Chapter 15

Mother Mu saw Xia Chuwei forcing a smile, and her heart twisted in pain. She held Xia Chuwei tightly in her arms.

“Alright, if the engagement is to be called off, then let it be called off. It’s not a big deal.” Mother Mu’s voice trembled slightly. “When the time comes, I’ll find you someone even better than Mu Beichen, someone who will give you a happy life.”

Hearing Mother Mu’s words, Xia Chuwei—who had always known they truly cared for her—still shook her head and said, “Auntie, I’m fine.”

Mother Mu quickly interrupted her, “Child, why are you still treating me like an outsider? From now on, you’re the Mu family’s own daughter.”

Then she comforted her, “Don’t worry, no one in the Mu family will ever make things hard for you.”

“If Mu Beichen dares to marry Xu Xueqing, your uncle and I will absolutely not acknowledge him as our son, and Xu Xueqing can forget about ever stepping into our home!”

But just then, Mu Beichen suddenly spoke. “I don’t agree.”

Although his voice wasn’t loud, it was filled with determination.

Mother Mu turned her head toward Mu Beichen, a trace of disappointment and anger flashing in her eyes. “Don’t agree to what? If you want to be with that Xu Xueqing, then go. We won’t stop you.”

“What? Do you still expect us to greet you with smiles?”

The more Mother Mu spoke, the more agitated she became. “What did your father and I tell you? We told you to take good care of Chuwei, not let her be wronged. But in the end, all you’ve done is make her suffer!”

Mu Beichen lowered his head, silent.

Seeing this, Mother Mu continued, “If you weren’t satisfied with this engagement, you could have said so. We wouldn’t have forced you to marry Chuwei.”

“When we arranged this marriage for you and Chuwei, it was because we wanted her to have someone who truly loved and cherished her—not someone who would let her be wronged!”

Mother Mu’s sharp gaze fixed on Mu Beichen. Perhaps from the start, it had been a mistake to arrange the engagement so early.

Mu Beichen hurriedly shook his head, his heartbeat quickening, even breaking into a light sweat on his forehead.

His eyes locked firmly on Xia Chuwei, afraid that she would misunderstand him because of his mother’s words.

“I don’t agree to cancel the engagement!” Mu Beichen’s voice trembled, but his tone was unshakably firm.

Hearing this, Mother Mu’s expression darkened with anger. She let out a cold snort. “Mu Beichen, your behavior right now truly disappoints me! What face do you have to refuse breaking off the engagement?”

Mu Beichen shook his head. “It’s not like that, Mom, please listen to me.”

“Listen? And how exactly are you going to explain yourself?”

“Was someone forcing you to pick up Xu Xueqing? Did someone press your head down to make you drink wedding wine with her? Or was someone forcing you to send her home?”

Mother Mu’s voice rose higher and higher, her emotions surging. “Go on, tell me—who is so powerful that they could force you to do things you didn’t want to do?”

Standing up, Mother Mu pointed at Mu Beichen, her questions firing out like a rapid volley. “Even we, your parents, couldn’t make you do something you didn’t like—so who exactly is capable of forcing you, hmm?”

“Mu Beichen, if you admitted it, I’d at least think better of you. But what does this mean now?”

“Unwilling to break off the engagement with Chuwei, yet outside you’re entangled with another woman— is this what we taught you?” Mother Mu let out a short, angry laugh.