Chapter 451: Unexpected Gain

Mu Xi stopped pressing further, Song Lujing was indifferent, only thinking of finishing his meal and rushing home to play games.

Mu Youyu, afraid of an awkward silence, picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork and put it in Mu Xianyan's bowl, saying, "Eat more, older sister, you've gotten thin."

"All right, I'll listen to my younger sister." Mu Xianyan smiled, picked up her chopsticks, and ate slowly.

After dinner, Mu Xi went upstairs, Song Lujing went home, and only the two young women remained in the living room.

The nanny brought fruit and milk, then stepped aside.

Mu Xianyan leaned on the sofa, holding a cup of milk, her mind wandering, not knowing what she was thinking about.

Mu Youyu sat beside her; the glutinous rice in her arms was unusually well-behaved today, lying still on her leg, occasionally flicking its tail as if dozing.

Seeing she still hadn't spoken, she called out, "Older sister."

Mu Xianyan came to, "Hmm?"

You've been holding that pose for so long—do you have something on your mind?

Mu Xianyan forced a smile, "No, I've just been tired from recent training and wanted to go out for a walk."

Mu Youyu looked at her without exposing it.

Mu Xianyan reached out and pinched her cheek, "Really, I'm fine; kids shouldn't worry so much."

Mu Youyu's gaze lightly fell on her fingertip with the band-aid, "How did you hurt your hand?"

Mu Xianyan paused, then spoke frankly, "I accidentally got cut by a guitar string."

"Ah, did older sister get a shot?"

"I got a tetanus shot; it's no big deal."

"Good." Mu Youyu breathed a sigh of relief.

Mu Xianyan withdrew her hand, half-reclining on the sofa, her gaze falling on the guava in the fruit plate before her, her voice soft, tinged with bewilderment.

"Younger sister, what would you do if someone suddenly learned something about themselves, and the reality didn't match their expectations?"

Mu Youyu moved the glutinous rice from her arms and looked up at her.

Realizing she had misspoken, Mu Xianyan hurriedly said, "I was just asking casually; I watched a movie where the protagonist was like that… I was afraid that if I encountered something similar, I'd come to you for help."

Full of holes—older sister normally wouldn't rush to explain like this.

Mu Youyu pondered for a moment, then spoke seriously, "It depends on whether this difference is developing in a good direction or a bad one."

Mu Xianyan said nothing, merely lowering her eyes.

"If it's good, then there's nothing to do—whether to accept it or not is up to the person involved."

While watching the changing expressions of the person beside her, Mu Youyu roughly guessed what it was, and only smiled, "If it's bad… it's fine; just pretend you never heard it, keep living as you did before and will continue to do."

Mu Xianyan listened, her eyes flickering slightly, "What if it's a close relative telling you yourself—can you just pretend you don't know?"

"You can try to make a change; if that doesn't work, just treat it as hearing a story and not take it to heart."

A change…

Changing the subject, Mu Youyu affected a teasing tone: "Besides, older sister, you're different from others—no matter what happens, you have us behind you, plus Sister Ruo Ya and Brother Qing An!"

Hearing those warm words, Mu Xianyan slightly relaxed her grip, lifted her eyes and smiled, "You're right, younger sister. I've watched too many movies and overthought things."

Mu Youyu watched her put the smile back on, then simply chatted with her about other things until her mood improved, after which they went upstairs together to sleep.

The next day, Mu Youyu took Mu Xianyan to the restaurant near school they often visited, with Jiang Liangjin following behind.

No one else came along, but the two strangers chatting with Mu Youyu kept things from getting awkward.

The dishes hadn't arrived yet; Mu Xianyan went to take a call, the two stayed at their seats waiting, and Mu Youyu idly scrolled through Weibo, tapping into Mu Xianyan's homepage.

The latest post had no caption, only a violin performance video.

The comments below were dense:

【I feel the baby is really down today, but I still like the baby's former self】

【Goddess, what happened to your hand!】

【I only sensed longing; you don't have to be like this even if you miss me—she wouldn't be embarrassed (actually, I'm the rumored girlfriend of Princess Yan)】

A passerby remarked: 【Princess Yan's recent scores are quite different from before】

【Yeah, I feel the same—my mood has been much worse lately】

【What happened?】

Before Mu Youyu could click to play the video, Jiang Liangjin leaned in close, his head beside hers, and asked, "What's wrong?"

She honestly replied, "I feel my older sister hasn't been in a good mood lately; let's talk after she returns."

"Sure."

Just as she agreed, a variety of male voices came from the doorway.

"Is he really in the country?"

"We've been around for two weeks and still haven't seen her—where is she hiding?"

"Never mind, let's go eat first."

"Sigh, we really have it tough; thank goodness the Young Master didn't blame us……"

The restaurant staff instinctively turned their heads toward the doorway.

One could see three men in identical dark uniforms standing at the doorway, looking like attendants of some family.

Mu Youyu and Jiang Liangjin instantly recognized them as the three who had come to the classroom a few weeks ago looking for her.

The leader was still that same man from last time, arrogant, his gaze sweeping across the crowd as if searching for someone.

Mu Youyu's heart tightened, her body slumped, and she lowered her head.

But the three had already spotted Jiang Liangjin beside Mu Youyu, noticed the hidden head to the side, and strode over, calling, "Miss Mu!"

Someone muttered, "There's also an unexpected gain."

Mu Youyu: "……"

Those few people stood directly in front of her, the man's attitude firm, "Miss Mu, our young master wishes to see you; please give us face."

That person wasn't found, and this one is the same.

Jiang Liangjin stood up, shielding Mu Youyu in his arms, his gaze turning cold, "Move aside."

The second man didn't yield, instead stepping forward, "Young Master Jiang, we're not here to cause trouble, just passing along a message. The young master said, as long as Miss Mu is willing to give face, you may set any conditions."

Mu Youyu exhausted, she leaned against Jiang Liangjin's side; before he could speak to rebuke them, a clear female voice came: "How did you find this place?"

Several people fell onto Mu Xianyan, their expressions completely changing.

Jiang Liangjin noticed something clearly amiss.

Mu Xianyan frowned, pressed down her cap, and stepped half a step toward her sister, "Sister, do you know them?"

Mu Youyu shook her head, "I don't know them."

Here the crowd was dense and mixed, someone had already raised a phone; she didn't want to cause more trouble, pulling the two of them, she intended to change seats.

But that man stepped forward, directly blocking their path.

Mu Xianyan paused, put away her phone, without raising her head.

"Miss Xianyan, stay!"