When Qin Qin suddenly called out like that, Mu Qing also turned to glance out the window—and sure enough, she caught a glimpse of her husband’s figure at the street corner below.
Today, he wasn’t wearing the academy’s uniform, nor his usual all-white garments, but had—rarely—donned an all-black ensemble, which made his jade-like features and finely drawn brows and eyes even more striking. Beyond looking handsome, there was now a faint edge of cold, killing aura about him.
With a face and bearing like that, he truly stood out from the crowd. No wonder even Qin Qin, who had only known him for a few days, could spot him from that far away.
Mu Qing took one look, sighed to herself about how beauty always drew attention, then nonchalantly turned back. She had no intention of digging deeper.
After all, her husband had not been wearing that outfit when he left early in the morning. Since he had gone out of his way to change clothes and made an excuse to turn down her offer to go out together, it clearly meant he had something secret to attend to.
An ordinary person might be curious about such a situation, but Mu Qing was not ordinary.
As a die-hard slacker, she understood very well the principle of “curiosity killed the cat.” When it came to her husband’s obviously abnormal behavior, she had zero desire to learn the details.
The same applied across the board.
For this “fake” husband of hers, Mu Qing had always maintained an appropriate distance. After all, when she had made the decision to enter into this contract marriage back in Daohua Village, it had been very much a case of grasping at straws in desperation.
It had been a casual suggestion, one she hadn’t truly expected him to accept.
Even if she didn’t know his exact background, anyone could tell from his speech and manners that he was no ordinary man.
But since he’d been injured at the time, and seemed to be in a tough situation needing a temporary place to stay, Mu Qing had made the offer: a one-year contract marriage, no interference in each other’s private affairs, help each other through their respective dilemmas, and then part ways, mutually content.
Black and white contract. Clear terms. Everything laid out plainly.
The benefits of this deal were obvious—she could use the fake marriage to shake off the original protagonist Liu Feng, and he could use the time to lay low and recover. It was a win-win.
The only risk was that her husband clearly had a suspicious background, possibly involving dangerous people hunting him down. But since their time in Daohua Village, life had been peaceful, which probably meant that threat was no longer present.
Maybe those chasing him had truly believed he was dead.
That would be the best outcome she could hope for.
What she hadn’t expected, though, was that the original protagonist Liu Feng would be even more troublesome than she’d imagined. Not only had she failed to escape the plot, but had gotten even more tangled in it—who could have guessed that her “lucky charm” little brother would be a genius, destined for the civil service exams, and end up on a path that directly intersected with Liu Feng’s?
Or that Qin Qin—who, in the original novel, had been the most beautiful, most talented, and despite limited scenes was beloved by countless readers as the cold, unapproachable “white moonlight”—would become her close friend?
Truly, life was full of twists and turns.
Mu Qing sighed inwardly, took a sip of her tea, and then smiled at the confused Qin Qin across from her. “This chrysanthemum and goji tea is quite good—clears the heat, beautifies the complexion. Would you care for a cup, Miss Qin?”
Qin Qin helplessly picked up the cup Mu Qing had just poured for her, sipped delicately, then finally couldn’t help but set it down and ask, “That husband of yours… isn’t really your husband, is he?”
Mu Qing had been sipping tea and choked a bit at the sudden directness. She coughed once, then said, “No, he is.”
Qin Qin’s frown deepened. “Then why don’t you care where he’s going?”
Mu Qing chuckled. “Why should I?”
Now it was Qin Qin’s turn to be at a loss for words.
She stared blankly at her teacup for a moment, then softly said, “I always thought that between husband and wife, there should be constant concern, always thinking of each other, never apart. That even a day apart would feel like three years…”
Mu Qing couldn’t help but laugh. “That kind of thing is for newlyweds who are head over heels in love. For most couples, even those with strong affection, they don’t need to be attached at the hip every moment of the day.”
Qin Qin lowered her head. “Is that so? But I heard that my father and mother were like that…”
Hearing this, Mu Qing’s heart skipped a beat. A pang of guilt and sympathy welled up.
She suddenly remembered Qin Qin’s backstory—her mother had passed away young, and although Headmaster Qin had loved his late wife deeply, he never remarried. Qin Qin, the only daughter left behind, was raised solely by her father.
Which was why he treasured her like a pearl in the palm of his hand, wanting nothing more than to secure her a good future.
And even after Qin Qin became Liu Feng’s second wife in the original story, in order to help her hold her ground in the household, Headmaster Qin had used every connection he had to pave the way for Liu Feng in court.
Looking back now, it really was tragic.
The father thought he was working hard for his daughter’s happiness, when in truth he was just furthering the ambitions of a philandering son-in-law. A very human tragedy, indeed.
Looking at the girl in front of her—untouched by the bitterness of the world, still holding dreams of love and marriage—Mu Qing suddenly felt her fingers twitch.
Could she really just sit back and watch this lovely girl leap into the fire pit?
After all this time together, Mu Qing had come to understand that in this twisted “transmigration-into-a-book” world, minor plot deviations didn’t matter much. But the major arcs… those were hard to escape.
For example, Liu Feng’s rise would still follow the same path: leaving his village, pursuing the civil exams, being lifted by benefactors, and soaring into the elite.
And characters like her, like Qin Qin, were fated to get caught in his gravitational pull.
There was no avoiding Liu Feng.
So rather than run, maybe…
Mu Qing made up her mind. She would change strategies, meddle once more, and try to help Qin Qin escape the scripted fate.
Even if she failed, she would at least have tried. And who knew? Maybe it would work—after all, she had already managed to not marry Liu Feng despite everything.
So maybe Qin Qin wasn’t beyond saving either.
And the first step… was to strengthen this bestie bond. This girl had beauty, brains, and a good temperament—the only thing she lacked was worldly experience.
Which was a big problem.
Girls like her were exactly the type to be tricked by scumbags—especially a protagonist like Liu Feng, armed with his charm and plot armor. It was simply too dangerous.
Mu Qing looked at Qin Qin deeply. As the girl met her gaze with confusion, Mu Qing smiled warmly and gracefully. “Your parents must have truly loved each other. Tell me, Miss Qin… what kind of husband would you like to find one day?”
