On the busiest street of Tongzhou City, the moment Mu Qing turned around and saw her cousin Yan Hong’s dazzling little face, she felt as though she were in some surreal dream.
At this moment, logically speaking, shouldn’t her cousin be back in Jiangnan, throwing a tantrum and smashing things in the Yan family’s backyard?
How did she suddenly appear here?
Mu Qing had always known this cousin of hers could be quite a handful, but she had never imagined the girl could pull off something so big in such a short time—how on earth had she managed to catch up with them in Tongzhou?
Judging by the timing, it must’ve been just a few days after their family left Jiangnan that this Yan family cousin set out too.
Regardless of how she got here, just looking at the sheer efficiency of it all made Mu Qing want to give her a round of applause.
But no matter how ridiculous it was, since they had run into each other, she couldn’t ignore the formalities. After all, no matter what kind of temper her cousin had, she was still the only daughter of Mu Qing’s blood-related aunt.
Just treat her like a spoiled brat—no matter how she behaved with others, she’d always been decent to Mu Qing.
Mu Qing sighed and forced a somewhat strained smile. “Isn’t this Hong’er? What brings you here? Did Uncle come too?”
Since Mu Qing had spoken, Yan Hong didn’t dare not to answer, but her attention was clearly elsewhere. “I wanted to come, so I came. He’s here, talking with Aunt and Uncle at home.”
Wow. That was a rather perfunctory response, wasn’t it?
Given her cousin’s usual chatty nature—always ready to make conversation even when there was none to be had—this answer might as well have said nothing at all.
Mu Qing couldn’t help but feel helpless. She was about to ask more when she realized that, aside from that initial greeting, her cousin hadn’t looked at her once.
So, her cousin’s attention wasn’t on her at all.
Following her line of sight, Mu Qing quickly saw where that burning gaze had landed—Liu Feng.
Instant comprehension dawned.
Who else could grab her hot-tempered cousin’s attention like that?
It had to be her “beloved.”
Though both she and Qin Qin saw this Liu Feng as something akin to rotten fish or stinking shrimp, unfit for human consumption, the saying goes: “In the eyes of a lover, even a toad looks like a prince.”
And this just happened to be Yan Hong’s type.
Who knew how Liu Feng had managed to ensnare her cousin’s heart—though maybe he hadn’t even needed to try. His built-in “Destined Protagonist Aura” might’ve done the trick on its own.
In any case, while Liu Feng’s protagonist halo was entirely ineffective on Mu Qing, it clearly worked wonders on Yan Hong.
Strangely enough, despite this apparent success, Liu Feng didn’t look particularly happy about it.
Which actually reassured Mu Qing.
According to the principle of “one thing overcomes another,” since Cousin Yan Hong had shown up, she probably wouldn’t have to see that smug look on Liu Feng’s oily face for quite some time.
That was just wonderful.
Even if it meant Yan Hong had to make such a “sacrifice.”
Mu Qing couldn’t help but offer her cousin a silent, heartfelt apology.
But as the saying goes, “Better her than me.” Especially when the other person was determined to charge headfirst into trouble—there was no stopping that.
At the very least, when her cousin eventually hit a wall, saw the light, and wanted to dump the trash, Mu Qing, as her cousin, would reluctantly continue being her pillar of support.
In a way, wasn’t that spoiling her too?
Fine.
No point overthinking it now. Just treat Liu Feng like a pretty face who could entertain her cousin for a few days.
Watching her cousin cling to Liu Feng’s arm and act all coquettish, eyes sparkling with adoration, Mu Qing let out a sigh, left a parting sentence—“Have fun, come home early”—then promptly turned and pulled the utterly stunned Qin Qin away.
Leaving Liu Feng alone to face her cousin’s full frontal assault. Though he was still barely holding onto his roguish persona on the surface, his eyes were filled with panic and dread, as if he might cry for help at any moment.
Mu Qing only spared him a glance before turning away again, walking off quickly. If she lingered, she might burst out laughing on the spot.
Disrupting her cousin’s tempo was one thing—but if Liu Feng misinterpreted her glance as some sort of sentimental look or hidden affection, that would be unbearable.
