Chapter 158: Niche?

Mu Youyu and Jiang Liangjin were standing in front of painting after painting, leisurely appreciating them.

They stopped in front of Lin Tingsong's early landscape oil paintings.

Mu Youyu's fingertip lightly brushed the frame of Lin Tingsong's early landscape oil painting, and she sincerely praised: "Teacher Lin's paintings are truly amazing."

Jiang Liangjin stood beside her, his gaze not on the painting but gently tracing her side profile.

Hearing her words, he curled the corner of his mouth into a faint smile: "In my heart, your paintings are the best."

Mu Youyu smiled: "A Jin always says pleasant things."

Jiang Liangjin chuckled lightly, reached out to ruffle her hair, his tone serious: "I'm telling the truth."

"Got it, got it!"

Mu Youyu laughed, pushed his hand away, pulled him to keep walking: "Let's go see something else."

The two wandered in the exhibition hall for a while, nothing happened, then prepared to take Mu Xi along and leave.

When they reached the door, Lin Tingsong called out to them: "A You, A Jin, wait a moment."

Mu Youyu and Jiang Liangjin both stopped, turning to look.

They saw Lin Tingsong walking toward them with a smile, holding a beautifully packaged box.

"This is a little gift I prepared for you, to celebrate your official debut in the art world today." Lin Tingsong handed the box to Mu Youyu, his eyes full of care.

Mu Youyu has been pampered since childhood; everyone around her likes to give her gifts.

So she's grown accustomed to it.

She took the box, didn't open it on the spot, and smiled: "Thank you, Teacher!"

"You're welcome! It's only right!" Lin Tingsong waved his hand, his smile kind: "You young folks have fun; I won't disturb you."

"Goodbye, Teacher Lin."

Mu Youyu and Jiang Liangjin hadn't planned to stay long; after saying goodbye to Lin Tingsong, they left the art museum with Mu Xi.

Mu Family.

The three arrived home together.

As soon as Mu Youyu entered the door, she went straight to her own room.

She placed the box Lin Tingsong gave her on the desk, was about to sit down to rest when her phone vibrated—a message from Lin Ning.

Lin Ning had just sent a message: "【Baby, you've revealed another identity?】"

Lin Tingsong is a relative on Lin Ning's mother's side; she naturally knows.

Both her paternal and maternal families bear the surname Lin.

However, her paternal family is the second-ranked among the eight great aristocratic families of West City.

Her maternal family is the head of the four great aristocratic families of C City; Lin Yu is Lin Ning's cousin.

Seeing the message, Mu Youyu felt a bit surprised, because Lin Ning had been busy lately chasing after her senior schoolmate and rarely initiated messages to her.

She replied with a smile: "【Yes indeed, someone's always day and night 'senior, senior,' it's rare they pay attention to me】"

Soon Lin Ning replied, adding an angry emoticon: "【!!! Nonsense! 【angry】【angry】】"

"【Let's talk serious! I posted a Weibo about Artist Name Yue Shu last week; it's gone a bit viral. Someone posted a video of you at the art museum standing with your teacher. Want to take a look?】"

"【Artist Name Yue Shu's Weibo was created by Lin Ning, originally to promote Mu Youyu's manga.】"

"【Mu Youyu does have an account and password, but she usually can't be bothered to log in; she never has.】"

"【It's always Lin Ning managing it.】"

"【Mu Youyu curiously opened Weibo, entered her account and password, and logged in.】"

"【She opened the latest post on the homepage, which was a promotion for the second season of 'When Rain Falls on the Fingertip' currently being serialized; the like count was still skyrocketing.】"

"【The comments below were basically fans' messages.】"

"【Family, I thought 'When Rain Falls on the Fingertip' was niche… but I saw the big shot's Weibo, and in five days it passed four million likes! Who understands my feelings?】"

"【Mu Youyu paused, scrolled up to glance at the account, and didn't expect her fans to have surpassed ten million.】"

"【...... Yue Shu big shot, niche?】"

"【You must be misunderstanding what 'niche' means? 【laughing crying】 If this counts as niche, then I truly don't know what 'mainstream' is.】"

"【Smiling】 She just has a manga plot that's a little off‑beat; in my heart it's ranked first, and her art style is even more firmly first—no one can rival it!"

"【Of course, there were also some unfriendly voices in the comment section, someone snidely asking: 'Who is this person? Suddenly blew up?'】"

"【However, a comment from half an hour ago was pinned to the top; a fan replied below, listing Mu Youyu's series of identities: 'Artist Name Yue Shu's real name is Mu Youyu, Miss Mu Song, the domestic four great conglomerate families including Y Guo's protector, Princess Mingxi, the top thirteen older brothers, Lin Tingsong's direct disciple.'】"

"【Once that reply appeared, those unfriendly voices vanished instantly, and the comment section's tone shifted:】"

"【See Princess Mingxi!! Long live the emperor ten thousand times ten thousand! (just kidding)】"

"【See the Mu Family young lady! The young lady is mighty! The young lady is imposing!】"

"【Oh~ So that's my reincarnation template—too bad I picked the wrong womb back then! I'm dying of laughter!】"

"【Oh~ sister! It turns out she's my sister! Such an outstanding sister! Chu Chu is my sister! Nobody dare take her! (No mistake, no mistake, I'm just shameless)】"

"【Upstairs, where's your face? (draws sword) Chu Chu is clearly my sister‑in‑law! (I've already called dibs)】"

"【Mu Youyu looked at these comments and couldn't help laughing.】"

"【She switched to WeChat to reply to Lin Ning, sending a tiger‑head‑high‑chest emoji pack with a hint of pride: 'Eh, how come I'm so awesome'】"

"【Lin Ning quickly replied, adding an admiring emoticon: 'That's for sure—don't forget whose best friend I am! By the way, baby, want to hang out after school this afternoon? We haven't gone out in ages!'】"

"【Mu Youyu thought about it; she really hadn't gone out with Lin Ning lately, so she typed back: 'Sure'】"

"【Lin Ning: 'Baby, what time are you coming?'】"

"【Mu Youyu today had taken a day off specially to attend the event at the art museum, so her schedule was wide open.】"

"【She replied: 'I'm free anytime; you set the time.'】"

"【Lin Ning: 'How about meeting at 12? Perfect for a meal.'】"

Lin Ning has been very well-behaved lately, always attending class.

It's not even 10 o'clock yet; 11:30 is when Nan Feng and Lan Lin get out of school at noon.

Mu Youyu: "Sure, I'll come wait for you at your school gate when the time comes."

Lin Ning: "I'll bring a few more people, all acquaintances; you can also invite others, muah."

Lin Ning was the same in junior high; when she invited people out to play, she liked to call several, and Mu Youyu also got used to it.

Mu Youyu replied, and the room doorbell rang.

"Come in."