Pretending To Have Amnesia - Chapter 2

The expression on Young Mr. Sun’s face turned somewhat subtle: surprised, yet very intrigued.

“What, is Miss He trying to steal someone from me?”

He Mu curved her lips. “Even when snatching the top courtesan from a brothel, doesn’t the highest bidder win?”

Mu Qingran took the contract from He Mu’s hand and read through it carefully, line by line, as though reviewing an agreement that was about to be signed with one of her company’s clients.

“This contract doesn’t apply,” Mu Qingran said. “I can’t give birth to a son for you.”

After saying that, she handed the contract back to He Mu, turned around, pushed open the door, and walked out.

He Mu froze for a few seconds, then quickly chased after her into the corridor. She grabbed Mu Qingran’s wrist and sneered. “Compared with me, do you think being the mistress of a married man is more respectable? Or is it that you simply want to give birth to a son for just anyone?”

Because of the momentum, Mu Qingran crashed into He Mu’s arms, but she quickly took a step back and steadied herself.

He Mu stared into Mu Qingran’s eyes, trying to see even the slightest trace of a different emotion inside them.

Unfortunately, there was none.

Forcing herself to remain calm, He Mu did not lessen the strength in her grip. “I don’t like other people touching my things. Even if I’m done using them, even if I don’t want them anymore, I have to be the one to throw them away with my own hands.”

Her pitch-black eyes were like an endlessly deep whirlpool.

“People are the same.”

Mu Qingran did not speak. She only watched He Mu quietly, probably waiting for her to continue.

“Since you’re not satisfied with this ready-made contract, we can simply draft a new one.” He Mu hooked her lips. “Don’t worry. I have no interest in making you give birth to a son for me. I only want an obedient toy. One year. During the term of the contract, you can still sit steadily in the position of KM’s president. For you, it’s a very good deal.”

Mu Qingran’s wrist was being gripped so hard that several blue veins stood out on the back of her hand.

She glanced at their entangled hands, then looked into He Mu’s eyes and gave a faint smile. It was like meeting an opponent at the negotiating table: polite and distant.

“Before negotiating with someone, shouldn’t you first introduce yourself?” Mu Qingran said. “Otherwise, how can I believe you’re a better choice than President Sun?”

A blaze of fire suddenly burst in He Mu’s eyes.

“I don’t believe you’ve never paid attention to me all these years.” Her speech sped up, aggressive and pressing. “If you’re afraid I’ll cling to you again, then you can rest assured. I’ve played with plenty of women over the years. It’s not like it has to be you. Don’t think too highly of yourself!”

She wanted to appear as carefree as possible, as though Mu Qingran had already left no trace in her heart.

But the few fine red veins at the corners of her eyes, along with her slightly hoarse voice, still betrayed her.

In truth, during the days without Mu Qingran, He Mu’s life had been reduced to nothing but running forward. She did not know the time, did not know exhaustion, and did not know how much road she had covered. She had lost the ability to love someone, and even more so, the strength to be intimate with anyone.

Mu Qingran said, “I’m very sorry. I was in a car accident some time ago, and there are many things I don’t remember. People included.”

She made no effort to break free from He Mu’s grip. Her expression and tone were both very calm.

It was as though the past that had been painted so vividly and heavily in He Mu’s heart was, to Mu Qingran, nothing more than a layer of light dust that could be easily brushed away by a passing breeze.

He Mu’s pupils shrank. There was surprise in them, but even more suspicion.

“Using brute force against someone for no reason is not how civilized society works.”

Mu Qingran’s gaze fell on her own wrist. Her meaning was very obvious: she wanted He Mu to let go first.

He Mu said in a low voice, “Sister, do I still look like a gullible child?”

Did Mu Qingran think she could make up such a clumsy story about amnesia and still fool her?

She bit down heavily on the word “Sister,” and it felt like a lifetime had passed.

She had always addressed her biological older sister by a single syllable. Ever since Mu Qingran left, these two words had seemed sealed away, forgotten in a cold, damp, dark cellar, covered with a thick layer of dust.

“You must have come for KM.” Mu Qingran leaned close to He Mu’s ear, seizing control of the conversation. “If you want to cooperate with me, you should show the attitude one ought to have when seeking cooperation.”

Mu Qingran had never been as desireless and harmless as she looked on the outside. He Mu knew that very well.

He Mu fell silent for a few seconds, then gave a soft laugh. “Sister is indeed still Sister.”

This was an admission that Mu Qingran’s guess was right.

Mu Qingran’s company needed capital injection, but He Mu also needed to complete this acquisition project and spend the money.

If Qingsheng Capital had not happened to be pulling dirty tricks from behind the scenes, then she would have been the one eagerly rushing forward to offer Mu Qingran money.

“I don’t like mutual destruction, but, Sister, I can make an exception for you.” He Mu stepped forward, forcing Mu Qingran back against the wall.

With one hand, she pinned Mu Qingran’s wrist against the wall. With the other, she helped Mu Qingran tidy the hair that had fallen messily beside her ear. Her neatly trimmed nails brushed past the shell of Mu Qingran’s ear, the movement very, very light.

He Mu’s bare height was two centimeters taller than Mu Qingran’s, but because Mu Qingran’s heels were a little higher, their eyes happened to be level.

“Qingsheng Capital doesn’t only have one path to obtaining KM, which is buying President Sun’s shares. I believe they would be very happy to work with me,” He Mu said. “You should know very clearly what kind of thing Qingsheng Capital is.” If the company fell into their hands, it would only become trash to be tossed away after use.

“I believe that even if you lost the company, you could still make a comeback. But what about the livelihoods of the company’s employees?”

After saying such beastly words, He Mu relaxed a great deal. She had long since stopped being the innocent little white flower from five years ago. She knew that if one wanted to achieve one’s goal, one had to press against the other party’s weak spot, grip it tightly, and leave them no room whatsoever.

A slightly different expression finally appeared on Mu Qingran’s face, but her tone remained steady. “Capable people, no matter where they go, can…”

She did not finish the rest, because she saw He Mu smiling.

Clearly, He Mu had no intention of following the rules.

“Sister loved me so desperately back then. How could you just forget me like this?” He Mu moved her hand away from Mu Qingran’s wrist and pressed it against her palm instead. Her five fingers slipped between Mu Qingran’s, interlocking with hers. It took all her control not to crush Mu Qingran’s hand bones.

Both of these sentences were lies.

He Mu knew about Mu Qingran’s car accident some time ago. She also knew Mu Qingran had not been seriously injured and would not die. As for the specifics of her injuries, He Mu had not asked further. Looking at her now, aside from this so-called amnesia, nothing else seemed to be wrong.

Actually, in the instant she heard Mu Qingran say she did not remember her, He Mu had felt relieved. There had even been a trace of secret joy.

It was like unexpectedly obtaining a precious piece of cloth to cover her shame, allowing her to conceal the pathetic, humble state she had once shown in front of Mu Qingran.

But the contradiction was that she could not tolerate Mu Qingran completely erasing her from her life.

She had loved Mu Qingran for so long and hated her for so long that it had already taken up more than half her life.

Whether it was dislike or resentment, as long as there was some emotion that belonged solely to her and firmly occupied Mu Qingran’s heart, she would work hard for it.

Taking President Sun’s ridiculous contract and signing her own name on it had originally only been a spur-of-the-moment whim.

But now, she had changed her mind.

“What do you want to do?” Mu Qingran asked.

“You have to believe that I have the ability to blacklist everyone in your company and leave them with nowhere to go.” He Mu pressed the tip of her nose against the side of Mu Qingran’s neck, closed her eyes, and took a light sniff.

Mu Qingran was not wearing perfume, but there was a unique fragrance coming from her neck. That scent continuously slipped into He Mu’s nose, making her lose focus for a brief moment.

This lingering scent at the tip of her nose was something she had once been infatuated with for many years. Now, compared with five years ago, it carried an added trace of mature charm.

After a long while, He Mu slowly said, “And can I believe that you’re capable of being a qualified lover?”

“You’re threatening me,” Mu Qingran said.

“If you can’t even pass the inspection stage, then I’m afraid you’ll lose even the qualifications to be threatened by me.” He Mu smiled.

The meaning was very clear. If Mu Qingran did not properly please her, then she would be gambling with the future of everyone in her company.

Mu Qingran met He Mu’s gaze for nearly a minute. Then the right hand hanging by her side lifted, hooked around He Mu’s waist, and forcefully pressed her toward herself, as though suppressing her anger.

“As you wish.”

