Chapter 104.2: Helping a Teammate
Assistant Wen didn’t believe him. His suspicious gaze landed on Mu Zhenchu and Lin Jiashi.
From what he understood, Shen Xiu and Lin Jiashi had some history. Mu Zhenchu was Shen Xiu’s teammate, and it was obvious to anyone that Lin Jiashi didn’t like Mu Zhenchu and was always trying to cause trouble for him.
Next to Shen Xiu, there was one person he had conflicts with and another who was his teammate. Just passing by?
That was obviously an excuse. Shen Xiu was just trying to save face for Lin Jiashi and Mu Zhenchu.
A cat? Ha, fake. It must be fake. Cool and aloof Shen Xiu raising a soft, fluffy, adorable little kitten? Too contradictory—he couldn’t imagine it.
If he wasn’t invited by the director, then Shen Xiu must have come because Mu Zhenchu called for help!
Qin Mo and Assistant Wen’s thoughts collided as their eyes swept back and forth between Lin Jiashi and Mu Zhenchu.
Mu Zhenchu and Lin Jiashi stiffened their bodies, forcing stiff smiles.
After looking at Mu Zhenchu, Qin Mo and Assistant Wen’s gazes returned to Shen Xiu.
Shen Xiu: “…”
He understood—they didn’t believe his explanation because it wasn’t clear enough. That was why they kept staring at him suspiciously.
Shen Xiu spoke again, trying to explain in more detail to make everyone believe he really was just passing by.
“I passed by and saw them arguing. It looked like they were about to come to blows.”
Qin Mo: “!”
Come to blows? That’s not acceptable! The other person was Mr. Shen’s teammate!
Though Mr. Shen said he didn’t know him, he was usually quiet and reserved, but now, in front of Qin Mo, suddenly talking so much—there had to be some other meaning behind it!
Hiss… What exactly did he mean?
Qin Mo furrowed his brows instinctively as he pondered.
No sooner had Shen Xiu finished his explanation than he noticed Qin Mo’s overly intense gaze on him. He couldn’t help but glance at Qin Mo.
Caught by Shen Xiu’s calm look, Qin Mo immediately straightened up, smoothed out his frown, and put on a smile.
Shen Xiu felt his scalp tingling from that smile and quickly looked away, forcing himself to ignore Qin Mo’s gaze as he continued to speak.
“I saw Mu Zhenchu’s lips moving, calling my name, like he needed help, so I came over.”
After explaining this, Shen Xiu noticed Qin Mo was still staring at him. With no other choice, he met Qin Mo’s eyes and said seriously, “That’s all there is to it.”
The matter was really just that simple—no need to doubt him anymore. Not only was he accidentally caught in the brutal fight between Mu Zhenchu and Lin Jiashi, now he had to explain to a group of strangers why he was here.
He really had it tough!
Qin Mo: The teammate and Lin Jiashi’s relationship was so bad it almost led to fighting, and Shen Xiu, as the group leader, was here to help… When Shen Xiu said “that’s all there is to it,” he deliberately looked at Qin Mo to emphasize his point.
Qin Mo: “!”
At that moment, Qin Mo felt he understood everything.
Nodding seriously at Shen Xiu, Qin Mo said, “Mr. Shen, I understand your… ahem, your meaning.”
Shen Xiu: “!”
Great! He finally felt relieved!
He let out a deep breath inside.
For something so small, why was everyone so curious and didn’t believe him? They insisted he explain clearly before they would…
Wait, when he was gossiping, wasn’t he just like this too? If he didn’t get a clear understanding, he wouldn’t sleep, just glued to his phone.
Thinking like this, Shen Xiu suddenly understood why Qin Mo and the others insisted on having him clarify the whole story.
Qin Mo decisively looked at Du Heng: “Mr. Du, shall we have a chat?”
Du Heng wanted to escape but couldn’t. So, gritting his teeth, he replied, “Of course, it would be my honor to chat with Mr. Qin.”
Thinking of the scene just now, Du Heng was sure that Shen Xiu knew Qin Mo—who outwardly smiles cheerfully but who, inside, might be secretly setting traps for people.
Shen Xiu must have hinted at something to Qin Mo that he didn’t understand yet. Whatever was hinted at definitely had to do with…
Du Heng glanced briefly at Mu Zhenchu and Lin Jiashi and more or less understood the situation.
To prevent things from escalating further, Du Heng intended to send Lin Jiashi and Mu Zhenchu away.
Du Heng didn’t dare offend Lin Jiashi, and Mu Zhenchu now had Shen Xiu backing him up. Du Heng had no choice but to hold back and spoke to the two of them in a gentle tone, “There’s nothing else for now. You can arrange your time as you wish.”
