Yan Xinxin suddenly lifted her gaze and withdrew from his embrace.
She looked at him, confused, as his apologetic eyes revealed their depths.
"Why are you apologizing to me?"
Mo Chuxi paused, regaining his composure, and quickly offered a relaxed, charming smile on his elegant face.
"I was thinking, if I could’ve been there back then, I could’ve protected you. You wouldn’t have been hurt."
Yan Xinxin frowned slightly, smiling as she looked at him.
"I really didn’t know Young Master Mo cared so much for me in the past. Looks like I won’t be marrying the wrong person after all."
She smiled, pulling herself from his arms before turning toward the large bed.
"I’m going to sleep now. I have to go to work tomorrow."
Mo Chuxi glanced at Yan Xinxin’s slender, petite figure as she walked away, his brows tightly furrowed.
There were only two things that had truly frightened him as an adult.
The first was the incident when Mu Qianyuan was swept off the cliff by the rushing waters and declared dead.
And the second—his fear of confessing to Yan Xinxin that he was the very scumbag who had hurt her back then.
The one who stole her innocence, marred her beauty, and continued living an unburdened, carefree life without a shred of awareness.
The one who left her to endure hardship alone while shouldering the weight of insults and disgrace.
He had cursed and envied that "scumbag" countless times in his heart, only to eventually realize that the most despicable scumbag had always been himself.
For the first time, he truly felt his face burn with shame—like a slap he had dealt himself.
Morning arrived the following day.
Mo Chuxi got up and immediately heard cheerful laughter coming from the living room.
The two little ones were happily eating the breakfast Yan Xinxin had prepared.
Seeing him awake, Yan Xinxin turned and walked toward him.
"Good morning, hubby."
She greeted him sweetly, rising on tiptoe to plant a kiss on his smooth cheek.
Mo Chuxi felt a ripple spread through his heart, blossoming into a lake of sweetness.
But he knew that if he confessed to Yan Xinxin that he was the scumbag from back then, this sweetness might instantly turn into poison, destroying her current smile and joy.
After dropping off Little Cutie at kindergarten, Yan Xinxin rode in Mo Chuxi’s car to Di Jue Group.
Since she entered using the exclusive elevator with him, the ride passed without much incident. But the moment she walked into the jewelry design department, the employees—both men and women—reacted as though they’d just seen something extraordinary, staring at her with wide-eyed surprise.
Tong Lili’s gaze stood out, unusually strange as it fixed on Yan Xinxin.
Yan Xinxin quietly made her way to her seat.
Just as she sat down, a female colleague leaned in toward her.
"Xinxin, was it true that Young Master Mo proposed to you last Saturday night?"
"Isn’t Young Master Mo supposed to be your teacher? How did he suddenly become... your husband?"
"Quick, Xinxin, tell us—does Young Master Mo really intend to marry you? What exactly is your relationship with him?"
"Impossible!" Thɪs chapter is updated by novel⸺fire.net
Tong Lili interjected firmly, her voice sharp with denial.
"Think about it—who is Young Master Mo? The richest man in Ancheng, the heir to the top aristocratic family. If he’s going to marry someone, it won’t be anyone less than a socialite or, at the very least, a major celebrity. As for Xinxin..."
She gave Yan Xinxin a seemingly kind smile but added with a cutting edge.
"Xinxin, I’m not trying to put you down, but I once heard from your old classmate Ling Siyu that your family’s financial situation isn’t great, right? You can’t even afford to buy a new outfit each month with your allowance."
Tong Lili’s words seemed to resonate with the other male and female colleagues, who nodded one after another in agreement.
Tong Lili’s two sidekicks chimed in emphatically.
"I told you, that video has to be fake!"
"Whoever went to the trouble of making it must be truly despicable! I really thought Young Master Mo was getting married!"
As she listened to the trio’s insistent dismissals, Yan Xinxin maintained a faint smile, picking up her water cup and walking gracefully toward Tong Lili.
"Sister Lily, you’re the ’old’ senior of this department. Why don’t you take a look at my diamond ring and tell me how many carats it is? And whose renowned design house created it?"