The surveillance footage in the news is very clear.
But the shooting angle was almost a blind spot, and one could only vaguely see the chaos in the passage and some explosion scenes.
The main reason is that all the other surveillance cameras that could clearly capture the offender were destroyed before they captured the offender. According to the surveillance camera's defense procedures, it is estimated that the person who was able to blow up the surveillance camera must have a mental pool level of double S or above.
Someone did something that Xu Qingran had been thinking about for a long time, and he couldn't help but take a few more glances.
Probably there was an aircraft that entered the inter-camp passage, and its owner was not very willing to comply with the regulations prohibiting inter-camp travel.
He single-handedly knocked out a dozen guards at the checkpoint, then used mental attacks to blow open the closed station door, and left in a mighty manner.
In the end, the surveillance camera only captured a miniature of an ordinary and common aircraft.
"It is reported that the space station guards who witnessed the attackers' true appearance that day are still in a coma. The hospital is currently stepping up their treatment and hopes to get clues from them as soon as possible."
The attacker was pretty powerful.
Knowing all the surveillance in the city and the area, they called up almost all the Sirius surveillance, but could only barely find the vague silhouette of the aircraft, so they suspected it was a Type I psychic with a super high IQ and a mental pool level of double S.
Xu Qingran was unable to make the level-breaking process so detailed.
He would just beat anyone who came to intercept.
Come to think of it, this doesn't seem to be a bad idea.
—Since there is a precedent anyway, it shouldn’t be a problem if one more person violates the rules, right
Xu Qingran remembered that Shen Tingyu was not at home these days.
So I sent him a message and asked, "When will you be done?"
Shen Tingyu took about a minute to reply.
Just two simple words: "Soon."
Xu Qingran stared at the two extremely perfunctory words, his brows furrowed, and he was thinking about what to say in response.
[The anchor looks at the camera.]
[Who are you chatting with? You sound so serious.]
[He must be dealing with work matters! ]
The white dog happened to come in from outside.
I had no idea about the live broadcasting tool like Asteroid. I walked into the kitchen and found this magical thing with floating text. I leaned over and looked up to sniff it. There was a hint of doubt in my icy eyes.
The barrage ran faster.
[Big Dog!!]
[Wow! The little lunatic actually has a dog too! ]
[What a beautiful and noble breed! It looks like a wolfhound, but its hair is longer. I don’t think I’ve seen this breed before.]
After only a short observation, the white dog roughly guessed the effect of the asteroid.
Lost interest in it instantly.
On the other side, Xu Qingran's communicator hanging in the living room suddenly rang.
He could only put down his phone, wash his hands, and go over to answer the call.
It's a strange call.
The person who spoke was a girl, with very standard pronunciation and a serious tone: "Hello, is this Colonel Xu Qingran of the Silver Dragon Battalion?"
"It is me." Xu Qingran replied.
The girl continued, "I am the secretary of the Imperial Minister of Administration. Here is an invitation from the palace. I hope you can attend the luncheon held in the palace in two days."
"Due to time constraints, it is inconvenient to send you an invitation in the form of a formal official letter."
"So in addition to the notification, we also need to confirm with you whether you can attend?"
This invitation came so suddenly.
Xu Qingran thought for a while and asked her, "Is this luncheon the same as the invitation letter that the palace sent to the officials of the two camps?"
The other party replied: "No."
"Due to the situation of the two camps in the empire, the palace is currently temporarily separating the arrangements and receptions for the two camps. The luncheon that Colonel Xu was invited to attend is only for the Silver Dragon side. I cannot tell you the specific attendees, so please forgive me."
Xu Qingran asked again: "Can I know who invited me?"
Could it be Mu Ziyu
The other party replied smoothly: "Colonel Xu, you are invited in the name of His Majesty."
This answer was a bit unexpected, and Xu Qingran was stunned for several seconds.
"I see." After a while, he replied, "I'll go, thank you for the notice."
"Okay, then I'll record it for you... The colonel's information has been entered into the list of people allowed to pass. You can enter the palace that day with just a soul scan."
After the formal discussion, the two sides ended their communication.
