OFCC – Chapter 86

Mu Yanxi lay listlessly on Yi Wulan’s hospital bed, which was large enough to be a double bed. Her eyes were misty with moisture, and all she could see was the white of the hospital room, to the point where her vision was blurring.

The huge bed was covered in small, damp scraps of paper, floating around like willow catkins. They looked as if they had been torn from a sheet of paper and then soaked in some kind of liquid.

Mu Yanxi’s rounded toes curled together, still trembling faintly. Hearing the approaching footsteps, she didn’t even have the strength to turn her head.

After changing her clothes, Yi Wulan walked back to the bedside. Frowning at the mess on the bed, she nudged Mu Yanxi, intending to pick her up. “Get off for a moment, I need to change the sheets.”

Mu Yanxi hugged the quilt tightly and refused to move. Just now, Yi Wulan had tricked her into taking a shower, and in the process, she had nearly washed her life away. This time, she wouldn’t cooperate no matter what. “No! Even if the last chapter was an explicit scene, you can’t fool me.”

Mu Yanxi wanted to curse, but she couldn’t control the scraps of paper that were now drying and starting to fly around the bed, which made her sneeze several times in a row. The little bit of strength she had managed to gather was instantly gone.

She covered her mouth and nose, cursing Yi Wulan furiously in her heart. She lay sprawled arrogantly across the bed, not planning to leave any space for the patient, Yi Wulan.

In any case, judging by Yi Wulan’s stamina, she didn’t seem to need any special treatment as a patient at all.

Seeing that Mu Yanxi hadn’t moved for a long time, Yi Wulan helplessly walked over to pull her up.

Mu Yanxi struggled, clinging to the bed and whimpering as she avoided Yi Wulan’s hand, “…No, I don’t want to anymore.”

Yi Wulan sighed. “I’m not talking about that. I’m changing the sheets. I’ll carry you to the sofa over there first.”

Having been tormented to the point where her legs were numb and she wasn’t even sure if they were closed, how could Mu Yanxi possibly believe Yi Wulan’s words? Her mind was flooded with all sorts of X-rated scenarios, like encounters on the sofa or being pinned in a corner.

But the paper scraps on the bed were truly too much. Mu Yanxi buried her head in the quilt, and with every breath, she would occasionally inhale a small piece, as unavoidable as willow catkins in April.

Mu Yanxi helplessly raised a hand to cover her mouth and nose, but no matter how much she tried to dodge, when Yi Wulan’s arm slipped under her lower back to lift her, it was still just as effortless.

Mu Yanxi’s voice was choked with sobs as she cursed, “Yi… Yi Wulan, I want a divorce! Let me go, wuuu.”

Yi Wulan’s expression, which had just started to look better, darkened again. She expressionlessly carried the person to the sofa by the bed in just a few steps.

The large towel wrapped around Mu Yanxi, resembling a bath towel, had loosened precariously and was hanging half-off her chest, as if in a state of coy refusal.

Mu Yanxi haphazardly wrapped the towel around herself, trying to cover the mottled marks on her neck, until she noticed Yi Wulan’s gaze on her shoulder growing more and more focused… Mu Yanxi took a deep breath and beckoned to Yi Wulan. “Come here.”

Yi Wulan silently bent forward.

Mu Yanxi hooked her arm around Yi Wulan’s neck, pulled open her collar, and bit down on her collarbone with all her might. Her fine teeth ground back and forth on the shoulder, and even the tip of her tongue occasionally brushed against the skin.

Yi Wulan had been holding back out of consideration for Mu Yanxi’s body, but now she couldn’t resist wrapping her arms around Mu Yanxi’s waist and pressing her heavily against the sofa.

The bedsheets could be changed, but the sofa would probably have to be replaced entirely.

---

After parting with Mu Yanxi, Mu Yanqing was about to scold her on WeChat for choosing her lover over her sister when she received a call from the prison.

The sun was gradually setting in the west, and the early spring wind still carried a wintery chill. Listening to the prison guard’s voice on the other end of the line, Mu Yanqing frowned slightly and replied, “Alright, I’m on my way now.”

As spring returned to the land, the surrounding trees had begun to sprout new buds. After hanging up the phone, Mu Yanqing felt a wave of melancholy.

