Chapter 49 Ma Xun, How Can You Have the Nerve to Call Yourself a Good Person?

There are many mountains surrounding the capital city.

The Mercedes-Benz stopped on a small hillside.

"Want to go out and take a look?"

"Look at what?"

"You'll know once you're out."

"I..."

Ma Xun got out first, leaving Xu Qing with no choice but to stay in the car.

As it turned out, the moment Xu Qing stepped outside, she understood.

The front of the car was facing squarely west.

Right now, the setting sun was dipping below the horizon.

Ma Xun was already sitting on the hood of the car.

His legs were quite long, exuding a distinct, leisurely vibe.

Xu Qing simply went and sat down right beside Ma Xun.

Neither of them spoke a word.

Until Ma Xun casually broke the silence, as if mentioning it in passing.

"Back at the airport, you actually wanted to accept that guy's proposal, didn't you?"

Those words felt like a surgical scalpel, slicing open Xu Qing's chest.

Forcing her to bare her heart before Ma Xun, completely beyond her control.

And then came the killer blow.

"In your heart, I'm probably the bad guy."

At that instant, Xu Qing's exposed heart seemed to stop beating.

From a conventional logic standpoint, or to most people, they would surely think:

What Ma Xun said was utterly absurd!

Clearly, he was the one who rescued her.

No matter what, Xu Qing should be grateful to him.

Besides, Xu Qing must have realized by now that Liu Bo was a scammer.

How could she possibly view the person who saved her as a bad guy, while treating the man who deceived her as a good one?

Yet, Xu Qing remained speechless for a long while, which in itself was ample proof that everything Ma Xun said was the truth.

"Y-You, how..." Xu Qing remained silent for a moment, still intending to push back. "Just because I turned you down a moment ago?"

Indeed, Ma Xun had asked for her help while they were in the car, and Xu Qing had flatly refused.

Was this all because of that?

Ma Xun chuckled. "I talk about all that profound philosophy for your own good."

"For my own good?"

"If I had simply forced you to agree to help, I have other means."

"Ma Xun, stop bluffing. I just won't agree! I refuse to be used by you! I don't believe you have any way to force me to nod!"

Xu Qing's words carried a stubborn tenacity.

Yet Ma Xun looked at her with a smile and said, "What if I take you? Right here on the hood, until you say yes?"

Simple and direct!

Xu Qing's face flushed instantly, and she angrily retorted, "Even if you did that, th-then..."

This voluptuous beauty's mouth was faster than her brain. After speaking, she paused to think for a second, and then felt... she probably wouldn't be able to hold out and would indeed end up agreeing.

But that was just too embarrassing!

Ma Xun pulled the conversation back on track. "Let's talk about your situation instead."

Could it be that he really was doing this for her own good?

At this moment, Xu Qing's resolve began to waver.

Ma Xun then began laying out the facts.

"Miss Xu Qing, you are still in a state of being completely manipulated by that guy.

And precisely because you are in this state, you simply cannot tell the difference between good and bad people.

Do you have any idea how much risk I took when I rescued you earlier?

Take this car, for instance. Even though I covered the license plates, even in the capital city, how many cars like this are there?

If anyone really wanted to investigate, they could still trace it back to me.

Fundamentally, whatever happens between you and that Liu Bo has nothing to do with me.

At most, we were just sharing that one night..."

Xu Qing was almost on the verge of nodding along with Ma Xun's words.

Unexpectedly, this guy actually brought up that night.

She immediately interrupted, "Didn't you have an agenda when you saved me?"

Ma Xun shook his head helplessly. "Like I said just now, I have other methods.

For instance, what if I were to say it like this?"

"How would you say it?"

Xu Qing locked eyes with Ma Xun, and suddenly, he leaned in close.

The distance between them narrowed to almost nothing, and then...

"Miss Xu Qing, you wouldn't want Mr. Liu Bo to find out about what happened between us that night, would you?"

Hearing these words, Xu Qing instinctively recoiled.

Since she had been sitting in the car, her posture when leaning close to Ma Xun was naturally sideways.

With that sudden, violent jerk backward, she looked as though she was about to tumble off.

Ma Xun grabbed her instantly.

With her heart pounding, Xu Qing was pulled straight into Ma Xun's embrace.

However, the two of them separated almost immediately.

"Y-You, how could you..." Xu Qing instinctively wanted to curse, because what Ma Xun had just said was simply too despicable!

It was blackmail!

Yet Xu Qing also realized she couldn't bring herself to scold him.

He hadn't actually done it!

Knowing he had made his point, Ma Xun asked, "Now, do I count as a good person?"

Xu Qing had no choice but to nod.

Ma Xun continued, "Deep down, you actually thought that airport proposal was very romantic, didn't you?"

This time, he didn't use an inquiring tone.

Yet Xu Qing could not avoid giving her answer. "But I didn't accept it."

Xu Qing smiled faintly and shook his head. "Be honest, were you touched or not?"

"This..." Xu Qing was left speechless for a moment.

This time, Ma Xun dropped all pretense and directly lashed out. "Xu Qing, you really are a fool! Have you ever thought about what kind of decent person proposes under circumstances like that?

He must have prepared that ring in advance, right?

And what about those reporters? How did they show up?

