Chapter 326: Chapter 326: Astounding Secrets
After getting off the car.
Guo Xuyan immediately went up and hooked her arm through the man’s.
Wan Muqi immediately withdrew his arm.
He said sternly, “Guo Xuyan, I’m warning you, stop touching me!”
Guo Xuyan was stunned, “What? We’ve hugged before, haven’t we? What are you shy about now?”
“What, are you afraid your girlfriend will find out and misunderstand? But I haven’t heard from Auntie that you have a girlfriend.”
Ignoring her words, Wan Muqi strode forward.
“Hey, wait for me, you with the long legs!” Guo Xuyan called out from behind.
Guo Xuyan kept chattering in his ear, her mouth never stopping.
She bought the best viewing seats in the middle.
But as soon as Wan Muqi walked in, she noticed that his eyes were looking around everywhere.
Guo Xuyan grabbed him, “Our seats are over there.” She pointed to the spot on her right hand side, “What are you looking at? Hurry up and sit down, don’t block the people coming in behind us.”
Wan Muqi looked around and quickly spotted An Mi sitting in the front row.
Because there were only two people in the front row, it was particularly conspicuous.
He was very familiar with her silhouette.
The positioning in that photo from her friend circle was also from this direction.
“Hey, what are you looking at?” Guo Xuyan noticed that after he sat down, he was staring intently ahead, “Is there gold up front? Or a beauty?”
Guo Xuyan followed his gaze.
An Mi just happened to look back.
She wanted to see how many people had come in.
She only glanced for a moment, so she didn’t notice that Wan Muqi was also sitting above.
“Huh, that girl looks so familiar.” Guo Xuyan muttered to herself.
It seemed like she had seen this face somewhere before.
Suddenly, it dawned on her, “Isn’t this the girl from the photo in your phone album?”
She accidentally saw his phone while at home yesterday and then, by accident, came across the photos in his album.
His album was full of work-related screenshots, and there were only a few portraits, the most conspicuous of which she spotted at a glance.
“Oops, I get it, you suddenly agreed to accompany me because of this girl.” Guo Xuyan said, enlightened, “I was wondering when you became so kind-hearted, but you had other motives!”
After all, she had pestered him like this before, but he had never compromised with her even once.
This time, she thought he had suddenly developed a conscience and learned to be tender to his cousin.
Who knew that he had agreed to come in for another girl.
She clicked her tongue, “Well, although you’re not much as a person and not nice to me, you have a good eye for people.”
“This girl is pretty enough to be my cousin-in-law in terms of looks. As for her character, I haven’t interacted with her so I can’t make a rash judgment; I’ll decide after we’ve met.”
“But, judging by her appearance, she must be a very gentle girl, right?”
She tilted her head to ask the man.
Wan Muqi gave her a sidelong glance, “Guo Xuyan, I’m warning you, don’t mess around!”
Guo Xuyan was not at all afraid of him.
“Tsk tsk, you’re already protective? You don’t even have the title yet, do you? If you had a girlfriend, Auntie would definitely tell my mom, and if she knew, I would surely know. I didn’t expect that there would come a day when you, Mr. Wan, can’t handle someone. Now I’m even more curious about this beautiful miss.”
“Don’t look at me like that, maybe if I get along with her, I could even give you a boost.”
Wan Muqi didn’t take her words to heart at all.
As long as she didn’t cause trouble and hinder him, he’d be grateful.
Wan Muqi saw she didn’t notice him and took out his phone again, opening WeChat.
Guo Xuyan leaned over to see what message he was sending.
Wan Muqi directly pushed her head away.
“Guo Xuyan, it’s illegal to sneak a look at someone’s privacy without their permission. Are you looking to spend a few days inside (jail)?”
The man’s voice was low but filled with a warning.
Guo Xuyan scoffed, “You think you’re so great with your knowledge of the law, huh? Always threatening me with it, hmph, you think I’m dying to see it? If I don’t want to look, I won’t look. When I have a cousin-in-law someday, I’ll definitely have her sue you.”
Wan Muqi replied with two words, “Childish!”
Then he stopped paying attention to her.
Guo Xuyan didn’t keep nagging him. She knew that whatever she said now, her cousin would just ignore it.
She couldn’t be bothered to waste her breath.
Wan Muqi pinned An Mi’s WeChat on top; it was the only pinned chat.
He had intended to ask her where she was, but after a second thought, he decided to give her a like on her Moments instead.
At this moment, An Mi wasn’t looking at her phone; she was whispering and chatting with Yang Jie.
The performance hadn’t begun yet; it would officially start in ten minutes.
Initially, Wan Muqi thought she had come to watch it with a guy, but he heaved a sigh of relief when he saw a girl sitting beside her.
He was so focused on the heart that he had liked, he didn’t notice that the hand was also a girl’s hand.
Now, he took a closer look and realized that both hands were indeed female fingers.
“Brother, your eyes must be getting tired from all the looking. How about I upgrade your seat so you can sit in the front?” Guo Xuyan glanced at him disdainfully. She could hardly bear watching him pine away like this—it was as if his body was in Cao Camp, but his heart was in Han.
