Incurable Chapter 3 Part 2

Chapter 3 (2/2)

A tall, familiar back flashed briefly through the corner of her eye.

She slowed on instinct and looked again.

The corridor in the east wing lay quiet and empty.

Mu Wan had been to Qingsongxuan several times before. She knew the east wing was reserved for VIP guests—so exclusive that money alone might not be enough to get in. And yet, for one strange moment, she had thought the back she saw looked like Liu Qianxiu.

She recognized his back.

The last time, after she had meowed at him and driven away, she had watched him in the rearview mirror.

Still, she must have been mistaken.

Why would Liu Qianxiu come to a place like this for dinner?

By the time they reached the private room, most of the guests had already arrived. The moment Mi Yu stepped through the door, the cool expression she had worn the entire way over bloomed into effortless charm.

Zhang Chengze was a second-tier television director. Mi Yu had worked with him before. The drama he was preparing this time was rumored to have investment from Shen Entertainment, which made it a promising project. Mi Yu was here, aiming for the female lead.

There were at least fifteen actors in the room, maybe twenty, all gathered around a large round table. Mu Wan swept a glance around. In terms of status, Mi Yu was clearly the biggest name present.

Mu Wan, on the other hand, had no particular standing.

But because she was here to help drink in Mi Yu’s place, she sat beside her, and before long, she had already toasted the director three times.

After that, the atmosphere gradually warmed. Mu Wan’s arm hurt, and she had little appetite. She picked idly at a few dishes when Director Zhang gave a cold snort and said, “What’s so great about Shen Entertainment? You think I can’t make a drama without their money?”

A few producers and hangers-on around him immediately chimed in.

Out of the corner of her eye, Mu Wan noticed Mi Yu’s expression change slightly.

As the biggest entertainment company in the industry, Shen Entertainment had top-tier artists and top-tier capital. Of course, a production could still go ahead without them—but the quality would almost certainly suffer.

“The Shen family is only riding on the Liu family’s backing anyway,” said one of the supervisors after raising a glass to the director. “Without the Lius, they’d be nothing.”

The table was large, and after that, the conversation split into smaller circles. Around Zhang Chengze was one group. Mi Yu and a cluster of actresses formed another. Off to one side, the crew members had one of their own.

After helping Mi Yu offer the director a few more toasts, Mi Yu turned to her phone.

Leaning back in her chair, Mu Wan overheard several actresses nearby gossiping about the Shen family.

“The Shen family’s only standing on the Liu family’s support,” one short-haired actress said in a tone of practiced authority. “Right now the domestic Liu Auction Group is run by Shen Yu’s cousin, Liu Qingyuan, the eldest son of the Liu family. But the Liu family’s business is enormous. They have auction houses all over the world. The domestic Liu Auction Group is just one part of it. The person who controls all of the Liu family’s auction operations worldwide is the head of the Liu family—Liu Qianxiu, the second young master of the Lius.”

At the name Liu Qianxiu, Mu Wan found herself instinctively focusing on it.

She turned slightly, looking at the short-haired actress as the woman continued her explanation.

“Liu Qianxiu and Liu Qingyuan are half-brothers,” she said. “Same father, different mothers. Supposedly they’ve never had a good relationship. Their father, Liu Fengmian, was engaged to the eldest daughter of the Mei family, Mei Wanyang, but had an affair with Shen Yu’s aunt, Shen Chunqi. Mei Wanyang only found out after giving birth to Liu Qianxiu that Shen Chunqi had already borne Liu Qingyuan. After that, Mei Wanyang became deeply depressed and died not long after. The Mei family and the Liu family fell out completely because of it.”

The actresses listening had gone quiet.

The short-haired one went on, clearly enjoying herself.

“After that, Liu Fengmian simply brought Shen Chunqi and Liu Qingyuan back into the Liu family home, while Liu Qianxiu was raised by the old master of the Liu family. A few years ago, when the old master fell gravely ill and was hospitalized, the Mei family came in hard and forced the issue. In the end, the old master passed the position of family head to Liu Qianxiu.”

