Chapter 43 you scoundrel!

At that moment, a fierce shout erupted, startling both Mu Hanyan and Yi Qinglian as they withdrew their hands.

"Mu Hanyan! You scoundrel, what are you trying to do to Qinglian!" An angry and anxious voice suddenly exploded, making Mu Hanyan and Yi Qinglian’s ears buzz.

Mu Hanyan looked up to see who was speaking, the corners of his mouth twitching.

Oh, it was Mu Feng. But honestly, Mu Hanyan knew he was a woman, and Yi Qinglian knew too, but outsiders didn’t know. When they held hands, it seemed only natural to them. But to onlookers, it looked scandalous, like the playboy Mu Hanyan was taking advantage of Yi Qinglian!

"Hanyan is not a scoundrel! What are you talking about!" Before Mu Hanyan could even speak, Yi Qinglian had already started shouting angrily, looking just like a fierce little cow defending her calf.

"Qinglian! You, how can you speak for him, have you forgotten that just a while ago he was accused of trying to behave inappropriately towards Fourth Miss Zhao?" Mu Feng looked hurt, unable to accept that Yi Qinglian was actually defending Mu Hanyan, a worthless playboy.

"Hanyan was framed! Hanyan would never try to take advantage of someone as horrible as Fourth Miss Zhao!" Yi Qinglian retorted fiercely, glaring at Mu Feng, "You, being Hanyan’s cousin, can’t even believe him and instead believe in the nonsense spread by others! You are really irrational!"

Mu Hanyan, after hearing this, knew someone was heartbroken!

Sure enough, Mu Hanyan saw Mu Feng’s face turn pale, and he stumbled back two steps.

Oh, the boy secretly in love with Qinglian, at this moment must be feeling as if he had been stabbed with a thousand knives, each one cutting deep!

Mu Feng liked Yi Qinglian, yes, he liked her very much.

But outwardly, Yi Qinglian seemed to favor the worthless playboy Mu Hanyan. How could Mu Feng not hate? He had gotten drunk more than once because of this—unable to understand what he was lacking compared to Mu Hanyan, a playboy whom anyone sensible would dismiss, yet Qinglian seemed to think Mu Hanyan was better?

Mu Hanyan, having lived another life, understood why this was. It was because Yi Qinglian knew her secret! As children, Yi Qinglian had learned that Mu Hanyan was a girl during an event hosted by the City Lord’s Mansion for various aristocratic families of Heishi City, including the Yi Family. Yi Qinglian, shy and prone to tears, had been poorly attended by a servant, resulting in her getting lost in the City Lord’s Mansion.

Later, Mu Hanyan found Yi Qinglian, who was crying out of fear in a rockery cave in the garden. Mu Hanyan comforted her and even gave her two pieces of mung bean cake, one of her comforting lines being, "I am just like you; look how bold I am, I don’t just cry for no reason."

Although Yi Qinglian was young then, she understood the difference between boys and girls and protested that they were not the same. In a moment of impulse, Mu Hanyan took off her ring to convince Yi Qinglian and stop her crying by letting her see her real identity.

From that time on, Yi Qinglian knew that Mu Hanyan was actually a woman. They made a pinky promise that Yi Qinglian would keep it a secret, and in a blink of an eye, Mu Hanyan had forgotten about it. But Yi Qinglian remembered it her whole life. Thus, no matter who scorned or despised Mu Hanyan, Qinglian always firmly stood by her side, and later even sacrificed greatly to save Mu Hanyan, giving up her own happiness and even her life.