Incurable Chapter 41 Wait for Me (2)

Wait for Me

After leaving the Mu residence, Mu Wan took Liu Qianxiu to the Mu family cemetery.

There, he accompanied her as she observed the tenth anniversary of her mother’s death.

Afterward, they returned to Liu Qianxiu’s apartment.

The rain had followed them from the moment they left the Mu residence.

Neither of them had brought an umbrella.

By the time they reached home, both were half soaked.

Liu Qianxiu opened the door.

Mu Wan followed him inside.

The door closed behind them.

He handed her a towel.

Mu Wan looked up at him.

Then she took it, stepped closer, rose onto her toes, and began drying his hair.

Rain had darkened the evening.

The living room was dim enough that only silhouettes could be clearly seen.

Several kittens had run out of the cat room at the sound of the door opening.

The pouring rain was muffled behind the windows.

Inside, everything felt peaceful and warm.

As Mu Wan dried Liu Qianxiu’s hair, he picked up another towel and wrapped it around hers.

Their clothes were still damp.

Mu Wan wiped away some of the water.

Then she looked up at Liu Qianxiu in the darkness.

Her eyes were bright.

The corner of her mouth lifted.

“Let’s shower.”

The towel moving over her hair paused.

Liu Qianxiu looked back at her.

Something shifted in his eyes.

Then he lifted her from the floor and carried her into the bathroom.

Afterward, their intimacy lasted long enough that when it finally ended, Mu Wan lay in his arms completely satisfied and no longer wanted dinner.

The rain outside eventually stopped.

Night had fully fallen.

The floor-to-ceiling window was open, letting in the cool air left behind by the storm.

Mu Wan was wrapped in a thin blanket.

A little of her skin remained exposed.

The cool air brushed against it.

She shivered.

The moment she did, Liu Qianxiu pulled the blanket higher and wrapped her completely inside.

Only her small pale face remained visible.

Mu Wan wriggled twice.

Then his arms tightened around her.

She could no longer move.

Insects called outside.

Her body relaxed.

Her thoughts began to drift.

Curled inside Liu Qianxiu’s arms like a little hamster, Mu Wan lifted her face and kissed his chin.

“Why didn’t you ask me when I figured out who you were?”

From the moment Liu Qianxiu arrived at the Mu house until they visited her mother’s grave together, neither of them had mentioned his identity.

It was as though they had reached an unspoken understanding.

Liu Qianxiu looked down at the woman whose eyes were filled with obvious excitement.

Following her lead, he asked,

“When did you figure it out?”

“This morning.”

Mu Wan answered eagerly.

“I suspected it before, but I didn’t have any real evidence.”

“Then suddenly I started getting more roles.”

“My company started paying attention to me too.”

“That felt strange.”

“But it was only strange.”

“Yesterday, I recognized Mei Yaozhi.”

She continued,

“But when I asked if he had come to see you, you said no.”

“And I believed you.”

“Still, I wanted to test something.”

“So this morning, I told you about Mu Qing.”

“Then Mu Qing was actually removed from the role and replaced by Mi Yu.”

Mu Wan added,

“You didn’t replace her with Tang Qin like I mentioned.”

“But that didn’t matter.”

“For me, the goal had already been achieved.”

“I didn’t care who played the lead, as long as it wasn’t Mu Qing.”

She continued,

“Then this evening Auntie Wu called me.”

“I went to the Mu house.”

“I sent you a message saying I was going there to fight them to the end.”

She lifted her eyes toward him triumphantly.

“If you weren’t that Liu Qianxiu, you would have had to ask me where the Mu house was.”

“But you didn’t.”

“You just came.”

A small laugh escaped her.

“So really, you didn’t want to hide it from me anymore either.”

“You just went along with my little plan.”

At first, Liu Qianxiu had never intended to conceal his identity.

He had even told her that he could invest in her productions.

But Mu Wan had refused.

Then she had boldly declared that she would support him instead.

He had probably found it amusing.

So he simply played along until now.

What a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Mu Wan remembered all the grand promises she had made.

Her expression became difficult to maintain.

After she finished talking, Liu Qianxiu merely stroked her hair and smiled.

Mu Wan’s face grew even redder.

She stubbornly forced herself to continue.

“We agreed last night.”

“If you really are Young Master Liu, then you’re supposed to keep me.”

“You already agreed.”

The instant she finished speaking, Liu Qianxiu turned.

One arm tightened.

Mu Wan let out a startled sound as her body lifted.

A moment later, she was lying across him.

Her ear rested against his chest.

She could hear his strong, steady heartbeat.

Then his answer.

“Mm.”

Mu Wan raised both arms and slowly wrapped them around him.

Outside, there was no longer any sound of rain.

The world became quiet again.

As though only the two of them remained.

“How did you know my mother liked bird-of-paradise flowers?” Mu Wan asked.

Liu Qianxiu had not arrived at the Mu residence empty-handed.

He had brought a bouquet with him.

Sky-blue bird-of-paradise flowers.

Pure.

Beautiful.

Every year when Mu Wan visited her mother, she brought the same flowers.

