Xu Zhixin snickered to himself, wondering why his father had said to let Xu Qingya come forward after finding Mu Jinyu. It turned out that the old man had seen through everything long ago.
Hmm, Xu Zhixin instantly decided that he needed to have Xu Qingya build a good relationship with Mu Jinyu as quickly as possible, seizing the opportunity to marry her to him before this piece of jadeite began to shine brightly!
In that case, their Xu Family would be bound to Mu Jinyu, and they would not have to worry about him refusing to treat them in the future.
Hehe…
After scheming, Xu Zhixin noticed that Gu Xiyan looked displeased. After she exchanged a few words with Mu Jinyu, she couldn't hold back and reached out to grab Mu Jinyu's ear, but Mu Jinyu was not willing to be manipulated and dodged with a bitter smile, trying to explain.
He knew this was his chance.
While Mu Jinyu and Gu Xiyan had not yet developed a deeply antagonistic relationship, and Mu Jinyu felt just a vague fondness towards Gu Xiyan with an added touch of annoyance, he should quickly step in to create a rift.
That way, Xu Qingya would have an opportunity to get closer to Mu Jinyu.
"Hey, I already told you, I didn't mean to take advantage of you. Why won't you believe me? Stop hitting me, or I'll turn my back on you," Mu Jinyu urged.
Gu Xiyan puffed up her cheeks, looking somewhat annoyed and embarrassed, and continued to try to hit Mu Jinyu who kept dodging, and was somewhat helplessly and irritably trying to calm her down.
Seeing this, Xu Zhixin quickly put on a stern face, stepped forward to stop Gu Xiyan, and pretended to be displeased as he said, "The girl from the Gu Family? There's a limit to joking around. Divine Doctor Mu has been generous and hasn't taken it personally, but you shouldn't go too far."
When Xu Zhixin stepped forward to scold her, naturally, Gu Xiyan couldn't continue to chase and hit Mu Jinyu. She looked at Xu Zhixin, whose face was dark with anger, got a fright, stopped in her tracks, and pulled back her hand, carefully trying to explain, "Uncle Xu, I…"
"Enough said." Xu Zhixin waved his hand impatiently, stopping her from speaking further, and reprimanded, "Considering you probably didn't know Divine Doctor Mu's identity and that's why you dared to play around with him, I won't hold it against you. Just leave now, and remember to be more mindful in the future!"
The Gu Family in River City was just an average small clan and couldn't compare with his Xu Family, let alone Gu Xiyan who was practically marginalized within the Gu Family due to her reluctance to marry Zhang Qiu Huai?
Facing such a minor character, Xu Zhixin didn't care at all.
He could easily suppress her so that she wouldn't dare speak and would obediently leave.
As expected.
Faced with the second son of the Four Major Families' Xu Family, Gu Xiyan naturally didn't dare to continue making a fuss as she had with Mu Jinyu. She agreed with a sense of grievance and pondered in her head about who exactly Mu Jinyu was and what his status was, preparing to leave.
Mu Jinyu furrowed his brows and suddenly stood up, looking sternly at Xu Zhixin and said, "Who gave you the right to lecture her?"
Gu Xiyan paused in her steps, turning back in surprise to look at Mu Jinyu who was defending her.
"I…" Xu Zhixin got a shock when he saw Mu Jinyu's expression, and cold sweat immediately broke out. He hurriedly explained, "I just thought...since she was being disrespectful to you, and you didn't seem willing to hold a grudge against a woman, I wanted to…"
"She's my girlfriend," Mu Jinyu said indifferently, cutting off Xu Zhixin's defense.
With that one sentence, it was like a final blow.
Upon hearing this, Xu Zhixin's heart leaped from his chest to his throat, and cold sweat poured down; he sensed that something was terribly wrong.
He had thought it all through, assuming that Mu Jinyu, having just come down from the mountain, would merely have a vague fondness for Gu Xiyan—something he himself might not even be clear about—so he could take the opportunity to play matchbreaker. But who could have guessed that Mu Jinyu would win over Gu Xiyan in just one day?!
