Chapter 427: Take it slow, don't rush

"Y Guo." Lin Ning didn't even think, "You have a castle there, I'll go rely on you!"

The other party reminded: "I also have a castle in M Guo."

She was troubled: "Oh, that's a bit complicated."

Mu Youyu smiled, leaned against the headboard, and slowly voiced her inner thought: "I still want to stay domestically; familiar people are all here, I don't want to go too far."

Lin Ning turned over, lying on her side facing her: "You have quite a few brothers with businesses overseas; who knows, one day they might lure you over!"

"No." Mu Youyu pondered: "Most people are domestically; what would I gain by running so far?"

Lin Ning, thinking, agreed: "Right, the one in your family who just took over the Jiang and Shen families definitely won't go abroad in the short term."

Mu Youyu held a faint smile at the corner of her mouth: "Probably."

Lin Ning lay back on her own pillow, stared at the ceiling, became serious: "Honestly, Youbao, have you thought about the future?"

"What future?"

"That's the future—going to university, graduating, working, getting married……"

Seeing her start to think far away again, Mu Youyu spoke: "How old are we?"

"Not far at all—you graduate in June, I only have a little over a year left."

Lin Ning's gaze was intense: "Look at your brothers—Older Brother Year took over the Mu Clan as soon as he came of age, Older Brother Xi has limitless prospects in the piano world, Older Brother Jie is exceptionally capable… What about you? Have you considered what path you'll take in the future?"

Mu Youyu answered off-topic: "Ningning, what do you want to do in the future?"

Lin Ning, smug and carefree: "Just get a degree and mooch off my sister! My sister said she'd support me for life!"

"……" Mu Youyu stayed silent for a moment, then said: "I'm going into art."

Frankly, she had been fed various ideas by her brothers since childhood, and at first she somewhat wanted to mooch off them.

It was only after she grew fond of art that she gave up that idea.

"Art?" That's pretty much what I guessed, but Lin Ning still felt it a pity: "You have so many talents, and you're only going into art?"

"Just drawing is enough to keep me busy." Mu Youyu paused: "Teacher Lin says I have good talent; getting into the best domestic art academy is no problem, we'll see later."

Lin Ning said relieved: "Exactly, you do well at whatever you do, unlike me, who wants to try everything but can't stick with anything long."

"You just haven't found what you truly like yet." Mu Youyu comforted her: "Take it slow, don't rush."

"But I can't wait." Otherwise I wouldn't be impulsive about everything.

Lin Ning sighed and said nothing more.

The room quieted; sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, casting beams across the floor-to-ceiling window.

At eleven-thirty, the two went downstairs on time; the lobby already had quite a few people.

Jiang Liangjin, standing alone at the side, came over: "Is everything set?"

"Right." Mu Youyu scanned the lobby: "Where are the second older brothers?"

"Outside." Jiang Liangjin lifted his chin toward the door: "They said it's stuffy inside, went out for fresh air."

Lin Ning couldn't help but click her tongue beside them: "This resort is really high-end; the air conditioning is indeed quite strong."

She had thought it was that kind of small mountain village.

The three walked together toward the entrance; passing the front desk, Mu Youyu caught a familiar figure in her peripheral vision.

Jiang Ji stood at the front desk, talking to a staff member, holding a stack of documents, expression indifferent, with an unfamiliar young man standing beside him.

Jiang Liangjin had noticed him earlier; his steps didn't stop, he just glanced sideways at Mu Youyu to confirm she wasn't affected, then relaxed.

Lin Ning took another look: "Why is Jiang Ji here too? I thought Lan Lin's spring outing wasn't here."

Mu Youyu shook her head to indicate she didn't know.

"I don't know." Jiang Liangjin wasn't interested.

Lin Ning kept quiet; as they walked out of the lobby, the outside air was indeed much fresher.

There were several classical buildings, plus a small stream, Lan Ting…… In the distance lay continuous mountains; nearby were neatly trimmed lawns and flower beds.

Mu Xi and Song Lujing stood on the steps at the entrance; the latter was still playing a game, the former had hands in pockets, gazing vacantly into the distance.

Seeing her sister ready to come out, Mu Xi turned around: "Let's go, to the restaurant."

The resort's restaurant is behind the main building; you get there by passing through a corridor.

Zhou Laoshi stood at the restaurant door, holding a roll call list, calling names one by one, confirming the headcount before letting them through.

Mu Youyu took some light dishes, added a small piece of cake, held her plate, and sat at a window-side seat.

Jiang Liangjin sat down as well, holding a cup of milk, with only a plate of salad before him.

Mu Youyu glanced at him: "You're just eating these?"

"I ate this morning, not hungry." Jiang Liangjin pushed the milk toward her: "Drink a bit more."

Mu Youyu pushed the milk back: "I won't drink, you do."

They pushed it back and forth; in the end Mu Xi couldn't stand it, reached out, took the milk, drank it in one gulp, placed the empty cup on the table: "Stop arguing."

Jiang Liangjin, Mu Youyu: "……"

Again the milky yogurt taste; Mu Xi swallowed some water to suppress it, expressionless: "Let's eat."

Midway through lunch, Zhou Laoshi walked over with a plate, sat in the empty seat beside Mu Xi, smiled, glanced around, and asked solicitously: "Are you all still adjusting? Any discomfort?"

Mu Youyu answered obediently: "Pretty good, thank you Zhou Laoshi."

"All good, all good." Zhou Laoshi relaxed: "By the way, Mu classmate, you're going to participate in the competition tomorrow afternoon, right? Do you need me to arrange a car for you?"

Mu Youyu glanced at Jiang Liangjin, who slightly shook his head; she then politely said: "No need, Zhou Laoshi, we can go ourselves."

Zhou Laoshi didn't insist: "Alright, then stay safe, come back early after the competition, there's still an event tonight."

"What event?" Song Lujing lifted his head from his phone screen.

"A small evening party." Zhou Laoshi had already mentioned it in the group, not hiding it: "The resort arranged this; I heard the main dish is roasted whole sheep."

Lin Ning: "…… Another evening party; I should prepare in advance against mosquitoes and tiny bugs."

Everyone else lost interest, and Song Lujing directly said, "Forget it, Brother Xi is allergic to this."

Mu Xi: "En."

Zhou Laoshi was stunned for a moment, confirming he wasn't joking, and quickly waved his hands, saying, "Then I won't say anything; just stay away from it when the time comes."

Mu Xi continued eating.

Both Mu Youyu and Jiang Liangjin also knew this; when they were young, there was once a family gathering where a plate of grilled lamb chops was set on the table.

Mu Xi didn't eat it, merely sitting a bit closer, and when he got back he developed a red rash on his arms; Grandfather Mu and Mu Nian felt bad for him for several days.

Zhou Laoshi thought he just couldn't eat it, saying, "There's other food over there; just don't eat that one, it's no problem."

"No need to trouble." Mu Xi said flatly, "You guys do your thing; I'll just watch."

Zhou Laoshi saw his firm attitude, didn't want to urge him further, added a few reminders to stay safe and such platitudes, then walked away holding his plate.

Several people continued eating; after Mu Youyu finished, she scrolled on her phone, started waiting for them, and replied to messages from Liu Wanwan and Feng Cen.

They unexpectedly learned that Yu Yu would also be going to that competition, saying she was competing for a recommended spot.

Her family naturally disagreed, so Mu Youyu planned to go along the way to meet Yu Yu and give her a talking-to.