Sharing Dreams with My Bestie's Cousin

"By the way, Zhizhi, there’s something I haven’t told you yet."

Meng Fan also suddenly remembered the day when she had secretly listened to a conversation between her uncle and old master outside of the elder’s room.

Just as Meng Fan was about to mention that matter to Wen Zhi, Wen Zhi suddenly lowered her voice, "Someone is knocking at the door, I’ll go open it. Meng Fan, I’ll call you back later."

Meng Fan replied, "Okay, make sure to call me. You must know about this; it’s quite important."

"Alright, I know."

After Wen Zhi acknowledged, she hung up the phone and walked to the door to look through the peephole.

Looking through the peephole and into the eyes of the person outside, Wen Zhi was silent for a few seconds before opening the door, her tone cold and indifferent as though she wasn’t pleased to see the visitor, "Why have you come looking for me?"

The man outside was Gu Rang.

His finding her so quickly was completely beyond Wen Zhi’s expectations.

"Mr. Mu has gone to a lot of trouble to find you," Gu Rang said to her.

Wen Zhi chuckled, "Shouldn’t my father be cooperating with the Bai City police now, focusing on the Cocoon Lake’s salvage operation for me?"

"With your smarts, how could you easily put yourself in danger? Mr. Mu knows you best. He figured out that you outwitted everyone and went into hiding..."

As he got to this point, Gu Rang’s tone suddenly grew heavier, "But Wen Zhi, you shouldn’t use your own safety to scare Mr. Mu. Do you know there are cliffs in Cocoon Lake? One single mistake and this could’ve been a real accident!"

Gu Rang’s words made sense.

Indeed, there were cliffs in Cocoon Lake, and Wen Zhi was aware of them. But back then, she had no other plan and was willing to take her chances, leaving it to fate whether she lived or died.

She nearly lost that gamble.

Swimming to the surface took an enormous effort; it was people arranged by Shang Hexing who saved her. Otherwise, she might really be in a life-and-death situation right now.

"Since you know I’ve gone into hiding, you shouldn’t come looking for me," her attitude showed a chilly aloofness.

"Do you think, given Mr. Mu’s care for you, he would sit idly by?" Gu Rang’s expression conveyed weariness, as though he hadn’t rested in days and nights.

In fact, he really hadn’t rested at all, continuously traveling and searching for Wen Zhi’s whereabouts.

Finding this place was because he first investigated Shang Hexing’s connections, after expending a great deal of manpower and effort.

Wen Zhi started to close the door a bit, "You should go back."

"Are you staying with Shang Hexing?" Gu Rang’s face showed ill color, and his tone was not too good either.

"That’s none of your business." Wen Zhi hastened to close the door.

Gu Rang put his hand up to stop the door, his tone softening slightly, no longer stern, "I’ll take you to a better place to live."

"Where?" Wen Zhi peered through the gap in the door at him.

Gu Rang answered, "Harbor City."

Wen Zhi had expected a nearby location, arranged by her father, but upon hearing it was Harbor City, she lost her enthusiasm, "I’m not going that far away."

Gu Rang stopped beating around the bush, pushed the door open and Wen Zhi stepped back a few paces as he entered, "Harbor City is far, but is it far from Hexing where you agreed to come to Harbor City with Shang Hexing? You would rather be here with Shang Hexing than go to the place Mr. Mu arranged for you?"

Wen Zhi grew increasingly angry as she listened, "Don’t twist my words!"

Gu Rang was puzzled, "How is that twisting your words?"

"Under the pretense of it being for my own good, isn’t that just putting me ’under house arrest’ in Harbor City?" Wen Zhi was all too aware, and she pointed at the door, "Go back and remind him again, the day he decided to marry Wen Yiwan, that’s when he and I became absolute enemies! He can’t control me!"

Gu Rang’s expression wavered, "Wen Zhi..."

At that moment, a noise came from outside the door.

Listening carefully, it seemed to be the sound of a cane tapping on the ground.

After recognizing who was deliberately making the noise, Wen Zhi’s body tensed up, and her complexion turned unsightly.

Seeing Wen Zhi’s reaction, Gu Rang understood, and she also guessed who was outside the door. However, the attitude of the person outside reminded him that there was no need to say more, so Gu Rang could only give up, saying only one sentence, "The initial purpose of this visit was to confirm your safety, you... take good care of yourself."

After saying the necessary words, Gu Rang turned and left, closing the door behind him as he went.

The gap left by the door crack was too narrow for Wen Zhi to see the figure of the other person from inside, but she could hear the footsteps of two people departing. His steps were very slow, a suppressed cough accompanying the sound of the cane on the carpet, fading into the distance.

Wen Zhi’s hand on the doorknob trembled slightly, but in the end, she opened the door to take a look.

There were two silhouettes at the end of the corridor.

One of them no longer possessed the upright figure Wen Zhi remembered; he was leaning on a cane, each step slow and deliberate.

After hesitating for a moment, Wen Zhi followed them--

...

The elevator doors slowly closed.

Mu Yanzhou took out a handkerchief to cover his mouth and nose, coughing so hard he bent over and couldn’t catch his breath, which made Gu Rang worried, "Mr. Mu..."

Mu Yanzhou removed the handkerchief, slowly stood up, his lips stained with blood, "It’s nothing."

His face was very pale, especially with the stark crimson of the blood on his lips making his pallor all the more colorless.

"You saw Zhizhi, tell me, how is she? Does she look well? Has she lost weight again?" Mu Yanzhou asked eagerly about what he cared about most once he recovered a bit.

Gu Rang answered earnestly, "Zhizhi looks fine, she hasn’t lost weight, Shang Hexing has been taking good care of her."

After hearing this, the worry on Mu Yanzhou’s face lessened somewhat, "That’s good, the only person I truly can’t stop thinking about is Zhizhi."

As he spoke, he wiped the blood from his lips with the handkerchief.

Feeling a sense of pity, Gu Rang said, "Mr. Mu, actually..."

Mu Yanzhou folded the blood-stained handkerchief and put it away, his tone cold, "Don’t let me hear you say these things again, or you can switch places with Zhan Feng."

"But Mr. Mu, you’ve never considered Zhizhi’s feelings in any of these arrangements, is this really for her good? You always habitually arrange everything for her, protecting her in the way you think is best..."

The elevator stopped at a floor, and someone came in.

Gu Rang’s voice abruptly ceased.

Mu Yanzhou started coughing again, pulling out the bloody handkerchief to cover his mouth, his coughs becoming more violent with each spell. The passerby who had come in and noticed the blood on the handkerchief immediately moved to stand against the inner wall, then pressed the button for the next floor.

Upon reaching the next floor, the elevator doors opened, and the passerby hurried out, fanning in front of themself, as if afraid of catching some viral scent.

Gu Rang made a move to step forward, but Mu Yanzhou stretched out his hand to stop him, "It was I who frightened them."

Turning his head back, Gu Rang said, "Mr. Mu..."

Mu Yanzhou spoke, "Gu Rang, stay composed. Don’t let these little things affect your mood and judgment; otherwise, how can I be at peace entrusting Zhizhi to your care?"

Gu Rang lowered his eyelids, his expression calm, "You must have seen it too, Zhizhi likes Shang Hexing."

Indeed, Mu Yanzhou had seen it long ago.

Not only had he noticed that Zhizhi liked Shang Hexing, but he also knew that Shang Hexing had been coveting his daughter for a long time.

"So what if I’ve noticed? Zhizhi and him, there won’t be a good outcome," said Mu Yanzhou with a somber tone, "Shang Hexing is destined not to marry Zhizhi."