Chapter 47: Bitter Coffee Part 1

Sheng Xingran’s mind uncontrollably conjured up the image of Miao Zhu’s knee pressing against Mu Shanyi’s calf. Had Miao Zhu really gone to see Emma that night at Jinyuan? And where had Mu Shanyi gone, disappearing at the same time?

Would asking Emma yield any answers?

Sheng Xingran was certain it wouldn’t. Emma would definitely side with Miao Zhu. At Chestnut Cousin’s Camping Ground, Grace had rushed straight toward Miao Zhu, and it was Emma who stepped forward to say that Grace had smelled the jerky in her backpack. If Emma had been lying for Miao Zhu, didn’t that mean… that Grace knew Miao Zhu!?

…It wasn’t just Grace. Mu Shanyi’s cat named Princess was also very familiar with Miao Zhu. As soon as Miao Zhu approached, Princess rubbed her head against her.

Sheng Xingran’s breathing quickened. What else had she noticed that afternoon at Tower Shadow Sunny River? Mu Shanyi and Miao Zhu had the same scarf! Were they the same? Maybe that scarf had originally been Miao Zhu’s?

Mu Shanyi had specially prepared new slippers, but why only for her and not for Miao Zhu at the same time? Instead, she let Miao Zhu wear a pair of couple’s slippers in the same style but different colors. Did that make any sense?

Miao Zhu, who always arrived early for appointments, had been late to meet Liang Gong, with her phone going unanswered. Where had Miao Zhu been during that time? With Mu Shanyi, in Mu Shanyi’s house, which was why she had left her scarf behind, and why Mu Shanyi needed to take a shower!?

Sheng Xingran abruptly stood up, but it felt as if the ground had been yanked from under her feet. Her body swayed and she tumbled back into her seat.

Was there any possibility that Miao Zhu and Mu Shanyi…?

Her temples throbbed. The more panicked Sheng Xingran felt, the more her memories refused to settle, rummaging through the depths like turning over boxes and cabinets, unwilling to let any detail escape.

More specifics surfaced. On Mid-Autumn Night, it had been Mu Shanyi who proactively offered to take Miao Zhu home. And before that, she had encountered Mu Shanyi dropping Miao Zhu off outside Moon Reflection Villa. She had thought Mu Shanyi was doing these things out of consideration for her sake, loving the house for the sake of the occupant. But was that really the case? What if Mu Shanyi and Miao Zhu had some unspeakable private relationship?

That time at Moon Reflection Villa, she had smelled Mu Shanyi’s perfume on Miao Zhu. Could car air freshener leave such a strong scent on a person’s body? What if Miao Zhu had gotten it from intimate contact with Mu Shanyi?

Going further back, at the family banquet, Miao Zhu’s car had been rear-ended, and Mu Shanyi had personally driven her over. In a city as big as Cloud City, how could they just happen to run into each other on the road like that?

The previous time at this homestay, Miao Zhu had gone to wash the crayfish juice off her hands. When she went looking, Mu Shanyi was there too. The two of them alone together—what had Miao Zhu said they were talking about when she asked? “Helping out.” What kind of help had Mu Shanyi provided?

Why had she been so oblivious back then, not asking a few more questions?

At the camping ground, was the bite mark on Mu Shanyi’s wrist caused by Zheng Simiao? Zheng Simiao had only assumed as much; Mu Shanyi had never confirmed it. Afterward, aside from project collaborations, there had been no further talk of any romantic developments between Mu Shanyi and Zheng Simiao.

Had Miao Zhu cried because of that movie? Or maybe Mu Shanyi had made her cry, so she bit Mu Shanyi?

And the shawl Miao Zhu needed to return to Mu Shanyi—why would Mu Shanyi lend such a personal item to her? Would two people who usually kept such clear boundaries do something so improper?

…That necklace! The one Miao Zhu had left at the homestay. Tang Yuwen had entrusted it to Mu Shanyi to return, but when and how had Mu Shanyi given it back? She had been completely in the dark the whole time. There was clearly private contact between those two!

It was as if someone had gripped Sheng Xingran’s throat. She could no longer hear the wind in the valley or feel the harsh chill of the winter night. All she heard was her own trembling breath.

Her eyes involuntarily drifted downward. Miao Zhu’s phone on the armrest had long since gone dark, those messages hidden away.

…This wasn’t right.

She shouldn’t suspect Miao Zhu like this. Miao Zhu had always kept herself pure, and though many people pursued her, she had never given anyone a chance. Half a year ago, when she had misunderstood that Miao Zhu was climbing the social ladder with the He family, Miao Zhu had even fallen ill over it.

Mu Shanyi was the same. Even if there had been friction between her and Mu Shanyi in the past, it had only been her own prejudice against Mu Shanyi. Deep down, Mu Shanyi was a good older sister.

Right, it couldn’t be Mu Shanyi. Mu Shanyi spent most of her time abroad, with hardly any contact with Miao Zhu. How could anything happen between them?

Besides, one was her fiancée, the other her sister—two people who loved her. How could they both betray and hurt her at the same time?

All those inferences were built on the premise of an immoral relationship between them. If that premise itself didn’t hold, then the inferences were naturally baseless.