After becoming a widow, I became the apple of a rough man's eye.

pat.

pat.

Warm, viscous liquid fell onto my eyelids and cheeks.

Mu Hongying was terrified. It was blood! His older brother's blood!

"Look at me," Mu Wenbin said in a hoarse voice.

Mu Hongying was forced to tilt her head back, her eyes bulging from bloodshot eyes, staring in terror at the face above her.

Mu Wenbin's face was expressionless, so calm it sent chills down one's spine.

"Over the years, Mom would cry whenever she thought about it, and Dad couldn't sleep for nights on end. Then you came along, and they made up for all the debts they owed Yunqi by giving you this opportunity. They gave you whatever you wanted, and if you got into trouble, someone would cover for you. They would even pluck the stars from the sky for you if you wanted them."

"You can think he's back to claim his inheritance, and you can hate his shabby appearance. But you can't deny this blood relation."

"He is your second brother."

Mu Wenbin said, enunciating each word clearly, "I've been searching for so many years and I still haven't found it. I've only been back for less than three days."

"You're something else."

"I've angered someone again."

Mu Wenbin loosened his grip slightly, allowing Mu Hongying to take a breath, and then tightened his grip again as the other party coughed violently.

"Cough cough cough... Big brother... I was wrong... I was really wrong..." Mu Hongying cried and begged for forgiveness, "I'm your own brother... I'm your brother too..."

"Yes, you are my younger brother."

Looking at his spineless state, Mu Wenbin's disappointment was so deep it was impossible to dispel. "If it weren't for the fact that you're surnamed Mu, if it weren't for the fact that you have the same blood as your parents, I would have shot you dead."

There was a rapid knocking on the door.

"Wenbin! Wenbin, what are you doing! Open the door!" Liu Shuyan cried from outside. "Don't scare Hongying! He's still injured! Zhenbang! Quickly, get the keys! Hurry up!"

Mu Wenbin turned a deaf ear.

He released his grip, letting Mu Hongying collapse to the ground, panting heavily.

Mu Wenbin stood up and walked to the window. The blood from his shoulder had flowed down to his fingertips, dripping onto the carpet and spreading into dark red blotches.

"The Mu family has had no stain on its reputation for decades."

Mu Wenbin looked out the window, his voice somewhat unsteady:

"Grandpa's generation risked their lives to fight for the country, and Dad has been cautious all his life, afraid of making a mistake. As for me, in order to ensure that the Mu family can gain a foothold in the capital, and to allow you all to be free, I strictly discipline myself, I don't smoke, I don't drink, I don't have a girlfriend, I've tied my life to my belt, and I've eaten so much sand and shed so much blood on the border."

He turned around and pointed to his chest.

"I, Mu Wenbin, have never truly lived a single day of my life. I accept it. Who told me to be the eldest son, the eldest son of the Mu family?"

"Even if someone points a gun at my head outside, I still have to worry about my family's reputation and think about how to die a fucking horrible death."

"You're fucking great."

Mu Wenbin suddenly sprang to his feet and kicked over the bedside table next to him.

"Bang!"

The solid wood cabinet crashed into the wall and shattered into pieces.

Mu Hongying was so frightened that she covered her head, curled up in a ball, and trembled.

Mu Wenbin pointed at Mu Hongying's nose, "You're a bully at home? You're causing trouble and killing people at home?"

"I...I don't know..." Mu Hongying cried, tears streaming down her face. "I just wanted to teach that woman a lesson...I didn't think that much of it..."

"Of course you didn't think that much. Because you're a piece of trash."

Mu Wenbin looked at him coldly, "You've been spoiled by your mother. You think someone will hold the sky up for you if it falls. You think killing someone is as easy as stepping on an ant."

The banging outside the door grew louder and louder; it seemed that Mu Zhenbang had sent people to break down the door.

Mu Wenbin took a deep breath, suppressing the surging violence in his chest.

He walked up to Mu Hongying and squatted down.

Mu Hongying looked at him in fear, afraid of being beaten again.

Mu Wenbin didn't lay a hand on Mu Hongying's face, but instead patted Mu Hongying's swollen cheek with his blood-stained hand, leaving several shocking bloodstains.