Xu Qingran glanced at the time and returned to the kitchen. Before he finished cooking today, he said to the netizens in the live broadcast room: "That's all for today. Bye."
The screen is full of comments:
He simply picked a few of the prepared ingredients, cooked them simply, and filled his stomach with rice.
The rest was given to the white dog.
Then she went upstairs to wash up, changed into clean new clothes, and went out with the white dog again.
The celestial serpent is very close to the gods.
If we drive faster, we can arrive in time for lunch in two days.
When Xu Qingran went to the Celestial God System, the forum discussed his live broadcast on a daily basis.
—As a celebrity in the empire, it is common to have a special discussion thread after a live broadcast.
However, in addition to discussing Xu Qingran himself, today's post also mentions his new favorite.
Someone in the building was joking:
[It's so beautiful, it feels so good.]
[The eyes are also blue. Although blue eyes are not uncommon in other pet dogs, it reminds me of General Shen for some reason, hahahaha. ]
[This is the legendary—Since I can’t get you, I’ll find someone like Wanwan to replace you, right? (What am I talking about?)
During the chat, someone suddenly mentioned:
[By the way, is that the dog that the young master adopted when he went to Tianlong? This reminds me of something that happened a long time ago. ]
Xu Qingran's posts have a lot of traffic, and both fans and passers-by like to get involved.
Among this group of people, there happened to be fans of Feng Yao. They still remembered that many months ago, Feng Yao went to Nanzhou to look for his second sister, and broadcast a live broadcast of the dark scenery to them at the East City beach in the middle of the night.
That day, the live broadcast camera accidentally captured two blurry figures in the distance, and no one knew what they were doing.
If I remember correctly, there seemed to be a big white dog beside them, which looked very similar to the white dog in Xu Qingran's home. And everyone knows that Xu Qingran happened to be assigned to work in Nanzhou during that period.
So some people began to speculate:
[It can't be such a coincidence, the person who appeared in Feng Yao's live broadcast room is Mr. Xu, right? ]
[Yeah, I was lucky enough to watch that live broadcast! But we all think that it was a young couple on a date, so we can basically rule out Colonel Xu? ]
[It's hard to say. Shen Tianyi is still so young after all. It's normal for a young master to be more interested in people who are closer in age.]
[Uh, in this case, wouldn't Xu Qingran be breaking her engagement with the Shen family? ]
[Here it comes, the little black guy really came here because of the smell! I knew that you could always find the black spots from a unique angle. Deep down, you love us more deeply than us fans! ]
As a result, the posts, which were mediocre and should have been discussed for an entire afternoon, piled up faster and faster.
I had already started to assume that the person was Xu Qingran, and guessed who his target would be. After going around in circles, I unexpectedly came back to Shen Tingyu.
[It seems that Shen Tingyu happened to have a conflict with the Golden Wings management at that time and was in a missing stage?]
[Oh, so I guess the vacation and private trip he mentioned is actually going to Nanzhou to find Master Xu! ! ]
[… Enough, you are exaggerating! You should have seen the soul matching data released by the Empire, right? The little madman and Shen Tingyu of your Golden Wing are 0.01%! I am really convinced. Don’t always think that those who have a relationship with him are all from you Golden Wings. Don’t even think about our colonel! ]
[That’s right, even if I want to accept the young master finding a new love, I can only accept that the target is a Silver Dragon! ]
[Bah, didn't you guys start this? You're making us Golden Wings look so rare!]
As expected, they started arguing again.
Xu Qingran's fans were really watching with trepidation.
[Please stop talking nonsense. Those moral educators will soon come out to criticize our little lunatic. Don’t bring him bad luck! ]
[Although, doesn't the young master have enough negative information? The young master is the one who is least afraid of being criticized in the entire empire, right? He can always accurately slap the haters in the face. ]
[The engagement has been verified and made public, how can he slap his face? Anyway, this topic is indeed quite sensitive [gǎn]… ]
critical moments.
The administrators of the Xingya Forum, which has always been a place of relatively free speech, quickly blocked the post, and the matter came to a temporary end.
Xu Qingran knew nothing about this.
