Chapter 45: Settling the Score After Autumn (Part 2)

Everyone gathered around, admiring the medals for a good fifteen to twenty minutes before finally urging Mu Zhuo to store them away properly.

Aside from these precious medals, the rest of the items were mostly food, clothing, and other daily essentials.

Mu Zhuo had brought gifts for every family member, including his two aunts’ families and his maternal uncle and aunt’s families.

With twenty to thirty people in total, it was no wonder he had two large bags.

It took nearly an entire afternoon to sort everything out and distribute them accordingly.

Some of the children had never seen certain items before. As Mu Zhuo organized his belongings, he explained everything to his younger siblings.

Xiao Mai and Xiao Miao were absolutely fascinated. Like two little puppies, they crouched nearby and didn’t move for the entire afternoon.

Even though they had never met this older cousin before, they instantly liked him.

As they neared the end of the sorting, Mu Mian got up and went to the kitchen to pour herself a mug of water.

After talking so much, she was getting quite thirsty.

Liu Shuangcui followed her in. “Is there any more cool water? Give me some too.”

Mu Mian handed her own mug over, her gaze falling on the stack of plates nearby. “Fourth Aunt and Little Aunt didn’t take their plates back?”

Liu Shuangcui glanced over as well. “They must have forgotten. I’ll take them to them in a bit.”

Mu Mian quickly stepped forward. “I’ll go.”

With that, she gathered up the plates and bowls belonging to the two families and headed out.

About twenty minutes later, Mu Mian returned after delivering the plates.

The moment she stepped through the courtyard gate, she sensed that something was off.

The house, which had been lively and bustling when she left, was now eerily silent—completely different from before.

She distinctly remembered that when she had left, Xiao Chengzi and Gutou were still pestering Mu Zhuo to play with them.

Just as she was wondering if everyone had gone out, she looked up and saw a group of people sitting together inside.

Not a single person was speaking.

Mu Mian was utterly confused. “What are you all doing?”

The moment she spoke, she immediately noticed that everyone was acting strangely.

Her parents and grandmother had guilty looks on their faces, avoiding her brother’s gaze.

Xiao Chengzi and Gutou had similar expressions. When she looked at them, the two immediately averted their eyes, looking as if they had done something wrong.

Her eldest brother, Mu Zhuo, sat to the side, appearing upset.

The last ones were the twin sisters, who looked around in confusion, clearly not understanding what was going on.

Before Mu Mian could figure out what had happened, she suddenly heard Mu Zhuo say, “Why didn’t anyone tell me about the incident with the human trafficker?”

Mu Mian’s eyes widened in shock. “!!!!!”

Oh no!!

She had completely forgotten about that!

It had been years ago, and she had practically erased it from her memory.

Mu Mian turned to look at Xiao Chengzi and Gutou. The two lowered their heads even further, making it clear that they had just spilled the beans.

Then, she shifted her gaze to the three adults.

Mu Fugui quickly shot her a meaningful glance, as if trying to say…

Daughter, say something quickly.

Your eldest brother is about to explode with anger.

Mu Zhuo was indeed furious, both angry and anxious.

Something this big had happened at home, yet he had no idea. Just thinking about how his little sister had almost been kidnapped made it impossible for him to forgive himself.

If he hadn’t left, if he had stayed home to take care of her, she wouldn’t have had to suffer like this.

Mu Zhuo’s eyes turned red. “Every time you wrote to me, you only said things were good. I really thought everything was fine. Something this serious happened, and you didn’t even let me know. I…”

Seeing her brother so upset, Mu Mian’s eyes turned red too. Before he could finish, she quickly said, “Except for that one time, everything really has been fine. We didn’t want you to worry. If you knew, you’d be anxious, and what if you got distracted while on a mission?”

Mu Fugui chuckled twice, trying to lighten the mood. “That’s right, that’s right, everything is really fine. Just look at Mian girl, growing like a strong little calf. If she wasn’t doing well, could she look like this?”

Mu Zhuo opened his mouth, about to speak.

But Mu Fugui continued, rattling on, “Every time you write back, don’t you also say everything is good? Just look at all those medals you brought home. Could you have earned them without getting hurt?”

He had only said it casually to change the subject.

Who would have thought that the moment the words left his mouth, Mu Zhuo visibly stiffened, his face showing obvious guilt.

The old lady immediately stood up in alarm. “You really got hurt? Where? How bad is it?”

Liu Shuangcui was even more direct, reaching for his clothes. “Take off your shirt and let us see.”

