A Promise in a Thought 49

Chapter 49

Jiang Chenyin looked at Bo Muyu with concern. It was best not to leave Mrs. Shao alone in the living room, but since she was asking for something, she naturally wouldn’t dare to touch Bo Muyu.

Thinking of this, Jiang Chenyin nodded. “Mmm, I’ll be right down.”

After watching Jiang Chenyin go upstairs, Bo Muyu turned to face Mrs. Shao.

Mrs. Shao was already captivated by the furnishings in the living room and continued to wander around, not sparing anything from the coffee table to the shoe rack at the entrance.

Her withered fingers stroked the coffee table as she exclaimed, “Rich people are really something. This table doesn’t look cheap at a glance.”

Bo Muyu’s expression was cold and stern, her gaze following her closely.

Mrs. Shao reached the shoe rack at the entrance, bent down, and muttered to herself, “I bet these slippers are more expensive than my son’s leather shoes.”

Bo Muyu was still silent, only taking a few steps closer.

Just then, Mrs. Shao straightened up, her eyes lighting up. “Tsk, these high heels are not bad either…”

She clicked her tongue, her eyes on a pair of Jiang Chenyin’s stiletto heels, and reached out to take them.

Bo Muyu’s sharp eyes caught it, and she strode over, her voice cold. “Don’t touch Auntie Yin’s shoes.”

She had a strong sense of revulsion towards this Mrs. Shao. It wasn’t because she looked down on her for her ordinary clothes, which were unlike those of a wealthy family, but because Mrs. Shao had given her a very rude impression from the moment she entered.

She had entered without the owner’s permission, and had left the living room floor covered in dusty footprints. She had even casually rummaged through the furniture and decorations as if she were the owner of the house.

This kind of person clearly lacked even the most basic etiquette. Every one of her actions was repulsive, yet she showed no sign of restraint.

Seeing the anger on Bo Muyu’s face, Mrs. Shao withdrew her hand and let out a disdainful laugh. “It’s just a pair of shoes. What’s the big deal? Rich people just look down on us poor people.”

Bo Muyu’s gaze was sharp as she said placidly, “Since it’s no big deal, then there’s nothing to see.”

Mrs. Shao stared at her cold face and took a few steps closer, teasing, “So sharp-tongued at such a young age. Has no one taught you to respect the old and love the young? Did your parents not teach you, or has Miss Jiang’s money made you lose even this bit of courtesy?”

Bo Muyu’s hands were clenched into fists behind her back, her lips pressed into a thin line, secretly gritting her teeth to endure.

She couldn’t get angry. Jiang Chenyin was a public figure. If this got out, it would be Jiang Chenyin who would take the blame.

Bo Muyu intentionally endured, but Mrs. Shao did not let her off. Seeing her silence, she became even more insolent. “Which university are you a student of? Miss Jiang has been so charitable right after she got back. I wonder if she has some ideas. I heard that her brother’s two sons are not young anymore?”

Bo Muyu’s slender fingers turned white from clenching her fists, a faint light flickering in her eyes, and bloodshot veins suddenly appeared. She only felt waves of emotion surging in her heart, almost about to burst out.

As Mrs. Shao spoke, her eyes, with a hidden meaning, sized up Bo Muyu from head to toe. “Tsk, tsk, tsk, you’re not bad looking, tall and slim. Miss Jiang is quite good at picking. What a pity…”

A fierce anger crashed through Bo Muyu’s body, and her gaze was as sharp as a knife as she stared at her.

“Mrs. Shao!”

Just as Bo Muyu was about to lose her patience, a voice filled with anger and extreme coldness came over. The next second, she was shielded by Jiang Chenyin, who had strode over.

Jiang Chenyin reached a hand behind her to protect Bo Muyy, her face calm, a cold light in her eyes. “Mrs. Shao, please listen carefully. You’d better not hurt the people around me, or I’ll make you lose much more than you’ve gained.”

Mrs. Shao quickly put on a fawning smile. “I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare. I was just chatting with this little sister.” She glanced at Jiang Chenyin’s other hand, which was hanging by her side. “Um… Miss Jiang?”

