Chapter 23

The next day.

Mu Youyu wasn't late, but today she ran into the discipline director, and found that the discipline director no longer bothered about her hair.

She merely watched her little brown hair nod.

She felt relieved; it seemed she didn't need to change the names of all her software to "Disappearing Little Brown Hair".

After politely greeting the director and walking into the classroom, her eyes unconsciously swept over her own seat and then the seats behind Yu Ci and Gu Xingnan.

She didn't see any of the three.

Mu Youyu didn't think much, returned to her seat, sat down, took out her book and began morning reading with her classmates, her mind at ease.

She didn't notice the strange expressions her classmates were giving her.

By the time the fourth period was about to start, the three unexpectedly arrived at school.

Jiang Liangjin walked straight to the empty seat beside Mu Youyu and sat down, silent, just quietly gazing at her profile.

From the start of class until it ended.

Mu Youyu pretended not to notice, continually lowering her eyes to the desk, unwilling to meet his gaze.

When the teacher left, she stood up and said, "Xiao Yun, want to go eat together?"

"Let's go!" Bai Yun had been thinking the same, didn't notice Young Master Jiang's expression, and readily agreed.

Yu Ci gave Xia Chao Yi a look, signaling him to quickly get Bai Yun away.

Xia Chao Yi nodded in understanding, indicating he had received the signal.

He turned to Bai Yun beside him and said, "Xiao Yun, you didn't say yesterday that you'd treat me to a meal today?"

After saying that, he secretly winked at her, giving a frantic hint.

Bai Yun was bewildered—when had she said that? How could she not know?

"No..."

Before she could finish speaking, she felt an unfriendly gaze from beside her, her heart inexplicably tightening, and she turned her head in surprise.

She locked eyes with Jiang Liangjin, who sat beside Mu Youyu and looked somewhat displeased.

Behind him were Yu Ci wearing a faint smile, and Gu Xingnan with no expression.

Jiang Liangjin stared at Bai Yun with a gaze full of threat, as if saying, "If you dare not agree to Xia Chao Yi, I'll kill you."

Her hanging wine-red hair strands exuded an unruly coldness.

Yu Ci's smile lacked warmth; his gaze at Bai Yun meant much the same as Jiang Liangjin's.

Gu Xingnan's face was expressionless, his eyes still calm, as if warning her she must go with Xia Chao Yi.

All three stared at her with unfriendly eyes, the atmosphere chilled to the extreme.

The students who had been walking about quickened their steps, fleeing Class A as if escaping danger.

"This oppressive feeling—they'd better not come to school."

"What's wrong with Yu Shao and Gu Xiao Shao?"

"Hiss, don't say more—let's go!"

The words ceased.

"Let's go, Xiao Yun!" Xia Chao Yi hurriedly grabbed her hand and ran out of Class A.

Mu Youyu turned her head, taking in that whole series of eye exchanges, and felt speechless.

After the outsiders had left, Yu Ci, like a good buddy, slung an arm over Jiang Liangjin's shoulder, hooking his arm and looking at her.

His tone carried a smile, full of longing: "Youbao, long time no see—A Jin has missed you."

Yu Ci's appearance leans cool; his brow bone is sharp, and when the outer corners of his eyes lift, his jawline is clear.

When he speaks, his thin lips slightly hook with a hint of nonchalance; his all-black attire makes him look tall and cool.

Gu Xingnan also rarely smiled, looking very pleasing to the eye.

His brow ridge slightly raised, not sharp; the outer corners of his eyes droop with a faint cool mist; a high nose bridge with thin lips; when he usually presses his lips, an aloofness shows.

But when he smiles, the coldness dissipates; the curve of his mouth is just right, clear and translucent, filtering out surrounding agitation, making people feel soft-hearted.

Mu Youyu suddenly startled, somewhat sourly looked at the two, gave a small smile in response, but said nothing.

She didn't know what to say.

"Youbao, you just transferred over; now it's lunchtime—shall we take you?" Gu Xingnan asked proactively.

Yu Ci also looked at her.

Even if she doesn't agree, she can't always hide from A Jin—what kind of talk is that?

