15.

An Hour later,

The plane landed successfully, and their luggage was helped into the gray limousine parked at the entrance of the airport. They were escorted shortly to the checkpoint and then into the limousine. After much detail was taken back, Mingxia wrote down some newly found points on her phone and some that she felt were personal and requested Lixin's permission to use them as a strikeback. He eagerly allowed her Soon enough, they were lodging in one of the most famous five-star hotels in Wuhan. That hotel was her favorite whenever she needed some time alone away from home. The place hadn't changed that much.

"Are you not going to praise me? I found such a top-notch hotel! You owe me a meal." Mingxia jokingly said, not knowing he actually agreed to her desires that quickly. He had booked an entire set of Chinese meals for them. Mingxia directed the chefs to the dining room, where they set up the dishes and left when they were finished. "I am starving!" She smiled, picking up a chopstick from the kitchen shelf, and she started digging into the food.

Every veggie she picked out from the food, she placed it on Lixin's plate and ate the meat. The dishes were very mouthwatering, and every meal made her drool over them as they entered her mouth. Mingxia picked up the roasted pork and beef and ate it. Soon, she was filled up and had no space left in her stomach to entertain any more of the dishes. Mingxia pouted her lips, wondering whether it would be wasted if they could not eat all of it up.

"It would not be wasted if that is your worry." Lixin uttered, wiping the barbecued stains from his lips. He had not eaten much, yet he felt so full; maybe he was not used to Chinese dishes again. He lived half of his life in America and grew fond of their foods, while the same was not easily said for Mingxia, as she devoured most of the dishes. His phone vibrated, and he excused himself from the dining room and strode into the living room to pick up his call.

"Yes?" Lixin indifferently responded to the call when it went through. His majestic stature stood in front of the large twenty-foot window leading to the balcony. "What do you mean the court case was cancelled?" He roared, fisting his knuckles into a firm ball. He was super angry to hear this. Was this some kind of joke for Haoyu? "Is it confirmed?"

"The court sent an apology letter to your email an hour ago. I guess you did not see it, so I decided to call you." Skyler reported his findings. If this really was confirmed by the court, something was definitely up. Thirty minutes into their first trial, it was cancelled; how then was he not supposed to be suspicious?

"Thanks for informing me. We will see later when I get back to Beijing." Lixin ended the call and let out a fuming groan. His nails dug deep into his skin, but it was not as painful as what he felt in his heart. Lixin stood there, gazing hopelessly into the bright sky. "Mingxia?" Shocked to feel her palms on his hands, Lixin turned back and called her name. He was stunned to see her when she said she was going to shower and prepare. His face dulled up, recalling how much effort Zhou Mingxia had put into sorting the evidence.

"I heard everything." Mingxia mumbled, tugging Lixin's shirt. She was upset about what she heard, but what could she do? It was an official declaration from the court to call off the trail. Perhaps it was another filthy scheme from her father to feather his own nest; any reason for the cancellation did not mean Lixin had to give up. As long as she was here, justice would be served. "The day is still young; do not be angry. No matter the reason why they annulled it, you should not eat yourself up."

Her hands slipped from his, while Lixin retracted his arms and pocketed them. He grinned heavily and pushed her to the couch. Helping her up, he dropped her softly on the chair.

"I do not give up too easily, especially when it concerns my mother. He can take a break and get accustomed to life outside jail before he is put in his rightful position."

"You really believe that I can do it?" Mingxia's heart melted in happiness. For once in her life, there was someone who trusted in her abilities. She was willing to give it her all for this sole act of Lixin's. He was the first person to ever give her the key to unlocking her passion. Zhou Mingxia was really grateful to have met him. "Since you are familiar with Wuhan, I can show you around if you are not busy. I grew up here; I know so many fun things to do!"

"Um, I will think about that."

......…..

The anxious feet echoed as the owner moved to and fro in the hall. His heart raced as he looked at the caller ID and saw that she was not picking up. Ivan pressed his phone close to his ears and dialed his number once more—still no reply! Early this morning, he was informed about the call off the trail. He never expected Zhou Muchen to be this cold and leave him in the lurch when it was about the right time to strike back at Lixin.

"Pick up your damn phone!" Haoyu cried out, redialing his number three times without a number. He needed answers now or never. Haoyu picked up his belongings and boarded a cab downtown to Zhou Group. Although Muchen's security had restricted his entrance, be that as it may, he evaded the company and went straight to his office. "I know you are in there, Asshole! Open the door and speak to me!" Haoyu yelled fumingly, knocking on the door, which had CEO boldly written on it. He was not going to stop or leave empty-handed until he had spoken with Muchen.

The door was waved open, and Haoyu stumbled into the office. He met the calm, unfazed man seated on the chair like a king, sipping his coffee like nothing had ever happened. He walked to where Muchen was seated and pointed his fingers at him.

"Tell me this is all another sort of scheme. You are not really abandoning me, are you?" Haoyu hoped not, but a part of him had already exposed the truth to him when he made the deal with the devil. Muchen was the reason why he divorced Nuying and, for years, had tormented Lixin for his inheritance. Muchen completely threw dust in his eyes with supreme benefits from impeaching Lixin from the chairman post. Muchen's aim was simple. He wanted to merge his own company with Mu Group to form an invincible business mogul in Wuhan.

He found it hard to go through Mu Nuying, so he went through Haoyu! If only he had known he was only an ugly pawn in his future plans, he would not have been blinded so easily by his sweetened words. Facing him, Haoyu jammed his hands firmly on the glass table and glared at Muchen.

"If you dare cut off ties with me, I will expose to the media that you were the one who killed Mu Nuying! You killed my wife!"

Muchen banged the table loudly, kicked the chair he was sitting on, and stood upright directly to examine the rugged man in front of him. This Haoyu, as anticipated, was shameless in throwing his wife's misfortunes on him. And so what if he urged him to do his dirty deeds during the night? Muchen ensured Haoyu was paid handsomely for the work well done.

"Are you scared now, Muchen? I am that barefaced to uncover your deeds for everyone to be aware of them. Continue the court trial until Lixin surrenders. I cannot leave empty-handed while you get so much in the end." Haoyu threatened with his fingers pointed at Muchen. He was very serious this time. No matter how long it took him, it was not going to end like this. Muchen chuckled, the airy breeze caressing Haoyu's skin. Instantly, he felt cold; his body froze, seeing a new side of Muchen.

"You are threatening me? I only helped you, and this is how you repay me. You are really shameless, Ling Haoyu."

"Say all you want; I am not leaving. We agreed on this years ago. If you do not support me, do not blame me for being too ruthless!" Haoyu cowardly retorted, knowing who Muchen was. In plain sight, he took sheep clothing and posed as one who was not able to harm a fly, while he was a wolf—a flesh-eating wolf who ran after benefits at the expense of someone else's life. Supposedly, he fell victim to it too, and his wife, Nuying, paid for it. That was the price one had to pay when working with someone as sinister as Muchen.

"Your threats mean nothing. If I could murder my own daughter, Zhou Mingxia, how confident are you that I would not chase after your life if any of our meetings should leak out? I suppose Mr. Ling is wise and would not be stupid or easily led by emotions."