Chapter 507: Nothing at all

Ruo Ya's face showed doubt, "These past few days I attended a private tea party, and a lady mentioned it to me."

"No? These past few days everyone in their circle has been spreading it; she, who never went to ask, assumed Ai Luoxiu had suddenly gone to Y Guo."

Mu Youyu: "What did she say?"

"He said he saw Ai Luoxiu near the Y Guo imperial palace; I thought he would represent Y Guo in that project." Ruo Ya answered truthfully.

Mu Youyu shook her head, "Impossible."

Ruo Ya, thinking, agreed: "I naturally trust Mingxi's younger sister; she must have mistaken him, lately there are many people in Y Guo, so mistaking isn't strange."

Her expression returned to its usual composure, the topic shifted elsewhere, she asked Mu Youyu what she wanted to eat tonight, letting the kitchen prepare in advance.

Mu Youyu casually named a few dishes, and Ruo Ya got up to arrange them.

When Jiang Liangjin came out of the main hall, besides the gardener, only Mu Youyu remained sitting in the pavilion, a drawing board before her, the completed picture a landscape, yet her gaze fell on a farther direction.

"Finished?" Jiang Liangjin sat beside her, following her line of sight; outside the pavilion was a small fountain, nothing special.

"Yes."

Mu Youyu withdrew her gaze, "Just now Elder Sister Ruo Ya said someone saw Brother Gege in Y Guo and thought he would join the project."

Jiang Liangjin blinked, "Brother Ge isn't in C Shi?"

"Yeah, that's why I find it strange."

"Even if brother goes, he would still prioritize privacy."

Mu Youyu added, "Probably just a mistake; after all, few people here have actually seen brother."

"But they have all seen you."

Jiang Liangjin didn't respond, Mu Youyu tilted her head, "What do you think, A Jin?"

"Just a rumor." Jiang Liangjin said casually, "In aristocratic circles this kind of thing isn't rare—catching wind and shadow, passing it around changes it; nothing surprising."

"Lately there's been a lot going on; I need to arrange the matters of returning home."

Mu Youyu seemed to recall her own past experiences, agreeing: "Also"

Jiang Liangjin's expression softened, not continuing the topic, "Still painting?"

"Not painting anymore."

Mu Youyu put the paints down on the table, leaned back in the chair, shook her leg, "Qing An brother left; I feel this place has become much emptier."

Jiang Liangjin pointed at himself, "I'm this big a person sitting beside you, you can't see me?"

Mu Youyu looked up at him, the corner of her mouth curved, she extended her index finger and poked his arm, "I see you, you're quiet, not noisy."

Jiang Liangjin pretended to be hurt by the poke, shrinking back slightly, "Yah, maybe because I'm a good baby."

Mu Youyu: "Wow."

Jiang Liangjin gave a low laugh, sat up straight again, picked up his phone, opened then closed it.

Mu Youyu noticed his action, "What's up?"

"Nothing." Jiang Liangjin handed her the phone; she took it and glanced—it was an ad push for the game they often play.

She was about to turn off the screen and hand it back, but then she blinked, withdrew the motion, and shook the phone at him— the meaning couldn't be clearer.

Jiang Liangjin resigned, "Go ahead and play, I don't need it now."

Mu Youyu re-entered the password; at the moment the screen lit up, she actually didn't really want to see anything, just curious who Jiang Liangjin usually chats with.

A red "99+" badge marked the upper-right corner of the WeChat icon; her OCD kicked in, "So many messages, aren't you going to look?"

Jiang Liangjin leaned his head against hers, "I don't know, too lazy to open, you take a look."

Mu Youyu let out an "oh", swiped her fingertip across the screen, and opened WeChat.

At the top was only her own chat; scrolling down the message list went several pages.

Further down were several work groups, the messages uniformly saying "Received," "Okay, Jiang Zong," "Okay, Chairman," "Handled."

Occasionally a few long voice messages were mixed in, obviously never opened by anyone.

Mu Youyu scrolled the message list from start to end, then back again; there was nothing suspicious in the chat logs.

She turned off the screen, placed it on the table, and commented, "Nothing at all."

"There was never anything." Jiang Liangjin took the phone back, and it vibrated.

He turned the phone to show Mu Youyu; she glanced and said, "Answer it, A Ci is video‑calling you."

Jiang Liangjin lowered the volume a bit, then pressed the answer key.

Yu Ci's face appeared on the screen, background his own living room, a few pillows piled on the sofa, the coffee table holding a half‑finished drink and an opened bag of chips.

He lay lazily askew on the sofa, hair messy, appearance relaxed, apparently just woke up not long ago.

"A Jin! When are you guys coming back?" Yu Ci's voice came from the earpiece, obviously he'd been cooped up at home too long and finally couldn't hold it in.

"Didn't we say the end of the month?" Jiang Liangjin held the phone between them so Yu Ci could see both him and Mu Youyu.

"There are still plenty of days left until the end of the month!"

Yu Ci let out a wail, leaned his phone against the sofa, flung himself back, lifeless, "I'm about to mold, have fun in M Guo, you two!"

Jiang Liangjin said it conservatively, "Not bad."

Yu Ci clearly dissatisfied with that answer, "What do you mean 'not bad'? Be specific, what did you play?"

Jiang Liangjin: "You guess."

Yu Ci: "……"

Mu Youyu couldn't help laughing and answered for Jiang Liangjin, "Just strolling around, occasionally attending some banquets."

Yu Ci widened his eyes, "Just that? You two in M Guo only do that?"

"What else?" Jiang Liangjin countered.

"I also want to go there to play..." Yu Ci complained a few sentences, raised his phone, "By the way, what major did you apply for? Art School?"

"Yes." Mu Youyu nodded.

Yu Ci suddenly sat up, sighed, and said, "You all have goals, but I'm still hesitating."

Mu Youyu exclaimed 'Ah,' and said, "You weren't talking about the major inside the Finance and Economics College, were you?"

Yu Ci scratched his head and said, "It's my dad who wants me to apply for this, after all there's the family business to inherit."

Not far away, Gu Xingnan's voice suddenly came over, his tone muffled as he softly asked something.

Yu Ci replied without turning his head, then turned back and said, "Anan asked when you'd be coming back; he said he misses you."

Gu Xingnan's voice became clear: "I didn't say that."

Yu Ci pretended not to hear and said, "Did you hear that? He said he misses you, misses you so much he can't eat, has lost weight. Our Anan is such a restrained little boy; it's rare for him to say something like this—don't you feel sorry for him?"

Jiang Liangjin's expression was indifferent: "If you're bored, just go play with him."