Quick to react upon realizing his blunder, Xu Zhixin immediately abandoned all seniority and dignity, bowing deeply to apologize to Gu Xiyan, "Lady Mu, I misread the situation. My apologies to you!"
Gu Xiyan, who had been standing by, felt a flutter of unusual emotion and a blush on her cheeks at Mu Jinyu's statement, "She is my girlfriend." But upon seeing Xu Zhixin's sudden groveling attitude, she was taken aback.
"I…you…Uncle Xu, you don't need to do this…" Gu Xiyan stammered and hurriedly gestured to Xu Zhixin.
The boutique was now devoid of other customers, but the manager, employees, and Yu Linglong were still there.
They watched as Mu Jinyu simply declared, "She's my girlfriend," which caused Xu Zhixin, who had been lecturing Gu Xiyan with a senior's authority, to lower his head and admit his mistake, his eyes nearly popping out.
Damn, the difference in his attitude before and after, isn't it too big?!
What on earth is the identity of the boyfriend our boss has found?
Noticing that Gu Xiyan seemed overwhelmed by Xu Zhixin's apology, Mu Jinyu took her hand and said indifferently, "There's no need to deal with him like this. You are my girlfriend, and no one can lecture you."
After speaking, Mu Jinyu picked up the suit he was going to return, and while leading a somewhat dizzy Xiyan out of the store, he didn't look back as he said to the bitterly smiling Xu Zhixin:
"Remember, it's not your place to meddle in my relationships. My woman doesn't need your guidance, and if there's a next time, I'll make you understand the consequences!"
Watching Mu Jinyu walk away with Xiyan, Xu Zhixin stood frozen, his expression a mix of wanting to cry and not being able to. Although Xu Tianzheng was about to rush over, Xu Zhixin didn't dare to follow them.
At this moment, his heart was filled with immense regret, wishing he hadn't gone that extra mile.
He had thought to provide Xu Qingya an opportunity to rise in status, while also trying to curry favor with Mu Jinyu, but who would have thought that he would end up shooting himself in the foot?
Oh crap, it's done for, it's all over...
If he had known, he wouldn't have been so greedy, trying to marry Xu Qingya off to Mu Jinyu. Now he feared that the good impression he had barely managed to restore was probably completely ruined by his recent actions.
And that last sentence from Mu Jinyu truly scared him, as it seemed like he had seen right through Xu Zhixin's intentions.
This made him feel even more guilty and panic-stricken.
...
Mu Jinyu walked out of the boutique with a somewhat confused Xiyan, a trace of a cold smile still on his lips.
Initially, Mu Jinyu hadn't understood Xu Zhixin's intentions, thinking perhaps he really believed that Gu Xiyan was pestering him and that was why he had spoken out to chastise her.
But later, Mu Jinyu felt that Xu Zhixin's tone was a bit off. Although it seemed like he was defending Mu Jinyu on the surface by scolding Xiyan, behind the scenes, Xu Zhixin was clearly overstepping his bounds regarding Mu Jinyu's personal relationships!
This was something Mu Jinyu could not tolerate!
Although Mu Jinyu did not know what Xu Zhixin was plotting, he would never allow anyone to meddle in his relationships!!
So, without hesitation, he simply walked away with Xiyan.
Earlier he had said he might consider treating Xu Tian's illness if he felt like it, but now he was rooted to the spot and not moving, waiting for Xu Tian to come over and be cured. But he didn't care about that anymore.
Xiyan, still feeling dizzy after being pulled out of the shop by Mu Jinyu, couldn't grasp what was happening. Her mind repeatedly flashed back to Mu Jinyu's words: "You are my girlfriend, and no one can lecture you!"
She felt something strange blossoming in her heart.
Then, Xiyan suddenly realized something—what girlfriend? Damn it, up to now, she still didn't even know his name!
Blushing with annoyance and feeling the warmth from Mu Jinyu's broad palm, she jerked away as if she had been scalded by boiling water.
Then, she turned to gaze at Mu Jinyu, her beautiful eyes filled with embarrassment and indignation as she said, "What nonsense were you spouting just now? Is there a woman who doesn't even know her boyfriend's name?!"