069 Never Giving Up
When Qin Beichu reached the staircase, Mu Qingcheng was already halfway down the stairs to the first floor.
Seeing this, he hurried after her, catching up in just a few steps and grabbing her arm.
But in the very next instant, she jerked herself free with force...
“...Qing—Mu, I—I was just worried about you,” Qin Beichu stammered, regret flooding him. He shouldn’t have acted so impulsively and pulled her like that.
After all, she’d told him before—they weren’t close enough for such familiarity.
And judging by her reaction, Mu Qingcheng truly detested being touched.
Now, she slowly turned to face him, her expression even colder than usual, hints of frost in her eyes.
She looked at Qin Beichu, frowning, but didn’t speak right away.
Only after several seconds did she sigh, as if reigning in her emotions, and said,
“Senior, please go. I want to be alone.”
With those words, she turned again and continued up the stairs.
Watching her resolute figure ascend, Qin Beichu sensed something amiss, but couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
He lingered there on the staircase for a moment, uncertain, and by the time he collected himself, Mu Qingcheng had long since vanished from sight.
Being rejected again and again, Qin Beichu simply couldn’t accept that someone could treat him this way.
He was the center of attention at school, and even in the entire imperial capital, he was among the rare few who stood out.
How had he become so worthless in this girl’s eyes?
Thinking this, Qin Beichu, unable to let go, stepped forward once more and followed her.
Meanwhile, on the third floor,
Mu Qingcheng was feeling low. Even as she heard hurried footsteps behind her, she no longer had the energy to stop him.
After all, once she was inside and the door was locked, there was nothing he could do.
But who would have thought that, at the last moment, Qin Beichu would actually catch up.
He rushed to her side, grabbed her arm again with determination.
The girl’s cool gaze narrowed instantly, a suppressed fury threatening to break loose.
“Qin—” she just managed to say his name, when a colder, calmer voice rang out behind them, slow but carrying an unmistakable authority, every word deliberate:
“Let her go.”
Mu Qingcheng fell silent.
Qin Beichu froze.
The two of them turned at the same time to see the second master of the Mu family—Mu Qing—standing to the side.
He held Qin Beichu’s wrist in a steady grip, his brows slightly furrowed, displeasure on his face.
“Forgive me,” Qin Beichu released her at once, standing there in shame.
On the other side,
“Second Brother, why are you home?”
“I came to see you. Be good, go rest. I’ll handle things here.”
“All right. Thank you, Second Brother.”
Mu Qing looked at the dried tear stains in Mu Qingcheng’s eyes, then at her small, aggrieved face, and his heart ached fiercely.
He didn’t press her for answers, instead urging her to rest.
For the first time, Mu Qing truly understood what “family” meant.
It was something that came from the heart, so natural and inevitable.
After Mu Qingcheng entered her room, Mu Qing’s gentle gaze reverted to its usual coldness.
He looked at the clearly unsettled young man before him and shook his head, saying,
“My sister doesn’t like you. Stop pestering her.”
“I don’t believe it.” Qin Beichu’s brows knitted with stubborn unwillingness.
Mu Qing paused, deciding not to argue further.
“Suit yourself. Just don’t let me find out you’ve caused her any trouble. Otherwise—”
He left the threat unfinished, merely giving Qin Beichu a deep look.
With that, he turned and started downstairs, leaving the young man standing there, slightly stunned.
Yet before he’d descended a step, Qin Beichu, in a fit of resentment, rushed over, bumping Mu Qing hard on the shoulder, and spat out angrily,
“I won’t give up.”
Then he dashed down the stairs.
In his haste, he failed to notice that Mu Qing, knocked off balance, collided with the railing at the side.
The dull, unyielding edge struck him right in the chest bone...
Instantly, Mu Qing’s already pale face turned several shades whiter.