Mu Sijue certainly understood what Aunt Zhou meant.

Aunt Zhou asked him to refuse all of Kang Ruicheng’s requests and protect Xu Youning.

It meant that he must give up on Aunt Zhou.

Even at the most critical moment, Mu Sijue had never given up on any of his men, let alone Aunt Zhou.

For him, Aunt Zhou was more than like his biological mother, and she even gave him a sense of belonging in the old residence of the Mu family in City G.

He didn’t know what his life would be like if he lost Aunt Zhou.

Therefore, he would never give up on Aunt Zhou.

Aunt Zhou did not hear Mu Sijue’s answer for a long time, so she couldn’t help urging him, “Little Seven, did you hear me clearly?”

“Aunt Zhou.” Mu Sijue said, “I can’t listen to you.”

“No, Little Seven, you have to listen to me this time!” Aunt Zhou became anxious and raised her voice. “The baby in Youning’s belly is the child of the Mu family. You mustn’t let Youning fall into the grasp of this bad guy, understand?”

Mu Sijue closed his eyes and slowly clenched his fists. “Aunt Zhou…”

Aunt Zhou interrupted Mu Sijue and continued, “Little Seven, it’s enough for me to have lived for so many years. Youning matters most now, and the person you should protect is not me but Youning. Do you understand?”

“Aunt Zhou, please say no more.” Mu Sijue opened his eyes and stubbornly said as if he didn’t hear her words, “I will find a way to bring you back.”

“Little Seven, don’t be silly!” Aunt Zhou’s old voice trembled. “If you really send Youning back under the threat of that bad guy and cause harm to Youning and the baby, I’ll be too ashamed to see Mr. Mu after my death.”

“Aunt Zhou, don’t worry.” Mu Sijue didn’t speak in strong terms, but his every word was powerful. “I will find a way.”

Mu Sijue meant that he would find a way to get the best of both worlds.

“Mu Sijue, perish the thought.” Kang Ruicheng’s cold voice sounded. “Find a way? If you mean that you want to rescue the two old guys, there’s no way at all. So, don’t waste your time. Let’s talk.”

Lu Boyan took the phone.

He had cooled down, so his voice was quite calm. He asked Kang Ruicheng, “What do you want?”

“It’s very simple. Give my people back to me,” said Kang Ruicheng. “Mumu and A Ning.”

“We can send Mumu back.” Then, Lu Boyan said coldly, “But Youning is not yours.”

“Mu Sijue knows very well who A Ning belongs to.” Kang Ruicheng said in a condescending and charitable tone. “Mu Sijue, if I hadn’t sent A Ning to work undercover by your side, you wouldn’t have even had a chance to know her!”

“Interesting.” Mu Sijue’s voice was cold, with a hint of mockery in it. “So, I do need to thank you.”

Kang Ruicheng did not expect Mu Sijue to have such a reaction, and his eyes were instantly filled with anger.

However, he knew that Mu Sijue did it on purpose. Mu Sijue was as good at making people break down emotionally by using simple words as Lu Boyan.

But at the moment, he had something on them, so he didn’t have to get angry because of their words.

Kang Ruicheng harped on the same string. “You’re welcome. Anyway, when A Ning is next to you, she has been pretending, and she has never treated you sincerely. Mu Sijue, don’t you think it’s sad that you fall in love with the spy I sent to you?”

“I also want to ask you one question.” Mu Sijue casually threw a heavy bomb. “Youning has agreed to marry me. Kang Ruicheng, how do you feel about it?”

Mu Sijue clearly heard Kang Ruicheng took a deep breath through the phone.

Then, Kang Ruicheng’s voice became as stiff as a tight spring. “I didn’t expect that such a well-known person as Mu Sijue would lie one day.”

Mu Sijue sneered and said in a greatly sarcastic tone, “I didn’t expect that Kang Ruicheng would escape from reality one day.”

Immediately, Kang Ruicheng became a beast whose sore spot had been touched. He roared and asked, “Why did A Ning agree to marry you? Mu Sijue, what method did you use to force her?”

“Kang Ruicheng, if one person agrees to marry another one, it must be because of love. Or, what reason else do you think?” This time, Mu Sijue said not only sarcastically but also proudly.

Kang Ruicheng was still unwilling to believe it. “How do you know this is not A Ning’s stalling tactic?”

“She’s by my side, so I can see her every move and every look.” Mu Sijue continued to rub salt into Kang Ruicheng’s wound. “Of course I can tell that she really wants to marry me.”

“Impossible!” Kang Ruicheng was unwilling to face the fact. “A Ning never believed you. She always suspected that you were the murderer of her grandmother. How could she agree to marry you?”

Mu Sijue said provokingly, “Since you’re unwilling to believe it, I’m glad to send you an invitation to our wedding. But, I’m wondering whether you can get this invitation or not.”

The implication was that he and Xu Youning would definitely get married, but Kang Ruicheng might not be able to live until their wedding.