“Do you know what you look like right now? You look just like a peeping Tom. If it were someone you don’t know, they could file a complaint against you,” Guo Xuyan added.
“…”
Wan Muqi had a way of letting one ear in and the other out when it came to things he didn’t want to hear.
Guo Xuyan’s incessant chatter ceased as soon as the performance started.
But in less than half an hour, Wan Muqi felt his shoulder suddenly grow heavy.
Unsurprisingly, the girl had fallen asleep.
That was also a reason he didn’t like to accompany her to these events. She simply didn’t understand the appreciation of art.
She was here to sleep, nothing more.
She insisted on dragging him along, most likely just looking for a pillow!
Guo Xuyan had a very peculiar habit—she couldn’t fall asleep in quiet places. She needed to be somewhere noisy and crowded to be able to sleep.
Her sleep habits were the exact opposite of normal people.
Because of this, her aunt and uncle took her to many renowned doctors, but none could find the root of the problem.
All her medical reports indicated she was in excellent health.
Gradually, her aunt’s family came to accept her strange behavior; as long as she was healthy, that was all that mattered.
And her own capacity for self-acceptance was also incredibly strong.
…
The duration of the performance was two hours.
As it was nearing the end, Wan Muqi decisively pinched Guo Xuyan awake.
Because calling her name wouldn’t wake her, pinching was the only option.
“Ouch!”
Guo Xuyan winced in pain.
Clutching her arm, she glared at the man in reproach, “Mr. Wan, are you trying to murder your own sister?”
He actually pinched so hard, but she was a girl, not some rugged buffoon!
No sooner had she finished speaking than all those around her started to stare.
“Young lady, keep your voice down; it’s not over yet,” a lady beside her reminded her.
“Sorry… sorry, ma’am,” Guo Xuyan apologized with an embarrassed face.
Immediately after, she turned her head and glared at the one who had caused all this.
Then, without any politeness, she reached out to twist the man’s arm.
But she couldn’t budge it; the man’s arm was all muscle, tough and unyielding.
Guo Xuyan puffed up in annoyance, “Hmph, I’ll go home and complain to Aunt about you bullying me!”
Wan Muqi responded, “Disrespectful and immature!”
“You’re not the one I love, so I couldn’t care less if you’re big or small. Hmph, you’re the immature one; you’re the most immature in our family. Not only are you childish, but you’re also a bit sulky on the inside!”
Guo Xuyan leaned in, lowered her voice, and retorted through gritted teeth.
…
At 8:30 PM, the performance ended.
The audience began to exit the venue.
Wan Muqi didn’t leave. He got up from his seat and walked toward the first row.
An Mi and Yang Jie were not in a hurry to leave either; they wanted to wait until most of the crowd had gone.
Soon, the staff member who had escorted them earlier came over.
“Your ride is arranged. I’ll take you out now,” he said.
“Great, thank you, Mr. Jiang, for the trouble,” she replied.
Jiang Ming and she together helped Yang Jie into her wheelchair.
As An Mi was draping a small blanket over Yang Jie’s legs, a familiar voice rang out from behind her.
“An Mi.”
An Mi turned around and saw Wan Muqi standing behind her at some point.
She was a little surprised. How was he here?
Suddenly, she remembered the social media post she had made, realizing she had forgotten to block him from seeing it.
Just as she was about to greet him, she caught sight of Guo Xuyan standing behind him.
Just a moment ago, An Mi was suspecting that he had followed her on purpose, but at this moment, she felt she was overthinking it.
Indeed, who would be so idle as to follow her around all day without reason?
She greeted with a light smile: “Good day, Mr. Wan.”
Guo Xuyan was the kind of person who warmed up to others easily.
She greeted An Mi cheerfully, “Hello, beautiful Miss, nice to meet you! My name is Guo Xuyan, you can also call me Yanyan. I’m Mr. Wan’s cousin. I’m really happy to meet you.”
As she spoke, she stepped right past Wan Muqi to An Mi and even boldly took her hand.
“I think you’re very pretty. Can I be friends with you? I’ve just arrived in Yue City and don’t have many friends here. What’s your name?”
An Mi saw a glimpse of Mrs. Wan in her, both being very enthusiastic and proactive.
An Mi twitched her lips, smiled politely, and said, “Hello, my name is An Mi. Just call me An Mi.”
“An Mi? Is that the same ‘Mi’ as in?” Guo Xuyan asked.
“Mi as in ‘to seek’.”
“Oh, got it. Then I’ll call you Mimi, it sounds friendlier.”
“…”
“Okay.”
Guo Xuyan began to chat while holding onto her, “Mimi, how old are you this year? Do you have a boyfriend?”
An Mi: “…”
Are these the kind of questions you ask right off the bat?
“I just turned 20.”
She didn’t respond to the latter question.
“You’re only twenty?” Guo Xuyan exclaimed.
“My goodness, how are you only twenty?”
“…”
She seemed to have discovered a shocking, earth-shattering secret.
An Mi thought, does she look that old?
Guo Xuyan thought her brother would at least like a woman around his own age.
Yet An Mi was a full ten years younger than him, and she was even two years older than An Mi.
