Chapter 268

Mu Youyu shook her head, "I don't know, I was in A City at that time."

She began to recall, the matter Bai Yun had mentioned—was it that she had just transferred and heard her say it?

Apparently, someone for some unknown reason provoked A Jin, and he beat that person until they lay on the ground begging for mercy.

A Jin

Even Yu Ci and Gu Xingnan pushed forward, having exhausted all pleasant words, he seemed not to have heard.

Gu Xingnan

Bai Yun saw her lost in thought, instantly perked up, scooted her chair closer, propped her elbows on the table, leaned in, and said, "I've heard several versions— which one do you want to hear?"

Mu Youyu shifted her chair forward, "I want to hear them all."

Nan Feng

They had only heard a rough outline of how A Jin was felled by a single punch from Xi Shao, with no details uncovered.

This is an unsolved mystery that has long circulated between Lan Lin and Nan Feng schools— who wouldn't want to know the cause?

Brother Lu Jing

Gu Xingnan and Yu Ci, who had just sat down, involuntarily sat up straight.

When that incident occurred, the two were chatting, and in the blink of an eye Jiang Liangjin kicked a male student.

Young Master Gu

Sister Yu

"The first version," Bai Yun cleared her throat, "is that Young Master Jiang snatched the project Xi Shao had his eye on; Xi Shao couldn't take it, rushed to Lan Lin to start a fight, happened to encounter Young Master Jiang beating someone, so he didn't strike more— just threw one punch!"

Mu Youyu interrupted, "Impossible— at that time Second Brother wasn't handling the conglomerate affairs, and neither was A Jin."

Even so, how could A Jin possibly go snatch something that Second Brother has taken a liking to?

Bai Yun nodded and threw out another version: "The second version says that Mu Xi secretly likes a girl, but then that girl turns her head and falls for Young Master Jiang, Mu Xi's jealousy flares, and he throws a punch!"

"Not continuing the fight is because he's afraid Young Master Jiang's anger won't subside, and then he'll get beaten back!"

Mu Youyu couldn't be bothered to give her an expression, "haha."

That laugh was light and airy, yet it made the few nearby eavesdropping classmates unable to hold back their laughter, their shoulders trembling.

Wasn't this what was being said before?

Bringing it up now is so interesting.

Gu Xingnan understood; this person doesn't actually know the reason.

He instantly lost interest in listening further.

Yu Ci, on the other hand, became a bit interested, patted his hand, and said, "Damn, is it real or fake? Does Mu Xi still have a girl he likes? I haven't heard a whisper about it."

Gu Xingnan gave him a sideways glance, "You believe this too?"

"Of course I believe it."

Mu Youyu recalled the bevy of beauties around Mu Xi.

He has always kept his distance out of respect; he would never raise a hand against the 'brother' he grew up with over a woman.

She curled the corner of her mouth and drawled, "Second Brother's standards are extremely high; the kind of girl who could catch his eye probably hasn't even been born yet."

Besides, he and A Jin have grown up together since childhood; he wouldn't hold a grudge over something like this.

What she said is actually not wrong.

In her eyes, Mu Xi's attitude toward Jiang Liangjin is the same as doting on a younger brother.

When Jiang Liangjin was bullied by other aristocratic youths as a child, Mu Xi was the first to rush forward and back him up.

Anyway, that's what she saw.

"Fine, then let's hear the third version," Bai Yun threw out another new theory: "Your second brother is a hidden brother-complex maniac! When he heard that Young Master Song was being bullied by Young Master Jiang, his protective instincts flared, and he immediately beat up Young Master Jiang!"

"That's even more impossible," Mu Youyu twitched the corner of her mouth, forcing a fake smile.

Young Master Song and A Jin are on such good terms, and besides, only Young Master Song is the one who bullies others—how could anyone bully him? Furthermore, Second Brother may protect his own, but he wouldn't be this impulsive.

The Mu, Song, and Jiang families have been close friends for generations.

In her eyes, the way Mu Xi, Song Lujing, and Jiang Liangjin interact is no different from that of blood brothers.

Xia Chao Yi turned his head, curiously asking, "Any more? Any more?"

These, how come they sound so familiar?

Bai Yun paid no attention to her childhood friend, seeing that the young ladies had no interest, she also wasn't discouraged.

