Urban Soldier Young Master

Chapter 829 - 828: A Man's Responsibility

On Mu Lingshan's phone, three characters appeared, and it wasn't the "Mu Xiaoting" she had been expecting, but "Third Grandpa."Seeing these three characters, Mu Lingshan instantly felt a buzzing in her head. After staring blankly for a few seconds, she turned to look at Chu Ge, her usually confident and spirited face now full of panic.

"I... It's a call from Third Grandpa, what do I do?"

Chu Ge remained as casual as ever, smiling slightly, "Answer it, maybe Mu Xiaoting returned to the provincial city and used her dad's phone to call you?"

"But... what if it's not?"

"Then you can just make up a little lie, say Mu Xiaoting happened to not be by your side, or just tell the truth, it doesn't matter. Since he got through, even if you don't answer now, you'll have to call him back sooner or later. You can't pretend you didn't see it, right?"

Even after Chu Ge said this, Mu Lingshan hesitated for a long time, biting her lip. Her finger hovered over the screen several times, but in the end, she didn't dare to answer the call, letting the ringtone continue to ring.

The phone ringtone, which she usually liked very much, now echoed through the quiet room, but it felt so harsh to her, and her heart was in her throat.

With every ring of the phone, her heart throbbed violently. Even when she faced dangerous criminals before, she had never felt this much psychological pressure.

Finally, the phone stopped ringing, and Mu Lingshan slumped onto the sofa, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead and a weak, bitter smile appeared on her face. Just as she was about to say something to Chu Ge, her pupils contracted suddenly, and she sat up straight on the sofa, staring nervously at the phone screen that had not yet turned dark.

Chu Ge was a bit puzzled, looking at Mu Lingshan, "What are you doing? Why are you so jumpy?"

Mu Lingshan ignored Chu Ge's voice, just staring intently at her phone as if she could see through it,

until the screen dimmed. Mu Lingshan's tense upper body slumped back onto the sofa, looking even more dejected than before. Her bloodshot eyes dimmed along with the screen.

"Tiger Girl, what's wrong with you?"

Chu Ge called out to Mu Lingshan a few times, but she didn't respond at all. He waved his hand in front of her eyes, and only then did Mu Lingshan raise her head, pushing Chu Ge's hand aside, and letting out a long sigh, murmuring, "This is bad, this is really bad."

Chu Ge was even more speechless, "What's bad? Why is it bad?"

"Tingting once told me that unless there's something special going on, my Third Grandpa always goes to work at the provincial government building on time. It's already eight thirty, judging by the time, this can't be Tingting, it's definitely my Third Grandpa calling himself."

Mu Lingshan lowered her head, covering her face with her hands. The feeling of having her hopes dashed was unbearably awful.

She really didn't know how to reply to Mu Chongyi. If she talked to him, she was terrified that he would instantly ask where Mu Xiaoting was and why he couldn't reach Mu Xiaoting's phone.

Suddenly, Mu Lingshan heard the familiar sound of a phone unlocking. She slowly raised her head and removed her hands from her face, only to see Chu Ge holding his phone, his hand poised to tap on the screen.

Mu Lingshan was stunned, "You... what are you doing?"

As soon as she finished saying those four words, Mu Lingshan saw Chu Ge flash his signature smile.

Mu Lingshan's pupils contracted, and she quickly snatched the phone into her own hands. Looking down, she saw it was the call log interface, and it was clear Chu Ge had been about to call Mu Chongyi back.

"Are you crazy?" Mu Lingshan's chest rose and fell violently, her face full of lingering fear, "You actually want to call my Third Grandpa? What were you thinking?"

Chu Ge shrugged, "Mu Xiaoting's disappearance is my fault to begin with, so of course, I should be the one to tell her dad. What's there to consider?"

"Brother Chu, Uncle Chu, I'm begging you, okay? Don't complicate things for me. If you tell my Third Grandpa about this now, aren't you just walking into the line of fire?"

Chu Ge's smile didn't fade, "So what if I am?"

Hearing Chu Ge's words, Mu Lingshan froze again. Looking at his trademark smile, her emotions were incredibly complex. This guy... sigh!

If others faced a situation like this, they would probably avoid it as much as possible, eager to shift all responsibility away. But this guy, he could face it with such calmness and a smile.

Even if Chu Ge didn't say so, she knew the reason he acted this way was because he didn't want her stuck in the middle, torn in both directions.

Perhaps... what truly attracted her to Chu Ge was this carefree composure hidden beneath his nonchalant exterior, and the rare sense of responsibility in today's world.

