Lu Qi, who had seen through the scheme, pursed his lips and smiled, deliberately misinterpreting Mu Nanqiao’s meaning. “Why move to your place? Do you think that I can’t afford a house, or that my apartment is small?”

Mu Nanqiao laughed, and the low, melodious laughter came from the phone as if his lips were touching Lu Qi’s ears. Lu Qi’s cheeks felt a bit hot. He wanted to move the phone farther away, but couldn’t bear to. 

“Детка…..” He sighed. “There are three main reasons to move. The first is to give Xiao Sanhua and I more living space and reduce unnecessary conflicts.”

“Second, the location of Prosperous Cloud is close to my company and your school. If I am unable to pick you up from school in the future, it will be very convenient for you to come back by yourself.” 

These two things sounded reasonable. Lu Qi said “huh” and asked again, “What is the third reason?”

This time, Mu Nanqiao was silent for a moment.

When he spoke again, his voice was a little hoarse. “Also, I’m in a very good mood when I see you sleeping unguarded next to me every morning.”

Lu Qi: ? ? ? 

“In a good mood?” Lu Qi blinked in confusion. “Then isn’t that great?”

Mu Nanqiao took a deep breath and said directly: “Baby, the physical reaction is hard and uncomfortable.”

This sentence revealed a bit of despair and frustration, falling into Lu Qi’s ears crudely and directly. But his voice sounded so nice, with a savage tension. Lu Qi’s face turned red, and he suddenly realized why Mu Nanqiao lingered in bed for a while every morning.

Not knowing how to respond, he could only hold his mobile phone and whisper: “Don’t say such things in front of Xiao Hei. It will hurt the cat too much…..”

Mu Nanqiao laughed when the chief culprit said this, but he was sensible enough not to cause trouble and continued to coax: “That apartment is a loft, with two guest bedrooms and two master bedrooms. If you move over, you can have a room to yourself.”

It sounded very tempting.

But Lu Qi felt that it didn’t seem like Mu Nanqiao would let him sleep by himself…..

Wu, maybe he was overthinking it.

“Then let me think about it…..” Lu Qi paused for a moment, then suddenly said in a low voice that was like a hum: “En…..after all, there is a physiological reaction. Cough, I have it too, ah…..”

Mu Nanqiao was momentarily stunned. By the time he could react, Lu Qi had already quickly hung up the phone.

He held the mobile phone and continuously made calls. The glass of the floor-to-ceiling windows reflected his tall, straight profile, and just leaning against a table, he looked like he was doing a photo shoot for a fashion magazine. Anyone who took a look from outside the door would think that Boss Mu was talking business with someone. They would never guess that his ear was red under the phone, the heat still spreading.

Lu Qi’s shy and awkward words were actually very easy to understand.

He also desired Mu Nanqiao, just like Mu Nanqiao desired him.

Like a spark falling into a haystack, it burst into flames with a loud boom, burning Mu Nanqiao’s heart and making his throat dry.

His little deer was so warm and straightforward. If he liked someone, he would respond clearly. Like a small meteor trailing flames, rushing straight toward him, so that in the magnificent light, he could only hear his own heart beating up and down due to that blazing love.

Mu Nanqiao felt that he couldn’t wait until he clocked out of work. He wanted to leave early and go back to the den as soon as possible to embrace Lu Qi and kiss him until his lips were swollen.

He walked out of the lounge covered in cat hair, walking so fast that he almost bumped into a woman at the corner, and reached out to steady her.

The other person was none other than his dad’s secretary. She had been his father’s right-hand person all these years, and Mu Nanqiao respected her very much. He lowered his head and called her “Aunt Yuan.”

But in the company, Aunt Yuan was very formal. She observed propriety, and had no intention of playing up her old age just because she had the boss’s respect. As an elder, she was very curious as to why Mu Nanqiao, who had always been steady, was suddenly so reckless. But as a subordinate, she just shook her head to indicate that she was fine, and then explained her purpose for coming to him. 

He expression was filled with unconcealable excitement as she grabbed Mu Nanqiao’s arm and said: “Boss Mu, I wanted to tell you that Chairman Mu just stood up!”

. . . . . . .

Mu Nanqiao walked quickly and listened all the way, getting a rough understanding of the situation just now.

Today was the day for the doctor’s examination, and Secretary Yuan said that when the doctor was examining Mu Chuanbai, it was said that Lin Yuan’s second trial still upheld the original verdict.

Mu Chuanbai laughed.

Secretary Yuan couldn’t understand his laugh, and only thought that it was complicated. At that moment, Mu Chuanbai seemed to have put something down and picked something up again. 

He held the edge of the table and suddenly exerted force with his arms. Even though his two long legs were in a comical posture, shaking and tottering, and although he only lasted less than five seconds, he did indeed stand up.

Then he fell heavily back into the wheelchair, smiling with reddened eyes.

When Mu Nanqiao arrived, Mu Chuanbai had already completed his examination. His doctor’s face was full of excitement, and he was discussing with Mu Chuanbai about going to the hospital for a checkup.

Naturally, Mu Nanqiao had to accompany him. He walked over quickly and half-crouched in front of Mu Chuanbai. He helped pick up the fallen blanket and then looked at his dad.

“Dad, you stood up?” His voice was still steady, and one could only hear him choking up if they listened carefully.

