Chapter 394: Chapter 394: Sending the Scourge Away
After Wang Yuting left, Lin Yu stared at the closed hospital room door, and the forced smile on his face slowly faded away.
He sat on the hospital bed, his expression gradually darkening. A destructive madness gleamed in his eyes...
At the Mu residence, Gu Jiaojiao had just finished Mu Ziquan’s acupuncture treatment. Before she could even wash her hands, she heard Mr. Mu call out from the doorway, "Jiaojiao, Shuo Ci is on the phone for you."
Gu Jiaojiao quickly walked out of Mu Ziquan’s bedroom. A bodyguard was already waiting in the living room with a basin of water for her to wash her hands.
She quickly washed her hands and trotted over to take the receiver. "Shu Ci, what’s up? Calling at this hour?"
"Jiaojiao, you’re still at the Mu residence? In that case, don’t worry about buying the motorcycle. There happens to be a motorcycle shop right near where I’m taking care of business."
Gu Jiaojiao quickly explained how Lin Yu’s presence at the Mu residence had delayed her acupuncture treatment.
"Oh, I see. Darling, what style of motorcycle do you like? I’ll go buy it for you right now."
Gu Jiaojiao said sweetly, "Just buy the style you like. Anything you like, I’ll like too. After you’re finished with your business, come to the Mu residence for dinner and pick me up to go home."
Mu Ziquan, having just finished a quick shower, came out of the bathroom just in time to hear Gu Jiaojiao’s words. His heart suddenly clenched.
’They have such a good relationship,’ he thought.
Though his heart ached with an indescribable pain, a faint smile remained on his face.
On the other end of the line, Su Shuochi was still talking. "I can just come pick you up. We don’t have to do dinner, though. I’m afraid I’ll be running late."
"Then we won’t wait for you. If you make it, you can eat. If not, just eat when you get home."
Gu Jiaojiao said nonchalantly. After all, she still had Su Shuochi’s favorite soy-braised pig’s feet and lemon chicken feet in her storage space.
"Okay, darling. I’m off to buy the motorcycle. You can hang up."
CLICK. Gu Jiaojiao hung up without a moment’s hesitation. She couldn’t stand people who dawdled.
Su Shuochi, still holding the receiver: ...
Then, he broke into a grin, put down the receiver, and turned to head to the motorcycle shop. He had wanted to buy a Jinggangshan motorcycle for a long time.
His wish was finally coming true. It seemed that ever since he’d met her, all his dreams came true.
"Jiaojiao, I’ll call Old Han and Old Xiao now. We can all eat together when Shuo Ci gets here," Old Mu said happily.
"Shu Ci said he’s not sure what time he’ll be here and that we shouldn’t wait for him," Gu Jiaojiao replied politely.
"That’s fine. As long as you’re not in a hurry, we old folks have plenty of time," Elder Xu added.
Xu Zhong: ’...But I have so much to do back at Huichun Hall!’
But he didn’t dare say it out loud. Ever since witnessing his Martial Aunt’s medical skills, he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible, no matter how busy he was.
"Martial Aunt, are you performing Ziquan’s surgery yourself tomorrow?"
"Professor Xia is the lead surgeon tomorrow. I’ll be supervising from the sidelines."
"Grand-aunt, shall I send a car to pick you up tomorrow?" Mu Ziquan asked calmly, having composed himself.
"That won’t be necessary. I’ll ride my motorcycle directly to the hospital tomorrow."
"Jiaojiao, you can ride a motorcycle?" Mr. Han asked in surprise the moment he stepped into the living room.
"Old man, what are you making such a fuss for? Is there anything Jiaojiao *can’t* do?" Elder Xiao retorted, following him inside.
"Haha... Brothers, you’re flattering me. There’s still plenty I don’t know."
As everyone was joking around, Mu Qingtong stumbled in, looking utterly distraught. "WAAAAH... Dad..." she sobbed.
"Auntie, what’s wrong?"
