Chapter 21: Big Disappearing Act
Fu Heqing heard Mu Mu’s voice, and his expression changed abruptly. He turned and hurried into the villa.
As soon as Fu Heqing stepped inside and closed the door behind him, he was suddenly struck by a weight falling from midair. He staggered a step, his shoulder blade hitting the villa door handle with a “bang” as it locked.
A single door separated everyone outside. Fu Heqing didn’t even clearly see what had happened, and instinctively shielded the boy who had fallen into his arms.
“Mr. Painter, are you okay?”
Mu Mu saw that he had accidentally knocked someone to the ground. His voice was full of guilt and worry, afraid that he might press on Fu Heqing again. He hurriedly tried to get up, but Fu Heqing pressed him down.
“Don’t stand up yet. Put this on.”
Fu Heqing took off his own jacket and skillfully wrapped it around Mu Mu again.
Mu Mu blinked, didn’t ask anything, and obediently put the jacket on himself. His face seemed to say, in a clueless-but-trying-to-understand way, “I get it. Human bodies get sick easily.”
“I’m dressed. Can I stand up now?”
Fu Heqing was wearing a short jacket today. Even with the height difference between him and Mu Mu, it barely covered his thighs. But Mu Mu’s way of getting up was completely unrestrained, daringly testing the edges of exposure.
Fu Heqing pressed him down again and only let him rise from the floor after instructing the robotic butler to close all the villa’s curtains automatically.
“Go upstairs and change your clothes first—wear the same outfit as yesterday. Come down when you’re done.”
The usually cold and indifferent Fu Heqing meticulously gave instructions: “If anything goes wrong, call me immediately. Don’t run around naked, and don’t open the curtains.”
“When there are a lot of people in the room later, if you’re scared, don’t come down. Don’t reveal your identity.”
Listening to this string of “don’ts,” Mu Mu looked into the painter’s eyes and immediately saw the faint annoyance and anxiety almost spilling out of those cold gray eyes.
Mu Mu didn’t know how to calm him. He wasn’t sure whether it was because Fu Heqing had walked several meters out the door earlier, or because something—or someone—had “intruded” into the villa.
So he reached out his fingers, gently hooked Fu Heqing’s fingertips, and gave a little wiggle. Fu Heqing silently agreed to everything and obediently followed along.
“Okay, then wait for me just a little bit,” Mu Mu said.
Fu Heqing watched as Mu Mu stepped into the elevator, still waving at him at the very moment the doors were closing. His mood instantly eased a bit.
He reopened the door behind him and scanned the yard, where the Li siblings were already waiting—but keeping a respectful distance from the main gate.
When the door opened, he could see the two of them standing together, dressed very formally and seriously, quietly murmuring to each other without drawing attention.
“Did you really see Mu Mu?”
“Brother Fu’s little beauty? I… I’m not sure. I only saw a shadow flash by. You know, I’ve been nearsighted since high school… cough, cough.”
Li Xunyang’s expression instantly changed, becoming serious and reliable. “Brother Fu, these are the first batch: five paintings, one piece of porcelain, and one jade carving.”
“There are traditional ink-and-wash paintings by ancient masters, as well as abstract works from the West. We have modern and contemporary pieces too, though the contemporary ones are by newcomers just starting out. Not even at your level from four years ago, Brother Fu, but they’ve already fetched the highest bids at recent auctions.”
“In addition, we also acquired calligraphy, embroidery, porcelain, stone sculptures, jade carvings, wood carvings, and other porcelain-related items.”
“We’ll deliver them in batches, as quickly and safely as possible.”
As Li Xunyang spoke, he glanced toward the villa’s main gate.
Through the carved openings in the villa’s surrounding wall, several black executive cars could be seen parked outside. Behind them was an armored cash transport vehicle, with several professional bodyguards standing nearby.
After changing clothes in the bedroom on the third floor, Mu Mu still couldn’t resist temptation. He quietly lifted a corner of the curtain and happened to see this scene.
