Chapter 81: Chapter 081: Don’t Ask About the Obvious
Seeing Mu Lan visibly upset, Yun Xi remained expressionless, while Huo Tingxiao felt as though he had watched a great drama for free and couldn’t help laughing.
Mu Lan gave him an expression that said “do you have a problem?” yet somewhat angrily said,
“What are you laughing at? Who are you going to blame?”
Huo Tingxiao raised an eyebrow and looked at Mu Lan, who was puffed up with anger, feigning indifference.
“When did I say I was going to blame anyone? Besides, why would I help outsiders blame my own wife?”
Mu Lan paused for a moment, embarrassingly cheered up by his pleasing words.
...
Still, she stubbornly snorted, having picked up the proud and sarcastic tone from some man.
“Really? Not even to stand up for your childhood friend who has twisted her ankle?”
After saying this, even Mu Lan was startled by the tone of her voice.
So sour, as if soaked in vinegar, she bit her lip and couldn’t dare to look at Huo Tingxiao. Ah, how embarrassing.
“When did I say I was standing up for her? Yun Xi is a bodyguard, not a thug. Would she attack Sheng Xueqin for no reason?”
With that statement from Huo Tingxiao, Mu Lan suddenly felt like a child throwing a tantrum for candy.
“So, you mean you never doubted me from the start?”
Mu Lan looked up, still with a trace of doubt in her eyes.
Huo Tingxiao squinted his eyes, clearly very dissatisfied with her response.
“You doubt my trust in you that much?”
Trust? Mu Lan was taken aback.
Did Huo Tingxiao mean that in his heart, she was more trustworthy than Sheng Xueqin, his childhood friend whom he had known for so many years?
“So, you trust me more than you trust Sheng Xueqin?”
“It’s obvious, isn’t it? Don’t ask such questions.”
Irritated by Mu Lan’s questioning, Huo Tingxiao truly didn’t understand why women liked to dwell on one issue.
What he didn’t know was that her heart was blooming with joy upon hearing his words.
The shadow in her eyes was swept away, her eyes curving joyfully, her mood incredibly uplifted.
“Smart answer,” she said.
Meanwhile, Sheng Xueqin, who had been taken to the hospital by He Jin, immediately called Shen Zichu.
Shen Zichu quickly came from the inpatient department to see Sheng Xueqin, and upon entering the office and seeing her with one trouser leg rolled up revealing a swollen ankle, he couldn’t help frowning.
“What happened to Miss Sheng?”
“It was Mu Lan’s bodyguard’s doing. Sigh, I don’t know why she harbors such animosity towards me.”
Sheng Xueqin looked at her swollen ankle, her tone full of confusion.
Shen Zichu, not expecting Mu Lan to be involved, instinctively defended her,
“Mu Lan is a good person, quite pleasant and straightforward, it must be a misunderstanding.”
Sheng Xueqin pursed her lips, wondering how even Shen Zichu seemed to have been bought over by that Mu surname.
“Zichu, I have never heard you praise any girl like that before.”
Shen Zichu gave a noncommittal smile and gently probed her ankle.
“Does this hurt?”
“It hurts, a lot.”
Sheng Xueqin’s voice softened considerably, looking pitifully at Shen Zichu, a stark contrast to her usually tough career-woman facade.
Shen Zichu cleared his throat.
“Let’s get an X-ray. If the bone isn’t injured, some topical medication should suffice.”
“So she felt she was being brushed off like that?” Sheng Xueqin thought to herself. She was in this state, yet Huo Tingxiao only sent He Jin to follow her. If the injury was too minor, why had she bothered coming at all?
Sheng Xueqin grabbed Shen Zichu’s sleeve, her eyes suddenly misty with tears, yet she insistently pretended to be strong.
“Zichu, I can’t walk anymore, are you sure it’s not a bone injury?
There was a very important meeting today, and I did not expect…”
This level of acting might suffice with ordinary people, but who was he? Shen Zichu, a master at discerning deceit.
The two of them had grown up together, he knew Sheng Xueqin’s personality all too well.
“Xueqin, I advise you, Tingxiao is already married, stop causing trouble,” he said.
Sheng Xueqin had not expected him to say this, and looked up at him.
“What do you mean by that?” she asked.
Shen Zichu’s tone softened even more, both Huo Family and Sheng Family were long-time friends of the Shen Family, and he did not want to offend either.
“If things blow up, you’re the one who’s going to get hurt.”
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“You know what I mean, Xueqin. As the miss of the Sheng Family, what kind of man can’t you have? Why bother with a married man?”
“Zichu, you’re mistaken, how could I possibly do such a thing? Did Mu Lan say something to you?”
Seeing that Sheng Xueqin still was not giving in, Shen Zichu sighed inwardly.
Oh well, these weren’t matters he could control as an outsider, he had given his advice, Huo Tingxiao was principled in his actions. As for whether Sheng Xueqin chose to continue being stubborn, that was her choice.
“Mu Lan wouldn’t do that, she’s very straightforward.”
Shen Zichu’s defense of Mu Lan made Sheng Xueqin struggle to keep a smile on her face.
She had truly underestimated this Mu Lan; not only had she enchanted Huo Tingxiao, but she had Shen Zichu speaking for her too.
Had she already secured such a firm standing in the social circle of Sea City?
“I was just asking, why are you so nervous? Zichu, you really protect this Mu Lan a lot.”
“Now you’re making me anxious, as if I have some other intentions towards her. Tingxiao would be jealous if he knew,” he replied.
“Jealous? You mean Huo Tingxiao?”
Seeing Sheng Xueqin’s surprised face, Shen Zichu regretted speaking too much.
Wasn’t that just provoking her? Oh Shen Zichu, Shen Zichu, you really should control your mouth better.
“I was just speaking offhand, let’s go get that X-ray now,” he said quickly.
He needed to end the topic before something else stirred up. As he placed Sheng Xueqin in the wheelchair and pushed her out of the office, they ran into Gu Xiaoman carrying a bunch of fruit slices and a thermos of a heat-relieving soup.
She saw the short-haired beauty sitting in the wheelchair, looking somewhat haughty and difficult to approach.
Huh? She hadn’t been here for just one day, and something was already going on around Shen Zichu?
“Miss Gu.”
Huh? He Jin, Huo Tingxiao’s assistant, was also here?
“Assistant He, you’re here too?”
Raising an eyebrow, Gu Xiaoman teased:
“Dr. Shen handles orthopedics too?”
“Wait in my office for a while,” Shen Zichu said, not elaborating further as he pushed Sheng Xueqin away.
Gu Xiaoman squinted, feeling a sense of familiarity with the beauty. After thinking hard, she remembered who she was.
Sheng Xueqin! What was she doing here in a wheelchair looking for Shen Zichu, and He Yan was here too! Instinct told her it definitely involved Mu Lan, and she quickly sent a WeChat message.
“Lanlan, I just saw He Yan with Sheng Xueqin looking for Shen Zichu, it’s not related to you, is it?”