Setting aside her relationship with Mu Yanxi, Mu Yanche had, after all, lived in the Mu family for over a decade. Even if they didn’t get along, more than ten years of living together, no matter how cold, still held a bit of affection.

Now that Mu Yanche had fallen into such a state, although Mu Yanqing wouldn’t go so far as to help him, she still made a trip to the prison when the guards contacted her.

Before seeing him, Mu Yanqing had thought the prison guard was exaggerating. After all, she had practically watched Mu Yanche grow up. He had always been a very opinionated person, usually with a faint smile on his lips.

It was just that his smile always made her feel uncomfortable.

But Mu Yanqing had never imagined that Mu Yanche would go mad.

According to the prison guard, when Mu Yanche was arrested at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Feicheng New Energy Vehicle Project, his mental state was already somewhat frantic. He was saying strange things at the time, but a mental state evaluation conducted then showed no abnormalities.

The police had already collected all the evidence of Mu Yanche’s crimes. To avoid complications, the court proceeded with the trial quickly. With a long list of major and minor offenses, he was sentenced to twenty years in prison.

After the trial ended and Mu Yanche was taken to prison, perhaps because he had always held himself in too high regard and couldn’t bear such treatment, he went mad on the very night he was incarcerated. He kept grabbing other inmates and asking them about something.

But in the following days, Mu Yanche’s mental state became increasingly frantic, progressing from occasional episodes to near-constant madness. He would fixate on a particular inmate, relentlessly questioning him, but the other person was completely bewildered.

Mu Yanqing frowned and asked, “The person he keeps questioning, do they know each other?”

The prison guard shook his head. “That person is named Yi Jingming. According to him, he doesn’t know Mu Yanche. We also investigated Mu Yanche’s background. He went abroad at a very young age. Miss Mu, you should be more aware of this.”

Mu Yanqing nodded. Only then did she remember that several members of the Yi family were also imprisoned here. But Yi Jingming was an illegitimate son, after all. When she visited the Yi family, she always treated him like he was invisible. She really didn’t know what kind of relationship Mu Yanche had with him.

“Can I see them separately?”

The prison guard agreed.

Afterward, Mu Yanqing first went to see Yi Jingming to understand the situation. Even with a guard present, Yi Jingming had nothing good to say about Mu Yanche:

“He tells me all day that we’re a couple, that Rongjia Group is ours. Hah, and something about a system and a protagonist. I think Mu Yanche has been in the entertainment industry for too long and has gone stupid from reading too many scripts. He’s a psycho.”

Mu Yanqing didn’t offer any opinion and went to see Mu Yanche through a thick pane of glass.

When Mu Yanche first saw her, his mental state was relatively stable. But not long after sitting down, he suddenly seemed to have a fit, pointing at her:

“Elder Sister, Elder Sister, save me! They arrested the wrong person! Mu Yanxi is the one who should be locked up. What about Yi Wulan? Is she dead? Hahahaha, Yi Wulan is dead, so why hasn’t the System given me the plot reward yet?

Oh, I know! It must be because of Yi Jingming. Yi Jingming and I aren’t together yet. The important emotional storyline hasn’t been fulfilled, so the System is ignoring me. I’ll go find Yi Jingming later.”

Mu Yanqing’s gaze grew deeper and deeper. She looked at the prison guard, who nodded at her.

However, just as Mu Yanqing was about to leave, Mu Yanche on the other side of the glass started shouting again, “No! The System is gone! Give me back my System! System… Aaaah!”

The guards on the other side quickly rushed forward to restrain Mu Yanche, who was banging on the glass. Faced with such a scene, Mu Yanqing was so shocked she couldn’t react for a moment.

It wasn’t until the guard beside her prompted her that Mu Yanqing was led back to the initial office.

The guard got straight to the point, handing a psychiatric evaluation report to Mu Yanqing. “Miss Mu, thank you for coming today. This is Mu Yanche’s psychiatric evaluation result. He needs to be sent to a sanatorium immediately.

The sanatorium can be decided by his family. According to our investigation, Mu Yanche’s household registration was once under the Mu family, and we can’t find any other family members related to him. So we wanted to ask for your recommendation. If you have no objections, we will proceed according to procedure and send him to a designated sanatorium.”