Mu Zhenchu, who hadn’t had a day off in many days, felt as if he had heard heavenly music. Not wanting to stay one moment longer, fearing Du Heng might change his mind, he looked at Shen Xiu and said, “I’ll go with you to buy cat supplies. I’ve raised cats before, so I know what’s best for them.”
Shen Xiu: “Great!”
“Goodbye.”
Before leaving, Shen Xiu politely nodded to Assistant Wen and Qin Mo, who he hardly knew at all, eager to escape this suffocating social interaction with strangers.
“Goodbye,” Mu Zhenchu said and quickly followed Shen Xiu.
Lin Jiashi watched the two leave together, feeling lonely and isolated. If it weren’t for Qin Mo and Assistant Wen being there, he would have been so angry he wanted to lash out at Du Heng.
No sooner had Lin Jiashi left than Du Heng turned with a big smile toward Qin Mo. “Mr. Qin, I’ll book a—”
Qin Mo interrupted Du Heng, “In one hour, I want to meet your Vice President Lin.”
Du Heng: “?”
Why another vice president?
Curious but not daring to ask further, Du Heng could only nod, “Alright, Mr. Qin.”
“Mm.” Qin Mo gave a hum of agreement and strode toward Shen Xiu’s retreating figure, with Qin Mo’s assistant following behind, completely confused.
Assistant Wen: “…Heh.”
He just knew it—this ‘not knowing each other’ was all fake, completely fake. Who doesn’t have so many people chasing after them!
Assistant Wen took out his phone and reported the situation to their director.
Kaiser received the assistant’s message, and, puzzled, screenshot it and forwarded it to the group chat.
Kaiser: How many good senior brothers does our little junior brother actually have outside?
Shi Buwen: There’s really such a thing!?
Shang Yu: …Hmm, is there a possibility that this isn’t a senior brother?
After replying in the group chat, Shang Yu sighed while watching Song Chengwang shouting at Xiang Yueting via video call. Why does he have so many hidden talents like Hidden Dragon and Phoenix Chic around him?
He just doesn’t understand!
Shen Xiu didn’t understand either. He thought he had explained everything clearly—so why did Qin Mo still stick by his side? Though Qin Mo didn’t say much, he introduced whatever Shen Xiu looked at, his social confidence shocking Shen Xiu.
Mu Zhenchu shared the same confusion with Shen Xiu. Since Qin Mo caught up with them, it was no longer Mu Zhenchu introducing cat supplies to Shen Xiu, but Qin Mo.
To escape the suffocating atmosphere of this stranger socializing as soon as possible, Shen Xiu spent about twenty minutes shopping and decisively chose to go home.
Qin Mo, using the excuse that Shen Xiu had too many things, forcibly escorted Shen Xiu to the Yulin Banxia residential complex.
After Shen Xiu expressed thanks to Qin Mo, he and Mu Zhenchu entered the complex with the cat supplies without looking back, fearing that if he turned around, Qin Mo might follow.
If it weren’t for Mu Zhenchu by his side, Shen Xiu felt like he would have to run away in fear.
The social confidence of a stranger was really terrifying!
Mu Zhenchu secretly observed Shen Xiu beside him. Shen Xiu was wearing a mask, so Mu Zhenchu couldn’t see his expression. But from beginning to end, whether it was Qin Mo’s introductions or Qin Mo escorting him home, Shen Xiu’s eyes never changed—they seemed completely accustomed to it, which made Mu Zhenchu think even more.
But since Shen Xiu didn’t say anything, Mu Zhenchu didn’t pry into his privacy.
—
At the entrance of Yulin Banxia Residential Complex.
Qin Mo got back into the car and said to the driver assistant, “Let’s go.”
While he was accompanying Shen Xiu shopping, the assistant had reported that Vice President Lin from Qinghe Entertainment had already reserved a private room and was waiting for him.
Seeing Qin Mo in a seemingly good mood, the assistant drove away from Yulin Banxia and asked with some confusion, “Mr. Qin, I don’t quite understand.”
Qin Mo smiled faintly, “It’s okay if you don’t understand now; you’ll understand later.”
There was naturally a reason why he had the status he did at K Corp.
—
“Meow! Meow!”
As the door opened, Shen Xiu immediately heard the soft mewing of kittens.
Putting down his things, he unconsciously quickened his pace while changing shoes, moving swiftly toward the source of the sound and quietly murmuring, “Kitty?”
His voice was so soft, as if afraid of startling the little kittens.
A few steps away from the temporary nest he had made for the kitten, Shen Xiu saw a tiny kitten crawling on the ground. The kitten was so small and frail that it was only slightly bigger than a chick.
Shen Xiu crouched down and carefully scooped the kitten into his palm, holding it gently.
