Half an hour later, Mu Jinyu returned home.
As soon as he opened the door, Gu Xiyan, who was lying on the sofa, immediately jumped up and ran toward him in her slippers.
Looking wary, she circled around Mu Jinyu a few times, flaring her nostrils and sniffing him.
"What are you doing?"
Mu Jinyu felt bewildered and asked.
After sniffing for a while, Gu Xiyan didn't smell the perfume that Yu Linglong usually wore. She also noticed that Mu Jinyu hadn't taken a shower and even had an unpleasant smell of tar on him.
Disgusted, she furrowed her brow and put some distance between them, saying, "I thought you might have tricked my best friend into going somewhere. It seems you are quite honest, but what's with this smell of smoke?!"
Gu Xiyan knew that Mu Jinyu didn't smoke or drink much, only indulging when he was in a bad mood. Thus, she was quite curious about the smell of smoke on him.
Mu Jinyu honestly replied, "Oh, I took Linglong and her dad to the casino for some fun."
"What?!"
Upon hearing Mu Jinyu's words, Gu Xiyan's eyebrows shot up, and she stared at him fiercely, demanding, "What do you mean? Linglong is already so pitiable, and you still took them to the casino for fun?"
Mu Jinyu chuckled lightly and then explained, "Here's what happened ..."
After he shared the evening's events and arrangements with Gu Xiyan, she finally relaxed.
Of course, he omitted the part about chopping off the card shark's hands. After all, it was too gruesome to mention.
Gu Xiyan asked, "Then her dad should be able to quit gambling, right?"
Mu Jinyu replied, "Yeah, he should behave now. If not, I might really have to chop off both his hands."
Gu Xiyan thought he was joking and didn't take it seriously.
If she knew that Mu Jinyu had actually chopped off someone's hands tonight, she probably wouldn't have taken it so lightly.
"You better take a shower; otherwise, don't even think about sleeping with me tonight!"
Now that Gu Xiyan was relaxed, she wrinkled her nose at the smell of smoke on Mu Jinyu and pushed him to go take a shower!
Mu Jinyu shrugged his shoulders and headed toward the washroom, calling out, "My hands are dirty, can you get me some clean clothes?"
"Got it."
Gu Xiyan responded and obediently ran to Mu Jinyu's room to fetch his undergarments and pajamas.
Then, she handed them to Mu Jinyu and blushed as she stepped out of the washroom.
Mu Jinyu didn't mind and tested the water temperature. The weather was getting colder, making a cold shower uncomfortable.
Feeling that the water temperature was just right, he was about to undress and bathe when the phone rang.
He picked it up to see.
It was Mei Yinxue calling.
Thinking of the card shark from the casino, Mu Jinyu raised an eyebrow and then answered the phone.
"Hello?"
Mu Jinyu called out.
Mei Yinxue's tone was softer than usual as she said, "You haven't gone to bed yet, have you?"
"Hmm," Mu Jinyu replied, "I was just about to take a shower. Is it about that card shark guy?"
Mei Yinxue confirmed, "Yes, that guy was sent by Gu Youlan to test me."
"Gu Youlan?" Mu Jinyu didn't quite understand the feud between Mei Yinxue and the others. He asked with some confusion.
"You still remember Huang Qiuhua, right?" Mei Yinxue asked without explaining first.
"Ah? The woman who caused me not to get the bounty from you, but instead tricked me out of several billion?" Mu Jinyu said.
"When did I trick you out of several billion?!" Mei Yinxue, initially confused by what Mu Jinyu meant, retorted, but after speaking, she also understood what Mu Jinyu was implying!
"Pah!" Mei Yinxue spat lightly and said, "You used to seem so dull, like some stubborn straight guy, and now you've started to be all slick and smooth-talking!"
Mu Jinyu responded lazily, "Where? Isn't it because you taught me badly? Besides, you know very well whether my mouth is oily or my tongue is slippery!"
Upon hearing this, Mei Yinxue suddenly remembered the day Mu Jinyu was curled up in a corner, shivering while staring at her. She picked up her phone, raised an eyebrow, knowing that Mu Jinyu only dared to be so audacious because she wasn't around, otherwise, he wouldn't dare.
With a light chuckle, Mei Yinxue said, "Then I'll come find you tomorrow!"
"No, no, no!" Mu Jinyu hurriedly declined, unable to cope.
Afterward, Mei Yinxue got serious and informed Mu Jinyu about the relationship between Huang Qiuhua, Gu Youlan, and Zhu Yeqing.
"Mei Lan and Zhu Ju, I see!"
After listening, Mu Jinyu nodded in understanding and then complained, "So Huang Qiuhua really represents chrysanthemum. That day when I told her to go see a proctologist, she actually got mad, really!"
"Pfft." Mei Yinxue chuckled lightly, feeling that Huang Qiuhua's downfall at the hands of Mu Jinyu was totally deserved.
The two chatted for a few more moments, and Mu Jinyu asked if she wanted him to help expose Gu Youlan, but Mei Yinxue declined, stating that she could handle Gu Youlan on her own.
If she really couldn't cope, she wouldn't stubbornly refuse to ask for his help.
After all, given their relationship, there was really no need to be so formal.
Like tonight, Mu Jinyu had helped her make four billion from Gu Youlan's hands at the casino, and he didn't take a penny, just went straight home.
As for the card shark old man, after being questioned by Mei Yinxue for information, his fate was uncertain, and Mu Jinyu did not inquire further.
Having handed the man over to her, how she chose to handle him was naturally not his concern anymore.
Cheating at the casino, one should always be prepared to pay the price of a hand.
But the amount involved tonight was too enormous; well over seven billion, and yet he dared to cheat and even falsely accused him of cheating—paying with one hand, how could that suffice?
According to the underworld rules, he should at least have all four limbs cut off and turned into a human stick, but usually, they just bag him up and dump him in the river!
And Mu Jinyu, by sparing him a single hand, was already being merciful.
But that didn't mean Mei Yinxue could tolerate the man slandering her man!
So, his fate was actually already sealed!
After hanging up the phone, Mu Jinyu placed it aside and began to bathe.
Soon, in ten minutes, Mu Jinyu finished bathing, wiped down his body, changed clothes, and walked out of the bathroom with his phone.
He returned to his own room.
"Why did it take you so long to shower today?"
Gu Xiyan, already changed and nestled under the covers, saw Mu Jinyu return to the room late and couldn't help but complain.
Normally, Mu Jinyu would finish showering in about ten minutes, but it took him twenty minutes tonight.
Mu Jinyu confessed honestly, "Sister Mei called to discuss some matters, so it took a bit longer."
Hearing this, Gu Xiyan couldn't help but give him a resentful look.
This guy, always so straightforward, he never knew how to lie a bit.
But then, if he had kept such things from her all the time, how could she have willingly fallen into his hands?