Chapter 161: Wait for You to Settle Down

Mu Youyu asked, "So, where are we going?"

Jiang Liangjin heard that, his handsome brows slightly raised, his gaze landing evenly on Lin Ning beside him.

Lin Ning had originally just happily dragged her senior out for a bit, and planned to grab a meal with her best friend on the side; she really hadn't given much thought to the location.

Anyway, we'll just improvise, right?

She turned to Ye Zeli, who had been smilingly watching their interaction, and said, "Senior, where to?"

Ye Zeli, hearing the reply, said helplessly, "Wasn't it you who invited me to eat?"

Lin Ning blinked, looking innocent, "Yeah, I'm treating you to a meal, but we can discuss the place."

Ye Zeli looked at her mischievous expression, shook his head helplessly, and said nothing.

A few of them stood at the school gate, and for a moment there was a slight stalemate.

Each of them already had noble status, and on top of that they were prominent figures at the two top schools in West City, with outstanding looks and demeanor.

This group standing together was practically a moving spotlight, causing the students who had just gotten out of school to keep glancing back.

Mu Youyu keenly noticed that a few gazes were especially intense.

She glanced over discreetly and saw a few girls not far away furtively staring at her, each tightly clutching several comic books with covers printed with "When Rain Falls on the Fingertips."

She understood at once; they were probably fans of Artist Name Yue Shu.

She suspected that if it weren't for her few bodyguards standing not too far nor too near, those students would have already swarmed her for autographs and photos.

Mu Youyu turned to Jiang Liangjin again, "... So where should we eat?"

Jiang Liangjin let out a low laugh, "Whatever you want, we'll go where you want."

Mu Youyu: "..." What good does it do to rely on her? She doesn't know either!

In the end, Gu Xingnan spoke up, and the group split into three cars, heading to a newly opened fusion restaurant with good reputation in the city center.

The restaurant had an elegant setting with private rooms, perfect for this group of older teenagers to chat and eat.

When they sat down, they naturally formed two and a half couples.

Lin Ning and Ye Zeli sat on one side, while Mu Youyu and Jiang Liangjin sat beside them.

Yu Ci and Gu Xingnan sat opposite them, perfectly exemplifying the onlookers who were "more than friends but not yet lovers."

The task of ordering fell to Mu Youyu and Lin Ning; the two girls huddled together over the menu, discussing.

Jiang Liangjin leaned back leisurely in his chair, his gaze continually on Mu Youyu.

Seeing her ponder, he naturally leaned in, pointing at a dish on the menu and said softly, "You might like this; the home chef made something similar before, and you ate quite a bit of it."

"This dish is a bit spicy; Youbao can't eat it."

Mu Youyu immediately nodded, ticking a few items on the list of dishes she liked.

Ye Zeli didn't talk much, mostly just listening quietly, but whenever Lin Ning turned back to ask him, "Senior, do you eat this?" he would give a slight nod.

The atmosphere was actually harmonious.

Yu Ci couldn't sit still; watching the two couples opposite interact, he nudged Gu Xingnan with his elbow and lowered his voice: "A Nan, do we look like relatives attending a couples' dinner? We're shining so bright."

Brighter than the lightbulb above our heads.

Gu Xingnan glanced at him, calmly took a sip of his drink, and said, "If we take out the 'men,' we might fit better."

Yu Ci: "..." Alright, he admits he talked too much.

But it also depends on the person, okay?

The dishes arrived quickly; aside from Ye Zeli, who Lin Ning brought along, everyone else was already acquainted.

Adding Yu Ci and Lin Ning, this lively pair, and Mu Youyu, the natural center, the table's atmosphere quickly became lively.

As they chatted, the topic somehow circled back to Jiang Liangjin.

Yu Ci sat up straight, cleared his throat, and said, "A Jin, someone came to our school today to poach you!"

Jiang Liangjin raised his eyebrows, tone a bit lazy: "Oh?"

Anyone else?

Mu Youyu looked at him and took a bite of food.

Lin Ning also grew curious, looking at Jiang Liangjin, wondering what astonishing feat her best friend's childhood buddy had pulled off this time.

Gu Xingnan knew, and wasn't surprised he would say it.

Ye Zeli, as one of the four great noble families of C Shi, had naturally heard the rumors about Jiang Liangjin, and also looked toward Yu Ci.

Seeing that he had successfully caught everyone's attention, Yu Ci immediately became animated, speaking vividly: "Several professors from various colleges personally came to our class's door to block people! They said as long as A Jin is willing to transfer schools, they'll open any conditions! Scholarships, labs, mentors—everything you could want!"

As he spoke, he gestured exaggeratedly, his tone over the top, as if the invitation were for himself.

Lin Ning looked at him in surprise, "Wow, that's exaggerated?"

How could he be as awesome as the senior?

Jiang Liangjin's expression remained flat, as if Yu Ci weren't talking about him.

He picked up the communal chopsticks, naturally gave her a piece of the sweet-and-sour spare ribs she liked, then slowly said, "I'm not going."

Concise and to the point, without a hint of hesitation.

Mu Youyu bit the tip of her chopsticks, looked at him, swallowed her food, and asked, "Because of this physics competition?"

"Yeah." Jiang Liangjin replied, his gaze falling on her face, "The one last summer."

Yu Ci immediately chimed in, his tone full of pride: "That high-value physics competition last summer—A Jin beat the second-place contender by thirty-odd points!"

Gu Xingnan timely added, "Perfect score, a clear-cut first place."

Lin Ning directly let out a soft exclamation, "A perfect score?!"

Her gaze at Jiang Liangjin was like looking at an alien invasion, then she turned a resentful look toward Mu Youyu.

Jealous, jealous, jealous! She's always had poor grades since childhood; from now on she can only study abroad...

She subconsciously glanced at Ye Zeli beside her.

Lan Lin's name had spread everywhere; Ye Zeli had heard others mention it, so he wasn't surprised.

But Lin Ning was looking at him.

He saw Lin Ning's envious, jealous little expression, a flicker of smile in his eyes, then turned to Jiang Liangjin, his gaze pure admiration, and simply commented: 'Indeed impressive.'

He himself was a top student, and he understood just how terrifying the value of scoring full marks and ranking first by a wide margin in such a competition was.

This wasn't just effort; it also required top-tier talent.

Jiang Liangjin truly deserved the title of prodigy.

Lin Ning's eyes lit up, she shook Mu Youyu's arm proudly, exclaiming, 'Youbao, why are you guys so much smarter than me after growing up together?!'

She sighed, 'I feel like I can only study abroad relying on my family's arrangements...'

Ye Zeli heard this, paused, and said nothing.

'It's fine, it's fine, as long as Ningning is happy.' Mu Youyu was quite calm; she had known since childhood that Jiang Liangjin was just as extraordinarily smart as she was.

She then looked at her childhood friend beside her, 'A Jin, why aren't you going? Wouldn't better resources be more helpful?'

Jiang Liangjin heard this, his handsome brows slightly raised, his gaze fixed on her without wavering, and said clearly, 'Didn't I say that before?'

He looked at her somewhat bewildered eyes, gave a light chuckle, and added, 'I'm waiting for you—wait for you to decide where you want to go, and then we'll go.'

The others: 'Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.'

Mu Youyu remembered—at the start of the school year, Jiang Liangjin had announced in front of the whole faculty and student body that he was waiting for her—and asked, 'So where are we going?'

She actually was hesitating whether to continue skipping grades or just keep studying as is.

She had said this to her brothers before, and everyone replied that as long as she was happy, it was fine.