Dongzi could not keep up with Kang Ruicheng’s thoughts and looked at him with confusion. “Brother Cheng, what is it?”


  Kang Ruicheng rubbed his knuckles against the tip of his nose, with an unfathomable expression, and he did not answer Dongzi immediately.

  Dongzi was straightforward. Seeing Kang Ruicheng’s look, he automatically interpreted it as Kang Ruicheng’s distrust in Xu Youning.

  He thought for a moment and said, “Brother Cheng, I want to say something to defend Miss Xu.”


  Kang Ruicheng was a little surprised and looked up at Dongzi. “You’ve always disliked A Ning, but now, you want to say something in her defense?”


  Dongzi admitted it directly. “Indeed, I’ve always disliked Miss Xu very much. In the past, I thought she was too ostentatious and was not polite to you at all, but because she always succeeded in every task, I could not complain about her. However, her last task was to work undercover around Mu Sijue, and not only did she fail to complete the task, but she also had feelings for Mu Sijue. I disliked her even more!”


  Dongzi and Xu Youning had been both trained by Kang Ruicheng. Kang Ruicheng knew Dongzi as well as he knew Xu Youning, so he naturally knew that Dongzi was venting his anger.

  After Dongzi vented his anger, Kang Ruicheng asked, “Have you changed your opinion of A Ning now?”


  “I disliked for her for some time. I won’t change my opinion of her so fast.” Dongzi looked a little awkward. He paused and continued, “Brother Cheng, I just want to tell you what I’ve observed.”


  Kang Ruicheng put the cigar on the exquisitely-made ashtray and said, “Go ahead.”


  “This morning, I watched Miss Xu interact with Mu Sijue during their meeting,” Dongzi said, “and I can tell that Miss Xu really hates Mu Sijue, and Mu Sijue really wants Miss Xu to have a difficult time.”


  Dongzi’s last sentence successfully attracted Kang Ruicheng’s attention.

  A sharp and dark light flashed through Kang Ruicheng’s eyes. “Tell me more details. What did Mu Sijue say to A Ning?!”


  Obviously, he was too anxious to keep calm.

  Dongzi had been working for Kang Ruicheng for so many years. In his mind, Kang Ruicheng would hardly get angry because of his subordinates, but Xu Youning was an exception.

  This time, Kang Ruicheng’s feelings for Xu Youning were obviously getting more complicated.

  Dongzi realized it and said frankly, without hiding or exaggerating any facts, “I heard Mu Sijue say that he gave Miss Xu two choices-to be killed by him or by the international criminal police.”


  “Bang!”


  Kang Ruicheng’s fist slammed hard against the table, making the teacups on the table rattle and the cigar roll off the ashtray.

  Almost in an instant, the quiet living room of the old house was ablaze with anger.

  Kang Ruicheng’s chiseled features were covered with an angry and murderous look. He gritted his teeth hard and squeezed out a name. “Mu Sijue!”


  Over the years, Xu Youning had been working for him, and her hands were inevitably stained with blood.

  Because Xu Youning was useful, he had always gone to great lengths to protect her. No matter how terrible the impact was, Xu Youning never had to bear any consequences.

  Kang Ruicheng never expected Mu Sijue to uncover Xu Youning’s past and ask the international criminal police to investigate her.

  What a sinister and cruel method!

  Dongzi guessed that Kang Ruicheng would be furious, and he said this to comfort Kang Ruicheng, “Brother Cheng, calm down. If Mu Sijue is determined to deal with Miss Xu, we should think about how to react.”


  After a long while, Kang Ruicheng slowly calmed down and asked, “How did A Ning react after Mu Sijue said those words?”


  “Miss Xu didn’t react violently, so it dispelled my doubts about her.” Dongzi said, “Brother Cheng, think about it. This morning, you were in the police station and the bar was packed with Mu Sijue’s men. If Miss Xu came back for revenge, how could she still be so stubborn before Mu Sijue in that case? She would definitely tell Mu Sijue everything! Otherwise, once the international criminal police go after her, she will be finished!”


  Dongzi’s words made sense.

  Kang Ruicheng glanced at Dongzi and suddenly asked, “Dongzi, at that time, if A Ning confessed to Mu Sijue that she came back to work undercover around me, then what would you do?”


  “Of course I’ll kill her!” Dongzi straightened his back, looking calm and ruthless. “If Miss Xu came back to work undercover, either she dies or I die as long as she reveals it. Brother Cheng, I won’t allow anyone to betray you.”


  Kang Ruicheng showed a look of satisfaction. “Very good.”


  Dongzi was more or less surprised. He had thought that Kang Ruicheng would be softhearted toward Xu Youning.

  But he thought too much.

  Fortunately, they did not really need to deal with Xu Youning.

  Dongzi reminded him, “The point is that even if she was threatened by Mu Sijue, Miss Xu still confronted him, which means that there is nothing suspicious about Miss Xu. We should find a way to help Miss Xu. You can’t bear to see that she is really wanted by the international criminal police, can you?”


  Kang Ruicheng ordered, “Eliminate all clues pertaining to A Ning’s previous missions. Even if the international criminal police target A Ning, they can’t do anything to us as long as they can’t find any evidence.”