He entered the Queen's Planet on the morning of the luncheon and headed towards the palace along the designated route given to him by the authorities.
The Kaian Empire is a very wealthy country.
The palace covered the entire area of the city, and all the dragon and phoenix sculptures were exquisitely crafted, lifelike and ingenious. Expensive and luxurious minerals such as gold, silver, gemstones and crystals were used as if they were free, and almost every building was plated with them.
The guard in front of the palace gate verified his identity information and allowed him to pass.
After he entered, he notified the reception staff in the palace. He had just parked the aircraft under the guidance of the guards inside, and when he got out of the car, he saw the butler-like figure who had been waiting outside for a long time.
"Colonel Xu, this way please."
The other person bent down slightly and pointed in the direction of a small carved car. The combination of retro luxury and new-age technology made it a very unique design.
Vehicles of outsiders are only allowed to park at the outermost part of the palace.
If you want to go deeper into the palace, you have to take their special car in the palace.
The car is not going slow.
But it still took more than an hour to bring Xu Qingran to the lunch venue.
As the car drove into the garden, Xu Qingran saw another palace carriage just arrived at the open space outside the palace.
The car door opened and Mu Ziyu got out.
He was wearing a light grey suit today, and his hair was combed neatly, not as wild and unrestrained as when we met normally. He was also holding a small bag, and judging by the logo and name printed on the bag, it was one of the domestic luxury jewelry brands.
Mu Ziyu was rarely invited back to the palace, but his expression was not very good.
He looked listless, with dark circles under his eyes clearly visible. I wonder what he did last night when he stayed up all night. His personal butler closed the car door for him after he got out of the car. He walked up the stairs without looking back, yawned tiredly, and went up.
After walking a few steps, I heard another car coming behind me, so I looked back.
His eyes narrowed slightly, looking bored and sleepy. When he saw the people getting out of the car, his eyes suddenly widened to the size of bells. His expression seemed to be more shocked than seeing foreign creatures attacking the palace, and the sleepiness in his eyes disappeared instantly.
Xu Qingran came to Mu Ziyu calmly.
Seeing that he was still unable to react, he stretched out his hand and snapped his fingers in front of his eyes.
Mu Ziyu came back to his senses instantly.
When I saw Xu Qingran, I felt as if my whole body started to ache again.
—You know, the last time he met Xu Qingran face to face, it took him several months to heal his wounds.
"... No, Xu Qingran, why are you here?" Mu Ziyu's tone was incredible.
Xu Qingran replied: "Because I received an invitation."
Xu Qingran thought that the guests invited to the banquets in the royal palace were usually high-ranking officials.
It was indeed surprising that he, a minor official who had just been promoted to colonel of the general battalion, suddenly became one of the guests.
However, after hearing his answer, Mu Ziyu's expression of astonishment was even more exaggerated than he expected: "How is it possible?!"
Xu Qingran was about to say that maybe King Kaian had a keen eye for talent when he heard Mu Ziyu exclaim, "Today's lunch is an internal gathering of royal family members and relatives. Those who came are all relatives of the Silver Dragon Camp. You—you received an invitation?"
Xu Qingran was stunned when he heard this.
It's an answer I hadn't thought of.
Mu Ziyu looked at him with a different look in his eyes, and asked in surprise, "Are you my father's illegitimate son who is living outside?"
Xu Qingran: “…”
He asked the system in his mind: "No way?"
System: "... Of course not! Although it is a pity, you are indeed Xu Yan's biological child!"
The more Mu Ziyu thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed: "Damn, no wonder you were so arrogant before and said you wanted to take my position as the commander-in-chief!"
"So you already knew about this!"
There were many maids guarding around the palace.
But they seemed to have developed the ability to observe the nose with the eyes and the heart with the nose. No matter how exaggerated and explosive what Mu Ziyu said now, they had a blank expression on their faces and stared at him, as if they didn't notice.
Xu Qingran reached out and knocked Mu Ziyu on the head, saying, "You are so imaginative, why don't you become a writer?"
