Chapter 16: The Sixteenth Day of Wearing a Book – The Audio That Brings Peaceful Sleep

Lin Wan stood in a corner of the lobby at Rui Ming Xuan, from where she could see everyone heading toward the private rooms.

Actually, it was simple for her to want to know about He Chen’s schedule—this was true in the past and still true now—because he had never been guarded around her.

That’s why she had always believed that he loved her and would never leave her.

But now…

While thinking, she observed the private room that He Chen had reserved upstairs. After a short while, a familiar figure appeared in her line of sight.

It was her—Yun Shuning.

Lin Wan lowered her head expressionlessly. Some things were not convenient for her to handle herself because in everyone’s eyes, she was a gentle, considerate, and lively person.

She couldn’t break her relationship with He Chen, nor could she take the initiative to approach Yun Shuning.

But that was fine. Some things, someone else would be willing to do for her.

She took out her phone, glanced at the contacts, paused for a moment on the name “Yu Cheng,” then finally slid past and found another number. She dialed it.

Yu Cheng was too insane. If there were no special reason, it was better not to contact him.

When the call connected, Lin Wan choked up as she spoke: “Mu Qing, I suddenly realized that besides you, it seems like there’s no one familiar around me.”

“Can you come and keep me company?”

…

“It’s already lunchtime, and you’re technically working overtime without pay now.” Su Muqing looked at the only person working hard in the office area and walked up to tap on her desk. “Xiaolin Jie.”

“President Su.” Liu Xiaolin was startled and helplessly called out.

Su Muqing was the heir of the Su family and had recently been transferred to their branch company as the vice president.

He was the only heir of the Su family in Kyoto, so his title wasn’t ordinary. They had initially worried that Su Muqing would have the arrogance of a young master and be hard to get along with.

However, they were completely wrong. He respected the opinions of both the employees and leadership and rarely interfered with internal matters.

Moreover, he was very easygoing. Within a week of joining the company, he had already learned everyone’s name and frequently brought snacks and milk tea for everyone.

In just one month, he had become close with everyone.

“Still busy with work?” Su Muqing’s slightly curly hair, bright eyes filled with a warm smile, made him seem like a charming neighborhood boy.

“President Su, is this type of clothing especially comfortable? I haven’t seen you wear anything else.” After getting to know him, Liu Xiaolin had loosened up a bit and dared to joke with him.

Since arriving at the company, Su Muqing had always worn casual clothes, which suited his sunny, boy-next-door vibe, but didn’t match the company’s atmosphere.

“Xiaolin Jie, you’re starting to sound more like Secretary Li.” Su Muqing leaned against the wall, sighing as if helplessly, “Every day, the first thing Secretary Li says to me is this.”

“However, I can propose to the CEO that there should be freedom in clothing,” he straightened up, his amber eyes sparkling. “You all work so hard; in other aspects, comfort should be the priority.”

Liu Xiaolin nodded in gratitude. Just as she was about to say something, her phone notification went off.

Su Muqing kindly shifted his gaze to give her some private space.

She glanced at the contact list and chuckled helplessly: “I have a former junior schoolmate who knows I’ve been having insomnia lately. She insisted on sending me a recording of an anchor called Bi Mo, saying that listening to her voice can help with sleep.”

She was really grateful that her schoolmate remembered her, but this method didn’t seem reliable.

“Really magical?” Su Muqing snapped his fingers, sounding more teasing than expectant. “Then you must give it a try.”

Before leaving, he heard her accidentally press the play button.

His steps froze in place.

The video’s voice wasn’t long—only about three minutes. Once it ended, there was an eerie silence.

“Sounds good,” Liu Xiaolin said quietly after a while, breaking the silence, her tone full of praise.

She wasn’t sure if the audio would help her sleep, but after listening, she felt completely calm.

“Very nice.” Su Muqing, who had snapped back to reality, generously praised, “This is the best voice I’ve ever heard, no exaggeration.”

“Xiaolin Jie, remember to send it to me later. A voice this beautiful, I want to listen to it more than once.”

“Sure, no problem.” Liu Xiaolin nodded as she sent him the file.

“Thanks.” Su Muqing raised the phone in his hand, smiling brightly like the sunshine, “Xiaolin Jie, don’t forget to eat. I’ll head out now.”

He turned his head, briefly glancing at the phone, then casually looked away and walked out of the company.

Just as he reached his car, his phone rang.

He looked at the caller ID, surprised. “Wanwan, what’s wrong?”

“Where are you? I’m coming over now.”

…

The bar was just opening in the afternoon, and there were very few customers, so Su Muqing immediately spotted the person sitting in the corner.

“Wanwan.” He walked up to her, placing his hand on the bottle of alcohol in front of her.

“Why aren’t you calling me Senior anymore?” She looked at him, wrinkling her nose, her voice laced with a hint of drunkenness. “Junior, come drink with your senior.”

“What’s going on, Senior?” He emphasized the last two words, his voice becoming serious.

Lin Wan looked at him and lightly smiled: “Don’t look at me with that expression, it makes you look like a child pretending to be an adult.”

Su Muqing had a baby face, and just by looking at his face, people would think he was a high school student. Now, with a serious expression, he lacked any intimidation, and instead, he was even more adorable, making one want to pinch his cheeks.

“Come have a drink with me.” Lin Wan, no longer her usual lively self, lightly shook her head and smiled. “I just suddenly wanted to drink today.”

Su Muqing glanced at her, grabbed the glass in front of her, and drank it in one go. “Can I talk now?”