“Yes, ah.” Mu Chuanbai rubbed his hair, just like when his son would lie on his lap and listen to stories when he was a child. He laughed with tears in his eyes. “It’s a pity you didn’t see it.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Mu Chuanbai pushed him out. “There will be many opportunities to see it in the future.”

The examination results were predictably good. There were no major problems with Mu Chuanbai’s legs. It was just that several years of inactivity had caused muscle atrophy, and full recovery would require a period of rehabilitation.

After a series of examinations were completed, Secretary Yuan found an empty ward for the father and son and closed the door to give them some space.

Mu Nanqiao had known for a long while that the reason Mu Chuanbai couldn’t stand up and walk again was not because of the serious injury to his legs, but because of a mental disorder.

Subconsciously, he had been punishing himself.

But today, when Lin Yuan’s matter became a foregone conclusion, and those who had hurt his child had either died in accidents or were imprisoned, he finally decided to let himself off.

Neither father nor son smoked, but this time they each asked for one from the bodyguards. This was the Mu private hospital. If they occasionally took the prerogative, no one would stop them.

The two of them lit the flame in an unfamiliar manner, and after taking a drag, they both coughed together.

Mu Chuanbai coughed and laughed at the same time. “Cough, cough, if your mother knew what were are doing, she would definitely hit us with her fists…..coughcoughcough…..she hates the smell of cigarettes the most…..”

“Cough…..” Mu Nanqiao said, “Lu Qi, cough, doesn’t like it either…..”

Neither of them touched the cigarettes again until they burned out and the ward was filled with the pungent smell of nicotine.

Mu Nanqiao’s body felt numb from sitting. He crushed the cigarette butt and stood up first, looking at his dad.

Their similar faces silently told of the connection between them. He was the blood of Mu Chuanbai and Talia, the person destined to be loved by them since birth.

Because of this love, he felt guilty, and it hurt so much that he had to punish himself in the most severe way.

He leaned over and hugged Mu Chuanbai, whispering: “Dad, thank you for everything you have done for me.”

It turned out that there really were gods in this world.

. . . . . . .

After receiving the news from Mu Nanqiao, Lu Qi was so excited that he couldn’t sit still. But the current state of his sprained ankle forced him to sit still, so he looked at his phone for a while, feeling unbearably itchy, and waited for more news from Mu Nanqiao.

Uncle Mu had stood up…..

What good news this was! He always remembered that when he first met Mu Chuanbai, he was impressed by the elder’s demeanor. He had also thought many times about how great it would be if Uncle Mu could stand up.

Now that the miracle had happened, he didn’t know how happy Mu Nanqiao must be.

So when he heard the door unlock, he immediately hopped over like a one-legged rabbit and asked expectantly, “Uncle, he…..”

Before he could finish his question, he was hugged by Mu Nanqiao.

“What’s wrong?” He patted Mu Nanqiao on the shoulder.

“Nothing.” Mu Nanqiao’s nose gently nuzzled the side of his neck, drawing indescribable comfort from his warm scent. “I’m happy for my dad and for myself.”

Even though those wounds objectively still existed, he was always loved. And because he was loved, he knew how to love.

Lu Qi heard something in his tone.

Mu Nanqiao told him that Mu Chuanbai’s legs were not caused by a physical reason, but a psychological obstacle. There was only one reason that he could stand up again, and that was because the psychological obstacle had disappeared.

Lu Qi didn’t know much about Mu Chuanbai, but he was undoubtedly a mentally strong person, and the reason for a psychological disorder in such a person was obvious. Perhaps it was only his lover and his child.

But he felt that Mu Chuanbai didn’t want this matter to become a psychological burden on Mu Nanqiao. The two of them were indeed a father and son connected by blood. They both cared about each other and loved to dwell on their problems.

“Then do you want to go home for the next couple of days, ah?” Lu Qi suggested earnestly: “I know you didn’t go home often because there were some things you didn’t want Uncle and Auntie to know, but now that you and Uncle have taken a big step forward, maybe you can change the way you spend time together? En…..how about you go home and visit more often?”

Mu Naqiao gave him a hesitant look, his ears slowly turning red.

He was at a rare loss, and his fox-like eyes looked a little helpless because of this feeling. “Sometimes I don’t know what to say to my dad. It seems that we talk more about business when we’re together…..”

Suddenly, his eyes lit up. He looked at Lu Qi and said: “There is still you.”

Lu Qi: “Ah?”

The next day when he and Mu Nanchiao returned home, he was still a little confused and didn’t know what he was doing.

When they arrived, Mu Chuanbai was recuperating. He stood up with assistive equipment, stood for a while, and then sat down to rest. Mu Chuanbai looked surprised when he saw Mu Nanqiao coming in with a fruit basket.

“What are you doing here today?” Mu Chuanbai looked at the fruit basket with some disgust. “And you brought such a tacky thing…..”

“Uncle.” Lu Qi poked his head out from behind Mu Nanqiao. “That…..I brought it…..”

“This fruit basket is rich in color and balanced in nutrition. Every fruit is so fresh and perfect.” Mu Chuanbai smiled and nodded. “Thank you, Xiao Lu. I like it very much.”

Lu Qi: …..

Mu Nanqiao: …..

Lu Qi seemed to know why he had appeared here.

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Chapter Thirty-Two << Table of Contents >> Chapter Thirty-Four