“Mu Sijue, you’re overconfident.” Kang Ruicheng said, “Even if A Ning really agreed to marry you, she did it for that child.”

Mu Sijue disregarded his words and added fuel to the flames. “It turns out that you also know that Xu Youning is willing to get pregnant with my child.”

Kang Ruicheng knew Mu Sijue’s hidden meaning. He was mocking him that he couldn’t even touch Xu Youning, let alone make her pregnant with his child.

Kang Ruicheng regretted it. He shouldn’t have listened to Xu Youning and allowed her to decide whether to let the fetus live or not.

He should have killed the fetus when Xu Youning was just pregnant!

Driven by anger and regret, Kang Ruicheng threatened, “Let’s talk about something useful. Mumu and A Ning, each of them for one hostage. If you send one of them back, I’ll send one hostage back to you.”

With that, Kang Ruicheng sneered and continued, “Otherwise, I’ll let the two old ladies try the real torture. For the record, the longer they stay here, the more they will be tortured, and the higher the probability of accidents is. Think about whether they can withstand my means.”

“Kang Ruicheng!” Lu Boyan warned, “Your only son is here with us.”

Kang Ruicheng said without scruples, “Now that you’ve seen Mumu live with A Ning for so long, you have found that A Ning regards Mumu as her biological son, haven’t you? So you don’t dare to hurt Mumu in front of A Ning. Also, haven’t you always claimed that you won’t hurt the elderly and children? You can’t threaten me by using Mumu.”

“Kang Ruicheng, you’re wrong.” Lu Boyan’s every word seemed to be packed with ice. “Xu Youning regards Mumu as her own biological son, but for me, he is your son, so I won’t be kind to him. Also, we won’t hurt the elderly and children on the premise that our enemies also abide by the rule, but you’ve already broken our rule.”

Since the birth of Xiyu and Xiangyi, Lu Boyan had become much gentler.

But at this moment, Lu Boyan was completely the person he used to be, cold, ruthless, and decisive. His every word was greatly threatening, and his breath seemed to turn into an invisible knife, resting on his enemy’s neck.

He didn’t know what he would do if Kang Ruicheng really hurt Tang Yulan.

Kang Ruicheng did not speak for a while.

He believed that Lu Boyan’s every word was true, and it was not just tough talk.

Lu Boyan started from scratch eleven years ago, and it took him just ten years to establish Lu Enterprises’ unshakable status in the business circle. This was enough to show that although Lu Boyan did not do evil things, he was definitely not a merciful man.

Once someone stepped on Lu Boyan’s sore spot, Lu Boyan could break his bottom line, revealing his dark side and getting ready for slaughter.

Kang Ruicheng pondered for a while and said, “In this case, let’s make a deal first. You send Mumu back, and I’ll also send one back to you. However, I have the final say on who will be sent back.”

Without Kang Ruicheng telling them, Lu Boyan and Mu Sijue could guess who he would send back to them.

Mu Sijue muted the phone and looked at Lu Boyan.

Lu Boyan’s expression did not change at all. He said, “Promise him.”

Mu Sijue asked, “What about Auntie Tang?”

If they guessed it right, Kang Ruicheng would let Aunt Zhou go.

In Kang Ruicheng’s view, Aunt Zhou mattered less than Tang Yulan. He could keep his favorable position by making Tang Yulan stay.

The most important thing was that Tang Yulan was Lu Boyan’s mother. If he forced Mu Sijue to send Xu Youning back in exchange for Tang Yulan, Mu Sijue would definitely be in a dilemma, and Xu Youning would not stand by.

Kang Ruicheng did think so. He also thought that as long as he made Tang Yulan stay and did a good job of confidentiality to prevent Lu Boyan from rescuing Tang Yulan, he didn’t have to worry that Mu Sijue wouldn’t send Xu Youning back.

Even if Mu Sijue did not care about his relationship with Lu Boyan for the sake of a woman, Xu Youning would come back by herself.

He knew Xu Youning too well. After her grandmother’s death, she would never allow any old people to be hurt because of her.

As long as Kang Ruicheng made Tang Yulan stay, he could guarantee that everything would go as he wished.

However, in this way, Lu Boyan would suffer. Mu Sijue was the first one who did not allow such a thing to happen.

Mu Sijue took the phone and said, “I’ll negotiate with Kang Ruicheng.”

If possible, he hoped to save Tang Yulan first. As for Aunt Zhou… he would find a way otherwise.

Lu Boyan held Mu Sijue’s hand. “It’s no use. Kang Ruicheng made this decision just to make things difficult for you. If you negotiate with him, we may not even be able to save Aunt Zhou.”

“…” Mu Sijue also knew that, but he could not just leave Tang Yulan alone.

Lu Boyan tried his best to remain calm and said, “Sijue, let’s get Aunt Zhou back first. Thus, it will make for rescuing my mother in the future.”

Indeed, it was easier to rescue one person than to rescue two persons together.