Chapter 173

Song Yusui followed her gaze and looked over.

That woman was about forty years old, with exquisite makeup and a hint of arrogance in her brows and eyes, holding a teacup.

I don't know if she sensed the gaze from this side, but the woman's eyes drifted over lightly, and when they landed on Song Yusui, her expression was unreadable.

But she soon looked away.

He thought back carefully, confirmed he had never seen this person, shook his head, and said firmly: "I don't know her—I've never met her before, and I've never had any dealings with the Jiang family's distant relatives!"

The Jiang family members he knows are only Jiang Liangjin's grandparents and parents; as for those distant relatives, let alone meeting them, he might not even have heard some of their names!

Mu Youyu felt even more that Cheng Siqing was hiding something.

Jiang Liangjin walked over at that moment, obviously having overheard their conversation.

He followed Mu Youyu's gaze, glanced over, frowned slightly, and asked softly: "You mean Cheng Siqing?"

Mu Youyu's eyes lit up at his voice, and she hurried over, tugging his sleeve: "A Jin."

Song Yusui watched their natural intimacy, already accustomed, and just smiled, nodding at Jiang Liangjin: "A Jin, long time no see."

Jiang Liangjin nodded in response: "Good, Brother Yusui."

"I'm great, great!" Song Yusui lifted his chin, his face bright with a cheerful smile.

He glanced at his precious little sister again, curious: "By the way, just now my little sister asked if I knew your uncle's wife—what's going on?"

Jiang Liangjin's gaze fell again on Cheng Siqing, his tone calm: "She is the wife of my great-uncle Jiang Huan, Cheng Siqing."

He paused, turned to Mu Youyu, and added: "She usually isn't conspicuous in the family and doesn't have much presence; I don't know why she'd be staring at Brother Yusui."

However, Cheng Siqing's behavior has been somewhat abnormal lately, and with Jiang Huan… you know what I mean.

If I remember correctly, Cheng Siqing used to seem virtuous; now I don't know what happened, and he can't be bothered to look into it—it's not really his concern anyway.

Song Yusui raised an eyebrow, thoughtful: "We've never met, yet she's looking at me—did she mistake me for someone else?"

After all, he said he has no dealings with the Jiang family's distant relatives.

Moreover, he remembers that Jiang Liangjin and that branch of the Jiang family—Jiang Huan's household—don't get along.

What is he looking at him for?

Song Yusui caught Mu Youyu looking thoughtful, worried she was overthinking, and quickly laughed it off: "Maybe she just thinks Brother Yusui is too handsome and can't help glancing a few more times—after all, someone as good-looking as me draws attention wherever he goes!"

He deliberately struck a smug pose, successfully making Mu Youyu curl her lips: "Alright, alright, Brother Yusui is the most handsome."

Let's hope so.

As they spoke, Mu Nian and Yan Yuejiu on stage had finished dividing the cake, and the elders and friends began taking turns coming forward to offer congratulations.

Song Yusui patted Jiang Liangjin on the shoulder, looked at his sister, and said: "Little treasure, A Jin, I'll go congratulate Brother Nian and Sister Yue first—you two play for now, I'll find you later."

"Okay." Jiang Liangjin nodded, watched him head toward the stage, then took Mu Youyu toward the rest area: "Let's have cake first."

Mu Youyu replied, and the two walked side by side toward the rest area.

Yan Yuejiu accompanied Mu Nian in greeting the elders, then finished entertaining a wave of guests, and laughed as she walked toward the rest area, slipping an arm around Mu Youyu's shoulders: "Youbao, come with me to see a few friends!"

"Sure!" Mu Youyu quickly put down her drink, grabbed Jiang Liangjin and her, and Mu Nian, and they went together.

Another school day arrived.

As the morning self-study period ended with the bell, Mu Youyu arrived in class, sent a message to Jiang Liangjin, and was lowering her head to tidy her books.

Suddenly, a faint chill brushed the back of her neck, followed immediately by the sound of her books scattering across the floor.

Mu Youyu instinctively turned around and saw a strange girl standing behind her—tall, dressed in brand-name clothes, her hair curled in soft waves, her face lightly made up.

In her hand she gripped a half-bottle of mineral water with the cap loose; droplets ran down her fingers, fell onto her collar, and spread a small dark stain.