Men standing tall and proud is not just talk; it's demonstrated like what Chu Ge does.

Although Mu Chongyi never spoke ill of Chu Ge in front of Mu Lingshan, she could feel that Mu Chongyi now had no favorable impression of Chu Ge. To be more precise, he felt somewhat disgusted.

It's no wonder, looking across the entire Hua Country, how many people would dare to mock the provincial secretary of a big province?

Mu Chongyi personally called Chu Ge, expressing a wish to meet and chat, but Chu Ge completely ignored it. When he hung up on Mu Chongyi, he used such a lame excuse.

This kind of behavior is simply not something a normal person would do. Even without putting herself in his shoes, Mu Lingshan knew, even by just a thread of hair, that Mu Chongyi had every reason to be angry at Chu Ge.

Even she could think this clearly, so how could Chu Ge not see it?

The answer was undoubtedly no; this guy probably understood better than anyone!

However, even so, for her, he still chose to act this way!

As for what happened yesterday, while Chu Ge's approach was somewhat extreme, he was indeed in the right.

For a girl with no social status, Chu Ge dared to open his mouth and scold the daughter of the provincial secretary's family, and even dared to use force. In a sense, when Chu Ge threw Mu Xiaoting out of the room, it seemed like a rude action but also represented his gentleness towards Ye Li, didn't it?

Perhaps Mu Lingshan had doubts and hesitations before, but at this moment, she completely believed in her feelings. Falling in love with such a proud and upright man was undoubtedly worth it!

Mu Lingshan sighed inwardly, but outwardly gave Chu Ge a fierce glare.

"Get lost, I can't trust you. Letting you make the call will only make things worse. I'll do it myself. I'm warning you, when I'm on the call, you're not allowed to blurt out nonsense... Forget it, I'll just go out to make the call. Open the door for me later."

Saying this, Mu Lingshan walked out of the room with the phone, closing the door behind her.

Pressing her back tightly against the door, Mu Lingshan took several deep breaths, turned her head to check, and confirmed there was no one in the hallway, then she gritted her teeth, steeled her heart, and dialed Mu Chongyi's private number.

"Beep... beep... beep..."

With each ring of the phone, Mu Lingshan's heart trembled. She kept encouraging herself to stay calm, but unfortunately, she simply couldn't. She hadn't even figured out what exactly she should say to Mu Chongyi.

"Hello, Shanshan, why didn't you answer Grandpa's call just now?"

The call connected, and Mu Chongyi's indulgent and kind voice came through. However, given Mu Lingshan's current mood, it filled her with guilt, making her nose tingle, and tears seemed ready to fall.

"I... I was in the bathroom just now."

"Oh, I see, haha, then it's my fault for calling at the wrong time. How does it feel to be home? You didn't secretly tell your parents that I bullied you, did you?"

Hearing such teasing, Mu Lingshan felt even worse.

To be fair, Mu Chongyi treated her really well, even better than his own daughter, Mu Xiaoting. However, she had just brought Mu Xiaoting back to Lidu, and within less than a day, she had lost her!

"Grandpa, how could I?" Unconsciously, Mu Lingshan's voice changed a bit. She tilted her head, pinched her nose with the other hand, and bit her lip hard, just to hold back her tears.

"Haha, just joking, Shanshan, don't take it to heart."

Mu Chongyi sensed something was off with Mu Lingshan's voice, so he comforted her with a word, waited for two seconds, and then continued speaking.

"By the way, that unruly girl of mine didn't cause you or your parents any trouble, did she? Over the years, she was really spoiled by your grandmother. Her stubbornness gives me headaches. Even though she's a generation older, she's far behind you."

"You might not know, but she had a fight with me before leaving. She's been gone for a whole day and hasn't called me. Tell me, how can a child behave like that? It's truly worrisome. If she were half as good as you, I'd be content."

Mu Lingshan's tears finally fell. She tightly covered her mouth, not daring to let Mu Chongyi hear her choking, her heart in turmoil, with a strong impulse to tell Mu Chongyi about Mu Xiaoting's disappearance.

"Shanshan, since Tingting is with you, you don't need to treat her like an aunt. You're the same age, so you shouldn't always yield to her. If she does something wrong, just tell her. If she doesn't listen, tell me, and I'll settle it with her when she returns."

Mu Chongyi's voice continued, but Mu Lingshan didn't hear what he was saying. The guilt and sadness inside her were like a dam bursting, uncontrollable.

Finally, Mu Lingshan moved her hand away from her mouth and said hoarsely, "Grandpa... actually, Tingting... is missing."