Chapter 85

Elise sent Nora a long string of ellipses.

She tapped into X. The hashtag #MuChuanConfesses had shot up the trending list, and people were already trying to identify the mysterious woman in the photo.

Elise buried her face in her pillow.

What was Mu Chuan thinking? X could take one short sentence and turn it into something enormous. He had confessed to her on a public platform. Had he lost his mind?

Mu scrolled through the replies beneath his posts. The messages congratulating him made the corner of his mouth lift. When someone said Elise wasn't good enough for him, he blocked the account without a second thought.

Pei Yi hesitated at the edge of the room. After a moment, he gathered the nerve to speak.

“Mr. Mu, I saw the post Miss Ellis shared, too. I don't think Miss Elise meant what you think she meant. And the man in the picture is actually an actor.”

Mu raised an eyebrow. “An actor?” Not some other man, then?

“Yes. He's been getting popular lately.”

Mu went quiet.

He had seen Elise like and comment on Nora's post. The photo clearly showed a man, and he had assumed it was someone they knew. Then the rumor about him and Elise began spreading on X. Acting on impulse, he'd used the moment to post a few messages, hoping she would understand how he felt.

But the man in the picture was a celebrity?

Mu didn't regret posting. Ever since he'd held Elise at the skate park, he'd wanted to tell her how he felt. This had seemed like his chance.

Back in her bedroom, Elise rolled from one side of the bed to the other. Her head was starting to ache. How was she supposed to face Mu now?

Maybe she could pretend she hadn't seen the posts.

Her phone buzzed. Startled, she flung it onto the bed. A few seconds passed before she reached for it and saw Mu's name on the screen.

She took her time answering.

“...Did you see what I posted?” Mu asked, his voice rough.

Elise hugged a pillow and twisted one corner until it was misshapen. Her throat felt dry. “I did.”

“Are you free tonight? I could come pick you up.”

She raked both hands through her hair. Why did he want her to come out? She didn't have to guess. He wanted to say something to her in person.

She had never dealt with this kind of in-between, almost-romantic situation. Even the ends of her hair seemed to curl in on themselves. A strange feeling stirred inside her, leaving her at a loss.

She bit her lip, drew a deep breath, and made herself speak. “You don't have to, Mu Chuan.”

He said nothing.

She tried not to listen to his quiet breathing on the other end.

“I'm a student. I just want to focus on school. Dating... I haven't thought about it.”

In her previous life, she had never dated anyone. She didn't think that was a bad thing. Now that she'd been given another chance, her first priority was getting into the college she wanted. Nothing else was part of the plan. A relationship would only get in the way of her studies.

After a long silence, Mu asked, “Were you unhappy when you were with me?”

“I was happy,” Elise said earnestly. “But I only think of you as a friend. Nothing more.”

Silence settled between them.

The hand holding her phone was almost sweaty. She felt too warm and got up to open the window.

“Are you standing by a window?” Mu asked.

“How did you know?”

“I can hear the wind.”

Elise froze. “I... I was a little hot.”

“It's gotten colder. Don't catch a chill.”

She paused, then reached back and closed the window.

Mu seemed to make up his mind. When he spoke again, his voice was quiet. “Those aren't reasons I can accept. There's only one answer I need. Do you feel anything for me?”

“Even a little?”

The last words were barely audible. Elise heard something like a plea in them.

She held the phone without answering. A tightness spread through her chest. She didn't want anyone to be hurt, but she'd decided to keep her distance from Mu. It was better to be clear now than let him hope.

“No,” she said at last. “I don't have feelings for you.”

All four brothers had gathered in the study.

Julian stood by the window with his phone to his ear, his voice cold. “Get the trending topic taken down. Delete every post mentioning my sister. And what about the gossip account that started this? Has the lawyer's letter gone out?”

Adrian was furious, gripping his phone as if he might smash it. “Is that guy out of his mind? He really thinks my sister's going to like him? What is this, a public confession on X?”

“Should I go hit him again?” Miles asked seriously. Maybe he hadn't hit Mu hard enough last time if the man was still acting this bold.

He'd even signed up for taekwondo recently. Maybe now he could beat Mu in a fight.

Theo lounged on the sofa, scrolling through the comments with a blank expression. Once Julian ended the call, Theo looked up. “What if we post that Mu isn't pursuing Ellie?”

The whole thing was giving Elise a headache. That was the worst part.

Adrian's eyes lit up. “Exactly. I'll post, too. I'll call that shameless jerk out. He doesn't get to attach himself to Ellie. I don't want internet trolls using my sister as their latest topic.”

Julian glanced at them. “If you don't want her to become a topic, push the story down. That's the best way. If you post about it, all you'll do is make it spread further.”

Theo lowered his eyes with a sigh and slipped his phone into his pocket.

“Do you think Ellie will say yes to him?” Adrian asked.

The room fell silent. That was what worried them most.

What if Ellie accepted Mu's confession?

If she liked him, what good would it do for them to wave banners and oppose the relationship? They'd only become the overbearing guardians their sister hated.

At dinner, Elise came downstairs and found all four brothers sitting neatly around the table. None of them looked happy, and none of the food had been touched.

“Why aren't you eating?” she asked. “Is something wrong with the food?”

The family's cooks had all won top culinary awards. How could dinner be bad? Even if something had gone wrong, Daniel would have made sure no dish reached the table unless it tasted right.

Julian pulled himself together and answered lightly, “Nothing's wrong. You should eat more.”

Adrian drooped over his plate, his appetite gone. “Ellie, we know about the X post.”

Elise's chopsticks stopped. Her brothers knew Mu had confessed to her?

How embarrassing.