  “Got it!” Dongzi turned around and was about to leave, but he seemed to suddenly remember something and turned around. “Brother Cheng, you just said there was one doubt left. What was it?”


  Kang Ruicheng put out the cigar on the table and said slowly, “Just now, I couldn’t figure out why Mu Sijue led A Ning to the bar. Since A Ning didn’t believe him, and he really wanted to kill A Ning, they should have taken action directly instead of meeting and negotiating with each other.”


  After a pause, Mu Sijue continued, “However, according to what you just said, Mu Sijue should have wanted to threaten A Ning and made her feel uneasy. It seems that he hates A Ning so much that he only wants A Ning to be killed by himself. Ha, it’s really interesting.”


  Dongzi did not say anything more, and took Ah Jin to carry out Kang Ruicheng’s instructions.

  The following day, the winter in City A was damp and cold. It would be overcast both in the morning and evening, making it impossible for people to feel refreshed.

  But today, when Xu Youning opened her eyes, she unexpectedly found that the sun was shining brightly in a clear blue sky. It was a rare fine day today.

  Mumu flung off the quilt and could not help exclaiming, “Auntie Youning, the sun is up!”


  Xu Youning smiled and touched the little boy’s head. “Let’s wash up first. After breakfast, we’ll go and bask in the sun!”


  Mumu cheered and rushed into the bathroom.

  They washed up and went downstairs. Kang Ruicheng was already sitting in the dining room. Seeing them, he waved at them and said, “Come and have breakfast. There is porridge and the steamed buns you like.”


  Kang Ruicheng was always surrounded by his subordinates. He was used to giving orders and rarely spoke like this.

  Xu Youning vaguely felt that Kang Ruicheng’s attitude toward her and Mumu was much better.

  She did not care about Kang Ruicheng’s attitude toward her. However, if Kang Ruicheng could show more patience and care for Mumu, she would be very happy.

  After breakfast, Kang Ruicheng who rarely reported his departure to Mumu and Xu Youning said, “I’m going out to work.”


  Mumu blinked and asked, “Daddy, will you be going away for a long time?”


  In the little boy’s mind, Kang Ruicheng would only be so gentle to him when he was going to be away from him for a long time.

  “I’ll be back tonight.” Kang Ruicheng suddenly realized that something was wrong and stared at Mumu. “Do you want me to be away for long?”


  Mumu tilted his head and accidentally told the truth. “If you’re going to be away, Auntie Youning and I can play games for a long time!”


  Kang Ruicheng looked at Xu Youning and then at Mumu. He said seriously, “You can play games, but you can’t spend much time on it.”


  Mumu could not help cheering. “Auntie Youning, we don’t have to play games sneakily anymore! Let’s play games in the living room today, okay?”


  The happiness of children could easily be passed to adults. Even though Mumu let slip that they often secretly played games, Xu Youning agreed happily.

  After Kang Ruicheng left, Mumu ran downstairs with two computers in his arms. He played games with Xu Youning in the yard in the sunshine, with snacks on the table.

  Mumu chattered away while he ate his snacks. And finally, he talked about Mu Sijue.

  The little boy did not realize who he had inadvertently mentioned.

  He continued, “In fact, I don’t like Uncle Mu at all. He even turned me into Level 0! But he is really good at playing games. Auntie Youning, I want to be as powerful as Uncle Mu!”


  Those days at the top of the mountain with Mumu were probably the happiest times for Xu Youning in the past few years. After she heard Mumu’s words, Xu Youning suddenly reminisced about those days.

  However, she could only reminisce about it.

  Those days would never come again.

  “Auntie Youning.” Mumu suddenly approached Xu Youning and looked at her with his round eyes. “Are you thinking about Uncle Mu?”


  Xu Youning came to her senses and rubbed Mumu’s head. “Don’t be like him.”


  Mumu tilted his head in confusion. “Why? Uncle Mu is very powerful!”


  Xu Youning could not help saying with disdain, “No matter how powerful he is, girls will dislike him! You are a boy, and without a girl’s love, you’ll be bored in the future, so don’t learn from Uncle Mu.”


  “Auntie Youning!” Mumu suddenly ran over and asked, “Will you dislike me?”


  “No,” Xu Youning said without hesitation, “I’ll always like you!”


  “Then I still want to be as powerful as Uncle Mu!” “It’s okay if you like me. I don’t care if other girls like me or not. Anyway, I won’t like other girls!”


  Xu Youning thought of something and deliberately asked, “Xiangyi, the daughter of Auntie Jian’an, is also a girl. Don’t you like her?”


  She remembered very clearly that Mumu liked to play with Xiangyi when they were on the mountain.

  “Auntie Youning,” Mumu blinked his eyes and said innocently, “Xiangyi is still a baby……”


  “Okay.” Xu Youning surrendered helplessly. “Let’s change the topic and talk about something else.”


  The warm sun in winter shone on Xu Youning’s and Mumu’s smiling faces.

  Xu Youning was very attached to this kind of peace. She did not have much time left to enjoy it.

  She did not know how much time she had left.