"August."

Mu Wenbin said.

Mu Hongying was stunned for a moment, "Wh...what?"

"Recruiting this year is in August. I've already spoken to the armed forces department. They'll get you in."

Mu Hongying was struck dumb.

"No! I won't go!" He shook his head frantically. "I won't join the army! That place is so tough, I'll die! Brother, you can't do this to me! Mom! Mom, save me! I won't go!"

He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, a pampered young master who was too lazy to even walk. Sending him to a place like the military, where he would have to start as a raw recruit, would be worse than killing him.

"It's not up to you."

Mu Wenbin stood up and looked down at him. "This trip isn't for you to gain experience. I'll make special arrangements to assign you to the toughest company."

"There are no orderlys, no special meals, and nobody knows you are the third young master of the Mu family."

"You just stay there. You can come back when you've learned to behave like a human being."

"I won't go! I won't go!" Mu Hongying cried, grabbing Mu Wenbin's leg. "Big brother, I was wrong! I was really wrong! I'll never do it again! Please don't send me to a place like that! I'll die there!"

Mu Wenbin kicked him away.

"It's better to die there than to be a menace at home."

At that moment, the door was finally kicked open with a "bang".

Several guards rushed in, followed by Mu Zhenbang and Liu Shuyan, who looked anxious.

Everyone was stunned by what they saw inside the room.

Mu Hongying lay sprawled on the ground, her face covered in blood and tears, with clear finger marks on her neck. Mu Wenbin stood to the side, blood still dripping from his shoulder, looking like a demon who had just crawled out of hell.

"Hongying!"

Liu Shuyan screamed and rushed over, hugging her youngest son. "My son! What's wrong with you! Wenbin, are you crazy! Are you going to kill him?!"

Mu Hong, as if grasping at a straw, clung desperately to Liu Shuyan's clothes, crying, "Mom! I don't want to join the army! I don't want to! Please save me! I don't want to go!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Shuyan abruptly looked up and glared at Mu Wenbin, "Hongying can't endure this hardship, Wenbin, you're killing him!"

Mu Zhenbang was trembling with anger. "Wenbin! You've gone too far! I'm still in charge of this family! If I say you can't go, then you can't go!"

Mu Wenbin looked at the protective parents and suddenly smiled.

That smile was faint, carrying a hint of weariness and resolve never before seen.

"Dad, Mom. I can stay in the army, so why can't he?"

Mu Wenbin covered the wound on his shoulder and slowly walked towards the door.

He stopped as he passed by Mu Zhenbang.

"Also, I'll be in charge of this family from now on."

Mu Zhenbang's eyes widened. "You..."

"If I don't send him away, then I'll take off this uniform and go home." Mu Wenbin looked into his father's eyes. "Or I can write a letter of complaint to the Discipline Inspection Commission right now, putting justice before family, and expose the arson and murder committed by our third son. Then, our whole family will be finished."

Mu Zhenbang's face turned deathly pale instantly.

Mu Wenbin didn't look at anyone again, walked out of the room, and shut out all the crying and shouting behind him.

The corridor was empty.

He leaned against the wall, laboriously raised his hand to rub his face, and felt the wound hurt even more.

This family's messy situation is heartbreaking for anyone.

Mu Wenbin went downstairs and got into the car. The movement was so big that it aggravated his wound. He frowned slightly, but then his deadpan expression returned.

"Let's go to the west of the city." Mu Wenbin got into the back seat.

Driver Xiao Zhang was taken aback: "West of the city? Young master, what are you doing going there at this time? That's an abandoned factory..."

"That Liu family brat is over there." Mu Wenbin leaned back in his chair, eyes closed. "And that skinny guy too, drag them both over there."

Li Dongye is gone, and someone has to clean up the mess he left behind.

Mu Hongying, that good-for-nothing, couldn't have orchestrated such a complex scheme, involving kidnapping and threats. It would be strange if no one was pulling the strings behind the scenes.

The man surnamed Liu usually followed Mu Hongying around, calling him "Young Master Mu" all the time, but when it mattered, he was faster than anyone else to hand over a knife.