A moment ago, Mu Zhuo had been full of anger and frustration. Now, he instantly turned into a shy little boy, crossing his arms over his chest to stop his mother from undressing him. “Mom, what are you doing? My little sister is right here! She’s a grown girl now, this isn’t appropriate.”

Mu Mian, standing to the side, snorted. “So just because I’ve grown up, I’m not your real sister anymore?”

Mu Zhuo was at a loss for words. “That’s not what I meant, not at all.”

But in the end, two hands were no match for four. His short-sleeved shirt was pulled off by Liu Shuangcui and her mother-in-law.

Scars of all sizes covered his chest and back, all of them new since he had left home.

The worst one was on his back—a long, jagged scar nearly twenty centimeters long. It was deep and wide, looking incredibly gruesome.

Mu Mian’s tears instantly fell. “How did this happen?”

She had always known that her brother only shared the good news and never the bad. But actually seeing these scars in front of her still made her heart ache unbearably.

Mu Zhuo faced several pairs of red-rimmed eyes, panicking as he hurriedly explained. “Oh no, don’t cry, little sister! These are just small wounds. They’re not life-threatening, they just look scary.”

“I knew you’d start overthinking if you saw them, so I didn’t want to show you.”

“Really, they’re not serious at all. None of them reached the bones. The one on my back happened during a flood rescue. I accidentally hit a rock. There was a lot of blood at the time, but it didn’t hurt anything important.”

“I swear, look at me now. I’m completely fine, moving around just like normal.”

“This one on my shoulder happened during joint training.”

“And this one…”

Mu Zhuo explained each one in detail. He wasn’t lying—this was exactly how things had happened.

In his line of work, cuts and bruises were just a part of life.

In fact, he was considered lucky. He had never suffered a truly fatal injury, only that his skin scarred easily. Even the tiniest wound would leave a mark that wouldn’t fade for years.

As he kept talking, the others finally calmed down.

Mu Mian reached out to touch one of the scars. “Does it still hurt? Does it itch when it gets cold?”

She knew her brother well. If he said it was fine, then he really meant it.

Now that she thought about it, her brother probably had a tendency to scar easily. It hadn’t been obvious before since he rarely got hurt. But now, it was clear he had inherited it from Liu Shuangcui.

Their mother’s hands had several scars too, all from small work-related injuries that never faded.

Back in this time, people didn’t have a name for it. They just knew that some people healed fast while others took longer.

Seeing that the mood had finally returned to normal, Mu Zhuo let out a huge sigh of relief and casually said, “It’s nothing! Once the wounds heal, they don’t hurt or itch anymore.”

Sensing the shift in the atmosphere, the younger children, who had been quietly observing from the side, finally dared to speak.

Xiao Miao glanced around before stepping forward. She was always eager to be part of any conversation. Stretching out her small leg, she announced, “I have a scar too! I fell last time, and it still hasn’t healed. It hurt so much I cried.”

The old lady gave her a look. “Didn’t I tell you not to climb that ladder? You didn’t listen. Who’s to blame?”

Xiao Mai nodded seriously. “It’s Miaomiao’s own fault for not listening.”

Xiao Miao stuck out her tongue and quickly hid behind Xiao Chengzi.

As the little girl played around, Mu Mian glanced back at her brother.

Mu Zhuo immediately met her gaze. Brother and sister locked eyes.

After a brief pause, Mu Mian was the first to speak. “Then let’s call it even. I didn’t tell you about what happened, and you didn’t tell me about your injuries. From now on…”

She paused for a second or two before declaring in a childishly serious tone, “From now on, we have to tell each other everything. No more hiding. Whoever lies is a little puppy!”

Mu Zhuo felt like something was off. Their situations weren’t even remotely the same.

His little sister had nearly been kidnapped, her life in danger.

He had just gotten some flesh wounds that only looked bad.

But when he met his little sister’s wide, earnest eyes, Mu Zhuo finally nodded. “Alright, it’s a deal. I don’t want a little puppy for a sister!”

Mu Mian chuckled and said, “I don’t want a big dog brother. I already have…”

Shiyi.

The last few words got stuck in her throat because, at that moment, Nie Sihui’s voice suddenly came from the doorway. “Xiao Mian, are you home?”

The main room’s door faced the courtyard gate directly. Almost the moment Nie Sihui spoke, Mu Zhuo reacted, realizing that he was still shirtless. He quickly grabbed his clothes from his mother.

His movements were so abrupt that Nie Sihui, who hadn’t been paying much attention, instinctively glanced over.

She didn’t see much—just a flash of a tanned, muscular torso.