The Billionaire's Mischievous Sweetheart

"Let’s go back upstairs first. If you keep soaking here, you’ll catch a cold. That would be trouble." Qiao Muyun said, trying to reassure her.

Yeah, for now, the priority was to steady her emotions; whether she left or not was another matter. Either way, running off with his future sister-in-law—he still had to be cautious about that kind of thing! "Mm." Zi Ruoxi answered right away, a soft smile blooming on her face. In that moment, it gave her an illusion: since Qiao Muyun hadn’t rejected what she’d said, it meant he’d agreed by default. Maybe very soon she could leave this place. She was even starting to look forward to it.

This accident, false alarm as it was, still made Qiao Muyun even more on edge. Not only did he become extremely cautious himself, he also told the twenty‑four‑hour caregiver to keep a close eye on Zi Ruoxi’s every word and action. If she could hide a knife from him once, who’s to say she wouldn’t hide a second one. She could act as if nothing had happened and chat and joke with him like usual—this kind of deceptive Cultivation Power was clearly on a high level. Even Qiao Muyun couldn’t help admiring how deliberate she was.

If he didn’t have a special sort of attachment to her, didn’t care about her that much, maybe he never would’ve noticed anything off from those tiny little clues.

After that, Zi Ruoxi actually became very well‑behaved, still joking and chatting with Qiao Muyun like before. Her mood really did seem to have untied a knot in her chest, only, every now and then, there was still that trace of melancholy in her eyes.

Everything seemed to go back to how it used to be. A few more days passed like that, and Zi Ruoxi seemed to be getting restless again. Eat, get injections, sleep... on and on, day after day. And now even when she walked around or went to the bathroom, someone followed her. This kind of life really wasn’t meant for a human being.

The key thing was, beyond all that, she constantly had this faint feeling of being stared at from behind by some ghostly pair of eyes, muddled and uncomfortable all over. That man definitely wouldn’t let her off so easily. Oh, when would she finally be able to leave here.

Brother Qiao Muyun, I’m sorry, am I being really selfish—only you can take me away from here... I keep thinking too much about myself. Since you promised me, why is it that I still haven’t seen anything happen?

With that kind of mood clinging to her, Zi Ruoxi couldn’t eat or sleep in peace. In the end, she still couldn’t hold it in.

......

One evening after dinner, Qiao Muyun came back to the hospital from outside with a bag of fruit in his hand. He picked up a fruit knife and, with easy, practiced motions, peeled the apple in a few quick turns.

"Brother Qiao Muyun, things like this, I should do them myself from now on. Otherwise I really feel like I’m disabled or something." Zi Ruoxi teased.

Hearing that, Qiao Muyun lifted his head. His gaze met her eyelids. Those eyes behind the mask seemed to be smiling, probably.

"Save it! Zi Ruoxi, haha... you just sit tight and behave. If you need anything, just tell me." Qiao Muyun bantered back, all amused, not falling for her line at all.

That secretly made Zi Ruoxi grit her teeth in frustration. On the surface though, she still looked utterly unfazed, breezy and calm.

"Uh, these past few days you’ve been watching me so closely, any living person would suffocate to death." Zi Ruoxi said with a helpless smile.

The next second, the long curling strip of apple peel in Qiao Muyun’s hand dropped to the floor. Very quickly, he picked up right where she’d left off, without even frowning.

"Oh, if this is enough to kill someone, then... go ahead and suffocate." Qiao Muyun shot back bluntly, his words full of laughter. He couldn’t let this little girl have the upper hand every time. It was like she kept catching his weaknesses, figuring out his temper—whatever card he played, she’d have a counter ready. How annoying was that! Every now and then, big brothers had to put on a bit of authority too, right? Haha!

"Brother Qiao Muyun..." Zi Ruoxi lowered her voice.

And then an apple was shoved into her mouth.

"Come on, eat it. Less talking." Qiao Muyun’s tone was half command, half indulgent.

"Ow~" Zi Ruoxi took a big bite. This time she actually started eating obediently. Hmph! Having someone wait on you—how is that a bad thing? Why wouldn’t she eat it? Not eating would just be a waste, haha. Of course, this only applied to Brother Qiao Muyun. If it were anyone else, they shouldn’t even dream of it. Even if they begged her to eat, she wouldn’t be willing...

Just as she thought of that, Zi Ruoxi’s clear, stream‑like eyes suddenly dimmed again. Oh, that was in the past... Things were different now. She’d become this ugly—who would still care...

But that tiny emotional shift had already been fully taken in by the man in front of her.

"What are you thinking about, Zi Ruoxi?" Qiao Muyun sat down beside her and thoughtfully pulled her blanket up. Then, half like he was guiding her, half comforting, he said softly, "Don’t people always say, life goes nine parts wrong to one part right? So even if that’s the case, most people still get through it, all the joy and anger and grief and happiness..." His words had barely faded when the other person jumped in.

"What about the minority?" Zi Ruoxi asked, sounding like she was merely curious, yet also as if weighing some trick question of his. She ate her apple as she spoke, waiting leisurely for his answer.

Qiao Muyun thought for a moment.

"There’s no avoiding natural disasters or man‑made ones, no predicting sickness and pain, so that small minority has no way to escape, they’re forced to give up their lives." After he finished, Qiao Muyun looked at Zi Ruoxi with meaningful eyes and added earnestly, "Isn’t being alive great? As long as you’re alive, every hardship will pass, every hope is still possible. Zi Ruoxi, don’t you think so?"

Zi Ruoxi smiled slightly. It was hard to tell how much of his speech actually sank in or how much of a reaction it stirred in her, but her mood seemed to stay fairly good.

"Brother Qiao Muyun, since when did you get so good at counseling people? You could go take some USA psychology counselor exam, make use of your talents and bring in another stream of income! Hehe, hehe..." Zi Ruoxi finished and burst out laughing. She always felt that talking to the man in front of her didn’t require any effort at all.

Qiao Muyun’s face flushed red at her comment.

"Zi Ruoxi, can you not be so money‑minded, please? Look at you, these past few years opening studios and companies, I don’t even know what’s going on in that little brain of yours, you’ve become so commercial." Qiao Muyun retorted, half exasperated. Then his dark green icy eyes turned twice, and he added thoughtfully, "Being a psychological counselor is an honorable profession. Even if I do it in the future, it’d definitely be free. Serving the people..."

No matter what Qiao Muyun said, Zi Ruoxi just couldn’t help wanting to jab at him. Now, having listened to that whole cliché speech, she took another bite of her apple, but the corners of her mouth still couldn’t help curling into a laugh.

"What are you laughing at, what’s so funny about that?" Qiao Muyun said, a little annoyed. He wasn’t truly angry, he just felt like he never got the upper hand around her when it came to talking. It left him just the tiniest bit unwilling to accept defeat.