After arriving at the campus, Mu Tingxiao first took Jiang Beibei to see her counselor to explain that she wanted to move off campus.
The counselor was a middle-aged woman wearing glasses who looked somewhat stern. She looked up. She recognized Mu Tingxiao, as he was a prominent figure around the school. As for the girl beside him... she didn't seem to recognize her at all.
Looking at the two of them, the counselor asked, "Are the young couple planning to live together?"
Jiang Beibei's face flushed red with shyness, and she lowered her head, not daring to meet the counselor's amused gaze.
Although Mu Tingxiao's expression remained neutral, the joy in his eyes was unmistakable at a glance.
"Teacher, about this..." Mu Tingxiao began.
"Alright, just go handle it with the dorm management," the counselor said, glancing at the time, seeing that she had a school meeting to attend shortly, and added, "If there's nothing else, you may head out."
"Yes, thank you, teacher," Jiang Beibei obediently thanked her, and Mu Tingxiao took her hand, leading her straight out of the counselor's office.
Next came Mu Tingxiao's own matters. His business was simple enough—he just needed to inform the school administration office. After all, his mother had already made the arrangements in advance.Mu Tingxiao held Jiang Beibei's hand as they walked across the sports field. At this hour, students were scattered about in twos and threes, and the sports department members were playing basketball.
Guiltily, Jiang Beibei glanced around and noticed that many of the girls were staring at the two of them.
She tried to pull her hand free from Mu Tingxiao's grasp, but her strength was too meager; no matter how hard she shook, she could not break away.
"Mu Tingxiao, so many people are looking," Jiang Beibei whispered.
Mu Tingxiao frowned and cast an annoyed glance around. "What business is it of theirs? We're just having a normal relationship."
Her face flushing slightly, Jiang Beibei lowered her head and fell silent.
Mu Tingxiao was a prominent figure at Q University, and countless girls adored him. Right now, she felt like the public enemy of the whole school; the gazes of those girls made it seem as though they wanted to devour her alive.
"Jiang Beibei, head up, chest out," Mu Tingxiao said sternly.
Instantly, Jiang Beibei raised her head to look at Mu Tingxiao, her eyes flickering with fear.Mu Tingxiao realized he had been too harsh and had frightened her. He pulled her into his arms and said softly, "Beibei, don't be afraid of me. I am your boyfriend. Don't worry about what others think, all right?"
"Hmm." Suddenly, Jiang Beibei felt as if Mu Tingxiao had been drawing closer to her all along, and it seemed as if she no longer cared about other people's opinions.
The two strolled around the playground for a while before Jiang Beibei asked, "Mu Tingxiao, are you really not going to finish your studies?"
Mu Tingxiao nodded, gripping her hand tightly. "Yes. Those things are of no use to me. Beibei, I want to go to the company to help my mother."
Although Jiang Beibei did not know what had happened to Mu Tingxiao, she supported whatever decision he made.
"Okay. Didn't you say we were going to rent an apartment nearby? Let's go."
"Right. Once we've looked at the apartment, we'll find a cleaning service. We'll move in the day after tomorrow." Mu Tingxiao took her hand and headed toward the school exit.
"Mu Tingxiao!"
Fang Rou ran up to them, with Qin Kai hurrying to catch up behind her.
She had spent the weekend at home, waiting for Mu Tingxiao to ask her out, but she never received a call from him. As soon as she arrived at school this morning, she began looking for him.
After much effort, she finally spotted Qin Kai when the first period ended and asked him what Mu Tingxiao had been doing over the weekend. He wouldn't say a word, which made her incredibly furious.
Just as the second period was about to start, she saw that familiar figure on the playground.
Mu Tingxiao looked at the woman who had caused his Beibei’s death in his previous life, and he could not stop the surge of hatred rising in his eyes.
"Fang... Rou!"
Jiang Beibei felt the man’s grip on her hand tighten until she could barely stand the pain. Sensing that Mu Tingxiao was in an unstable state, she quickly tried to soothe him. "Mu Tingxiao, I'm here."
Fang Rou had originally been angry at Mu Tingxiao, but feeling the raw hatred directed at her, she was filled with confusion and fear.
Mu Tingxiao was terrifying; she had a lingering feeling that he might actually kill her.
