Slow to mature after marriage

"Is that Meng Qing?" Mu Siwan's voice came from under the covers, muffled. "What did he want to call about?"

Bo Yan glanced at her, displeased: "You don't like him anymore, yet you're still curious about him?"

Mu Siwan: "..."

She felt that Bo Yan's logic was flawed.

"He just called me."

"So that's why you're curious about other men?"

Mu Siwan fell silent, choosing not to engage in the conversation.

"No. I believe I have the right to know when someone calls me."

"Alright," Bo Yan said slowly, tossing his phone back onto the bedside table. "They say Mu Cheng sent a lawyer to sue me for intentional assault. I need to go to the police station."

He looked down and met Mu Siwan's slightly worried eyes. He reached out and touched her head, his palm resting on the top of her head, gently rubbing it.

"Don't worry, it's a small matter. I'll take care of it and go to work."

He looked down at her: "Interested in seeing old Deng one last time?"

"The last time?" Mu Siwan was startled and looked up at him. "You really want to kill him?"

"He only has himself to blame." Bo Yan leaned back against the headboard, pulled the man into his arms and gently rubbed him. "Mu Cheng was one of those who made his fortune in real estate in the early years. Back then, the laws weren't perfect, and he knew very well how much dirty stuff he had on his hands. Illegal demolitions, safety accidents, workers being crushed to death—Mu Cheng had more than one or two things on his hands, and each one was enough to kill him."

He lowered his eyes and looked at her.

"I'm only responsible for exposing the matter; the rest is up to the law."

Mu Siwan nodded, her expression somewhat dazed.

"I don't want to see him," she said. "Leave it to the law."

In fact, she didn't care much about Mu Cheng's current situation; she just didn't want to have any further contact with the Mu family.

-

After Bo Yan left, Mu Siwan sat by the bed for a while and then picked up her phone.

[Mu Siwan]: Are you free today?

The reply came very quickly.

【慕思归】：I have time.

[Mu Sigui]: Sister, come over for lunch. See you at the Peking University cafeteria, it's my treat again. Don't bring your brother-in-law this time.

[Mu Siwan]: Okay.

-

Peking University cafeteria.

There were many people, and the noise came from all directions. The sounds of bowls and chopsticks clattering, conversations, and chairs being dragged around were all mixed together, like a pot of boiling porridge.

Mu Siwan stood at the door, her gaze sweeping across the room, and she immediately spotted the tall and handsome young man among them.

She waved in that direction.

Mu Sigui saw it, nodded slightly, and walked over with her tray, smiling, "Sister."

The two found a seat by the window. Outside the window was a row of ginkgo trees, their leaves not yet yellow, a lush green carpet. Sunlight filtered through the branches and leaves, falling on the table like scattered gold.

Mu Siwan didn't have much of an appetite, only taking a few bites of rice before putting down her chopsticks. Mu Sigui, on the other hand, ate at a leisurely pace, chewing in the exact same rhythm as her.

After finishing their meal, the two of them took a walk along the campus path.

The sycamore trees were very tall, their canopies forming a continuous expanse that filtered the sunlight into fine, dappled patterns that fell on the ground and onto their shoulders. Mu Siwan walked slowly, with Mu Sigui following beside her at a leisurely pace, just like when they were children.

Mu Siwan told Mu Sigui everything about Mu Cheng. The withdrawal of investment, detention, financial crimes, and what Bo Yan mentioned—the safety accidents and fatal lawsuits that were suppressed when he first started his real estate business.

She didn't know what Mu Sigui would think. Unlike Mu Siwan, Mu Cheng was her biological father, and in a way, she was personally sending her father into the abyss.

As Mu Siwan spoke, she observed Mu Sigui's profile.

Mu Sigui's face remained expressionless, but he remained silent for a long time after listening.

She opened her mouth, as if to say something, but then heard the boy suddenly speak.

"So," he glanced at her, "if my sister doesn't want to have anything to do with the Mu family anymore, does that include me?"

Mu Siwan paused in her steps.

Indeed, I did have that idea.

Because Mu Sigui stood in front of him, having also gone through everything with him in the Mu family, like a mirror reflecting her.

Whenever Mu Siwan sees him, she is reminded of the days she was confined to the Mu family.

Just like now, Mu Siwan met Mu Sigui's eyes and remembered the first time she came to the Mu family when she was six years old.

She stood in the middle of the living room, clutching her meager luggage, unsure of where to look. Xu Ruolin was talking to the maid beside her, while Mu Cheng sat on the sofa flipping through a newspaper, not even lifting his head.

There was a baby in the swaddling clothes. It was very small, with a wrinkled face, closed eyes, and its mouth opening and closing.

That's Mu Sigui. She was born not long ago and hasn't even been named yet.

Later, he and she chose their names together; she was called Mu Siwan, and he was called Mu Sigui.

I long for home, I long to return.

Xu Ruolin never cared about him. When her biological daughter went missing, all she could think about was finding Wanwan. Later, when Mu Siwan became her substitute, she focused all her attention on this "new daughter." Mu Sigui was like a forgotten piece of luggage, left in the nursery and handed over to the nanny, only to be checked on occasionally when she remembered.

Mu Siwan was also not allowed to go out.

Two children confined in the same house became each other's only playmates. "Playmates" isn't quite accurate—Mu Sigui was far too young to even sit up straight, let alone play. He simply existed, quietly staying by her side, occasionally babbling like a fool.

During the weaning period, he cried terribly. The nanny couldn't soothe him, Xu Ruolin didn't care, and Mu Cheng, annoyed by the noise, kept the nursery door tightly shut. Mu Siwan quietly pushed the door open and saw him lying in his crib, his face flushed red, his crying hoarse, like an abandoned kitten.

She didn't know what to do. She was only six years old herself.

Finally, Mu Siwan stretched out her finger and put it in his mouth.

Mu Sigui stopped crying. He took her finger in his mouth and sucked and gnawed on it forcefully.

Ouch, that hurts.

Mu Siwan stood by the crib, looking down at him, but didn't pull her hand away. His wrinkled little face slowly relaxed, his eyes closed, tears still clinging to his eyelashes.

She thought maliciously at that time that at least one person in this family was in the same situation as her.

No, it's even worse than her situation; at least she still has her mother's love.

It's such a tiny little thing, it looks so pitiful.

Mu Siwan snapped out of her thoughts, raised her eyes, and looked at Mu Sigui in front of her.

He was no longer that baby who couldn't even sit up properly. He was very tall, a head taller than her, with broad shoulders and a taut jawline. But his eyes hadn't changed—they were still those quiet, expressive eyes, eyes that seemed afraid of being left behind.

Mu Sigui forced out a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"Sister, I'm on your side, and I won't bother you too often," he said. "Please don't abandon me."