"The final version: the person who got beaten spoke ill of Mu Xi, Young Master Jiang only then lashed out, and Mu Xi stepped in to stop it, fearing the situation would blow up and cause a bad influence."

As soon as those words landed, the smile on Mu Youyu's face faded a bit.

Second Brother usually doesn't like to talk, he's cold-tempered, and his disposition isn't exactly good.

But given his status, who would go out of their way to speak ill of him for no reason?

Moreover, even if someone really did speak out of turn, with Jiang Liangjin's temperament, at most he'd make them shut up and apologize.

Why would he resort to hitting so hard, to the point that even Yu Ci and Gu Xingnan couldn't hold him back?

Yu Ci, however, thought this version made the most sense, and couldn't help raising his voice to ask, "Where did you hear all this from?"

It sounded just like the truth.

Gu Xingnan sighed in resignation, "Don't listen to her nonsense; people have been saying these points for years. I think the reason is mostly because of Youbao."

As soon as those words were spoken, Mu Youyu froze, about to ask why, when the surrounding classmates suddenly burst into laughter.

"Listen up, listen up—our Young Master Gu has seen through it all; the truth definitely has something to do with our Sister Yu!"

"Sister Yu, don't listen to the class monitor's nonsense."

"Sister Yu, stop pretending you don't know; definitely someone bullied you, A Jin stood up for you, and Mu Xi stepped in to stop him from going too far."

"How long ago was this rumored? I think our Young Master Gu is right—A Jin treats Sister Yu so well, it's definitely for her sake!"

Xia Chao Yi also laughed along.

No wonder it sounds familiar.

These are all the old versions from before.

Bai Yun, why is your internet speed so slow?

Mu Youyu blinked, not understanding what they were laughing at, just about to speak up to refute, when she heard footsteps coming from the classroom doorway.

Immediately after, the class bell rang.

The whole class instantly fell silent, all turning their heads toward the doorway.

Mu Youyu looked up and saw Jiang Liangjin walking in behind the homeroom teacher.

He wore a light blue velvet outfit, and at some point had swapped his scarf for a white one identical to Mu Youyu's.

His gaze swept lightly over the classroom, precisely landing on her, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly as he also winked at her.

Mu Youyu's heart skipped a beat for no reason.

She instinctively curled the corner of her lips toward him, then recalled the earlier topic.

Could this actually be related to me?

Jiang Liangjin stepped in front of her, his gaze falling on her side face tightly wrapped in the scarf; his fingertips couldn't help but tingle slightly as he reached out to gently ruffle her hair.

Mu Youyu came to her senses, letting his hand move freely, and asked, 'What were you doing in the office?'

Jiang Liangjin withdrew his hand, sat down in the seat beside her, nudging the chair closer so their shoulders almost touched.

He lowered his voice: 'It's nothing big; the teacher praised your essay from last month's exam, telling me to learn from you, and not to deliberately aim for second place in the grade again.'

Mu Youyu poked his arm, saying, 'Cut it out, I don't believe you.'

Last month's exam, he left several multiple-choice questions blank in Chinese, deliberately scoring ten points less than her.

'Really, learn from the top of the grade.'

Mu Youyu took the chance while the homeroom teacher left the classroom again, ignored his remark, and quietly asked, 'By the way, A Jin, Xiao Yun said something about why you hit someone shortly after the start of tenth grade—I don't believe it.'

A flicker of faint ripple passed through Jiang Liangjin's eyes, 'Oh? What nonsense did she spout?'

Bai Yun in the front row couldn't help but chuckle.

She wasn't spouting nonsense.

Mu Youyu blinked, 'You're saying you snatched Second Brother's project, stole the girl he likes, got into a fight for Brother Lu Jing, and vented anger for Second Brother...'

After she finished, she couldn't help but laugh, 'How outrageous, definitely fake—A Jin could only possibly have done the last thing.'

Jiang Liangjin let out a low laugh, 'Finding it outrageous is right; it's all just made up by others.'

'What's the reason then?'

'I won't tell you.'

'You!' Mu Youyu feigned anger, glaring at him and pinching his cheek, 'If you don't tell me, I'll go tell Elder Brother and have him punch you again!'

Jiang Liangjin let her pinch him, lowering his head in cooperation, 'No, I'll tell you.'

'That's more like it.'

He paused, locking eyes with her as if recalling something from long ago, 'That time in tenth grade, it was by the school gate.'