Shi Feihua adjusted his collar and put on a pretentious air. To an outsider, he might have genuinely passed for a reliable and upright gentleman. Yet, to Mu Qingxuan, this display was nothing short of nauseating. Having lived through a second life, she realized that Shi Feihua was as incapable of changing his base nature as a dog is of changing its diet; the moment he saw a beautiful woman, he began his peacock routine. A man like this deserved to be charged with indecency!
Mu Qingxuan’s eyes turned cold as she spoke bluntly: "I am your sister-in-law."
Shi Feihua’s mother and Huo Changfeng’s father were siblings, making Shi Feihua Huo Changfeng’s cousin. By that logic, the two men were both cousins and brothers-in-law.
"Sister-in-law?"
Shi Feihua froze. His gaze drifted wantonly over Mu Qingxuan’s flower-like face, her full chest, and her slender waist, and he couldn't help but swallow hard. A flash of jealousy crossed his eyes. He had previously thought his new wife, Mu Qianqian, was quite attractive, but compared to Mu Qingxuan, she was like a different species altogether. He felt a deep surge of envy that his cousin, Huo Changfeng, was so fortunate.
The filth in his gaze made Mu Qingxuan feel as though she might retch up the meal she had eaten the night before. Just as her fingers twitched, itching to slap him, a tall figure suddenly appeared behind Shi Feihua and slammed into his shoulder. The force sent Shi Feihua stumbling forward, his forehead cracking against the wall with a dull *thud* and immediately rising in a red lump.
Mu Qingxuan looked up at the newcomer, her eyes brightening. "Husband."
She hadn't seen Huo Changfeng in the room early that morning and had assumed he had already returned to the research institute. She hadn't expected him to still be home.
Huo Changfeng hummed a soft acknowledgement, his gaze lowered slightly. "Go eat."
Mu Qingxuan had been looking for a reason to leave anyway. She nodded; knowing he had certainly already eaten, she turned and headed straight toward the dining room.
Watching Mu Qingxuan’s graceful figure vanish around the corner, Huo Changfeng cast a cold, displeased glance at Shi Feihua. Shi Feihua looked sheepish, rubbing his nose in embarrassment. His forehead throbbed with pain, but he was too guilty to even cry out. Although they were cousins, Shi Feihua had never been able to hold his head high in front of Huo Changfeng—unlike his cousin, who had been brilliant since childhood, Shi Feihua was utterly mediocre, save for his passable looks.
"C-Cousin."
"Watch your eyes. If you can't, don't bother coming here again."
Huo Changfeng left the cold warning hanging in the air before turning to walk away. Shi Feihua felt a lump of frustration choke his chest, his face turning an ugly shade.
***
As Mu Qingxuan passed through the living room, she saw Mu Qianqian sitting on the sofa, making an elderly, white-haired person with a wealthy air laugh heartily.
"You really do have a sweet tongue, little girl." Old Madam Huo pinched Mu Qianqian’s nose affectionately and handed her an orange from the table. Her gaze caught sight of Mu Qingxuan walking by, and she snorted. "Some people sleep until the sun is high on their second day of marriage, as if they’re waiting for our whole family to serve them!"
Mu Qingxuan stopped and turned toward the voice.
"Grandmother, my sister sleeps well, which just shows she’s in good health—that’s a good thing. Unlike me, I never sleep well; I wake up at the crack of dawn and can’t even have a lie-in if I want to."
"You’re being too modest, child. You’re virtuous, rising early to do chores and manage the house, and you even brought that boy, Feihua, to see me. You’re capable and filial, unlike some people—hmph!" Old Madam Huo raised her eyebrows, eyeing Mu Qingxuan with a hostile, triangular gaze. As she swept her eyes over Mu Qingxuan’s fair face and figure, she snorted again, muttering, "She looks like someone who can't sit still."
The smile on Mu Qingxuan’s lips faded slightly. In this era, which valued modesty and simplicity, she had often been gossiped about in her previous life because of her overly striking appearance. She knew well that prejudice was a mountain in the hearts of others, and changing it wasn't a matter of a single day, so she remained largely unmoved. However…
Mu Qingxuan’s gaze fell on the corners of Old Madam Huo’s drooping eyes and her habitually tense facial muscles. Her eyes flickered as she fell into thought.
"That’s enough. Stop standing there like a post and go find somewhere else to be." Old Madam Huo waved her hand impatiently, shooing her away.
Mu Qingxuan went to the dining room, finished a bowl of porridge, and returned to her room to organize her dowry. Her family hadn't been wealthy, so there were no expensive trinkets among her belongings, but the most notable item was a rare book on traditional Chinese medicine. The Mu family had been a line of medical practitioners; it was said one of their ancestors had been an imperial physician serving the royalty. Even though the Qing Dynasty had long fallen and the New China had been established for decades, the Mu family’s medical lineage had never been broken.
Mu Qingxuan had been highly gifted, possessing a photographic memory for herbs and the ability to recite even the most obscure medical texts. In her past life, she had saved countless patients, and her acupuncture skills were said to be so profound they could bring the dying back to life. A television station had once interviewed her, praising her: "When the King of Hell commands you to die at three in the morning, no one can keep you until five—except Mu Qingxuan." Thus, she had been dubbed the "Most Beautiful Saintly Physician" by the nation.
With just one look, Mu Qingxuan had seen the signs of a migraine on Old Madam Huo’s face. She retrieved a simple, antique wooden box from the bottom of her dowry chest. Inside lay dozens of silver needles, glinting with a cold light. As she contemplated which acupuncture points would alleviate the migraine, a voice sounded from behind her.
"Oh, Mu Qingxuan, you still have the heart to fiddle with those broken needles?"
It was Mu Qianqian. Unlike the shy, obedient persona she maintained in front of Old Madam Huo, her braided hair was now loose, draped carelessly over her shoulders. She had intentionally unbuttoned the top two buttons of her shirt, revealing a large expanse of fair skin—and the faint, deep red marks upon it.
Mu Qingxuan glanced at her coolly and sneered. People looked at her through colored glasses and called her a seductress simply because she was beautiful and didn't fit the current aesthetic, yet no one seemed to notice Mu Qianqian’s constant, frivolous behavior.
"Do you need something?" Mu Qingxuan asked coldly. Unlike her bewitching, alluring appearance, her voice was clearly detached, like a lotus flower growing on an iceberg—clear, cold, and melodic.
"Look at the bracelet my husband gave me." Mu Qianqian tugged up her sleeve to reveal a jade-green bracelet on her wrist. The bracelet glowed with a moist, lustrous light; at a glance, it looked quite expensive. "This is a Shi family heirloom, worth a fortune. I just came to tell you that Feihua and I are extremely happy together, so it’s useless for you to harbor any fantasies about him!"
Mu Qingxuan almost laughed. She knew exactly what kind of character Shi Feihua was. In her previous life, if not for her help behind the scenes, how could he have achieved anything? Furthermore, Shi Feihua was addicted to female companionship and had hollowed himself out at a young age; by the end, he was so ruined that no amount of medicine could help him.
How could Mu Qingxuan possibly harbor any fantasies about a man like that?