Xu Youning looked out of the window in silence and seemed to be disappointed.

  Kang Ruicheng raised his hand and wanted to touch Xu Youning, but he withdrew his hand eventually.

  He cultivated her and used her. After discovering that she had fallen in love with someone else, he made her return to him by using all means.

  He had hurt Xu Youning so many times. For the first time, he felt sorry for her.

  Because of him, Xu Youning’s life was in danger.

  The most shameless thing he had done to her was that when Xu Youning was in a panicky state and in great need of comfort, he suspected her and even took her to have a checkup so that she had to face her illness again and face the threat of death.

  The word “sorry” was so shallow that it could not heal the wounds he had caused Xu Youning.

  Kang Ruicheng did not speak again along the way.

  In less than 30 minutes, the car stopped in front of the Kang family’s old house.

  In the darkness, there were two red lanterns swaying along with the night wind before the gate of the old house, but the candles inside remained still.

  On the surface, there was nothing unusual about these two red lanterns, which were not different from the lanterns hanging above the gates of other old houses nearby.

  However, Xu Youning knew that there were some gadgets used for defense and escape means installed inside them. If necessary, they could explode and cause personal injuries.

  Just like these lanterns, the old house of the Kang family seemed to be ancient and luxurious, but in fact, there were traps everywhere. Those who accidentally stepped on them would be killed.

  If it weren’t for the child in her belly, Xu Youning would probably detonate the bomb in the old house when she went in and out with Kang Ruicheng so as to destroy herself along with him.

  In the end, for the child’s sake and another reason, Xu Youning did not do that.

  In other words, Kang Ruicheng should thank her child.

  Kang Ruicheng did not know what Xu Youning was thinking. He got out of the car and walked round to open the door for her. “A Ning, we’re home. Get out of the car.”


  Xu Youning calmly replied with a “hmm” and her expression seemed to be the same as before. As soon as she walked into the old house, she heard Mumu crying.

  She quickened her pace and walked into the living room. She saw Mumu standing in front of the wooden chair, crying sadly and wiping away his tears. Xu Youning could not help asking, “Mumu?”


  When he heard Xu Youning’s voice, Mumu immediately ran over, hugged Xu Youning hard, and cried even harder.

  Xu Youning comforted Mumu while looking at Ah Jin, who was standing nearby. “What’s wrong with Mumu?”


  “He suddenly woke up and started crying when he could not find you. He ignored us no matter how we tried to coax him. He just wants you.” Ah Jin’s tone was impatient. “I had no idea how to deal with him.”


  Ah Jin did not hate Mumu. He just did not like Xu Youning.

  He did not know why Xu Youning could be so cruel to her own child when she loved Kang Ruicheng’s child so much.

  When Mu Sijue contacted him and mentioned Xu Youning’s pregnancy, he could feel that Mu Sijue really wanted the child.

  But Mu Sijue had contacted him last time and told him that Xu Youning had given up on the child.

  Xu Youning took out a clean handkerchief and wiped away Mumu’s tears. She looked at Ah Jin somewhat unhappily and said, “Since Mumu cried so hard, why didn’t you contact me?”


  Ah Jin was not in the wrong, so he said confidently, “I didn’t know if it was convenient for you and Brother Cheng.”


  Ah Jin did not know what Kang Ruicheng and Xu Youning had left to do. It was understandable that he had such concerns.

  So, Xu Youning did not flare up and instructed him, “In the future, you don’t have to think so much before contacting me for anything concerning Mumu.”


  “Oh,” Ah Jin casually said, “I got it.”


  Xu Youning squatted down, gently stroked Mumu’s tear-stained face with her palm, and said gently, “Well, don’t cry.”


  Mumu replied with a “hmm” in a hurt tone. He threw himself into Xu Youning’s arms and hugged her tightly, as if Xu Youning had wings on her back and could escape at any time.

  Xu Youning carried Mumu back to the room and asked, “Why did you cry?”


  “When I woke up, I didn’t see you, nor could I find you. Also, you didn’t answer my call.” Mumu rubbed his reddened eyes and looked at Xu Youning pitifully. “I thought you left without saying goodbye to me.”


  The little boy was not afraid that Xu Youning would leave, and he was just afraid that Xu Youning would leave without saying goodbye to him.

  Xu Youning’s chest seemed to be filled with something warm and soft.

  She stroked Mumu’s head and said, “Didn’t I tell you yesterday that I won’t leave? Well, let’s go to sleep.”


  Mumu had just woken up and did not feel sleepy. He clutched Xu Youning’s clothes and said in a childish voice, “Auntie Youning, if you go back to Uncle Mu’s house, you must say goodbye to me, okay?”


  Xu Youning stroked Mumu’s little face and asked curiously, “Why do you always think that I will go back to Uncle Mu’s house?”


  Mumu looked at Xu Youning, covered his face with his two small hands. “I’m asleep.”


  Obviously, he did not want to answer this question.

  “I’m asleep too.” Xu Youning did not ask further. She tucked Mumu in and said, “Good night.”


