Chapter 10

After that talk with Ling Ze, Mu Yang came away thinking the man was incredibly hypocritical.
Clearly he had feelings, yet insisted on calling it “sibling affection.”
The gathering ended on an awkward note, and that very night, Mu Yang started having the kind of dream you didn’t repeat out loud.
Jiang Wei’s delicate, vivid face, her big bright eyes, the rosy flush on her cheeks, all of it followed him into his sleep.
That soft, tender little mouth of hers traced along his lips, her breath coming shallow as her body melted into his. Her kisses slid slowly down, brushing his throat…
His mouth went dry. His breathing hitched.
Her gaze turned hazy and sultry as her lips wandered lower, drifting over his abdomen,
A flash of white burst behind his eyes, and he came undone.
Mu Yang groaned and rubbed at his temples, trying to soothe a pounding hangover headache. He pushed himself upright, and realized the “warm, wet sensation” at his abdomen was his two Dobermans enthusiastically licking him.
He swore under his breath and glanced down at his very obvious problem.
“Fuck.”
All that from one kiss.
There was no point pretending anymore. He’d well and truly fallen for that little junior.
With university starting, Ling Ze had become busy taking over parts of the family business. Too busy to come find her often.
It bothered her more than she wanted to admit.
She’d originally planned to keep her distance from that whole circle, but somehow, the more she tried to cut the ties, the more tangled they became.
It gave her a headache.
But if she didn’t act when something happened right in front of her, her conscience wouldn’t let her sleep.
The moment she entered the classroom that day, she heard,
“Wasn’t she dumped by Young Master Ling already?”
“Sooner or later, it was bound to happen.”
Rumors like that flew every day. She’d gotten used to ignoring them.
Thankfully, she still had Wen Ji to talk to, gentle and composed, far more mature than his age. Just hearing his voice calmed her.
Except today, he wasn’t there.
The teacher said he’d recently published a paper in a science journal. Professor Steven from University A had taken an interest.
He could go straight into University A, and then abroad as an exchange student. She didn’t know when, or if, they’d meet again.
She would have to work hard too. She would definitely become a lawyer who fought for justice, that was the future she’d already chosen for herself.
She was just about to settle down and focus when an uninvited guest appeared again.
Mu Yang.
He kept popping up in front of her, again and again. The less she responded, the more persistent he became.
“Can’t you at least think about me?” he complained. “You took a bullet for Ling Ze, don’t tell me you actually like him. Were you lying when you told me all that before? I’m telling you, he’s a complete hypocrite. Takes after his old man perfectly.”
At the mention of Ling Ze’s father, his own uncle, Mu Yang’s expression twisted with sarcasm.
His aunt had been such a gentle, soft-spoken woman. He still remembered when she came back to her parents’ house, always smiling, always pinching his cheeks before she left.
But slowly, she stopped coming back.
Later, when he missed her and went to see her himself, she scratched his face bloody, even with several maids holding her down.
After that, no one let him visit her again.
Only at her funeral did he learn she’d fallen into depression.
Back when they arranged her marriage, she’d had more than one choice. There were several powerful families on the list. The Ling family’s business was already starting to slip, but father Ling had a beautiful face, and his aunt had fallen for him at a glance.
And now here he was, dredging it all back up again.
Mu Yang shook his head to clear it.
“Senior, I’m about to take the entrance exams,” Jiang Wei said, exasperated. “And I really don’t like Senior Ling. I don’t like anyone. At my age, I should be studying. It’s not the time to date.”
His antics left her helpless, but in the end, she refused him steadily.
“For a while… could you stop coming by? You’re distracting me.”
It was only then that Mu Yang remembered, he was already at University A. She was still a third-year in high school.
“What’s the point of working this hard? Which school do you want to go to?” he asked.
The implication was obvious.
Jiang Wei’s mouth twitched.
These second-generation heirs, walking around with that “I’ve got people backing me up” attitude, how had he not gotten himself killed by now?
She met his gaze and answered firmly.
“Thank you for your kindness, Senior, but I want to rely on myself. I believe I can do it. Even if I accepted your help this time, what about next time? Is my life supposed to depend on other people showing up every time it matters? I don’t think that kind of life would mean much.”
Ha. She had quite the way with words.
Mu Yang couldn’t help laughing.
Fine. If she didn’t want help, then she didn’t want help.
“Then at least consider me. How about that?” he tried again.
“I… can’t.”
Another rejection.
He’d lost count of how many times she’d turned him down. The temper simmering in his chest was nearly boiling over.
Before he could say anything else, she was already hugging her mock exams and past papers to her chest and hurrying off.
Watching her retreating back, Mu Yang felt his anger spike straight to his head.
