Mu Yichen’s gaze lingered on her for more than a minute; he had never really considered how she would look in a wedding dress before.
Until this moment, as he watched her dressed in the pristine wedding gown with her long hair coiffed up, although her makeup was heavy, it was not garish—in fact, it added a touch of enchanting gentleness. Especially the eyeshadow applied over her eyes, which made her eye sockets seem deeper, she was breathtakingly beautiful.
"Huanhuan is looking for you."
His indifferent voice wasn’t intentionally perfunctory, it was just that with so many people around and her looking so stunning, he genuinely forgot how to utter cheesy lines.
Qin Mu instinctively looked at him, observing the complex emotions in his eyes and his adam’s apple that shifted slightly. She lowered her gaze to avoid his.
"Mr. Mu, it really is you!"
The director stepped forward, with a script in hand, and extended his hand for a handshake.
Mu Yichen glanced at Qin Mu, a look that was both helpless and doting, as if to say to her, it’s all for you.
Qin Mu pleaded with a faint smile, her gaze silently telling him: Since you’ve come, please help out!
Realizing he must be Qin Mu’s financial backer, Mu Yichen, he hesitantly shook hands with the director: Miss Qin hasn’t been a bother to the crew, has she?
"Not at all, Miss Qin is obviously a smart person, and she already has a foundation. We’re about to start shooting. Why doesn’t Mr. Mu take a break over there?"
"Sure! I’ll take Huanhuan over there to wait for you."
Qin Mu didn’t say a word, but nodded her head to show agreement.
However, what was supposed to be a stress-free performance became unexpectedly nerve-wracking for her due to his arrival. Although the staff repeatedly said she was very engaged, she still nervously looked towards Mu Yichen. Only when he unconsciously lowered his eyes to cuddle Huanhuan did she manage to immerse herself once again.
Xiaomei, who was beside her, couldn’t resist recording a video, then sent it to Jian Yan: Master, doesn’t our Qinqin look beautiful in the wedding dress?
Naturally beautiful, like a unique fairy in the forest.
After shooting the advertisement, everyone suggested taking a group photo for memory’s sake, and Qin Mu knew they wanted a picture with Mr. Mu. Since it was rare for him to cooperate with her, she didn’t object.
That night, Mu Yichen went above and beyond, and Qin Mu nearly fainted from exhaustion.
But what she didn’t expect was to receive the payment the very next day, which wasn’t usual procedure.
What followed was the leak of the photos, depicting Mr. Mu visiting the set with Huanhuan, the three of them standing in the center of the crew looking very conspicuous.
Gossip magazines immediately speculated wildly, with insiders suggesting that this could be Mr. Mu’s illegitimate daughter, and some media even confidently reported that she was indeed their daughter.
Qin Mu internally agreed with the one who dared to affirm the relationship of the trio while ignoring his conscience, because that was the only true report. Yet, she worried these rumors would bring turmoil to their lives.
Upon returning to Rongcheng and learning that Qin Mu had shot that advertisement, Jing Qing immediately stormed into the CEO’s office: What is the company’s meaning? You begged me to do it before, why did it go to someone else as soon as I left?
"Don’t be angry, take a seat and let me explain it to you slowly."
"Explain slowly? Fine, then take your time and clarify how the advertisement meant for me ended up with someone else. Does the company not need me anymore?"
"Why are you so hot-tempered? You are, of course, the company’s pillar, but don’t forget, you have repeatedly declined this advertisement for three months straight. The United States was about to give the advertisement to another company. What choice did I have but to find a last-minute replacement?"
"Was it Mu Yichen who talked to you?"
"No! Mu Yichen has never approached me about it."
The already frustrated actress suddenly froze. Mu Yichen hadn’t talked to him?
"You didn’t know? It’s always been your brother who’s been in contact with me."
Jing Qing sat down heavily on the couch, the very picture of fading beauty, looking utterly despondent.
"How is that possible? He’s always there when we eat."
Jing Qing’s gaze drifted somewhat.
"That’s your business. If you don’t know either, I’m guessing it must be your brother who called him. You know, here in Rongcheng, there aren’t many people who can give Mu Yichen orders."
Jing Qing went straight to Jing Feng’s office, and when Jing Feng returned from work, he saw her sitting on the couch with red-rimmed eyes.
"What are you doing here?"
"Do you have some sort of agreement with Mu Yichen?"
"Why are you suddenly asking this?"
Jing Feng, dressed in his formal attire, looked exceptionally stern and composed as he sat behind his desk, legs crossed, his shrewd eyes fixed on his sister, guessing at her thoughts as he took off his coat.
"Mr. Zhang said that Mu Yichen has never approached him, and that it’s been you contacting him all these years."
"Indeed, that’s the truth."
Jing Feng didn’t deny it at all, but Jing Qing stood up from the couch, marched over to him, and demanded, "By what right?"
"By what right? Simply because I’m your brother. I can’t bear to see you get hurt. Since it’s already come to this, I’ll tell you everything. From the beginning, Mu Yichen had no intention of marrying you. He never really did anything significant for you. It’s just that your brother saved his life once, and all he’s done since then has been to repay that debt."
Jing Qing stared at her brother in shock, as Jing Feng appeared too cold, too pragmatic. Suddenly, she felt as if she were in a nightmare—that this wasn’t real. Mu Yichen had always been protecting her; perhaps he didn’t love her, but there certainly was a bond of childhood sweethearts between them.
"The things I told you a few days ago were also Mu Yichen’s words. He truly sees you only as a sister, and if you keep being single-minded, you might not even remain a sister to him."
"Aren’t you the one who’s been blocking Qin Mu’s opportunities? You buy up every apartment she wants to rent."
Jing Qing finally regained some composure but couldn’t help snorting coldly, "So what? Didn’t she still steal my advertisement spot?"
"Mr. Zhang told me that it was you who kept refusing." Jing Feng looked at his sister with a troubled heart.
"So what? It was my advertisement spot. Why did she get to take it? What makes her qualified?"
"You don’t want it, yet you won’t let others have it either. Jing Qing, our family may have a good background, but we can’t tolerate such willfulness." Jing Feng was angry but restrained himself, tapping hard on the desk with his finger.
"Me, willful? Do you think she, Qin Mu, isn’t willful?"
"So what? The woman Mu Yichen dotes on is called Qin Mu, not Jing Qing."
"That’s not true. Only I am worthy of him. Qin Mu is at best a mistress, a home wrecker." After saying this, Jing Qing left.
Jing Feng helplessly raised his hand to his forehead and picked up his phone to dial a number: "Xiaoqing knows everything now, but I fear she won’t let it go so easily."
Mu Yichen ended the call and, hearing the scribbling of a pencil on paper, couldn’t help but look up. Holding his phone, he walked over to her: "What’s the theme this time?"
"Old times!" she said softly, poking at her temple with the end of her pencil in deep thought when she couldn’t continue drawing.
He sat down beside her and gently pulled her into his arms, looking at the drawing paper in her hand and then back at her. Qin Mu also looked up at him.
He asked softly, gazing at her, undisturbed by the media swarm outside.