She paused for effect before adding, “On one condition: that he spare Liu Fengmian and Shen Chunqi’s branch of the family.”

“So that’s the situation now,” she concluded. “Liu Fengmian and Liu Qingyuan are in charge of the domestic Liu Auction Group, but to put it bluntly, they’re just working for Liu Qianxiu. The real head of the Liu family now is Liu Qianxiu—the same Young Master Liu who’s one of Xiacheng’s Four Young Masters.”

The affairs of wealthy families were always dramatic enough to sound like fiction.

A few of the younger actresses were listening in open fascination. One of them asked, “So his mother was basically driven to death by his father and Madam Shen? Would he really just let them go?”

“What do you think?” the short-haired actress said with a snort. “I heard that after Liu Qianxiu became family head, Liu Fengmian sent Shen Chunqi off to Australia. They’re afraid of him. They should be.”

Someone else asked, “Then where is Young Master Liu now? He’s the most mysterious out of the four.”

“Exactly. No one seems to know,” said an actress in an off-the-shoulder dress. “He’s the kind who hides in plain sight and quietly controls everything in the Liu family. That is incredibly attractive. In a while it’ll be the third anniversary of Old Master Liu’s death. As family head, he should appear then. The only question is whether the media will manage to get a photo.”

The women kept chatting excitedly. Before long, the subject shifted to Xiacheng’s Four Young Masters as a whole. Whether or not they could become famous themselves, each of them clearly entertained the thought that if they had a beautiful face, marrying into wealth wouldn’t be a bad second option.

Mu Wan slowly drew herself back from the conversation.

She lowered her eyes.

Her mind felt as though a thick blanket had been thrown over it—heavy, muffled, not quite clear. Turning to Mi Yu, she said, “Sister Yu, I’m going to the restroom.”

The toasting was nearly done by now. Mi Yu glanced at Mu Wan’s drooping left shoulder and said only, “Go.”

At the sink, Mu Wan splashed cold water on her face.

It didn’t help much.

That blanket over her thoughts was still there. Her face was burning, just like her left shoulder.

Only then did she remember what Liu Qianxiu had told her that morning after treating the wound:

No alcohol.

And yet in barely half an hour, she had drunk nearly half a jin.

Pulling out a paper towel, Mu Wan dabbed the water from her face and stepped out of the restroom.

The restroom was at the far end of the corridor. There was no one around, and the private rooms were well soundproofed, leaving the entire hallway broad, empty, and quiet.

Mu Wan leaned back against the wall.

The cool, fine tile pressed through the thin fabric at her back, making her feel a little more awake.

Her head still felt heavy. She lowered it, deciding to stand there for a while and sober up.

The carpet beneath her feet was red, embroidered with a red bamboo grove. Qingsongxuan’s four wings were themed after plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum; the north wing was the bamboo wing.

The embroidery was exquisite. The red bamboo leaves were worked so finely that they looked almost sharp.

They reminded her of the mark on her chest.

I just thought it was beautiful.

That low voice echoed suddenly through her mind, and something buzzed inside her head. Mu Wan let out a soft laugh.

And while she was still laughing, someone stepped into her line of sight.

Her head was lowered, so at first she could only see the lower half of him—long legs, a straight posture, the quiet assurance of someone standing utterly at ease.

Then, in a dazed sort of way, she caught the faint scent of disinfectant.

Her lashes flickered.

She slowly lifted her heavy head.

And saw him clearly.

Liu Qianxiu stood before her in silence.

The patient who was supposed to be under observation in the hospital was instead leaning tipsily against a corridor wall, sobering up. She was dressed in red, her small pale face flushed, like ripe fruit warmed by summer. Her beautiful eyes looked as though they had been washed in rain—clear and bright—and as they focused on him, her pupils drew tighter and darker.

Very much like a cat.

Very much like a seductress.

She looked straight at him, lips curving, the corners of her eyes tilting upward. Her voice sounded like bayberry wine—lazy, sweet, husky, intoxicating.

“Meow~ Taoist Liu came to arrest me.”

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