What Have We Always Taught You?

Xiao Qi brought up the live feed and thoughtfully enlarged the screen to its maximum size, letting Yan Wen watch as though he were at the movies.

Mu Xu Ye held a bouquet of roses, his eyes smiling as he watched the man before him, who was too shy to meet his gaze.

"Why did you suddenly give me roses?"

"B-because I saw that my friends gave roses to their partners when they were dating."

Mu Xu Ye brushed his fingers lightly over the petals. "But why are you the one giving them to me?"

Qi Shu Yu looked up at Mu Xu Ye. "Because... I was the one who pursued you. When I saw them giving flowers, it was always the person doing the pursuing who gave them to the person they were pursuing."

Mu Xu Ye couldn't help laughing. The hand stroking the petals moved toward Qi Shu Yu, and the pad of his thumb gently brushed over Qi Shu Yu's lips. "Your lips are a little paler than these flowers."

The touch made Qi Shu Yu's lips tickle, and he raised a hand to rub them. "Don't you like this color? It is rather bright. I'll pick a paler color next time."

"No, this color is beautiful. I like it. Where would you like to go on our date today? You decide."

"Then... then let's go to an amusement park. My friends who are dating all say going to an amusement park can bring you closer..."

Qi Shu Yu's voice grew quieter as he spoke. He wasn't sure whether Mu Xu Ye would agree. After all, as far as he remembered, Mu Xu Ye had never been to an amusement park.

Mu Xu Ye took out his phone. "Book an entire amusement park for me. I'm going on a date. Bring the car around to pick us up in ten minutes."

The person on the other end froze for a few seconds. "Yes, Mr. Mu."

Satisfied, Yan Wen asked Xiao Qi to close the big screen. They're already going on dates. Nice, very nice. My Eldest Brother really came through. Next time, they should be moving on to kissing. At this rate, they'll be meeting the parents soon.

Xiao Qi covered her mouth and giggled. Host, they've already kissed! And your Eldest Brother was the one who initiated it.

Really? That blockhead of an Eldest Brother finally figured it out?! Oh, that's wonderful news!

Host, don't you want to watch?

No, no. Knowing is enough. I don't need to watch.

At the end of the month.

Yan Wen didn't go home, using the excuse that he had "applied to take classes off campus and needed to study at school."

Worried about Yan Wen, Xie Yunshu transferred him two hundred thousand. "Xiao Wen, make sure you take care of yourself at school. Use this money for now, and tell Mom if you need more."

"I know, Mom. I have enough money. More than enough."

Yan Wen was telling the truth about that. Between the money Mu Xingfeng and Xie Yunshu had transferred him, the money Mu Xu Ci and Mu Xu Xi had given him, and his now-fixed monthly allowance of one million, he still had several million even after his regular expenses and outings.

Back when he lived with the Yan Family, his monthly allowance had been ten thousand. Compared with his classmates, who only received a few thousand a month, Yan Wen's allowance had already been very generous.

After returning to the Mu Family, his allowance and spending money had increased several hundredfold. But the habits he had developed with the Yan Family remained. Aside from necessary expenses and the occasional splurge, Yan Wen saved every penny.

Looking at the string of zeros in his bank account every day, Yan Wen even found the bugs in the grass adorable.

Li Zhaoxi was working on design sketches in her dorm when her phone suddenly rang. The caller ID read "Second Brother."

Li Zhaoxi set down her pencil, answered the call, and turned on the recording. Before she could speak, Tao Jingcheng's accusing voice came through. "Li Zhaoxi! Why didn't you come home with Niannian? Do you know she cried? How can you be so inconsiderate?"

Li Zhaoxi found it laughable. "I just have some things I need to finish at school, so I'm not coming home this month. What does Tao Niannian have to cry about?"

"When did you become so inconsiderate?! Niannian has always treated you like her own sister and looked out for you in every way. Is this how you repay her? If we'd known you were so ungrateful, Mom and Dad should never have brought you back! Is there anything about you that resembles a member of the Tao Family? Thank goodness Mom and Dad told everyone you were the adopted daughter. Otherwise, you'd have disgraced our entire family!"

Li Zhaoxi felt as though her heart had gone numb. "Think whatever you like. If you think my studying at school disgraces your Tao Family, then I have nothing to say. I have things to do. I'm hanging up."

Ignoring the enraged voice on the other end, Li Zhaoxi saved the recording and made a backup.

Then Li Zhaoxi changed all the Tao Family members' contact names.

Only half an hour later, Mrs. Tao called too. Just like before, she didn't ask for a reason. There was nothing but scolding.

Li Zhaoxi turned on the recording, tossed her phone aside, and returned to her sketches.

Once Mrs. Tao had apparently finished venting, she snapped, "If you don't want to come back, then never come back!" and hung up.

Li Zhaoxi picked up her phone and saved and backed up the recording as usual.

After drawing for a while, Li Zhaoxi put down her pencil, intending to relax by scrolling through some videos. As she watched, she ended up opening a shopping app.

Swiping through the screen, Li Zhaoxi spotted a new pair of men's athletic shoes priced at five thousand.

Li Zhaoxi thought she could buy them as a thank-you gift for Yan Wen. Over her three years at school, she had secretly applied for scholarships, something the Tao Family had never known about. She received fifty thousand in scholarship money every year, so buying a pair of shoes for five thousand should be fine.

Besides, if not for Yan Wen, she probably still wouldn't have seen the Tao Family's true colors. Thinking of the fate that had originally awaited her, Li Zhaoxi couldn't help shuddering.

But...

Li Zhaoxi hesitated. Would a pair of shoes costing five thousand be too cheap? What if he thought I wasn't sincere?

After pausing for a few minutes, Li Zhaoxi went ahead with the payment.

He'll probably accept them.

The Mu Family villa.

Mu Huai'an knelt in the middle of the living room. Mu Xingfeng and Xie Yunshu looked deeply disappointed. Mu Xu Xi stood to one side, her brows slightly furrowed and her expression otherwise blank.

"Xiao An, explain this post to me. We raised you for fourteen years, and all you learned was how to frame your own brother?"

Mu Huai'an hurriedly explained, "Mom, I'm sorry. I was wrong. I just lost my head for a moment. I-I'll never do it again. Please forgive me this once..."

Mu Xingfeng frowned and snapped, "Last time, when you falsely accused Xiao Wen of stealing, we thought you'd learned your lesson, so we didn't bring it up again. But now you've actually joined forces with an outsider to frame your own younger brother! What have we always taught you? What's the third rule of the Mu Family? Have you gone mute?!"

Mu Huai'an trembled under Mu Xingfeng's stern gaze and stammered, "Bonds between siblings must come first..."

"That's right. But tell me, what did you do? You teamed up with that Fang Qingyan to frame Xiao Wen at the banquet, then framed him for stealing your second brother's things. This time, you went even further! If that person hadn't taken that video, do you know what Xiao Wen would have suffered?"

Mu Huai'an hastily promised again and again, "Dad, Mom, Xu Xi, I was wrong. I really was wrong. I'll never do it again. Please forgive me this once. I promise I'll get along with Xiao Wen from now on. It'll never happen again."

Mu Xu Xi didn't even look at him. "You should be asking Xiao Wen to forgive you, not us."

Xie Yunshu rubbed between her brows. "I won't say anything more. Stay here on your knees and reflect on what you've done. You won't be having dinner, either. How can you expect to eat after doing something like this?"

"I understand, Mom."