Under that kind of atmosphere, you didn't genuinely think it was detrimental to him, did you?

With so many people around, even without reporters, they were all just passersby.

What do you think those bystanders would do the moment he pulled out a diamond ring?

They would definitely egg him on!

They would surely shout for you to marry him!

Anyway, it's just shouting a couple of times for the spectacle. Why would strangers care what kind of person that man really is?

Still can't figure it out?"

Every single sentence hit like a sharp steel blade, shattering whatever lingering affection Xu Qing still held in her heart for Liu Bo!

It was yet another meticulously staged performance!

She was being conned all over again!

Once Xu Qing pieced it all together, her tears began to flow uncontrollably.

Ma Xun stopped talking after that, leaving the foolish woman to think things through on her own.

In truth, the moment Liu Bo dropped to one knee, an image had instantly popped into Ma Xun's mind.

Director Qi had materialized!

The scam Liu Bo was pulling was on the verge of collapsing at any moment.

He was simply trying to exploit Xu Qing's influential background.

Yet today's kneeling act was undoubtedly a massive humiliation for him as well.

As for why Ma Xun intervened this time, he had primarily two reasons.

In the original timeline, this event never happened, so this matter was tied to him to some extent.

Secondly, of course, was for the sake of the film *That Mountain*.

Xu Qing's background was formidable enough; getting her help should enable them to interface with the postal system.

However, just as Ma Xun had said, he could have used other methods, but he hadn't resorted to them.

Fine, he also admitted that arguing and debating these things with Xu Qing was genuinely for the woman's own good.

Or perhaps he was just a master swindler who felt a lingering sense of resentment upon seeing such a flawed, hole-ridden scheme manage to fool such a voluptuous and stunning beauty?

That was entirely possible, too.

Xu Qing shed many tears, until the lingering glow of sunset was entirely swallowed by the earth.

"How do you want me to help you?"

Xu Qing finally uttered something resembling a normal sentence.

With a smile, Ma Xun replied, "Actually, this matter will benefit you as well."

"Huh?" Xu Qing didn't catch on for a moment.

Right after that, Ma Xun pulled Xu Qing into his embrace.

With their eyes locked, they kissed.

"You've been wanting this for a while."

"No I haven't!"

Despite saying that, Xu Qing's cheeks were already flushed bright red.

Ma Xun didn't hesitate further.

He directly pressed the voluptuous beauty down onto the hood of the car, lifted her legs, and...

...

When they returned home, it was already late into the night.

"Where have you been?!"

"I, I was just..."

"Hey! Old man, why are you shouting at her like that?!"

"It's all because you spoil her! Did you look at the news?! This girl pulled off such a massive spectacle at the airport!"

Faced with her father's fury, Xu Qing wasn't panicked in the slightest.

Because Ma Xun had already told her to expect this reaction.

Though, right after he finished telling her, he started ea—better not think about that.

She needed to handle the present situation properly.

"Dad! That man was harassing me!"

Xu Qing's gaze was extraordinarily resolute, catching her father entirely off guard.

That's right, his daughter hadn't accepted the proposal.

"Then he, you two..."

Xu Qing said with even greater determination, "All of that was just the media sensationalizing things!"

That made sense; the media were always chasing gossip.

At that moment, a look of remorse had already surfaced on Xu Qing's father's face.

He had misunderstood his daughter.

However...

"Then where did you go afterwards? Some mysterious person picked you up in a big Benz, what was that all about?"

Ah yes, the media had reported that too.

Xu Qing immediately replied, "That was a friend of mine. When he saw I was in trouble, he stepped in to help. He was originally supposed to pick me up anyway, and he wants me to star in a movie..."

"What movie?"

"It's a wonderful movie, but it needs to coordinate with the postal system."

"Why does it need to coordinate with the postal system? He's definitely trying to use you to gain some advantages..."

"Dad! Why do you always assume the worst of people? This movie is called *That Mountain, That Man, That Dog*, adapted from the award-winning short story of the same name. Besides, Xiaoxiang Film Studio has already greenlit the project, and filming will start very soon.

The reason he wants to connect with the postal system is because the story is about a rural postman. Delivering mail in the mountains is terribly hard work; a single trip takes three days, covering over two hundred li of mountain roads on foot. Reaching out to the postal system to establish a role model—isn't that a good thing?"

Xu Qing's speech softened the stern, aged expression on her father's face entirely.

"Well, now... that actually sounds like a good deed."

From the side, Xu Qing's mother immediately chimed in, "Old Xu! What are you hesitating for? Hurry up and call so-and-so. Isn't he in the postal system?"

"Is it appropriate? Shouldn't the man be asleep by now?"

"I'm afraid you'll forget all about it by tomorrow morning!"

"There's no way I'd forget! Could I forget such an important matter overnight?"

Watching her parents start bickering among themselves, Xu Qing wanted to laugh, but decided she better hurry back to her room.

Only as she walked up the stairs did a thought cross her mind.

The movie really was a wonderful project, after all.

If Ma Xun had just talked to her about the movie right from the start, she would have gladly agreed to help anyway.

Yet he chose not to present it that way. Could it be...

Did he just want to take me?

At that thought, irritation flared up in Xu Qing's chest.

Ma Xun, how on earth do you have the nerve to call yourself a good person?!