. So, sister-in-law, you can rest assured."

"I don't care about those things, I only care about the humiliation I've suffered all these years!"

Huang Zhu said viciously.

"Sister-in-law, although big brother has wronged you, you can consider yourself to have gotten it back; you aren't at a loss."

Ma Yishan's thick hands began to get restless.

Huang Zhu turned her head to look at him, raised her hand to remove the towel from her head, let her wet hair fall down, curled her lips, and smiled: "Do me a favor."

Ma Yishan's Adam's apple bobbed as he looked at her in confusion: "What is it?"

"Help me kill that bastard!"

A fierce light erupted from Huang Zhu's eyes.

Ma Yishan kissed Huang Zhu's neck and asked: "How do you want her to die?"

"Anything, but the sooner the better."

Huang Zhu said.

"No problem, I guarantee you will be able to see her corpse tomorrow."

Ma Yishan wrapped his arms around Huang Zhu's waist, stood up abruptly, and walked toward the hotel's large bed.