"Jingmei..." After regaining her composure, Mu's mother instinctively wanted to run after Mu Jingmei.
However, Mu Deyi behind her finally couldn't hold on any longer. The stick in his hand fell to the ground, and his whole body toppled backward.
"Watch out!" Seeing this, Song Nianchu rushed forward.
Fortunately, she was quick, barely managing to catch Mu Deyi.
Otherwise, if he had fallen straight back like that, hitting the back of his head on the ground, he could have been gone just like that.
"Deyi!" Seeing the unconscious Mu Deyi, Mu's mother forgot about chasing Mu Jingmei and hurried back to his side, tears falling in large drops.
Song Nianchu pressed on Mu Deyi's philtrum. Seeing no response, she unbuttoned one of his shirt buttons, laid him flat on the ground, and began performing CPR.
"Deyi, don't scare me." Mu's mother's voice trembled violently, and she was completely at a loss.
Song Nianchu wasn't disturbed by her, maintaining the rhythm of the compressions. After several cycles, Mu Deyi finally came to with a groan.
Huff...
Song Nianchu let out a long sigh of relief. It was good she knew some first aid, otherwise there would have been a death today.
"Deyi, are you alright?" Mu's mother saw Mu Deyi open his eyes and quickly leaned in.
Mu Deyi's lips moved as if he wanted to speak, but he couldn't utter a single syllable.
"His emotions aren't stable yet. I'll carry him back to the room to rest. You go quickly and call Mu Shi'an back." Song Nianchu effortlessly picked up Mu Deyi.
"...Alright." Mu's mother was now utterly distraught and followed Song Nianchu's instructions without question, scrambling up to find Mu Shi'an.
"..."
By the time Mu's mother returned with Mu Shi'an, Mu Haoxuan, and Mu Yongnian, Mu Deyi's condition had slightly improved.
"Dad, are you okay?" Mu Shi'an's tone was urgent.
"I'm fine..." Mu Deyi's voice was weak, but at least he could speak normally now.
Mu's mother immediately breathed a sigh of relief, nearly collapsing to the ground.
"What happened? How did you suddenly faint for no reason?" Mu Shi'an asked gravely.
When his mother had run to get him, she had been sobbing and crying, unable to form a complete sentence. She only told him his father had fainted, so he had run all the way back.
"Your sister... she actually... is actually seeing Yang Dafu!" Just mentioning this made Mu Deyi's emotions unstable again.
"Don't get too agitated." Song Nianchu quickly soothed him.
Given Mu Deyi's already poor health, she was afraid his agitation might trigger other complications, which would be troublesome.
"What did you say?" For a moment, Mu Shi'an wondered if he was hearing things when his father said that.
But Mu Deyi couldn't bring himself to say it a second time.
Mu Shi'an directly turned to look at his mother beside him.
"Mom, what on earth is going on?" His voice was extremely stern.
"Your sister... has been saying she's not feeling well these past couple of days, hardly going to work..." Mu's mother began, choking back sobs.
"Your father was worried there might be something wrong with her health and wanted to take her for a check-up, but your sister refused."
"But your father wasn't reassured. This afternoon, he specifically asked the village chief for leave, got a permit, and wanted to take your sister to the hospital. But as soon as he got home, he saw..." Mu's mother couldn't continue.
"Saw what?!" Mu Shi'an pressed firmly.
"He saw your sister... hugging Yang Dafu..." At this point, Mu's mother could no longer hold on and burst into heart-wrenching sobs.
Mu Shi'an stood frozen in place, his hands clenched tightly into fists at his sides.
Yang Dafu!
She was actually seeing Yang Dafu.
"From now on... that rebellious girl is no longer part of this family... She'd better not come back, or I'll... beat her to death..." Mu Deyi on the bed spoke through gritted teeth.
"Where is Jingmei?" Mu Shi'an was the most composed among everyone.
"Just now, your father was so angry he tried to hit her. She even talked back to him. I slapped her, and she ran out..." The hand Mu's mother had used to slap Mu Jingmei was still trembling uncontrollably.
"Shi'an, go find your sister and bring her back. She must have just lost her head for a moment. Talk some sense into her. Yang Dafu is no good." Mu's mother pleaded with Mu Shi'an.
"I understand. You take good care of Dad. I'll go find her." Mu Shi'an turned and headed for the door.
Song Nianchu glanced at Mu Deyi, who had closed his eyes again on the bed, instructed Mu Haoxuan and Mu Yongnian to look after him, and then turned to follow Mu Shi'an.
Mu Shi'an's face was dark, and his steps were swift.
"Shi'an, I'll go tell Uncle Zhengui and ask everyone to help search." Song Nianchu caught up to him.
But Mu Shi'an seemed not to hear, continuing forward on his own.
"Shi'an." Song Nianchu grabbed his arm.
Feeling the warmth from her palm, Mu Shi'an's rationality was finally pulled back slightly.
"Shi'an, don't be impulsive. Whatever it is, I'll face it with you." Song Nianchu looked at him with intense concern.
Seeing the worry in her eyes, Mu Shi'an's tightly clenched fists slowly relaxed.
"How dare she! Yang Dafu nearly drove our whole family to ruin before. How could she still get involved with him?" Mu Shi'an's words seemed forced from his throat, carrying boundless coldness.
"Let's find her first, then talk." Song Nianchu sighed.
In her past life, she had heard from one of her employees that when girls rebel, they can be harder to handle than boys.
The employee said her daughter had an early romance, stole all the cash and jewelry from home one night while they were asleep, and ran off with that delinquent.
The mother was so desperate she almost quit her job to search. Song Nianchu gave her half a month off. When she returned, she looked at least a dozen years older.
Because her daughter was already pregnant with the delinquent's child, and they had no choice but to consent to them being together.
Mu Shi'an nodded.
As the matter wasn't exactly honorable, Song Nianchu didn't elaborate much. She only said Mu Jingmei had a quarrel with the family and ran off, asking everyone to help look.
Unfortunately, the entire village combed through every corner, but they simply couldn't find Mu Jingmei.
"Could she have done something foolish?" Wu Zhenggui looked at Song Nianchu with concern.
After all, girls at that age can't handle much distress.
"She wouldn't." Mu Shi'an spoke up.
"But we've searched the whole village, even went up the mountain. We just can't find her." Wu Zhenggui frowned.
Mu Shi'an's gaze darkened. As if thinking of something, he turned to Wu Zhenggui.
"Village Chief, thank you all for today. Please let everyone get back to work. Don't let our family's affairs delay the village's matters."
"This..." Wu Zhenggui hesitated, his eyes shifting to Song Nianchu as if seeking her opinion.
