Forcefully Doting On You - v2c16

 

Chapter 48

Just as Mu Cai had finished sending his message, he heard Claire's proposal. The other party was heading to the same destination as him, and their purpose of visiting did not clash with his. Naturally, Mu Cai nodded in agreement.

As they were talking, a fluffy head suddenly popped out from between the chairbacks at which they were sitting. The appearance was so sudden that it gave Mu Cai a start. However, he maintained a calm facade and looked on.

It was Mu Feng.

The other party's hair was naturally curly and began curling from the roots. Because of this, even though Mu Feng's hair was quite short, it still looked fluffy, like a head full of curl-haired sheep's wool.

With his two hands clutching the chairbacks, Mu Feng stretched out his head from their connection point, looking at him with particular anticipation.

Mu Cai resisted the urge to pat his brother's fluffy head, maintaining his usual haughty persona in front of him and asked, "What's up?"

A bit awkwardly, Mu Feng said, "Brother, I... I made it to the grand finals!"

He continued, somewhat nervously, "Earlier, the league committee gave me a bonus, and I wanted to invite you to dinner. Is that ok?"

Anyone who made it to the grand finals of the Mecha Tournament would receive a significant bonus from the league committee. Moreover, the top three finalists in the grand final would receive a lucrative prize.

The rewards were not small temptations for most individuals. After all, mecha combat itself is quite an expensive field. Simply purchasing a mecha could incur significant costs, not to mention subsequent maintenance and other related expenses.

Mu Feng felt that the main reason he was able to advance to the grand finals this time was because of Mu Cai's influence. It was because the military requested his brother to stay behind and test the mechas that Mu Feng also remained, gaining the opportunity to use the training room.

Over this period, Mu Feng had been spending every day in the training room, making significant progress in mecha combat. As a result, he fought his way through several battles to reach the grand finals of the Mech Combat Tournament.

Although Mu Feng knew that Mu Cai was not short of money and probably wouldn't care much about one meal, he felt that his brother would agree to his request. As long as he appeared a little hopeful and pitiful, his brother would undoubtedly soften up and accept! After all, his big brother was such a great person!

Mu Cai thought for a moment and asked, "Will Mu Hong'an be going?"

Mu Feng shook his head, and his curly-haired head drooped down a bit, appearing somewhat pitiful as he said, "He won't be. I haven't spoken to Father in a long time, and he's even stopped my living expenses."

Seeing Mu Cai's widened eyes, Mu Feng nervously explained, "When my father found out I was with the military and sharing the same place as Claire, he, umm... asked me to do some things I didn't want to do. When I disagreed, he stopped my living expenses."

Claire raised an eyebrow at this.

He knew very well what kind of person Mu Hong'an was. The man must have wanted Mu Feng to get close to him, dreaming of establishing a marital alliance with the Lai family.

Fortunately, this Mu Feng seemed sensible enough.

Mu Cai was genuinely surprised by this. In the original story, although Mu Feng and Mu Hong'an had frequent arguments due to their differing viewpoints, he hadn't been this ruthless.

Could it be that the plot had changed, causing Mu Feng and Claire not to be as close, making Mu Hong'an think his son was useless?

Considering this, Mu Cai felt a little sympathetic. Although Mu Feng's existence was once a thorn in their mother's heart, according to the recent news Mu Cai received, Shi Xuezhen had been living quite a carefree life after her divorce.

Not only did she go on trips with her old friends to relax, but lately, it seemed an alpha uncle was pursuing her. When Shi Xuezhen mentioned this to Mu Cai, she had a shy look on her face during their video call. By now, their mother had probably forgotten who Mu Hong'an was.

Shi Xuezhen had always been kind and gentle and never treated Mu Feng unfairly. Now, when she saw him, she could regard him as an ordinary younger relative.

Moreover, Mu Cai was only going to eat a meal with Mu Feng, so their mother definitely wouldn't say anything. Perhaps seeing Mu Feng so pitiful, Shi Xuezhen would even ask him to help Mu Feng more.

Thinking of this, Mu Cai nodded, "Alright."

His brother on the other side had fair skin and large, dark eyes, in which the pupils reflected two small images of himself.

Joy blossomed in Mu Feng's heart, and he hastily nodded, "Thank you, big brother."

As Mu Feng nodded, his curly hair trembled along with his head.

Feeling tickled inside, Mu Cai couldn't help but reach out and gently touch the curls on top of Mu Feng's head.

It was quite soft.

After touching it for a while, Mu Cai casually withdrew his hand as if he hadn't just been stroking someone's hair. He raised his head proudly, looking much like the condescending Mu Cai who used to interact with Mu Feng. The only thing that gave him away was the faint blush on his face: "You're welcome."

The young man pouted his rosy lips, his cheeks slightly puffing out, not even glancing at Mu Feng.

His brother was too adorable! Even when awarding a pat, he would be shy!

Seeing Mu Cai's appearance, Mu Feng didn't feel awkward at all. Instead, he was quite tempted to caress Mu Cai's soft cheeks which looked as bouncy as jelly!

While Mu Feng was still eagerly looking at Mu Cai, a cough suddenly sounded from the side.

Glancing over, Mu Cai saw Claire staring at them. Despite the lack of expression on his face, Mu Cai inexplicably sensed a hint of lament and tension.

Just when Mu Cai was questioning whether he had misinterpreted Claire's expression, Claire calmly said, "Cai Cai, I also made it to the grand finals."