Qin Kai stood stunned, also sensing the deep hatred radiating from Mu Tingxiao—a hatred aimed squarely at Fang Rou."Mu Tingxiao, I'm right here." Ignoring everyone else, Jiang Beibei patted Mu Tingxiao's back, her voice gentle and imbued with a certain power that helped calm him down.
Fang Rou stepped back, stammering, "Mu, Mu Tingxiao, why, why wouldn't you come looking for me? Is it because of this woman?"
She glanced sideways at Jiang Beibei, looking at that moment as if Mu Tingxiao had betrayed her.
"Fang Rou, don't force me to lay a hand on you. Get lost!" Mu Tingxiao said coldly.
"Why? Am n't I your girlfriend? We 've only been apart for two days, so why are you being so mean to me?!"
Hearing Fang Rou's words, Jiang Beibei's body stiffened for a fraction of a second. It seemed Mu Tingxiao really was dating Fang Rou—did that make her the homewrecker?
Sensing that Jiang Beibei, who was holding him in her arms, had grown tense, Mu Tingxiao shot a fierce glare at Fang Rou and said, "I said, get lost!"
Tears streamed uncontrollably down Fang Rou's face. Pampered since childhood and blessed with good looks, she was used to men sucking up to her. How could Mu Tingxiao treat her this way? She would never accept him again.
She stamped her foot, spun around, and bolted back toward the campus.
Qin Kai cast an awkward glance at Mu Tingxiao and the other girl, and explained, "Look, Young Master Xiao, I didn't tell her about you and Jiang Beibei."
"Yeah. Qin Kai, from now on Fang Rou has nothing to do with me." Mu Tingxiao looked expressionlessly at Qin Kai, his tone still sounding very cold.
Qin Kai scratched his head, completely baffled by what was wrong with Mu Tingxiao. Ever since that night at Meise, he hadn't been himself.
Wasn't he fond of Fang Rou and pursuing her? How could his attitude... flip in a split second?
"Young Master Xiao, I don't know what happened between you and Fang Rou. But I'm your brother, so of course I'm on your side." Qin Kai glanced at the girl Mu Tingxiao was holding and added, "Don't worry, whatever rumors start around campus, I'll definitely help you squash them."
Mu Tingxiao naturally trusted Qin Kai. He nodded and said, "See you at Meise tonight. Don't you have a class? Go on."
Qin Kai nodded. "Oh, right, I'm off then."
Wait a minute, though—wasn't Mu Tingxiao in his major, taking the exact same classes? Why wasn't he going to class?
—Oh well, whatever, we can talk about it tonight.
Jiang Beibei pushed Mu Tingxiao away, looked up at him, and asked, "Mu Tingxiao, are you and Fang Rou dating?"
"No, Beibei, I..." Mu Tingxiao didn't know how to explain. He certainly had liked Fang Rou once, but that was all in a past life.
He was entirely certain that right now, at this point in time, there was nothing between them—he had simply been pursuing Fang Rou, and she hadn't accepted him yet.
Although Jiang Beibei wasn't the sharpest person, she still knew where a person's bottom line and morality lay.
Her eyes red-rimmed, she looked at Mu Tingxiao and said calmly, "Mu Tingxiao, I don't like meddling in other people's relationships."
Mu Tingxiao couldn't stand seeing Jiang Beibei with red-rimmed eyes, on the verge of tears. He repeatedly kissed her lips, soothing her: "Beibei, Fang Rou and I have nothing to do with each other. Believe me, I only love you. Beibei, I can't live without you."
"But she..."
"Jiang Beibei, I only love you."
The two remained silent for a moment. In the end, Jiang Beibei wasn't good with words and had no idea how to argue with Mu Tingxiao.
Mu Tingxiao stroked her head and said softly, "Beibei, let's go check out the apartment."
"Okay."
Mu Tingxiao took her hand and led her out of the campus, intending to check out the surrounding neighborhood directly. There was a residential complex with a very nice environment around the university town, and Mu Tingxiao went straight to the landlord he had contacted beforehand.
"Could you show us the apartment for rent?" Mu Tingxiao asked.
The owner of the apartment was a young man, roughly twenty-six or twenty-seven years old.
"Sure, follow me." The man took the lead, and they took the elevator all the way up to the twenty-third floor.
Jiang Beibei stayed silent, following Mu Tingxiao the entire way. The elevator felt a bit stuffy, and a tightness began to ache in her chest.