"Mu Mian, long time no see. Can't you wish me well for once? Why did you think I was kidnapped?" Jiang Yinian reached out to pat Mu Mian's head, but she dodged.
"You know I don't like people touching my head, not even my sister, and especially not you," Mu Mian reminded him. "I don't want to end up bald like Xiao Bai."
Xiao Bai was an adorable little squirrel Mu Mian once had. It was so cute that everyone in her father's lab kept petting it, until its head became completely bald.
Jiang Yinian used to be Shen's father's most favored student, almost certainly destined to be the future successor of his lab. That's why he often visited the Shen family, and gradually got to know Mu Mian.
Back then, Mu Mian didn't like talking much and rarely paid attention to others.
Unlike Shen Xiyin who always went along with Mu Mian, Jiang Yinian often did disruptive things, like deliberately knocking down Mu Mian's block towers, adding colors to Mu Mian's finished drawings, and even hiding Mu Mian's beloved animal specimens, making her search everywhere.
At first, Mu Mian hated him, but gradually she got used to his behavior and even started to enjoy this confrontational interaction. It made Mu Mian feel like she was being treated as a normal person.
"Senior Jiang, you really disappeared for a long time. You used to come play with me every week, but ever since my dad passed away, you suddenly vanished. I couldn't even reach you by phone. Senior Fabien said you were kidnapped by bandits and they'd kill you if they didn't get ransom money. I didn't have money then and couldn't borrow any. I didn't want to sell my specimen collection either, so I could only let you be killed. Seeing you alive now, I think Senior Fabien must have been lying to me."
At that time, Mu Mian wasn't very good at detecting lies. But now she could. She decided to call Senior Fabien later and give him a good scolding.
"Mu Mian, I'm sorry. I left in a hurry and didn't have time to say goodbye," Jiang Yinian apologized to Mu Mian, but his eyes were fixed on Shen Xiyin.
Mu Mian shrugged, "It's fine with me. But my sister is very angry. She doesn't even want to hear your name. You left in such a hurry, how could you not even attend my father's funeral? He liked you the most. It's a good thing ghosts don't exist in this world, otherwise, my father's ghost would have come out to scold you."
Jiang Yinian looked at Shen Xiyin, "Xiyin, you have to believe me, what happened to your parents has nothing to do with..."
Shen Xiyin interrupted him. She stood in front of Mu Mian, "I don't know why you're taking care of my aunt, but please don't come anymore! She doesn't need your care!"
"Professor Shen always thought about this sister of his when he was alive. He mentioned her to me many times," Jiang Yinian explained. "Coincidentally, her daughter is my cousin's wife. My cousin and his wife have passed away, so I have the responsibility and obligation to take care of Aunt Shen."
Shen Xiyin sneered, "Don't you find this reason ridiculous? You don't even respect my father, and you expect me to believe you're kindheartedly taking care of his sister? Do you think you're the type of person who would suddenly become so benevolent? Although I don't know your purpose, please stay away from my family."
"We used to be such good friends, why won't you believe me? I would never do anything to harm you or Mu Mian." Jiang Yinian's eyes looked hurt, and with his handsome features, his vulnerable expression made him look very innocent.
Mu Mian found it strange. Her sister and Jiang Yinian used to have a great relationship and never argued. Why did her sister hate him so much now?
Mu Mian suddenly remembered that when her parents died, her sister always prevented her from seeing the bodies. Could it be that they didn't die in a car accident?
It seemed like her sister was hiding many things from her.
"Mu Mian, let's go home."
On the way back, Mu Mian felt the atmosphere in the car was very tense. This was the first time she had seen her sister so angry. Shen Xiyin had extremely strong control over her emotions and had almost never lost her composure in front of Mu Mian.
"Sister, didn't Mom and Dad die in a car accident?" Mu Mian asked.
Shen Xiyin didn't answer this question, "Mian, if you see that man in the future, stay far away from him, okay?"
Mu Mian nodded, then asked in confusion, "Why? Senior Jiang is a good person."
"He's very dangerous, he's a madman," Shen Xiyin explained. "He might hurt you."
"He seems normal. Why would he want to hurt me?"
"Maybe because he hates Dad for firing him and publicly humiliating him. He might be holding a grudge and wanting to take revenge on us."
"But we're friends with him. He was always nice to me before," Mu Mian felt Shen Xiyin's judgment was wrong. "Besides, Fang Rui will protect me."
"Mian, some people are nice to you for a reason. Beneath their kind exterior, they harbor great malice. We need to stay away from these people."
Mu Mian didn't quite understand, but she agreed anyway. She now had friends like Chen Xue and Fang Rui, so losing one friend didn't matter much.
