Urban Soldier Young Master

Noticing Mu Xiaoting's mischievous gaze, Mu Lingshan's face tensed up, and a bad premonition arose in her heart. Unfortunately, before she could react, Mu Xiaoting continued speaking.

"But, if you, old man, become Mu Lingshan's husband, you'll actually be a generation lower than me. Mu Lingshan is my niece, so you'd be my niece's husband. Even if the chairman of the military committee can't move you, wouldn't you still have to call me 'auntie'?"

Mu Lingshan slapped her forehead with a "smack," feeling a wave of frustration surging inside. Sigh... These two, talking back and forth, ended up dragging her into it. What did she ever do to deserve this?

Is this called "an arrow to the knee," or should it be called "getting caught in the crossfire" while lying down?

After the frustration, Mu Lingshan sighed quietly. There was no chance of her and Chu Ge becoming a couple, so Mu Xiaoting would never have the opportunity to hear Chu Ge call her "auntie" in this lifetime.

Hearing what Mu Xiaoting said, Chu Ge froze for a moment. He finally understood why Mu Lingshan had that expression when she knew Mu Xiaoting had arrived at the police station before.

Isn't it obvious? Mu Lingshan is the granddaughter of Mu Chongyi's elder brother, and Mu Xiaoting is Mu Chongyi's daughter. Even if the two are of similar ages, they're still a generation apart. For Mu Lingshan to address a girl about her age, or even slightly younger, as 'auntie,' it would be strange if she weren't frustrated.

Mu Xiaoting waited a few seconds but didn't hear anything from the other side of the phone. She felt triumphant; earlier, she had been at a disadvantage, but now she finally turned the tables.

"Niece's husband, want to call 'auntie' in advance to get used to it? If you can make auntie happy, not only will your previous offenses be forgiven, but auntie might even give you a small 'thank you' gift."

Listening to Mu Xiaoting's gloating voice, Chu Ge felt a bit uncomfortable, not because he was verbally bested by Mu Xiaoting, but because of his relationship with Mu Lingshan.

He knew that Mu Lingshan had truly fallen for him, and after confirming he was the "mysterious expert," her feelings only intensified. He couldn't deny his feelings for Mu Lingshan either, but... sigh!

"Hey, niece's husband, why aren't you saying anything? You're usually quite talkative, right? Or are you embarrassed?"

Mu Xiaoting said, increasingly smug, but still heard nothing from Chu Ge on the other end. She took the phone from her ear, looked at the screen, confirmed she was still on the call with Chu Ge, and continued speaking.

"I say, Chu Ge, are you really upset? You couldn't possibly be so petty, right?"

Chu Ge gave a wry smile and, with mixed emotions, uttered one word, "No."

"Pfft, that's more like it. I wasn't meaning to take advantage of you. Haven't you ever heard the saying, 'a grandfather in the cradle, a grandson in a wheelchair'? It's not my fault I'm of a higher generation. Come on, call me auntie, and I won't hold it against you."

Mu Xiaoting was even more excited. She glanced at Mu Lingshan, only to find her staring down, stirring her coffee with a delicate spoon, preventing her from seeing Mu Lingshan's expression.

She didn't take it to heart, assuming Mu Lingshan was bashful about the topic and continued teasing Chu Ge.

"Are you going to say it or not? If you don't, I won't let my niece be with you. I've got the speaker on, and Shanshan is sitting right next to me. This is your chance to make a good impression in front of her. Don't you want to seize it? And also..."

As Mu Xiaoting was speaking excitedly, Mu Lingshan released the spoon she had been stirring the coffee with, stood up suddenly, and loudly said, "Mu Xiaoting, enough!"

The shiny silver spoon spun in the coffee cup, then bounced out, landing on the floor, making a clear ringing sound amidst Mu Lingshan's echoed voice.

Mu Xiaoting was stunned, staring blankly at Mu Lingshan, totally bewildered by her sudden outburst.

Facing Mu Xiaoting's puzzled gaze, Mu Lingshan bit her lip and slowly sat back down, "He, he's thin-skinned, don't tease him anymore."

Mu Xiaoting's face softened slightly, shrugged helplessly.

"What's going on? You gave me a fright. Shanshan, don't be so quick to side with him. When he was picking on me, why didn't you speak up? You two aren't even a couple yet, and you're already ganging up on me. If you actually get married, I can't imagine how much you'd spoil him."

Mu Lingshan forced a smile, lowered her head, and bent to pick up the slightly trembling coffee spoon.

Mu Xiaoting spoke into the phone again, "Alright, since our Shanshan has spoken, I won't make you call me auntie today. Let's get back to my dad looking for you. What do you mean by that?"