She thought An Mi seemed quite mature, guessing she must be around twenty-three or four, but it turned out she had just turned twenty.
My goodness, her brother truly did have the guts!
He really was an old cow eating young grass!
An Mi didn’t grasp why she was so shocked, but Wan Muqi understood.
He pulled her over and said seriously, “Guo Xuyan, watch the volume of your voice, and don’t pry into other people’s privacy on a whim!”
Guo Xuyan complained unhappily, “How am I prying into anyone’s privacy? I was just asking some normal questions, wasn’t I?”
Wan Muqi gave her a cool glance, “An Mi and you are not close, who asks these questions the first time they meet someone?”
Guo Xuyan: “Don’t make a big deal out of nothing. An Mi hasn’t even said anything! You’re not her anything, why are you butting in so much?”
Wan Muqi’s face darkened.
“…”
An Mi watched the two quarreling back and forth and was instantly stunned.
This sibling pair’s way of interacting was really… beyond imagination…
Yang Jie tugged at An Mi’s hand, “Mimi, won’t you try to calm them down?”
An Mi: “…”
How was she supposed to calm them?
“I mean, Mr. Wan, you two…”
Wan Muqi turned his head upon hearing her voice, “Sorry, she just talks like that. You don’t have to mind her questions and there’s no need to answer them.”
When he looked at An Mi, his eyes visibly softened, and his voice went from stern to gentle.
What a double-standard!
Guo Xuyan immediately rolled her eyes…
“…”
Outside the opera house.
An Mi and Yang Jie ended up getting in Wan Muqi’s car.
Initially, An Mi wanted to sit in the backseat with Yang Jie, but Guo Xuyan beat her to it.
Technically, the backseat could fit three people, but Yang Jie had trouble with her lower body, so she couldn’t move around easily and had to sit by the window.
Guo Xuyan also claimed she couldn’t ride in the car unless she sat by the window to get some air, otherwise she would throw up.
She thought to herself, she could just sit in the middle.
Just as she was about to get in, Guo Xuyan said, “Mimi, you should just sit in the passenger seat. It’s too cramped back here, and I really don’t like crowded spaces. Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of your friend.”
An Mi: “…”
She had no choice but to take the passenger seat.
Throughout the journey, the car was unusually quiet.
Guo Xuyan couldn’t stand such a quiet space.
So, it wasn’t long before her little mouth started chattering non-stop.
She bombarded the three people in the car with a series of questions.
“Mimi, Xiao Jie, are you two always this quiet?” Guo Xuyan glanced back and forth at them and asked, “Do you just not talk at all when you two are together?”
An Mi: “…”
Yang Jie: “…”
Both of them were at a loss for how to answer her.
They certainly couldn’t say they weren’t close enough to know what to talk about, right…
That would be a bit awkward…
Wan Muqi suddenly spoke up: “Guo Xuyan, not everyone is like you, chattering all day, even sparrows couldn’t outdo your annoyance. You might not be tired, but we’re exhausted from listening.”
Guo Xuyan: “What, would you lose a piece of meat if you talk a little less to me?”
Wan Muqi: “I wouldn’t lose any meat, but I just think you’re too noisy.”
His words were blunt, and An Mi was a bit concerned they might hurt Guo Xuyan’s feelings.
Thus, she spoke up for Guo Xuyan: “Personally, I find Yanyan’s personality quite nice. Having her as a friend must be fun, and there’s no fear of dull moments.”
Indeed, this was the truth from An Mi’s perspective.
From the brief span of less than an hour, An Mi could tell what Guo Xuyan’s personality was like.
Guo Xuyan smiled smugly: “Cousin, see, even Mimi doesn’t find me annoying, only you make a fuss.”
However, she could still hear the concern in An Mi’s voice, worried that her brother’s words would hurt her.
Actually, she was used to it; ever since she was little, her brother had a sharp tongue and never spared her feelings.
But, aside from his biting words, he was actually quite good to her.
…
Wan Muqi dropped them off at the entrance of Yang Jie’s apartment complex.
An Mi said, “Well, Mr. Wan, thanks for giving us a ride. You don’t need to walk us up; I’ll accompany Yang Jie. You should head back quickly.”
Wan Muqi: “Aren’t you going back to school?”
An Mi: “Oh, I’m not going back. I’ll stay at Yang Jie’s place tonight.”
Upon hearing this, Yang Jie glanced at her.
She hadn’t said anything about staying the night, had she?
Wan Muqi didn’t ask further, “Alright, I’ll make sure you two get inside.”
An Mi had nothing else to say, so she turned around and pushed Yang Jie into the elevator.
At the entrance of the complex.
Guo Xuyan didn’t understand why he wasn’t leaving yet.
“Seriously, brother, why aren’t you leaving? Who are you waiting for?”
Wan Muqi ignored her.
“…”
Half an hour later.
An Mi’s figure appeared at the entrance of the complex.
Guo Xuyan was stunned when she saw this.
“Didn’t she say she was staying here tonight?” she muttered unconsciously.
No sooner had she spoken than she understood why her brother had been waiting there.
Wow, are these two playing some kind of new cat and mouse game?