Chapter 191: It Was a Misunderstanding
Chapter 191: It Was a Misunderstanding
Yilin Mansion stood within a lush garden full of greenery. All sorts of flowers, plants, and trees grew everywhere there. In such a place, even just sitting around doing nothing felt refreshing, let alone having a meal.
Led by a hostess at the entrance, the two walked straight to the Linhai Tingtao room. Its interior was decorated in an ancient Huaxia style, all made of high-quality wood. Potted plants and paintings of flowers and birds could be seen all over.
In the Linhai Tingtao room, Lin Mu opened a window not far from the dining table. Outside, a small stream flowed gently with a soft babbling sound. Listening to the stream and gazing at the dense green trees, he took a deep breath of the fresh air. His lungs instantly felt refreshed.
“It feels so comfortable here. It’s really enjoyable.”
Yao Xianxian took off her coat and stood by the window, stretching her arms. She looked outside with great interest at the scenery.
“Of course. This place is made for honored guests. It has to be high-class. On Huaxia’s land, these kinds of places are the truly top-tier gathering spots. Those five-star hotels are just for the flashy rich upstarts.”
Lin Mu laughed heartily and teased Yao Xianxian.
After sitting for just a few minutes, a server steeped a pot of high-quality Longjing tea. She poured a cup for each of them, then left the room.
The two sipped the fragrant and sweet tea while waiting for Director Wen’s arrival. Just as the pot was nearly empty, Lin Mu’s ear twitched slightly. Then his eyes turned toward the door.
At the same moment his gaze shifted, the door opened. A mild-looking middle-aged man walked in. At the same time, another middle-aged man followed behind him, then gently closed the door.
When Lin Mu saw the second person enter, his eyes flashed. He felt a bit surprised inside. Earlier, he had clearly only heard the footsteps of the first person and thought only one person had come. He did not expect there were actually two!
The middle-aged man who entered later had managed to hide from his hearing. Even after entering the room and standing right in front of him, Lin Mu still couldn’t sense anything unusual about this second man. He seemed just like an ordinary person.
But an ordinary person couldn’t hide their footsteps and deceive the ears of an expert like Lin Mu.
“Haha, some things came up in the morning and delayed me. I made Xiao Lin wait for a long time.”
The first middle-aged man walked directly up to Lin Mu after entering. He extended his right hand and smiled apologetically.
“Director Wen, you’re too polite. We just arrived not long ago too. Besides, the environment here is so elegant. Even sitting a bit longer is quite enjoyable.”
Lin Mu stood up, shook Wen Qiming’s right hand, and shook his head with a smile.
Wen Qiming was a bit over fifty years old, but he looked just past forty. He was very well-maintained, with hardly any wrinkles on his face. His bright eyes held a gentle, calm light.
Such a refined man didn’t look at all like the heartless person Wen Rongrong described, someone who would abandon his wife and daughter.
After greeting, Lin Mu introduced Yao Xianxian, who was sitting to the side. “Xianxian, this is Director Wen.”
“Hello, Director Wen, I am…”
Yao Xianxian stood up, smiling, and extended her right hand.
“Ah! I know who you are. You’re Yao Xianxian!”
Wen Qiming shook Yao Xianxian’s hand happily and spoke before she could introduce herself. “My daughter really likes your songs. Last time you had a concert in Guangzhou, she went to watch it live!”
“That’s my honor.”
Yao Xianxian smiled politely.
“My daughter will come here later too. I didn’t expect Xiao Lin to bring you along to Guangzhou. My daughter will be very happy later—one is her lifesaver, the other is her favorite big star. Hahaha!”
Wen Qiming laughed heartily.
“Wen Rongrong will come here later too?”
Lin Mu asked curiously.
“Yes. You are my daughter’s lifesaver. Since you came to Guangzhou personally, how could she not come?”
Wen Qiming said it as if it were obvious, then pointed to the middle-aged man behind him. “This is Yang Guangqing. Over the years, my safety has relied on his care. Otherwise, whether I could have lived safely until today would be hard to say!”
“Hello, Mr. Yang. I am Lin Mu.”
Lin Mu smiled slightly, walked over, and extended his right hand. Such a great expert greatly interested him. To be honest, among the people he could meet in the Dragon Protection Corps now, none were his match.
It wasn’t that there were no experts in the Dragon Protection Corps. After all, it was Huaxia’s top secret organization, responsible for protecting the nation. Experts above a certain level all had other identities and missions. Most of those staying at the Dragon Protection Corps Base were young people.
Only Lin Mu was an exception. He was the only member who was very young but possessed extremely high strength. So under normal circumstances, he basically never got to see those true experts.
“Hello.”
Yang Guangqing gave a slight nod and shook Lin Mu’s extended right hand. When their palms met, it was as if a breeze swept through the room. Everyone’s clothes stirred slightly.
