“Most likely. She sold all her houses and there's no place for her to settle in the city anymore. It’s very likely for her to go back to her hometown. Wait. What did you just say? A small county in the middle of nowhere?”

Mrs. Hong stood up sharply and stared at Lin Kun, who hurriedly nodded his head.

Without waiting for Mrs. Hong to say anything more, Lin Wan slapped the table and decided at once, “Let's go to that county right away. They're probably hiding there!”

The few of them immediately prepared to set off. Mrs. Hong passed a look at Lin Wan when no one was noticing. Lin Wan immediately understood and told all of them to hurry up and get ready while she followed Mrs. Hong into the bedroom.

Mrs. Hong closed the door behind her and pulled her all the way to the windows. Lin Wan frowned and asked, “What is it? Have you come up with some more bad ideas?”

“You heartless girl. Why are you always so mean to me? I put you first in everything. How can you treat me like this?” Mrs. Hong said discontentedly.

“Okay. Okay. you love me the most. My guardian angel, tell me, what do you want to talk to me about?”

“That's more like it. Lin Wan, I think we'll find Li Mu soon. But what should we do about her?”

Mrs. Hong tilted her head in the direction of the living room. Lin Wan frowned immediately!

That was right. It was only a matter of time before she found her husband. And by that time, her partnership with He Xiaoyu would have come to an end. So how could she get rid of her?

“Do you have any good ideas?” Lin Wan asked.

“Didn't you say that all my ideas were bad ideas? Why am I still being asked to come up with ideas?” Mrs. Hong asked while she pretended to be angry.

“Mrs. Hong!” Lin Wan called out affectionately.

“Alright. Stop that. I must have owed you in my last life hence I'm willing to be bullied by you in this life. You ungrateful br*t!” Mrs. Hong jokingly teased her.

Still using her old tricks, Lin Wan continued to pout. Without exception, Mrs. Hong surrendered again.

“Here’s what I think. Let's first confirm Li Mu’s exact location. Then I'll head there first before everyone else does and have a good chat with him when I find him. You can show up when he no longer is mad at what happened before. What do you think?”

Lin Wan considered for a while before nodding to Mrs. Hong.

The latter reminded her, “When you see Li Mu, don't make a scene or start an argument! You know what to say!”

“I know. Don't worry. I won't make a scene from now on. And we can live happily ever after.”

“That's right. But let me remind you, we can’t stop training Li Mu. Don't glare at me. You should know it's for your own good! I suggest you return to the South Seas as soon as possible. And I'll bring Li Mu along with me. We'll train him slowly as we go!”

Lin Wan hesitated and Mrs. Hong asked, “What? Don’t you agree?”

“Mrs. Hong, is it alright for us to do this? We’re forcing him to take on such a huge burden. Would it…”

“No. Li Mu is pretty happy to take responsibility as long as we don’t torture him. I've always been a good judge of character and Li Mu is very responsible. He wouldn’t choose to back out.”

“Hopefully!”

The two wanted to continue their conversation in private but He Xiaoyu pushed the door open all of a sudden.

“What are you two doing hiding inside the room?” He Xiaoyu asked nonchalantly.

Mrs. Hong replied without hesitation, “It's about Lin Family’s business affairs. Hence we have to keep ourselves away from outsiders. Why did you come in without knocking?”

He Xiaoyu tilted her head and look at them, unconvinced.

Mrs. Hong was about to say something else when Lin Wan stopped her and asked boldly, “Xiaoyu, is our previous bet still going on?”

“What bet? Oh, I remember it now. Of course. Of course it’s still going on! I will keep my words since I’ve promised you. How about you?”

“Don't worry. I'll keep my words too. Let's go see him together and not drag it out this time. It’s time for us to sort out relationships out. No more clinging onto him. No going back on your words! I'm exhausted and so is he. I think you're tired too, right? This game is exhausting. And it's time to end it!”

“Okay. Let's do as you say. We're all exhausted by now. Let's settle it once and for all!”

“Did you come in to see us about something?” Mrs. Hong who was standing aside asked.

He Xiaoyu laughed with a strange expression, “I would’ve forgotten if Miss Hong didn't mention it. Lin Wan, go out and have a look. Someone is sending you flowers again!”

“Who on earth is still sending me flowers?” Lin Wan said unhappily, “Do you know who sent them?”

“I don't know. The courier man sent it. Lin Kun checked and there were no notes clipped inside. Hence we don’t know who the sender was!”

“What about the courier man?”

“Detained by your people. They’re waiting for you to question him!”

Lin Wan and the others walked out of the room together and saw a courier man sitting on the floor crying. Two men in black were standing beside him and watching him.

After seeing Lin Wan, the courier man immediately sobbed, “Miss Lin, I really don't know who delivered the flowers to you. Someone paid us and we took the order. I've said everything I know. I'm just a courier. Don't give me a hard time, okay?”