He watched the painter standing in the garden, his presence overwhelming everyone else there, and couldn’t help letting out a small sigh of admiration.
“Wow.”
Fu Heqing seemed to sense something. He turned his head toward a window of his bedroom, but Mu Mu quickly ducked, only catching the curtain fluttering slightly.
Fu Heqing seemed to smile faintly, then turned his attention back to the bodyguards carrying the locked cases, signaling them to place the collections in the living room.
As the group filed into the living room one by one, Mu Mu peeked from the staircase, showing no fear at all. When he even caught Fu Heqing looking his way, he happily waved enthusiastically.
Li Yiyi happened to see this and froze.
She knew Mu Mu was good-looking, but seeing him in person was even more astonishing—far surpassing the painting. That painting hadn’t captured even a fraction of Mu Mu’s vitality.
Li Yiyi immediately held out a folder to Fu Heqing. While he lowered his head to sign, she quietly waved to the boy on the stairs.
This was Li Yiyi’s first time seeing Mu Mu in person. He gave her a huge, radiant smile that struck straight at her girlish heart.
“So adorable!” Li Yiyi whispered softly.
Fu Heqing, sharp and alert, immediately heard her and his expression darkened.
After personally checking, he was about to send everyone away. But Li Yiyi reacted faster, speaking up: “Brother Fu, is Mu Mu here with you today? Can I say a few words to him?”
“Every time before, we never saw him. This is our first meeting.”
Her voice was just the right volume for Mu Mu, peeking at the third-floor staircase, to hear. Instantly, it blocked Fu Heqing’s refusal before he could say anything.
Sure enough, before Fu Heqing could answer, Mu Mu dashed down from the third floor.
“Yes! Yes!”
“Kitty, I’m here!”
At that moment, the bodyguards and staff at the auction house were just stepping out into the courtyard when they heard the unfamiliar voice of a boy—and were equally stunned.
Fu Heqing was famous not just for his paintings; even more talked about were his so-called “inhuman” habits in the eyes of the public.
Beside Fu Heqing, let alone a suspected romantic interest, even the shadow of a living person was rarely seen. It was as if he carried a personal barrier wherever he went. Those cold gray eyes never lingered on anyone.
He single-handedly isolated the entire human group around him.
Yet perhaps because of this, his fans outside were all the more passionate. They didn’t just compete to collect his paintings at auctions, driving prices sky-high—they also believed a true genius should be just like him: eccentric, aloof, and indifferent to desire.
But now, suddenly, they discovered that this ice-cold, unreachable deity had descended to the mortal world?! And—possibly—was in a relationship?!
Just as everyone turned, eager to see what kind of person could make Fu Heqing’s heart move, the villa’s main gate slammed shut with a “bang,” completely cutting off everyone’s view.
The news quickly spread through the entire elite social circle, even reaching the other side of the ocean, where the same circles had heard whispers.
“What?”
An elderly man, dressed stylishly, was fishing in his garden. Upon hearing this news, he was so excited that he knocked all the bait into the pond.
The koi swarmed, jostling to eat.
“What? You’re saying Heqing is no longer alone? He’s dating someone?” Upon hearing the news, the old man stood there stunned for a long while, tears streaming down his face.
“Hurry, book me a flight back home,” the old man hurriedly instructed a servant beside him. The servant responded, and the old man, still anxious, added:
“Don’t let Heqing know. I… I just want to sneak a glance at him when I go back.” Sitting back by the pond, he muttered—half to himself, half to the servant—“Six years…”
The servant quickly handed him a handkerchief.
…
“Mu Mu!!”
Li Yiyi was overjoyed. She ran forward and gave Mu Mu a big hug.
Caught completely off guard, Mu Mu froze on the spot, unsure what to do. Seeing this, Fu Heqing immediately pulled Mu Mu to his side.
“Men and women should not touch,” Fu Heqing said, his tone and expression extremely serious.
“Tsk.”
Hearing this, Li Yiyi muttered quietly to herself, “Who even has time to care about that ‘should not touch’ nonsense?”