"You've seen all my injuries, right? I'm in pain all over with any movement. Let's do it another day. Please inform Secretary Mu that I'll definitely visit another time. Sorry."

After saying that, Chu Ge hung up the phone, silently took a sip of his drink, raised his hand to pinch his brows, and sighed slightly.

The injuries on his body still throbbed faintly, but compared to the bitterness in his heart, they were completely insignificant.

After finishing a bottle of beer, Chu Ge leaned back on the sofa, somewhat dazed, and snapped his fingers at a nearby waiter, asking for another bottle of vodka, a pack of Liqun cigarettes, and a lighter.

He hadn't smoked for a while, but now he really wanted one.

Holding a cigarette in his mouth, Chu Ge played with the lighter in his hand, but didn't light the cigarette for a long time, his gaze fixed on the lighter, watching the flame flare up and fade again and again.

Chu Ge's mind was a mess, his emotions complex; images flashed through his head — one moment it was Liang Yongping, the old man deeply cherishing Liang Xiao, the next it was Chen Zhihao's doting look towards Chen Yujie, then it was Chang Shao'en kneeling on the ground, picking up the bloody steamed bun and stuffing it into his mouth, and finally, scenes with several women related to him.

As he thought, Chu Ge got distracted, not even noticing two women coming down from upstairs, one of whom inadvertently glanced his way, startled, and then locked her gaze onto him.

These two women, coincidentally, were Mu Lingshan and Mu Xiaoting. Neither they nor Chu Ge could have dreamed they would all end up in the same bar.

The deeply absorbed Chu Ge had no idea that Mu Xiaoting had already spotted him and gave him a conspicuous byakugan from the staircase. Then, with a distracted Mu Lingshan, who hadn't noticed him, she walked toward him.

Chu Ge was sitting in an inward corner of the first floor of the bar. Mu Lingshan followed Mu Xiaoting a few steps, realizing something was off. "Xiaoting, the door is that way. Where are you going?"

Mu Xiaoting was delighted inside, as Mu Lingshan hadn't noticed Chu Ge yet. Without revealing it, she casually smiled, "I just saw a friend. I'll go say hello."

Mu Lingshan absentmindedly nodded, "Okay, you go ahead. I'll wait for you here."

Actually, Mu Lingshan hadn't noticed Chu Ge at all. Even if she had been paying special attention, from her current angle, she wouldn't have been able to see him. The only reason Mu Xiaoting saw him was because of her perfect vantage point from the staircase.

Mu Xiaoting looked at Mu Lingshan and coaxed, "My friend is really impressive. Even my dad finds it hard to meet him. Are you sure you don't want to come with me? It's always beneficial to make more friends."

Mu Lingshan didn't pick up on the undertone in Mu Xiaoting's words, "No, you go ahead. I'm a bit tired and don't feel like talking much."

Mu Xiaoting shrugged, glancing at Chu Ge, who was still leaning against the sofa, motionless and evidently still lost in his thoughts. "Alright, just wait a moment for me."

Mu Xiaoting approached from behind Chu Ge, and as she neared him, a mischievous smirk crept onto her face. She quietly extended her hand, planning to tap Chu Ge on the shoulder to give him a scare.

This guy, drinking and smoking, pretending to be energetic while using his injuries as an excuse. This time, Missy has caught you red-handed, hasn't she?

Hmph, let's see what you have to say now. Hah, this is what they call karma; you reap what you sow!

Mu Xiaoting tiptoed closer in her final steps, her raised hand inching silently towards Chu Ge's shoulder. She was preparing to suddenly tap hard on his shoulder.

Given Mu Xiaoting's usual behavior, she rarely joked around like this, even with close friends. Many people considered her to be low-key and reserved.

Perhaps it was because Chu Ge never showed any restraint around her, or perhaps it was because he had just annoyed her to no end, or maybe she saw him as her "nephew-in-law." Whatever her other reasons, she just really felt like playing a prank on Chu Ge now.

Mu Xiaoting's hand crept closer to Chu Ge's shoulder. Her heart was a bit nervous, but there was more of a thrilling excitement and anticipation for the mischief.

This guy, with that serious look on his face, would he jump when I tapped him suddenly? Would he even scream "Oh my!"?

Anticipating Chu Ge's reaction to the scare, Mu Xiaoting felt even more expectant and pleased.

Finally, Mu Xiaoting's stealthily stretched-out hand was only a few centimeters away from Chu Ge's shoulder, and she decided she couldn't go any further, or Chu Ge would surely notice. That wouldn't achieve the perfect scare effect.

She then slowly, slowly lifted her hand before bringing it down with a heavy tap.