The force was not strong, but Mu Ziyu, who had already been traumatized by him, subconsciously raised his hands to cover his head, his eyes aggrieved: "Then why are you here?"
"I don't know either." Xu Qingran said, "Your father asked someone to invite me here."
I don't know what kind of person the King of Kaian Empire is. Did he find out that he had been bullying his son a little too harshly recently, so he specially called him to this kind of occasion to teach him a lesson
Mu Ziyu was even more shocked when he heard this.
"Oh, my dear third brother, you... um? Xu Qingran??"
A somewhat flamboyant female voice sounded from the other side of the corridor outside the hall.
Mu Yesha was wearing glittering silver high heels and a purple tube top dress. The wavy hair she had seen before was permed into long straight hair.
She took off her sunglasses, and her beautiful fox-like eyes were also full of surprise.
Asked a similar question to Mu Ziyu: "Why are you here?"
Xu Qingran didn't know how to explain it, so he just said, "Maybe, we'll know after we go in?"
"Okay, actually I don't really care." Muyesha folded her sunglasses and tapped them on her palms a few times. "I'd be happier to have more acquaintances. I hate attending family gatherings like this, and I'm not that familiar with those relatives."
Therefore, Xu Qingran, who was supposed to be received by the palace staff, simply walked into the magnificent building with Mu Ziyu and Mu Yesa.
Except for the lobby, all the corridors in the palace were covered with red carpets, and the ceilings were hung with chandeliers of various styles and designs. Even the pillars were so clean that they seemed to reflect light.
The corridor they passed through had a security door frame at every corner.
It is said that if one's identity information is not registered in the palace visitor list and one passes through this type of door, an alarm will sound the first two times. The third time, the mechanism will be directly triggered, killing the person with a high-temperature laser beam within 0.01 seconds.
Mu Ziyu didn't believe what Xu Qingran said until he followed them through without sounding an alarm.
The banquet restaurant is almost as big as the auditorium.
As expected, it was a very traditional long table with two rows of chairs.
When Xu Qingran followed them in, there were already quite a few people in the restaurant.
Most of them were nobles he had never seen before. They were familiar with Mu Yesa and Mu Ziyu, so their eyes were focused on him, the sudden outsider, with the same look of surprise and astonishment.
In this place, there are more people with blue eyes.
But no pair could attract his attention more than Shen Tingyu's.
Xu Qingran was quite calm.
I'm not unaccustomed to being stared at in all kinds of ways.
He glanced at the main seat, which was empty.
The king had not yet taken his seat.
There is also a pattern for the seating at the dining table.
On the left and right sides of the front row closest to the main seat are the king's wives. After arranging the wives' positions, his children are arranged according to their age and generation. The boys are on the left and the girls are on the right.
After this, there are the king’s brothers and sisters and their families, and below them are various relatives and so on.
Anyway, it's quite particular.
Xu Qingran observed calmly, thinking that he would most likely be placed in the place farthest away from the king.
This is indeed more in line with the purpose of showing one's power.
Just as he finished thinking this, a waitress in the restaurant came up to him.
He said to him politely: "Colonel Xu, your position is here, please follow me."
Then, Xu Qingran followed her all the way with doubts as he walked closer and closer to the main seat.
Finally, she stopped beside Mu Ziyu, who looked equally hesitant and shocked, and said to him, "This is your seat."
Mu Ziyu: “?”
Xu Qingran: “.”
Muyesha, who was sitting opposite them, was also surprised.
Rather, the restaurant fell into an eerie silence at that moment, and the originally light conversations disappeared without a trace. Obviously, the others were also stunned by this situation.
Xu Qingran remained calm and sat down with peace of mind.
Mu Ziyu approached him, lowered his voice and gritted his teeth and said: "... You still say you are not my father's illegitimate son?!"
Mu Yesha on the opposite side looked at him with her chin in her hand, her expression half-smiley and half-smiley was quite intriguing, and it seemed that she had the same guess as Mu Ziyu.
—Maybe everyone in the restaurant thinks so.
Xu Qingran: “…”
I asked the system in my mind: "What's going on?"
System: "... Are you doing this on purpose? Are you trying to make you socially dead by using this kind of counter-praise?"
