Chapter 468: Coming Alone

Jiang Liangjin raised his eyes to size up Mu Yichi, "Chi ge came alone?"

The question was a bit abrupt, but anyone familiar with Mu Yichi knows the reason.

He and Mu Yichen have been inseparable since birth.

Actually, Mu Yichi has liked following Mu Yichen since childhood; they slept in the same bed as kids, were desk mates when they started school, skipped grades together, and even worked together, sharing a lab.

If one person shows up at a certain occasion, it likely means the other is nearby too—this has been the Mu family's unspoken rule for years.

Even outsider Qing An knows this principle.

Mu Yichi spread his hands, smiling, "He's busy, can't come; let me pass on his words: happy belated graduation, I'll make up the gift later."

Mu Xi glanced around, "He really didn't come?"

Mu Yichi loved watching his younger brother's little expressions, teasing him, "What, little treasure, missing him?"

Mu Xi frowned, "Don't call me that."

"Petty." Mu Yichi didn't mind, turning to Mu Xin, his eyes lighting up, "Xin treasure, what brings you here too?"

Mu Xin: "I didn't come to see you."

Mu Yichi patted his shoulder, "Fine, fine, fine—not to see me, but to see my sister; I get it."

Seeing this person arrive, Song Lujing immediately straightened his posture, reverting to his aloof self.

Mu Yichi, seeing his attitude, couldn't be bothered to tease him, withdrew his hand, and glanced around the field.

Spotting a crowd of classmates taking photos not far away, many kept glancing over here, curious looks landing then quickly shifting away.

"Who is that? He looks familiar."

"The one wearing a mask? Seems to be Xi ge's older brother; I saw him on the news before."

"Which older brother is Xi ge? Is he from the Song family or the Mu family? There are so many guys in this generation of the two families, I can't tell them apart."

"That's the one—rumor has it he was admitted to B Da's youth program at fourteen, and you used to say his older brother was really impressive."

"Really? Fourteen? How old is he now?"

"I don't know; the two brothers rarely share information publicly."

"How come he's alone? He used to always appear with his older brother, like conjoined twins."

"Maybe the other one is just busy."

"True enough—someone who graduated from the youth program at fourteen could be working on some big project now."

Mu Youyu tilted her head to look at Mu Yichi, noticing he hadn't heard those remarks; he was lowering his head to reply to a message, his mask covering most of his face, only a pair of clear eyes visible.

"Since you're here, let me take a few photos." Mu Yichi noticed, shaking his phone, "So my older brother won't complain later that I only looked out for myself and didn't even help take my sister's graduation pictures."

Mu Youyu held the bouquet of bellflowers, lifted her face to him, "Brother, can you take good photos? Should we get a photographer to help?"

Mu Yichi raised an eyebrow, his tone hinting at slight dissatisfaction at being questioned, "My older brother also won photography awards back in school—though that was elementary school, the skill is still there."

Qing An feared he'd take ugly photos of her and post them messily in the family group, so she quietly stepped back a few paces.

Jiang Liangjin silently shifted his gaze aside.

Mu Youyu didn't continue to discourage him, pulling Jiang Liangjin to stand in the middle of the lawn.

Mu Xi and Song Lujing instinctively took the sides; Mu Xin stepped aside, but Mu Youyu grabbed his sleeve, "Brother, come join us!"

Mu Xin glanced at his sister's hand gripping his cuff, didn't object, and stood beside Mu Xi.

The five lined up; Mu Yichi held his phone, stepped back a few steps to adjust the angle, then walked forward two steps, squatted, and raised the phone.

"A bit to the left—not your left, my left… Forget it, let's stay like this, don't move."

Mu Youyu found his directions baffling, so she simply stood still where she was.

Mu Yichi didn't mind either; he took several shots in a row, stood up to browse the album, deleted a few, then raised his phone for another round.

Qing An, watching from the side, couldn't stand it: "Enough, you've taken so many—older brother Chen won't flip through them one by one."

Mu Yichi's gaze didn't waver, "You don't get it—this is sincerity. If I take a hundred, he'll surely look at one."

"Haha."

After a minute, Mu Yichi finally stopped, turned the phone to show a few people, "All right, all right, this one's good."

In the photo, the five stand on the lawn, sunlight from the side; Mu Youyu holds the bouquet in the center, her smile serene, Jiang Liangjin stands to her left, angled toward her, the corner of his mouth lifted.

The other three all had calm expressions.

Song Lujing complained, "Seriously? You took that long and only got one satisfactory shot?"

Mu Xi quite liked this photo, "Send it to me."

Mu Yichi ignored Song Lujing, acknowledged Mu Xi, lowered his head to operate the phone, and sent the photo to the family group.

Mu Youyu leaned in, only to see that the group chat had already scrolled past several messages.

Grandpa sent a thumbs-up, Grandma followed with a long string of "really nice," and Song Huaixian posted a drooling emoticon.

Jiang Liangjin's first reaction was, "How silly, Huaixian ge."

That made everyone laugh; Mu Youyu covered her mouth with her hand, "How can you say that about him?"

After replying to the message, Mu Yichi raised his eyebrows at his sister, "All right, my task is done, time to head back and report. Treasure, after your exams at the end of June, I and my older brother will come pick you up and take you out for something good to eat."

Mu Youyu tightened her grip on the bouquet, "Yichi ge, take care."

"All right, good luck on your college entrance exams, don't stress, just give it a try—if you don't do well, I'll support you." Mu Yichi waved at the few of them and turned toward the school gate.

Jiang Liangjin saw his back disappear at the edge of the field, then suddenly reached out to lightly embrace Mu Youyu's shoulder, pulling her toward him.

He lowered his head, his chin nearly touching her hair, his eyes full of indulgence, "Little princess, happy graduation."

Mu Youyu didn't dodge, her gaze still on the bouquet in her arms, "You already said that once."

"I'll say it again." Jiang Liangjin laughed, already looking forward to college.

Mu Xi kept an eye on the two from her peripheral vision; seeing her sister offer no resistance, she stayed silent.

Song Lujing went to take a call, while Qing An began chatting with a stranger.

Mu Xin stood behind several people, still holding her younger sister's coat in her hand, her blue eyes falling on the group of classmates still taking a photo in the distance.

A few girls were secretly glancing over from not far away, pushing and shoving each other, not daring to come forward.

Finally, a girl with a ponytail was pushed forward, her face flushed as she ran over and asked if she could take a photo together with Mu Xi.

As soon as the girl spoke, the nearby students immediately perked up.

As expected, that girl was coldly rejected by Mu Xi, and she left with her head down, dejected.

Lin Yu cheekily stepped forward, "Brother Xi, what are your standards for a partner?"

Mu Xi said blandly, "Anyway, it's not you."

"……"

Mu Youyu put on her coat, took a few couple photos with Jiang Liangjin, then took separate photos with the brothers before heading to the resting area.

She had barely sat for a few minutes when she happened to receive a message from Lin Ning saying she couldn't come today.