Within Lin Mu’s extended palm was a vast amount of Zhenqi, but it remained contained, not released. When their palms touched, this hidden Zhenqi immediately stimulated Yang Guangqing’s natural reaction. The Zhenqi inside his body surged out in response.
However, just as the Zhenqi was about to rush out from his palm, Yang Guangqing suppressed it again. Their Zhenqi made slight contact, and the dispersing fluctuations stirred a light breeze. Just this move alone showed Yang Guangqing’s powerful control.
Originally, because Lin Mu was young, Yang Guangqing had seemed somewhat casual. But after this handshake, his expression turned serious. The way he looked at Lin Mu also changed, carrying some doubt and shock.
Such a young man actually had Cultivation Power almost on par with his own. If he hadn’t followed Wen Qiming and witnessed many major scenes, training a face as steady as a mountain, he might have been utterly astonished right then.
“Mr. Lin’s strength is truly remarkable. No wonder you could easily subdue those criminals on the plane. I am impressed!”
After they released hands, Yang Guangqing nodded and said slowly.
“Old Yang, they told me long ago that Xiao Lin is an amazing expert. That’s why I brought you today. You’re both martial arts practitioners; you can surely exchange some experiences about training!”
Wen Qiming said with a smile.
Lin Mu’s view of Wen Qiming now changed. This middle-aged man was not simple at all, to have an expert like Yang Guangqing following him. If he truly were that kind of cold-hearted person, it would be terrifying.
With such an expert’s help, he could do many shady things without leaving a trace of evidence.
But although his thoughts were complex, he concealed them well on the surface, not revealing any clues. The group sat down and chatted for a while. During this time, when Yao Xianxian went out to the restroom, another person came in from outside. It was Wen Rongrong, whom he had met on the plane.
“Dad, why did you come so early?”
Right after closing the door, Wen Rongrong asked with a smile.
“We didn’t come early at all. It’s you, Rongrong, who came too late! How could you make Xiao Lin wait so long?”
Wen Qiming put on a reproachful look, pretending to be angry.
“I thought coming at this time would be just right. I didn’t expect you all to come so early.”
Wen Rongrong stuck out her tongue.
“You two…”
The interaction between Wen Qiming and his daughter left Lin Mu staring somewhat dumbfounded. This scene was not what he had imagined, and it didn’t match what he had heard on the plane either!
Seeing Lin Mu’s stunned expression, Wen Rongrong was also a bit puzzled. But then she remembered the events on the plane and immediately laughed.
“I forgot to tell Lin Mu. That day on the plane, we were acting for that group. Now it seems we fooled Lin Mu along with them.”
Wen Rongrong said to Wen Qiming with a laugh.
“So that’s how it is. No wonder Xiao Lin looks so confused.”
Wen Qiming also laughed heartily. “Xiao Lin, you didn’t really think I was such a cold-hearted person who abandoned Rongrong and her mother, did you?”
“This, well…”
Lin Mu felt somewhat awkward. Now it was clear the situation wasn’t what he had thought. He could only rub his nose, not knowing what to say.
“Because of my position, I’ve captured many people under my command, which also led to many enemies. Many years ago, someone seized my wife and daughter, using them to threaten me. It was during that incident that Rongrong’s mother lost the ability to move her lower body.”
Wen Qiming sighed softly. “After that, I publicly announced that I had abandoned them, only providing alimony regularly. Meanwhile, within the system, I fabricated a woman and a son, creating complete records, pretending to have started another family.”
“Yes. After that, no one came to harass me and Mom again.”
Wen Rongrong also nodded.
“Why did Director Wen create two fictional people?”
Lin Mu asked curiously.
“People wanting to threaten me through my family have always been endless. Since they can’t easily deal with me directly, they target my family. By fabricating these two people, as soon as someone investigates the situation of that mother and son, it’s very likely they are targeting me.”
Wen Qiming smiled slightly. “This way, I can get some warning and prepare in advance. I just didn’t expect this time things happened too suddenly. Although I received news that someone was investigating that mother and son, I didn’t expect them to act so fast, directly hijacking the plane Rongrong was on.”
“Hmm, those people were indeed desperate. In the joint cross-strait operation, their losses were quite heavy.”
Lin Mu nodded understandingly.
“Correct. Precisely because of that, they couldn’t wait any longer. Without finding concrete information about that mother and son, they thought of my ex-wife and daughter. They happened to catch my daughter going to Jingdu for an exchange event. That’s the opportunity they seized.”
Holding his daughter’s hand, Wen Qiming sighed. “If it were here in Guangzhou, it wouldn’t be so easy for them to control Rongrong. Normally, there are many people secretly protecting Rongrong. There’s no way they could have succeeded so easily.”