Luo Haofeng cast a sharp glare at each of them, his voice tinged with irritation. "Don't be so quick to laugh. Sooner or later, your turn will come."
Considering Mo Xiuchen's ruthlessness, anything remotely related to Wen Ran would leave him turning against even his closest kin. Luo simply didn't believe that Gu Kai and Qin Mu would never find themselves at odds with him.
Gu Kai chuckled, arching his brow with effortless charm. "I'm not as foolish as you."
Qin Mu scoffed with a nonchalant air. "At worst, he'll just make me work overtime." As he spoke, he deliberately cast a glance at the two unattractive women nearby—his meaning clear. Even pulling an all-nighter was preferable to Luo Haofeng's current predicament.
Luo Haofeng, usually silver-tongued and eloquent, found himself speechless under their mockery. All he could do was inwardly regret attending the play tonight, a decision that had now led him to this sorry fate—having to entertain two hideous women.
"Let's go!"
With nowhere else to vent his frustration, he turned and lashed out at the women instead. Yet those two, bewitched by his devilishly handsome looks, remained entirely unaffected by his fury. Their simpering, flirtatious laughter followed him closely as they trailed after him.
Gu Kai and Qin Mu stood in the hospital lobby, watching Luo Haofeng depart with the overweight and emaciated women in tow. Gu Kai turned to Qin Mu and remarked, "I don't think you need to wait for Xiuchen and Wen Ran. You can leave now."
Qin Mu's lips twitched slightly. He understood the implication. Mo Xiuchen had already punished Luo Haofeng for his earlier disappearance. Though Qin Mu had accompanied Wen Ran to the hospital, he had failed to protect her, nearly allowing her to come to harm.
Knowing Mo Xiuchen's nature, he would hardly be so 'generous' as to let it slide. Who knew what form of punishment awaited him?
"Forget it. I'll stay. I do bear some responsibility for tonight."
Qin Mu sighed gloomily. He had promised to protect Wen Ran, and he had failed. He knew how deeply Xiuchen cared for her—he had seen the self-reproach in Mo Xiuchen's voice while speaking to her through the surveillance footage. Had he not heard it with his own ears and seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed those words came from Mo Xiuchen.
Gu Kai furrowed his brow faintly and said in a low voice, "Wen Ran was nearly hurt tonight, but that's just it—nearly. What we should be glad about is that she wasn't injured, and now we know Zhou Mingfu was behind it. Wen Jin can avenge her."
"There's likely someone behind Zhou Mingfu."
Qin Mu's tone turned cold. One Zhou Mingfu couldn't stir such a storm. To dare wipe out the entire Wen family—perhaps they hadn't known before, but after Wen Jin intercepted Zhou Mingfu's conversations, it became clear he had close ties with Xiao Wenqing, Wu Tianyi, and others...
Upstairs, in the hospital room.
Mo Xiuchen sat beside Wen Ran in a chair near the bed, his handsome features calm and composed, betraying none of the intense worry he had felt earlier.
Wen Jin was not asleep. Just as Gu Kai had predicted, with all the commotion from arresting the two culprits, and Gu Yi having visited him briefly in his room, even though the conversation was trivial, his sharp instincts told him it had something to do with Ranran.
He had recently told Wen Ran that Mo Xiuchen's situation was no better than theirs. And given how anxious Zhou Mingfu had become over the medicinal herbs, whether it was him or Xiao Wenqing, if they were to strike at Mo Xiuchen, their first target would be Ranran.
So when he saw Mo Xiuchen and Wen Ran enter together, Wen Jin's expression changed multiple times.
They had just sat down, and before Wen Ran could even explain, he asked directly. Wen Ran's gaze flickered as she nodded. "Brother, those two have been caught. Zhou Mingfu ordered them, and they've agreed to testify against him tomorrow."
Wen Jin's expression remained cold, his eyes unreadable, shadowed like misted jade, revealing neither anger nor worry.
Wen Ran's heart clenched. She rose and sat beside him, gently taking his hand. "Brother, are you angry with me?"
Mo Xiuchen's eyes darkened at the sight, a flicker of displeasure flashing across his face before quickly vanishing.
Wen Jin shook his head, voice faint. "I'm not angry with you. I was just thinking... Have you started to believe I can no longer protect you? Is that why you've begun keeping things from me?"
Wen Ran's face paled. She shook her head urgently. "No, Brother, it's not like that. How could you ever not be able to protect me? From childhood until now, you've never let anyone bully me."
Wen Jin said nothing, his gaze quietly fixed on her. From the corner of his eye, he caught Mo Xiuchen's slight frown—he didn't miss a thing.
Wen Ran began to panic. She didn't want her brother to think that just because she was married, she no longer needed him. After their parents' death, her brother was her only family.
She bit her lip, her brows furrowed with remorse. "Brother, I'm sorry. It was my fault for hiding it from you. I thought this was Gu Kai's territory, and he'd find the woman I bit soon enough. I wanted to tell you once we caught her."
Seeing her brow crease, Wen Jin's heart softened. He reached up and gently caressed her cheek.
"It was I who told her not to tell you."
Mo Xiuchen finally spoke. His cool, clear voice swept away the remorse in Wen Ran's eyes like a breeze. She turned to him in shock, only to find his expression calm, his gaze fixed on Wen Jin.
"Your leg hasn't healed. Even if you knew, all it would bring is worry. And besides—Ranran is my wife now. Protecting her is my duty and responsibility."
Wen Jin's face shifted in hue, turning pale and then green.
Every word Mo Xiuchen uttered was a reminder: Ranran is now his wife, and has nothing to do with Wen Jin.
"Mo Xiuchen, that's enough."
Wen Ran's heart skipped a beat. Seeing her brother's worsening expression, anxiety surged. She feared the two would quarrel.
Mo Xiuchen glanced at her indifferently, then added unhurriedly, "From now on, you needn't concern yourself with Ranran. If you have energy to spare, focus it on the pharmaceutical factory. Let her get some proper rest."
Wen Jin didn't grow angrier. Instead, he smiled—but the chill in that smile sent a shiver through Wen Ran. Without thinking, she reached out to pull Mo Xiuchen. "Go wait outside. Let me talk to my brother for a moment. I'll be right out."
Given how much her brother doted on her, she knew Mo Xiuchen's words had surely crossed a line.
"No need for him to leave."
Wen Jin's voice was low and heavy, his gaze unwavering on Mo Xiuchen. This man had shown possessiveness from the very beginning. Back then, he might not have even loved Ranran.
Did he think that marrying Ranran would sever her from her brother?