After Marrying the Aloof Beauty, I Totally Fell for Her - Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Lifting An Ning’s Chin

The moment An Ning asked her question, it felt like all the bl00d in Mu Yan’s body froze. Looking at the dejected girl, a twinge of compassion rose in her heart—only to be swallowed almost instantly by overwhelming fear.

Those memories were treasures that could support her through a dull lifetime. But for An Ning, they might not be anything worth remembering.

There were worries, arguments, even a fallout—ending with that unfortunate accident.

Most of the anger An Ning experienced in her 20 years of life had been because of her.

Compared to all the pain she had caused An Ning, those so-called “good memories” would barely hold any significance in a life that was already full of happiness.

Whether An Ning would forgive her once she remembered was another matter entirely.

And she was selfish. Otherwise, she wouldn’t still be entangled with An Ning now.

She couldn’t say it. She didn’t want to say it.

Even though it was unfair to An Ning.

She didn’t dare look at the girl’s face again. After a long silence, she finally forced her mouth open and squeezed out, “Let the past stay in the past. Not remembering might not be a bad thing.”

Don’t be upset about these things anymore. They’re not worth it.

“Mm…” The answer didn’t surprise An Ning. She softly responded, then opened the car door and stepped out. She forced a smile as if nothing had happened and said goodbye, “Goodbye, Teacher Mu.”

Mu Yan nodded, and just like many times before when facing An Ning, she fled.

The rundown family compound and the tall girl were left behind her—just like when she moved out of the compound years ago.

She thought she had escaped the past.

But the past always catches up.

Because her past had An Ning in it, and no matter how many flaws it had, she still couldn’t truly let go.

Aside from those memories, she had nothing left.

You’ll remember eventually.

When that day comes, I’ll accept whatever you give me—whether it’s good or bad.

She stared at the girl in the rearview mirror, now just a tiny dot in the distance.

But before that… let me keep running for a while longer.

Please don’t be angry with me.

Only after the car disappeared from view did An Ning turn to walk into the family compound.

After being rejected by Mu Yan, she finally calmed down and started thinking about the way her teacher avoided her gaze—she began to regret her impulsiveness.

Did I scare her…?

Back home, her parents were startled by her state. It took quite some reassuring before they finally relaxed and urged her to rest.

After getting cleaned up, An Ning lay in bed, still feeling conflicted. Eventually, she picked up her phone and sent a message to Mu Yan on WeChat.

I’m Not Salty: Teacher Mu, I’m home. Thank you for taking me to the doctor. Also, about earlier—I was being abrupt. Please don’t take it to heart.

She thought about it for a moment and then, as usual, added a sticker.

I’m Not Salty: I’m going to rest now. Let’s chat tomorrow! Sleepy puppy.jpg

She didn’t wait for a reply. The intense match and her injury had drained her energy. The girl closed her eyes and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

It was a good night’s sleep. When An Ning opened her eyes again, it was already the next morning.

Still half-asleep, she grabbed her phone and checked WeChat. Mu Yan had replied with only one sentence:

MY: Mm. Rest well.

Looks like she’s not mad.

An Ning let out a breath of relief, only then noticing the glaring 99+ notification dot under her dorm group chat, Room 302.

What happened…?

She rubbed her eyes and tapped into the chat, immediately seeing this message:

Huang Sang Has Arrived: Someone asked me to write a fanfic of Ning Ning and Teacher Mu. I flat-out refused. You can’t just write fanfics about your friends for free. That’s premium content.

An Ning: ?

Her drowsiness vanished in an instant. She quickly typed three question marks into the group chat.

Whimper Whimper Whimper: You’re awake, Ning Ning! How’s your injury?

I’m Not Salty: Nothing serious. Huang Sang, what’s this about fanfiction?

Huang Lu sent a shocked emoji—unclear whether it was from An Ning not knowing about the situation, or from being caught red-handed for upcharging on fanfic commissions.

Huang Sang Has Arrived: You don’t know? You and Teacher Mu are trending on Weibo right now! Three people commissioned fanfics of you two just last night!

I’m Not Salty: WHAT?!

Without waiting for a reply, An Ning opened Weibo and tapped on the trending tab.