“Sanatorium” was just a nicer way of putting it; it was essentially a specialized mental hospital where patients would lose all their freedom.

Mental hospitals were supposedly for the recovery and recuperation of the mentally ill, but even a sane person would develop mental problems after staying there for too long, let alone a mentally ill person.

Although the rooms were private, it was less like living as a normal person than in prison.

Many who went in never came out again.

Mu Yanqing’s hand on the table clenched tightly, then suddenly relaxed. “Thank you, officer,” she said weakly, “but… Mu Yanche’s household registration was transferred out of my family’s long ago. We are no longer related. I cannot make decisions about his affairs. Please proceed according to your procedures.”

After saying this, Mu Yanqing left the police station.

Mu Yanqing knew well that after this refusal, the police would no longer contact the Mu family regarding any future incidents involving Mu Yanche, tacitly acknowledging that the connection between him and the Mu family was severed, just as their legal relationship was.

She looked at the sky, which had completely darkened outside. She drove aimlessly through the deserted suburbs, suddenly unsure if she had done the right thing or the wrong thing. The warm yellow streetlights stretched the car’s shadow long, and the night grew deeper.

As she drove, Mu Yanqing thought about the details of her past interactions with Mu Yanche.

When they were young, after Mu Yanche made a mistake, he would always ask her, “Elder Sister, will you abandon me?”

Although Mu Yanqing and Mu Yanche were not close, she would still give a perfunctory reply, “No, but don’t always make mistakes on purpose.”

Vaguely, she remembered Mu Yanche muttering at the time, “It’s really just like it’s written. You really don’t like me.”

At that time, Mu Yanqing thought it was just a child feeling wronged, so she bent down and ruffled his hair. “Don’t overthink it. Elder Sister will take you home.”

Later, the dispute at the swimming pool happened between Mu Yanxi and Mu Yanche. Mu Yanche made a mistake and was sent abroad. Even after their parents passed away in a car accident and Mu Yanqing took over the Mu family, she never stopped Mu Yanche from using the Mu family’s resources abroad.

Many corporate representatives who cooperated with Xinyu Bank would also ask about the relationship between Mu Yanche and the Mu family during business talks. Mu Yanqing would always smile it off, never admitting it, but never denying it either.

The old foxes in the business world were all sharp. Not denying it meant there was a connection. If they happened to have dealings with Mu Yanche in the entertainment industry, they would also make concessions accordingly.

But this time…

As the car got closer to the city, other vehicles appeared on the road. The high beams of one car were blindingly bright. After the car passed, Mu Yanqing pulled over into a parking space and rubbed her eyes.

Only then did she realize her eyelashes were damp with moisture.

She stared blankly at the people coming and going outside the windshield. After a long while, she pursed her lips and smiled, murmuring to no one in particular, “But you really did something wrong this time…”

---

In a private hospital in the suburbs, more than half of Yuncheng away from Mu Yanqing, Mu Yanxi was frowning deeply, curled up amidst the messy bedding. Even in her sleep, her brows were tightly knitted in unease.

A familiar ability flowed through Mu Yanxi’s meridians, coursing through her entire body. When the last trace of fatigue dissipated and her body was repaired, Mu Yanxi suddenly let out a muffled groan.

Feeling the strength of the arm wrapped around her, Mu Yanxi instinctively kicked her legs, trying to push the person away. Her trembling voice carried a hint of coquettish complaint, “N-no… we can’t do it again.”

The sheets had already been changed. After tidying Mu Yanxi up, Yi Wulan had taken the initiative to leave the room to find Doctor Xiusina before her evening rounds. After asking a few questions about her condition, Doctor Xiusina gave her a routine check-up, which counted as having completed the evening rounds.

In fact, Yi Wulan had only just returned to the room. She patted Mu Yanxi’s waist soothingly. “We won’t. Go to sleep.”

As if she had heard in her sleep, Mu Yanxi’s body gradually relaxed. She hummed and snuggled into Yi Wulan’s embrace behind her, mumbling something unintelligible. Finally, she stopped fussing and fell quietly asleep.

She slept straight through to the next morning.

When Mu Yanxi woke up feeling refreshed, she thought she was dreaming.