But she only dared whisper it; only Li Xunyang beside her could hear.
“What do you mean ‘should not touch’?” Mu Mu, unfamiliar with the phrase, looked curiously at Fu Heqing.
“It means learning to protect yourself.”
Fu Heqing summarized it simply in one sentence. He pulled Mu Mu down onto the living room sofa. Soon, the butler robot—freshly polished and made bright by Mu Mu’s enthusiastic fussing—served them top-quality Pu’er tea.
“No way… I actually get to drink tea at Brother Fu’s house,” Li Xunyang exclaimed, amazed. He grabbed Mu Mu and began recounting all of Fu Heqing’s past misdeeds, how he treated everyone like invisible people, besides paying that astronomical salary.
“Don’t even get me started—just for sitting down and having a cup of tea, I wasn’t even allowed through the door!” Li Xunyang lifted the cup and, as if chugging like a cow, drank it all in one go.
Mu Mu listened to what the others were saying while mimicking how they held their tea cups. He picked up the cup in front of him, intending to drink it in one gulp.
“Don’t copy him,”
Fu Heqing grabbed Mu Mu’s hand, his tone a little helpless. Once again, he ignored Li Xunyang’s complaints, his gaze fixed solely on Mu Mu.
“Learn something proper. Don’t waste the tea.”
Mu Mu blinked, a little confused, and nodded. Then he glanced at Li Yiyi, looked at the painter, and carefully lifted the full tea set. He scraped the lid, blew on it, and took a tiny sip.
“Hot…”
Mu Mu bit down on the tip of his tongue that had been burned and mumbled indistinctly.
“Mu Mu, baby, did you burn yourself? Poor thing,” Li Yiyi immediately panicked more than Fu Heqing himself, blurting out, “Let your husb—sir blow and kiss it, and it won’t hurt anymore!”
After saying it, she suddenly realized what she had just blurted—a completely inappropriate line, like something from those online “no pants” memes, now awkwardly said to the boy in front of her. She yelped and covered her mouth in horror.
Blasphemy!
Mu Mu heard her words, holding his burned tongue, and froze. Then, without hesitation, he looked down at his own tongue.
Can… this also be “blown and kissed” to feel better?
Fu Heqing noticed Mu Mu looking at his tongue and instinctively shifted his own gaze.
Red lips, white teeth, the tip of the tongue exposed to the air, bright red and raw.
Fu Heqing wanted to inspect it, but Mu Mu suddenly changed expression, glancing around anxiously.
“I-I feel like I’m about to change again!” Mu Mu looked at Fu Heqing. Seeing that he hadn’t reacted yet, he suddenly had an idea.
Earlier, he had learned a human way to indicate he needed to leave the scene temporarily…
A quick escape!
Mu Mu only had time to drop the words, “I need to go to the bathroom,” before he grabbed Fu Heqing and both of them darted into the restroom.
Li Xunyang, holding his empty cup, looked puzzled. “Why would you need two people to go to the bathroom together?”
“Ahem,” Li Yiyi chuckled, her expression inscrutable.
“Of course, it’s the trick of young couples.”
Saying that, she quietly slid over to a seat nearest the restroom and continued sipping her tea with utmost elegance.
Inside the restroom, Fu Heqing looked at Mu Mu nervously. He waited a long while, but Mu Mu didn’t revert to his ghostly form.
“I… I feel like I’m wrong?” Mu Mu hesitated, uncertain.
A few seconds later, as if confirming he wouldn’t transform back, Mu Mu finally hesitantly pulled open the glass door of the restroom.
Li Yiyi had just seen a crack appear in the door when—bang!—the figure inside disappeared, and the restroom door closed again.
Mu Mu crouched on the floor, looking forlornly at the pile of clothes scattered everywhere. He glanced at the garments, then at the painter standing beside him.
“Two people went in, one came out. How am I supposed to explain this to Kitty and the others?”
He thought for a moment. “Maybe… Mr. Painter, you should go tell them…”
“Shall we perform a big disappearing act for them?”
