She had no choice but to nod truthfully. "That's exactly the case."
Mu Yuze's face turned even grimmer. At first, he only thought that Lu Xue wanted to leave the company, but he never expected that she was completely moving out of his life.
Lu Xue was still holding a cup of tea in her hand. She turned sideways and said, "Could you please move aside?"
As she spoke, she tried to slip into the house.
Mu Yuze took a long stride and blocked Lu Xue's way again.
He was a head taller than her. He looked down at her from above, his eyes firmly fixed on the expression on her face.
"Why are you moving out? Isn't it good to stay here? Or is there something about the place that you're not used to?"
Mu Yuze found that he had never spoken to Lu Xue in such a humble tone before. But at this moment, just thinking about her moving out, his voice even carried a hint of supplication.
"If there's anything you're not used to, you can tell Aunt Chen. I'll try my best to have all the servants at home cooperate."
Lu Xue shook her head. "There's nothing I'm not used to. Everyone has taken good care of me."
Mu Yuze asked again, "Is it because of Mu Ziyue?"
Lu Xue shook her head and opened her eyes in surprise. "How could it be because of Mu Ziyue? I get along quite well with her!"
Mu Yuze took a deep breath and said, "Then what on earth is the reason? Even if you've found Mr. Chen, you can still stay here! You're the person the old master must find in his will. You staying here is the old master's way of repaying the kindness from back then."
Lu Xue shrugged. "I know what you're saying, but I'm living a good life. I don't need to accept this favor. It's no use forcing something that doesn't belong to you. It's better to let life get back on track."
After saying this, Lu Xue found a gap, bent down, and quickly slipped into the quiet house.
Mu Yuze ultimately failed to stop her. He could only turn his back to her and let out a long breath.
It seemed that Lu Xue had made up her mind. Even if he wanted to keep her, he wouldn't be able to shake her determination.
That night, Mu Yuze found himself tossing and turning in bed, unable to fall asleep. The news of Lu Xue's leaving shocked him far more than he had expected.
He began to recall every detail of when he first met Lu Xue. At first, when Lu Xue moved back to the small countryside, he drove there to chase after her, but Lu Xue was not willing to come back with him.
Perhaps at that time, he should have anticipated that Lu Xue was not the kind of girl who could be easily tied down.
Later, the reason Lu Xue was willing to come back to the old mansion with him was probably because she found that the scope of his business could help her find this Mr. Chen.
So Lu Xue agreed to move in and regarded her time in the old mansion as a transitional period.
After going through all these months, she finally found the old artist she was looking for as she wished, but she showed no trace of nostalgia for the life here.
Mu Yuze originally thought that he would have a long time to spend with her day in and day out, and a considerable period of time to slowly find the points of connection between them.
But it was not until this moment that he realized he didn't have that much time at all.
As soon as dawn broke the day after tomorrow, Lu Xue would disappear from his life. By then, he would never be able to find any intersection between them again.
At three o'clock in the morning, Mu Yuze sat up straight in bed and found that he couldn't fall asleep no matter what.
He went to the balcony to smoke a cigarette and watched the dim riverscape under the night sky for a while.
When a slow - moving boat on the river sounded its horn and sailed by, it stirred up a large expanse of sparkling scenery on the river.
Mu Yuze stared at the riverscape outside for a long time without any sign of sleep. He had no choice but to turn around and go downstairs to the refrigerator, planning to have some beer in the middle of the night.
...
...
Lu Xue also suddenly found herself hungry in the middle of the night.
She had only focused on packing her suitcase that night and forgotten to eat.
Originally, she thought it wasn't a big deal. Skipping a meal could be considered a way to lose weight. But until she was woken up by the growling of her stomach, she sat on the edge of the bed helplessly for a while and then decided to go downstairs to the refrigerator to look for something to eat.
So Lu Xue put on her slippers and quietly went downstairs. She groped for tableware in the kitchen and then opened the refrigerator, hoping to find some leftover food.
Aunt Chen usually prepared some afternoon tea snacks for her. If she didn't eat them, these desserts and cakes would be put in the refrigerator.
Lu Xue searched up and down and finally found the chiffon cake she wanted at the very top of the refrigerator.
She took out the cake and had just taken a bite when out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly caught sight of a dark shadow beside the refrigerator.
Lu Xue was so startled that she almost screamed in the darkness. Finally, the shadow made a gesture to her in the faint moonlight, signaling her not to make a sound.
Lu Xue steadied her nerves and carefully sized up the other person.
The man was leaning against the cabinet beside the refrigerator, looking rather lazy. A beam of cold moonlight shone on half of his shoulder, making him look rather surreal.
He was drinking beer while turning his head to look at Lu Xue. He put a finger to his lips to signal Lu Xue not to make a fuss.
Lu Xue finally recognized him and whispered, "Are you Mu Yuze?"
The shadow on the other side nodded and said in a hoarse voice, "I am."