Xu Qingran: "Then he made a wrong calculation."
He has grown up but he still doesn't know how to write the word "social death".
Outside, a few more people walked into the restaurant.
The sound of laughter and talking broke the silence in the room.
Xu Qingran took a look and raised his eyebrows slightly.
It was Mu Ningluo, her husband Feng Jin, and her daughters.
The most interesting thing was that she was walking in the front, with a pretty girl who was not from her family. And this girl happened to be the one Xu Qingran had run into at P's pastry shop a few days ago, and she had a very close relationship with Feng Jin.
They sat down in the row opposite Xu Qingran.
I don’t know the identity of that girl. She sat next to Mu Yesha, and then Mu Ningluo sat down on the chair on the other side of her.
Mu Ningluo raised his head after laughing, and suddenly met Xu Qingran's ambiguous eyes. His face instantly twisted and frightened.
Subconsciously asked: "Why are you here?!"
After asking, he looked at Mu Ziyu beside him.
Then I was even more surprised.
As soon as she opened her mouth, Feng Jin beside her, as well as the Feng family's eldest daughter Feng Yuan and youngest daughter Feng Yao, all looked at Xu Qingran.
Except for Feng Jin and Feng Yuan who looked at each other scrutinizingly when they met for the first time, Feng Yao's expression was almost the same as when Mu Ziyu first met him.
Xu Qingran chuckled and said to Mu Ningluo, "Your brother invited me here. You can tell him if you have any opinions."
Mu Ningluo was stunned for a moment before he realized who he was talking about, and his face instantly turned pale.
Not long after, Mu Ziyu's mother also came in.
She was nearly fifty years old, but still looked very young and charming. She wore a valuable pearl necklace around her neck, and looked elegant and noble. She also glanced at Xu Qingran when she passed behind him, but she didn't seem too surprised by his appearance, and didn't show the same surprise as others.
After she sat down next to Mu Ziyu, she patted his shoulder and smiled: "Ayu, today I finally got the chance to meet Miss Pei, don't you have any expression of gratitude?"
Mu Ziyu pursed his lips, stood up and handed the small gift he brought with him when he entered the palace to the elegant girl sitting opposite him: "Your birthday is coming soon. This is a birthday gift for you in advance. I hope you will like it."
The person he was giving the gift to was the girl who came in with Mu Ningluo.
She was well-educated, and when she stood up to take the gift, she maintained her proper manners, her eyes sparkled, and her smile was just right: "Thank you, Third Prince, I like anything you give me!"
Mu Ziyu nodded and sat down again, his attitude unusually calm.
Xu Qingran deliberately glanced in the direction of Feng Jin during their conversation. He was looking down at his phone, and his expression was as serious as that of a big CEO like Mo Chengfei. However, he still noticed that he frowned when he heard the answer of the girl named Pei.
He chuckled silently.
Mu Ningluo, who was sitting opposite him, was still arrogant and said he would never have anything to do with him. He sneered at him, "My brother is getting old and confused. He has the nerve to invite such a messy person in. He is not afraid of dirtying the sacred place of the palace."
Feng Yao poked and said, "Ah? Mom, why are you talking like that? Although Sister Huaiyu is not from the royal family, she is the fiancée of the Third Prince, so she is not a messy person, right?"
The girl who had just accepted Mu Ziyu's gift suddenly felt a little embarrassed.
Mu Ningluo was so angry that his face turned red, and he angrily said to Feng Yao: "I said you are itching for trouble, right? Am I talking about your sister Huaiyu?!"
Feng Yao blinked innocently: "Then I don't know either!"
"I don't think there are any weird people around our table. My sister just finished interacting with the Third Prince, and I thought you were at Yin Yang's house."
"you!"
"Okay, stop making noise." Feng Jin, who had been silent since coming in, finally couldn't help but frown and stop him.
Mu Ningluo's slightly sharp and overbearing voice gave Feng Jin a headache.
He raised his hand and rubbed his forehead, a trace of annoyance flashed in his eyes: "Is it appropriate to make a fuss when eating in the palace?"
