Chapter 627: Usually Not Like This

Jiang Liangjin raised her hand first to answer: "I was about to sleep when Qing An brother suddenly knocked, saying he had something to discuss with me."

While speaking, they also slightly turned their head toward Qing An, passing the conversation: "Right, Qing An brother?"

Qing An always felt something was off about that remark, yet couldn't pinpoint any error on the surface.

They could only cough lightly, swallow the question about to leave their lips, and switch to a coaxing tone: "Yes yes yes, I came to find A Jin about something; after we chat, I was just about to leave! How come our little treasure isn't asleep yet? It's so late, they'll have dark circles tomorrow."

Mu Youyu glanced at him, her words tinged with complaint: "What matter can't wait until tomorrow? It's so late."

Without waiting for Qing An to explain, she waved her hand and withdrew: "Forget it, you two talk, good night."

Jiang Liangjin also waved at him: "Good night, treasure."

Qing An followed dryly: "Good night, sister."

The door closed.

Qing An dwelled on their sister's resentful gaze, very displeased: "Your mouth, I really am defeated."

Jiang Liangjin spread their hands: "Qing An brother, I didn't say anything."

Qing An said gloomily: "You'd better not sleep too soundly tonight."

Jiang Liangjin whispered: "Thank you, and I wish you a good dream too."

The next day, as Mu Youyu came downstairs, they caught up with breakfast; the atmosphere in the dining hall was somewhat subtle.

Jiang Liangjin was already seated at the table, the porridge before them barely touched, head down scrolling their phone, their profile revealing no emotion.

Qing An sat beside Jiang Liangjin, a large gap between them, their back slightly tense, their fork posture much stiffer than usual, moving in and out.

Mu Xin sat opposite them, eating breakfast quietly.

Ruo Ya at the head seat frowned slightly: "What's wrong with you today? Face frozen?"

"No." Qing An revealed a flawless face: "I'm fine."

Mu Xianqi and Qing Wei ate their meal in a pretentious manner.

Mu Youyu walked up to Jiang Liangjin: "Morning."

Several people replied in scattered bits with a "good morning."

Jiang Liangjin gave Mu Youyu a gentle smile: "Morning, treasure, did you sleep well last night?"

Qing An silently rolled their eyes, simultaneously changing their expression: "Good morning, sister, come sit here."

Mu Youyu placed their hand on Jiang Liangjin's chair back, circling between them and Qing An, sensing the hostile atmosphere between the two silently clashing in the air.

"What's wrong with you two?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing." They said in unison.

Mu Youyu felt this answer even more suspicious than the earlier atmosphere: "If nothing's wrong, why speak together?"

Qing An was the first to complain: "Sister, look, they're imitating my way of speaking!"

Jiang Liangjin refused to answer, pushing the nearly untouched bowl of porridge toward Mu Youyu, tone soft: "Try this."

Mu Youyu lowered their head and took a sip, finding the taste indeed not bad: "A little sweet."

"Next time put less sugar," Jiang Liangjin said, naturally pulling Mu Youyu to sit on their other side.

Qing An watched this scene, feeling somewhat unwilling to accept it.

Mu Youyu, taking the opportunity, dragged the chair closer to Jiang Liangjin's side: "Why are you two sitting so far apart?"

Jiang Liangjin's face didn't redden, heart didn't race: "No."

Qing An hurried to answer: "Definitely not."

Qing Wei helplessly pressed their forehead.

Ruo Ya probed: "You two really are a bit strange today; since you sat down, you haven't exchanged a single word."

Qing Wei chimed in: "Exactly, everyone present can see that."

Ruo Ya added: "You're not usually like this."

Mu Xianqi slowly put down their fork: "Add one."

Jiang Liangjin gave a light cough, taking the blame: "I also don't know what's wrong with Qing An brother; maybe I did something to upset them."

Qing An: Not?

Mu Xin, on the other hand, had no strong reaction; other matters could also distract Qing An.

Qing An let out a 'hum', then began to quarrel with their sister: "What am I usually not like?"

Ruo Ya laughed at them: "You usually pester A Jin with questions about everything."

Qing An stumbled, pulling out the universal excuse: "It's because I didn't sleep well last night, I'm a bit tired, and don't want to talk."

Whether others believed it or not, Mu Youyu temporarily believed it and began eating the food on their plate.

The dining hall fell silent for a moment.

Mu Xin put down their spoon, proposing: "After the meal, let's go check out the Blue Rose."

Although we don't know what happened, easing the tension between the two would also be good.

This is a daily essential segment; Qing An certainly won't miss it today: "Sure, sure!"

They deliberately glanced at Jiang Liangjin, who returned a gentle, harmless smile: "I have no objection."

Before setting out, Mu Youyu tugged at Jiang Liangjin's sleeve, asking softly: "What exactly is going on between you two?"

Jiang Liangjin then intertwined their fingers with Mu Youyu's, confessing: "They discovered one of my secrets, and then it became like this."

Mu Youyu asked curiously: "What secret?"

Jiang Liangjin replied gently: "I told you before, about the investment; they weren't happy that I kept it from them."

When had I said that?

Mu Youyu, afraid of being blamed for not listening to their fiancé, merely pretended to understand: "Oh oh, that's it, I get it."

Jiang Liangjin guessed she had forgotten, and answered for her: "You don't know."

"I know!"

"Okay, you know."

The Blue Rose Garden lies on the east side of the imperial palace, a flat slope encircled by a low white fence.

In the flowerbed, the blue roses shimmer with a velvety deep blue in the afternoon light, their edges tinged with a faint silver-white, as if dyed by a halo of light.

Ruo Ya stood at the edge of the flowerbed, bent down, cut a few stems in full bloom, and handed them to her sister: "These are the best blooms; put them in your room and they'll stay fresh for days."

Mu Youyu took them, lowered her head to sniff, then lifted her head: "So fragrant."

Jiang Liangjin agreed: "Yes, very fragrant."

"Where's the fragrance?" Qing An muttered, "I've been leaning in to smell it every day, but I haven't caught a whiff."

Qing Wei replied calmly: "You're growing genetically modified blue roses; they have no scent naturally, so you need to add fragrance artificially."

Qing An glared at him, "Since you know, why didn't you get up before I woke up this morning and have someone add some fragrance to them?"

Qing Wei:?

Ruo Ya warned: "Don't provoke him these days; last night he smashed everything in the meeting room, except for Mingxi's sister's painting."

Qing Wei hissed, "It must be those people from the fallen noble families."

This nickname is known only to the two of them; Ruo Ya whispered, "Don't mention it in front of him."

"Understood."

Mu Youyu hugged the flowers, leaned toward her brother, and started smoothing things over: "It's fine; as long as they look nice, after all, they're flowers Qing An personally planted."

Jiang Liangjin: "That's too much trouble."

Qing An's lingering frustration was largely eased by this coaxing.

Jiang Liangjin stood a few steps away, watching his fiancée lift her skirt and weave through the flowerbed.

Qing An caught sight of this, and the memory of being mocked for dancing like an amateur last night surged back, still leaving him a bit annoyed.

He snapped, "What are you looking at? My sister doesn't do the seaweed dance you like."