098 Without a Stir

When Mu Qingcheng woke, she was still dazed and muddled.

Then, in the very next instant, she jolted upright.

“How did I... get back?”

She racked her brain, frantically trying to recall everything that had happened before.

After staring blankly for a full five minutes, she finally widened her eyes in disbelief.

Then she clutched the blanket at her side and covered the mouth that had almost let out a scream.

Only then did she remember: Si Qingchen had brought her back.

And it seemed... he had even carried her upstairs himself.

Not only that, Si Qingchen had also...

“Oh my heavens...”

After a distressed little cry, Mu Qingcheng flung herself back onto the pillow and dragged the blanket over her head, feeling that from this day forth, she would have no face left to meet anyone from the Mu family.

But just as she tried to bite down on her lip, she accidentally touched a wound inside it.

“Hiss... that old lecher...”

The scene from earlier was still vivid in her mind.

She could still clearly feel just how overpowering that man had been.

How recklessly he had acted, how he had pinned her fiercely in his arms, and then, all of a sudden, tipped her back onto the chair...

Everything had happened so fast that she had been powerless to resist, with no time at all to resist...

Knock, knock—knock, knock—

At that moment, two soft raps at the door pulled Mu Qingcheng back to her senses.

She sat up again, coughed lightly to clear her throat, then got out of bed and opened the door.

“What is it?”

Standing outside was a servant from the Mu household. Seeing that she was indeed awake, the servant lowered her head respectfully and said, “Fifth Miss, Old Master asks that you come to the side dining room for lunch.”

Mu Qingcheng glanced back at the clock. It was half past one in the afternoon, exactly mealtime.

She looked down at her clothes, which were still reasonably neat, then closed the door, tidied her hair as she walked, and followed the servant downstairs.

Along the way, Mu Qingcheng did her best to prepare herself mentally.

For a prominent family like the Mu household, the romantic lives of their children were kept rather secret.

She was still fairly favored in the Mu family, so she should at least be spared some measure of embarrassment.

Surely... they would not call out her affair with Si Qingchen to her face.

Gradually, with her thoughts settling, Mu Qingcheng took a deep breath and more or less steadied her emotions.

Who could have imagined that the moment she reached the dining room entrance, all her efforts would collapse at once and be reduced to nothing?

Because seated right beside Old Master Mu was the very culprit behind all this...

Si Qingchen!

...

In the dining room

The atmosphere, which had still been fairly lively a moment ago, instantly fell silent.

When Mu Qingcheng appeared at the doorway, Si Qingchen shifted his gaze directly to her.

The man looked deeply at her still slightly swollen lips, then smiled faintly and spoke in a familiar, natural tone.

“Qingcheng, did you sleep well?”

“...Cough... fairly well.”

Mu Qingcheng certainly did not have the courage to meet his eyes, yet she could instantly, infuriatingly, understand the hidden meaning in his expression.

The startled little thing pressed her lips together, walked around to the other side, and obediently sat down beside the old master.

Old Master Mu lifted a hand to touch her forehead. After a moment, he finally let out a slight sigh of relief.

“Qingchen told me what happened. It’s a good thing he was there, otherwise who knows what might have happened.”

“What... did he say?”

Mu Qingcheng’s fingers tightened around her teacup.

When she looked up at Old Master Mu, her gaze kept colliding, as if by chance, with Si Qingchen’s fixed stare.

Her heart thudded wildly, and sweat beaded in her palms.

At that moment, the old master smiled with satisfaction and continued, “He naturally told me about the news that appeared online late last night. If he hadn’t happened to be visiting a friend today and run into you, your grandfather really would have been worried...”

“I’m fine, Grandfather.”

“Mmm. We still ought to thank Young Master Si for this. Come, I’ll use tea in place of wine and offer Young Master Si a toast on Qingcheng’s behalf.”

“You’re too polite. It was only my duty.”

Si Qingchen lifted his teacup with a faint smile and voluntarily lowered himself a little.

His usual cool expression carried a warm and easy familiarity, stripped of some of its distance.

Old Master Mu took it all in, and with an inscrutable smile, drained the tea in one go.

Just then, Butler Ji entered once more and said respectfully, “Old Master, the person has arrived.”

Old Master Mu lowered his gaze, idly turning the blue-and-white porcelain cup in his hand.

“Is that so? Then invite him in.”