Sobbing, Mu Qingtong haltingly recounted everything Lin Yu and Wang Yuting had done.
"Qingtong, stop crying. You’re staying with us tonight. Go to my study and call He Ming. Tell him what that ungrateful wretch has done."
"Okay. Thank you, Dad." Mu Qingtong then addressed the guests. "I’m sorry for making a scene in front of you all, Uncles." Despite crying her eyes out, her ingrained sense of decorum remained.
"Go make your call. I’d like to see anyone dare laugh at my daughter. I’ll tear them to shreds," Mr. Mu declared fiercely.
After Mu Qingtong left, Mu Ziquan spoke up. "I’ve already had someone monitoring Lin Yu. I knew something was off about him."
"Good work, Ziquan. Jiaojiao, I’ll arrange for people to protect you tomorrow," Mr. Han said gravely.
"Jiaojiao doesn’t need our protection. Shuo Ci never leaves her side," Elder Xiao teased.
"Don’t worry, Brothers. I can protect myself. Shuo Ci can’t follow me tomorrow."
"That’s right! If Shuo Ci followed Jiaojiao, it would expose her identity!"
"Grandpa Han, Grandpa Xiao, Grandpa Xu, please rest assured. I will send men to protect my Grand-aunt," Mu Ziquan promised earnestly.
"You should worry about protecting yourself and making it to the operating room in one piece. There are plenty of people lurking in the shadows who don’t wish you well," Gu Jiaojiao teased with a smile.
"Jiaojiao’s right. She’ll be keeping a low profile. By the time anyone realizes she’s there, she’ll already be in the operating room," Mr. Mu said sensibly.
"In that case, we old-timers will just stay home tomorrow and not get in your way."
"Haha... Are you really that afraid of dying?"
"The good days are just getting started. You’re telling me you’re *not* afraid of dying?"
The old heroes always bickered when they got together. They would argue until they were red in the face, but they enjoyed every moment of it.
As dusk fell, Su Shuochi arrived. The Mu Family had prepared a lively dinner, and everyone ate together in perfect harmony.
Comforted by her husband, Mu Qingtong was in much better spirits. Surrounded by so many people at dinner, she had long since forgotten her pain.
She was happy, but her adopted daughter was not.
When Wang Yuting returned to the Wang residence, she found the house empty. The pots were cold, the stove was unused, and the entire place felt frigid.
She assumed her adoptive mother had gone out grocery shopping, so she plopped down on the sofa, grumbling to herself as she watched TV and ate fruit and snacks.
No one had returned by the time it got dark, and Wang Yuting started to panic.
Mr. Wang got a call from his wife. Hearing that Yuting had dared to brazenly abandon her and take a taxi home alone sent him into a rage.
He had come to despise his adopted daughter more and more in recent years. Only because his wife staunchly defended her did he and his sons show her even a shred of civility.
As soon as Mr. Wang hung up, he immediately called his eldest son at work to explain the situation. He told him he was taking all his sons out to a restaurant for dinner that evening.
While Wang Yuting was pacing around the Wang residence like an ant on a hot skillet, the four men of the Wang family—the father and his sons—were out at a restaurant.
"Dad, we haven’t been able to stand Wang Yuting for a long time," Wang Chengyao grumbled. "I’ve caught her giving Mom contemptuous looks behind her back several times."
"Mom always protected her before. Now that she’s seen her true colors, Dad, why don’t we strike while the iron is hot and get rid of that menace?"
The Wang family’s third son, Old Three, said through gritted teeth, "That adopted sister has been making me the scapegoat for her mistakes since we were kids."
"I got beaten countless times because of her. When I was little, I even started to wonder if *I* was the one who was adopted!"
"Don’t you worry," their father said. "I have the day off tomorrow. I’ll personally drive her back to her hometown and return her to her biological parents."
Mr. Wang thought it over carefully before coming to a decision. He looked at his sons seriously and said, "Eat up. We’ll head home once we’ve had our fill."
But he never would have dreamed that his downfall would come at the hands of Wang Yuting.
