Chapter 18

Mu Beichen rubbed his temples, exhaustion written all over his face. He really did have a headache.

“Mom, I really didn’t… Can you at least let me explain first?”

There was a hint of helplessness in his voice. He knew his mother was furious right now, but he still wanted to clear things up.

“There’s nothing going on between me and Xu Xueqing. I’ve never thought about breaking off the engagement. I will definitely marry Xia Chu Wei.” Mu Beichen’s tone was firm—he didn’t want his mother to misunderstand.

But when Mu Beiwang heard this, he was so angry he almost laughed. “Big brother, who would believe that? You trying to fool a ghost?”

“You think Xia Chu Wei is stupid? Or do you think we’re all stupid? The Xu family has no one else, so you have to go to the train station to pick her up? And then you even drink a cross-cup toast with her? Is that something a clean, innocent man would do?”

The more Mu Beiwang spoke, the more agitated he became. To him, his brother’s explanation was pure nonsense.

Suddenly, as if something had just occurred to him, he quickly added, “Oh right, and what about the dress Xu Xueqing wore yesterday? How are you going to explain that?”

“That was custom-made for Chu Wei—your promised birthday gift to her! And you gave it to Xu Xueqing instead.”

“Not only did you give no explanation, you didn’t even bother making it up to Chu Wei. Do you even care about her at all?”

His accusations came like a barrage of gunfire, leaving Mu Beichen struggling to respond.

Listening from the side, Madam Mu’s expression grew darker and darker. It was clear she no longer wanted to hear her eldest son’s excuses.

“Mu Beichen, get out. Go kneel by the door! We’ll wait until your father comes back to deal with you. I don’t even want to see you right now!” Her voice was icy, leaving no room for negotiation.

“Your relationship with Xu Xueqing has already crossed the line. You even admitted yourself that you only see Chu Wei as a sister. Then this engagement ends here.”

“From now on, Chu Wei will be my daughter, and you will only be her older brother.” Disappointment filled Madam Mu’s eyes, her voice laced with both anger and resignation.

She continued, “With the way you behave, I can’t possibly feel at ease entrusting Chu Wei to you.”

“Today it’s Xu Xueqing—who knows which woman it will be next time? You have no sense of boundaries at all. How could I hand her over to someone like you?”

Her gaze then shifted to her younger son, Mu Beiwang. “And you, Mu Beiwang—you go kneel outside too!”

The words left him stunned. He quickly protested, “What? Mom, what does this have to do with me? If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t even know about this!”

Clearly unhappy with the punishment, he kept muttering, “I was helping Chu Wei. Instead of praising me, you’re punishing me?”

He felt wronged—after all, it was big brother who had done wrong, yet their mother wanted to punish him as well.

“You still have the face to say that! If you noticed something was off, why didn’t you tell us earlier? We could have investigated ourselves. Was it necessary for you to skip class and go to your brother’s workplace to hit him?” Madam Mu’s anger flared, her voice rising several notches.

Just today, she had gotten a call from his teacher saying that her younger son had skipped class. Before she could even settle that matter, she now learned he had gone to cause trouble at the hospital—actually hitting his own brother! How could she not be furious?

“Even if your brother deserves a beating, it’s not your place to do it! Your father and I will handle this. But you? You skipped class, went to the hospital, and started a fight. What exactly were you thinking?” The more she spoke, the angrier she became, her expression growing even harsher.

Mu Beiwang stood there with his head bowed, unable to say a word.

His mother was right—no matter what his big brother had done wrong, it wasn’t his place to hit him.

Standing off to the side, Xia Chu Wei looked at Beiwang’s pitiful appearance and couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy.

Yes, Beiwang had been the first to throw a punch this time, but it was obvious he had come out of it more seriously injured.

After all, Mu Beichen had military training—his skills were naturally far superior to Beiwang’s.

“Auntie, let it go this time. Beiwang acted out because of me. Please forgive him—his hand is hurt, and he still has to copy those lines three times. Who knows how long that will take?” Chu Wei turned to her aunt with a pleading look.