These words were obviously directed at Mu Ningluo.
Mu Ningluo was not willing to give in. He squinted at Xu Qingran on the other side and said, "I just want to tell you what's wrong."
"He is just a small colonel in a camp. Why does he have the right to sit here and eat with us?"
The targeting of this sentence is quite obvious.
Xu Qingran moved his mouth slightly and was about to speak.
From far away in the restaurant, an old and powerful voice said, "Because I personally invited him to the palace."
Everyone's eyes turned and fell on the man who slowly walked in from outside the door.
The next second, everyone stood up and watched him walk towards the main seat step by step.
Those standing figures blocked Xu Qingran's sight, and he could not see the person who was speaking for the time being.
But he guessed that it should be the king of Kaian.
Mu Ziyu glanced out of the corner of his eye and found that Xu Qingran was still sitting quietly in the chair.
She hurriedly tugged at his sleeve, her facial features dancing as she whispered a reminder: "Xu Qingran, don't go too far. Forget about me, but my father is the highest commander of the empire. You have to give him some face, right?"
Xu Qingran tapped his fingers lightly on the dining table a few times.
He had not experienced such a monarchy in the last days, but what Mu Ziyu said was right. At least he was not asked to kneel down - he should give him face.
What's more, the king refuted Mu Ningluo's words on his behalf.
Xu Qingran stood up obediently.
Coincidentally, the legendary man finally came into his sight.
The image was a bit unexpected.
He was dressed very simply, as if he had just put on some random clothes.
He looked to be around fifty years old, but his mental state was as old and weak as if he was in his seventies or eighties. His face was pale, his eyes were slightly sunken, and his dark circles were heavier than Mu Ziyu's.
When Xu Qingran turned his head to look at him, he met his eyes.
Blue, the same deep blue as Shen Tingyu's. But it was turbid and dull, heavy and full of fatigue.
It seemed as if I suddenly understood why the current Kaian Empire allowed the two battalions to command and manage whatever they wanted.
The king of Kaian was called Muminrui.
He walked slowly to the main seat and sat down, then said to Mu Ningluo who looked dissatisfied: "I have heard about Colonel Xu's deeds and past. The Tianlong system that was not properly handled here in Yinlong was also rectified by him."
"I've wanted to see him for a long time, and I happened to have something to discuss with him, so I took the opportunity to invite him over for dinner today."
Mu Ningluo asked again: "If that's the case, as an ordinary guest, shouldn't he sit at the end of the table? Why can he sit with Ziyu?"
Mu Mingrui did not plan to answer this question. He glanced at the people at the table with different expressions and said, "Everyone, please sit down. The food will be served."
As a result of this incident, Mu Ningluo became the one who was embarrassed.
He glared at Xu Qingran hatefully, then sat down in shame.
Xu Qingran ignored her.
He casually asked Mu Ziyu beside him: "Who is the girl you just gave a gift to?"
Mu Ziyu was surprised when he heard this, and was surprised that he didn't know the other person's identity.
"The daughter of the Pei family, the Silver Dragon family, Pei Huaiyu." He paused, then whispered, "My fiancée."
Xu Qingran finally turned around and looked Mu Ziyu in the eye.
Mo Mo looked up at his head again, as if there was a large green grassland there.
The system said in a surprised tone: "Wow."
When Mu Ziyu said this to him, his expression did not show joy or sweetness, but rather a bit of melancholy.
Xu Qingran asked: "You don't like her?"
When Mu Ziyu heard this question, he was so scared that he looked up and looked around.
He breathed a sigh of relief when he found that his mother was talking to another sister and Pei Huaiyu was also chatting and laughing with Mu Ningluo's family. His attention was not on them.
Then she whispered to him, "It's hard to say whether you like this kind of arranged marriage or not."
"And I met this young lady from the Pei family before, and I did have a good impression of her."
It's probably what people say, the mutual attraction of souls.
Xu Qingran was curious: "Have you tested the soul compatibility? How many?"
Mu Ziyu: "About 78%."
Xu Qingran: "Oh, this number is not very good."
"Cancel the engagement."
Mu Ziyu: “?”
