The agreed time to meet Chen Mu arrived, and Shen Nanyue and Zhou Yushen went to see him as scheduled.
The location had been chosen by Chen Mu himself—a restaurant where Shen Nanyue and Chen Mu had gone on their very first date.
Though calling it a “date” wasn’t entirely accurate.
Shen Nanyue had never truly had romantic feelings for Chen Mu.
Back then, agreeing to the engagement had only been because Zhou Yu pressured her into it.
Zhou Yu believed that Shen Nanyue and Chen Mu had grown up together, that they were a perfect match in both talent and appearance.
So she constantly tried to pair them together.
Combined with Chen Mu’s persistent pursuit, Shen Nanyue eventually agreed.
After all, once she agreed, life would become much quieter for her afterward.
At the beginning, Chen Mu had genuinely treated Shen Nanyue very well.
He spoiled her, protected her, and defended her.
Since they had grown up together, Shen Nanyue also found it hard to constantly treat him coldly.
Occasional dates naturally became inevitable.
Their first date had been at this very restaurant.
She remembered that Chen Mu had reserved the entire venue and even invited world-class musicians to perform just for her.
Shen Nanyue had never exposed the truth.
She did not possess that kind of appreciation for music, nor did she particularly enjoy listening to musical performances.
But Chen Mu liked them, so she never said anything.
The same happened during later dates.
Chen Mu would always force the things he liked onto her.
Whenever she looked uninterested, Chen Mu would complain about her instead.
Until eventually, Chen Mu got together with Lin Siwan, and their childhood-sweetheart story ended in a complete BE (Bad Ending).
Chen Mu arrived at the restaurant first.
When he saw Shen Nanyue arrive, he immediately stood to greet her.
Zhou Yushen stood beside Shen Nanyue.
The moment Chen Mu’s hand was about to touch her arm, Zhou Yushen lifted his own arm first and pulled her into his embrace.
A trace of cold warning lingered in his indifferent eyes.
“Just lead the way. Don’t go touching someone else’s wife.”
Chen Mu let out a cold snort.
“Mr. Zhou, do you really treat Yueyue as your wife?”
“Yueyue?”
Not only Zhou Yushen—even Shen Nanyue herself instantly broke out in goosebumps.
Chen Mu looked steadily at Zhou Yushen, his eyes seeming as though they could see through every layer of Zhou Yushen’s disguise.
But Zhou Yushen’s expression barely changed.
His demeanor remained calm as water.
“She’s on the same household registration as me. You think she’s not my wife? What, Mr. Chen wants to eat leftover grass now?”
Chen Mu’s face darkened.
Zhou Yushen continued mockingly, “In this world, you can’t just eat old grass whenever you feel like it. Mr. Chen should recognize his own place.”
Shen Nanyue turned her head toward Zhou Yushen, surprise flickering through her eyes.
Did this man swallow explosives today?
Why was every word he spoke so sharp?
Chen Mu stayed silent for a long while, as though trying to regulate his emotions.
Soon enough, he finally forced a smile and invited Shen Nanyue and Zhou Yushen to sit down.
When it came time to order, Chen Mu confidently picked up the menu and ordered an entire table full of Shen Nanyue’s favorite dishes.
Only afterward did he pass the menu toward Zhou Yushen.
“I don’t know what Mr. Zhou likes to eat, so feel free to order whatever you want. This meal is on me today.”
Zhou Yushen did not take the menu.
He merely replied calmly, “I’m used to eating together with Nanyue. Whatever she likes, I like too. No need to order anything extra.”
His composure formed a stark contrast against Chen Mu’s body, which trembled uncontrollably.
After spending quite a while calming himself down again, Chen Mu finally put the menu away.
Shen Nanyue’s gaze moved between the two men.
She did not know whether it was merely her imagination, but she could vaguely sense the smell of gunpowder in the air.
The atmosphere was difficult to describe.
For a while, Shen Nanyue could not even find an opportunity to bring up the real topic.
During the meal, Zhou Yushen constantly placed food into Shen Nanyue’s bowl.
His voice was gentle, and his concern obvious.
