Chapter 372: Being With You Is Not Tiring

The conference hall door was closed, and the others had already dispersed.

Jiang Liangjin stood in the corridor, a faint chill rising at his fingertips.

The Jiang and Shen families are deeply intertwined, with many people and mixed eyes; those harboring ulterior motives have never been just one or two.

Once Shen Ye became the heir's position, he dared to move against Youbao, and that was half a year ago.

A dark shade flickered in Jiang Liangjin's eyes—where there is one, there will be two.

The Jiang and Shen households' rule has never been to raise a tiger to invite disaster; those who dare to harm her, or harbor other thoughts, ought to be thoroughly purged.

"A Jin!"

A clear voice came from behind, and Jiang Liangjin almost instinctively composed his expression.

Mu Youyu came running, with Mu Xi following behind, her expression calm.

The girl quickly ran up to him and stopped, slightly lifting her chin; a pair of clear, limpid eyes stared straight at him, without a speck of impurity.

"Why are you standing alone?" she tilted her head, "Everyone in the conference hall has left; I've been waiting outside for you a long while, and only came over when I saw Shen-ge come out."

Jiang Liangjin lowered his gaze, his eyes landing on her clear pupils; those eyes were spotless, reflecting his silhouette.

His chest softened a little, and he suddenly felt that the heavy gloom that had accumulated in the conference hall was soothed by those eyes.

Jiang Liangjin raised his hand to ruffle the top of her head, his voice indulgent: "I was just about to go find you."

Mu Xi walked over, glanced down at her sister, then lifted her eyes to him; her expression remained unchanged, and she asked nothing.

"Youbao," Mu Xi bent down, aligning her gaze with hers, voice soft, "I'm going to look for A-shen for a bit; I have something to attend to."

Mu Youyu obediently nodded, her little face showing no reluctance, "Sure, second brother, go ahead."

Mu Xi straightened up, her gaze shifting from her sister to the face of the person beside her.

Jiang Liangjin met his gaze, gave a slight nod, "Goodbye, second brother."

"Mm." Mu Xi withdrew her gaze and turned toward the side hall.

The corridor soon held only the two of them.

Mu Youyu lifted her head again to look at Jiang Liangjin, "A Jin, what were you doing just now? You stood there and didn't come find me."

Jiang Liangjin reached out and grasped her warm little hand, softly coaxing, "I was thinking, did you have fun today?"

Mu Youyu tilted her head, feeling his slightly cool hand, the corner of her mouth twitching up slightly, "Really?"

"Really." He kept his expression unchanged.

"You're lying; I see you blowing cold air."

Jiang Liangjin blinked, "Can you believe me just once?"

Mu Youyu stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly curved her eyes into a smile, "Alright, I'll believe you once."

Jiang Liangjin silently breathed a sigh of relief; good thing she didn't press further.

Regarding those matters, he hadn't intended to hide them from her; if she asked, he wouldn't lie, but now isn't the time to bring them up proactively.

Youbao had just been frightened, and only with difficulty had she calmed down; she shouldn't have to hear all that chaotic nonsense.

Let's talk about it after it's settled.

Mu Youyu gently squeezed their joined hands, her face showing a hint of thoughtfulness, "Were you tired from the meeting? Or should we find a place to sit?"

"Not tired." Jiang Liangjin answered without hesitation, "Being with you isn't tiring."

Mu Youyu chuckled, "Ling-ge said something similar today as well."

Jiang Liangjin realized who that was, raised his brows slightly, "He's come over?"

Mu Youyu answered obediently, "Yeah, brother went with him."

Jiang Liangjin didn't press further, but Mu Youyu, already eager, tugged his hand forward, "Then let's go paint in the garden! I've already had someone set things up there for you to see."

Thinking of her unfinished painting from yesterday still unseen, Jiang Liangjin let her pull him along, following her steps forward.

Upon reaching the garden where they had stayed that morning, the easels and wooden stools beneath the corridor had already been neatly arranged by the palace attendants.

