The next day, Lu Xue planned to set off to look for the old Mr. Chen. She called Han Xiaolv as promised.
As soon as the call was connected, all she could hear was Han Xiaolv blowing her nose.
Han Xiaolv spoke with a stuffy nasal voice while vigorously wiping her nose.
"Actually, I originally planned to go with you today. But I was looking up those materials until very late last night. Then I set the air - conditioner temperature too low while staying up late, and I woke up with a cold and a fever this morning. I'm feeling so weak all over."
Lu Xue was silent for a moment. The two of them had originally agreed to go together today, but who would have thought that this unreliable teammate, Han Xiaolv, would catch a cold and have a fever after just one night of sleep and need to rest at home.
There was nothing she could do. Lu Xue had to go alone.
After Lu Xue got everything ready and was about to go out, she happened to bump into Mu Yuze coming in from outside.
Mu Yuze saw Lu Xue and said,
"I'm glad to meet you here. I've been wanting to talk to you."
Lu Xue stopped and asked curiously,
"What's up?"
Normally, Mu Yuze would be at the company at this time and rarely came back.
Running into him here today by accident, could it be that he came back for something special?
Mu Yuze said,
"I've got some leads on the old artist you asked me to find last time. We found out that he participated in an event half a year ago. He should have left his contact address with the event organizer. I've asked Yan Hua to dig deeper. We should be able to find some clues about this old gentleman from the event organizer in a few days."
Lu Xue let out a sigh of relief. Oh, so that's what it was about.
She blurted out,
"No need. I've already found the old gentleman's address. I'm going there right now. Thank you for worrying about my business."
Mu Yuze was taken aback and double - checked.
"You've already found the old gentleman's address?"
In other words -
Lu Xue didn't need his help anymore, and there was no longer any need for him.
Lu Xue nodded.
"Yes. I won't trouble Mr. Mu with this matter anymore. I'm leaving right away."
With that, Lu Xue picked up the small bag she had just packed and brushed past Mu Yuze's shoulder and left.
Mu Yuze stood there, finding it hard to accept this fact for a moment.
The exact address of this old gentleman was actually quite hard to find, but somehow Lu Xue had managed to find it on her own, and even found the clue before him.
His help must seem rather useless to her.
He stood there, feeling a bit empty inside.
A few minutes later, he suddenly turned around and went out in the direction Lu Xue had gone.
Lu Xue had walked quite a distance when she saw Mu Yuze catch up from behind.
She asked in confusion,
"What's up? Does Mr. Mu have something else to say?"
Mu Yuze said,
"It's not safe for a girl to go out alone. I'll drive you there."
Hearing this, Lu Xue scratched her head, looking puzzled.
"But don't you have a lot of work to do at the company? Won't others find it strange if you're gone for a whole day?"
Mu Yuze showed a polite smile.
"It's okay. I'll call Yan Hua and ask him to handle things for me."
As soon as he finished speaking, without waiting for Lu Xue to refuse, he put all her luggage in the trunk of his car and then gentlemanly opened the passenger - side door for her.
Although Lu Xue thought it was a bit too much trouble for him, she thought that after finding the old artist, she would move out of the Mu Mansion and probably wouldn't have any chance to meet Mu Yuze again. So she might as well just consider this as the last time she bothered him.
She obediently got into the passenger seat and told Mu Yuze the address in her hand.
Mu Yuze turned on the navigation and drove the car out following the directions.
The old artist lived in a very remote place. They drove for a whole morning and didn't enter the town until noon.
In the town, they showed the address in their hands and asked many passers - by. Finally, they found a small path that led to the small village.
There were few people in the village. The car drove around in circles, and it took them a great deal of effort to finally find Mr. Chen's residence.
But when they stood outside the gate and knocked for a long time, there was no response.
Helplessly, Mu Yuze had to knock on the door of Mr. Chen's neighbor to ask about the situation.
The neighbor said,
"The old gentleman next door hasn't been back for half a month. He must have gone out to do something. He usually keeps to himself. It's normal for him to be away for several months at a time. I advise you not to wait. Come back and try your luck some other time."
Both Mu Yuze and Lu Xue were a bit deflated.
They had gone through so much trouble to come here to find someone, but in the end, they had made a fruitless trip.
Lu Xue stood outside the gate, sighed, and said helplessly,
"Forget it. Let's go back first. Since Mr. Chen often goes away for several months at a time, we might not be able to wait for him even if we wait here until dark."
Mu Yuze knew that Lu Xue was disappointed, but somehow, at this moment, he felt a tiny, subtle sense of relief.