Chapter Thirty-Six: A Painful Choice

Looking at the delicate and pitiable figure in his arms, Nangong Yuchen immediately knew that something terrible had happened. He understood this strong girl all too well; if it weren't truly serious, she would never have come to seek him out—she would simply hide everything deep within her heart.

Sure enough, when she heard his question, Mu Ningxue began to sob, her words broken by her tears: "My mother... she... wuwu... ah..."

She managed only the first half of her sentence, unable to say anything more through her choked cries.

Seeing her in such pain, Nangong Yuchen felt his heart twist violently. He forgot himself, wrapped his arm around her, pulling her tightly into his embrace. With his other hand, he gently lifted her right earlobe, where a blue, exquisite earring sparkled—the very one he had given her long ago. He himself once wore its pair, but had taken it off half a year prior.

"Chen... my mother... she sacrificed herself... wuwu!" Mu Ningxue wailed.

"How... how could that be? She was a second-tier mech warrior! Who in Ru Xia could possibly kill her?" Nangong Yuchen exclaimed in shock.

He had heard of Mu Ningxue's mother, Mu Xiyan—the strongest of the Mu family, known as the Crystal Beauty.

She was dead?

"On the way to support another city... she was killed by a beast... wuwu!" Mu Ningxue managed, nearly collapsing to the ground.

Nangong Yuchen fell silent at her words.

Beasts.

That dreaded race hated by all humanity in this world. They were endless, their shadows everywhere, relentlessly attacking humans and shrinking the lands where people could survive.

Countless warriors had died, sacrificing themselves to defend the cities from those bloodthirsty mouths.

At that moment, Mu Ningxue spoke again: "Chen, take me away, please?"

...

Tap, tap, tap!

Nangong Kexin stomped angrily along the campus path, cursing her best friend Huiyan inwardly. How dare Huiyan introduce her to a boyfriend without her permission? Because of that, it was already past six, and she still hadn't left school.

It was odd; Huiyan had been acting strangely, not only seeming peculiar but suddenly much stronger, dragging Kexin back to the classroom and then rushing off alone.

Kexin couldn't agree to such nonsense, so she used the excuse of going to the restroom to hide for half an hour, waiting until the boy had left before sneaking out.

Just thinking of the boy's disgusting face made her feel she wouldn't be able to eat dinner tonight. As she walked toward the school gate, a sudden stabbing pain seized her lower abdomen. Her face went pale, and she clutched her stomach, glancing around.

She was searching for a restroom!

It was over—this was the sign her period had arrived.

"What do I do?" She was desperate. Not only was it a week early, but it had to happen right now!

She could feel it starting, but there was no restroom nearby.

"Ah... what now, what now!"

In her panic, she remembered there was a restroom less than a hundred meters away on the playground. Without hesitation, she rushed toward it.

At the same time, she cursed Huiyan thoroughly in her heart. If it weren't for her friend, she wouldn't be in this embarrassing situation!

In less than a minute, she reached the playground, and seeing the restrooms ahead, she hurried forward.

But just then, from the grassy corner behind her, a pleading female voice sounded.

"Chen, take me away, please!"

Buzz~~~

The instant she heard the voice, Nangong Kexin felt her head ring! She knew that voice all too well, and the way it addressed him was even more familiar. Mu Ningxue's image flashed instantly in her mind.

Nangong Yuchen was still seeing her behind her back?

How long had it been since their parents were imprisoned? Six months, and he was already...

Her heart turned cold. Her brother had completely forgotten their hatred.

"Heh." Nangong Kexin laughed bitterly to herself. After what happened with Zhou Haoran last week, her resentment toward her brother had lessened; she knew Nangong Yuchen was suffering even more, filled with guilt.

More importantly, even as she hated him, she loved him deep down. For ten years, though not related by blood, their bond was as close as any siblings.

So just as she was beginning to forgive him, she realized how naive she truly was.

Fury flared up, and a murderous impulse rose in her mind—she wanted to kill those two betrayers!

She spun around and saw them together, their intimacy stinging her eyes, her heart aching with the pain of betrayal.

That rush of hostility and despair made her resolve solidify.

"Kill them!"

Just then, Nangong Yuchen spoke.

