Chapter 262
Chapter 262
Lin Junruo walked over to the sofa and crouched down, setting Mu Xin from her palm onto the floor.
“Is here okay?” Lin Junruo asked uncertainly.
She glanced toward the Flower Prince and the others. They were not far from Mu Xin, but at Mu Xin’s current size, it might still take her a long time to reach him.
Mu Xin smiled. “This is close enough. Any closer and I might be spotted.”
Hearing that, Lin Junruo could only nod. “All right. Be careful.”
“I will. You should hurry back,” Mu Xin said.
Lin Junruo straightened up and walked away. She was still worried about Mu Xin, however, so she did not leave immediately. Instead, she lingered among the crowd for a while, pretending to look for something to eat at the dessert table.
After Lin Junruo left, Mu Xin glanced in the Flower Prince’s direction. She already had a decent plan in mind.
She swept her gaze around the room, then…
Mu Xin sprinted over to the nearest person’s feet and promptly dropped onto the floor with a smack. At the same time, she let out a pained cry.
The man she had chosen jumped in fright, abruptly leaping to one side. He seemed to notice Mu Xin by his feet and looked down. Seeing her sitting on the floor with an aggrieved expression as though she had been hurt, he hesitated and glanced between his foot and the spot where she sat.
“Um, I’m sorry. Are you all right?” The man instinctively assumed he had accidentally stepped on or kicked Mu Xin and injured the poor girl.
Mu Xin lowered her head slightly, her eyes reddening as she put on a distraught expression.
She shook her head. “I’m fine.”
She really was fine, but to the man, her reaction only made it look as though she had been seriously hurt.
He stepped forward and crouched in front of her. Mu Xin was so tiny that he had to squat down just to barely meet her eyes. “My lovely young lady, are you truly all right? This was my fault. Please allow me to compensate you.”
Mu Xin shook her head. Looking up, she gave him a faint smile. “There’s no need. I was the one who wasn’t paying attention. You did nothing wrong, sir.”
Hearing that only made the man feel guiltier. “Is there anything you want, or anything I can do for you? As long as it’s within my power, I will gladly help you.”
Mu Xin looked hesitant and forlorn, but inwardly, she was ecstatic.
This NPC was making things way too easy for her. Hadn’t he just handed her the perfect opening?
Mu Xin had already noticed that the Flower Prince, who had originally been some distance away, had begun steering his flower toward her the moment he heard her cry out.
However, he did not come any closer. He stopped a short distance away, just near enough to hear every word of the conversation between Mu Xin and the man.
Furthermore, because of the Flower Prince’s attribute settings, he could clearly make out the expression on Mu Xin’s face.
On the surface, Mu Xin acted as though she had no idea the Flower Prince was there.
She seemed moved by the man’s offer. Raising her head, she looked at him blankly and said, “What I want… is for him to forgive me.”
“Forgive you?” The man asked in surprise.
Her words made it obvious that something had happened. Coupled with Mu Xin’s despondent appearance, the man felt as though he understood the situation.
After thinking for a moment, he asked, “Whose forgiveness do you seek, young lady? Have you done something wrong?”
Mu Xin felt as though this NPC had been created solely to serve the plotline she had devised. How was every single thing he said exactly what she wanted to hear?
Mu Xin was over the moon inside, but outwardly, tears had already begun to well in her eyes.
She shook her head. “No.” Then, after a brief pause, she nodded. “I did something wrong.”
The man was utterly confused by her response.
“Miss, which is it? Did you do something wrong or not?” he asked.
“I don’t think I did, but I really did hurt him. I didn’t mean to. No… I didn’t even know about it.” Mu Xin seemed tormented by something she could not resolve. Slowly, she bent down and clutched her head. “I don’t know. I don’t remember. I really don’t know anything.”
Seeing her in such distress, and clearly not acting normally, the man had no idea what to say.
As for Lin Junruo…
She stood to one side, taking everything in. Naturally, she had also spotted the Flower Prince nearby.
It seemed she had been worrying about Mu Xin for nothing.
With this little performance, Mu Xin had first staged an accident, then pretended to be confiding in someone else while actually feeding the Flower Prince a fabricated explanation. If the Flower Prince loved Thumbelina, then even if he did not entirely believe Mu Xin’s story, she had at least given him a reason to reconsider.
Once Lin Junruo was sure nothing serious would happen to Mu Xin, she had no interest in staying to see how things turned out. She turned and went to look for Shi Chen instead.
A long time had passed since Mu Xin had been captured. She wondered how Shi Chen was doing now.
Lin Junruo left.
Mu Xin did not notice her at all. She was still busy putting on her act.
The Flower Prince had remained nearby, watching the entire time. Mu Xin did not dare look up, so she had no idea what he was thinking. When he still made no move after all this time, she began to feel a little uncertain.
“Miss,” the man said when Mu Xin seemed to have calmed down. He tried to comfort her. “You’re a kindhearted young woman. If the person you care about learns the truth, and if he cares about you too, he won’t resent you for the pain you caused him. He’ll only feel sorry for you.”
Mu Xin looked up at him as though grasping at a lifeline. “Really?”
The man nodded. “After all, you didn’t do it on purpose. Strictly speaking, you’re a victim too.”
His words seemed to comfort Mu Xin, and a smile appeared on her face. “Thank you. I feel much better now.”
Her smile was innocence itself, making her look like a naive young girl untouched by the ways of the world.
The man had originally offered those words as a casual reassurance, but now his tone grew firm. “I meant every word.”
Mu Xin’s smile brightened.
She rose to her feet, then gave the man a smiling bow. “Thank you. I’m all right now, sir. Please don’t let me keep you from your business.”
The man, however, no longer seemed eager to leave.
After a moment’s thought, he asked, “May I know your name?”
Mu Xin did not mind telling him, but she had to stop and think. What was Thumbelina’s name again? Was it her own name, or did Thumbelina have a name of her own?
Before Mu Xin could answer, the Flower Prince finally lost patience with what he was seeing.
“Her name is none of your concern,” the Flower Prince said coldly.
At the sound of the Flower Prince’s voice, surprise appeared on Mu Xin’s face. Inwardly, however…
Hah. She knew she could get him to bite.