Xiao Yuan looked at him again, "Sorry? Your injury is more serious than mine. Come to think of it, I'm the one who beat you."
Yan Minyu chuckled, but her eyes were fixed on Hang Yisu. "That's right, that's right, Xiao Yuan defeated the famous Young Master Hang."
Hang Yisu smiled wryly and shook his head.
Xiao Yuan closed the door, recalling the tender smiles her senior sister and Hang Yisu had exchanged earlier. Her senior sister… she had someone she liked too. A faint pang of sadness welled up in her heart. From now on, her senior sister no longer belonged only to them. No wonder even someone as carefree as Yuan Xun felt a little lost.
Someone pushed the door open forcefully from the outside. Caught off guard, she stumbled forward from the impact. She turned around, somewhat annoyed, only to see Murong Xiao barging in, looking completely drunk.
"What are you doing?" She looked at him with some disgust. A man who had been rejected by Xiao Juyuan and was drunk had barged into her room, making her feel nauseous just looking at him!
Murong Xiao didn't answer, but instead closed the door and bolted it.
Xiao Yuan was slightly flustered and shouted, "Why are you closing the door? Speak quickly if you have something to say, and then leave!"
Murong Xiao's smile was almost sinister. He took a step forward, forcing her to retreat repeatedly until she bumped into the bedpost. "I have nothing to say." He hiccuped, and Xiao Yuan turned her head away in disgust.
"All there is is action!" He pounced on her and roughly pinned her to the bed.
"You're insane!" Xiao Yuan struggled with all her might, kicking and punching, but in her panic, she had no fighting skills. In terms of martial arts, she was no match for him, and in terms of strength, she was even less of a match. In just a few moves, Murong Xiao struck her pressure points, leaving her limp and powerless on the bed.
He didn't silence her, and in her desperation, she shouted, "Help!" It was still daytime, and many people passed by her door, so she shouldn't have any trouble being rescued.
Murong Xiao grinned lewdly, and with a "whoosh," tore her clothes. Xiao Yuan screamed, her face deathly pale. "Stop! Stop! Aren't you afraid of being seen?!" In her panic, she could only utter these weak words, desperately shouting, "Help me! Help me!"
Murong Xiao bit her shoulder, "I'm not afraid, I wish the whole world knew I'd taken you! Shout, shout as loud as you can! I love it when women moan in bed!"
The smell of alcohol on him, the taste of his saliva, made her want to vomit. His tongue licked her skin, the cool sensation sending shivers of disgust through her body! Who could save her? Who could save her?!
The door was violently shattered into pieces. Murong Xiao knew someone was coming, so he quickened his pace and tried to pull down Xiao Yuan's pants.
Sunlight suddenly streamed in through the broken door, blinding her eyes. She felt a sudden lightness as Murong Xiao, who was pressing down on her, was shoved against the wall by internal force and then violently thrown out the door.
She blinked, finally stopping the torrent of tears. She could see again, and her eyes darted around blankly. A white figure stood trembling in the doorway, its back to her…
"Pei Junwu!" Murong Xiao's voice was choked with sobs in the courtyard; he must have been seriously injured and coughed up blood. "Why are you meddling in my business!"
Pei Junwu took a deep breath, but still couldn't stop trembling all over. "Get out! Get out before I can still hold back from killing you!" he coldly hissed.
Murong Xiao burst into laughter, "Stop pretending to be a saint, Pei Junwu! Aren't you also eyeing what you don't have? Look how angry you are! You want to sleep with her too, don't you? You're just afraid of offending Xiao Juyuan, aren't you?"
He roared in exasperation, his hands flipping violently, causing a chaotic clatter of bricks and stones to collapse in the courtyard. Dust billowed out and flew into the house, dancing arrogantly in the sunlight.
Murong Xiao's voice came from the rooftop, growing fainter and fainter: "Pei Junwu, I pity you! You can't even touch a pretty woman! You're only better off than a eunuch—"
Pei Junwu stood stiffly for a long time before slowly turning around to look at her.