She liked them too.

“Your father told me.”

Liu Qianxiu played idly with a strand of her hair as he answered.

The strand slipped through his fingers.

Mu Wan immediately raised her head.

Their eyes met.

There was curiosity in hers.

But no real shock.

This was the first time she had ever heard anything about her father.

Naturally, she was curious.

But because Liu Qianxiu was the one telling her, she somehow did not feel surprised.

“You helped me from the beginning because of him?”

Ever since Mu Wan had been admitted through the emergency department and Liu Qianxiu noticed her birthmark, he had treated her differently.

Helping her raise the kittens.

Keeping her for dinner.

All the small exceptions he had made.

Their love had begun from that strange coincidence and grown little by little.

Perhaps that was simply their fate.

“Mm.”

Liu Qianxiu admitted it.

“Someone tried to assassinate me once.”

“Your father saved me.”

“But he died.”

“When?” Mu Wan asked.

“When I was studying in England.”

It had happened many years ago.

Liu Qianxiu had nearly forgotten the details of that day.

He only remembered walking down the street when a homeless man suddenly knocked him aside.

The man took a bullet meant for him.

And died.

The police later caught the shooter.

Liu Qianxiu arranged for the homeless man to be buried.

Among his belongings, he found a photograph.

In it, a woman in a qipao held a bouquet of bird-of-paradise flowers.

A baby carriage stood in front of her.

Inside lay an infant.

On the upper left side of the baby’s chest were two bamboo-leaf-shaped birthmarks.

Beside them were two written characters.

Qingzhu.

Liu Qianxiu had people investigate the homeless man’s identity.

His name was Song Kangze.

He had entered England illegally.

Years earlier, he had done business in Chinatown.

The business failed.

He became trapped in debt to loan sharks.

After that, he collapsed completely and ended up wandering the streets.

As for the woman in the photograph, the image was too blurry for Liu Qianxiu’s people to identify her.

The only clues were the baby’s bamboo-leaf birthmark and the name Qingzhu.

“I buried him in England.”

Liu Qianxiu looked down at the woman in his arms.

“Do you want to visit his grave sometime?”

As Liu Qianxiu spoke, Mu Wan felt as though she were listening to someone else’s story.

Her father had never been part of her life.

Only today had she learned his name for the first time.

Liu Qianxiu said he had once done business in England.

Mu Wan could imagine one possibility.

Perhaps he had wanted to become successful first, then return for her and her mother.

But he had failed.

He had ended up buried in debt.

Perhaps he had simply given up on himself.

Keeping only that one photograph and wandering through life like the living dead.

If their luck had been better, perhaps everything would have been different.

If her mother had not been born into the Mu family.

If her father’s business had succeeded.

Perhaps they would have been like any ordinary family.

Together.

But their luck had not been good enough.

One wrong step.

Then another.

Each time they tried to correct the course of their lives, something else went wrong.

And this was what remained.

A family scattered.

People dead.

Only Mu Wan left.

Something inside her felt hollow.

But there was no other strong emotion.

“If I get the chance, I’ll go.”

Her eyes flickered.

Then she let the subject pass naturally.

She looked at Liu Qianxiu.

“So television dramas aren’t completely made up after all.”

A faint smile appeared.

“Heirs to powerful families really do get assassinated.”

Liu Qianxiu watched her expression.

The sadness in her eyes was like a shadow falling across the surface of a lake.

It vanished almost as soon as it appeared.

“Mm.”

He lowered his eyes.

“My father sent them.”

Mu Wan froze.

She remembered that Liu Qianxiu had once told her both his parents were dead.

She had also heard rumors about the Liu family.

That Liu Fengmian favored his eldest son, Liu Qingyuan.

She had always assumed it was idle gossip.

The truth was far more brutal.

“If you had evidence, why didn’t you have him arrested?”

Mu Wan frowned.

“My grandfather asked me to spare him.”

Liu Qianxiu’s tone remained calm.

“And not tell the Mei family.”

“If I could do those two things, he would pass the position of family head to me.”

Everyone said the Mei family had pressured the Liu family into making Liu Qianxiu the family head.

But in reality, why would the head of the Liu family choose an heir merely because another family exerted a little pressure?

Liu Qianxiu had reached his current position by walking every step himself.

“You can’t let them go.”

Mu Wan pulled his hand against her chest.

Her voice grew quieter.

“Mm.”

Liu Qianxiu pulled the blanket over her back.

“I’m going to Austria next week.”

“I’ll probably be gone for about two weeks.”

Mu Wan’s head shot up.

Her entire body tensed against him.

The corner of Liu Qianxiu’s mouth lifted.

His palm rested against her back, slowly soothing her.

“Don’t worry.”

“I’ll come back on time.”

His voice remained quiet and certain.

“You wait for me here.”

“They don’t dare do anything to me.”

“And they won’t dare do anything to you.”

---

— End of Chapter 41 —

---

If you like what I do and would like to show your support, I’ll keep you updated regularly. Please consider buying me a coffee. Thank you. ☕️💕

↞ Previous│❀ Table of Contents ❀ │ Next ↠