On the easel lay a half-finished sheet of paper, the paint box placed to one side, and a brush casually leaning against the box's edge.

Mu Youyu released his sleeve, ran over, and sat before the easel, "Come sit quickly!"

Jiang Liangjin walked over, stood beside her, and lowered his eyes to the painting on the easel.

The painting was from yesterday, depicting the garden scene: distant tree shadows, light falling on the trees, snow piled on the ground, and some buildings.

The lines are clean, the hues gentle—this is the style she habitually uses when doodling for fun.

Mu Youyu swung her legs, a tiny pride in her tone, "Is it nice? I've been painting it for a while."

Anything over half an hour feels long to her.

"It's nice." Jiang Liangjin sat beside her, his gaze shifting from the painting to her face, his eyes gentle, "Very clean."

"Right, right, I think so too—I deliberately used light-colored paints." Mu Youyu chuckled, picked up the brush beside her, and added a few strokes to the paper.

These past few days the snow has been light; today it cleared completely, the sun bright, occasional breezes brushing past, making a gentle swirl in the air before landing on the snow.

Jiang Liangjin sat beside her, quietly watching, a faint light gilding the top of her head with a soft halo.

Mu Youyu painted a few strokes, then suddenly paused, turning her head to him, "What have you been staring at me for?"

Jiang Liangjin kept his expression unchanged, "Watching you paint."

"Then you should paint too." Mu Youyu handed him another brush, "Aren't you also able to paint?"

Jiang Liangjin took the brush, lowered his eyes to the blank paper, then lifted his gaze to her.

The girl's face was close at hand, her lashes long and fine, her eyes clear, her lips pink and tender—every detail exquisite enough to make one's heart flutter.

He laid down the first stroke, his fingertip twitching slightly, "What should I paint?"

"Paint me." Mu Youyu tilted her head, righteous and confident, "You've been staring at me just now—let me give you a chance to record me."

Jiang Liangjin froze for a moment, then let out a low laugh, picked up the brush, and really began to paint.

Mu Youyu painted for a while, then turned her head and whispered, "A Jin."

"Huh?"

"Are we going to Y Guo in two days?"

"Jiang Liangjin's hand holding the pen tip tightened, they restrained their emotions, 'Who told you?'"

"Qing An gege just said that when he passed by."

"Mu Youyu didn't notice his subtle change, continued drawing, her tone casual, 'He said after the gathering in two days we'd go to Y Guo to play.'"

"'Yeah, we'll go in two days.' Jiang Liangjin let out a breath, lowered her head again, and continued sketching the girl's side profile on the paper, 'Youbao, do you want to go?'"

"'Yeah, I want to go—my grandfather also happens to be heading back!' Mu Youyu naturally wanted to go, 'Is Y Guo really cold right now?'"

"'A bit warmer than M Guo.'"

"Mu Youyu tilted her little head, 'What clothes should I bring?'"

"'Someone will prepare it, buy new ones there.'"

"The conversation proceeded in a desultory manner."

"Mu Youyu finished the last stroke, put down her pen, tilted her head to look at Jiang Liangjin's sketchpad, and her eyes lit up instantly."

"On the sketchpad, the most striking thing was a girl's side profile; the rest were just rough outlines, she sat on a small drawing stool, head lowered, drawing."

"She stared at it for several seconds, then lifted her head to look at him, 'You drew me?'"

"Can't you tell?"

"'You can tell, but why did you only draw the side profile?' Mu Youyu pursed her lips slightly, a little dissatisfied."

"'The front face is too hard,' Jiang Liangjin said, her expression unchanged, yet she showed some seriousness, 'I'm afraid if I draw it badly you'll get angry.'"

"Mu Youyu snorted, reached out and lightly poked her own image on the sketchpad, 'Then you should practice more; later you'll be able to draw the front face.'"

"Jiang Liangjin replied quickly: 'Received, I will definitely practice diligently.'"