In his world, he didn’t even need to show interest, girls threw themselves at him. Back in high school, most of them had focused on Ling Ze, but in university, girls were even more realistic.
He wasn’t stupid. He knew most of them weren’t interested in him.
But Jiang Wei?
With her, he couldn’t get so much as a toe in the door.
He really didn’t know what to do with her.
That night, he went to consult his “military advisor.”
“Zhao Si, I need your opinion,” he said.
“Brother Mu, say the word,” Zhao Si replied.
“I have a friend, and in this situation, do you think… cough, cough… do you think my friend can chase this girl?”
Zhao Si slanted him a look, a wicked grin spreading across his face.
“I swear to God, wipe that look off your face and give me something useful,” Mu Yang snapped, shaking a fist.
The college entrance exams were creeping closer. Most of the students at their school had already gone abroad; the ones still here had complicated family backgrounds that made leaving inconvenient.
That night, it was nearly midnight by the time she left the library. She’d originally planned to sleep there, but remembered she’d forgotten to tell her grandmother she wouldn’t be home.
Rather than make her worry, she decided to go back first.
It was a stifling midsummer night. The air was thick and unmoving.
She’d barely walked a short distance before sweat soaked her hairline, damp strands clinging to the shell of her ears.
She’d planned to curl up and make do for the night in that little corner of the school. Walking home so late wasn’t exactly safe.
She decided she’d just crash in the infirmary.
But as she passed the school gate, she spotted Mu Yang waving at her, something in his other hand. At first she thought she was seeing things.
She rubbed her eyes.
Nope. Still him.
What is he doing here in the middle of the night?
When she got closer, Mu Yang flipped open a small square box.
Inside lay a diamond necklace, glittering even in the weak light, expensive at a single glance. The design, though, didn’t look like something a man would’ve picked out himself.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
His eyes were bright, almost excited.
Jiang Wei frowned slightly and glanced past him.
Behind Mu Yang, a sports car was stuffed full of roses, lush, velvety blooms spilling over, their heavy fragrance flooding the air and wrapping around her.
She couldn’t help sniffing once.
Then Mu Yang pushed the flowers and the gift toward her, arms full.
For some reason, her head slowly started to spin. Heat crawled up her face; her skin began to itch maddeningly. She couldn’t stop herself from scratching.
Under Mu Yang’s stunned gaze, she very gloriously passed out.
When she woke in the hospital, she could faintly hear him outside, cursing at someone.
“What the hell kind of trash idea was that?!”
“Sir, this is a hospital. Please mind your language.”
“…Okay, okay, nurse.”
Turned out she was allergic to pollen.
If Mu Yang hadn’t suddenly brought her flowers today, she wouldn’t even have known.
He pushed open the door just as she opened her eyes.
For a moment they just looked at each other. He seemed a little embarrassed, clearing his throat and rubbing his hands together.
“I didn’t know you were allergic to flowers,” he muttered.
She could tell he was trying to apologize, but a young master born at the top of the food chain just… couldn’t get the word out.
Jiang Wei pressed her lips together and smiled, choosing to be kind.
“I didn’t know either,” she said softly. “But… it’s my first time receiving roses. I’m really happy. Thank you, Senior.”
Her clear, luminous eyes looked at him gently, full of warmth and understanding.
They overlapped perfectly with the face that haunted his dreams, the same bright eyes, the same delicate features, and finally settled into the girl in front of him.
In that moment, Mu Yang realized just how different she was to him.
Even if Jiang Wei showed no interest in him, even if he suspected she liked Ling Ze…
It didn’t matter.
She was a wild gardenia from the countryside, pure white, carrying a soft fragrance, and to him, she was deadly.
Hearing her say that, his heart couldn’t help leaping.
He was the first man to ever give her flowers.
He couldn’t show too much on his face, though.
“As long as you like them,” he said coolly.
But before he could enjoy the feeling for long,
“Senior… could you not send anything else for now?” she added carefully. “If there’s something you want to say, can we talk after the college entrance exam?”
A bucket of cold water straight to the heart.
Jiang Wei watched the expressions flicker across his face and secretly thought he was a little funny.
But then she remembered the dream, Mu Yang, high and mighty, looking at her like she was trash, that cold, contemptuous gaze.
She quickly smothered the foolish thought that this young master might, in fact, be kind of cute.
Better to focus on studying.
Dream or not, men like him were best left alone. But he’d been so relentless lately that she was starting to feel cornered.
She could only soften the refusal, offer him a sliver of hope.
“I understand what you mean, Senior. My answer is still the same as before,” she said quietly. “But if you’re really that persistent… after the exams, I’ll give you a proper answer.”
At that, the little heart he’d been wringing dry suddenly thumped back to life, beating fast with hope.
He’d never in his life wanted an exam to come sooner.