Volume One, Chapter Twenty: Trouble Arises

The Mu couple said a few more words to Mu Yao, but she barely heard any of it.

She was struggling to control her emotions, determined not to let the person on the other end of the phone detect anything.

The moment the call ended, tears welled up and spilled over.

Mu Yao curled up on the sofa.

The dim light cast a faint glow over her, her shadow on the couch nothing more than a small, indistinct shape.

Her tears had already dried on her cheeks.

She felt a slight relief remembering that last time Wang Rui came over to play, she had left some unfinished wine behind.

Mu Yao was not one to drink, or rather, she never drank at all.

But right now, at this very moment, she wanted to numb herself.

The wine bottle lay toppled on the floor as Mu Yao staggered into the bedroom and buried herself under the covers.

She cried out in anguish.

A rhythmic doorbell interrupted her.

Disheveled, she opened the door to find Gu Nanxiao hesitating on the threshold.

“Is something the matter?”

“Are you… okay?”

Hearing Gu Nanxiao’s voice, seeing him standing there, Mu Yao’s tears, which she had barely held back, began to fall again.

She knew none of this was his fault; he must have been disturbed by her crying.

But she couldn’t help herself.

Gu Nanxiao said nothing and turned back inside, soon returning with an ice pack.

In the living room.

“I’m sorry… it’s our failure.”

Mu Yao’s eyes widened slightly at these words.

She had only sought him out as a confidant, never expecting to hear such an admission.

“The police were too lenient in their punishment, which gave him the chance to act.”

“It’s not your fault. His family… is quite influential.”

Gu Nanxiao gave Mu Yao a deep, meaningful look.

The implication was clear.

“Does having power and influence grant one the right to flout the law? Is the moral code set by the state meant only to bind the common people?”

Gu Nanxiao’s words left Mu Yao speechless.

She withdrew her gaze from him.

Her eyes unfocused, staring into a corner of the sofa.

Night fell, and the living room was still bathed in the dim, warm yellow light of a small lamp.

Gu Nanxiao watched the figure on the sofa and swallowed hard.

This was the second time.

At this moment, Mu Yao stirred a deep sense of pity in him.

...

Avoidance was no solution.

Mu Yao appeared at the school to cooperate with the investigation.

Before entering the office, she deliberately went to the security room to retrieve the footage from both incidents.

With a cold expression, she entered the principal’s office.

This time, it was just the principal and Li Xun’s father.

In the same seats, engaging in similarly pleasant conversation.

She was still… the criminal.

Though she had laid out the facts plainly before the principal.

The principal silently watched the footage and, in Mu Yao’s presence, proceeded to delete it.

Not only from his computer but also from the security room’s system.

The final verdict forced Mu Yao to compromise.

She sneered disdainfully.

Ignoring the reactions of the two others in the room, she turned and left the teaching building.

She should never have softened.

The faster the car sped, the more irritated Mu Yao became, pressing down on the accelerator as she drove back to her apartment complex.

Night deepened.

Mu Yao’s phone rang.

She raised an eyebrow in surprise at the contact’s name.

Gao Mingyu.

“Hello, senior brother.”

“Xiao Yao, are you home now? I’m at a café near your place. There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

The long, calm voice on the other end confirmed Gao Mingyu’s words.

Mu Yao hesitated.

It was nearly ten o’clock at night.

Though she lived in the city, the darkness concealed countless uncertainties.

Taking a deep breath, she replied, “Alright, senior brother, please wait for me a moment.”

Mu Yao had come to despise the school, but she couldn’t let that hatred spill over to others.

Besides, she knew who had entered the private room that day.

Noticing the time was nearly right, Mu Yao casually grabbed a gift box from a cabinet by the door.

She would treat it as both a token of thanks and a farewell.

The night was unusually quiet; the once noisy cicadas had gradually fallen silent as she walked.

On the lonely path, only the sound of Mu Yao’s footsteps echoed.

The address on her phone looked increasingly odd.

Doubts crept into her mind, and she slowed her pace.

Having lived in this complex for so long, she had no idea there was a café here.

The path grew narrower, and the streetlights, once spaced every few steps, were now ten meters apart.

Mu Yao chose to stop.

Her sixth sense warned her not to proceed.

As realization dawned, she turned and walked back.

Her pace quickened into a sprint.

Sure enough, the rustling footsteps behind her were replaced by the sound of her running.

Someone was chasing her.

Mu Yao dared not look back; judging by the sound, there was more than one pursuer, and…

They were faster than she was.

Clenching her teeth, Mu Yao ran with all her might.

Her phone, lacking an emergency contact, was slippery in her sweat-soaked palms.

She panicked and dialed the first number in her contacts.

Her hands trembled, almost dropping the phone.

Suddenly, a shadow appeared in her peripheral vision.

The distance was closing in.

Mu Yao’s strength was nearly spent.

The “beep beep” of the unanswered call pressed on her heart like a drumbeat.

This was her last lifeline.

Time ticked away.

The phone still showed missed calls.

Mu Yao judged from the shadow that her pursuer was no more than three meters away.

Had she gambled… and lost?

A suffocating pressure rushed over her as she was pinned to the ground.

Though hope was faint, she clutched the phone tightly.

At the police station, Gu Nanxiao was reviewing old case files when his phone persistently rang.

Over and over.

Just as he was about to hang up, he finally answered, impatience in his voice.

What idiocy had this kid gotten into now?

But no familiar voice came through.

After a long silence that unsettled him, faint rustling sounds followed.

Footsteps.

Years of experience allowed Gu Nanxiao to immediately sense something was wrong.

This wasn’t a prank.

Mu Yao wouldn’t joke with him.

He rose and strode toward the lounge door but stopped as his hand touched the handle.

He took a few steps back, pulled out a spare phone from a drawer, and called a contact marked with strange symbols.

The silent night was pierced by the roar of a Hummer on the road.

Eventually, it stopped outside a dark alley.

This spot seemed like a small gap left unbuilt due to data measurement errors.

Narrow, only wide enough for one person.

Gu Nanxiao stood at the alley’s entrance, listening intently.

Inside, no unusual sounds stirred.

Suddenly, a hand reached around from behind.

His shoulder was tapped.

“Boss, this is the place.”

Liu Tiao approached Gu Nanxiao with a device in hand.

Before the words finished, Gu Nanxiao switched on his flashlight and stepped in.

At last, they stopped beside a phone shattered into pieces.

Focusing the flashlight around the phone, Gu Nanxiao surveyed the scene.

Xie Yangfeng, arriving hurriedly, gasped upon seeing the surroundings.