Chapter 547: We'll have you treat us

"How could I lie to you?" Song Lujing placed his hand on his shoulder, then abruptly shifted the conversation.

"But speaking of which, that senior from the music college seems to keep glancing toward your sister."

Xu Ying has been frequently approaching Mu Xi lately, and Song Lujing is already used to seeing her.

Mu Xi dodged his hand and followed his gaze over.

Xu Ying and Xu Zhiying were still standing on the other side of the track; the former appeared to be chatting casually, but her peripheral vision kept sweeping over the crowd toward Jiang Liangjin and Mu Youyu.

Here, Mu Youyu sensed she was being stared at and instinctively lifted her eyes to look back.

She happened to collide with Xu Ying's hurried, evasive gaze.

Noticing the other party intentionally approaching, Mu Youyu paused her steps, turned her head, saw Mu Xi, immediately grabbed Jiang Liangjin, and hurried forward, calling, "Second brother!"

Mu Xi had long stopped caring about that person, reached out and pressed lightly on her sister's head, saying, "Why are you running so fast? Watch out, don't fall."

Mu Youyu lifted her face, saying, "I'm not a little kid anymore!"

Mu Xi ruffled her hair, saying, "Little big kid?"

Song Lujing also smiled at his sister.

Mu Youyu had nothing to say.

Jiang Liangjin lifted the corners of his mouth, replying to his previous remark: "It's not that I'm afraid Second Brother will be targeted by strange people."

Mu Xi's expression grew a bit more serious as she cautioned, "The sports meet is crowded; you two stick together and don't run off."

Song Lujing leaned against the nearby railing, wearing a look of watching the spectacle as he curled his lip, saying, "They've made it clear their interest isn't in chatting; they're just staring over here."

It's been almost two months; Xu Ying has been showing up frequently, constantly thinking about how to discuss piano performance with Mu Xi together.

He used to come looking for Mu Xi often; at first he thought that woman had ulterior motives toward Mu Xi, some other intention…

Later he discovered that this person indeed had another intention: simply wanting to discuss piano repertoire with him in an ordinary way.

Hoping to borrow Mu Xi's professional insight to improve his own skills, after all Mu Xi was taught by Teacher Tan.

"Oh, I have no time." Mu Xi has refused several times already.

He also has a bodyguard who, studying the same major at university, acts as a constant companion, often stepping in to drive that woman away, but each attempt is hard to succeed and has little effect.

That person constantly calls out "junior, junior," often making a fuss; after repeated entanglements, Mu Xi already feels harassed.

He couldn't help wondering, are graduate admissions standards really that low now?

Xu Zhiying and the two of them had somehow wandered off; Mu Youyu didn't think much of it and asked, "Second brother, do you have an event later?"

"No." Mu Xi answered bluntly, "I'm just here to take a look."

Just being able to come to the field is already good; participating in any events is naturally out of the question.

Mu Youyu nodded, her gaze just turning to the track, when Gu Xingnan and Yu Ci suddenly pushed their way out of the crowd.

Yu Ci was holding two cups of freshly bought drinks; upon seeing them, he immediately lifted his chin, grabbed Gu Xingnan, and ran across the lawn toward them.

"It's hot as hell." Yu Ci handed over the cup still emitting cool vapor of the happy water to Mu Youyu's face, saying, "Here, it's cold."

Jiang Liangjin reached out and intercepted that drink, swayed it in front of Mu Youyu, then took it back, saying, "The temperature has dropped today; don't drink it cold."

Yu Ci glared at him, "I went to great trouble to treat you!"

Jiang Liangjin gave a side glance, "You're treating both of us?"

"Right."

"Then we'll have you treat us; you drink two bottles."

"You really are something." Yu Ci speechlessly handed the other bottle to Gu Xingnan, seeing that the latter had his hands stuck in his pockets all morning without pulling them out, finally couldn't help asking, "A Nan, is it really that cold?"

Gu Xingnan: "Today it's fourteen degrees."