Shen Nanyue’s hair was very long.
Zhou Yushen removed a hair tie from his wrist, then used his slender fingers to carefully gather her hair and tie it up for her.
Shen Nanyue: …
“How do you have my hair tie?”
Zhou Yushen smiled and rubbed the top of her head.
“Silly. You don’t like tying your hair up, but when you eat, your hair always gets in the way. So I took a hair tie from your dressing table and kept it with me. That way, the next time your hair bothers you while eating, you won’t have to deal with it.”
That was something Shen Nanyue had not expected.
No matter how many questions she had, none of them could suppress the inexplicable warmth rising within her heart.
The sudden pounding of her heartbeat made her instinctively look away, refusing to meet Zhou Yushen’s fox-like eyes again.
Shen Nanyue lowered her head and continued eating, casually tucking the loose strands of hair beside her ear back behind it.
It was as though she had once again seen the Zhou Yushen who used to cling obsessively to her—a handsome male fox constantly showing off in front of her.
Her expression remained calm, but a faint blush still unconsciously spread across her face.
Realizing that she was shy, Zhou Yushen felt as though a warm current had flowed through his heart, making all the blood in his body boil faintly.
Meanwhile, Chen Mu watched the interaction between the two of them.
His expression grew darker and darker, while the flames of jealousy inside him burned more fiercely, almost swallowing his rationality whole.
The hand gripping his chopsticks tightened hard, veins bulging across the back of his hand.
Suddenly, Zhou Yushen’s indifferent gaze swept over him.
Like a beast caught in an ambush, the feelings Chen Mu had hidden deep in his chest suddenly had nowhere left to escape.
They were completely exposed before another king of the mountains—looked down upon, warned, suppressed until he could not move.
Only after a long while did he regain his composure.
Almost petulantly, he put down his chopsticks and raised his eyes toward the pair before him, whose every tiny interaction seemed to overflow with pink bubbles.
“Shen Nanyue, what exactly did you want from me? And didn’t we agree this would be a meeting between just the two of us? Why did you bring this person along?”
Before Shen Nanyue could speak, Zhou Yushen answered first.
“You’re coveting my wife. Did you really think I’d let the two of you meet alone?”
“Who’s coveting her?!”
Chen Mu snapped angrily.
Zhou Yushen merely glanced at him indifferently before shifting his gaze away again.
That utterly cool gaze carried a trace of contempt, instantly making Chen Mu’s face alternate between red and pale.
Just as he was about to slam the table and rise, Shen Nanyue finally put down her chopsticks, ending the intense “eating broadcast.”
First, she lightly patted Zhou Yushen’s shoulder.
“Why are you being jealous? There’s nothing between him and me anymore. Don’t forget—we came here today because we need something from him.”
Only then did Zhou Yushen fall silent.
Crossing his arms over his chest, he leaned back against the booth seat with a cold expression.
Only then did Shen Nanyue look toward Chen Mu.
“I really did come to see you because of something important. An’an’s body is suffering from all kinds of problems now. The doctors’ examination data doesn’t look right. I need to know what kind of environment she lived in during those three years.”
She did not question Chen Mu aggressively.
Instead, her voice was soft, almost like a request.
The frown between Chen Mu’s brows relaxed slightly.
He had originally assumed Shen Nanyue came because of the Zhou family matter, intending to settle accounts with him.
He had not expected it to be for Shen An’an.
He also set down his utensils and copied Zhou Yushen’s earlier posture, his gaze briefly sweeping over Zhou Yushen’s face before falling onto Shen Nanyue.
The corners of his thin lips curved slightly upward, but his tone carried unmistakable threat.
“Yueyue, you still remember this is the place where we had our first date, right?”
The irrelevant response caused confusion to appear in Shen Nanyue’s eyes.
Then Chen Mu continued, “I’m the kind of person who treasures memories deeply. Naturally, I don’t want my precious memories tainted by even the slightest stain.”
“If you want to know what kind of environment An’an lived in during the past three years, fine.”
“But this Mr. Zhou must leave immediately.”
— The end of the Chapter–
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