After Marrying the Aloof Beauty, I Totally Fell for Her - Chapter 20

Chapter 20 – Your Hands Are Dirty

“I told you I can’t walk anymore!”

Then what do you want me to do? You were the one who wanted to come out and have fun! And now, halfway up the mountain you’re collapsing here, unable to go up or down. Don’t tell me you expect me to carry you the rest of the way?!

“If you hadn’t been so stingy! I told you we should’ve taken the cable car, and now you’re blaming me instead?!”

The round trip cable car ticket is 500 per person—that’s enough for two hotpot meals! And if you take the cable car, what’s even the point of climbing a mountain?!

The argument grew louder and louder as they approached. An Ning and Mu Yan both looked in the direction of the voices. A young couple—clearly boyfriend and girlfriend—were walking toward the pavilion, still bickering. The girl was obviously exhausted, stumbling as she walked, while the guy stormed ahead with a scowl, paying no attention to her. He only noticed there were already two people in the pavilion once he barged in—one with an awkward expression and the other completely unreadable.

“Hmph…” Seeing that the people inside were two women, he initially wanted to act tough and say “What are you looking at?” But he held it in—one was tall enough that he might not be able to take her in a fight, and the other was stunningly beautiful. The words died in his throat.

How rude.

An Ning frowned when she noticed the guy staring blatantly at Mu Yan’s face.

“What are you looking at?!”

But someone else beat her to it. The girl who had been following behind immediately shoved her boyfriend when she saw that expression on his face.

“What the hell?!” The guy exploded with rage and turned around to yell at her.

Are they seriously going to start fighting?

An Ning watched the situation grow more tense, already preparing to intervene, but when she glanced at Mu Yan, the woman looked completely unbothered—as if it wasn’t two people arguing in front of her, but two noisy sparrows.

Now that’s what you call staying calm under pressure.

“You see? That girl over there knows how to pour water for her sister and even carry her bag. And you—you’re not even as good as her!”

The girl’s tone suddenly shifted as she pointed a finger straight at An Ning and scolded her boyfriend.

Wait, what does this have to do with me?!

Before An Ning could react, the guy gave her a vicious glare and stormed over to another bench, slumping down onto it.

The girl, not letting it go, rushed over to continue berating him. In less than five minutes, she had already brought up how he refused to buy her a headband at the amusement park six months ago.

An Ning’s ears were ringing from their shouting. She wanted to leave, but she was worried Mu Yan hadn’t rested enough yet. She felt stuck between staying and going.

“Water.”
Mu Yan, unfazed, reached out her fair hand and asked for the tea like nothing was happening.

“Here.” An Ning, reassured by her calm demeanor, quickly passed her the cup.

Mu Yan took it, gently blew on the tea, and began sipping slowly.

Truly slowly. Not just her movements—even her brows and eyes softened, curving slightly. She looked like a content cat savoring a delicious treat, completely at ease.

An Ning stared in a daze, even starting to doubt whether the cup held bitter tea or sweet honey water.

That moment was broken by a sudden yell from the nearby bench.

“You’re still staring!”

An Ning looked up and saw the girl furiously reaching out to twist her boyfriend’s ear.

“What are you doing?!” The guy grabbed her hand and shoved it away.

“Hey…” An Ning was about to speak up and stop them before they escalated into an actual fight, but Mu Yan interrupted her.

“Wet wipes.”
Mu Yan acted as if she hadn’t noticed the brewing chaos, continuing to sip her tea while extending her free hand toward An Ning.

An Ning: “……”

Let them fight then.

She reached into her backpack and handed Mu Yan two wet wipes, but as she withdrew her hand, her wrist was suddenly caught.

“Teacher Mu?” she asked, puzzled, turning to look at her.

Mu Yan calmly set the cup down, holding An Ning’s wrist in one hand and taking the wipes with the other.

“Your hands are dirty.”

The cool touch of her fingertips came with her equally cool words. It felt like a cold little fish sliding between her fingers, sending a shiver down An Ning’s spine. She looked down to see Mu Yan’s lowered gaze, patiently and carefully wiping her hands clean.

Was it from when I wiped the bench earlier?

An Ning realized that some things become less awkward the second time around. The first time Mu Yan had wiped her face, her brain had blanked out completely. But now, she still had enough mental space to wonder exactly when her hands got dirty.

Of course, some things were inevitable—like going completely stiff, or the heat creeping from her fingers all the way to her face.

“And you say I’m the problem?! Look at how that sister treats her little sister! And you—you look like that and still act like some kind of princess. I’m done pampering you!”

Another shout rang out from the bench. An Ning stiffly turned her head and saw the guy roughly shake off the girl’s grip and storm out of the pavilion.

“Yu Hao! You dare!” the girl screamed at his retreating back, her voice breaking. But the guy didn’t even flinch—he was determined. Without a word, he disappeared up the mountain path and was soon out of sight.

The girl started to get up, probably wanting to chase him, but either from pain or rage, she fell back onto the bench and glared furiously at Mu Yan.

“What are you looking at?”

Mu Yan continued to calmly inspect An Ning’s hand, turning it over to make sure it was completely clean before letting go. She glanced at the girl, her tone flat:

“He left you behind on the mountain today. Tomorrow, he’ll leave you somewhere else. And yet you’re still trying to ‘educate’ him, even dragging unrelated people into your mess. You’ve got some determination, I’ll give you that.”

So… Teacher Mu wiped my hands just to piss them off?

It finally clicked for An Ning—but then another thought occurred to her.

Wait, does that mean she was standing up for me?

The girl’s expression darkened—clearly hit where it hurt—but in the end, she didn’t say anything.

“Let’s go.” Mu Yan stood up without sparing the girl another glance.

“Okay.” An Ning responded, then turned to the girl and said, “There’s an emergency number on the ticket. If you can’t get down, you can call and have the staff come get you.”

The girl gave a sullen nod, and as the two were leaving, she finally mumbled a quiet, mosquito-like “…sorry.”

Back on the mountain trail, An Ning hesitated for a bit before speaking up, “Teacher Mu… thank you.”

The woman glanced at her side profile, her expression calm. “It had nothing to do with you.”

Alright, alright…

An Ning smiled and didn’t argue. She simply continued walking up the mountain beside her.