After returning from the financial summit yesterday afternoon, she had been kneaded and handled by Yi Wulan all day, yet she could wake up and get up so easily?

Shouldn’t her whole body be sore and weak?

It was only when her gaze fell on the replaced sofa that she belatedly remembered what had happened before she passed out last night.

At that time, Mu Yanxi had been tormented to the point of being unable to think, but having coexisted with the ability for so long, both before and after her rebirth, she was very familiar with the sensation of it flowing into her body.

At first, she thought an ability core had grown inside her again, but gradually, she figured out that something was amiss.

The ability she felt wasn’t coming from her own body, but was being transferred from Yi Wulan’s.

As long as they kissed for an extended period, she could faintly feel a few wisps of the ability’s energy.

Yi Wulan seemed to have no awareness of this. Fortunately, the ability was extremely familiar with her, its original owner. After Yi Wulan finished kissing her and pulled away, it could accurately repair her sore body even without being controlled.

But… how did the ability come back?

Wasn’t it all inside Yi Wulan’s body, repairing her?

Could it be that the energy of an entire ability core was too great, and when Yi Wulan’s body no longer needed it, the benevolent, healing-loving ability discovered her, its injured former owner?

For a moment, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

She felt a bit embarrassed using the ability for this kind of repair.

When Yi Wulan went to the door to get the breakfast delivered by the nurse, she saw Mu Yanxi sitting up against the headboard with a dazed expression. Her lively fox-like eyes seemed to have stopped moving. The amorous marks on her body had all faded, and her skin had returned to its initial fairness and tenderness, like an exquisite doll.

Yi Wulan frowned and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Mu Yanxi’s eyes finally moved, slowly turning to Yi Wulan. Her voice was dry. “You, you…”

If she didn’t know Mu Yanxi was just overworked, Yi Wulan would have thought she’d been driven silly.

She placed the tray on the nearby coffee table and gestured to Mu Yanxi. “Go wash up, then come have breakfast.”

Mu Yanxi slowly got out of bed. The embarrassing scenario of her legs being too weak to get out of bed didn’t happen. She had thought about faking it, but then she remembered that before Yi Wulan recovered, her body was always repaired by the ability after she woke up, so she couldn’t be bothered to pretend.

She’d just let it be that she was exceptionally gifted, could endure a lot of torment, and had a strong recovery ability.

It was still light when they returned to the hospital yesterday. So much time had passed, and Mu Yanxi was indeed hungry. After quickly washing up, she remembered something very important.

Yi Wulan was on the sofa looking at her laptop. Mu Yanxi immediately sat down beside her, craning her neck to ask, “Yi Wulan? President Yi? What about the rounds last night and this morning? Doctor Xiusina is so punctual, how come I didn’t see her even once?

Hey, hey, hey… stop looking at that. What’s so interesting about the laptop? I’m helping you handle Rongjia’s affairs recently anyway. Answer my question first. Doctor Xiusina didn’t find out about us, did she? And when was the sofa replaced?”

“She didn’t find out.” Yi Wulan paused for a second, then answered, “I had someone deliver it while you were asleep.”

Mu Yanxi let out a sigh of relief. In a good mood, she reached for the congee on the coffee table. Her peripheral vision happened to glance at the contents of the laptop screen, and her expression suddenly stiffened.

Expressionless, she suddenly reached for the trackpad. With enough force to almost poke a hole through it, she slammed the file shut, wishing she would never see it again.

The file closed, revealing a solid-colored screen saver.

Yi Wulan’s expression didn’t change as she reached out and clicked it open again from the folder—it was the divorce agreement that had given Mu Yanxi such a scare yesterday.

Mu Yanxi: …

Mu Yanxi’s face fell, seeming to turn a shade of green. She pointed coldly at the screen. “Yi Wulan, while I’m not angry yet, you’d better shred this file for me.”

“Mm,” Yi Wulan verbally agreed with Mu Yanxi, but she nonchalantly closed the file and, just as nonchalantly, sent it to her own email.

One-click send. Successful.

Mu Yanxi: …

Mu Yanxi ground her back teeth, forcing herself to hold back her temper. “Wait, Yi Wulan, why are you keeping that file? Is it useful for anything?”

Yi Wulan placed the spoon in her congee and said lightly, “It’s convenient for printing.”