"Mian, don't think too much about it. I can handle those things myself."
"Okay. If you can't handle it, I'll help you." Mu Mian had great faith in her sister's abilities. As long as her sister wanted to do something, she could do anything well.
Just as they arrived downstairs, Mu Mian saw an uninvited guest waiting for them.
Mu Mian cautiously looked at Shen Xiyin. She felt her sister was a bit unlucky today, encountering people she didn't like.
"Mu Mian, Mom's here to see you." Jiang Yun saw Mu Mian and immediately came forward. She changed her previous cold attitude and started to appeal to emotions, "Look, what did Mom bring for you? A gift!"
Mu Mian was unhappy. It turned out she was unlucky too.
Jiang Yun handed the exquisite gift box to Mu Mian.
Mu Mian took a look. The box was pink, and the ribbon on the box was another shade of pink. She hated pink the most.
"Miss Shen, can I talk to Mu Mian alone?" Jiang Yun said to Shen Xiyin. She felt Shen Xiyin was controlling Mu Mian, making her distance herself from Jiang Yun.
Mu Mian directly refused, "Ms. Jiang, I have nothing to talk about with you."
"Mu Mian, don't call me Ms. Jiang. Call me Mom, okay?" Jiang Yun frowned at Mu Mian. "It makes Mom very sad when you do that."
"No!" Mu Mian looked down at her toes. "The reason I wanted to find you before was because I thought you were living in poverty. If that was the case, I could give you some money to make your life a bit better. I never intended to reconnect with you. Now you're very rich and living well, so I'm relieved. I don't want to see you anymore in the future."
"Mu Mian, I'm your mother. You can't treat me like this," Jiang Yun held Mu Mian's hand. "Can you give Mom a chance? Mom wants to make it up to you."
Mu Mian jerked her hand away as if electrocuted. "Ms. Jiang, I thought I made myself clear. I don't want to see you."
"Mu Mian, Mom had her reasons for doing what she did before. Mom loves you. Won't you come back to Mom?"
Mu Mian shook her head. She couldn't understand why Jiang Yun, who used to despise her, suddenly became so full of maternal love. Did she have some special purpose?
But that didn't matter. Just like Jiang Yun didn't matter to her at all!
"Sister, let's go home," Mu Mian tugged at Shen Xiyin's hand. "I'm very hungry. I need to eat."
"Mian, you go back first. There are sandwiches in the fridge you can eat. I want to talk with her for a bit."
"Don't talk to her for too long," Mu Mian whispered to Shen Xiyin. "She's a bad person. But don't be afraid. If she hurts you, I'll have Fang Rui arrest her."
"Don't worry, she can't hurt us."
"But she's powerful and influential. We can't fight against her," Mu Mian made a sour face. "We only have money."
Through Lu Tian's lawsuit, Mu Mian deeply realized that there were many people in this world who didn't obey the law and wouldn't be punished.
"Mian, aren't you very hungry?"
"Yes, I'm going back to eat sandwiches now."
Jiang Yun heard their conversation clearly. She felt a bit dejected, realizing that in Mu Mian's heart, she had already been defined as a bad woman.
Jiang Yun suppressed her emotions and handed Shen Xiyin a business card. "Miss Shen, I've established a foundation specifically to help children with autism. I'd like you to manage it. Would you be willing to work for the foundation?"
"I'm not in need of a job, and I've only treated one autistic patient, Mu Mian. I won't be treating any other autistic patients," Shen Xiyin didn't take her card. "If you have something to say, just say it. I'm very busy and don't have time to listen to you beat around the bush."
"If you don't want this job, I can give you a large sum of money. You can name any amount, as long as you give Mu Mian back to me..."
"Give her back to you?" Shen Xiyin scoffed. "You've ignored Mu Mian all these years. Later, when I found you and asked you to see Mu Mian, you refused. Why are you suddenly so concerned about Mu Mian now?"
Jiang Yun's face showed embarrassment, but she emphasized, "Miss Shen, whether you believe it or not, I love Mu Mian. I refused to see her before because I hated her father. Seeing Mu Mian would remind me of those painful things from the past."
Shen Xiyin interrupted her, "I'm not interested in the story between you and Uncle Mu. As far as I know, you were the one who had an affair, and you were the one who abandoned Uncle Mu and Mu Mian."
"He's slandering me!" Jiang Yun's tone suddenly rose. "Xiyin, you were young then. You couldn't understand adult matters. I truly love Mu Mian, and I want to make it up to her."
"Mrs. Jiang, what you want isn't Mu Mian, is it? You just want those experts to study Mu Mian. You want to know why she was able to recover, don't you?"
