Chapter 56: Chapter Fifty-Five: Refusal

He Ying pulled Chen Mu to the side and then stared at him.

Chen Mu touched his face—it was indeed dirty, but you're not any better—what are you staring at me for?

"How?"

"I'm asking you!" He Ying seemed a bit dissatisfied.

"Huh?"

"What's with the 'huh'? You haven't said a word—what's going on?"

"Well..."

"What exactly are you thinking?"

"What ideas?"

"It's what that guy said—joining Qingbei and all that."

"But... wasn't he asking you?"

"I've already joined you guys, so of course I'll listen to you."

"Uh..."

Chen Mu was initially worried that He Ying might turn and join the other side; although that wouldn't be unreasonable, losing such a big help would also be a significant loss for us.

However, He Ying seemed to have no such intention; she wasn't refusing to join Qingbei, she just wanted to stand together with them.

Chen Mu said, "Honestly, I can't decide right now; I at least need to go back and discuss it with everyone. But if you want to go, I wouldn't mind—after all, their side does seem more stable at the moment..."

"What are you talking about?" He Ying frowned and said, "Since I've joined you, of course we'll advance and retreat together."

"Alright, I misunderstood—I thought you'd long wanted to go over there, so..."

"If they'd come two days earlier, I probably wouldn't have just agreed, but now I think our side is also pretty good—uh, maybe even better, since I actually know nothing about that so-called Qingbei."

"That's also what I'm worried about." Chen Mu sighed, "It looks like they're sincere, but once we get there, what the actual situation is—no one can guarantee."

"Why not... ask him?"

"He won't say."

"How do you know?"

"Didn't Li Xu not say anything either?"

"Trying won't hurt."

"Then I'll ask." Chen Mu let out a sigh.

"You're not planning to hide it?" He Ying laughed.

"What's there to hide, big sis? You said we'd all discuss it together, but you didn't even call your three companions—you just pulled me aside. Song Yu isn't an idiot; he'd guess I've got a group behind me, and I suspect he's also starting to doubt Dong Junwei's situation."

Chen Mu was actually quite helpless; although He Ying isn't stupid, she lacks experience in handling details. If Tang Jing were here, she'd surely handle it better, but facing Song Yu, Chen Mu couldn't correct her—though this is also his own fault, his initial worry was purely unnecessary.

"Uh... did I mess up?" He Ying felt a bit guilty.

"No, I'm also at fault—let's not dwell on it. I plan to temporarily refuse for now, and make a decision later after we know them better."

"Okay." He Ying nodded.

After saying just a few words, the two returned to Song Yu's side.

They had come in a group of four.

Three men and one woman.

But the other three hadn't spoken a word from start to finish; they just stood behind Song Yu, seeming very proper, hardly showing any expression.

This also contributed to Chen Mu's slight sense of estrangement—he couldn't pinpoint what was wrong, he just felt uncomfortable.

"How did your discussion go?"

Song Yu, seeing that He Ying had only called Chen Mu to the side, picked up on some clues.

At first he didn't pay much attention to Chen Mu, thinking he was just a companion He Ying had casually met and accepted on the road; Song Yu had always been active in school, but he'd never seen this same-year classmate before, so he obviously had little presence.

But now he quickly adjusted his mindset.

Chen Mu also changed from his earlier silence, showing a curious expression, and asked proactively, "May I ask how many people Qingbei currently has?"

Normally such a question is ordinary—when you're trying to recruit someone, you'd usually explain your own situation—but for Song Yu and the others, this was clearly the first time they'd encountered this; previously, people they met were either full of hostility or overly submissive, yet they'd never run into someone like Chen Mu who approached them on equal footing for discussion.

The three behind Song Yu clearly showed a hint of resentment and contempt, as if such an ordinary question were an offense.

But Song Yu, being quite scheming, showed no displeasure on the surface and replied gently and kindly, "I can understand your concerns. Over this period, everyone has changed, especially with the addition of Yi Zhong as an uncertain factor; people can't be as open with each other as before, but please understand my predicament—I'm just an external duty officer; if you aren't truly companions, I can't disclose any information, after all I also have to be responsible for the people already in the camp."

Chen Mu had already anticipated his reply, but his face still showed disappointment; after a moment's hesitation he said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry—we're actually doing fine now, and unless there's a substantive improvement, we have no intention of joining anyone."

"Doing well?"

Song Yu was a bit doubtful, since he had clearly learned from Feng Xiao Yu about He Ying and the others' situation—food was already hard to come by, each outing with Sun Yuan was a near-death experience, and that was precisely why he felt confident he could recruit them.

But now it seems the situation has changed.

And the only variable appears to be this guy named Chen Mu.

Song Yu added a note of caution and asked, "Classmate Chen Mu, are you alone, or do you have companions?"

Chen Mu spread his hands and gave a dry laugh.

Song Yu laughed, "Sorry, I was being abrupt."

Chen Mu also politely said, "No problem—I still hold goodwill and respect for Qingbei, and I'm only speaking for myself; it doesn't affect others' decisions."

Song Yu turned his head: "Then what about classmate He Ying..."

He Ying said, "I also want to temporarily maintain the status quo."

"Senior..."

Feng Xiao Yu obviously felt disappointed and didn't understand He Ying's decision—clearly everyone had been looking forward to that side before, but after just one trip out and back, everything changed completely.

He Ying sighed, "Xiao Yu, you three can decide for yourselves—I will certainly protect to the fullest anyone who wants to stay, but if you want to go to Qingbei, you don't have to worry about my opinion; next time we meet, we'll still be friends."

Feng Xiao Yu and the two other boys were obviously caught in a dilemma, their expressions torn.

Obviously, He Ying is someone they can trust, but Qingbei is an even stronger patron; they want to go there, yet feel guilty toward He Ying, after all she's looked after them for so many days unpaid, and as soon as a better option appears they just pat their butt and leave, leaving them psychologically unable to feel at ease.

As for Sun Yuan, Chen Mu and He Ying both intentionally or unintentionally overlooked him.

Obviously.

Even Chen Mu doesn't want to let Sun Yuan go easily; on one hand, this guy really does have a big use, on the other hand, Sun Yuan has already been to the storage room, and if he goes to Qingbei, it would amount to exposing all of our information here.