Inexplicably, Xu Qingran's righteous tone made him laugh: "No, why should you help me make the decision?"
"Besides, what you said doesn't count." Mu Ziyu's voice was muffled.
In fact, he quite enjoys his single life now.
Maintaining the engagement with Pei Huaiyu was also arranged by his mother, in order to make Silver Dragon's supporters more confident that he would become the future king.
Just like Mu Ziyue from Jin Yi, she is in her thirties and still hasn’t gotten married.
It’s not that he doesn’t want to get married.
He was a playboy, and he liked many women, but it was as if his fate had a bad luck with his wife. Every girl who got engaged to him would die in various accidents soon after. Rumors were rife, and fewer and fewer people dared to be with him, and all the people who were highly compatible with him were killed. This was the most criticized aspect of him to this day.
"My words don't count, can't you just say it yourself?" Xu Qingran asked back.
"You don't know whether you like it or not, and whether you want to get married? If you don't really want this relationship, find a way to solve it yourself."
The maid placed the main course in front of them while they chatted.
It was fish fillet, beautifully grilled with a nice color and the sauce was very fragrant.
Mu Ziyu didn't say anything.
He picked up the knife and fork slowly, his thoughts a little wandering.
To be honest, Pei Huaiyu really fits his ideal type.
It was quite comfortable to be with her, she was very gentle and caring, and never disliked his childishness or preferences like others did. However, when this relationship was based on responsibility and pressure, he couldn't immerse himself in it.
In my heart, there is an unconscious sense of rejection and alienation.
Moreover, even though they have been together for so long and their interests overlap, they still cannot fit into each other's world. Their relationship is as respectful as that of guests, but still very unfamiliar and polite.
Mu Ziyu often wondered, was he too picky
He just hopes to have a partner who can connect with him, with whom he can talk about anything, and who can make him feel comfortable and be himself.
"Of course, you can if you insist."
Xu Qingran's nonchalant voice reached his ears again: "Just if something happens, don't blame me for not reminding you."
Mu Ziyu was confused: "What happened?"
Was it his illusion? Why did he always feel that Xu Qingran was talking about something else
But Xu Qingran did not continue the topic. After looking at the people across the table, he suddenly asked him, "Does your fiancée have a good relationship with the Feng family?"
"I guess so." Mu Ziyu replied, "Her mother and Aunt Ning Luo were childhood friends and have always had a good relationship."
Pei Huaiyu is the only daughter of Mu Ningluo, her childhood friend.
So since she was little, Pei Huaiyu's mother would bring her home to play with her daughter whenever she met Mu Ningluo. Strictly speaking, Mu Ningluo and his wife also watched her grow up, and they had a very close relationship with her, treating her like half a daughter.
If Feng Wei hadn't had a weird personality, was four or five years younger than Pei Huaiyu, and their souls weren't particularly compatible, Mu Ningluo would have wanted to take Pei Huaiyu home as his wife.
After hearing this, Xu Qingran couldn't help laughing.
He said meaningfully, "You don't have to become my daughter-in-law to be taken home."
But Mu Ningluo is quite interesting.
Her own three daughters are all disgusted with it, but other people's daughters are very happy about it.
Mu Ziyu didn't understand the deep meaning behind his words: "What? Even if you adopt a daughter as your goddaughter, you can't really snatch her away."
Xu Qingran lowered his head to eat and didn't respond.
Mu Yesha, who was sitting opposite Mu Ziyu, forked a piece of fish and put it in her mouth, then curled her eyes at the two people who were "having a good conversation".
—Oh my, her annoying brother has become not only much cuter after being educated by Xu Qingran, but just looking at them, she actually feels that they are really like a pair of harmonious brothers.
From then on, Xu Qingran focused on his food and ate it reverently.
Until the conversation between Mu Ningluo and Pei Huaiyu on the other side reached his ears.
"Are you going to the Sea God Department next week?" Mu Ningluo asked. Pei Huaiyu nodded gently: "The Harps brand will have a fashion show on Pomegranate Star next week. I also participated in the clothing design for this season and need to attend."
