Chapter 26: Keep Me Company

He suddenly grabbed Shen Xingman's hand from under the table, his long fingers gently stroking her pale wrist bone.

It was very discreet; no one noticed.

"Are you going home tonight?" he asked with calm composure a question that could easily arouse suspicion.

Though Shen Xingman feared giving herself away, she still maintained an attitude of "I don't know anything" and replied, "No."

The man was very pleased with this answer. He spoke, but his tone carried an air of half-truth, half-falsehood: "Then, keep me company, would you?"

Qiao Yun: "!" Holy crap!

Gu Qiuyan: "!!" Something's off here.

Celibate CEO × married young beauty??? Had Mu Zhihan's brain cramped up or had his brains been blown to bits? He was thinking that Mu Zhihan never lacked pretty girls around him.

Even though... this woman was indeed devastatingly beautiful, more gorgeous than a fairy from the ninth heaven, but still, you can't go stealing another man's wife, right?

Taking ten thousand steps back, if you're going to seduce a married woman, fine, but do you really need to notify her husband in advance?

This was like carrying a lantern while sneaking around doing shady business, hmph.

"No thank you, Mr. Mu. I'm already married."

The word "married" was bitten down on heavily, as if reminding him not to mess around.

What the hell does Mu Zhihan want?

Shen Xingman was so angry she slapped away his hand under the table, wishing she could get far away from him right now.

"Then what should we do? How about you go home and communicate with your husband?"

Qiao Yun: "..." Isn't this a bit too much?

Shen Xingman laughed instead of getting angry, her raven-black eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings. "Mr. Mu, coming at me like this the moment we meet isn't very appropriate, is it?"

Qiao Yun: "..." Isn't this a bit too direct?

Gu Qiuyan was stunned on the spot—holy shit, this fairy was alright, when there was something to say she really dared to say it.

And Mo Jiu had been watching the show from the sidelines the whole time, watching extremely seriously, not even blinking once.

He was just thinking that if he had a bucket of popcorn in hand right now, the experience would be even better.

Act, keep acting.

"What a coincidence," the man rested his chin on one hand, looking leisurely, a layer of tenderness rendering the depths of his eyes. "My wife came at me the exact same way when we first met."

Mo Jiu nearly spat out a mouthful of tea.

My lord, could you maybe do more proper business? So you came here specifically to flirt with your wife???

Qiao Yun's jaw also dropped to the floor: mind blown, bro, what kind of performance was this...

Mr. Mu was actually already married??

She flees, he pursues, she can't escape even with wings?? She weeps, he regrets, he follows her in life and death?? Help, Qiao Yun felt she had already imagined an entire melodramatic wealthy-family soap opera.

"Manman," Qiao Yun whispered to her impatiently, "what exactly exactly exactly is your relationship with this Mr. Mu?"

Important words must be repeated three times.

Shen Xingman: "..."

"Is it star-crossed fate or unrequited love?" Qiao Yun continued, "If love between two hearts lasts long, why must they be together day and night? Hearts joined yet dwelling apart, growing old in sorrow?"

"..."

"Searching, seeking, cold, desolate, miserable, mournful, dreary? He wandered half a life away, only to finally discover you were the one whose soul matched his?"

"Qiao Qiao, can you let me off, please?"

"Then tell me, what exactly is the situation right now?" Qiao Yun was so anxious she didn't know what to say. "... Um, your husband won't be mad when he finds out, right? Manman, I think it's very necessary to let your husband play dead and come back to life right now. Staying underground too long, you've got to come up for some fresh air, right? King Yama would definitely understand—after all, better to tear down a temple than destroy a marriage."

"Mr. Mu is clearly trying to eat you up."

Shen Xingman gave a light cough: currently playing dead.

And playing dead so stealthily that not even King Yama would notice, let alone Lady Houtu, who would have to give this move a thumbs-up and then double-tap to follow.

"Mr. Mu, is this how you chase girls?" Gu Qiuyan teased with a smile. "Didn't you hear Miss Shen say she's already married?"

For the record, this Gu Qiuyan was definitely on Mu Zhihan's side, but why he came over to tease and joke around, Shen Xingman couldn't figure out either.

Perhaps, it was to highlight someone's aura—

"No matter. I like married women."

Listen to that—is that something a human would say? If he were even slightly human, he wouldn't say something like this.

Qiao Yun also realized the seriousness of the situation: "Baby, maybe we should just go... This person, we really really really can't afford to mess with. Even the Jiang Family, in his eyes, would be on minimum welfare."

This was the acknowledged uncrowned king—anyone who crossed him would have eight generations of terrible luck.

And he seemed genuinely interested in Manman's beauty, but then again it didn't look that way—he was more like using his own methods to flirt, with an attitude of amusement.

Running a fish pond.

Some wealthy big shots just loved this kind of game of taking by force.

After all, Manman was so beautiful—who wouldn't want to take her home as a wife? If Qiao Yun were a guy, she'd absolutely be chasing her down the street.

"Mr. Mu, to emphasize once more, I'm married, and I'm not available tonight." Shen Xingman gritted her teeth, enunciating every word.

Mu Zhihan raised an eyebrow: "Then, how about bringing your husband along?"

Everyone present: "!!!"

Shen Xingman couldn't take it anymore hearing this. She pinched the bridge of her nose, not knowing how to respond.

You'd say he's serious, but then he cracks these boring jokes with you; you'd say he's not serious, but he manages the Mu Clan with great success, thriving and prospering.

This contrast was especially strange—it felt like he had a split personality.

I mean, there were still four or five other people around—how did he dare?

After thinking it over, she decisively stood up, took Qiao Yun's hand, and a faint anger showed in her eyes: "Qiao Qiao, let's go."

This meal definitely wasn't going to be peaceful.

Qiao Yun understood Shen Xingman's meaning, rose as well, and said nothing.

"Don't be angry, Miss Shen."

Mu Zhihan smiled, turned his head, and caught Shen Xingman's wrist, his voice as light as down feathers. "I'm not teasing you anymore. Let's sit down and have a proper talk."

Talk my ass!!!

"Let go." Shen Xingman glared at him, wishing she could claw his face to ribbons right now.

"Tsk tsk." Gu Qiuyan murmured in a low voice to Mo Jiu beside him, "Do you feel like—"

"Mu Zhihan right now is like a baboon in heat."

Mo Jiu: "What do you know? If there were no one around right now, Miss Shen's clothes would probably have flown off long ago."

Gu Qiuyan: "……???"

Mo Jiu: "Don't doubt it. Your experience is simply too limited."

The master was indeed very ascetic, but after meeting his wife, he swung from one extreme to the other.

And there was absolutely no possibility of him coming back from it.

Shen Xingman had her back to them, so she couldn't see at all; Mu Zhihan was also far from them, so he couldn't hear either.

"Remember to come home and keep your husband company." Mu Zhihan hadn't let go of her wrist at all. He sat in the chair and looked up at her.

"……"

"Or… keep me company."

He straightened his waist, leaned close beside her shoulder, and said in an extremely quiet yet magnetic voice, "That way I'll have the motivation to keep your secret."

"!!"

Get lost!!