Why waste time feeding someone’s fantasy when she could be doing something useful?
Like continuing her food tour with Sister Qin.
Speaking of which, she was actually getting a little hungry.
She had originally planned to return to the Mu family’s new residence in Tongzhou for dinner.
Tomorrow marked one full month since their enrollment. It would be one of the academy’s rare rest days, and she had planned to head home for the night.
But now that she knew there were guests at home, she instantly felt less inclined to go back early.
Even if those guests were technically relatives—her former uncle-in-law.
But since her aunt had passed away years ago and this uncle had long since remarried, that familial tie had weakened considerably. At best, it was a matter of courtesy.
She didn’t know what he was here for, but this uncle had always been a shrewd Jiangnan merchant like her father. It was said he never made a move without profit. He probably caught wind of something and came rushing to Tongzhou hoping to get a slice of the pie.
Mu Qing had figured out about eighty to ninety percent of his motives in just a few thoughts. As for the truth? She honestly didn’t care that much.
After all these years, no matter how he schemed—even using his own daughter Yan Hong to maintain ties with the Mu family—he still couldn’t compare to them.
Some things couldn’t be achieved through scheming alone. If he had failed all these years but still insisted on forcing his way in, that was just pathetic.
Not worth altering her plans for. Better to stick to the original plan and dine with Qin Qin.
Then pick up a few things before heading back. It had been a while—whether or not she saw the guests, she should bring a few “gifts” to maintain appearances.
Having made up her mind, Mu Qing turned to Qin Qin and said, “Brother Qin, feeling hungry? Shall we go eat at Xinghualou?”
But after she spoke, she didn’t hear a reply. Turning her head, she found Qin Qin staring at her with wide, complicated eyes.
It was only then that Mu Qing belatedly realized—her cousin had just called her “Cousin,” and she hadn’t denied it. Which meant…
Her disguise had been blown.
As the eldest daughter of the Mu family, she’d been disguising herself as a man for years—handling business, navigating social circles—never once exposed. And now, thanks to her cousin’s one careless shout, her cover was ruined. Truly… a disgraceful fall from grace.
Watching Qin Qin’s expression—which seemed to say, “I treated you with such sincerity, and you lied to me,” as if the sky were falling—Mu Qing knew this was bad.
She hurriedly gave an awkward smile and said, “Oh come on, Brother Qin… it’s not like I meant to deceive you. There’s a reason, I swear. Qin—Miss Qin! Please, let me explain—”
Bad move.
At her words, Qin Qin’s face turned pale.
In her rush to apologize, Mu Qing had accidentally revealed Qin Qin’s own secret too.
A double identity reveal. Double the blow. Definitely more than Qin Qin could handle in one go.
But it was too late now. No point regretting it.
So Mu Qing decided she might as well go all in. Calm and composed, she said, “Miss Qin, no need to panic. It’s really just a small matter. This isn’t the place for explanations. Why don’t we go to Xinghualou and have a proper talk?”
Overwhelmed by everything that had just happened, Qin Qin was still dazed when Mu Qing took her hand and led her straight to Xinghualou.
After slapping down a silver note and booking the best private room in the house, Mu Qing finally relaxed, poured them both a cup of tea, and smiled.
“Apologies, Miss Qin. I was rude just now. Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Mu Qing, eldest daughter of the Mu family in Jiangnan. I’m also the blood-related older sister of our little prodigy Mu Jiang, whom you met the other day. It’s truly an honor to meet the gifted daughter of Headmaster Qin, the talented Miss Qin Qin…”
She then used her trademark eloquence to explain how she’d ended up accidentally enrolling in the academy, detailing everything that had happened.
And then, sincerely, she apologized: “No matter what, I was in the wrong. Let’s put all that behind us. Drink this tea with me, and let’s go on being good sisters from now on…”
She spoke with genuine feeling, and Qin Qin slowly began to calm down. Just when it seemed like things were about to smooth over, Qin Qin suddenly interrupted her, pointing out the window:
“That man out there—is he your husband?”
