“Of course, Mu Yiyang is from the Mu family, one of the seven major families in the capital city. He joined the army and holds the rank of major.” Dai Zhenjie said, “He is quite a remarkable figure!”
“That explains…” Dai Ya thought of what they had been through at the Island of Bones, lost in thought.
“Explain what?” Dai Zhenjie asked.
Dai Ya panicked a little, then she calmed down and said, “When we went to the Island of Bones last time, there was also a man named Mu Yiyang. He and his brothers were quite powerful, so I thought their background must be extraordinary.”
Dai Zhenjie didn’t notice Dai Ya’s expression.
…
Meanwhile, after finishing their meal, Li Mochen and Leng Xiaoyao went for a leisurely walk in the park. Since Li Mochen had confessed his feelings for her, Leng Xiaoyao had become shy and coy, remaining silent and not saying anything first.
Li Mochen took her hand, but Leng Xiaoyao immediately pulled away. Li Mochen was slightly disappointed. He asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Don’t hold my hand,” Leng Xiaoyao said in annoyance.
“Why not?” Li Mochen asked, with a hint of resentment in his brow. He understood that Leng Xiaoyao was just shy, so although he showed some resentment, he was actually teasing her.
“Why did you hold my hand? I haven’t agreed to be with you yet. If you dare touch my body without permission, you won’t pass the test,” Leng Xiaoyao said, a little frustrated.
She was mainly afraid of running into familiar faces. She didn’t want her family to know about her and Li Mochen’s relationship yet. Firstly, she was still young. Although it was normal to date at eighteen years old, her family would still think it was too early. Leng Changyuan wouldn’t allow it.
Secondly, she and Li Mochen weren’t officially together yet. They had just started! Nothing was stable yet. No one knew what might happen!
She trusted Li Mochen, but not fate’s tricks.
Thinking about the future after two years, she was worried.
“Is my performance not good enough?” Li Mochen asked.
“Anyway, I haven’t agreed yet. If someone sees us and tells my grandfather, he’ll be angry and make me stay away from you. I’m only eighteen years old! Do you think my grandfather will let me date? He’ll think you’re a big bad wolf and treat you as an enemy,” Leng Xiaoyao said. This wasn’t to scare Li Mochen, it was just a fact.
As soon as Li Mochen heard that, he became completely obedient. Being too eager might lead to losses.
Therefore, they walked together properly without any further incidents.
However, they soon ran into someone Leng Xiaoyao knew – an old friend of Leng Changyuan’s.
“Hey! Xiaoyao! Is this your boyfriend? He’s so handsome, but aren’t you only eighteen years old? You’re dating so early! Does your grandfather know?”
The first sentence was said with a decent attitude, but the latter was full of malice. He even showed obvious disdain.
He was a friend of Leng Changyuan, but being a friend didn’t mean being a good friend. Some friends might seem close on the surface, but in reality, they were just waiting to see you fail.
The man was Elder Zhang who had previously argued with Leng Changyuan. Although he had no major grudges with Leng Changyuan, he wasn’t a likable person in terms of his character and behavior.
When he saw Leng Xiaoyao together with Li Mochen, he would definitely spread it, then use it to mock Leng Changyuan.
“Grandpa Zhang, you misunderstood. He’s just my friend. We just need to talk about some things in private,” Leng Xiaoyao said.
Hearing that, Li Mochen felt a little uncomfortable in his heart, but he didn’t refute it. He also saw that Elder Zhang wasn’t friendly, so his face became cold in an instant.
“You’re just a young girl. What else can you talk about with a grown man besides love! It’s also late at night,” Elder Zhang said with a serious face. Obviously, he didn’t believe it.
“That’s because your thinking is limited, so naturally you can only think of some indecent things.” Leng Xiaoyao was straightforward and directly retorted.
Leng Xiaoyao felt extremely speechless. She didn’t do anything, but was defamed like this. It was impossible for her not to be mad.
“How could you say that? You don’t understand how to respect your elders at all. I’m doing this for your own good. You’re just a young girl. It’s not proper to be alone with a man outside when it’s dark. Is this a proper thing to do?” Elder Zhang suddenly raised his voice and immediately attracted the attention of people around him.
When some people heard Elder Zhang’s words, their eyes towards Leng Xiaoyao and Li Mochen changed, as if they had really done something indecent.
However, more people still felt that there was nothing wrong.
Although it was dark outside, it wasn’t too late. Even though they were alone together, they were walking in the park openly. What was wrong with that?
Leng Xiaoyao was also angry. “Only those whose thoughts are indecent will see everything as indecent. Have you seen us do anything inappropriate? We are walking in the park openly. What’s wrong with that? You are not me. How could you know that I don’t have important matters to discuss with this gentleman? Even if there is really something going on between us, what does it have to do with you? You are not my family. You are just someone who knows my grandfather. I just called you Grandpa Zhang out of respect. That’s all.”
Upon hearing that, the crowd looked at Elder Zhang with disdain.
“Only someone with improper thoughts would see everything improperly! I don’t think there is anything wrong with them.”
“Exactly! He’s not even someone important!”
“Some people just have too much time on their hands and like to gossip.”
“Right! I can understand it if it’s an old lady, but I never thought an old man could be so gossipy.”
“…”
“Y-Y-You…” Elder Zhang trembled in anger.
Li Mochen just gave him a cold glance, causing Elder Zhang to shiver all over and struggle to catch his breath.
Leng Xiaoyao didn’t want to waste any more time with Elder Zhang, so she walked around him and left. After all, he was an old man. If he got too angry, she would be the one in trouble.
“Do you see that? If he had seen us holding hands just now, my grandpa’s whole circle would know about it tomorrow. My grandpa would be furious,” Leng Xiaoyao said angrily, but she wasn’t blaming Li Mochen. She just found Elder Zhang annoying. “Even if he didn’t see us holding hands, he’ll still go around spreading rumors because he’s such a horrible person!”
“What should we do?” Li Mochen frowned. He didn’t know how to handle the situation.
“It’s fine. I’ll just tell my grandpa when I get home that Elder Zhang is spreading rumors about me. My grandpa will only believe me. I’ll tell him beforehand so that he can handle it properly and won’t get angry if he hears it from someone else.” Leng Xiaoyao said, “Alright, I have to go now. If I’m late getting home, it won’t be good.”