Chapter 63: 61 Dementia_1

    Qin Mu ate that meal with fear and trepidation. She intentionally delayed leaving until Jing Qing and Qin Mingzhu had gone, then awkwardly but politely expressed her gratitude to Feng Fanghua, "Thank you for the breakfast, I really liked it."

    "I didn’t prepare it, so no need to thank me."

    Qin Mu knew she wouldn’t receive any kind words but didn’t get angry. She was silently grateful since Feng Fanghua hadn’t tried to coax her away in front of Jing Qing that day.

    "Aren’t you supposed to go to work?"

    "Oh, yes!"

    Only then did Qin Mu remember the important matter at hand.

    She went upstairs to get her bag, and when she saw a plate of oranges on the table, she sneakily took two while Feng Fanghua had gone. After walking a few steps, she turned back, grabbed another two for her bag, and left.

    Her cautious yet playfully mischievous demeanor made an auntie watching nearby chuckle.

    Qin Mu chuckled too, "You’ve worked hard, goodbye!"

    After she left, the auntie whispered to the butler, "No wonder our young master likes her, she’s really lively and cheeky."

    "Hmm, she was much better when she was little, but now..."

    The butler didn’t finish, only sighed and shook his head.

    Nowadays, Qin Mu had to be enduring, cunning, calculating, extremely cautious, and yet had to pretend - how could she possibly be truly happy?

    After discussing with Jian Yan in the office for a while, when there was a lull, she casually pulled open a drawer and saw a document lying there. Her eyes unconsciously drooped, and then she closed it.

    To give it to him?

    To give it to him would be to deceive!

    And she didn’t truly want to deceive him.

    He hadn’t asked her again about the adoption papers for Huanhuan, so she decided not to take the initiative to bring it up.

    Xiaomei knocked on the door, "Qinqin, President Liu is here!"

    Jian Yan, standing upstairs, unconsciously curved his lips as he saw Qin Mu go down to meet Liu Jingyuan.

    This girl’s situation seemed quite good since returning to the country, with apparently not a few admirers.

    "Check if it fits. There’s a fitting room over there, you can go try it on. If it doesn’t fit, I can alter it for you right away," said Qin Mu, her eyes lowered as she spoke softly to him, seeing Xiaomei open the expensive package.

    "There is no need, I trust you. If there really is a problem, I can find you later," he replied.

    Qin Mu nodded without saying much, but Liu Jingyuan awkwardly laughed for a couple of seconds before asking her again, "Do you have time for a cup of tea today?"

    "Um... I’m sorry!"

    Qin Mu genuinely felt sorry, but her mentor was waiting for her in her office, and she wouldn’t go anywhere else.

    "Alright, then. Wait for when you have the time!"

    After Liu Jingyuan left, Qin Mu stood at the door watching him, then sighed helplessly.

    So many people socializing every day, for salary, for career, some for family, for love. But what about her?

    By the time she was heading upstairs, Jian Yan was still standing where he had watched her earlier, "Who’s this God of Wealth?"

    "Liu Jingyuan, I heard he’s a real estate tycoon from Rongcheng," explained Qin Mu.

    Jian Yan nodded and went into the office first, followed by Qin Mu.

    Of course, when he was there, the place behind the office desk belonged to him. The mentor would always be the highest authority.

    Qin Mu sat opposite him, presenting the designs for Fashion Week she had prepared earlier for him to see. After flipping through a couple of pages, Jian Yan looked up at her, "You haven’t made any progress recently, and it seems like you’ve fallen back a bit."

    Qin Mu...

    Seeing her mentor’s disappointed look, she felt guilty and perplexed, but a closer inspection revealed that her designs indeed lacked heart.

    Since returning, she seemed to have been out of touch.

    Where was her heart?

    Qin Mu gave a wry smile, then looked up at Jian Yan again, "I’ll improve right away!"

    "Mmm!"

    Jian Yan nodded and didn’t say more, getting up to leave.

    Qin Mu spent the entire afternoon adjusting the design drafts.

    At six o’clock in the afternoon, Jian Yan was in the living room with a laptop on his legs, watching the news. Upon seeing a familiar figure walk in, he smiled and said, "President Mu!"

    Mu Yichen also saw him and walked over to sit opposite him.

    When two kings meet for talks, one is sure to get hurt!

    With his legs crossed in front of him, Mu Yichen asked, "How long will you stay?"

    "Let’s see, the scenery here is nice, might stay a few more days," Jian Yan said earnestly, eyes fixed on Mu Yichen’s face.

    Mu Yichen smiled, seeming to understand what he wanted to see.

    But Mu Yichen said nothing, just nodded knowingly.

    "Qin Mu hasn’t been very attentive recently, is it because you’ve been putting too much pressure on her?"

    Jian Yan, recalling Qin Mu’s design drafts, asked again.

    Mu Yichen then took on a more serious demeanor, his brows furrowing, but he remained silent.

    Was he putting too much pressure on her?

    If he was the reason for her distraction, what was the main cause?

    Had she finally had a change of heart, enough to be disturbed by him?

    "Maybe she hasn’t adjusted to being back in the country?"

    Jian Yan, after hearing this, nodded. "Did she go to her father’s birthday banquet?"

    "Yes, exactly," Mu Yichen said. "To be precise, it’s more than just attending a birthday banquet."

    "What else then?"

    "And there’s more..."

    As Mu Yichen finished sharing his plan with Jian Yan, Qin Mu just happened to come downstairs looking for a drink. Seeing the two of them there, she walked over to sit down, picking up Mu Yichen’s teacup to drink from it and curiously asked, "What are you two talking about?"

    No one answered her question, but Jian Yan’s gaze resting on the cup indicated he was quite disheartened.

    "It’s nothing, how’s the revision going?" Jian Li swiftly changed the subject.

    "Not bad, I’ll work late and then you can check it for me," she answered.

    Work late?

    The man sitting beside her was very displeased. Why did she have to work late again?

    "You’re always working late, what about Huanhuan?" Mu Yichen questioned.

    Qin Mu looked up at him. "Right, Huanhuan is still with your parents today. They seem to adore her, so how about we don’t let her come home tonight? I can pull an all-nighter to finish these designs."

    "Don’t even think about it."

    Mu Yichen immediately rejected the idea, watching her absentmindedly focused on the design drafts.

    Qin Mu...

    "I’m not leaving in the next couple of days either, so you shouldn’t stay up all night."

    Jian Yan certainly wouldn’t want his beloved apprentice to keep working through the night, especially when there was no rush.

    Without understanding her mentor’s meaning, Qin Mu blinked instinctively.

    Jian Yan was the kind of person who liked to solve problems immediately. Procrastination wasn’t his style, but this time...

    "Oh, okay then!"

    Qin Mu took another sip of tea and, lowering her gaze as she thought, realized she was using Mu Yichen’s cup and almost cringed with embarrassment.

    "I finished your tea, I’ll pour you another cup."