Scrolling down, she finally saw a somewhat ambiguous tag at the bottom:

#IfThisIsn’tLoveThenWhatIs#

Her fingers trembled as she tapped into it. The top post was from a personal account:

“Went to Yun City Sports Center with my boyfriend to watch the provincial tournament today and got an unexpected bonus. I’m dying from the sweetness.”

Attached was a video—starting from the moment she fell to when Mu Yan ran in, ending with their hug.

The person filming, probably a girl seated near the front, had high enough resolution to clearly capture their facial expressions. There was no sound, but their body language and emotions were vivid enough to piece together what happened.

This was confirmed by the occasional fangirl screech—“SO SWEET!!”

An Ning glanced at the comments—already in the thousands.

Isn’t this… a bit much?

Hands shaking, she kept scrolling:

Comment 1: Is this the set of a drama? Their visuals are out of this world.
Comment 2: No way a drama could portray emotions this naturally. I was grinning the whole time.

Comment 3: Feels like an older-sister-younger-girl vibe. Don’t roast me—I’m trash, but I love this.
Comment 4: Anyone know their Weibo handles? I need to start shipping in real time!
Comment 5: The athlete is An Ning, a top player in the youth singles league. That older girl is her girlfriend. Word is, she’s surnamed Mu and has shown up to her exhibition matches before. Check out this post: “Shocking—sports academy goddess picked up by her girlfriend’s car.” Also, join the supertopic: “Under the Lemon Tree, You and Me.” I’ll post updates there!

An Ning: “…”

She stared at a long comment from someone named “Sweet Sweet Smile,” took a screenshot, and sent it to Ren Tiantian.

I’m Not Salty: This you?

I’m Super Sweet: How’d you guess? Hehe. Don’t mind it, Ning Ning—I just got too into shipping you guys. But I’m the supertopic mod now. I promise we’ll keep it healthy and wholesome!

I’m Not Salty: …As long as you’re happy.

Leaving behind her nosy teammates, An Ning tapped on her own notifications.

Thousands of them—more than all her previous notifications combined.

Most were comments on her most recent Weibo post—a photo of a badminton racket from September.

The original comments were buried under new ones, all in a weirdly unified CP-shipping tone:

Comment 1: Are you really dating? What’s her Weibo? Please go public!
Comment 2: Is your injury okay? Did big sis kiss it better?
Comment 3: Shhh! Don’t disturb them—they’re sleeping!

Comment 4: An Ning, I fell for your girlfriend at first sight. Can you back off and introduce her to me?
Comment 5: I’m different—I like you, An Ning. But can you give me her contact?

An Ning scrolled, half amused, half exasperated.

She opened the CP supertopic—and the top post was:

“Injured An Ning Gets Punished by Her Big Sister. NSFW. Minors Keep Out.”

An Ning: “…”

Thanks to occasionally scrolling dream-fic posts, she had enough awareness not to click it.

She kept browsing—lots of fanart, some innocent, some not.

All centered around the same theme: her and Mu Yan… sleeping together.

Why is the progression so fast?!

She even watched the video again. We just hugged! Why does that lead to bed scenes?!

Confused, she turned to the expert:

I’m Not Salty: Huang Sang, why is the supertopic full of that kind of content?

Huang Sang Has Arrived: Uh, your video was just too viral. People got excited but didn’t know the context—so they defaulted to writing… bedroom stuff. Plus, real talk, Ms. Mu’s red eyes just scream tragic, steamy fanfic heroine.

I’m Not Salty: ?

Huang Sang Has Arrived: If you don’t get it, forget it. Can’t corrupt your pure little heart. BTW, how does it feel reading fanfiction of yourself?

I’m Not Salty: Just slightly more cringe than reading dream-fics about myself. Manageable.

Huang Sang has arrived: LMAO.gif

An Ning finally posted a tweet:

“ Teacher Mu and I are in a romantic relationship, but her Weibo can’t be made public. Thank you for the concern—my injury’s not serious.”

The comments beneath were just as chaotic. An Ning closed the app immediately.

I hope Teacher Mu doesn’t see any of this…

Just imagining her seeing that NSFW fic made her shudder.

She finished breakfast. Since she had a doctor’s note, she didn’t need to attend class. Bored in bed, she opened the supertopic again.

Just a peek. I’ve got nothing better to do.

She reassured herself.

“Teacher Mu gently lifted An Ning’s chin and said, ‘You’re mine. Who said you could get hurt without my permission? Bear with it.’”