“Why did you come out? Are you scared?”
“Meow…” The kitten struggled to open its eyes. Hearing Shen Xiu’s voice, it stretched its throat and meowed loudly, the sound still very kitten-like and soft.
Listening to the kitten’s cries, Shen Xiu responded seriously, “Yeah, it’s a bit empty here.”
The kitten was still so young. Unlike him, it was normal to be scared.
As Shen Xiu lowered his gaze and spoke to the kitten, he walked toward the sofa and placed the kitten inside a black cardboard box it couldn’t crawl out of. Inside, Shen Xiu had lined the box with a soft blanket.
Mu Zhenchu, who had watched the whole scene, was dumbfounded.
Who would have thought that the cold and ruthless, iceberg-like Shen Xiu, when talking to a kitten, would soften his voice? Though it was still calm and indifferent, it was noticeably gentler than when speaking to them!
Moreover—Shen Xiu even took the initiative to talk so much to the kitten!
Who would believe this if it got out?!
After settling the kitten, Shen Xiu turned and saw Mu Zhenchu standing by the shoe cabinet, motionless. Only then did he realize Mu Zhenchu was still there. Feeling guilty for neglecting his friend, Shen Xiu apologized, “Sorry, I…”
Mu Zhenchu interrupted him, “It’s okay, I understand. After all, it’s a little kitten.”
When he was with his own cats, he also changed his voice to a higher, cuter tone. Compared to that, Shen Xiu not changing his tone was impressive in a way.
Buzz buzz buzz…
Mu Zhenchu’s phone rang. He said to Shen Xiu, “I’ll take this call.”
“Mm, go ahead.” Shen Xiu thought Mu Zhenchu was already fairly comfortable here, so he took the baby bottle and formula he had bought into the kitchen to clean and prepare it.
When Shen Xiu came out of the kitchen, Mu Zhenchu looked at him. “I have to go now. The company called me back.”
Whenever the company called him back, Mu Zhenchu’s heart would pound nervously.
Seeing the contrast between Mu Zhenchu’s and Lin Jiashi’s expressions—one exhausted and wilted, the other energetic—Shen Xiu couldn’t help but ask, “Are you…?”
Mu Zhenchu didn’t want to burden the team, quickly cutting him off, “I’m fine, really. They’re urging me over there. Goodbye.”
“…Goodbye.” Mu Zhenchu clearly didn’t want to say more. Shen Xiu hesitated but said nothing.
“Meow!” The kitten, without a mother, treated Shen Xiu, who had rescued it, as its mom. Unable to see him, it stretched its throat and meowed loudly, the sound a bit sharp and piercing despite still being soft.
Shen Xiu snapped back to reality, touched the bottle soaked in ice water, then took out the thermometer he bought to check the temperature, confirming it was drinkable. He walked back to the sofa, saying, “Here.”
“Meow… meow…”
Hearing Shen Xiu’s voice, the kitten in his palm meowed softly and sweetly.
Shen Xiu held the kitten in one hand and fed it with the bottle in the other. Watching the kitten use its tiny front paws to clutch the bottle, eyes closed comfortably drinking, he thought about the sudden change in its voice earlier and felt a bit unsure.
Did the little kitten have two faces?
—
Under Du Heng’s urging, Mu Zhenchu hurried back to Qinghe Entertainment and saw Lin Jiashi was there too.
Lin Jiashi glared at Mu Zhenchu, teeth clenched, “You really have some ability, impressive, huh!”
Clearly saying he didn’t care, yet turning around to send someone to fetch Mu Zhenchu—Shen Xiu was definitely doing it on purpose. He really was rescuing his teammate! Saying those things in front of him earlier was obviously just to save Mu Zhenchu some face!
Seeing Lin Jiashi’s twisted glare directed at him and hearing Lin Jiashi’s baffling words, Mu Zhenchu looked away. There was nothing to say to Lin Jiashi; he didn’t bother responding.
Du Heng was clearly waiting for Mu Zhenchu. When he saw him, he waved, “Over here, over here, come quickly.”
“…Okay.”
Mu Zhenchu went over with a confused look, then was pushed into Vice President Lin’s office by Du Heng.
Upon entering the office, Mu Zhenchu saw that besides Vice President Lin, several renowned lawyers were also present.
Mu Zhenchu recognized one of them—the lawyer in the middle wearing rimless glasses—because he had once helped Shen Xiu. Or rather, as they said at the time, he stepped in to help Shen Xiu when he saw injustice.
Vice President Lin smiled upon seeing Mu Zhenchu and gestured to a seat beside him, “Xiao Mu is here, come sit down.”
Mu Zhenchu was very nervous, “Thank you… Vice President Lin, may I ask what you wanted to see me about?”
