Ch 40: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

Qin Leyi was stunned when her call was cut off.

This was treatment she had never once received from Mu Xing.

When she tried dialing again, she found she had already been blocked.

Pulling her car to the roadside, she clenched her teeth.

This absolutely had to do with Mu Xing.

She had expected him to be angry, to hate her, but she had never imagined he would be this ruthless.

After some thought, she stopped at a flower shop, bought a bouquet, and turned the car back toward the private hospital.

When she entered the ward, Mu Xing was still playing his mobile matching game. The cheerful game sounds reached her ears, and she stared at him in disbelief.

“You’re playing that?” In her impression, Mu Xing had nothing to do with this sort of game.

Mu Xing looked up at her once, then carelessly lowered his head again.
“What are you here for?”

Only then did Qin Leyi remember her purpose.

She repeated what her agent had told her about the cancelled events and demanded,
“Was it you who pulled all my schedules?”

Mu Xing’s fingers moved swiftly over the screen, the sound effects of eliminations ringing out.

Without looking up, he said,
“Probably.”

“What do you mean, ‘probably’?” Qin Leyi was furious at his attitude.
“I’m talking to you! Can’t you put down the phone and look at me? That’s the least respect you owe me!”

Mu Xing found her unbearably annoying. He finally lifted his head and looked at her.
“Miss Qin, before you talk about respect, shouldn’t you remember—you’re my ex-girlfriend who I caught cheating? When you betrayed me while we were together, did you ever think about respecting me?”

“As for your work…” Mu Xing thought for a moment.
“I don’t know about those specific events. I only told the GM of Huiteng not to give you any more resources. So if your jobs disappeared, yeah, it’s probably because of me.”

He admitted it that easily.

Qin Leyi’s eyes widened.
“You’re trying to ruin me?”

“Mu Xing, do you have to be so petty? I wronged you in love, I admit that’s my fault. But I never slacked in my work. I’ve worked so hard to get here—you can’t just take it all away!”

“Who says I can’t?” Mu Xing chuckled.

When Qin Leyi met his eyes, she no longer saw the warmth and indulgence she had always relied on. All that remained was clarity.

Clarity so cold it didn’t contain her at all.

And the man before her mercilessly told her,
“Of course I can. It’s only a phone call.”

He looked at her calmly.
“And you’re mistaken about one thing. Those roles, those events—why could the company swap you out so easily? Because those spots were negotiated by the company. In other words, it was a transaction between the company and the platform. You were never indispensable. Since you’re not indispensable, why should they give them to you?”

“You’re just venting your anger,” Qin Leyi said bitterly.
“You’re deliberately targeting me.”

“I really don’t like you right now. I’m no saint.” Mu Xing met her gaze openly.
“I am petty. I got cheated on, I’m angry, and I don’t want the people who betrayed me to have it easy. Does that answer satisfy you?”

“You—!” Qin Leyi burst into tears.

Tears rolled down her face as she sobbed.
“I worked so hard to get where I am. You can’t just wipe it all away with a word. I was wrong in love, and you can torture me however you want, but don’t destroy my career. That’s not fair to me.”

Suddenly, a knock sounded at the door, interrupting them.

“Come in,” Mu Xing said.

The round-faced nurse entered with medication. Seeing Qin Leyi crying with pearly tears, she looked a little surprised.

She clearly recognized Qin Leyi’s face but, with good sense, said nothing. She simply replaced Mu Xing’s IV bag, and on her way out, softly reminded him:

“Don’t play on your phone too long. Your eyes and brain need more rest.”

After the nurse left, Mu Xing turned back to Qin Leyi.
“Don’t talk to me about fairness. You debuted not long before we got together. How many green lights did the company give you? How many resources even popular stars couldn’t get were handed to you? Compare yourself to the artists who debuted around the same time. Do you think it was fair to them?”

“I hope you’re clear about this: where you are today, besides your own effort, it was mostly me paving the way without asking for anything in return. Before, I liked you, and I was willing to do anything for you. But now, I can’t stand the sight of you. So everything I gave you—I’m taking it back. What’s wrong with that?”

“Let me emphasize one more thing,” Mu Xing said.
“We’re broken up. I don’t want to see you anymore, and I have no interest in tormenting you. If you really feel guilty, then just stop showing up in front of me. That’s all.”

Qin Leyi had originally come intending to soften her stance.

But with Mu Xing shielding her since her debut, her two years in the industry had been smooth sailing. She hadn’t seen the filth others endured.

She still had pride of her own.

With Mu Xing’s words so cutting, her temper flared. Wiping her tears, she glared at him fiercely.
“Fine. Mu Xing, you’re ruthless enough.”

With that, she turned and slammed the door.

Mu Xing truly couldn’t understand what right she had to be so angry. Shaking his head, he returned to his game.

Only when he cleared another set of levels to a round number did he finally exit.

