"Of course," Yan Ruoruo said, snatching the leave request and running past the boy.
The boy snorted as he watched Yan Ruoruo's retreating figure, muttering, "What a spoiled rich girl."
At the back gate, Mu Anxiao stood outside the iron fence, glancing inside. "Why aren't they here yet?"
"When you take a taxi later, tell him this address," Zhang Yan said, holding up his phone, which was cloaked in invisibility, in front of Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao recited the mall address and replied, "Got it."
Zhang Yan nodded and took back his phone.
Meanwhile, Yan Ruoruo handed the leave request to the gatekeeper uncle and walked out of the iron gate. Her eyes fell on Mu Anxiao, and she froze. "It's you?"
Mu Anxiao turned to face Yan Ruoruo. "It's me. Let's go."
"Where's my sister?" Yan Ruoruo asked, standing still and looking left and right.
Mu Anxiao said coldly, "Your sister sent me. Let's go."
"You..."
"No 'you.' Let's go," Mu Anxiao said. She glanced at Zhang Yan, who walked to the roadside and hailed a taxi. Turning back to Yan Ruoruo, she said, "Can you hurry up?"
Yan Ruoruo reluctantly walked to the car, opened the front door, and got in. Mu Anxiao looked at Yan Ruoruo, opened the rear door, and got in after Zhang Yan.
"Where to?" the driver asked.
"A mall on XX Road," Mu Anxiao replied faintly.
The driver said nothing and started the car.
Mu Anxiao looked out the car window, her mind drifting to the hardships she had endured with Shen Yan. She sighed.
Yan Ruoruo also stared out the window. "If you dare to lie to me, you'll regret it."
Mu Anxiao remained silent.
Seeing Mu Anxiao's silence, Yan Ruoruo grew angry. "I'm talking to you! Say something!"
The driver glanced at Yan Ruoruo but said nothing.
Mu Anxiao exhaled. "Whether I'm lying to you or not, you'll find out when we get there. I'm not going to kidnap you, am I?"
"I'm just curious, why are you with my sister?" Yan Ruoruo asked again.
Mu Anxiao took a deep breath. "I went to find your sister, and she asked me to get you leave. Earlier, for some reason, I told your teacher I was your aunt. If I hadn't, your teacher might not have let you go."
"You're smart enough," Yan Ruoruo said, then turned her face back towards the window.
Mu Anxiao fell silent once more.
Zhang Yan subtly slipped a hundred-yuan bill into Mu Anxiao's hand. "Remember later, okay?"
Mu Anxiao took the money and glanced at Zhang Yan.
Not long after, the driver stopped the car by the roadside. "We're here."
"The fare," Mu Anxiao said from the back, handing the money to the driver.
The driver glanced at Mu Anxiao's hand and said, "I don't have change."
"This..." Mu Anxiao hesitated, then looked at Yan Ruoruo, who was about to open the door. "I only have this one bill. Could you pay first?"
"So troublesome," Yan Ruoruo grumbled, pulling out some change from her pocket and handing it to the driver. "Is this enough?"
"It's enough," the driver nodded.
Mu Anxiao took back her money, opened the car door, and got out with Zhang Yan.
Yan Ruoruo stood by the roadside, shielding her eyes from the sun. "Where's my sister?"
"Call her yourself," Mu Anxiao said, pointing to Yan Ruoruo's phone.
"If I have to call myself, what good are you?" Yan Ruoruo asked with a frown.
"I don't have a phone," Mu Anxiao said.
"You really are a bumpkin if you talk like that..."
"The way you speak is probably wrong. Just because I don't understand doesn't mean no one else does. You can't generalize based on me," Mu Anxiao retorted.
Yan Ruoruo's lips curved. "You're truly a strange one." She then took out her phone and called Shi Momo.
Mu Anxiao stood by, looking around.
In the coffee shop, Shi Momo answered the phone, looked directly at Mu Anxiao and Yan Ruoruo standing not far outside the floor-to-ceiling window, and said softly, "I see you. Just walk straight into the coffee shop."
Yan Ruoruo listened, turned, and looked ahead. Indeed, there was a coffee shop. "I got it," she said, hanging up on Shi Momo.
"Where is she?" Mu Anxiao asked.
"You can go now. I want to spend time alone with my sister," Yan Ruoruo said, deliberately shaking her head.
Mu Anxiao glanced at Zhang Yan beside her and then back at Yan Ruoruo. "I can't leave. I have something to say to your sister."
"You..."
"Whether you let me follow or not, I will," Mu Anxiao interrupted Yan Ruoruo.
Yan Ruoruo clicked her tongue and walked directly towards the coffee shop.
Mu Anxiao followed. Zhang Yan walked beside her, saying, "How are you planning to talk to her?"
I don't know. I'll have to play it by ear, Mu Anxiao thought.
Zhang Yan fell silent.
Upon entering the coffee shop, Mu Anxiao felt a cool breeze. She then walked with Yan Ruoruo to Shi Momo's table.
"Sis, you really know how to order people around. I've inexplicably gained an aunt," Yan Ruoruo said, glaring unhappily at Mu Anxiao behind her. She then sat down.
Mu Anxiao looked down at Shi Momo's face and said thoughtfully, "Your bare face is clean. There isn't much difference between wearing makeup and not. You look very beautiful."
Shi Momo had never expected Mu Anxiao to praise her. Smiling, she gestured to the empty seat beside her. "Sit down."
"Thank you," Mu Anxiao nodded and sat down next to Shi Momo.
Pleased by Mu Anxiao's compliment, Shi Momo said, "Hello there." She raised her hand.
"Hello," the waiter said with a smile.
"Two cups, same as before," Shi Momo said.
"Certainly," the waiter replied and walked away.
Yan Ruoruo looked at the coffee in front of Shi Momo and said, "I don't drink coffee."
"When you come here, you drink the same as me," Shi Momo said coldly.
Mu Anxiao was truly unaccustomed to the environment, but the coolness here made her feel comfortable.
Zhang Yan consciously sat beside Yan Ruoruo and said to Mu Anxiao, "I didn't expect you to praise her right away. Let's see how you handle this later."
Mu Anxiao stared at Zhang Yan, remaining silent.
Shi Momo tugged at Mu Anxiao's arm. "Why did you come to see me today?"
"Oh, I..." Mu Anxiao rubbed her nose and said, "I heard your family lives there, but our previous encounters weren't pleasant, and last night was also unpleasant. Then I realized I was wrong, so I went to your house without thinking. At that moment, I wanted to apologize to you, and... you are truly beautiful. I want to be friends with you."
Outside the coffee shop, Yan Shan happened to pass by and saw Mu Anxiao sitting with Shi Momo. His eyes widened.
Shi Momo smiled. "Although it's a bit exaggerated, I like what you said." She gently patted Mu Anxiao's shoulder.
Mu Anxiao forced a stiff smile, unable to truly smile. As she looked up, she inadvertently saw Yan Shan standing by the floor-to-ceiling window and paused.