Upon hearing those words, the door to Lin Wan’s room opened as she rushed out of the room. Anxiously, she asked Li Mu, “What happened to Dad?”

“He had a heart attack and was sent to the hospital!”

Li Mu replied without looking back as he ran out of the door.

“Wait for me. I'll go with you!” Lin Wan did not have time to freshen up. She simply changed into a set of clothes, grabbed her purse, and followed along.

He Xiaoyu and Mrs. Hong followed along too and the few of them rushed downstairs. Getting in the car, Li Mu turned on the hazard lights and sped towards the hospital.

Halfway on the road, Mrs. Hong suddenly said, “By the way, Li Mu, Lin Wan, it's best that you don't let them know about your divorce. I'm worried that…”

“Yes. Yes. Honey, we've never divorced. Keep that in mind. And don't let it slip!”

“No worries. You’d better tell Xiaoyu not to call herself as your fiancee in front of your parents. We can’t let them be in shock again!”

Without waiting for Li Mu to say anything, He Xiaoyu took the initiative and said, “Don't worry, Li Mu. I know the score!”

...

In the observation ward, Li Mu's father's eyes were tightly closed. Li Mu’s mother was in tears while Li Mu walked around in circles anxiously.

“You’re making me dizzy with your spins. Stop walking around!” Lin Wan scolded.

Li Mu ignored her and continued to walk in circles.

The door opened and He Xiaoyu walked in with an old man who had white hairs. The latter was wearing a white lab coat and looked very much like a highly respected professor.

As expected, He Xiaoyu took the initiative to introduce him to Li Mu, “Li Mu, this is Professor Chen, the head of the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular department. I asked him to come over and diagnose your father.”

Li Mu hurriedly went up to greet him. The two of them exchanged a few words before getting to the main point right after that.

“Mr. Li, I've been briefed on your father's condition. His condition is not too serious. But we cannot say for sure either. There are currently two treatment options. One is medication and recuperation. And the other is to do heart bypass surgery. Both options have their pros and cons. And it all depends on your family to decide on which treatment to follow.”

This left Li Mu in a difficult position. He had zero knowledge of things like these but he was the only son. With his father bedridden and unconscious and his mother in a state of confusion, he had to be the head of the family and take matters into his own hands. However, he didn't dare to make a decision hastily as this involved his father's health.

“Professor Chen, what is your opinion?” He Xiaoyu asked without waiting for Li Mu to ask.

“In my opinion, you should opt for the surgery. With his age and physical condition, he is in perfect condition for the surgery. Nevertheless, it is still up to your family to make a decision.”

“Li Mu.” He Xiaoyu looked at Li Mu.

Li Mu hesitated and asked his mother for help, “Mother, what do you think?”

“I have no idea. You and Lin Wan can decide!”

“Honey, my opinion is for Dad to recuperate for a while first. After all, the surgery has its risks and there are many drawbacks. Professor Chen also mentioned that his situation was not too serious. So let's opt for recuperation first!"

Lin Wan’s suggestion tempted Li Mu to change his decision. He thought what she said did make sense. Maybe they could go for recuperation first?

He Xiaoyu had no opinions at first but she just couldn't bear to see Lin Wan speak. So after a moment's hesitation, she said, “Li Mu, Professor Chen did say that your father was unstable. I'm worried that recuperation will make his illness worse and it might be even life-threatening by then!”

This made Li Mu unable to decide all over again. He couldn’t help but scratch his head anxiously. Both sides had a point. But they didn’t help him at all as the decision still depended on him entirely.

Why didn’t they come up with a conclusion that both parties agreed upon? Recuperation or surgery? Which treatment worked best?

“I won't do the surgery!” Li Mu's father suddenly opened his eyes and said without hesitation, “I'll listen to Lin Wan. Let me recuperate for a while and see how it goes. The discussion ends here!”

“Dad, I’m worried.”

“Son, listen to your father. Don't make him anxious!” Li Mu’s mother said from the side, “Don’t you know him well enough to know that he’s super stingy? He couldn’t even bear to visit the dentist for the sake of the fees. Not mention doing an operation on his heart. Forget it. Let's go for recuperation for now!”

Since his parents had given their words, how would he dare to disobey? Hence, the treatment was decided just like that. Professor Chen wasn't in the right position to persuade them anymore. Hence all he could do was to prescribe some medication for Li Mu's father. He was then personally escorted out of the door by Li Mu after the family extended their gratitude to him.

At first, the hospital wanted to let Li Mu's father stay in the ward for a few more days for observation purposes. However, his father insisted on leaving the hospital because he was not used to the smell of disinfectant. The more he smelled it, the more anxious he felt.

No one could change his mind. Hence, they had no choice but to agree with him leaving the hospital and going home. Li Mu was in a temper and asked his parents not to go anywhere but to go home with him.

Lin Wan who was aside also persuaded them. The old couple pretended to hesitate for a while before finally agreeing to go home with the young couple.

When they returned home, Lin Wan’s in-laws strongly insisted to stay in the guest room. Hence He Xiaoyu had no choice but to move out.

In fact, even if the old couple didn't stay in the guest room, there was no way for He Xiaoyu to stay any longer as it would raise their suspicion. After all, her status was nothing more than Li Mu's colleague. How could she stay in the house of a colleague of the opposite sex?