Jiang Liangjin's cold aura hadn't dissipated, yet he secretly lifted his eyelids, a faint light flashing in his eyes.

Mu Youyu already knew where the cafeteria was, but seeing the three's demeanor, she hesitated a moment and still agreed.

The four walked out of Class A together, drawing many gazes along the way.

Mu Youyu had Yu Ci and Gu Xingnan on her left, and Jiang Liangjin on her right.

All five cafeterias are adjacent; walking from the first-year zone to the cafeteria at normal speed takes about ten minutes.

Along the way, Yu Ci kept talking to ease the atmosphere.

"Youbao, have you recently returned to West City?"

Mu Youyu obediently replied: "I've been back for five days."

Five days! Where had Youbao been studying first year of high school before?

Seeing Gu Xingnan and Jiang Liangjin looking attentively, Mu Youyu didn't lie either, "A City Sheng Luo Middle School."

Jiang Liangjin's dark eyes flickered with a hint of unusual emotion.

One day after the middle school entrance exam, he used the Jiang Family's influence to search for Mu Youyu for a full 327 days, but her information had been blocked.

It's precisely for this reason that when he saw her in Class A yesterday, he lost control and could barely restrain himself.

But he didn't dare to press her, fearing he would push her farther away, so he endured the whole afternoon without showing up.

Hearing this answer, Yu Ci lightly raised his brow and asked concernedly, "Youbao, how did you even think of going to A City?"

In fact, he was asking this on Jiang Liangjin's behalf.

After all, they've grown up together since childhood, so they understand each other's thoughts without much explanation.

Gu Xingnan reached out to grab his hand upon hearing the question, but the other ruthlessly shook him off.

How could he possibly tell the truth?

He was afraid that if he uttered that question, everything would fall silent.

Indeed, Mu Youyu lowered her eyes, her voice so flat that no emotion could be detected: "Personal reasons."

It was as good as not saying anything.

Yu Ci and Gu Xingnan guessed that this "personal reason" was mostly due to Jiang Liangjin's disappearance during that period.

At that moment, they had already arrived at the entrance of Lan Lin's first cafeteria; Yu Ci received a "little warning" from Gu Xingnan and did not continue asking.

Since the three of them are prominent figures at Lan Lin, three of the four campus hunks.

Jiang Liangjin is still the school bully.

Along the way, they brought a girl who attracted considerable attention.

The cafeteria was still quite crowded, and upon entering, whispers could be heard all around.

"Wow, Young Master Jiang, how did you come back to school!"

"Young Master Yu is so charming, Young Master Gu still looks aloof!"

"Who is the girl beside them? She's prettier than any of the Five Campus Belles!"

"Her looks can even compare to Nan Feng's campus belle! Later I'll go show off to Nan Feng's close brothers!"

"Who is she?"

"Check the forum—many say she and Young Master Jiang are childhood sweethearts."

"It seems she also has some connection with the young masters of neighboring Nan Feng."

"Yesterday, all the forum posts about them were deleted."

"……"

"A Jin, Youbao, the two of us will go get food; you guys wait a moment." Yu Ci proactively pulled Gu Xingnan to line up for meals.

He left space for the two of them.

Jiang Liangjin found four clean seats and then sat down in one of them.

After some thought, Mu Youyu still sat beside Jiang Liangjin.

Jiang Liangjin's dark eyes once again locked tightly onto Mu Youyu's face, his gaze heavy as if holding a thousand unspoken words, yet he remained silent for a long time.

After a long while, he finally spoke: "How did you come back to West City again?"

Thinking about avoiding him, why did she return?

Mu Youyu's heart felt as if something had lightly pricked it, stirring a sour ache.

She deliberately avoided his fervent, scorching gaze, saying, "Something happened in A City, so I came back early."

Her tone was as calm as ordinary chatter.

A flicker of fleeting loneliness crossed Jiang Liangjin's eyes, but in the blink of an eye he returned to normal, saying, "No matter what, welcome back, Youbao."

Mu Youyu knew he didn't want to push her further away; she lightly pressed her lips and glanced at him.

The two remained silent.