usatvline Chapter 675 The Child Bride's Delusional Dreams (13)
Chapter 675 The Child Bride's Delusional Dreams (13)
At the birthday party, Mu Zhou carried the blind box that Shang Henian had given her and listened to Grandpa Shang speak.
Lu Lin, who was also standing here, did not say a word from beginning to end.
As he listened to the fluctuating favorability ratings, Mu Zhou glanced at Lu Lin without making a sound.
His face was cold, and his gaze seemed to be fixed on nowhere.
Later, Grandpa Shang went back to his room to rest.
After that, Lu Lin and Mu Zhou did not exchange glances for even a second.
It was as if they were deliberately avoiding it.
Not long after, he left, citing work as an excuse.
They didn't even greet Mu Zhou, the birthday celebrant.
Back in the car, Lu Lin closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat, his expression cold and aloof.
After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes, and what he saw was the bag of blind boxes he had bought earlier.
My emotions, which I had finally managed to calm down, were thrown into disarray again.
His face looked terribly pale.
Just then, the cell phone rang.
Lu Lin looked at the two words "Mu Zhou" on the screen and narrowed his eyes slightly.
He answered the phone just before it was about to hang up on its own.
On the other end of the phone, Mu Zhou's clear and gentle voice rang out:
"Uncle, have you left?"
"Ah."
His answer was indifferent, and his expression was distant.
Mu Zhou seemed not to have noticed, and she continued:
"That's why I couldn't find Uncle. Well, Uncle, you're busy, I won't bother you anymore... Also, I really like the birthday present, thank you Uncle."
She hung up quickly, not giving Lu Lin a chance to speak again.
Lu Lin slowly put down his phone, his peripheral vision catching sight of the bag of blind boxes once more.
*
At the birthday banquet, Shang Henian was in a good mood, drinking champagne.
The butler approached at the opportune moment and reminded him:
"Young Master, did you not give Miss Mu Zhou a gift?"
Shang Henian paused in his drinking motion.
"Yes, I gave her a blind box, her favorite."
He smirked smugly.
Give yourself a thumbs up for your cleverness.
The butler's lips twitched slightly, and he couldn't help but advise:
“Young Master, as you saw last time, Miss Mu Zhou has a lot of this series of blind boxes. She may have already collected them all. Besides, isn't it a bit disrespectful of you to only give blind boxes? Although it's a small gift but the sentiment is great, but…”
The butler didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear.
Sending blind boxes as gifts between ordinary friends is definitely a great choice.
But this is a merchant.
Grandpa Shang attaches great importance to this birthday banquet in order to elevate Mu Zhou's status and let everyone know that she has the Shang family backing her up.
You should know that the gift Grandpa Shang gave was a shop in a prime location.
Shang Henian is the only son of this generation.
To some extent, he also represents the businesses.
The butler said with obvious concern:
"I'm afraid that if someone with ulterior motives finds out, they'll overthink it."
Shang Henian instantly understood the intricacies of the situation.
He's not stupid. Growing up in a family like that, he learned a lot about how to conduct himself through observation and experience.
The reason I sent the blind boxes was purely on a whim. I wanted to make it up to Mu Zhou so badly that my rationality was taken over by my instincts.
He paused for a moment and looked at Mu Zhou not far away.
She has never said a word since she was a child, and she seems to have no temper at all.
If someone were to say something like, "He, the future heir to the business, doesn't value Mu Zhou," she would probably only feel secretly sad.
Thinking about this, Shang Henian realized that he had indeed not considered things thoroughly.
He frowned, pushed the wine glass to the butler, and went back to his room.
Shang Henian opened the safe in the dressing room and began searching through it.
*
Mu Zhou is on the phone with Jiang Xing.
He couldn't come back because of official business, so he had to ask someone to send the gifts.
"I'm sorry, Mu Zhou, I can't go back to say 'Happy Birthday' to you in person on your birthday."
His voice sounded somewhat disappointed.
Mu Zhou comforted him:
"There's nothing to be sorry about. I really like the gift you gave me, senior. Besides, I heard from Grandpa that you're about to be promoted, so of course you have to do your best. Anyway, we celebrate our birthdays every year."
"How can that be the same? This year is your twentieth birthday, it has a different meaning."
Twenty years old is the legal age for marriage.
Jiang Xing added in his mind.
After chatting for a few more minutes, Mu Zhou hung up the phone.
Turning around, she saw Shang Henian standing behind her, looking somewhat awkward.
"Brother Henian, is Grandpa looking for me?"
Mu Zhou thought that Grandpa Shang couldn't find her and had asked Shang Henian to come out and look for her.
Shang Henian shook his head, took a step closer, and handed a cube-shaped wooden box to Mu Zhou.
The wooden box was quite large and heavy.
Mu Zhou looked at him with a puzzled expression.
He looked away and said casually:
“I had someone bring this piece of jade back from Myanmar. It’s of very good quality. You can have it made into a bracelet or a jade pendant. It would also make a birthday gift.”
"Thank you, Brother Henian."
Mu Zhou thanked him obediently and then opened the box.
She was slightly surprised.
Even though she didn't know much about jade, she could tell it was rare just by looking at its quality.
Moreover, such a large piece could easily be cut into two bracelets and used to make other jewelry.
Her expression changed slightly:
"This is too expensive, Brother Henian. You've already given me a birthday present, so this isn't necessary."
Shang Henian put his hands in his pockets and refused to take it.
"I never take back what I give away, so you can keep it."
After saying that, he left gracefully.
*
For almost two weeks after his birthday, Mu Zhou hadn't seen Lu Lin.
After class that day, Mu Zhou and his roommates went to the cafeteria.
Lu Zhi happened to be passing by, and he put his hand on Mu Zhou's shoulder:
"Mu Zhou, you only have one class this afternoon, right? Perfect timing. Come to the rehearsal room and wait for me after you finish."
With the school anniversary coming up soon, their drama club has assignments, and they need to film every few days.
Before Mu Zhou could speak, the hand on her shoulder was abruptly pushed away.
"You peacock, you have nowhere to unleash your charm, don't you? You want to flirt with everyone."
Shang Henian's voice, filled with gritted teeth, came from behind them.
Lu Zhi wasn't angry when he was pushed aside. He smiled, the phrase "child bride" circling around his lips before he swallowed it back.
He raised an eyebrow, his thoughtful gaze sweeping over Shang Henian, his tone ambiguous:
"Okay, okay, I'll just leave our classmate Mu Zhou alone, alright?"
A suspicious blush rose on Shang Henian's cheekbones as he was teased.
He glanced quickly at the bewildered Mu Zhou, and in a panic, grabbed Lu Zhi by the neck and carried him away.
Once the two left, the roommate shook Mu Zhou's arm:
"Quickly confess, what is your relationship with Shang Henian?!"
Many people already knew about Shang Henian's grand display of arranging for people to help find Mu Zhou outside the girls' dormitory.
At that time, Mu Zhou used the fact that Lu Zhi was injured to cover it up.
However, Shang Henian's seemingly jealous behavior and Lu Zhi's teasing suggest that their relationship is unusual.
Mu Zhou tried to gloss over the matter again, but her roommate wouldn't let it go.
Left with no other option, she had to explain:
“My grandfather and Shang Henian’s grandfather were comrades-in-arms. I am currently staying at Shang’s grandfather’s house. I didn’t tell anyone before because Shang Henian told me not to tell others.”