When Li Mu sent He Xiaoyu away, she pouted unhappily and her face was full of frustration. This was such a good opportunity for her to look after her in-laws. Yet it was taken away by her love rival just like that. He Xiaoyu was frustrated and annoyed.

“Xiaoyu, as you can see, it's one of those situations. I guess we’ll have to delay our matters for now!”

“I know. Would it be okay if I visited Mother and Father here often then?”

“No. Don't come here too often!” Li Mu stopped her immediately, “It’s alright if you pay a visit once or twice but don’t visit us too frequently. My parents are very smart. If you come over all the time, they will definitely realize what’s going on. If anything bad happens to my parents because of how mad they are, I’d rather jump off a building.”

He Xiaoyu’s eyes went red as she stomped her feet, “What should we do then? We can't keep putting it off!”

Li Mu reassured her, “It won't drag on forever. I'll find a chance to explain it clearly to my parents. But at this point, this is the only thing we can do. My father can't stand shocks well now. So I must not let them know about me and Lin Wan’s divorce.”

He Xiaoyu rubbed her nose and shook her head, “I don't care. I have a solution anyway. You don't have to worry about this anymore. Just go to work at ease. I'll take care of everything at home.”

“What do you want to do?” Li Mu's tone became solemn. He was really scared that He Xiaoyu would care less about his parents and do whatever she wanted. If her actions triggered his parents and affected their health, he would never forgive her.

He Xiaoyu punched him gently and pouted, “Don't be so harsh to me. Don't worry. I won't mess around. Don't forget that I'm your secretary. Isn't it normal for me to be assigned by my boss to look after his parents?”

“Don't be ridiculous! And you still had the audacity to say that you’re not messing around? How is it logical for me to ask my secretary to look after them when my wife is around? Stop messing around. Listen to me and cut the nonsense!”

Unwillingly, He Xiaoyu had no choice but to leave.

After sending He Xiaoyu away, Li Mu hurried back in and saw that his father had already lied down to rest while the other three women were busy moving.

They said they were moving but they were actually renovating the study room into a bedroom.

They had a fold-out sofa inside the house, which could easily be transformed into a double bed. Lin Wan and Mrs. Hong were busy making the bed under Mrs. Li’s instructions.

“What's this for?” Li Mu asked curiously.

His mother rolled her eyes at him and complained, “You brat. You didn't even tell us anything about Lin Wan’s family member was paying us a visit. Her aunt has no relatives here in Shanyang City and has no place to stay! I’ve decided to let Mrs. Hong stay together with us. It's better for us to be together as a family.

“Ah!”

...

Mr. Gou and Mrs. Hong met each other once again. However, this time they attended the meetup alone, with no third party around to listen to their conversation.

After listening to what Mrs. Hong said gently, Mr. Gou let out a long sigh.

“Miss Hong, to be frank, this boy is very close to me. In fact, he's the son of my late friend. He's not one of us. So he wasn’t sure about Miss Lin's affairs.”

Mrs. Hong stayed silent and waited for him to go on.

After a long silence, Mr. Gou stood up, clasped his fists and bowed sincerely to Mrs. Hong.

“Miss Hong, I'd like to ask you for a favor, which is to spare their lives, both the daughter and the father. I know it is impossible to beg you to spare them. But all I ask is for you to spare their lives so that it won’t be too hard for me to explain myself when I meet my old friend upon death.”

Mrs. Hong looked hesitant. If Zhou Zijian was Miss Lin’s top enemy, this father-daughter duo was definitely up next. They were the ones who took advantage of her kindness and teamed up to ruin her marriage.

Lin Wan was a perfectionist. Her childhood experiences had made her obsessed with the word perfection. And marital bliss was the perfection she treasured the most. How would she possibly choose to forgive an outsider who ruined what she cherished the most?

Although she was going to remarry Li Mu, it would still pose a disturbance and a grievance in Lin Wan’s heart. She hated the culprits that ruined her marriage so much!

"Mr. Gou, I can't make a decision on behalf of Miss Lin regarding this matter. I’ll need to ask Miss Lin!”

“Totally understandable. Miss Hong, I sincerely plead for you to persuade Miss Lin so she’ll spare their lives. That’s all! Their lives are all I ask for.”

“Alright. Understood. Wait for my news!”

...

Zhou Zijian was on cloud nine these days. Ever since he saw the video of their fight and the news of their divorce, he had been eagerly waiting for his commission so he could buy a house and get married.

Unexpectedly, when he met his boss, the latter only gave him a few verbal compliments and left in a hurry as if he had been troubled and in a state of exasperation.

Seeing that the boss had not taken the initiative to mention about his commission, Zhou Zijian did not dare to enquire and could only wait patiently.

He had nothing to do on that very day. His phone rang suddenly.

The caller ID was an unfamiliar number. Zhou Zijian picked up the phone and before he could speak, Zhou Li's voice could be heard from the other side, “Is it convenient for you to talk now?”

“Yes!” Startled, Zhou Zijian sensed something was wrong with this woman's tone. His professionalism alerted him while he asked, “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Were you the cause of Lin Wan’s divorce?” Zhou Li didn't beat around the bush and asked him directly.

“Yes!” Zhou Zijian knew something was up for sure. So instead of lying and wasting each other’s time, he just admitted it.