Volume One, Chapter 88: The Person I Choose Will Remain So for a Lifetime

“It was my own carelessness. I found a sea urchin and got pricked by its spines.”

As Tang Xinyan finished speaking, Yu Mo frowned, unable to understand why she refused to tell the truth. The scene she witnessed was clearly Xie Mengqi trying to drown Tang Xinyan. Since Tang Xinyan didn’t want to speak out, Yu Mo said nothing either. The wound on Xie Mengqi’s head was obviously caused by Tang Xinyan smashing the sea urchin she held against her.

“In that case, everyone take a few hours to rest. We’ll resume filming this afternoon,” the director announced, and the group returned together to the seaside villa.

Yu Mo went back to her own room. As she passed the corner of the second floor, a familiar voice reached her ears.

Xie Mengqi stood before Mu Shaozhou, the two speaking in hushed tones.

Yu Mo concealed herself, holding her breath and listening intently.

Mu Shaozhou’s voice was icy, flowing like a glacier from another age.

“If what happened this morning occurs again, I’ll see the entire Xie family buried with you.”

Xie Mengqi trembled slightly, feigning ignorance.

“Prince, I don’t understand what you’re saying. I wasn’t the cause of today’s incident; I was a victim too, and I was injured.”

She instinctively raised her hand to touch her head, mourning the wound that marred her face.

Mu Shaozhou radiated a chilling aura, his eyes flashing with a sharp light. His voice was laced with a coldness that seized the heart.

“Don’t play dumb with me. You should be grateful she only hurt her hand.”

Xie Mengqi glanced aside, her gaze full of disdain, but she dared not retort. She muttered quietly,

“I understand, Prince.”

Mu Shaozhou cared so much for Yu Mo—didn’t he fear his fiancée, Tang Xinyan, would be angry? Tang Xinyan’s injury was worse, and she almost felt sympathetic toward her.

Yu Mo heard a few words, then turned and ascended the stairs. She looked down at her hand, freshly bandaged, shaking her head with a bitter smile.

It seemed Mu Shaozhou still cared deeply for Tang Xinyan, his fiancée. What was she still hoping for?

Second floor.

Mu Shaozhou’s thin lips parted slightly.

“You cut the power in her room on purpose.”

His words were not a question, but a statement of fact.

Xie Mengqi’s eyes widened, avoiding his gaze, yet she could still feel his coldness, sending chills down her spine.

How did he know?

“You think your petty tricks go unnoticed? Let me repeat myself: Yu Mo is my woman, and I will not allow anyone to harm her.”

Mu Shaozhou spoke calmly, his hands at his sides exuding an untouchable nobility and elegance. He strode up the stairs.

Yu Mo returned to her room, bathed and changed into a robe. She held a bottle of red wine, poured herself a glass, and slender, fair fingers pinched the stem as she tipped back the deep red liquid.

She tried to warn herself not to think, yet her mind was filled with Mu Shaozhou’s face.

She remembered him as a charming, flamboyant youth, and then as the cold, aloof Prince he had become. Both faces she loved, but neither belonged to her.

She poured another glass, raising it toward her lips.

“Click.”

The door opened. Yu Mo looked up.

Mu Shaozhou’s tall figure appeared before her. Her head was a little dizzy; she raised her pale fingers to her forehead and asked softly,

“What are you doing here?”

His long legs beneath black trousers were like slender bamboo, steady as he walked to her side. His cool, pale hand took the wine glass from hers.

His voice was low, betraying no emotion.

“If you can’t drink, don’t.”

Yu Mo narrowed her eyes slightly, a sudden clarity in her gaze. Her thick lashes fluttered, like a wounded butterfly.

She spoke softly, her cheeks flushed.

“Why aren’t you with your fiancée? Why come here? This isn’t a place you can come and go as you please.”

A strange light flickered in Mu Shaozhou’s narrow eyes.

“I’m not leaving.”

He lifted Yu Mo and gently placed her on the bed, brushing her forehead and pressing a light kiss to her warm skin.

From his pocket, he took a delicate box, and picked up her slender wrist, slipping a finely crafted jade bracelet onto it.

He stared at her wrist for several seconds before raising his deep gaze to the woman on the bed, drunk and beautiful.

Yu Mo felt a coolness on her hand, raised her wrist to look.

“What’s this? Do you think giving me gifts will make me forgive you? You’re too naive.”

Her rosy lips parted, her voice distant and cold, keeping him at arm’s length.

Mu Shaozhou lowered his gaze, explaining softly,

“This was left to me by my mother, meant for her future daughter-in-law.”

He tightened his grip on her hand, a hint of tension in his expression, his thin lips curving slightly.

“Yu Mo, you are the one I’ve chosen for this life. That will never change. I will never marry another woman.”

Yu Mo looked into his sincere, earnest eyes, turned her face away, and said nothing.

The air was thick with sadness, though it was unclear whether it came from Yu Mo or Mu Shaozhou.

After a long silence, Mu Shaozhou stood.

Just when Yu Mo thought he was leaving, she felt a coolness on her hand as the bandage was unwrapped.

Mu Shaozhou carefully bowed his head, tending to her wound.

His hands moved steadily as he spoke, his expression unchanged, as though the words he’d just spoken had not come from him.

“I brought medicine—this will help your injury heal quickly. Don’t let it get wet for a few days. I’ll talk to the director and have you rest for a while; you can return to the show once you’ve recovered—”

Yu Mo suddenly pulled her hand back, ignoring the pain, her tone urgent.

“No, I have to participate. I must win the championship.”

This way she could go to Country F, and do what she wanted.

Mu Shaozhou’s hand paused midair, his gaze soft as he looked at her.

After a moment, he said, “Alright.”

He turned to leave the room, but Yu Mo called out,

“Wait.”

Mu Shaozhou turned, his dark eyes fixed on her, as if eagerly waiting for her to speak.