Yu Ci clicked his tongue: "Right, it's quite cool."

Song Lujing clicked his tongue twice: "Let's go, find a place to sit first."

Under the stands, an open space was laid out with several rows of sunshades and chairs, a resting area reserved in advance by the student council for each college.

Mu Youyu had just sat down when she saw Xu Ying walking over from the aisle holding a cup of coffee.

Song Lujing obviously noticed as well, saying, "Mu Xi, that person who calls you 'junior' is back again."

"... None of my business." Mu Xi didn't even lift her eyelids.

Yu Ci put his phone away, leaned back against the chair, wearing a look of watching the drama unfold.

Jiang Liangjin and Gu Xingnan showed no reaction, while Mu Youyu blinked.

Xu Ying had already reached the edge of the resting area; instead of coming straight over, she first took out a score from her bag, opened a page, lowered her eyes to read silently for a moment, then lifted her gaze.

Her gaze swept through the passing crowd, precisely locking onto Mu Xi's position.

She opened her mouth, obviously speaking to Mu Xi, but her voice was too soft and the distance too great to hear.

Mu Xi didn't look at her, turning her head to her sister and saying, "What do you want to eat later? The kids at Aunt Qing's place have something going on today, so she's not around."

Having rotated through the nearby eateries, Mu Youyu had grown tired of the food; she honestly replied, "I haven't decided yet; I'll figure it out when I'm hungry."

Mu Xi then turned to Jiang Liangjin and asked, "What are you eating?"

Jiang Liangjin obediently said, "I'm not hungry, and I haven't decided either."

"Alright." Mu Xi responded, pulled out his phone from his pocket, and began browsing the restaurant's menu.

"Junior!" Xu Ying came running up, still clutching that score.

She stood in front of Mu Xi, caught her breath twice, then lifted the score and flipped to the page she had been looking at.

"Junior, back on the field there were too many people to talk conveniently, so I didn't greet you; now that I see you here, I came over."

"This passage, when I was working on it, I always felt something was off; could you take a look for me?"

Mu Xi lowered her eyes, paused on that page of the score without reaching out to take it, saying, "I suggest you go see your instructor."

Song Lujing examined the content, thinking, no wonder she keeps looking for Mu Xi all the time, "That's how it is."

Xu Ying held the score aloft, her hand frozen in midair; the curve on her face didn't relax but deepened further.

The instructor hasn't been at school lately; I asked several people, and their opinions varied. After thinking it over, I still feel your understanding is the most spot-on.

Mu Xi replied! Goodness, she still has a chance!

Next semester's four-hand duet performance—if Mu Xi agrees to do it with her, wouldn't that be a powerhouse partnership?

Moreover, Mu Xi has never played with a female student before; if the two get acquainted, then if she runs into something she doesn't understand in her work, she can also ask him for advice.

Mu Xi is stronger than her, so her study-abroad slot could be secured even earlier!

Mu Youyu reached out and poked Jiang Liangjin's waist, "Hurry up and speak."

Jiang Liangjin lowered his head to look at her, and she pursed her lips toward Xu Ying's direction.

Jiang Liangjin understood, took a step forward, "Let's go, it's noisy here; let's change places."

He said while standing up, and handed the coat from his arms to Mu Youyu, "Put it on."

Mu Youyu obediently put on the sleeves; the cuffs stuck out a bit, and Jiang Liangjin adjusted them twice, revealing her fair fingers.

Over there, Xu Ying still stood holding the sheet music, seeming to want to say something more, but Song Lujing had already turned sideways to block Mu Xi from behind.

He had one hand in his pocket, a lazy posture toward her, and began speaking for Mu Xi: "Senior, you guys have more than one professor for your first-year graduate studies, right?"

Xu Ying could no longer keep her smile; she was preoccupied with her own study-abroad slot, forcing herself to act indifferent, "I……"

Her gaze swept past Song Lujing and landed on Mu Xi, her tone tinged with earnestness: "Junior, just take a few minutes of your time, really."