He hesitated for a moment, then quickly stepped forward and released her pressure points, glancing away as he pulled the blanket over her naked body. Her wounds had reopened from the violent struggle, and blood dripped onto the bed.
"Your injury..." His heart clenched, filled with hatred and anger. He wanted to chase after Murong Xiao and kill him, no matter how much the Murong family resented him!
She had calmed down and was silently watching his unsettled face. He was taken aback by her mocking gaze.
"You can leave now, 'Senior Brother Pei'." She smiled, a smile that made his heart ache even more.
With a stern face, he applied pressure to her acupoints to stop the bleeding and bandaged her wounds and applied medicine without allowing her to refuse.
"Hurry up, Xiao Juyuan is coming soon. If she sees you... you won't be able to say anything." She said in a gloating tone.
He ignored her, his brows furrowing even more.
"Xiaoyuan, stop being so stubborn." He didn't look up at her. "If you want to cry, then cry."
Her heart ached at his tender words, but she forced herself to smile: "Senior brother, even if I wanted to cry, I shouldn't be in front of you."
"Xiao Yuan!" He finally lost his temper, his bright eyes glaring at her. She saw the burning passion and pain overflowing in those usually cold eyes.
“Actually… Murong Xiao is right.” She looked into his eyes and said, those were such captivating eyes; one look from them could make your heart melt. “You want Xiao Juyuan’s money, and you want my body, don’t you?”
His gaze turned cold, returning to a deep darkness.
"You and they are all cut from the same cloth!" she sneered, her voice shaking her chest as if it had also shaken her heart, causing it to ache.
The Smiling Flower, Chapter 36: The Pei Family Precepts
The long row of candles in the back hall of the Pei family was tilted to one side by the wind, and everyone's shadows swayed like ghosts. No one spoke; everyone frowned and kept their mouths tightly shut.
The first time Xiao Yuan saw Pei Junwu sitting in the main seat, Pei Fuchong and Gui Datong looked at Murong Hui kneeling in the hall with disdain, sitting to his left and right. Neither of them spoke, but their eyes fully expressed their resentment.
“Brother Pei…” Murong Hui’s tears fell in streams. The moment she uttered this address, Pei Junwu gave her a cold glance. She trembled slightly and changed her words, saying, “Young Master Pei, please be magnanimous and forgive my brother this time! He has always been muddle-headed and reckless. When we return this time, our entire Murong family will come to apologize and make amends. We only hope to spare my brother’s life.”
Xiao Yuan sat in the lowest chair, in the darkest spot in the candlelight. She watched them in the bright light, as if watching a good show that had nothing to do with her. Indeed, it seemed to have nothing to do with her; she was the one who was insulted, she was the one who was hurt, yet Murong Hui was begging for forgiveness and apologizing to Pei Junwu.
Only by becoming strong can one become the protagonist.
“Your father and I…we have some connection. I didn’t kill him on the spot because your family only has this one lineage left.” Pei Junwu’s tone was calm and firm. His voice was not loud, but it made people’s hearts tremble.
"Thank you, Young Master Pei, thank you, Young Master Pei." Murong Hui kowtowed, tears streaming down her face, thinking she had escaped this calamity. But Pei Junwu hadn't finished speaking.
"Don't let me see him again! Once he has a son, I will take his life and settle accounts with your father and your Murong family."
Murong Hui's face turned pale, and she opened her mouth but couldn't utter a single word for a long time. Before, when they lived in the Pei family, he could be a kind older brother, though not necessarily a loving one. But once angered, he was a vengeful Yama, capable of crushing their entire family like an ant with a single finger.
“Brother Wu.” Xiao Juyuan couldn’t help but stand up from his chair. “Huihui begged you like that, Brother Murong… Murong Xiao was just confused because he was drunk…”