She lowered her head, cheeks warming. “How did you find out?”

“It's on X,” Miles said.

“Oh.” Elise kept her head down.

Theo saw the flush on her face. His eyes darkened, and a knot of irritation formed in his chest. “Did you say yes to him?”

“No!” Elise looked up at once. “Of course I didn't. I just want to focus on school. I don't want to date.”

All four brothers stopped moving and stared at her, their eyes shining. “Really?”

“Really.” She nodded firmly.

They exchanged a look, delight spreading across their faces. Their sister had such good judgment. They'd known she would never fall for Mu.

Adrian suddenly recovered his appetite. He speared a piece of meat and popped it into his mouth. “That's right. Ellie is still young. She should focus on school. Those random guys can go cool their heels somewhere else.”

Miles nearly jumped up to cheer. He'd been worrying for nothing!

Theo's eyes warmed with a smile. “Ellie's such a good girl.” A sister who only cared about studying was impossibly cute.

Julian couldn't hold back. He lifted his glass of red wine, excitement bright in his eyes.

His gaze met the others'. They understood without a word. Even Theo picked up his glass, and the brothers clinked them together in a toast that felt like a celebration.

Elise stared at them, chopsticks between her teeth, completely baffled as her brothers abruptly stood to toast.

They all shared the same thought: after all their efforts, both fists and words, they'd finally made Mu back off.

As far as they were concerned, this was a day for the whole country to celebrate. A day of victory.

Their sister wouldn't be snatched up by some guy!

Over the next few days, Mu seemed to disappear.

When Elise woke up each morning, the first thing she did was check her phone. There were no new messages from him. His chat had slipped down the list, buried beneath newer conversations. She had to scroll for a long time to find it.

She'd gotten used to his daily health links. Their sudden absence felt strange.

Then she remembered: wasn't this exactly what she'd wanted?

She put the thought aside. When she opened her bedroom door, Olivia was standing there, apparently about to knock.

“The new collection is here. Want to try it on?” Olivia asked with an energetic smile.

Every month, Olivia brought the current season's new clothes to the house.

Elise nodded.

“Your whole floor has been converted into a walk-in closet,” Olivia said as they headed down the hall. “It'll be so much easier to pick something out now.”

Elise felt a headache coming on. Ever since she'd told her brothers she would accept their gifts if they were brave enough to give them, they had stopped holding back. Jewelry and other treasures had been arriving in a steady stream.

The monthly clothing deliveries had grown bigger, too.

There wasn't room for all the jewelry in her bedroom. Julian had brought in several safes. She kept out what she wore regularly and locked the rest away.

Apart from the room where Elise now slept, the entire third floor had been remodeled into closets for her clothes, bags, and accessories.

Olivia led her into the bright, spacious dressing room and helped her try on the clothes.

As she zipped up a dress, Olivia said, “I'm not going along with your oldest brother's lies anymore. These aren't clothes from a roadside stall. If I keep saying they are, the designer will cry.”

Elise laughed helplessly. Julian used to tell her the couture pieces were cheap, and Olivia had gone along with him. Wearing them as if they were ordinary bargain clothes would have been a waste.

She'd said she would change, but she still wasn't used to the idea. She would need time to talk herself into it. Jewelry held its value, and clothes were worth what you paid for them. She still winced at the cost, but she didn't want to see her brothers look troubled.

“Let's finish quickly, before they're home,” Elise said. “Otherwise they'll want to style me again.”

It wasn't only Julian. The other brothers had picked up the same hobby, each with a different idea of what suited her. They would argue over their choices until Elise and Olivia were fed up. In the end, Elise would lose her temper and chase all four of them out.

A series of car horns sounded downstairs. Olivia looked out the window toward the family parking area and blinked. “Did someone in your family buy another car?”

Elise had no answer.

Her brothers had been giving her clothes, jewelry, and bags, and they'd replaced her car, too. The Maserati she'd been driving was the cheapest one in the garage. Her brothers had replaced it with a new car for everyday use.

A knock sounded at the door. Elise opened it to find Daniel standing there.

“Miss Elise, Mr. Whitmore and the others are asking for you downstairs.”

She nodded and hurried down, wondering what her brothers were up to this time.

In the parking area, the four of them stood among several cars, looking them over. Now and then one of them lifted a hood to inspect the parts underneath. They were deep in conversation.

Miles spotted Elise and waved her over. “Come take a look at this one.”

She hadn't seen any of the four cars in their garage before. Her eyebrow began to twitch. She had a bad feeling about this.

A silver sports car sat beside Miles. Elise didn't know its make, but the body was striking, with doors that opened upward.

Miles looked delighted and proud. “I had it specially customized. It took a lot of work to find the parts. Some of them were even harder to get than the ones for my car. Take a look, Ellie. If there's anything you don't like, I can have it changed.”

Elise drew a careful breath. “It's for me?”

“Of course.”

She tried to contain her distress and pointed to the three other cars. They were different colors, all sports cars. Some had a cute, compact look; others were sleek and elegant, the sort she imagined most women would like.

“What about those?”

Julian, Adrian, and Theo answered almost in unison. “Those are for you, too.”

When they'd heard Miles was customizing a sports car, they'd all gotten the same idea. Daughters from wealthy families had several cars at their disposal. It was unusual for someone like Elise to have only one Maserati for getting around.

If everyone else had them, how could Elise not?

They'd decided to fill out her collection all at once. Since each brother had different opinions and tastes in cars, each had bought one, so she could drive a different one whenever she felt like it.

None of them hesitated now. Their faces were open and confident. Elise had said that if they dared to give, she'd dare to accept. So they weren't going to hold back.