A man in black slapped him hard on the back of the head and threatened nonchalantly, “Shut up. Don't speak until Miss Lin asks you to. If you dare to rave again, I’ll let you wish you were never born!”

The courier man immediately shut his mouth and looked nervously at Lin Wan, who had by now seen the bouquet of red roses. It was so large that it looked like there could be dozens of roses in that bouquet.

Lin Kun walked over and said in a low voice, “I've checked. It's the same as before. No notes. And I’ve questioned that kid too. Seems like he doesn't know anything. And I don’t think he’s lying!”

Lin Wan nodded and instructed the man in black, “Let him go!”

The man in black let go of his hand and the courier man climbed up. He thanked her profusely before running away in a huff.

“Lin Wan, is someone from the mobile company courting you?” He Xiaoyu came over and asked.

Mrs. Hong rolled her eyes and replied instead, “That’s impossible. Lin Wan just worked for a few days there. Even if there were really suitors, they wouldn't have pestered her even after she quit her job. And again, how would they know that Lin Wan lives here?”

He Xiaoyu picked up the bouquet of roses and said casually, “Actually, you don't need to be so nervous. It's normal to have people courting Lin Wan. Moreover, she’s such a beautiful lady. Lin Wan is single. So how is it strange to have men being interest in her?”

“It's perfectly fine for someone to court me. But I'm very scared!” Lin Wan confessed.

“What are you afraid of? You haven't done anything wrong. What's there to be afraid of?”

“I'm afraid of you! I'm afraid you'll stir up trouble in front of my husband again if we don't get this straightened out. I'm afraid my husband will misunderstand me again!”

He Xiaoyu's pretty face turned red as she threw the roses on the table and said discontentedly, “What are you talking about? You’re making me sound like I'm fond of creating rumors and causing trouble. Since when I stirred up trouble in front of Li Mu?”

“Oh really, you didn’t?” Lin Wan squinted at her, “God knows! Xiaoyu, what did you do to me and Li Mu when we were still a married couple? You know it very well, don’t you? I do too! Still planning to argue?”

“Forget it!” Mrs. Hong smoothed things out, “Stop bringing up old deeds. But Miss He, I'll have to say it in advance. We can forgive you for what happened before. But if it happens again in the future…”

“Don't worry. There is no future. After this bet is over, if I win, there is no future for you. If you win, there is no future for me. Let's all clear the air. And there will be no complications in the future.”

Mrs. Hong smiled and nodded without saying anything.

Lin Kun asked, “Miss Lin, do you need me to have a thorough check about the flower delivery?”

Lin Wan shook her head and said, “It's not worth making a big deal out of it. Let’s not pay attention to him and see when he will show himself. I'll wait for the time when he takes the initiative to do so.”

......

Having traveled over 2,000 kilometers, Li Mu finally arrived in a small mountain village deep in the mountains.

It wasn’t quite what he expected, as the place was not as outdated and poor as he had imagined. It was a delicate little brick building that looked neat and simple. Although it wasn’t comparable to those rich villages and towns, the hint of peace and happiness was clearly present.

The location of the mountain village was, after all, rather remote and few people paid a visit. When Li Mu's car drove into the village, a few villagers came out of their homes and looked at them curiously.

Guided by Shen Xingyue, the car arrived at the entrance of a farmhouse. When they got out, a villager who had followed them shouted immediately, “Miss Yue is back!”

The village was soon abuzz with excitement. Almost everyone rushed over and greeted Shen Xingyue. Everyone looked excited and Shen Xingyue greeted them happily while introducing them to Li Mu from time to time.

Seventh aunt, and eighth uncle? Li Mu couldn't even remember all of them! But he was so impressed by the enthusiasm and modesty of the villagers that he responded and talked to them patiently.

In the end, it was the old village chief who helped them get out of the situation. He said to the villagers, “Alright. Let Miss Yue and her husband have a rest first. We'll gather again later. Let’s go. Let’s go!”

The old village chief was prestigious and had the word of say in the village. Hence the villagers walked away reluctantly after hearing him say so. Many of them extended invitations to Li Mu and Shen Xingyue, asking them to pay a visit in the near future.

When he opened the door and entered the courtyard, he found that the courtyard was very clean, which made Li Mu quite surprised. He thought that the old courtyard should be filled with broken doors and windows and overgrown weeds. He did not expect it to be so clean and tidy.

When they entered the house, they found it was clean on the inside too. It was evident that someone had been cleaning up this place regularly. The furnishings were simple. But the sunshine shone through the windows, lighting up the space and everything was very neatly arranged.

The old village chief and two old men walked in with them while Shen Xingyue introduced them to each other. The slightly older man was the fourth grandfather and the other who was slightly younger was the sixth grandfather.

After talking to them, Li Mu realized that everyone in this village had the surname ‘Shen’. This village was considered a standard clan village. And they were all somehow related to each other. Now calling them fourth grandfather and sixth grandfather made sense!