Accusations of not wanting to marry: The prosecutor pressed him relentlessly.

As Mu Wangbei pushed open the door to leave, Mu Huai was about to get up and say a few words to his son about his attitude today.

But her father called her back.

Mu Sheng said calmly, "Let him be. There's always a process. At his age, it's normal for him to fall for a girl he likes. He'll face many more challenges in the future. The higher he climbs, the harder it gets. If his position isn't stable, how can he manage? No matter how good that girl from the Tang family is, she's not suitable for him. It's better to break it off sooner rather than later."

Mu Huai could only nod: "Dad is right to teach me a lesson."

"Young people are always impulsive and reckless at times, haven't you been one? It's alright. Let's continue eating."

The words were spoken so naturally that neither the father nor the son felt there was anything wrong with them.

The remaining three family members picked up their chopsticks again, but Chen Lai found no taste in his food.

As the daughter-in-law, it was inconvenient for her to interrupt at this time, so she silently lowered her head and remained silent.

In the years since she married Mu Huai, she has believed that she has done her best within her capabilities and fulfilled her responsibilities.

As a girl from a family of highly educated intellectuals, being chosen by Mu Sheng to be his daughter-in-law was seen by outsiders as an stroke of good luck, a marriage of high status.

The Chen family has a simple family structure. Both her parents are well-known scholars with respectable professions. In addition, she is naturally introverted. Over the years, although she has not been of much help to Mu Huai, she has never caused him any trouble.

However, there was no particularly strong affection between her and Mu Sheng.

Perhaps in her husband Mu Huai's eyes, it wasn't necessary.

From the very beginning, the two tacitly understood that this marriage was more about stability, harmony, solemnity, and dignity.

Her introverted nature doesn't mean she's dull; on the contrary, the more indifferent a person appears on the surface, the more sensitive they are.

When Chen Lai married Mu Huai, they had never been in a relationship. Mu Huai was seven or eight years older than her, and they didn't have many things in common. They often couldn't talk to each other, and Mu Huai couldn't talk to her about work. But she could sense that Mu Huai had feelings for her, but not love.

After nearly thirty years of marriage, she is now over fifty and will be able to retire in a few years. Talking about feelings seems ridiculous, but a casual remark from her father-in-law, Mu Sheng, still stirred something in her heart.

In her son's affairs, she, as a mother, didn't even have the right to ask questions.

In this family, she never had a say, especially when it came to her son's education and life planning. Her father-in-law and husband had their own plans, especially her father-in-law, who had high hopes for his grandson, which she could understand. But what he just said made her, as a mother, feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Although she didn't really like the girl, after meeting her twice, she felt that they weren't a good match and that they weren't compatible with her son.

But today at the dinner table, she suddenly thought about herself. In the eyes of outsiders, she and her husband should be a good match. Is their marriage just a microcosm of her son's future family life?

Will my son really be happy in this way?

Mu Wangbei drove back to the office to work overtime. When he arrived at the Supreme People's Procuratorate building, he didn't rush up.

On a weekend, there weren't many people coming and going from the Supreme People's Procuratorate building, and the parking lot was empty.

He took a pack of cigarettes from the center console and found there were only two left.

I've been smoking quite heavily lately, and whenever I have free time, I unconsciously reach for my cigarette pack. Sometimes I can't sleep late, and I stand on the balcony and smoke several cigarettes in a row.

Smoking is highly addictive, primarily due to the physiological dependence caused by nicotine in tobacco acting on the brain's reward system, as well as a complex process resulting from accompanying psychological, behavioral, and environmental factors.

He rarely smoked before, almost never. At that time, he didn't think he could control this psychological dependence, and there was no question of quitting smoking.

But now that I've started smoking again, I've become addicted, as if the smoke helps me relieve my frustration.

Thinking of this, Mu Wangbei smiled self-deprecatingly. It's hard to quit smoking, but it's even harder to quit sugar.

But what can we do? Life goes on, it's just a little boring and hard to get through. We won't die, we'll get through this withdrawal period and it'll be over.

As for whether the withdrawal process is painful or not? Nobody cares anyway.

After finishing the last two cigarettes in the pack, Mu Wangbei returned to his office to work overtime.

Haotian Law Firm had a lucky start to the year, landing a big project. The team was going on a business trip to the United States for a month or two, and Fang Youxi volunteered to pack her bags and set off.

Lu Tong's project coordination was temporarily handed over to Shen Lin. Lu Yanli also went on a business trip after the holiday and did not return to Beicheng until half a month later. When he returned, Fang Youxi had been away on a business trip for more than a week.

Lu Yanli realized something was wrong, so he called Tang Yi: "Yi, did Tangtang break up with Mu Wangbei?"

Tang Yi was in a meeting when Lu Yanli called him three times after hanging up twice. He thought it was something urgent, but the first thing Lu Yanli asked was this? He was furious: "Lu Yanli, you really have nothing better to do. Can't you wish my sister well? What does it matter to you whether she breaks up or not... What did you say? Tangtang broke up? How did you know?"

Lu Yanli was too lazy to waste words with Tang Yi; asking would be pointless.

I really feel that none of the four grown men in the Tang family—father, sons, and an old man—are thoughtful or considerate.

When he returned, he saw that the project contact person had changed, so he called Gao Li directly. It wasn't that she had to go to the American project, but Fang Youxi insisted on going, even using Lu Tong's contract renewal this year as a bargaining chip. Gao Li was also confused. Was someone in Beicheng trying to harm her? She had to go to America and suffer that ordeal, and she wouldn't get a single extra penny of the project commission.

Isn't this unusual?

Given the Lu family's connections, finding a spy for the Supreme People's Procuratorate would be easy.

A little inquiry revealed that Mu Wangbei had been working overtime every day since the Spring Festival. Their deputy director praised Mu Wangbei to everyone he met, saying that he was a role model for the younger generation, not only for his excellent professional skills but also for his impeccable work attitude.

Isn't this unusual?

Lu Yanli is now able to empathize with Fang Youxi about why she doesn't want to get married. The Tang family seems to care about her, but it's all superficial. Giving her some money and saying a few nice words is considered caring.

How could they be such a father and brother? Fang Tangtang is behaving so abnormally, and they still have no idea.

Lu Yanli thought for a moment, then entered Fang Youxi's phone number and dialed it. He didn't even need to look in his contacts; the number was easy to remember.

The phone rang for a while before being answered. A thick, impatient nasal voice came from the screen: "Lu Yanli, you better have something really serious to tell me, or I'll bite you to death."

Lu Yanli paused for a moment, then looked at the time. There was a time difference between China and the United States; it should be 5 a.m. in the United States at this time.

"Sorry, I forgot you're in a different time zone. What's wrong? Did you stay up late last night?"

"I didn't fall asleep until 2 a.m., what are you trying to do?" Fang Youxi felt like her head was about to explode. She had just closed her eyes when Lu Yanli woke her up. How could she have forgotten to turn off her phone and put it on silent before going to sleep? This is insane.

Lu Yanli thought for a moment, then asked directly, "Fang Tangtang, did you break up with Mu Wangbei?"