Mu Cai was taken aback. Wasn't it common knowledge that Claire had made it to the finals? Why was Claire going out of his way to mention it again? Could it be that he also wanted to invite him for a meal?

While he was still confused, he saw Claire looking at him, his gaze exceptionally deep.

One gloved hand was resting on the seat, right next to Mu Cai's leg, and the other was gripping the edge of his chair. Such a posture firmly trapped Mu Cai's legs.

The young man's expression changed with his actions.

His initial bewilderment had turned into surprise – his bright, dark eyes were entirely on Claire, and even Claire's fair hand was now gently resting on his shoulder, seemingly trying to subconsciously halt his movements.

After stopping Mu Cai's actions, Claire leaned slightly forward in front of him, repeating: "Cai Cai, I also made it to the grand finals."

Mu Feng, who had been watching from the side, was utterly dumbstruck.

He felt as though he had witnessed something really extraordinary.

On staring at Claire's black-crowned head revealed in front of him, a sudden realization hit Mu Cai.

Just previously, he couldn't resist touching Mu Feng's curly hair. Could it be that Claire wanted him to touch his head as well?

Tentatively, he reached out and touched Claire's hair a couple of times. It was bristly, not as soft as Mu Feng's, but the light scraping sensation when his fingertips brushed the tips of Claire's hair was highly captivating.

The moment Mu Cai's delicate fingers contacted his crown, Claire felt a violent tremor through his body. A sweet, peachy fragrance emanated from Mu Cai, penetrating his nose and enveloping him entirely, leaving him completely immersed in it.

While most of the time Mu Cai's fingers merely lingered at the ends of his hair, his soft fingertips would still occasionally graze Claire's scalp. When that hint of cool, soft touch fell, Claire's thick eyelashes would tremble slightly.

After experiencing the bristly sensation of Claire's hair for a while, Mu Cai withdrew his hand.

This position was a bit awkward, and for whatever reason, perhaps due to his imminent heat, he thought Claire's typically metallic scent seemed to have intensified.

Once Claire felt the touch on his head cease, he sat upright and laughed: "Thank you for the reward, Cai Cai."

It turned out that Claire had interpreted his previous maneuver of petting Mu Feng's head as rewarding himself, hence he had just asked to have his own head caressed.

Considering this, for some unknown reason, Mu Cai thought Claire resembled a puppy, his normally stern features now appeared quite cute. Coupled with Claire's seemingly natural attitude, any trace of prior embarrassment within Mu Cai evaporated.

He responded naturally: "You're welcome."

On the side, Mu Feng, who had been staring mouth agape throughout the entire scenario, received a fleeting glance from Claire at that moment.

If he wasn't mistaken, there seemed to be a trace of smugness hidden in Claire's eyes.

Observing the smile on his brother's face, Mu Feng silently retreated his head from between the chair backs and took a seat. He retreated into his thoughts, quietly mourning.

His brother was being swayed by someone indeed!

When the battleship returned to the capital star and successfully landed, Mu Feng prepared to head directly to the Imperial Mecha Academy.

Seeing the direction he was heading, Mu Cai hesitated for a moment, then said: "The finals are about to start. I'll go to school next week. You can come and pick me up then."

Mu Feng looked over in surprise.

He did not want to return home right now during the break of the Imperial Mecha Academy as he did not wish to encounter Mu Hong'an. Because the Academy offers residential facilities during the break, he intended to go straight back to school.

He never expected his brother to take notice.

The finals wouldn't start until half a month later, and his brother planned to join him at school a whole week early — his brother was truly wonderful!

Seeing the expression on Mu Feng's face, Mu Cai knew he was probably imagining something again. He quickly put on a proud look to keep up his image: "You'll have to pick me up, understood?!"

Mu Feng nodded immediately: "Alright, big brother!"

Only then did Mu Cai, satisfied, turn around. He boarded the private craft that had arrived for them, sitting down with Claire, and the two set off for Ruan Jia's home.

________________________

Ever since Ruan Jia received the news yesterday that Mu Cai would be returning, he had been so excited that he could hardly sleep at night.

When he woke up this morning, he paired various clothes together to ensure he looked nice. He even prepared little snacks and small cakes, waiting at home all the while for their arrival.

Just now, Ruan Jia received another message from Mu Cai, who said they were on their way to Ruan Jia's house.

As Ruan Jia was preparing to happily go out and greet their guest, their elder brother Ruan Chen, who was sitting on the sofa, glanced at his smart-brain device and called out, "Wait, Ruan Jia, are you going to pick someone up? Perfect, I need to go out and meet someone too."

Ruan Chen worked for the military department and rarely entertained guests at home. Although Ruan Jia felt a little puzzled, they still went out together with their elder brother.

They walked out of their own detached villa and went to the main entrance of the Ruan family's property. After waiting for a while, they finally saw a private aircraft approaching.

The dark aircraft was decorated with hot gold patterns, and it descended from the sky, silently landing on the small parking apron in front of the Ruan family's house.

The more Ruan Jia looked at the aircraft, the more familiar it seemed.

Why did it look so much like that shameless Claire's???

________________________

Author's Note:

Claire proudly declares: "A person without shame is invincible in this world, and the beloved beauty is in my hands!" *Presents a small, fondant Q-version of Mu Cai* 

Fondant Q-version Mu Cai: Four for one yuan, no charge if it's not sweet!

Claire takes them all and leaves!

Previous Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter