Chapter 1978

Mu Xiaoyao looked at Baili Xia, remaining silent.

Baili Xia smiled somewhat despairingly.

That’s just how Brother is, preferring not to speak than to hurt her.

Yet, he doesn’t realize that his silence is itself a form of hurt to her.

Mu Xiaoyao continued to gaze at her, her slender figure reflected in his deep eyes.

That figure, indescribably lonely and fragile.

Some words had impulsively reached his lips, but ultimately, they were swallowed back down.

His large hand clutched tightly, his eyes focused solely on her.

It’s not that he doesn’t care, but rather, knowing full well he shouldn’t.

She belongs to Uncle, she did before, she does now, and she will in the future.

And he, merely plays the role of protecting her, nothing more.

She said his life lacked ambition, he wasn’t without it, it just revolved entirely around Uncle.

Whatever Uncle pursued, he pursued.

Whoever Uncle wanted to protect, he protected.

Himself… he never really thought about.

Amidst the silence, suddenly, a flurry of footsteps sounded outside.

Both of them had keen hearing, and even though the room was well insulated, the footsteps were still clearly audible.

“No matter what, I… will still be by your side.”

Leaving these words, which felt incredibly cheesy to him, Mu Xiaoyao turned to look at the door.

Soon, the door was knocked upon.

The urgent knocking tightened Baili Xia’s heart.

Mu Xiaoyao glanced at her, then strode to the door to open it.

Outside stood a maid.

“Mr. Mu, is Miss Xiaxia here?”

Mu Xiaoyao looked back at Baili Xia, his brow furrowed slightly.

“What happened?”

The maid, seeing Baili Xia sitting on the sofa, hurriedly said, “Miss Xiaxia, Xiaoxiao… Miss Xiaoxiao had an accident.”

…

When Baili Xia and Mu Xiaoyao arrived at the medical room, Ye Hua was anxiously waiting at the door.

“Where’s Xiaoxiao, how is she?”

Upon seeing Ye Hua, Baili Xia immediately asked.

Ye Hua’s eyes were filled with evident anxiety, and at this moment, he deeply blamed himself.

“It’s all my fault, I didn’t take good care of her.”

It turned out that Ye Hua and Xiaoxiao went to the back mountain to play after getting up in the morning.

On the mountain, Ye Hua went away briefly, and when he returned, Xiaoxiao was gone.

He called her, the phone connected, but no one answered.

He returned to Xiaoxiao’s room to look for her, but she wasn’t there either.

Even after asking the maids, they said they hadn’t seen Miss Xiaoxiao return.

He immediately got a few maids to search the back mountain.

It was at the bottom of a cliff dozens of meters high in the back mountain that they found Xiaoxiao, covered in blood…

At this moment, Nangong Xu was in the medical room trying to save her.

“I shouldn’t have taken her to the back mountain, if we hadn’t gone, the accident wouldn’t have happened.”

Ye Hua raised his hand and slapped himself, truly regretting letting Xiaoxiao out of his sight.

As he was about to raise his hand again, Baili Xia grabbed his wrist.

“Stop hitting yourself, what good will it do if you beat yourself to death? Is Xiaoxiao going to get better immediately?”

Although Baili Xia was somewhat resentful towards Ye Hua, his genuine concern for Xiaoxiao was undeniable, and he, too, didn’t want such a thing to happen.

After some thought, she asked, “How did Xiaoxiao fall off the cliff?”

Although Xiaoxiao’s leg had healed enough for her to walk, it was still unreasonable for her to wander around the mountain.

Moreover, she was a responsible girl; how could she leave without telling Ye Hua?

An entire morning of chaotic feelings had completely calmed down because of Xiaoxiao’s accident.