Chapter 566: Just a bottle

Jun Chenling glanced around the living room, finally his eyes fell on the scattered pieces on the floor.

Seeing the photo pressed under the album, he quickened his steps compared to when he arrived, his boots thudding on the carpet, "Sister."

Mu Youyu lifted her face and called out, "Brother Ling."

He smiled, then asked concernedly, "You didn't step on it, did you?"

"No." Mu Youyu broke into a smile that put him at ease.

Hearing the answer, Jun Chenling finally relaxed, bent over, and gently lifted the photo with his fingertips.

His fingertip lingered on the plastic film for a moment, as if confirming its reality, then he lowered his head to gaze intently at the two people in the photo, his eyes deep.

In the photo, A Chao sat upright, his face devoid of extra expression, exuding a precocious chill; yet he himself lifted the corners of his mouth and made a slightly childish gesture.

Jun Chenling's green eyes involuntarily fell on the right wrists resting on their knees, both tied with a red string.

That was from when he was seven, on his birthday, when he pestered A Chao to accompany him to an ancient mountain temple to pray for, one each, symbolizing peace and smooth sailing.

Something happened, the strings are long gone, but the photo froze that moment forever.

Yu Ci dared not breathe as he observed Jun Chenling's expression.

Watching him stare at the photo motionless, Yu Ci grew increasingly uneasy, "Is Brother Ling going to explode any second?"

He subtly shifted his butt toward Gu Xingnan, seeking a bit of shelter.

Gu Xingnan, not understanding him, ventured, "It probably won't, right?"

Mu Youyu: "Relax, relax."

After lowering his head and gazing for a long while, Jun Chenling finally turned the photo over.

When the extremely fine pencil-written date caught his eye, his fingertip tightened slightly and the curve of his lips became increasingly apparent.

Yu Ci felt doomed again—Brother Ling was laughing in anger! This is the calm before the storm!

He had already begun rehearsing in his mind how to dig a hole and bury himself.

Unexpectedly, Jun Chenling merely slipped the photo into his pocket, then looked at the four of them, his tone giving no hint of joy or anger, without the imagined thunderous fury: "Who broke it?"

Yu Ci sat up straight, gave a dry cough: "Brother Ling, it was an accident, purely accidental—I just wanted to feel the texture of that vase..."

"It's fine, broken is broken." Jun Chenling interrupted him, without a hint of blame, "As long as we find the things, it's just a bottle—don't worry about it."

"Just a bottle?"

Seeing Brother Ling so gentle toward him for the first time, Yu Ci hadn't even reacted when Jun Chenling turned to his sister, "Sister, I'll take this photo first."

Mu Youyu nodded, "It was originally Brother Ling's thing."

Jiang Liangjin followed up, "That's right."

Jun Chenling's gaze lingered on their faces for a moment, all his thoughts condensing into one sentence: "You guys should rest early tonight, don't stay up too late."

"It's only noon now."

"……"

Jun Chenling's gaze swept over the area not yet cleaned up, and he lightly instructed, "Sweep this up, no need to keep it."

"Yes, Your Highness Xun Li."

The palace servants standing far away with hands at their sides, not daring to breathe, eagerly went to fetch things to clean up.

"Finally we can leave!"

As the door was closed again, the air pressure in the living room instantly rose.

"You really didn't lie to me—I truly found a treasure." Yu Ci finally exhaled a sigh of relief, marveling, "No wonder it's a grand castle—treasures abound; I've wanted to live here all my life."

Jiang Liangjin leisurely added, "Then why not stay on as the gardener? You can water the flowers normally, bask in the sun when the weather's good, and get rained on when it's bad."

Yu Ci: "After all, I'm your childhood friend—how can you treat me like this?"

Mu Youyu found it amusing in her heart, but didn't tease him further, instead shifting the topic: "What should we eat for lunch?"

Yu Ci clutched his chest again, "To soothe my wounded spirit, I must eat the croissant now."

He and A Nan had bought a coffee after getting off the plane, then came straight here by car, still not having had a meal.

Jiang Liangjin: "……"

Gu Xingnan saw his "turning grief into appetite" look, knew he probably wasn't thinking much, and also felt relieved, "Come on, let you eat your fill."

Jiang Liangjin gave him a sideways glance, didn't take his bait, but extended his hand to his girlfriend, "Honey, any restaurant you'd like to go to?"

Mu Youyu placed her hand in his palm, using it to push herself up, "Let's just go to the place we went to last year."

"Fine, fine, fine." Yu Ci hadn't come along last year, so he didn't know which place it was, but he still trusted her.

He propped one hand on Gu Xingnan's shoulder, suddenly clicking his tongue a few times, "Come on, we agreed earlier—not to treat us like light bulbs, me and A Nan are independent individuals with our own thoughts!"

"No way, no way."

"I believe you."

"By the way, didn't Ningning post her location in the group a few days ago? Said the film crew is near your castle—should we swing by to see her? She doesn't usually stay here, does she?"

The main building of Mingxi Castle is an ancient fortress, with gardens surrounding it, plus more than a dozen manors and villas of various styles, and the palace staff are numerous, everywhere exuding luxury.

Lin Ning picked a beautiful villa here, sometimes staying there; this time the film crew deliberately chose a nearby outdoor location, after all, her older sister is the sole investor in the entire production.

Mu Youyu answered truthfully, "Older Sister Lin also came by a few days ago; she's been spending the past few days playing with Lin Ning, and will come over in a few days."

Jiang Liangjin echoed, "Yes, come over in a few days."

"Oh, then let's go eat." Yu Ci eagerly headed toward the door.