I Can Support You

"Drinking won't solve anything." Mo Fan savored the faint trace of lip gloss lingering on the rim of the glass with the gravity of a philosopher.

"I'm just taking a break. A little wine helps me sleep." Mu Nujiao remained cross, genuinely baffled at why fate had saddled her with such a shameless roommate.

"Oh, right — I thought you were feeling down. I was going to say something encouraging..." Mo Fan laughed awkwardly.

Mu Nujiao's red lips curled into a small pout, a rare girlish sulk breaking through her usual dignified composure. She'd clearly had a few glasses before he arrived.

"Well, go ahead and say something encouraging then. I'd actually like to hear it." She lazily stretched out on the sofa, as if she'd let her guard down for once — lying back comfortably, legs slightly curled.

Tipsy and unguarded, she radiated a dangerous sort of allure. Her collar had fallen open just enough to reveal a breathtaking view, and Mo Fan very nearly drooled.

*Good lord. Ever since moving in with these two, my tissue consumption has gone through the roof. When will I ever get my act together — when will the day come that my descendants stop meeting their end on Kleenex?!*

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Mu Nujiao looked half-asleep as she tilted her head up toward him.

She caught him staring at her like a wolf eyeing a lamb, practically salivating. Realizing her current position was somewhat... suggestive, the wine reversed course — she sat bolt upright, perfectly straight, and fixed him with a furious glare.

"Pervert," she muttered.

Mo Fan just grinned.

Mu Nujiao stood to leave. Mo Fan called her back.

He could tell she was genuinely weighed down by the academy competition — she wouldn't be drinking otherwise, wouldn't be quietly reaching out for comfort like this. Day to day, her discipline and drive put even him to shame.

"Do you really care that much about the competition?" he asked.

He'd barely seen her these past months. She'd poured every waking hour into cultivation and training.

"Yeah..." Mu Nujiao glanced at him and caught the look of genuine puzzlement on his face. She gave a short, bitter laugh. "You didn't grow up in a Noble Clan family. You wouldn't understand how it works for people like us."

"I've got time tonight," Mo Fan said, settling back.

"Noble Clan children come in two kinds. The first kind are the idle ones — the ones who throw their weight around and live off the family name. They're actually looked down on within the clan, but the moment family interests are at stake, they're the ones sacrificed. The family decides what they do, who they marry, where they live. They don't dare refuse. Because you eat what the family provides, you drink what the family provides — so you do what the family says. Everything." She put heavy emphasis on that last word. "*Everything.*"

Mo Fan opened his mouth, then closed it, unsure what to say.

"The second kind are those who use the family's resources to keep improving. Think of it like a loan. You borrowed from the family to get ahead at the starting line — and yes, that advantage is real. But sooner or later, you'll have to repay it with results. Fall short of what they expect, and they'll control your life just the same. They'll arrange things for you. Most people can stomach that, up to a point — but the most common, and most inescapable, form of control is marriage. Families forge alliances with other families, and when there's no trust between them, a marriage seals the deal. That's why forced marriages show up in every drama and novel about wealthy clans." She was speaking more frankly than usual tonight — she'd definitely had more than a few drinks. On any ordinary day, she would never have laid out her feelings about Noble Clan life in such stark, bitter terms.

Mo Fan listened carefully. He'd never thought about Noble Clan children from this angle. Back when he was younger, like most commoners, he'd done his share of resenting how much easier they had it.

"So what you're saying is — the wealthy heirs who end up in forced marriages mostly did it to themselves?" Mo Fan followed the thread of her thinking.

"Most of them, yes. There are exceptions, of course — like Ai Tutu." Something flickered in Mu Nujiao's eyes. Envy, maybe.

Mo Fan had always wondered how a sensible woman like Mu Nujiao ended up so close to a complete lunatic like Ai Tutu. Now it made a little more sense.

After all, Ai Tutu spent half her time envying Mu Nujiao — her looks, her figure, the effortless grace that made every man lose his head the moment he saw her...

"And it should be fairly obvious that Mu Ningxue's situation is exactly the same as mine." Mu Nujiao's expression shifted. Her eyes locked onto Mo Fan, searching, as if she were trying to read something beneath the surface.

Mo Fan hadn't expected her to bring up his number one girl so suddenly. He laughed awkwardly. "Why bring her up?"

"You haven't been keeping track of her?" Mu Nujiao shot back.

"Keeping track of what?"

"She won the Nomination Competition at the Imperial Capital Magic Academy. The announcement came out today." Mu Nujiao said.

Mo Fan's mouth fell open.

*Mu Ningxue is that incredible?*

The Nomination Competition at the Imperial Capital had to be even fiercer than here in Mingzhu — yet she, also a first-year, had walked away with Nomination Rights. In all the time they hadn't seen each other, her strength must have grown far beyond what he'd imagined...

*Oh.*

No wonder Mu Nujiao was in a dark mood tonight, nursing her drinks and quietly looking for someone to lean on.

She'd just learned that Mu Ningxue — same year, same generation — had already claimed a nomination.

Two proud women. Both stunning enough to stop traffic. Both born into Noble Clans. Both worshipped as goddesses at their respective academies. But one had already locked in a critical win, while the other was staring down the possibility of elimination.

Mo Fan had been about to comfort her with the line that new students rarely beat veterans — but the words died in his throat.

Mu Nujiao wasn't measuring herself against ordinary competition. She was measuring herself against Mu Ningxue.

"I could go back to the clan and ask for more resources. It would give my strength another real boost. But..." She pulled the conversation back to herself, finally voicing the thing that was actually eating at her. "I'm scared."

"You're scared that if you take more from them and still fall short of their expectations, you'll lose the last of your freedom?" Mo Fan said.

Mu Nujiao bit her lip. She nodded.

She refused to accept losing. If Mu Ningxue could do it, she believed she could too. But she was terrified that one more request would make her completely the clan's puppet — her entire life arranged, every decision handed down. There were many things a woman could endure. But marriage? Being handed off to a man she felt nothing for?

Since she was genuinely asking him, Mo Fan couldn't give her a throwaway answer. He turned it over carefully, then said: "If you're that scared — then give up."

"Why?" Mu Nujiao blinked, waiting.

"You don't have to push yourself so hard." He flashed her a brilliant smile. "I can support you."

The last of her wine wore off in an instant. She shot to her feet and stormed toward the door.

*That insufferable man. That insufferable man. She should have known better than to expect anything useful from him — and yet she'd actually gotten her hopes up. What was wrong with her?!*

Her footsteps on the stairs were heavy enough to rattle the wood, as if she were taking her frustration out on each step.

Then his voice followed her up.

"I mean it, Jiaojiao."