He shook his head and said, "No, Ningxue! If we leave, how will Kexin survive on her own? And... my parents are still in prison! So... I have to stay here to take care of Kexin, and wait to rescue our parents someday."

Thump, thump!

Hearing his words, Nangong Kexin's pupils contracted and she froze.

"Oh..." Mu Ningxue, hearing his answer, slowly ceased her crying. She stood straight, gazed at Nangong Yuchen, and pleaded, "Then take me, and Kexin, with you. When you become a mech warrior, we can return together, can't we?"

Her voice was tinged with urgency.

This time, Nangong Yuchen was silent. He felt the urge to accept—after all, it was a good solution. But would his sister agree?

Mu Ningxue's beautiful eyes dimmed, her heart aching. After a long pause, she broke the silence softly, "Tomorrow, Lu Shijie will be engaged to me."

"What! Engaged?" Nangong Yuchen's head throbbed from the shock.

"Lu Bolong waited until my mother was gone and threatened my family. My father has already... agreed," Mu Ningxue choked out. After returning from outside the crystal wall, she was already grieving her mother's death, but now faced even greater despair. That was why she begged Nangong Yuchen to take her away.

She had lost hope in this city.

Nangong Yuchen exhaled shakily, his chest tight and suffocating. He was about to promise—he truly couldn't let go of the girl he loved.

"Tonight, I'll take you to find Ke..."

"Mu Ningxue, don't even think about it! I! Will! Never! Agree!"

Nangong Kexin ran over, her words emphatic and resolute.

She hadn't approached earlier because of her brother's words: "I have to stay here to take care of Kexin, and wait to rescue our parents someday."

Hearing that, her heart ached. She had been wrong—Yuchen had never forgotten her, never forgotten their parents, and always cared for her.

In that moment, all her resentment toward Yuchen melted away.

Yuchen and Ningxue started at the sudden voice, turning to see Nangong Kexin storming toward them.

"Kexin, I..." Mu Ningxue tried to speak, face streaked with tears and guilt.

But she was met with a resounding slap, leaving a clear red mark on her delicate face.

Nangong Kexin would not tolerate it. To her, Ningxue was not just an indirect, but a direct cause of her family's destruction—a foe she could never forgive, no matter how closely they'd been friends these past years.

"Don't call me that. Marry whoever you like, but don't ever come back to bother Yuchen. Our family isn't worthy!"

With those words, she forcefully pushed the frail Mu Ningxue aside and pulled Nangong Yuchen toward her.

"Sis, don't be like this!" Nangong Yuchen felt his sister was being too harsh. Ningxue was a victim, too. In his desperation, he called her by a name he hadn't used in years.

"Sis?" Nangong Kexin thought she'd misheard, staring at Yuchen with heartbreak. For an outsider, he had even changed how he addressed her?

Realizing his loss of composure, Yuchen quickly tried to explain, "...Kexin, you know, Ningxue actually..."

"Shut up! If you really want to take her away, then go. I don't need your pity or care. Anyway, Mom and Dad aren't your real parents. Wuwu... You and she can leave!"

Nangong Kexin was overwhelmed with pain, tears streaming down her porcelain cheeks. She felt as if, in her brother's heart, she meant less than a former enemy, so she pushed him away and ran off in heartbreak.

"Kexin!" Nangong Yuchen called after her, chasing a couple of steps, but she soon disappeared.

He stood there, dazed, his mind in chaos.

He had no idea what choice to make.

Mu Ningxue stayed quietly where she was, saying nothing. She seemed to know the answer already.

She also understood that, even if Yuchen and Kexin agreed, she couldn't leave—not because of the Mu family, but because of Nangong Yuchen's parents. Without her protection, they would surely be killed by Lu Shijie.

But in her grief and confusion, she didn't know why she'd lost her senses, running to Yuchen to say all this.

Time passed again. As expected, Nangong Yuchen turned away from her, trembling, and said, "I'm sorry... Ningxue..."

Those four words took all his strength. His eyes were bloodshot, his body shaking. His heart felt as if sliced by blades, and he turned to flee.

He feared that another second's hesitation would change his resolve.

As he ran, he never saw the markings beside his eyes—left black, right white—growing ever clearer...

Soon, Nangong Yuchen vanished, night descended, and only Mu Ningxue remained, standing alone on the playground...