Lin Wan frowned as she was about to pour another drink, but he stopped her. She lowered her head, and when she looked up again, there were tears in her eyes.

“Muqing, do you believe there is love in this world that never deteriorates?”

Su Muqing paused with the glass in his hand, then casually sat across from her, his voice gentle: “Why did you suddenly think of this question?”

“I used to believe it existed.” Lin Wan took a deep breath, smiling somewhat sarcastically. “But today, I suddenly realized that human hearts are unpredictable. How could there be love that never changes?”

“Did He Chen do something?” Su Muqing raised an eyebrow, his expression hard to read.

“Who knows?” She shrugged, taking advantage of his distraction to pour herself another drink and down it. “I hope I misunderstood.”

“Wanwan Senior, have you really never considered someone else?” Su Muqing looked at her, his voice laced with a hint of temptation. “I’m younger than him, I love you more than he does. If you want, I can do much better than him.”

“Don’t joke around.” Lin Wan awkwardly changed the topic. “In my heart, you’ve always been the best friend.”

“Forget it, I’ve already gotten used to you rejecting me,” Su Muqing said, a faint hint of sadness crossing his face. He then smiled and drank the second glass of alcohol since he arrived. “I’ll take you home. Get some good rest.”

He stood up, walked to her side, and extended his hand. “Let’s go, senior.”

“I’m not done drinking yet.”

He raised an eyebrow, saying nothing but moving his hand a little closer to hers.

Actually, He Chen, Yu Cheng, and Su Muqing all shared some similarities—confidence, dominance.

“Let’s go, junior.” Lin Wan reluctantly extended her hand.

“Don’t be upset, senior.” He pulled her up, the space between them becoming somewhat ambiguous.

Lin Wan instinctively took a step back, not noticing the dark, unpredictable expression that briefly crossed the face of the person next to her. In an instant, he returned to his sunny and cheerful self.

After dropping Lin Wan off at her place, he returned to his villa. By then, it was already evening.

Su Muqing sensed the lingering smell of alcohol and furrowed his brows.

“Today at noon, He Chen had lunch at Rui Ming Xuan, with Yu Cheng and Yun Shuning.” — by Xu Zheng.

He Chen and Yu Cheng were like water and fire. How could they be dining together?

His gaze shifted to the name Yun Shuning. It seemed this person was not simple.

The one who made Lin Wan upset must be her.

But from the looks of it, it seemed that He Chen and she weren’t as close as Lin Wan thought.

As for what exactly happened, he would have to investigate carefully.

“Help me look up Yun Shuning. I want to know everything about her.”

Su Muqing casually threw his phone on the sofa and, upon returning home, no longer maintained his earlier expression. The cheerful, sunny demeanor he wore during the day had disappeared, leaving only a sense of darkness and melancholy.

At 10 p.m., he sat on the edge of his bed. His freshly washed hair was already dry.

He was someone who cared about health—or perhaps more accurately, someone who cherished his life. He didn’t smoke or drink, ate regularly, went to bed early and woke up early, and exercised every morning.

But despite this, he was still plagued by insomnia and nightmares every night. When he finally fell asleep, his dreams were filled with darkness or blood red.

Sitting on his bed, he glanced at the sleeping pills on his bedside table, casually taking out five, intending to swallow them.

However, he suddenly remembered he had just drunk alcohol earlier.

Thinking about it, he pulled out his phone and seriously looked up: “Can you take sleeping pills after drinking alcohol?”

The answer, of course, was—no.

His lips tightened in frustration, his face expressing an inexplicable sense of grievance, as if he were a big dog that needed to be petted.

It seemed he was going to spend another eight hours lying awake in bed tonight.

Just then, Su Muqing glanced at his phone, which had been tossed onto the bed. He suddenly remembered the audio Liu Xiaolin had sent him earlier that day.

He picked up the phone and, deciding to give it a try, clicked on the audio.

Since the host had used a regular microphone and the audio was recorded and edited, it sounded a little distorted.

But…

After the first listen, Su Muqing felt his heart calm down.

After the second time, he felt a little drowsy.

By the third listen, sleepiness surged over him…

When he next opened his eyes, it was already morning. The phone had shut off automatically due to low battery.

It was the best night of sleep he had in years—no nightmares, no blood-red faces of terrifying figures. Only a warm, gentle voice had lingered by his side.

He picked up his phone, eager to find the owner of that voice.

He remembered the name Liu Xiaolin mentioned for the host. Testing it, he typed “Bi Mo.”

Soon, a post appeared in front of him.

[Original Poster: It’s been 25 days since Bi Mo left. Can I still wait for her return?]

Su Muqing furrowed his brow, clicked on it, skimmed through it quickly, and then made a phone call.

“Boss, do you remember asking me to investigate someone last night? I stayed up all night to figure out Yun Shuning’s recent activities. I was just getting ready to look into her past when, at 8 a.m. today, you gave me another task.”

The voice on the other end sounded aggrieved and desperate. “You want me to look up a streamer. No problem. But why do you need it just an hour later? I’m only an assistant, not Superman, boss.”

After venting his frustration, the voice became calm and composed.

“Right now, Yun Shuning is walking in the park. As far as I know, this is her first time going out for a walk recently. It’s going to last for a while, so if you don’t want to illegally invade her home, it’s better to leave now.”

“As for that audio, I’ll handle it and send it to you before noon. Is that okay?”

“Send me her current location.” Su Muqing lazily listened to the complaints, feeling unusually lenient today after a good night’s sleep.

Since he had nothing to do, he might as well go meet the person who made Lin Wan upset.