Yun Jie, Where Is Your Mind

Li Yun didn’t quite understand her own feelings—perhaps it was the alcohol, or maybe something else entirely.

At this moment, there was only one thing on her mind: to repay Xu Mu.

She had no idea what consequences this decision might bring.

Xu Mu sat in his car, his expression suddenly shifting when he heard Li Yun say she was drunk.

Zhao Yingying was currently in trouble. Given Li Yun’s personality, how could she possibly be in the mood to drink?

Clearly, there was something else going on.

“Auntie, what’s wrong with you—”

Before Xu Mu could finish speaking, Li Yun had already hung up.

He cursed under his breath and was about to call her back when he noticed a message from Li Yun.

It contained nothing but the hotel’s name and a room number.

Xu Mu placed his phone on the car’s center console and immediately started driving toward the hotel.

……

Upon arriving at the hotel,

Xu Mu first scanned the interior with his senses, taking in the situation inside.

From his vantage point high above, the first person he spotted was Fang Chu.

Fang Chu was clad in a bathrobe, lying on a bed, stuffing goji berries into his mouth.

Seeing this, Xu Mu already had a rough idea of what had happened.

This time, it had to be Fang Chu causing trouble.

Xu Mu’s senses continued to sweep downward until he found Li Yun.

She was lying alone on a bed, her face still flushed from the alcohol.

Without hesitation, Xu Mu headed inside the hotel, took the elevator up to Li Yun’s floor.

Outside her room, he knocked gently a few times.

After a short while, the door cracked open just enough for Li Yun to peek out.

When she saw it was Xu Mu, she opened the door fully.

“Auntie…”

Before Xu Mu could say a word, Li Yun threw herself into his arms.

The strong scent of alcohol hit him immediately, and he steadied her as they stepped inside.

With a gentle kick, he closed the door behind them and helped her to the bedside.

“Auntie, why did you drink so much? Who forced you? Did you go looking for Fang Chu?”

Xu Mu bombarded her with questions.

“My head feels dizzy, and my brain isn’t working right—I can’t even understand your questions,” Li Yun said, her eyes half-closed, radiating a mature, alluring charm. “All I know is that I want to repay you. Thank you for your kindness.”

[Affinity +30]

As she spoke, the buttons on her tightly fastened blouse suddenly came undone.

Xu Mu was completely stunned by the sight—he couldn’t believe it.

He thought he knew Li Yun well enough to be sure she wouldn’t do something like this.

Could it really be the alcohol?

Seeing that Xu Mu remained motionless, tears welled up in Li Yun’s eyes.

She covered herself with a nearby blanket and whispered with a choked voice, “I know what you’re thinking—you think I’m dirty because I’m an older woman who’s been married before.”

Hearing this, Xu Mu couldn’t hold back any longer. He recognized this as a classic defensive move, and there was no way he’d fall for it.

……

“Yun-jie, there’s an idiom I suddenly can’t remember. It’s something like ‘water something something melt.’ Can you help me recall it?”

Xu Mu asked, puzzled.

“You don’t know that? Of course, it’s ‘water…’”

Li Yun began to say, her cheeks flushing red as she hurriedly swallowed the rest of the phrase.

[Affinity +20]

Though she didn’t say it aloud, she still followed through.

The sky was gradually darkening.

Fang Chu took out his phone and dialed Li Yun’s number, only to find it was switched off.

He immediately frowned. He had almost finished the packet of goji berries he bought—so where had she gone?

His first thought was definitely Liu Ping. Could it be that Li Yun went straight to him?

That would cut out the middleman and save the markup.

With that in mind, he quickly dialed Liu Ping’s number.

On the other end came Liu Ping’s flattering voice, “Mr. Fang, what can I do for you this time?”

“Has Li Yun come to see you?” Fang Chu asked bluntly.

“No, she doesn’t even know where I live. How could she possibly come looking for me?” Liu Ping replied.

Fang Chu nodded silently, realizing there was some truth to that.

Li Yun didn’t have Liu Ping’s contact information, so how could she have gone to him?

Then what was she up to?

Fang Chu couldn’t make sense of it. Logically, Li Yun valued Zhao Yingying more than her own life.

Could it be that she really didn’t intend to take care of Zhao Yingying anymore?

He tried calling again, but the phone was still off.

He couldn’t stand it any longer. He got dressed, went downstairs, and prepared to drive over to Li Yun’s place to check on her.

……

Xu Mu and Li Yun left the hotel together. Li Yun didn’t dare to look at Xu Mu.

When getting into the car, he didn’t sit in the front passenger seat but chose the back instead.

“Yun, why are you sitting so far away from me?” Xu Mu asked through the rearview mirror, glancing at Li Yun behind him.

He hadn’t expected to be hit with such a big penalty so soon.

It was completely different from Ye Tong and Feng Yue—each had their own strengths.

But there was one thing neither could compare with.

That was the heavenly-level technique, the Water Fusion Art. It was incredibly powerful.

He thought that, at this point, only Xu Ningbing and Mu Qingying could unleash such force.

Li Yun felt utterly ashamed. She had never experienced such feelings before.

It felt as if her soul was about to shatter. She often scrolled through jokes online that suggested women really needed this kind of thing.

She had once scoffed at them, after all, back then, her relationship with her man had been purely business.

Today, she finally understood.

[Affection +20]

“Xiao Mu, I’m drunk. I didn’t know anything just now,” Li Yun whispered softly.

“I know,” Xu Mu smiled slightly. “Let’s go back to your place first. I’ll help you organize your materials.”

Li Yun nodded, still not daring to look at Xu Mu, only staring out the window.

……

On their way back, they happened to see a Ferrari leaving the urban village where Li Yun lived.

Xu Mu sensed and confirmed it was Fang Chu.

Apparently, he had been waiting at the hotel all along but didn’t see Li Yun, so he decided to check her home.

Xu Mu parked the car outside Li Yun’s house, and they both got out and went inside.

“Auntie… no, Yun, you have to tell me—what exactly happened?” Xu Mu asked, sitting on the sofa and looking at Li Yun.

Li Yun took a deep breath, pushed the recent events aside, and told Xu Mu everything, word for word.

Hearing this, Xu Mu glared at her. “Are you out of your mind? Can’t you see this is all Fang Chu’s doing?”

Li Yun looked like a guilty little wife.

[Affection +10]

She sat quietly beside him, head bowed, whispering, "I kind of guessed it too, but this was the only way to save my daughter, so... I'm sorry."

Xu Mu took out his phone and sent the videos he had found to Li Yun.

Only then did Li Yun unlock her phone and watch the two clips.

After watching, anger instantly flared in Li Yun’s eyes. "That old man! He did it on purpose!"

"Exactly," Xu Mu said. "He was standing right on the main street outside your house, clearly knowing this is the route Zhao Yingying takes to school."

Xu Mu continued, "He was on the phone at the time—someone must have tipped him off, letting him know exactly where Zhao Yingying was."

"Yes! It has to be that way," Li Yun said, tears welling up as she nodded repeatedly.

"But all this is just our speculation, not concrete evidence," Xu Mu said, "yet it’s enough to bring Yingying home safely."

He smiled at Li Yun and said, "Get a good night's sleep tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll have the best lawyers from our group help defend you."

Tearful, Li Yun looked at Xu Mu with watery eyes and took a step toward him. "Xiao Mu..."