Chapter 295 294: Clearing the Air

Mu Lin figured things were settled, so there was no reason to stick around.

"Well, Grandmaster Liu, Uncle Liu, I'll be leaving now. I still have to get to work."

Mu Lin said.

Hearing him address them as Grandmaster Liu and Uncle Liu again sent Liu Yiming and Liu Qizhou into a momentary daze.

'Are you kidding me? How long has it been since we heard him call us that?'

'Mu Lin has finally forgiven us.' The thought filled them with ecstasy.

'This is good, this is good. All our efforts weren't in vain.'

"Well then, Mu Xiaoyou, until next time! The mistakes our Liu Family made in the past will never happen again. From now on, we will give you our full support. You can rest assured!"

Mu Lin smiled. "Of course! I believe you. I never really cared about that incident. I was just worried you couldn't get over it, so I was waiting for you to let it go…"

"It was a small thing, really. There was no need to get so hung up on it."

Liu Yiming couldn't tell if Mu Lin was being sincere or just polite, but he nodded repeatedly anyway. "Right, right, you're absolutely right. That's exactly it…"

As Mu Lin headed for the door, Liu Yiming said, "Yifang, why don't you see Mu Lin out!"

Mu Lin waved his hand. "No need to trouble you! I'll just grab a cab. Let Fangfang get some rest! She looks exhausted."

Hearing Mu Lin call her Fangfang at a time like this, Liu Yifang's face instantly flushed red.

Liu Yiming realized Mu Lin wasn't rejecting his goodwill, so he relaxed a little. "Alright then, suit yourself."

Mu Lin chuckled happily. "Sounds good."

The two sides had finally cleared the air, leaving no lingering friction between them.

Liu Yiming silently watched the receding figures of Mu Lin and Xue Xi, then let out a long sigh. "We've finally patched things up with Mu Lin. A pity we were a step too slow."

"I'm not as bold as Zhou Qishan, who dared to bet his entire family on Mu Lin alone. Nor do I have his sharp eye for talent, to see Mu Lin's value at a single glance. The fact that things have come to this… well, we brought it on ourselves."

Liu Qizhou said, "Dad, it's not that bad. We still have a chance!"

"Now that we've mended our relationship with Mu Lin, our future development is bound to be much smoother. If we learn from this lesson, we can definitely become a preeminent family, second only to the Zhou Family!"

Liu Yifang pursed her lips. "Dad, I remember Mu Lin has a very strong relationship with the Li Group. I'm afraid the Li Family might be next after the Zhou Family."

Liu Qizhou was speechless for a moment. After holding it in for a while, he said, "That's fine too. The Liu Family doesn't mind being third!"

That would be equivalent to maintaining their current status—not moving up, but not falling behind either.

Mu Lin asked Xue Xi, "Let me take you home."

Xue Xi said, "Let me treat you to a meal instead. I've been wanting to thank you. If it weren't for you, I might have been paralyzed."

"I know a great little restaurant. Their food is delicious! One bite will make you forget all your troubles. It's absolutely amazing."

Mu Lin squinted with a smile. "You don't have to keep such a detailed account of it. It was nothing, really. Besides, your brother and I are colleagues. Of course I'd do everything I could to help him. You don't need to be so formal."

Xue Xi recalled how she'd stripped down to just a tank top to face Mu Lin for her treatment. She still had dreams about that day from time to time.

'But to Mu Lin, it was just 'nothing.' Did that mean he didn't remember it at all?'

She felt very conflicted, unsure whether she wanted him to remember or not.

If he remembered, she would be mortified. But if he didn't, she couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment.

'I didn't leave any impression on him at all.'

'What's the point of that?'

She said to Mu Lin, "Mr. Mu, I'm asking you, do you want to go eat or not!"

'It's lunchtime anyway, so why not.'

"Of course!"

They took a car to the small restaurant. It wasn't too crowded for a weekday lunch, so the two were seated smoothly and ordered their food in one go.

The waiter assumed they were a couple and even complimented them on how well-matched they were, which made Xue Xi giggle foolishly.

After the waiter left, a woman with heavy, gaudy makeup walked over.

The woman leaned in close to Xue Xi and said, "You're Xue Xi, right?"

Xue Xi was confused. She looked the woman up and down and asked cautiously:

"And you are?"

"It's me, Guo Long! We were classmates for so many years, you don't remember me?"

