What it truly means to "spend a day like a year."

Ever since that day, Si Qingchen truly never came to see Mu Qingcheng again.

Mu Qingcheng felt a heavy ache in her heart, experiencing for the very first time what it meant to feel that "every single day drags on like a whole year."

Even though she still wore a mask of nonchalance on the surface, everyone in the Mu family could vaguely sense that something had changed.

Yet no one dared to ask; they simply walked on eggshells and served her with utmost care.

Fortunately, the date for Mu Qingcheng’s entrance examination was drawing very close.

Under the pretext of reviewing for the exams, she spent her days cooped up in her room, rarely stepping outside or speaking to anyone.

In truth, those study materials were on par with elementary school level to the boss of "Wuh痕" (Trace); she was merely using the opportunity to deal with the backlog of work piled up within the organization.

As Mu Qingcheng’s physical health improved, Trace also gradually resumed its various operations.

Ye Zi had been exceptionally diligent lately, continuously selling off several exclusive weapons, which made the treasury of Trace swell considerably.

At the moment, Mu Qingcheng had earphones plugged into her ears, absentmindedly leafing through various review materials while listening to Ye Zi rambling on the other end.

Before long, however, Ye Zi abruptly changed the subject and said with a hint of perplexity,

"Boss, there's something I've been finding really strange all this time."

"What is it?"

"Shadow hasn't been targeting us much lately. Do you have any idea what's going on?"

"......"

Seeing that Mu Qingcheng remained silent, Ye Zi, failing to notice anything amiss, continued,

"I mean, ever since I was captured by them last time, those guys have suddenly seemed to grow a conscience.

Even when I've been making a huge spectacle of selling the 'hardware' in my hands, they haven't made a single move.

I've run into this bunch at the scene several times, and I literally brushed shoulders with them as if they couldn't even see me."

"......Is that so?"

Naturally, Ye Zi had no idea why, but Mu Qingcheng knew full well in her heart.

Why would that be? Naturally, it was because the bosses of these two rival factions had been secretly colluding, getting tangled up with each other behind the scenes to the point where they were practically ready to consume one another whole.

"Boss... are you hiding something from me?"

Because of Mu Qingcheng's evasive attitude, Ye Zi, who was usually thick-skinned and oblivious, finally began to feel a sliver of suspicion.

He put down the items in his hands, his gaze shifting as his confusion multiplied.

"No way. Why would I keep anything from you?"

Mu Qingcheng certainly wouldn't dare to admit it.

Yet by now, she was already regretting it—regretting that she hadn't just told Ye Zi the whole truth from the very beginning.

Now, the longer she dragged it out, the harder it was to turn things around... it was like trying to scoop spilled water back onto the ground.

Ye Zi was practically the only family Mu Qingcheng had left in this world. What if one day he found out...

To stop Ye Zi from continuing to probe, Mu Qingcheng had no choice but to forcefully change the subject.

"Oh right, did you look into the matter I asked you to investigate?"

"Are you talking about that girl named Xia Wan?"

"Mmm."

Ever since her falling out with Si Qingchen last time, Mu Qingcheng had instructed Ye Zi to look into Xia Wan.

At this moment, however, Ye Zi sighed and said,

"We didn't find anything at all. There's no trace of any connection between her and the Xu family.

The only point of contact, if you could call it that, is that she goes to Xu Maoyan's office to collect her living expenses every once in a while.

Other than that, there is absolutely nothing."

"Collecting living expenses?"

Mu Qingcheng carefully weighed Ye Zi's words, feeling that there was something inherently strange about it all.

Yet after pondering for a long while, she still couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Right at that moment, a sudden knock sounded at her door.

Mu Qingcheng got up to open it and saw the maid who usually attended to her standing in the doorway, smiling as she said,

"Miss, Mr. Si Nan is here."

Mu Qingcheng, "......"