Seeing the water on her hand, Mu Youyu instinctively thought of her manga heroine Lin Yu: "……"

"Oh, sorry."

The girl wore a feigned apology on her face, but her tone dripped with mockery she couldn't hide: "My hand slipped—I didn't mean to bump into you, and I certainly didn't expect your books to be so flimsy they'd fall at a touch."

The surroundings fell silent instantly, and the classmates' eyes all snapped to focus on them.

"Holy shit, Yu-jie Yu-jie Yu-jie! Who is this? How bold!"

The boy in the front row reacted first, rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, then stared wide-eyed in disbelief, his voice shocked.

"No way, no way! Is our Yu-jie being bullied again?" another girl frowned, voice indignant: "Which class is this girl from? I've never seen her before."

"Where does this girl get the nerve to cause trouble in our Class A?"

"Is this classmate maybe brain‑defective? Our Yu‑jie doesn't look like an easy target," a student muttered under his breath, eyes full of displeasure.

"How is it that even now, someone still lacks eyesight, coming to Yu‑jie's face to show off their presence?"

Bai Yun, sitting in front of Mu Youyu, saw the scene, slammed the desk, sprang to her feet: "Xiao Yu, do you know her? Who is this? Did she come on purpose to cause trouble?"

Mu Youyu hadn't encountered such a person in a long time, and she never expected that even with her identity public, someone like this would appear.

She looked at the few people following the girl and replied: "I don't know any of them; they're here to pick a fight with me."

Yu Ci, sitting behind her, was also stunned, then reacted, quickly striding to Mu Youyu's front to block the girl's line of sight: "No, who are you? Going crazy early in the morning? If you're sick, go to the hospital—don't stand here in the way!"

Gu Xingnan also frowned, stood up, walked to Yu Ci's side, and together they stood in front of Mu Youyu, staring coldly at the girl.

Mu Youyu wasn't angry either; she simply bent over to silently pick up her books from the floor, and when her fingertips touched the damp, cold pages, she faintly furrowed her brow.

After a brief hesitation, she still found them unpleasant and left them on the floor, then rose again.

But when the girl saw so many classmates speaking up for Mu Youyu, a sour feeling welled up inside her.

She ignored everyone else, just looked at the surrounded person and said: "Mu Youyu, don't think you're amazing just because you have a bunch of brothers backing you—aren't you just relying on your family background?"

The girl beside her chimed in: "Exactly—if we talk about real talent, what does she have that deserves all this fuss? She's just a pretty face relying on her family… decent grades, can draw a bit, won a few awards."

"Surrounded all day by a bunch of brothers, she's like an overgrown baby—maybe all her halos are fake!"

Another girl added: "After all, with money, hiring someone to act is a breeze."

"Right, right! Maybe her exams are taken for her, her paintings are done by others, and she's just impersonating someone else."

Mu Youyu: "……"

As soon as this was said, the Class A students erupted in an uproar.

Hearing these nonsensical words, Yu Ci's face darkened. "What nonsense are you spouting!"

Gu Xingnan found these people baffling, stepping in front of Mu Youyu and saying, "Do you think you're living too comfortably?"

Bai Yun walked over in a couple steps to the girls and asked, "Who are you?"

Beside her, Xia Chaoyi shoved the table aside, stood up, and said, "Listen to yourself—are you even speaking human?".

Leng Yueyou also frowned and stood up, saying, "If you can't compete, all you do is pull petty tricks here—how embarrassing."

Mo Song stood up and said, "I think you're just jealous!"

With these people taking the lead, quite a few rose from their seats and spoke up one after another.

Mu Youyu used the tissue Luo Yi handed her to wipe her clothes, her face still showing no expression.

She took out her phone, summoned the bodyguard who had been waiting in the shadows, then lifted her gaze to the girl holding a water bottle and said, "Clothes, new, five million—how will you compensate?"

This outfit was specially made for her by Yan Yuejiu, using top‑grade materials and design, and many in the circle would pay even more for it.

After casually quoting a price, she immediately felt she had said too little.

After all, within the circle there has long been a saying about Yan Yuejiu's clothing: "A thousand gold for a bolt of fabric, ten thousand gold hard to hire a stitch."

She should have quoted ten million.

That girl had originally been smug, but upon hearing the three words "five million," she was instantly startled.