Chapter 130

＊ (asterisk) - no translation? It's a line containing just an asterisk. Should we translate? It's just a symbol; we keep as is? Probably output same symbol. Since it's not Chinese, we just output "*". Keep 【1】 *.

Y Guo.

Duke's Mansion.

Mu Xianyan was leisurely packing her belongings.

She had just seen her maternal grandfather, knowing that Mu Xin had returned to the country a step ahead of her, she felt a bit disappointed, but she was used to it and didn't say much.

"Yanyan."

A familiar voice came from behind; Mu Xianyan turned her head and saw a tall, slender figure already standing at the doorway.

It was her brother, Mu Xianqi.

He wore a hand‑tailored black suit, his ink‑black hair neatly combed back, his brows and eyes deep, his nose bridge high, his thin lips pressed tight, his whole Atmosphere cold and oppressive, bringing a sense of pressure—at a glance it was clear he was no ordinary person.

"Are you okay?" His voice wasn't loud, carrying his usual indifference, yet inexplicably it made people feel reassured.

Mu Xianyan gave the already‑zipped suitcase in her hand a little shake, stood up, and a bright smile blossomed on her face: "All done! Just waiting for you, bro."

"Let's go." Mu Xianqi nodded, turned and led the way out.

When they reached the stairwell, Mu Xianyan suddenly stopped, turned her head, and covered her mouth with her hand.

She lowered her voice and leaned close to him: "Brother, I heard the staff say you really plan to shift part of the industrial focus from M Guo back to the country this time? Those old-timers aren't going to take it lying down, are they?"

Mu Xianqi didn't break his stride, only the lines of his profile softened a little: "Don't talk about kicking up a fuss—dancing wouldn't help either. Youbao is in the country; that's the place we ought to guard."

He recalled the information he had gathered from Mu Xi about how the An Family in West City treated Youbao, and a flash of coldness crossed his eyes.

"Besides," his voice turned a few degrees colder, "some clueless things need to be kept close so we can watch them, lest they dare to bully our Mu Family again."

Mu Xianyan observed his expression and confirmed that the "clueless things bullying people" he referred to were her younger sister, Mu Youyu.

She gave him a thumbs-up: "Brother, you're so cool—I've got your back!"

That's how Mu Family members ought to be!

"So-so." Mu Xianqi's expression returned to normal.

The two chatted on and off all the way; when they reached the plane, Mu Xianyan suddenly seemed to recall something, stopped, turned to Mu Xianqi, and said, "Hey, bro, why did Dad adopt me?"

Obviously you were already Dad's adopted son, the family already had an heir—why would he still be willing to take in another blood-unrelated burden like me?

She had always been curious about that.

Mu Xianqi glanced at her sideways: "Because I picked you up. If Dad didn't adopt you, you'd have to call me Dad—I'd be your father."

Mu Xianyan chuckled, rolled her eyes at him, and drew out the call: "... Brother~"

Seeing her rarely utter that word, Mu Xianqi's dark eyes softened with a smile: "Little sister."

"Come on, let's go!" Mu Xianyan lifted her leg, stepped over him, and boarded the plane first.

Mu Xianqi watched his sister's light‑white skirt flutter, her posture bright and extravagant, feeling a bit dazed as his thoughts drifted back over twenty years.

... He was the son of his father's close friend; at age two his biological father died in an accident, his mother had already passed away, and relatives were busy avoiding him.

Now that his father knew, he couldn't bear to see his friend's son alone and helpless, so he took him in and treated him as his own.

The Mu Family treated him without the slightest neglect—his father doted on him, his two uncles loved him as if he were their own nephew, the other brothers wouldn't treat him poorly either; he grew up in love and never knew what it felt like to live under someone else's roof.

And Mu Xianyan was the one he picked up by accident when he was seven, accompanying his father on a mountain climb in Y Guo.

At that time she seemed to have been born only a few days earlier, wrapped in a pink blanket, lying in an ornate basket carved with elaborate floral patterns.

The weather was chilly that day, yet she neither cried nor fussed; her big eyes were wet, staring at him unblinking, her little face flushed red, which made him unable to resist poking her cheek.

Unexpectedly, the baby burst into tears on the spot, drawing the surrounding tourists to stare.

All kinds of gazes.

Mu Xianqi was startled, immediately clutching the basket and rushing to the nearby police; the police checked the scenic area's surveillance and only found the person who had left her there...

Head completely wrapped, sunglasses covering half the face, earphones on the ears, thick gloves on the hands.

Not an inch of skin was exposed, so it was impossible to tell whether the person was male or female.

Besides, that day the scenic area was a free‑admission open day, visitors didn't need to register their identities, making it even harder to track anyone down.

After an hour of searching, the police confirmed she had been abandoned and were about to send her to an orphanage.

But at that time the Mu Family, from top to bottom, consisted only of males; the father and two uncles had longed for a little princess for years.

Moreover, Mu Xianqi himself had wanted a younger sister.

On a soft-hearted impulse, he grabbed his father's hand and stubbornly brought her home; from then on the Mu Family gained another princess, Yan.

Later, Mu Youyu was born—this was the Mu Family's true little princess, but her health was poor.

Maternal grandparents, paternal grandparents, parents, the two uncles, four uncles on the mother's side, over a dozen brothers, and the elders of all the clans were all very worried about her.

... Especially after reading too many false‑princess novels... Mu Nian!

He hesitated, wondering whether to send Mu Xianyan away; as a child she seemed well‑behaved, but who knew what she'd become when she grew up?

After asking, Mu Xianqi couldn't bear to part with her; later, just like his father, he began from childhood to indoctrinate Mu Xianyan to love Mu Youyu.

Furthermore, the two families don't live in the same city, so in the future they'd only see Mu Youyu on necessary occasions.

Mu Nian also didn't want to hurt his older cousin's feelings, thinking that if she ever said even a little ill of her precious little sister, sending her away later would be just the same, so he let it be.

As she grew older, Mu Xianyan fell in love with the violin; at six she went to Y Guo and had even fewer chances to meet.

Meanwhile, her other brothers had long since changed their opinion of her—because Mu Xianyan went to Y Guo, she grew up all along in the Duke of Weifika's mansion!

No matter what, the people of Duke Weifika have sound values; besides, the duke, her father, and her brothers have been instilling in her since childhood the idea that "Youbao is your only precious little sister, feelings outweigh blood ties," and similar notions.

Mu Xianyan took it to heart; although she didn't know how to express it, she rarely sent text messages to Mu Youyu, but she regularly transferred money to her and bought her all kinds of gifts.

That counted as fulfilling her duty as an older sister.

Meanwhile, Mu Xianqi himself, staying in the country, watched Mu Youyu grow from a baby in swaddling clothes into a graceful young lady.

Until I was eighteen, I attended the international university in M Guo; later I got busy with starting a business, so we saw each other less……