Chapter 11: The Thrill

She said, “I have luggage.”

Mu Anyan got out of the car and helped place her luggage in the trunk before getting back in with her.

Jiang Mugui had already composed herself on the way here, so she wasn’t afraid of any questions he might ask.

But he didn’t ask anything. Instead, he took her to a Western-style restaurant.

Jiang Mugui followed him inside and sat down at a table by the window.

After scanning the QR code, he handed his phone to her. “Order whatever you like.”

Jiang Mugui pursed her lips and stared at his face for a moment. Today he was wearing a white shirt, which softened the usual coldness in his eyes and brow. He seemed less imposing than before—more relaxed and casual.

She had just ordered a steak when a WeChat message popped up on his phone.

“Anyan, when are you coming back?” It was from Fang Muqing.

He had saved her contact simply as her name.

Jiang Mugui ignored the message and scrolled through the menu, though her mind was elsewhere.

“Miss you so much. Do you miss me?”

Her grip on his phone tightened. Suddenly, she found it all a little laughable. The feelings of warmth she had once felt for him vanished in an instant.

“Call me later if you have time.”

As soon as the message appeared, Jiang Mugui handed the phone back. “I’ve ordered.” Her tone was cold.

Mu Anyan keenly noticed the shift in her mood. When he took the phone, his fingers touched her palm. She quickly pulled away, as if repulsed by the contact.

After retrieving his phone, Mu Anyan swiped across the screen a few times. His dark, intense eyes flickered with some subtle change.

Still, he said nothing.

Throughout the meal, the two sat in heavy silence. She didn’t ask why he had shown up at her school, and he didn’t offer any explanation.

Once in the car, Jiang Mugui said coldly, “I’ll sit in the back,” and without waiting for his reply, opened the rear door and busied herself with her phone.

In truth, she felt a complicated mix of wanting to please and fear toward Mu Anyan. But Fang Muqing’s presence suppressed those feelings, replacing them mostly with anger. Somehow, that gave her the audacity to act so defiantly.

Mu Anyan said nothing.

Once on the airport expressway, a call came through.

Though she was absorbed in her phone, Jiang Mugui’s attention wavered when she heard the ringtone. She instinctively glanced up to see who it was.

It was indeed Fang Muqing.

Jiang Mugui lowered her eyelids, feigning indifference as she continued scrolling. But Mu Anyan had already pressed the answer button. When Fang Muqing’s voice came through the car speakers with a casual “Anyan,” Jiang Mugui happened to see new photos on her Moments feed—Jiang Wei vacationing at the beach with his boyfriend.

Her eyes stung, and her heart ached as if swarmed by biting ants, a dense and sour pain.

Yet the more she felt this way, the more she forced herself to appear calm and strong.

She gave Jiang Wei’s post a like, then closed her eyes and pretended to sleep. Fang Muqing’s voice remained clear: “Anyan, when will you be back? I’m putting on a new stage play soon—you have to come watch.”

He really answered.

Jiang Mugui had thought he might show some consideration, that he would restrain himself a little out of respect for her presence.

But then she realized how naive that was. His recent kindness likely stemmed from guilt as a father, not from any intent to care for her feelings.

Suddenly, Jiang Mugui was curious about how they interacted normally—she wanted not only to hear but to see.

So she stealthily opened her eyes slightly and glanced at his expression in the rearview mirror.

He showed no particular emotion, but his tone was completely different from the gentle way he spoke to her: “What date?”