His chest rose and fell under the blanket, and the skin beneath my palms was warm; I could faintly feel the healthy beating of his heart.
With a gentle smile that she herself didn't even realize, Bai Yan withdrew her hand.
Whatever the reason, if he is unwilling, she should not force him.
Because that's how he treated her too.
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Chapter Thirty-One
Because she caught a chill yesterday, Mu Xing slept quite soundly. When she woke up, her head was throbbing with pain.
She sat up, frowned, and rubbed her temples. Looking down, she realized that half of the blanket was gone. Startled, she quickly checked and found that the buttons on her shirt were still intact, which relieved her.
Don't stay up all night without giving yourself away, only to have your secret exposed early in the morning.
Suddenly, Bai Yan's voice came from the living room: "...Hmm, put it here..." Then the sound of high heels rang out, and she pushed open the door and walked in.
Startled, Mu Xing quickly crawled back into bed.
Yesterday, the sudden power outage prevented her from being exposed, but now that the darkness has taken its toll, her flaws will likely be immediately apparent.
Seeing her movements, Bai Yan teased, "Haven't you had enough sleep yet?"
Sensing the intimacy in her tone, Mu Xing felt happy, but when she saw Bai Yan holding her clothes, she immediately became nervous again.
Last night, after she changed her clothes, she handed them to the tea room to dry. Her bra was still inside!
Worried that Bai Yan would look through her clothes, she quickly covered her head and said, "I caught a chill last night and slept too soundly. Please forgive me, Miss Bai."
Upon hearing this, Bai Yan quickly put down her clothes, walked over in a few steps, and placed her hand on Mu Xing's forehead: "Does your head hurt? Should I go call a doctor to take a look?"
Her hands were warm, with a velvety feel. For some inexplicable reason, Mu Xing wanted Bai Yan to stay close to him a little longer.
"No fever, thank goodness. You can get up now, breakfast is already outside," Bai Yan said.
Her words and actions carried an intimacy she had never shown before. Mu Xing was initially quite pleased, but then she realized that Bai Yan's change was clearly due to what happened last night, because they had some kind of contact, which made them even closer.
Thinking about it this way, Mu Xing could no longer be happy.
She knew perfectly well that no matter how many excuses she used to cover it up, she was actually concealing her true identity from Miss Bai and deceiving her.
But if you want her to confess…
Mu Xing raised his head and looked at Bai Yan in front of him.
Noticing her gaze, Bai Yan smiled, her eyes filled with tenderness.
Would she be willing to do that?
Reveal your true identity and then cut off all contact with Miss Bai?
She had just learned another little secret about Miss Bai, had just had dinner with Miss Bai's friends, and had just... taken things a step further with Miss Bai, becoming even more intimate.
Would she be willing to do that?
After confirming that Mu Xing was alright, Bai Yan returned to the living room. Through the door, Mu Xing could even hear her humming a little tune softly.
Withdrawing her gaze, Mu Xing got out of bed and went into the bathroom to wash up.
Forgot to turn on the hot water, Mu Xing splashed the cold water on her face, which instantly cleared her dizzy head, but she quickly fell into a daze again.
In the beginning, didn't she just want to understand Miss Bai? She wanted to get close to her and explore her world.
Now she has taken it a step further.
Then, could we let her be a little selfish and indulge in the fantasy for a while longer before confessing?
After having breakfast in the guest room, Mu Xing and Bai Yan had just come downstairs when they saw her maid, Fu Guang, and driver, Uncle Song.
The two were sitting anxiously in the lobby, and Fu Guang, with his sharp eyes, spotted Mu Xing coming out of the elevator at a glance.
She rushed forward immediately: "Young Master!" Glancing at Bai Yan to the side, and enduring her young mistress's terrifying gaze, she quickly changed the subject: "Young Master!"
Mu Xing nodded in satisfaction.
Fu Guang hurriedly said, "Last night I received a message from the servant. Madam originally wanted to arrange a carriage to pick up the young master, but the section of Gaode Road was flooded and they couldn't get out until this morning when the road was cleared. Madam was very worried. Young master, let's go back quickly?"
She kept glancing at Bai Yan out of the corner of her eye, trying to guess which family's young lady she was.
Mu Xing said, "There's no rush to go home. I need to take this Miss Bai home first."
That's what she said, but she knew she absolutely couldn't let Uncle Song and Fu Guang know that Bai Yan was from Yuejiang. She had to get rid of them first before she could send Bai Yan back.
A thought flashed through her mind, and she said, "My change of clothes and books are still at the clinic. Go and get them for me, and then ask Dr. Zhao for leave for me, telling him that I can't go to the clinic today. Then you can wait for me at the flower shop on Huai'an Road."
Although Fu Guang wanted to take the young lady back as soon as possible to put the madam at ease, she couldn't openly disobey the young lady in front of outsiders, so she could only follow Uncle Song with many backward glances.
There was no time to lose, so Mu Xing quickly hailed two rickshaws to take Bai Yan back to Yuejiang.
This was her second time visiting Yuejiangli, but unlike the last time, it was now broad daylight, and all the houses that had been filled with laughter at night had closed their doors. The whole street exuded a cold and quiet atmosphere after the hustle and bustle, as if they had laughed too much at night and were unwilling to make a sound during the day.
The rickshaw wheels rattled on the stone pavement, and occasionally a woman's agonizing scream could be heard from a house, or a bucket of water might be suddenly poured down, eliciting shouts and curses.
Mu Xing turned to look at Bai Yan sitting in another car, only to find her staring blankly at everything in front of her, with a wooden silence.
We finally arrived at Yuhua Academy.