…

The parking lot was some distance away from the club’s main entrance. He Mu stood in front of the Roman column by the door, waiting for Mu Qingran to drive over.

He Mu did not have a driver’s license. When she was at home, she was always picked up and dropped off by a driver. Now that she had just arrived in Nancheng, she had not yet found a suitable driver.

She had once enrolled in driving school to learn how to drive, but for some unknown reason, whenever she held the steering wheel, she would feel panicked and would be completely unable to drive.

Only then did she realize that, in truth, every time she sat in a car, her chest would also feel tight, though not as intensely.

Under normal circumstances, when such symptoms appeared, a common cause would be a stress response caused by an accident such as a car crash.

But in her memories, she had rarely even bumped into anything, let alone been in a car accident.

She could only attribute this reaction of hers to a relatively rare form of carsickness.

The night wind was slightly cool. He Mu’s trench coat was open, and very soon, she began to shiver.

She had to present a charming image in front of Mu Qingran, so buttoning it up was impossible.

The person trying hard to maintain her poise put her hands into her pockets. Her back was ramrod straight, and her two legs were planted on the ground as though rooted there, as steady as steel pillars.

She was not cold.

Not cold.

At that moment, an elderly grandmother walked over from that direction. She was carrying flower baskets in both hands, and her pace was very slow.

“Little girl, are you waiting here for your boyfriend?” Deep wrinkles appeared at the corners of the old woman’s eyes as she smiled. “Buy a few flowers for your boyfriend.” These days were different from the past. Girls taking the initiative was popular now. Usually, it was girls who came to buy flowers more often.

As the old woman spoke, she set the flower baskets on the ground and carefully drew a few small daisies from inside.

Seeing that the old grandmother’s hair was full of silver strands and that she looked to be seventy or eighty years old, He Mu’s expression instantly collapsed.

For some reason, she was very angry.

She wanted to know where this grandmother’s family was, and why they were letting an elderly person of such an advanced age work so hard.

But after thinking about it, what right did she have to ask? In everyone’s eyes, from the moment she was born, she had possessed everything.

When the old woman saw the change in the young lady’s expression, she thought He Mu was impatient with an old woman like her. As though she had done something wrong, she lowered her eyes and smiled. “It’s fine if you don’t buy any. A girl as pretty as you must be especially cherished by your boyfriend even without buying flowers.”

After saying that, she picked up the baskets, intending to leave.

“Wait a moment.” He Mu called out to the old woman. “I’ll take…”

Before she could say the word “all,” a black BMW stopped a few steps away from her. The headlights were somewhat dazzling.

He Mu’s hand, suspended in midair, suddenly froze.

She did not want Mu Qingran to see her overflowing sympathy.

There were so many people in the world living difficult lives. To many people, this kind of act was nothing more than a “good deed” performed for self-satisfaction.

More importantly, she had just been threatening Mu Qingran with her most hateful face. Now, if she pretended to be a good person, it would be far too laughable.

Just as she was hesitating, Mu Qingran opened the car door and got out. Holding cash in her hand, she said, “I’ll take all of them.”

Her tone was very even, with no emotion audible in it.

Two minutes later, the car started again.

He Mu sat in the back seat, with two baskets of flowers sitting neatly in a row beside her.

He Mu could not understand again. Had Mu Qingran seen through her embarrassment, or was Mu Qingran merely like her, unable to ignore someone else’s hardship, and therefore did something that required only the lift of a hand?

She hoped it was the latter.

She hoped Mu Qingran truly could forever forget that naive and foolish younger sister from before.

…

He Mu had not planned to stay in Nancheng for long. The apartment was one she had casually rented in the central business district.

It had an extremely minimalist style of decoration. The furniture was mainly white, with little sense of life or warmth.

After opening the door and entering, Mu Qingran was very self-aware. Without needing her patron to speak, she pressed He Mu against the shoe cabinet in the entryway. Her lips lightly touched the shell of He Mu’s ear, then followed its curve down to her earlobe.

Having just come in from outside, He Mu’s ears were still wrapped in a chill. Suddenly meeting Mu Qingran’s warm breath stirred her nerves, and her entire body trembled.

Author’s Note:

This time, it’s the setup of a little milk bun who turns dark. I hope Sister is physically strong.

The company name will be changed to KM for certain reasons, and I’ll slowly replace it later. If you notice that the company name is different, that isn’t a bug.