Volume One, Chapter 25: Hit Where You Point

Zhu Peng stared at Yu Mo as if watching a clown.

“Hurry up and answer it. If it really is the Crown Prince, I can’t wait any longer. Go on, let your Crown Prince make his move!”

Yu Mo let out a derisive laugh.

She lifted her bright eyes and asked Zhu Peng, “Do you really want the Zhu family to go bankrupt that badly?”

“Yes, I do! Go on, bankrupt my family if you’ve got what it takes—don’t hold back, show us all your strength!”

Yu Mo ignored him. Her long lashes lowered as her smooth fingertips tapped lightly across her phone screen.

The call connected.

“Mo Mo.”

A cool, clear voice came through the speaker, striking Yu Mo’s eardrums. His timbre was captivating, magnetic as a late-night radio host.

Yu Mo nearly lost herself in his voice.

That voice…

It took her a few seconds to realize—Mu Shaozhou actually called her.

She almost blurted out, “How did you get my number?”

“Zhou,” she replied without missing a beat. Since he’d called her “Mo Mo,” she couldn’t afford to fall short. Though she couldn’t fathom why Mu Shaozhou would suddenly address her so affectionately.

The crowd seemed to have heard something hilarious; someone couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Fu Yanting also let out a cold, mocking laugh. He shot Yu Mo a frosty glare.

“Yu Mo, stop putting on this act. Do you really think we’re idiots?”

Lin Hua felt like she’d finally vented her anger. Her lips parted as she spoke, “Yu Mo, maybe you should just go home first. If you stay here any longer…”

The mocking laughter only grew louder.

Yu Mo swept her gaze over the crowd in front of her, especially Fu Yanting and Zhu Peng. There was a calm, queenly aura between her brows; her bright, lively almond eyes blinked lightly. Her lips parted slightly, her tone light as air.

“What if the person calling really is the Crown Prince?”

Another wave of laughter rippled through the crowd. Someone clutched their stomach, pointing at Yu Mo, unable to stop laughing.

Mu Shaozhou’s gentle voice came through the phone again. “Yu Mo, put me on speaker. I have something to say.”

He added, “Don’t worry. I know roughly what’s going on.”

Yu Mo hesitated for a moment, then turned on the speakerphone.

The man’s cool, indifferent voice sounded, not loud, yet enough to reach everyone present.

“Zhu Peng, the woman in the news photos is Yu Mo, my girlfriend. Do you have any objections?”

Such a lengthy statement had never been heard even in news interviews. The speaker’s tone was unhurried, yet carried the commanding presence of a king, making people instinctively feel awe.

Zhu Peng’s face darkened.

Seeing how serious Yu Mo looked, he was actually starting to doubt whether the man on the phone might really be the Crown Prince.

“Yu Mo, do you think you can fool us by finding any man to impersonate the Crown Prince?”

He clung to his last bit of stubbornness. Unless the Crown Prince appeared before him in person, he would never acknowledge Yu Mo’s claim.

“Exactly—we’ve never actually seen the Crown Prince. How do we know it’s him just by his voice?”

“Let the Crown Prince come here and we’ll believe you.”

Doubts bubbled up, though quietly, as if afraid the man on the phone would overhear.

Just as everyone was still questioning whether the voice belonged to the Crown Prince, a video window popped up on the phone screen, revealing a handsome face masked in gold.

Yu Mo turned the phone screen toward the people present.

There was no mistaking the owner of that mask; everyone knew who he was.

Who else could it be if not the Crown Prince?

Zhu Peng stepped forward, about to snatch the phone from Yu Mo’s hand.

She quickly pulled it back.

Mu Shaozhou’s icy voice came from the phone.

“Zhu Peng, Zhu family, is it? Dai Ming will contact Zhu Group to handle bankruptcy proceedings.”

Yu Mo also switched on her video and nodded enthusiastically at Mu Shaozhou. “Yes, yes, don’t get it wrong—it’s Zhu Jewelry’s Zhu family.”

She was utterly enamored with Mu Shaozhou’s ability to strike exactly where needed.

“Mm, noted,” Mu Shaozhou replied, his voice laced with a steady chill, though those present seemed to hear a hint of… tenderness?

Everyone gasped in astonishment. They all realized they had thoroughly offended Yu Mo today, and the road ahead was likely to be difficult.

Fu Yanting could hardly believe his eyes and ears. His pupils trembled, and he took a step back.

Scenes from the birthday banquet and Blue Pavilion flashed through his mind—Mu Shaozhou’s care for Yu Mo.

He should have realized sooner. A man like Mu Shaozhou would never idly meddle in a woman’s affairs.

He was speechless.

When did Yu Mo get together with the Crown Prince? Did she know him while they were still dating?

Suddenly, a green shadow seemed to flash over his head.

He clenched his teeth, pointing at Yu Mo.

“Yu Mo, when did you get together with the Crown Prince? We’ve only broken up for a few days, and now you’re his girlfriend. Were you seeing him while you were with me? Tell me now!”

Fu Yanting’s body shook violently.

Yu Mo glanced at him, just about to answer.

Mu Shaozhou’s voice came from the phone.

“Fu Yanting, you were the one who didn’t cherish her. When she needed you, you weren’t there. What right do you have to ask her this now?”

Silence fell over the crowd; the air grew heavy and tense.

“You let her go. Only then did I have the chance to cherish and protect her as she deserves.”

Yu Mo gazed at that sharply defined face on the screen. Every word he spoke shook her to the core.

He spoke as if it were all true.

As if he really had been silently watching over her for a long time, and now, after her breakup with Fu Yanting, his heartfelt joy was genuine, not an act.

Yu Mo was stunned.

Lin Hua, standing next to Fu Yanting, also stared in shock, her eyes wide.

This time she truly sensed the Crown Prince’s special care for Yu Mo.

He genuinely cared for her?

Impossible!

She could never accept it.

Fu Yanting looked at that face on the screen, those long, deep, razor-sharp eyes beneath the mask.

Each word cut through him like a knife.

Though he hated to admit it, Yu Mo, aside from her lack of family background, surpassed other women in every way.

When he first met her, he sensed she was different.

Her smile was radiant, like the blazing sun of summer—she carried no gloom, only a luminous cheerfulness that made his own heart leap.

But later, she began following him everywhere, clinging to him like a shadow.

He grew annoyed.

Such a humble woman wasn’t what he wanted.

Gradually, the only thing left in his gaze for her was contempt.

He looked at her as if she were a worthless ant.

He was the sole heir of the Fu family—how could he ever marry someone of Yu Mo’s background?

A woman who fawned over him at every turn.

Would the Crown Prince really like her?

With this thought, Fu Yanting curled his lips in scorn.

“So the Crown Prince likes picking up other people’s trash?”

An uproar broke out.

Only Young Master Fu would dare speak so bluntly to the Crown Prince.

That was the Crown Prince!

Wasn’t Fu Yanting afraid the Fu family would be ruined?

Lin Hua hurriedly tugged his arm, her voice trembling as she whispered, “Yanting, how can you say that to the Crown Prince?”

Even if the Crown Prince did like collecting Yu Mo’s castoffs, you couldn’t just say it outright.

That was far too disrespectful.

After the brief commotion, silence settled once more.

All eyes were on the phone in Yu Mo’s hand.

The man on the other end didn’t seem angry at all. He remained calm and composed.

The golden mask shimmered with dazzling light. The man’s thin red lips curved into a faint smile, and he spoke a few words softly.