After last night, Mu Yanxi was naturally not foolish enough to think Yi Wulan would print it out to sign with her. It was most likely for some other purpose.

Just like her punishment last night.

Mu Yanxi’s eyes widened in disbelief, shocked that Yi Wulan could say such a thing. Deciding to go all in, she put down her bowl and threatened, “Fine, then. Go ahead and print it out. We’ll sign it right now.”

Yi Wulan was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, “Are you feeling unwell right now?”

“No.” Mu Yanxi choked, but then retorted, “That’s all thanks to my body’s good recovery ability.”

Yi Wulan nodded and said no more.

But the look she gave Mu Yanxi seemed to say: Since it doesn’t affect your life the next day, it doesn’t count as excessive.

Mu Yanxi: …

Mu Yanxi glared coldly at Yi Wulan for a long time, then suddenly turned her head and started eating her congee.

Forget it, filling her stomach was more important.

Even if it was just so she could continue to get the ability from Yi Wulan in the future, she couldn’t resort to domestic violence against her.

You can’t bite the hand that feeds you.

Mu Yanxi took her anger out on the congee, chewing as if she were chewing on Yi Wulan. One bite after another, she finished the congee in a few minutes.

Without Mu Yanxi’s incessant nonsense, the hospital room was very quiet, with only the faint sound of the air conditioner blowing from the vent.

After eating her fill, Mu Yanxi put down her bowl and chopsticks. But once she was full, she was too lazy to move. The sunlight from the window shone warmly on the sofa. Mu Yanxi basked in it lazily. Today was the weekend, and she planned to rest for a bit before going through Rongjia’s documents.

But she hadn’t been lying there for long when the rays of sunlight on her body seemed to shift, gradually disappearing from her.

Mu Yanxi opened her eyes in annoyance, still holding a grudge about being forced to hold the divorce agreement in her mouth last night. Now that she was full, the sarcasm in her voice was even more pronounced:

“President Yi, this is already the largest VIP suite in this hospital. Since you’ve paid for it, you can go anywhere you want. If you want to sunbathe, just say the word, and I’ll get lost immediately without a second thought. I would never inconvenience your esteemed self.”

Yi Wulan was long accustomed to Mu Yanxi’s nasty words the morning after. She simply put an arm around Mu Yanxi’s shoulders to turn her onto her side, her five fingers resting lightly on Mu Yanxi’s lower back, poised to start massaging her.

Mu Yanxi never mistreated herself. She accepted Yi Wulan’s massage with a clear conscience. Under Yi Wulan’s rhythmic kneading, the little bit of dissatisfaction in her heart gradually vanished completely.

Without realizing it, she slowly lay down with her head on Yi Wulan’s lap. Her fingers played with her long hair, nimble fingertips twisting and turning. In just a few moments, she had braided a small plait for herself, then turned her head sideways as if to show it off to Yi Wulan.

Yi Wulan’s hands paused, and she played along, “It’s beautiful.”

The smile on Mu Yanxi’s face grew wider. She felt that Yi Wulan, bathed in sunlight, was exceptionally beautiful.

Just like the deity who had come to save her when they first met.

And now, she had finally saved her deity in return.

Mu Yanxi lazily rolled over and reached out to hook her arm around Yi Wulan’s neck.

Her intention was very clear. Without her needing to say it, Yi Wulan leaned down and kissed her.

The hand that had been resting on Mu Yanxi’s body took a detour. A sweet moan immediately escaped Mu Yanxi’s lips, and she firmly grabbed Yi Wulan’s hand. “The so- this is the sofa.”

Yi Wulan acknowledged, “I know.”

“No.” Mu Yanxi’s attitude was firm. Changing the sofa every day… while money wasn’t a major issue, she had her pride to consider with workers coming and going carrying sofas.

Yi Wulan’s lips pressed heavily on Mu Yanxi’s. “Then to the bed?”

Mu Yanxi buried her head in the crook of Yi Wulan’s neck, hiding from the sunlight she had just been enjoying so much.

Then she silently comforted herself: she wasn’t being indecent in broad daylight; she just wanted to confirm once more if she could really obtain the body-restoring ability from Yi Wulan.

It was for her health, of course.