The Aunt’s Visit and Lingering Thoughts

“Mu Yaochen, have you made up your mind about that matter?” In the Bluebird Building, Mu Yaochen was diligently working through the last of her documents, the files Frost had meticulously organized for her now neatly stacked beside her on the desk.

Though it was still early morning, a heavy cloud seemed to hang over Mu Yaochen’s spirit.

Her discomfort stemmed not from Luo Yao’s recent behavior, but from a matter deeply personal to her.

Frost had already informed her of it the previous night, but Mu Yaochen’s entire focus had been consumed by Luo Yao, leaving her indifferent to the news.

Only this morning did she truly register that a ‘distant relative,’ as they called themselves, had arrived to pay her a visit.

Standing before Mu Yaochen was a slightly plump, middle-aged woman, poised as if to impart some significant message.

“I haven’t given it any thought, nor do I intend to,” Mu Yaochen replied, her voice edged with impatience as she continued to pore over her documents, barely glancing at the woman.

Though Mu Yaochen had fully assumed control of the family’s extensive enterprises, many relatives still lingered, hoping to snatch a share of the spoils.

The garishly made-up woman before her was merely one of many such opportunistic figures within the family.

“Aunt, please, you should leave,” Mu Yaochen said, her gaze fixed with mild distaste on the woman’s hand, which held a lit cigarette. Mu Yaochen herself never smoked, and the acrid smell of secondhand smoke was particularly repugnant to her.

She knew the lingering stench would take an eternity to clear from her office.

“Oh, Yaochen,” the woman began, her voice dripping with feigned concern, “you must understand, your Aunt is only pushing you so hard because it’s for your own benefit.” She fully grasped Mu Yaochen’s unspoken request, yet she showed no inclination to depart.

This was far from the first time Mu Yaochen had wished her gone, and she suspected it wouldn’t be the last.

Even though the position of family head wasn’t destined for her own daughter, the woman found herself inexplicably infuriated by Mu Yaochen’s seemingly condescending demeanor.

Mu Yaochen merely blinked, observing that the woman before her had absolutely no intention of departing.

The woman was Mu Yaochen’s maternal aunt-in-law, her uncle’s wife, who had married into the family. Her very first act upon becoming a member of the Mu household had been to adopt the Mu surname, discarding her own.

What followed was a stark transformation, akin to a crow finding itself amidst a flock of phoenixes. Her life and social standing had rocketed from that of an ordinary person to an entirely new echelon.

To have someone with no blood ties to her presume to lecture her was deeply irritating to Mu Yaochen.

Mu Yaochen was, of course, perfectly aware of her aunt’s true intentions.

Her visit was merely a thinly veiled attempt to set Mu Yaochen up on several blind dates. And judging by her aunt’s calculating expression, Mu Yaochen already knew precisely who these ‘potential partners’ would be.

They would, without a doubt, be either distant relatives of her aunt’s family or men with some connection to her. The woman’s transparent, self-serving agenda was laid bare before Mu Yaochen.

Yet, Mu Yaochen found herself powerless to act. Her aunt was shielded by an impenetrable bastion of ‘family affection.’ She couldn’t very well treat her aunt as she would a treacherous employee, could she?

Like, for instance, selling her off to Africa as an indentured laborer?

If such a thing truly came to pass, her uncle—whose face she could barely recall—would undoubtedly fight her to the bitter end.

After all, she hadn’t occupied the CEO’s chair for long. Any significant upheaval, and Mu Yaochen couldn’t guarantee everything would remain firmly within her grasp.

While her mother had long assured her that the position of family head was preordained to be hers, the future remained an unpredictable enigma.

Moreover, numerous peers within the family, all vying for the Bluebird CEO position, were still ravenously eyeing the ultimate prize: the family headship.

The Mu family operated strictly according to a single law of nature: the more powerful an individual, the greater their dominion.

Historically, the Mu family had seen various arrangements: sometimes the family head would delegate corporate internal affairs to another, while at other times, a single head would seize absolute power, overseeing every facet of both the Mu family and its vast business empire.

What truly vexed Mu Yaochen was the realization that she had become a thorn in the side of countless family members.

“Alright, Aunt, if you have nothing further to discuss, I must ask you to leave. I have a substantial amount of work awaiting my attention.”

Despite the mountain of tasks, Mu Yaochen felt an urgent need to address the immediate nuisance before her.

At that very moment, Mu Yaochen’s ‘aunt’ was leisurely exhaling small rings of smoke that dissolved into the air, the cigarette in her hand nearly burnt down to the filter.

The brand of cigarette she now held had been one she wouldn’t have dared to even glance at before marrying into the Mu family. Yet now, as a Mu, she smoked them with audacious impunity.

Having personally witnessed the immense power and wealth of the Mu family, she was all the more determined to siphon every possible advantage from them.

‘Tsk, what’s with this pretense of nobility? Didn’t you only climb to power thanks to your parents? Why put on such an act?’

“Very well then, Aunt won’t trouble you any further,” the woman chirped, a forced smile plastered on her face as she saw Mu Yaochen’s utter disinterest. “But Yaochen, do remember, that young man is truly a good catch, and he’s quite fond of you. If you find some time, make sure to call your Aunt, and I’ll certainly arrange a meeting for you.” With that, she casually flicked the cigarette butt to the floor and turned to leave, unwilling to prolong her fruitless efforts.

‘Likes me? More like my money, I’d wager.’ Mu Yaochen frowned almost imperceptibly as her aunt walked away.

The discarded cigarette butt now smoldered on her pristine office carpet, signaling yet another replacement would be necessary.

Lately, a steady stream of such ‘relatives’ had become commonplace, and Mu Yaochen had grown accustomed to their unwelcome visits. Yet, the thought of their petty, self-serving expressions still made her skin crawl.

‘So irritating!’ Without Luo Yao by her side, Mu Yaochen found herself easily vexed by everything.

She could no longer restrain herself; she yearned to inhale Luo Yao’s unique, comforting scent once more.

Mu Yaochen gripped her fountain pen so tightly that its metal barrel actually warped under the pressure. The past few days had been an incessant barrage of problems; the company’s workload was spiraling, and countless domestic issues remained unresolved.

In truth, these minor inconveniences were not what truly troubled her.

What truly tormented Mu Yaochen was, as always, the matter of Luo Yao.

Some individuals, who deserved nothing less than death, continued to thrive.

Conversely, those who should have lived were now gone.

A silent answer seemed to solidify in Mu Yaochen’s heart, though her expression remained impassive. She picked up the phone from beside her desk, her gaze becoming utterly captivated by its screen.

This morning, Mu Yaochen had risen exceptionally early.

Her early awakening had been solely for this purpose.

The image on her phone depicted Luo Yao asleep, curled into a tight, endearing ball.

Mu Yaochen possessed a vast collection of such photographs. Ever since Luo Yao’s return to the hospital, Mu Yaochen had cultivated a few new obsessions: secretly capturing Luo Yao’s image, and meticulously collecting his belongings.

Perhaps she had been mistaken all along.

Yet, it no longer mattered. Nothing did.