Chapter 76

Elise had no idea where Mu Chuan's gaze had landed.

After finishing the water, he was no less thirsty. If anything, the dryness in his throat had grown worse. His eyes lingered on her damp lips for a long moment before he finally looked away.

At the entrance to the skate park, Miles and Dylan had just arrived in time to see it.

Dylan's eyes widened. Earlier, Jade and Nora had mentioned that they'd found a new place to skate. He'd asked for the address, then come over with Miles. He hadn't expected to find this guy staring at Elise's mouth.

What the hell was he looking at? Dylan was ready to roll up his sleeves and march over when another thought stopped him. If he was this angry, what about Miles?

He turned. Sure enough, Miles's face was dark with fury. His chest rose and fell rapidly, and his clenched fists trembled. Dylan hadn't seen him this angry since he'd beaten up the boy who wanted Elise's contact information.

Before Dylan could say anything, Miles charged across the floor and punched Mu, knocking the unsuspecting man to the ground.

“Where the fuck do you think you're looking?”

Elise and Mu had both had their backs to the entrance. Elise cried out, then saw who had hit him.

“Miles?”

Mu touched the corner of his mouth. Pain flared beneath his fingers. He looked at Miles without expression, matching the face to one in the information he'd read: Elise's fourth brother.

Miles knew how to fight, and he hit hard. Blood appeared at the corner of Mu's mouth almost at once. Miles lunged at him again.

“So you're the one going after my sister? Listen carefully. If you want to date her, you'll have to get past me first. If you're lucky enough that I don't break you, maybe you'll get your chance!”

Pei Yi hurried forward. This was Mr. Mu, for God's sake. Did Miles have any idea who he'd just hit?

Then Mu looked at him. Pei stopped in his tracks. He was frantic enough to consider calling the bodyguards, but Mu's meaning was plain: stay out of it.

“Miles, why are you hitting him?” Elise demanded, both anxious and angry.

She didn't know how her brother had found the park, but how could he come charging in and attack someone without a word? He was behaving like a thug. And what was that about Mu pursuing her? Mu was her friend. He'd never even said anything suggestive to her.

Miles had to have misunderstood.

But Miles was too furious to listen. All he could see was Mu staring at his sister. The longer he thought about it, the angrier he grew. Why did every pig that came along think it could make a move on her?

His fists rained down without restraint. Mu guarded his head with his arms and barely fought back, his expression hardly changing. When Miles caught those calm eyes, his anger flared even hotter. The less Mu resisted, the more Miles felt the man was looking down on him.

Elise could see injuries beginning to appear. Whatever Miles's reason, her brother had attacked Mu without asking a single question. She started forward to stop him, but Dylan caught her arm.

“Don't go in there. You might get hurt,” he said with a grin. “Trust me, we've dealt with plenty of guys like this.” Watching Miles land another blow gave him some satisfaction. “Serves him right, going after my... no, Miles's sister.”

“He isn't going after me!” Elise raised her voice. “You've got it wrong!”

Dylan's smile froze. “Huh? He isn't?”

Had they actually made a mistake?

A hand smacked the back of his head. Before he could turn properly, Jade hooked an arm around his neck.

“This is between them. Miles is her brother, but what are you doing sticking your nose in?”

Jade didn't agree with Miles either. A brother could look out for his sister, but did he think she wasn't allowed to date anyone at all?

Dylan couldn't move. How was he an outsider? Elise was his little sister, too!

Elise repeated her explanation, louder this time. Miles didn't seem to hear. His fists kept coming.

“He's my friend!” she cried. “Stop it!”

That only made Miles hit harder. A perfectly innocent friendship between a man and a woman? He wasn't buying it. He was a guy himself; he knew exactly what went on in a man's head.

No matter how she shouted, he wouldn't stop. Mu was taking a beating almost entirely one-sidedly. Until now, Elise hadn't really understood how Miles had become the toughest kid across several schools. Watching him fight as though he meant to pound someone into the ground, she finally did.

Her eyes stung. Why couldn't everyone just get along? Why did they have to fight?

“Stop,” she pleaded again. Her voice shook, and the scene in front of her began to blur.

Mu hurt all over. He'd been weighing whether to hit back ever since the first punch. Miles was Elise's brother, and a few years younger than Mu's present body. In that sense, he was a younger brother to him, too. His anger was understandable; he was trying to protect Elise. But Mu couldn't decide what would happen if he fought back.

Then, beyond Miles's shoulder, he caught a glimpse of Elise. Her eyes were wet. She sounded as if she was about to cry.

