Mu Jinyu stared at the extra piece of braised pork in his bowl, his expression momentarily stunned.
He stopped eating, slightly lifted his head, and looked at Su Zijin who was delicately shoveling rice into her mouth.
After taking a few bites, Su Zijin couldn't help but want to see if Mu Jinyu would eat the dish she had served him, so she subtly lifted her head and stealthily glanced in his direction.
Then, she saw that Mu Jinyu was looking at her.
His expression revealed no particular attitude.
Feeling guilty, Su Zijin didn't know if Mu Jinyu was angry, so she quickly lowered her head and continued to focus on eating her rice.
Mu Jinyu's gaze lingered on Su Zijin, observing her guilty, humble, and appeasing expression when she had just looked up and realized he was watching her. Her cautious demeanor seemed as if she was afraid of inadvertently displeasing him.
Mu Jinyu suddenly felt a twinge of heartache.
Initially, when he discovered that Su Zijin had come to his home again and was bustling about in the kitchen, he was annoyed and had even planned to send her away and discard the meal she had painstakingly prepared!
But then he remembered the words Xiang Mantang had spoken to him that morning.
In the end, he hadn't the heart to send Su Zijin away and even let her stay for a meal.
Although, he still didn't want to speak to her.
Sighing softly to himself, Mu Jinyu clenched his chopsticks and continued eating.
As he ate and served himself more food, he looked at the piece of braised pork in his bowl, thought for a moment, and then ate it.
The lunch was silently finished among the three of them.
Although Su Zijin later realized that Mu Jinyu had eaten the piece of braised pork she served him, she didn't dare continue serving him food.
But she was already very satisfied with the meal.
Although Mu Jinyu hadn't spoken a word to her throughout the meal.
After finishing the meal, Su Zijin wanted to help Wen Rou clean up the dishes and wash them at the sink, but Wen Rou refused.
Having no choice, Su Zijin returned to the living room, hoping to see Mu Jinyu again.
However, when Mu Jinyu saw her come out, he immediately went back to his room and did not seem inclined to speak to her.
Seeing this, disappointment flashed in Su Zijin's eyes, followed by a soft sigh as she muttered to herself, "I shouldn't be too greedy, staying for a meal should be enough satisfaction..."
After that, Su Zijin went back into the kitchen to help Wen Rou clean up, and then she finally said goodbye and left.
Once Su Zijin had left the complex,
Mu Jinyu withdrew his gaze, moved away from the window, and lay back down on the bed, staring at the ceiling with a somewhat bewildered look in his eyes.
"Thud thud!"
Mu Jinyu didn't know what he was thinking or for how long he had been lost in thought when he suddenly heard someone knocking at his door.
"Little Mu, may I come in?"
Wen Rou's voice came from outside the door.
"Yes, come in. The door isn't locked,"
Mu Jinyu replied in a low voice.
Su Zijin had not expected that Mu Jinyu, after retreating to his room to avoid her, hadn't locked the door.
But even if she had known, she probably wouldn't have had the courage to knock on the door and speak to him.
She feared that her continuous actions might make Mu Jinyu dislike her even more.
Hearing Mu Jinyu's response, Wen Rou opened the door and walked in.
"Little Mu, are you... alright?"
Wen Rou entered the room, her eyes filled with concern as she looked at Mu Jinyu.
Mu Jinyu sat up straight from the bed and shook his head slightly, saying, "It's nothing. Next time, do not let anyone come in randomly."
When Wen Rou heard Mu Jinyu's words, although she felt he was somewhat blaming her, being familiar with him, she knew he was not really blaming her.
It was just him being stubborn.
Wen Rou did not reveal any smirk, instead, showing a timid and anxious expression, she whispered, "I'm sorry. I just thought Auntie, she's also having a hard time, so I let her in..."
"Forget it, I'm not blaming you." Mu Jinyu saw Wen Rou's self-reproachful expression, and felt somewhat irritated, said solemnly.
Wen Rou's expression was resolute, nodding her head in assurance, "Yes, I will be careful next time, I'll definitely stop her and won't let her come in again."
Mu Jinyu was taken aback, looked at Wen Rou for a few moments, his lips moved, and finally squeezed out a sentence in frustration, "There's no need to be so harsh, just ignore her."
"Oh, okay." Wen Rou obediently nodded.
Seeing Mu Jinyu's hesitation, and realizing he wasn't as hard-hearted as he initially claimed, Wen Rou probed again, "Little Mu, if your uncle were still alive, what do you think he would do about her?"
Mu Jinyu was startled.
Memories of his father's blurry face began to surface in his mind.
If his father were still alive, and Su Zijin came back to find them, what would he do?
Mu Jinyu thought for a moment, knowing his father's temperament, if Su Zijin came back and explained her hardships and reasons, he likely wouldn't blame her, and might even cherish the regained relationship more.
Mu Jinyu became inexplicably agitated.
But what did that have to do with him?
Mu Jinyu shook his head heavily, his tone irritable, "I don't know, it's not something I can manage, and don't ask me these kinds of questions anymore!"
"Oh, okay, I understand." Seeing Mu Jinyu's distressed expression, Wen Rou felt somewhat afraid, thinking she had pressed too much.
Then, Wen Rou quickly shifted the conversation to some interesting stories about the company, which gradually dissipated Mu Jinyu's irritable mood.
The two of them talked for the afternoon.
During that time, Wen Rou dared not casually bring up Su Zijin again.
When it was a little past four o'clock, Wen Rou looked at the time and said, "I'll go make dinner now, just wait a moment."
"Yes." Mu Jinyu nodded.
He was not in the mood to help Wen Rou with cooking anymore.
Although it felt rather awful, he just didn't have the inclination.
Mu Jinyu turned his head towards the window and sighed lightly, feeling his mind was still in chaos.
And due to what Wen Rou had just said, the irritation aggravated.
Yet, he felt that even if he was in a bad mood and was irritable, he shouldn't have taken it out on the woman who cared about him, so he forcibly suppressed it.
Mu Jinyu stared blankly out the window, unsure what he was thinking about, and seemed to be thinking a lot. Eventually, he sighed deeply, violently shook his head a few times, and forced himself not to think anymore.
"Ding."
Just then, his phone, which was placed next to him, rang with a message notification sound.
Mu Jinyu reached for his phone, glanced at it, and his expression immediately turned solemn.
The message was from Xiang Mantang, saying he had just gone out on a mission and got injured, he was now on his way back to River City, and would need his senior brother to treat him later.
After reading it, Mu Jinyu muttered irritably to himself, "Ah-Xiang, this guy, couldn't even call me when there was an issue."
Having said that, he set aside the headache and irritation brought by Su Zijin, got off the bed, and started preparing medicine and Silver Needles, ready to treat Xiang Mantang once he arrived.
Soon, Xiang Mantang hurriedly arrived at his house.
When Mu Jinyu opened the security door and saw Xiang Mantang standing at the door with one arm almost completely incapacitated, he couldn't help but frown deeply.