Upon Her Lips - Chapter 14

Chapter 14

“You seem to have something on your mind.”

As Daolei spoke, he flicked his lighter to ignite the cigarette held between Mu Fei’s fingers.

Mu Fei watched the glowing ember, turned slightly, and took a deep drag. The smoke did little to soothe the uncharacteristic restlessness that had begun to settle over her. This sense of agitation was deeply uncomfortable. “The room was too stuffy. I came out for some air,” she said, attempting to explain away her unease as she gazed out the window.

“Do you find these individuals suspicious?” Daolei gestured to the list in his hand, where several names had been circled in red ink—names Mu Fei had ordered the estate manager to investigate the previous night.

They were suspected of illegal dealings with the Campbell family, involving smugglers from the lawless borderlands looking to turn a hefty profit. Of course, without concrete evidence, a final judgment could not yet be made.

Mu Fei shook her head. While she suspected foul play regarding the estate’s funds and the leaked membership list she had handled, the source of her current anxiety lay elsewhere. She felt—

“The manor.”

She uttered just two words.

Daolei reported immediately, “Before your meeting began—roughly an hour ago—Auntie Dai checked in. She reported that all is well at the manor.”

“Fine.” Hearing this, Mu Fei suppressed her inexplicable worry.

She tilted her head slightly just as a ball, thrown with considerable force, nearly clipped the back of her head. Still holding her cigarette, she turned and looked up to see which suicidal fool was responsible.

On the balcony of the hotel above, two young noble children were so terrified their knees had gone weak. They covered their eyes, not daring to meet Mu Fei’s gaze.

“Are you two in a hurry to lose your heads? Even I can’t save you from this,” a beautiful woman in a long gown appeared behind the boy and girl. She grabbed them both by their collars and leapt directly down from the second-floor stairs.

As the crowd watched, the unrestrained woman landed with such force that a flash of her black lace lingerie was visible beneath her skirt. She then forced her two children to bow their heads to the cold woman in the black dress.

“Our sincerest apologies, Grand Duke! We have learned our lesson!”

Mu Fei narrowed her icy eyes at the two brats. “Ms. Qi, is this your idea of discipline?”

Ms. Qi Qiongen of the Qi family was a business partner of Mu Fei’s and a regular at this estate. Her age was unknown, though her strength was clearly inferior to Mu Fei’s. However, her revealing attire and boisterous, uninhibited personality were often more than the stoic young head of the Mu family could handle. It was hard to believe such a noblewoman was the mother of two.

“Oh, the little ones didn’t mean it! They heard the Fun-Fair Amusement Park in the southern human territory was open and insisted on coming along—even though the Extreme Cold Realm [the vampire dark park] is much better suited for them,” Qi Qiongen explained with a hint of chagrin, her bright eyes carefully tracking Mu Fei’s every move.

Mu Fei was notoriously unpredictable. Rumor had it she detested children and found their crying unbearable. Having nearly been offended by her own children made Qi Qiongen’s heart race with fear.

Mu Fei took another drag of her cigarette, studying the pureblood children hiding behind their mother. Though they were only a few years old, they were far more robust than that poor little thing back at her manor.

That frail, stuttering little creature.

After a few seconds, her expression smoothed over. “Is that amusement park any fun?” she asked.

“Huh?” Qi Qiongen looked at her strangely. This was the last question she expected from one of the most mysterious and youngest heads of the Five Families.

Meeting Mu Fei’s daunting gaze, Qi Qiongen quickly nodded with a smile. “Ah… supposedly it’s quite good. It has an excellent reputation among the humans.”

“I see.” Mu Fei blinked her cold eyes, looking down at the two children trembling behind Qi Qiongen. They looked as if they were about to burst into tears.

Was she truly that terrifying? She hadn’t even intended to punish them.

She reached out her left hand and used her telekinetic pull to bring the ball rolling nearby into her palm. She had intended to hand the toy back to the children, but her grip was too forceful. The ball exploded instantly in her hand.

Mu Fei: “…” Daolei: “…!” Qi Qiongen: “…!!”

The two children began to wail in terror. They made a silent vow never to play in this estate again.

“Ah, Grand Duke Mu Fei is right to discipline them! They certainly shouldn’t be playing in a public lounge,” Qi Qiongen stammered, trying to diffuse the awkward, attention-grabbing scene.

Mu Fei’s eyes darkened. Such inferior quality for a ball—she wondered which factory had produced it. “I will send someone to your estate later to compensate you with equivalent toys,” she said coldly, then glanced at the stunned children and walked away.

Qi Qiongen wanted to say it wasn’t necessary, but Mu Fei’s tone brooked no refusal. Truly an unfathomable woman.

“Daolei.” “Yes.” “Why are you staring at me?” Mu Fei stopped, staring at the loyal old fox.

Daolei coughed. He didn’t dare suggest that she seemed to be changing, so he pointed at the cigarette in her hand. “Master, I was wondering if smoking in front of children sets a bad example.”

Mu Fei snorted and gave him a thin smile. Chilled by the look, Daolei immediately backtracked. “Though, of course, I think they’re old enough to handle it.”

Mu Fei paused for a few seconds before crushing the cigarette into an ashtray. After concluding the morning’s discussion, she declined an invitation from the estate manager, Mr. Gao. While holographic conferences were more to her liking, other families had attended this time. As the new head of the Mu family, she had to follow the “final wishes” of her sleeping father and resolve these thorny issues in person.

Suffice it to say, many were targeting her because of the leaked list. As one of the few young juniors at the meeting, the morning had been far from pleasant. She had stepped out during a break to find some relief.

Yet, even the biting cold wind could not sweep away the agitation in her heart. This strange, burning restlessness made her feel as if she were sinking into a swamp.

“Contact the manor.”

Mu Fei sat inside and gave the order. Auntie Dai’s face appeared on the projection before her.

“Master!”

Mu Fei arched an eyebrow. Her sharp eyes locked onto Auntie Dai’s forced composure. “Why are you covered in sweat?” she asked, her voice devoid of emotion.

Under the crushing weight of Mu Fei’s gaze, Auntie Dai dared not hide the truth.

“Master, I am deeply sorry. This is entirely my failure. You Ran… she has disappeared.”