Between a Rock and a Hard Place

The next morning, Mo Xuan woke up feeling sore all over, with a dull ache in his shoulders.

"Why am I sleeping here?"

Mo Xuan was surprised by the room's layout - this should be the room where Luo Shiya and Luo Muqi stayed. He instinctively checked the bedsheets and covers, which were perfectly neat without any signs of disturbance.

"You're awake?"

Luo Shiya walked in with a glass of milk and sat on the edge of the bed, her face showing a hint of apology as she said, "I'm sorry, Xuan. I... I've been under a lot of stress at work lately, so I haven't been sleeping well. I added some sleeping medication to the wine yesterday, but it was my first time doing this, so I didn't get the dosage right..."

Mo Xuan stared at Luo Shiya blankly, thinking something wasn't right about this - who would normally add medication to wine? As if anticipating his thoughts, Luo Shiya pointed to the bedside table and said, "See for yourself, I'm not lying to you."

Mo Xuan followed her gesture and indeed saw a box of sleeping medication.

"How much did you add?" Mo Xuan remained skeptical. "I feel like yesterday I..."

Mo Xuan thought hard but couldn't seem to remember what happened last night. Luo Shiya handed him the milk and said, "It's my fault and Muqi's. We let you drink a couple more glasses, then you fell asleep here, while Muqi and I went to stay with our daughter."

Mo Xuan noticed the dark circles under Luo Shiya's eyes and felt a pang of concern, "Did Wei'er and Xue'er keep you up?"

"It's fine, the children were well-behaved. It's just that... having four people squeezed together wasn't very comfortable," Luo Shiya smiled. "Actually, I wanted to stay and take care of you, but you always keep your distance from us..."

"That's not it, I..."

Just as Mo Xuan was about to speak, Luo Shiya suddenly placed her finger on his lips. The unexpected intimacy made Mo Xuan blush instantly.

"I know, you didn't want what happened back then and have always felt guilty," Luo Shiya slowly withdrew her finger. "Besides, you know my sister likes you too, and we've both had your children. It's understandable that you find it difficult to choose."

Luo Shiya handed Mo Xuan the milk and stood up with a smile, saying, "It's okay, I can wait, and so can Muqi. Drink your milk and get up - it's almost noon. I've ordered some nice Japanese food, and the children will be coming to find you soon."

Mo Xuan's lips moved, but he couldn't say anything. Something about the past events had always felt wrong to him, but he had never considered that it might have been a scheme by the Luo sisters.

Who would believe that the two Luo family daughters had plotted to have intimate relations with him and then bear his children?

Through their long association, Mo Xuan had felt their sisterly affection for him, but he had always known his place and never dared to respond, knowing he wasn't worthy.

However, the gentleness of Luo Shiya and Luo Muqi, their understanding and acceptance of him, had gradually made him grow attached.

"Ah..."

Sighing, Mo Xuan drank the milk in one go. Unlike before, now psychologically influenced by Luo Shiya, his confusion and uncertainty made him feel even more helpless.

Leave, stay, Luo Shiya or Luo Muqi - he had no idea what to do.

"Why... can't I have both?"

The thought suddenly appeared in his mind, but Mo Xuan immediately cursed himself internally. Who was he to think such thoughts? He wasn't even worthy of one of them, yet he dared to dream of having both, like some ancient emperor?

Feeling inexplicably irritated and somewhat dejected, Mo Xuan lay back down on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"What should I do..."

While Mo Xuan was wrestling with his dilemma, things weren't so peaceful at the Mo and Qin families.

Qin Ni's jewelry company was confirmed to have committed fraud. Although Qin Corporation wasn't a major jewelry company, it was still a well-known brand. This particular incident involved counterfeit gold necklaces with incorrect weight specifications.

For a jewelry company, especially concerning gold items, this was essentially destroying their own reputation.

That wasn't all - Mo Corporation's products were also found to have issues. Mo Corporation had built its fortune in shoes and clothing. Mo Changshan and Mo Jinpeng had been eager to expand their business into the new energy market, which was why they had tried to bid for Rongxing's robotic arms, hoping to gradually move from components to core technologies like batteries.

However, a fire suddenly broke out in Mo Corporation's warehouse, allegedly due to aging electrical circuits with no human factors involved. The problem was that Mo Corporation had been warned about safety hazards in their warehouse but hadn't addressed them, resulting in reduced insurance compensation. Moreover, the destroyed inventory was about to be shipped, leading to substantial penalty fees for breach of contract.

This double blow effectively bled both Mo Corporation and Qin Corporation dry.

"How did both sides run into trouble at the same time?"

Mo Changshan raged in his study while Qin Ni sat silently beside him.

"What do we do now?" After a long while, Qin Ni finally spoke. "We've traced the problem on my side to some subordinates and are screening through everything. We've also started crisis management."

"Well, at least only one of our two warehouses burned down, and some goods had already been shipped out. We've sent people to negotiate for more time to deliver the rest..." Mo Changshan sat in his armchair, looking pale. "Together, our losses are at least 400 million... Jinpeng advised me yesterday to quickly buy back the shares from the old lady, saying that if that unfilial son Mo Xuan makes a move at this time, we'll be in an even worse position..."

"Speaking of which..."

When he mentioned Mo Xuan, Qin Ni told Mo Changshan about the nursing home incident. After hearing it, Mo Changshan frowned deeply: "Jinpeng mentioned this to me yesterday too. Are you sure the watch he was wearing was genuine?"

"Almost certainly. Red envelopes worth 2,000 for everyone at the nursing home, plus one of only eight watches in the world, and a limited edition Maybach," Qin Ni mentioned this with some confusion. "Such extravagance suggests that the woman behind Mo Xuan now must be quite extraordinary..."

Qin Ni glanced at the contemplative Mo Changshan and tentatively asked, "Why don't we talk to Dad about letting Mo Xuan come back? After all, Jinpeng was in the wrong back then..."

"You know how the old man and the old lady are at odds, and by extension, he doesn't like Mo Xuan either..." Mo Changshan lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. "Besides, the old man initially sent Mo Xuan to spite the old lady, but it unexpectedly worked in her favor..."

Qin Ni couldn't help but laugh coldly inside. Spite the old lady? Sending his own grandson to stay with her when she was all alone - how was that spite?

But she had no right to say anything. When they sent Mo Xuan away, she had her own ulterior motives. With three daughters and one son, plus having to support Jiang Sifeng, getting rid of one child naturally reduced her burden.

Moreover, in her and Mo Changshan's hearts, Mo Jinpeng was always the first priority, and even Jiang Sifeng couldn't compare to Mo Jinpeng's importance to her...

"Forget it, I've thought about it. The old lady won't give up those shares for nothing," Mo Changshan irritably put out his cigarette. "I'll talk to our father. As for your side... why not let our second daughter help you?"

The second daughter of the Mo family, Mo Yingying, served as Deputy General Manager at Mo Corporation, with Mo Jinpeng as the General Manager.

"Alright, the second one is more reliable..." Qin Ni nodded. "The third one is in the entertainment industry now, can't count on her. The eldest is working at Mo Corporation. Changshan, why don't we let Mo Xuan come back to help..."

"Forget it, that unfilial son probably wishes we were all dead!" Mo Changshan sneered. "Have you forgotten what happened back then? After things got to that point, do you think anyone in the Mo family or your Qin family could accept him, or he could accept any of us?"