Transmigrating Into a Book, the Villain Becomes the White Moonlight!

42: Chapter 42 Two Women, One State of MindBut—an unwilling voice argued in her heart—what about Su Bai? Doesn’t he also rely on his family?

The matter of the donation to Mu Xue caused such a stir, and in the end, wasn’t it only settled by using the power of the Su Corporation? What right did he have to criticize her with such a righteous and condescending attitude?

Has he earned even a single cent on his own?

When was I ever cold to him?

As soon as this question surfaced, a deeper sense of grievance welled up in Lin Wan’s heart.

True, it was true that she had rarely taken the initiative to speak to him before.

But that was because... because he had never taken the initiative to speak to her either!

From the first day of school, with that lazy and aloof manner of his, he wasn’t willing to pay her any attention at all.

She was a girl; was she supposed to ignore her dignity and subject her warm face to his cold shoulder time and again?

If I took the initiative to speak to him, would he take the initiative to speak to me?

This hypothesis made her heart tremble slightly, only to be immediately covered by a deeper sense of powerlessness.

Judging by Su Bai’s terrible attitude just now, the answer was likely no.

He simply disliked her, hated her to his core.

Her thoughts drifted uncontrollably to Mu Xue again.

Even if... even if there really was that kind of relationship between him and Mu Xue, if he were willing to discuss it with her, would she really be so unreasonable?

She could also find ways to help Mu Xue; why use a method that was so easily misunderstood?

Why did he have to keep it from her?

No matter what... no matter what, she was still his nominal fiancée!

This matter was known to almost everyone; did he not consider her feelings and position at all?

It was as if two little people were engaged in a fierce argument in Lin Wan’s heart, refusing to yield an inch.

One was defending her, recounting her grievances and Su Bai’s faults; the other was coldly analyzing her behavior and questioning her motives.

To put it nicely, this was a violent collision of thoughts; to put it bluntly, Lin Wan was currently engaged in a tragic battle between the left and right sides of her brain.

She hoped to find a point of justification that would let her feel at ease, but she found that support point was already tottering.

In the afternoon, the sun slanted toward the west.

Su Bai swiped his card to enter the suite on the top floor of the hotel.

His gaze first landed on the coffee table in the living room—an ordinary plastic food container, completely out of place among the hotel’s exquisite porcelain, sat there quietly.

Almost simultaneously, the continuous sound of running water in the bathroom stopped abruptly.

A moment later, Mu Xue walked out wrapped in a snow-white bath towel, with droplets of water still dripping from the ends of her hair.

Seeing Su Bai already standing in the room, her footsteps paused for a moment.

”You haven’t eaten?” Su Bai took off his coat, draped it casually over the back of the sofa, walked over to the coffee table, and gestured toward the food container with his eyes.

Their usual routine did not include bringing one’s own food.

”I... I brought it for you.” Mu Xue gently dried her hair and sat on the single sofa opposite Su Bai, her body under the towel unconsciously straightening up a bit.

”Stir-fried Rice Noodles. From the shop where I worked at noon,” she added, her gaze drifting slightly elsewhere.

Mu Xue hadn’t stopped working at the rice noodle shop, not because the money Su Bai gave her wasn’t enough, but because in the public’s impression, she was still that girl who needed to earn money to supplement her family’s income.

Delete.

But today, Mu Xue revealed a long-lost, somewhat awkward shyness, an emotion that seemed a bit subtle appearing at this moment.

”Brought it for me?” Su Bai’s brow arched slightly as he opened the lid of the container.

A rich aroma, a mix of Wok Hei, chili, and spices, immediately spread out.

The outer shell of the container was still noticeably warm; clearly, she had just arrived not long ago.

”Medium spicy,” Mu Xue added softly from the side, observing his expression. ”I remember you seem to be able to handle spicy food quite well. If you don’t think it’s enough this time... I can add more next time.”

There was a cautious probing in her tone.

Su Bai picked up the disposable chopsticks prepared nearby and casually stirred the glossy, richly-topped rice noodles twice; they looked and smelled excellent.

But his chopsticks only made a circle inside without picking up any food, and then he gently rested the chopsticks on the edge of the container.

”I’m not hungry.”

After saying that, he stood up and walked straight to the bathroom, without looking at the box of rice noodles again, nor at Mu Xue’s instantly dimmed eyes.

Su Bai could tell that this portion of rice noodles was made by Mu Xue herself.

This wasn’t the first time Mu Xue had made such a boundary-crossing move.

Perhaps in the eyes of others, bringing a snack to one’s Benefactor, even with a hint of ingratiation, was not inappropriate.

But to Su Bai, the signal couldn’t be clearer—it was beginning to deviate from the track of pure money and physical exchange.

It reminded him of something his father, Su Zheng, had said once, seemingly at random: ”If you have the ability, go after someone properly—send flowers, water, and milk tea, put some thought into it. Don’t just throw money at them.”

Su Bai hadn’t refuted that sentence even now.

Their relationship was not that of boyfriend and girlfriend, and Su Bai didn’t need that kind of affection.

Rather than saying Su Bai was afraid of being hurt himself, it was more accurate to say he was afraid of hurting others’ feelings; a simple and straightforward monetary transaction was easier, and no one had to overthink it.

Mu Xue stared blankly at the closed bathroom door, the shy flush on her face having long since faded, leaving only a faint paleness.

She silently reached out and gently put the lid back on the food container, her fingertips touching the still-warm plastic shell, but her heart felt somewhat cold.

The contradictions in her heart were like tangled vines.

The man before her was the person her body was most familiar with, yet he might also be the person furthest from her psychologically.

She often mocked herself for her shamelessness and delusional thinking—from the moment she nodded in agreement for the sake of money, she was destined to lose the possibility of occupying any special place in his heart.

She understood the essence of this transaction better than anyone.

The tragedy was that while her reason was clear, her emotions were difficult to control.

That fantasy of a potential ’perhaps’ always sprouted inappropriately in her mind.

And the nourishment for this fantasy came precisely from the cold sense of security Su Bai provided daily.

He had solved her family’s predicament and settled her scandal with almost cold and efficient means, and in this relationship, he never lost his temper with her or made excessive demands.

This stability and protection, even if it stemmed from a transaction, was distortedly interpreted in Mu Xue’s experience as a rare kind of tenderness and kindness.

The Su Bai in her eyes was completely different from the foul-mouthed, playboy, unenthusiastic rich second-generation heir others saw.

...

Mu Xue lay on her side, her arm resting gently on Su Bai’s chest.

She hesitantly asked in a low voice, ”You... don’t seem very happy today?”

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