"Oh, it's you!" Xue Xi immediately connected the name to the face before her. "Guo Long! You've changed so much! You look completely different from back then!"

Xue Xi said to Mu Lin, "This is my classmate, Guo Long, from high school. We haven't seen each other in years. She's changed so much I almost didn't recognize her."

"Guo Long, this is Mu Lin, my friend."

Guo Long glanced over, decided Mu Lin was plain-looking, and lost interest.

"Boyfriend?"

"No, no, no, he works with my brother. He helped me out big time before, so I have to treat him to a meal to thank him!"

The moment Guo Long heard that, the way she looked Mu Lin up and down became even more disdainful. She pulled Xue Xi aside and said:

"Xue Xi, you're such a pretty girl. The fact that he got to help you once was the luck of his lifetime. Why should you be the one treating him to a meal to pay him back? That's a bit…"

Guo Long shot a sideways glare at Mu Lin. "What did you do to get Xi'Er to treat you? What are you trying to pull?"

Mu Lin pursed his lips. 'This Guo Long is a real piece of work,' he thought.

Xue Xi thought Guo Long was being a nuisance. 'If she pisses Mu Lin off and he decides not to have lunch anymore, that would be a huge waste.'

Xue Xi quickly explained, "Guo Long, I'm really busy today. I'll treat you to a meal some other time!"

Guo Long shot a glance at Mu Lin, not bothering to hide her disdain, and wrapped an arm around Xue Xi's shoulders affectionately.

"Oh, Xi'Er, you're too pretty to be eating in the main dining hall. It's beneath you."

"Come to the private room upstairs with me! I'm eating with some friends in a room upstairs, you should join us!"

Guo Long had gotten a whole tray of beer from the front desk, which she held in her hand. Then she said, "Tao Xinxin is there too. You'd want to see her, right?"

Xue Xi's mouth fell open. "What?!"

The two of them used to be pretty close.

"She's back in the country? I had no idea!"

Guo Long said, "She got back yesterday. Didn't she tell you?"

Xue Xi sighed. "Yeah! We were such good friends, but…"

Mu Lin said, "Why don't you go see her? The kitchen hasn't started on our order yet, so we can still cancel it."

Xue Xi looked at Mu Lin hesitantly. "But I was treating you to a meal. This doesn't feel right, does it? Isn't this like…"

Mu Lin chuckled. "It's no big deal. It's just a simple meal, no need to overthink it. I'm very easygoing. I can grab a bite anywhere."

Mu Lin could tell that Xue Xi's relationship with Tao Xinxin was special. The moment Tao Xinxin's name was mentioned, Xue Xi's eyes had lit up.

Xue Xi said, "No, that won't do. Brother Mu, you have to come with me!"

Mu Lin was taken aback. "Is that really okay? It's someone else's party, after all!"

Guo Long looked a little displeased but ultimately remained silent.

Xue Xi explained to Mu Lin, "Xinxin was my deskmate. We were extremely close. We just went to different universities, but we still kept in touch."

"But then she went abroad and I lost contact with her… I'd think if it were really her, she would have reached out to me, right?"

Mu Lin thought about it. 'That makes sense. Young women are often incredibly close, much more so than men.'

'She would have at least said something, right?'

Guo Long led the two of them into the private room.

As Xue Xi walked in, her gaze was immediately drawn to a haggard-looking girl:

"Xinxin! I thought Guo Long was bluffing. It really is you!"

The girl who had been called looked up at the sound of her name, her eyes meeting Xue Xi's.

Both were clearly shocked.

Tao Xinxin's face was filled with panic and helplessness. "Xue Xi, why are you here?"

"Guo Long said you were here! I wanted to see you, so I came over!"

Tao Xinxin suddenly shot a hateful glare at Guo Long. "Xue Xi, let's talk later. You don't know most of the people here today. It's not a good time."

"Who says? All visitors are welcome! Since you're Xinxin's friend, you're our friend too. Of course you can join us!"

Guo Long laughed. "Xinxin, really. It's such a happy occasion today, don't you go spoiling Brother Teng's mood!"

The man, who was called Sun Teng, chimed in, "That's right. It's such a happy day. Now that you're here, how could you leave so soon?"

Xue Xi sensed that something was wrong. 'The usual Tao Xinxin isn't like this,' she thought. 'Is there something fishy going on here?'

She said, "I shouldn't interrupt. I'll be going now!"