Looking back at WeChat, Mu Xing saw a message from his younger brother, Mu Shao.

Mu Shao was his half-brother. Mu Xing’s mother, Zhu Lanjun, and his father, Mu Yuanjing, had married for business reasons, with no real feelings between them. Two or three years after Mu Xing was born, unable to endure the loveless marriage, they chose to divorce.

It had been a peaceful separation, and the two remained on friendly terms afterwards.

Mu Shao was the child born after Mu Yuanjing remarried.

It was impossible that Mu Shao and his mother had no thoughts about the family business. But since Mu Xing had always been cultivated as the heir and excelled in every respect, they had never had much of a chance.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, mother and son would have had to settle for shares of the family wealth, live as idle rich, or perhaps have Mu Shao start a business or pursue other interests.

But now, something unforeseen had happened.

The news that Mu Xing’s legs might be paralyzed was not good news for the Mu family.

Even if his brain was uninjured, a man crippled in both legs would inevitably be less convenient and energetic in many areas.

Mu Shao’s message to Mu Xing was basically boasting about securing a good project.

Mu Xing recalled that the original him and this younger brother hadn’t been especially close, but they hadn’t had a bad relationship either. Mu Shao’s mother had never schemed against her stepson. The family dynamic was relatively harmonious.

So he replied with a congratulatory sticker, and added a message:

[Work hard!]

Mu Shao: ?

Turning to his friend with a serious face, he said,
“I think something’s wrong with my brother.”

His friend asked in confusion,
“Why?”

Mu Shao mysteriously showed him the phone screen. His friend studied it for a while and couldn’t see anything unusual.

Under his friend’s questioning gaze, Mu Shao explained,
“Normally, when I throw out little provocations like this, my brother never bothers to respond. This time he told me to ‘work hard.’ What does that mean?”

Friend: “…It means your brother is bored?”

Mu Shao rolled his eyes.
“You think my brother is the type to waste time on meaningless things?”

Rubbing his chin, he mused,
“I think my brother’s legs probably won’t recover. He’s hinting at me, telling me to focus on my career.”

At this thought, his expression suddenly grew a little sad.
“I always wondered if I could take Mu Group from him. But if it’s like this, then I’d rather not.”

His brother had always been so proud and strong. Though Mu Shao had harbored some vague hostility toward him, he had never denied that since childhood he had measured himself by Mu Xing’s standard.

That was the goal he wanted to surpass.

But now, because of a single accident, this man… couldn’t even stand?

His friend, watching his expression, was surprised to realize that these half-brothers from a wealthy family seemed to share genuine feelings after all.

He opened his mouth, clapped Mu Shao’s shoulder, intending to offer some comfort.

But Mu Shao, lost in his own thoughts, suddenly jumped up.
“No, I think he’s not in a good state. I need to go see him.”

His friend followed him blankly.

Before entering the ward, Mu Shao carefully checked himself—yes, dressed plainly and properly, expression calm and neutral, no sadness or joy. He didn’t want to upset the patient.

He knocked gently on the door.

Inside, Mu Xing, who had been sitting with eyes closed, sensing the state of his body, furrowed his brow slightly.

In his previous life he had been a martial arts grandmaster. Though his internal strength hadn’t carried over to this life, his memory and experience had.

If he wished, once his body recovered, he could gradually train again.

He had studied his medical chart earlier, and even taken his own pulse. He already had a clear picture of his condition.

His legs would not be hard to heal—the damage to his body could be slowly nourished back to health with inner strength.

He opened his eyes.
“Come in.”

The ward door swung open, and two young men entered.

The first was in his twenties, tall and handsome, with a face somewhat resembling Mu Xing’s.

Beside him was a shorter youth with a babyish face and curly blond hair—clearly of mixed descent—whose smile was cute and lively.

The first was Mu Shao. The second was his friend, Yuan Rui, young master of the Yuan family.

Mu Shao had prepared himself to see a brother broken down or irritable. After all, not everyone could accept being crippled in their prime.

But when he looked carefully—

The man half-reclined against the pillows, hair neatly combed, expression serene, with a book resting at his side.

Stepping closer, Mu Shao saw the title: The Little Mermaid’s Adventure.

A children’s book?

Noticing his brother’s eyes lingering on the cover, Mu Xing asked,
“You want to read it too?”

He sounded a little troubled.
“I borrowed it from Nurse Xiao Yu. She got it from a child in the next ward, and I promised to return it tomorrow. If you want to read it, you might not finish in time.”

Nurse Xiao Yu—the round-faced nurse—had forbidden him from playing too long on his phone. With little else to do, she’d borrowed a half-text, half-picture book from a child next door to help him pass the time.

Mu Xing had looked it over and thought it was quite well-written.

Mu Shao shook his head in horror. He thought to himself: his brother really must be badly shaken—he was actually reading children’s literature.

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