Mu Ningluo thought for a while, then turned to Feng Jin and said, "Aren't you also going on a business trip to Shiliu next week?"
"Huaiyu has no one at home who can accompany her, and her mother has gone on a trip with her husband recently. Why don't you let her take your car and go with you? That way I can feel more at ease, in case something goes wrong and her mother comes back and blames me for not taking good care of her."
Feng Jin frowned again, his expression gloomy.
It seems like it's too troublesome.
Pei Huaiyu, who knew how to read people's expressions, immediately said, "It's okay, I can go by myself."
"I'm grown up now. I can drive myself out without any problem. I won't bother Uncle Feng anymore!"
Mu Ningluo patted her hands and rejected the idea forcefully: "It's not a problem! He has a driver and an assistant, and he's not driving the car, so what's the problem? Don't worry about him, your Uncle Feng has this temper."
"Anyway, it's settled."
"Next week you can take his car and go to Shiliu. I'll feel at ease knowing your uncle is watching over me."
At the dinner table, someone suddenly burst into laughter.
Mu Ningluo frowned and turned around, seeing Xu Qingran holding a cup opposite him. He almost laughed to tears.
Mu Ningluo looked at him with displeasure and asked with a frown, "What are you laughing at?"
"It's really vulgar to eat without such manners."
Xu Qingran was in a good mood now, and didn't care about her attitude and words. He just answered her: "Nothing, I just saw something very funny and couldn't help it."
Mu Ningluo met his smiling eyes and felt inexplicably offended.
Angrily asked: "Are you saying I'm funny?!"
Mu Ziyu, who was standing next to him, was about to speak up for Xu Qingran, but before he could open his mouth, the person next to him said leisurely, "Ah?"
"Am I that obvious?"
Mu Ziyu: “…”
It can be said that this meal ended in a unhappy mood.
Mu Ningluo rarely cared about the manners and generosity that a prince should have, and grabbed the cup and wanted to pour it on Xu Qingran. As a result, she was so angry that she didn't hold it properly, and her hand shook, and the water spilled before she could pour it out.
It also spilled on Feng Jin who was standing beside him.
Feng Jin’s patience was almost reaching its limit, and his face was as black as the bottom of a pot.
Then Mu Ningluo began to cry and complain to Mu Mingrui, the host, about Xu Qingran's rudeness.
The noise caused Guo Mumingrui, whose health was not very good to begin with, a headache.
In the end, he waved his hand, stood up and left early. He had no intention of caring about it at all, nor did he ask the guards to warn Xu Qingran.
Feng Jin probably felt embarrassed, so she stood up and left after Mu Mingrui left the restaurant. Mu Ningluo was stunned and chased after him, and Pei Huaiyu, who was worried, also followed him anxiously. Only Feng Yuan continued to eat as if it had nothing to do with her.
Feng Yao gave Xu Qingran a thumbs up from a short distance.
“…Xu Qingran, you are really awesome.” Mu Ziyu next to him was speechless.
But Xu Qingran accepted it: "Thank you for the compliment."
Mu Ziyu: “…”
This is sarcasm, can't he hear it? !
Their meal was almost coming to an end.
Not long after the king left the table to rest, Xu Qingran also finished eating with everyone in the room.
Then someone walked up to him from outside the hall, bowed his head and whispered to him: "Colonel Xu, His Majesty said that if you are ready, please come with me to see him."
Xu Qingran pushed the chair away, stood up and walked with him to Mu Mingrui's study.
The door was open when he came over.
The space inside is very spacious, even several times larger than Shen Tingyu's study.
Mu Mingrui was not sitting at his rosewood desk, but was sitting on the reception sofa, with his head supported by one hand and his eyes slightly closed.
Hearing the noise, she opened her eyes and gestured to the sofa opposite him: "You're welcome, sit down."
The door was closed after Xu Qingran entered.
There were only two of them in the house.
As soon as Xu Qingran sat down, he saw Mu Mingrui looking at him with eyes that were a little more lively than before in the restaurant.
After a moment, he slowly said, "Xu Qingran, I heard Shen Tingyu mention you."
(End of this chapter)