Chapter 23

Mu Junze saw that he still hadn’t spoken, and couldn’t help feeling puzzled. His brows furrowed slightly, and his tone turned a little harsher.
“Just tell me—are you helping or not?”

Seeing this, Gu Lin quickly glanced around at Xi Zhou, making sure no one else was coming over before he finally relaxed a little. He then nodded and said in a low voice,
“I can help. But… are you sure this marriage will actually happen?”

Mu Junze looked at him in confusion.
“What do you mean by that?”

Gu Lin shrugged helplessly and explained,
“Yesterday, my boy Shisheng ran into Chu Wei and ended up crying. Looked like it was because of your Bei Chen.”

Hearing this, Mu Junze froze for a moment—he knew about this incident.

He fell silent for a while, as if thinking, before replying hesitantly,
“There must be some misunderstanding. Bei Chen has never said he didn’t like Chu Wei. In fact, back then, he was the one who personally agreed to the engagement.”

Mu Junze then spoke firmly,
“Chu Wei likes Bei Chen—there’s no question about that. And you can rest assured, with me and my wife around, we will never let Bei Chen wrong her.”

“As long as Chu Wei is willing, Bei Chen must marry her. Otherwise, I won’t acknowledge him as my son!”

His tone was resolute—one must keep their word.

Gu Lin, however, felt he was speaking too soon.

He reminded,
“But your Bei Chen has never said he likes Chu Wei, right? I’ve even heard people say that Bei Chen only treats her as a younger sister.”

“For this marriage, you should ask the two kids how they truly feel before making a decision. Marriage is no small matter—you can’t just rush it.”

Gu Lin continued,
“Otherwise, instead of a happy couple, you’ll end up with a resentful one—and that wouldn’t be good.”

His eyes settled on Mu Junze, as if to warn him to think carefully.

Mu Junze clearly dismissed his concerns. He countered,
“You said it yourself—Chu Wei grew up under my care. Naturally, I want her to be happy, to marry someone who truly cherishes her. Not someone like Bei Chen, who just makes her cry and won’t even acknowledge her as his fiancée.”

“If your Bei Chen doesn’t want to marry Chu Wei, then don’t force it,” Gu Lin said seriously, as if he truly didn’t want the Mu family to be put in a difficult position.
“My Shisheng also grew up under your eyes—you know his character well. And now, like us, he’s a soldier. Loyalty is guaranteed.”

Gu Lin paused briefly before adding,
“If your Bei Chen doesn’t want to marry Chu Wei, then let her marry into my Gu family. I’d be more than happy.”

His voice carried genuine expectation, as though he really believed it was a good match.

Then, as if suddenly struck by an idea, he added,
“In that case, your Mu family could be Chu Wei’s family side, and my Gu family could be the groom’s side. Wouldn’t that be great? The kids already know each other well, and they’d understand and trust each other more.”

As he spoke, he studied Mu Junze’s expression, as though planting a seed in his mind so he’d be prepared for the idea.

Finally, he said seriously,
“After all, we both want the same thing—for Chu Wei to live a safe, comfortable life. Otherwise, we’d be letting our brother Xia Sheng down.”

Mu Junze had been about to nod in agreement, but at the last moment, he snapped back to his senses.

Shaking his head quickly, he said,
“Don’t even think about it—Chu Wei belongs to my Bei Chen. His personality may be a bit cold, but he’s definitely not as cold as your Shisheng.”

Mu Junze paused, then continued,
“Shisheng is undoubtedly excellent as a soldier. But as a husband, he might not be the ideal choice. His work is far too dangerous—we all know this. I can’t bear to let Chu Wei take that risk.”

Speaking as someone with experience, Mu Junze knew well that a soldier’s work was full of uncertainty and danger.

There was no way he’d let Chu Wei, his cherished girl, marry someone in such a risky profession.

“Bei Chen and Chu Wei’s marriage has already been set, and there will be no changes. So stop thinking about matching her with your Shisheng. If you really want your son to settle down soon, I suggest arranging some blind dates for him instead.”

As he spoke, Mu Junze unconsciously quickened his pace, as if afraid Gu Lin would keep pressing the matter of Chu Wei and Shisheng.

Seeing this, Gu Lin’s lips curled into the faintest smile.

He raised an eyebrow—Mu Junze was feeling guilty, wasn’t he?

The way he was so eager to avoid the topic clearly showed he knew Bei Chen wasn’t all that invested in Chu Wei.

Otherwise, why be so afraid of the suggestion that she marry Shisheng?

Mu Junze was feeling a little guilty. In terms of friendship, Xia Sheng and Gu Lin had been closer and known each other longer. Chu Wei’s bond with Gu Shisheng had been built since childhood—people even said Shisheng had practically raised her.

He couldn’t help wondering how Chu Wei’s talk with Bei Chen was going today. Looking at the driver, he said,
“Go straight to Bei Chen’s dorm.”

Mu Junze was uneasy and planned to ask him directly. If Bei Chen really didn’t want to marry her, then… then—

Ah, Chu Wei was such a good girl. How could Bei Chen not like her? Was he blind?

But when they got to the dorm, Bei Chen wasn’t there. After asking around, they learned that Bei Wang and Bei Chen had gotten into a fight at the hospital, and his wife had already taken both of them home.

Thinking of how his right eyelid had been twitching all day, Mu Junze felt something bad was about to happen.

“Hurry, drive home!” he urged.

When Mu Junze rushed home and opened the door, he saw both his sons kneeling in the yard.

He noticed that his younger son, Bei Wang, was still eating something, with a pouch next to him. A glance up at the open window above told him Chu Wei must have tossed it down to him.

Hearing the sound, Bei Wang turned his head, saw his father had returned, and quickly swallowed the candy in his mouth. The candy wrapper was stuffed into his pocket for safekeeping.

His previously lazy kneeling posture straightened instantly.

Mu Junze’s mouth twitched slightly. He walked forward, glanced at his eldest son kneeling to the side, then stepped up to his younger son and gave his leg a light kick with his shoe.

“All right, I’ve seen enough. What on earth happened? Got itchy skin, have you—skipping class to run to the hospital and beat up your big brother?”

He had never imagined his younger son was capable of something like this.

Though the boy could be mischievous, he was never disrespectful or unreasonable enough to hit Bei Chen without cause. Now he was curious—what had they fought over?