An Ning: “…”

“An Ning buried her head in Mu’s chest, pouting: ‘It hurts right here. Blow on it, sis.’”

An Ning: “Uh…”

“An Ning wrapped her arms around Teacher Mu’s waist, lifted her onto the table, grinning: ‘I feel fine. Want to give it a try, sis?’”

An Ning: What is this nonsense?!

A blush slowly crept across her face.

Even so, she didn’t exit the topic. Instead, like a criminal, she pulled the covers over her head.

“Ning Ning, come eat! Eh? Why’s your face so red? Do you have a fever?” her mom asked, touching her forehead.

“No, I’m fine. Just hungry!” An Ning practically bolted to the dining table.

She couldn’t exactly tell her mom she’d spent the whole morning reading very imaginative fanfics about herself and Mu Yan, could she?

At that same time, during lunch break at Shen Zhou Studio, a group of young girls huddled around a phone, giggling at something.

Yuan Zi, who was doing reports nearby: “…”

She rolled her eyes, pushed her laptop aside, poured herself some coffee, and joined them.

“Yuan-jie, look, this video is sooo sweet!” The girls weren’t big on workplace hierarchy and shoved the phone toward her.

Probably another idol drama clip, Yuan Zi thought. She was long past being impressed by overpowered CEOs.

But then—

“Pfft!”

She spat out her coffee.

“Yuan-jie, are you okay?!”

As they helped her recover, Yuan Zi’s eyes locked onto the screen.

The woman in the video, with red-rimmed eyes, hugging a badminton player…

Looked exactly like her boss.

Mu Yan had never said she had a twin, right?

She sat in shock, feeling like her worldview had just collapsed.

Eventually, she messaged Mu Yan.

Dumpling: Video link — Boss, is this you?

Miraculously, Mu Yan replied within five hours:

MY: ?

Dumpling: It’s all over Weibo. Don’t tell me… you really got together with that girl?

No reply.

Two hours later:

MY: Yes.

Yuan Zi, mid-face-mask, fell off the couch.

What kind of drama is this?!

Meanwhile, Mu Yan was browsing CP fanart, frowning.

An Ning’s face isn’t that pointy. My waist doesn’t bend like that…

She wasn’t interested in the fanfics, but her inner artist couldn’t ignore the poor anatomy.

Not a single passable drawing among these?

She pulled out her drawing tablet.

For a skilled artist, switching styles wasn’t difficult.

An Ning, having napped all afternoon, had trouble sleeping that night.

She opened the supertopic again and saw a new top post—a realistic, detailed fanart.

In it, she held a glowing crystal ball, with a shining star inside. The surrounding darkness was lit only by its soft glow, illuminating both her and Mu Yan.

She smiled proudly as if offering a treasure. Mu Yan, though expressionless, seemed focused not on the star, but on her.

It was beautiful.

She stared at Mu Yan’s face in the drawing for a long time before checking the comments.

The uploader was a new, anonymous account named I Couldn’t Take It Anymore with no bio or posts—just the image.

In an hour, it already had over a thousand comments full of praise.

An Ning saved the image and used the crystal ball as her WeChat avatar.

Subtle enough not to raise questions.

Still feeling unsatisfied, she messaged Mu Yan:

I’m Not Salty: Teacher Mu, look at my new avatar! Isn’t it pretty?

Mu Yan didn’t reply right away. After five minutes:

MY: …It’s pretty.

She hadn’t expected An Ning to see it so quickly—let alone use it as her profile picture.

Mu Yan stared at the tiny icon for a long moment.

She assumed An Ning had seen all the other content too.

Even knowing An Ning was grown up, it still made her uncomfortable.

Like biting into a chocolate and finding out it’s filled with alcohol.

Mind your own business, she scolded herself, checking other unread messages.

Yu: LMAO look at you crying and hugging like it’s your first crush. I wish I could fly home and meet your little sweetheart right now. Should I call you the Iron Tree Whisperer?

Just Sauce: Saw the video—congrats. I’ve got two tickets to Ice City’s Snow Park. Got them from their boss during a business event. It’ll soft open in January. Want to bring your girl?

Mu Yan paused, then blocked “Yu.”

Then forwarded the ticket images to An Ning:

MY: Do you have time to travel during winter break?