Jiang Chenyin’s thoughts deepened. She handed her a piece of paper and a pen. “You can take the money and go after you sign your name.”

“Alright then,” Mrs. Shao eagerly took the paper and pen, signed the paper directly on the palm of her left hand, and then handed it back to Jiang Chenyin.

Jiang Chenyin took the paper and pen and glanced at it. After confirming, she held out the bank card in her hand. Just as Mrs. Shao was about to take it, she withdrew her hand.

“Miss Jiang?” Mrs. Shao was puzzled.

“The password is still six zeros, but this is three hundred thousand,” Jiang Chenyin’s brow was still tightly furrowed. She paused, then handed it over for the second time. “One hundred thousand more than before. This is the last I’m giving you. Please conduct yourself with dignity from now on.”

“I know, I know,” Mrs. Shao quickly agreed, almost kneeling down to her.

After she took the bank card that Jiang Chenyin then handed her, she smiled so widely that her eyes narrowed, and the wrinkles on her forehead conveyed her joy.

Jiang Chenyin took a step forward and said in a deep voice, “Our agreement ends here. From now on, I hope you will not come to me again, not contact my assistant, and not disturb the people around me. If I find out once, I will make you suffer consequences you can’t even imagine. You know very well what I’m capable of. I mean what I say.”

“No problem, no problem. Don’t worry, Miss Jiang.”

Mrs. Shao bowed and scraped, then tactfully did not linger and left Jiang Chenyin’s house.

Jiang Chenyin stared at the closed door, then immediately went to the coffee table to get her phone and dial a number. “Xiao Lu, have someone look into the Shao family and tell me the results.”

She only let out a slight sigh of relief after hanging up. Bo Muyu’s forbearance just now suddenly flashed in her mind.

This child rarely got angry, so rarely that she could hardly find many instances in her memory. One could imagine what had happened here when she had gone upstairs. What was she thinking, leaving Bo Muyu behind? She knew there would be no physical conflict, but how could she have forgotten that words could also hurt? Besides, Bo Muyu had only been working for a few months. Her ability to cope was almost negligible.

“Muyu…” she said, putting down her phone and turning to look for Bo Muyu.

“Auntie Yin,” Bo Muyu was not far behind her, her expression already back to normal, a small smile on her face. “I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

Jiang Chenyin quickly walked over and held Bo Muyu in her arms, her chin resting on her side profile, her voice hoarse. “I’m sorry. It was my negligence. How could I leave you alone?”

Bo Muyu wrapped her arms around Jiang Chenyin’s waist. She contentedly buried her head in the crook of Jiang Chenyin’s neck, taking a deep breath and feeling Jiang Chenyin’s heart beat faster with worry for her.

“Don’t be afraid. It’s okay now,” Jiang Chenyin whispered gently in her ear, one hand holding her head, the other stroking her back. “I’m here. No one can hurt you.”

Although Jiang Chenyin said so, she was actually the one who was more afraid. She belatedly realized what a wrong decision she had made just now. The other party’s character was not good, which she had known for a long time. She had actually left Bo Muyu in the living room, relying on the fact that the other party wouldn’t dare to do anything to her.

“Auntie Yin, I’m really fine,” Bo Muyu looked up, her calm eyes filled with a reassuring certainty. “I wasn’t angry just now because of what she said about me.”

Jiang Chenyin tucked the fine hair that had fallen to the side of her face behind her ear, surprised and pleased by her composure at this moment. “Then what was it?”

Her eyes were still as clear as ever, her clean voice a little lower. “Because she slandered you, and also Uncle Zong and Little Uncle.”

She let go of Jiang Chenyin and took a few steps beside her, happening to step on a footprint left by Mrs. Shao just now. A sharp glint flashed in her eyes. “Also, I endured her not because I was afraid of her. She was asking something of you, so no matter how unpleasant her words were, she wouldn’t have laid a hand on me. This is your place, after all.”

Her tone was very light, but every sentence was without a hint of uncertainty, as if she could see through everything.