  “Good night.” Then, Mumu snuggled into Xu Youning’s arms and said in a muffled voice, “Auntie Youning, don’t worry. I won’t tell Daddy.”


  Mumu could guess that if Daddy found out that Auntie Youning was going back, he would definitely get very angry and hurt Auntie Youning.

  So, he would not tell Daddy about it.

  Hearing Mumu’s comforting words, Xu Youning held Mumu more tightly.

  She could not choose to destroy Kang Ruicheng along with herself, not only because of the child in her belly, but also because of Mumu.

  Mumu was still so young. She did not want him to see Kang Ruicheng’s corpse lying on the ground, because he would have nightmares about it forever.

  Therefore, the best way was to collect evidence of Kang Ruicheng’s crimes and put him into prison.

  After all, Mumu was a child, so he fell asleep soon after he said what he wanted to say in Xu Youning’s arms. His breathing was alternately shallow and deep. His tender and lovely appearance were enough to soften anyone’s heart.

  The little boy calmed down and slept soundly in Xu Youning’s arms.

  She had a really thrilling day today.

  In the morning, she came across Mu Sijue and was aggressively threatened by him. Then she almost got shot. If it weren’t for Mu Sijue, she would have died.

  Later, she asked Mu Sijue two questions. One question was about the reason why he saved her. Mu Sijue answered that it was because he wanted to kill her with his own hands and did not want anyone else to do it.

  The other question was about the reason why Mu Sijue still led her to the bar when he had reached an agreement with Auston.

  Mu Sijue did not have enough time. She would not believe his absurd excuse that he led her to the bar just to threaten her unless she had a fall and that addled her brains.

  However, except for this very reason, Xu Youning could not figure out why Mu Sijue had tried so hard to lead her to the bar.

  After all, she could not simply and crudely think that Mu Sijue could not forget her and just wanted to see her.

  How could it be? When Mu Sijue threatened to kill her, he showed his murderous intent and ferociousness. It seemed that he was not interested in her but wanted to kill her.

  Xu Youning suddenly wondered if she should feel hurt.

  Mu Sijue wanted to kill her, but he would never know how panicky and uneasy she had been tonight.

  If her pregnancy test at the critical moment showed a positive result that the child was still alive, either Kang Ruicheng or she would die.

  If she died today, Mu Sijue would never know the truth. Would he be indifferent to her death?

  A tear dropped from the corner of Xu Youning’s eye. She brushed the tear off her face and it seeped into the pillow. She forced herself to sleep as if nothing had happened.

  By the end of the day, Xu Youning was exhausted. It did not take long for her to fall asleep.

  Kang Ruicheng came upstairs and found that Xu Youning and Mumu were both asleep. Dongzi was still waiting for him in the living room downstairs.

  He lit a cigar and sat down unhurriedly. “Dongzi, tell me what you found out today.”


  “Brother Cheng, I found that there’s nothing fishy about Miss Xu,” Dongzi told Kang Ruicheng what he had observed in detail. “Last night, Miss Xu tried her best to negotiate with Mu Sijue so that you could leave the police station as soon as possible. But Mu Sijue was unwilling to see her at all. We had no choice but to leave the hotel.”


  Kang Ruicheng held the cigar between his fingers, and the thick smoke covered the emotions on his face. He said lightly, “On the way back, you told me that someone had taken a shot at A Ning last night?”


  “Yes, and at first, Miss Xu and I both thought it was Mu Sijue.” Dongzi carefully recalled what had happened last night and tried to vividly describe the scene. “Miss Xu was very scared then. I have known her for so many years, and it was the first time I saw her being so terrified. When we returned home, she still looked pale.”


  Kang Ruicheng bent his fingers slightly and pressed them against his philtrum, with an unfathomable and deep look in his eyes. “What was A Ning afraid of?”


  “Death!” Dongzi said without hesitation, “I was very close to Miss Xu at that time, and I could feel that she really thought that Mu Sijue would kill her, and she was really afraid of death.”


  Xu Youning did not have much time left, so it was reasonable for her to be afraid of death.

  She believed that Mu Sijue would really kill her. Did it mean that she had fallen out with Mu Sijue?

  Kang Ruicheng did not believe it so easily. He asked further, “I asked you to investigate how Mu Sijue got the evidence. Is there any result?”


  Dongzi nodded and said, “Mu Sijue got the evidence from some clues. It doesn’t seem to be leaked from our men.”


  Kang Ruicheng had an intense look on his face and soon he was lost in thought.

  Xu Youning was not lying. Her illness was real, and the child in her belly really did not have any vital signs. The evidence Mu Sijue had submitted to the police had nothing to do with Xu Youning.

  It seemed that Xu Youning indeed trusted him.

  His doubts and guard against Xu Youning were unnecessary.

  Kang Ruicheng slowly looked up at Dongzi and asked, “You have been following A Ning since last night. Think about it carefully. Did you really not find anything unusual?”


  Dongzi shook his head with certainty. “No.”


  “Then,” Kang Ruicheng showed a meaningful look. “Now, there is only one doubt left.”