The moment her plea ended, Mu shoved Miles away with enough force to send him staggering several steps. The skate floor was slick. Miles slipped and landed hard on his backside, looking up in disbelief.

Mu braced a hand on the floor and rose unsteadily. One corner of his mouth was swollen. He wiped away the blood seeping there and gave Miles a faint smile.

The park went silent. Dylan and the others stared.

Mu was breathing hard, his voice a little hoarse. “As the older brother, I should probably go easy on the younger one.”

His eyes flicked to Elise. The moisture hadn't left hers.

“But things are different now. A brat needs to be taught a lesson.”

Especially one who wouldn't listen.

He strode forward and went for Miles.

For the next half hour, Miles's cries echoed through the skate park.

Mu took a textbook Muay Thai stance. His punches landed solidly, leaving Miles almost no opening to strike back. A few minutes earlier, Miles had been pinning him to the floor and hitting him. Now their positions had reversed.

Dylan's jaw dropped. Hadn't Mu been too helpless to defend himself? He'd been putting on an act the whole time?

It was painful to watch. Dylan wanted to help, but one look from Miles rooted him to the spot. If he stepped in, Miles would lose whatever pride he had left.

Pei finally let out a breath. Someone of Mu's background grew up surrounded by bodyguards, but he also learned how to defend himself from an early age. How could Miles possibly be a match for him?

Elise was nearly as stunned as Dylan. Why had Mu suddenly fought back? Had he really been holding himself back for Miles's sake before?

His technique was precise, but he wasn't hitting as hard as Miles had. The blows looked painful; even so, Mu's own injuries were considerably worse.

Elise opened her mouth to stop him, then closed it again. Mu was exercising restraint. Miles, by contrast, had been far too rough. His habit of hitting people before talking to them really did need to change.

When Mu finally stopped, Miles was bruised too. Dylan helped him to his feet.

Miles looked at Mu in an entirely new light. “Damn it. What kind of fighting was that?”

It was so effective, with hardly a gap he could exploit. He hadn't been able to find an opportunity to hit back.

Dylan stared at him. He'd just been beaten up, and now he wanted a lesson?

Pei offered Mu a tissue. Mu accepted it and wiped his hands with unhurried elegance. At Miles's question, he raised an eyebrow.

“Want to learn?”

“I was just asking,” Miles said with a snort. “Don't flatter yourself.”

“Call me big brother first.”

“Dream on.”

Miles no longer wanted to know what the fighting style was called. Call Mu his brother? Not in this lifetime.

Elise wrapped ice in a towel and handed it to Miles, giving him a fierce glare. She'd told him Mu was her friend, yet he'd gone on beating him without listening.

All six feet of Miles seemed to shrink. His mouth turned down. His sister was glaring at him because of Mu?

Miles had bruises on his face and arms, though he could still walk. Mu had taken several hard punches to the stomach as well. Pei practically supported him all the way to the sofa, shooting Miles an indignant glare as he helped him sit.

Elise set the first-aid kit beside Mu. She felt awful. Being friends with her was difficult enough without her brother attacking you for it. Her four brothers had competed for her attention before, and although she hadn't known what to do with them, she'd understood they cared about her. She'd never imagined it could become this serious.

As she applied medicine to Mu's injuries, she said quietly, “I'm sorry.”

He watched her lowered head. She looked as if she couldn't bear to face him. His eyes softened.

“I'm fine.” Then, so softly she could barely hear, he added, “Don't cry.”

Elise looked up, puzzled. “What? I'm not crying.”

Mu held her gaze. A moment later, she understood he meant the fight, when she'd been so upset that her eyes filled with tears.

Heat rushed to her cheeks, and she lowered her head even farther. He'd seen her like that? How embarrassing.

After tending both men, she pulled Miles out to the car.

Gone was the gentle manner she'd shown at the skate park. She planted her hands on her hips. “If you ever hit someone again without even asking what happened, I'm not speaking to you anymore!”

Miles touched the gauze on his forehead. He really had seen Mu staring at his sister; he hadn't imagined it. Who could have guessed that, as far as Ellie was concerned, the man really was just a friend?

That guy was too cunning. He'd lowered her guard by starting as a friend, working his way into her life little by little, waiting for the chance to make his move.

“I was angry,” Miles said miserably. “There are plenty of guys who look decent on the outside but are cooking up all kinds of schemes behind your back.”

“That doesn't mean you can solve it by fighting. And he isn't like that.”