This bookstore wasn't much different from the one Mu Xing had visited last time, except for a slight southern accent. It was still early, and the bookstore was quiet. Bai Yan led Mu Xing in, eliciting only a few soft greetings.
As soon as I stepped into the lobby, a woman's shrill voice came from upstairs: "Oh, isn't this Sister Bai Yan? You've brought guests back, huh? I thought you weren't coming back!"
Mu Xing frowned.
But before Bai Yan could speak, a carved window upstairs suddenly opened, and a woman poked her head out, sneering, "Mo Lan, are you calling back your soul or practicing your voice so early in the morning?" It was Fei Hua.
After exchanging a glance with Bai Yan, Fei Hua closed the window.
The woman who had spoken first was taken aback and was about to retort when the nanny from the backyard walked in. She glanced at the woman and said, "Save your voices! The guests are still here, don't embarrass me!"
The sharp-tongued woman turned and went back to her room in anger.
As soon as her mother came out, Bai Yan went up to her and explained her whereabouts last night in a few words. Mu Xing also apologized politely.
Last night, Bai Yan's nanny came back and told her about Bai Yan and Mu Xing. My mother knew in her heart that Bai Yan wouldn't be coming back. The rules of the brothel state that young teachers cannot stay out overnight. This has been repeatedly emphasized, and now that Bai Yan has violated this rule, my mother is furious.
But she didn't expect Mu Xing to personally bring Bai Yan back.
She'd been running this brothel for years; she'd seen all kinds of men. To put it bluntly, for a customer to be so careful in bringing her lover back and going to the trouble of explaining herself—that was a sure sign that something was about to happen.
With her emotions weighed, the mother suppressed her anger and instead smiled as she thanked Mu Xing for bringing Bai Yan back.
Bai Yan saw this and knew that she wouldn't be punished today.
After safely delivering Bai Yan, Mu Xing was busy going home to deal with his own mother.
As soon as she left, the smiling mother immediately stopped smiling and took Bai Yan to the backyard. The girls who had already gotten up upstairs also went out to see the excitement.
"Have you lost your virginity?" Sitting on a chair in the backyard, Mom asked bluntly.
Bai Yan replied frankly, "No."
The women surrounding them immediately started chattering amongst themselves.
Mo Lan, who had just been subtly mocking Bai Yan upstairs, immediately retorted, "You've been out all night and still claim you haven't lost your virginity? You're kidding me."
With Mu Xing absent, Bai Yan sneered at Mo Lan, "Do you think everyone is like you? You spend all day wandering around like a ghost, just waiting to meet a man to take your virginity."
"You bitch!" Mo Lan couldn't argue with her, so she yelled and tried to attack.
"Quiet!" The pimp shouted imposingly, silencing the chattering group of women.
Fearing her mother would send someone to examine Bai Yan, Fei Hua, though finding it hard to believe, quickly said, "Mother, you have such good eyesight! You can tell just by looking at the way Bai Yan walks..."
Other girls who were on good terms with Bai Yan also chimed in to support her.
With hawk-like eyes, she stared at Bai Yan for a long time before finally speaking: "I've raised you all these years, putting in so much effort, hoping you could finally become a respectable person and maintain the family's image. You weren't lucky enough to get the young master Cui before, but if you delay again this time, you'll know the consequences yourself."
Bai Yan lowered her eyes and nodded.
After finishing talking about Bai Yan, the mother scolded the few unemployed gentlemen before leaving the courtyard.
As soon as her mother left, a group of women quickly grabbed Bai Yan and asked her what she had been doing last night.
Bai Yan naturally couldn't tell the truth, and just made up a few things. Fei Hua grabbed her: "Tell the truth, he really didn't touch you?"
Bai Yan said, "Really, no."
Fei Hua immediately exclaimed, "My goodness, he doesn't even touch such a handsome man, could it be that Young Master Mu is impotent?" A group of women burst into laughter and immediately started chattering about the yin-nourishing and yang-tonifying remedies they knew, wanting to write them down and give them to Bai Yan to keep.
Bai Yan laughed and scolded, "A bunch of sluts! Your man is the one who's no good!"
After they finished laughing, the group dispersed. Fei Hua pulled Bai Yan towards the room and said, "Seriously, you..."
Bai Yan immediately covered her mouth: "Don't you dare mention donkey penis soup again!"
Bai Yan only let go of Fei Hua's hand after Fei Hua swore that she would never mention donkey penis soup again.
Back in her room, after locking the door, Fei Hua asked, "What kind of person is this Third Young Master Mu? Does he intend to give you a big candle to light?"
Upon hearing her question, Bai Yan sat on the chaise lounge, lowered her eyes, thought for a while, and told the truth: "I don't know." Then, she omitted the details of last night and roughly recounted the events of the previous night to Fei Hua.
Frowning, Fei Hua shook her head: "You're already in the same bed, and he still won't touch you. Tsk, according to you, this Young Master Mu really needs donkey penis soup to replenish his energy... I'm just kidding, don't hit me! Ouch!"
After laughing and joking around, Bai Yan lay back in her chair and sighed, "I hope I didn't scare him."
Fei Hua clicked her tongue: "It's really hard to say."
Chapter Thirty-Two
Although Mu Xing was not frightened by Bai Yan, she felt guilty after that night and did not dare to see Bai Yan again for several days.
As spring gradually faded and summer approached, the number of people at the clinic decreased. With more free time, she spent her time at home reading the magazines that Song Youcheng had sent her.
Naturally, the main focus is on reading the novels written by Xiao Heren.
This is actually a very interesting thing.
Through each copperplate lettering, one can feel the emotions and feelings of the author beneath the words. It's a wonderful feeling, like peeling back the layers of text to reconstruct fragmented plots and emotions, weaving together a figure that is both strange and familiar.