“And?” Jiang Chenyin’s lips unconsciously curved up. She felt as if she were not facing this alone this time.

Bo Muyu turned to her and said, “I endured her because I was afraid she would spread rumors outside and affect you. Even if you could quickly suppress them, I was still worried about what might happen.”

“What else?”

Jiang Chenyin really wanted to hear what Bo Muyu could sense. Lan Yuxin had said that Bo Muyu had found out most of her affairs. She wanted to see to what extent this child could unravel things from some clues.

Bo Muyu walked back to her, licked her lips, and asked hesitantly, “Auntie Yin, can I say everything?”

“Of course,” Jiang Chenyin smiled. “Is there anything we can’t talk about between us?”

Bo Muyu nodded, and after a moment of thought, she said, “That Mrs. Shao said when she came in just now that she only came to see you because she knew you were back in the country. This means that besides contacting you through your assistant or coming here, she has no other way to find you, including going to Uncle Zong and Little Uncle. This is probably because she can’t see them, or because your agreement restricts her from finding others. If she violates it, it will be void.”

“Continue,” Jiang Chenyin’s eyes held a hint of amazement.

“That was the first point,” Bo Muyu added, then glanced at the furniture and decorations that had been touched by Mrs. Shao just now.

She walked slowly to the sofa, her voice a little deeper. “The second point, you said just now that it was because her husband had passed away and her younger son was unemployed that you sponsored her living expenses and her younger son’s postgraduate studies. This means that her family’s financial situation is not optimistic. You just gave her three hundred thousand, and you had been giving her two hundred thousand a year before. For an ordinary family, two hundred thousand is more than enough to live well, and you should have just given her a sum at the end of last year.”

Jiang Chenyin confirmed her words, “It’s only been a few months, and she’s already saying she’s short on cash. She probably used it for something else.”

Bo Muyu’s gaze turned cold. She nodded and looked at Jiang Chenyin. “The last point, you have no reason to help a person of bad character.”

She walked towards Jiang Chenyin, at the same time pointing at the footprints on the floor. “For such a person to have dealings with you, it must be because you had some friction a long time ago, and you don’t feel good about it. Your agreement was a few years ago, so this friction must have been earlier than the agreement, at least four years ago.”

Jiang Chenyin’s lips parted slightly in surprise, the shock in her heart continuing to grow.

Bo Muyu stared at Jiang Chenyin without blinking, a deep meaning hidden in her eyes. “This friction caused you to feel uneasy, which is why you helped her. But I know you wouldn’t take the initiative to harm others, which means that this incident was not your fault, but you were involved.”

Jiang Chenyin’s eyelashes trembled, and she looked at the deep-eyed girl before her in disbelief.

She was beginning to believe what Lan Yuxin had said. Bo Muyu was really very smart. When she was a child, there was nothing worth exploring, so it wasn’t obvious. The introverted Bo Muyu rarely played and discussed with other children.

The current Bo Muyu’s thinking was so agile that it amazed her. If this advantage was accompanied by a disadvantage, it would be that Bo Muyu’s nature was not sensitive.

To put it plainly, her feelings were slow, but her thoughts after seeing and hearing were extremely fast.

Seeing that Jiang Chenyin was not speaking, Bo Muyu frowned. “Auntie Yin, if I’ve said anything wrong, you can correct me.”

“No, you’ve hit the mark on almost everything,” Jiang Chenyin said, shaking her head and gazing at her. Then she took her hand, lowered her head, and smiled. When she looked up again, her eyes were as warm as ever. “Tonight, I will tell you everything. I shouldn’t hide it from you anymore. It’s really meaningless.”

To let Jiang Chenyin see her desire to protect her, Bo Muyu nodded heavily twice. “Okay, I will listen very carefully.”

Jiang Chenyin burst out laughing. “Silly girl, it’s not a lecture.”

Bo Muyu smiled along with her, broke free from her fingers, and pointed at the floor. “Then the living room is a mess, and these footprints…”

Jiang Chenyin could only shrug helplessly. “We’ll endure it for one night. I’ll call a part-time auntie to clean the living room tomorrow.”