As Xu Musen languidly awaited, a mature and graceful voice suddenly arose nearby, tinged with a hint of playfulness.
Xu Musen turned his head and it seed as if he had been dazzled by a pair of headlights.
Before him stood a charming woman in her thirties, dressed in a custom-tailored long dress, also known as the so-called "stepmother dress."
It greatly accentuated her figure.
Her chest generously revealed so of ")(" like curves.
She gazed at Xu Musen, her delicately made-up face expressing a degree of intrigue.
Xu Musen also glanced at her. She appeared to be in her thirties or forties, well-maintained, but still showing so signs of aging. Most important was that mature look in her eyes, which was a bit frightening.
But when he clearly saw her face, Xu Musen was surprised.
"You are Zhu Yulan's sister?"
"You have a good mory, Xu."
The arrival was indeed Zhu Xianglan, who looked at Xu Musen, her eyes as almond-shaped as Zhu Yulan's, and carrying a sowhat inscrutable cunning.
Xu Musen always felt that encountering her here seed a bit off.
Especially since he had heard about this second sister from Zhu Yulan's own descriptions.
Cold-blooded, rciless, scheming, focused only on family interests.
Yet Xu Musen did not show any particular expression, only asking, "Are you here for a parent-teacher eting as well?"
"I'm just representing a relative to check on his kid, who is failing in his grades, isn't studying, and even has a premature love life. The teacher planned to use him as a negative example, which I found annoying, so I left."
Zhu Xianglan stretched languidly, her smile unchanged, even bearing a sense of schadenfreude.
Hearing this, Xu Musen couldn't help but criticize internally. A relative asked you to attend a parent eting for their child, the child got singled out for criticism by the teacher, and you just walked out.
Leaving the child alone to face the gaze of the teacher and all the other parents and students.
How much emotional damage would that do to a middle-schooler in his early teens?
"If I may ask, what is your relationship with this child..."
"I'd be his older cousin's wife, I guess, though I haven't really t him that many tis. You know, big family."
Zhu Xianglan laughed as if she didn't see anything wrong with her behavior, her words even lacking much familial affection.
Older cousin's wife… that's already quite close.
Only a large, thriving family like hers would have so many relatives, making close relationships inevitably less intimate.
Of course, whether it was her little cousin or even her own younger sister Zhu Yulan, she would exploit them without a second thought, never softening her heart.
Even when her sister had run away from ho and had been living at soone else's house for a while, she hadn't even inquired.
One could only say that the humanity within her circle was rather puzzling.
Xu Musen didn't talk anymore, mainly because there wasn't much worth discussing.
"My silly little sister, is she doing alright staying at your place?"
Zhu Xianglan suddenly posed the question.
Xu Musen side-eyed her, "Are you concerned, or just asking?"
"She's my only sister, how could I not care about her?" Zhu Xianglan laughed brightly.
"If you cared, you should go and ask her yourself, not inquire through an outsider like ."
Xu Musen's tone was plain, standing from a friend's perspective, he felt indignant for Zhu Yulan.
After all, she was just a girl of eighteen or nineteen, yet her life was bound by the interests of the family.
And as a relative, as her own elder sister, instead of supporting her sister, she was kicking her while she was down, and Xu Musen could not harbor any good feelings towards her.
Zhu Xianglan could naturally discern his underlying aning, yet she only smiled more brightly.
"Oh, I didn't expect that my silly little sister could find soone who would care for her so deeply."
Xu Musen ignored her, and Zhu Yulan, unconcerned, comnted, "My sister might have told you so things, so you should understand that by helping her now, you might actually be harming her. Of course, whether you help her or not, it doesn't really make a difference, our Zhu family's enterprise cannot be compared to a few milk tea shops."
"Even if your Zhu family were the wealthiest in the world, it wouldn't matter much to . I'm friends with Zhu Yulan not because of her family, but because she is my friend, and when a friend is in trouble, I won't ignore her just because of her status."
Xu Musen cut her off.
"Friends?"
Zhu Xianglan's eyes flickered with a glint, and her tone carried a slightly threatening air, "You should be aware that helping so friends might just bring you bad luck. Huhai is vast, and even if a few tea shops close down, it wouldn't cause much of a splash."
"You don't have to tell this. I've just started my business, it's just a few stores. If such threats make lose my ethical foundation, then I might as well go back to my old profession."
Xu Musen smiled, showing no hint of panic.
"Your old profession?"
Zhu Xianglan raised an eyebrow slightly, having investigated, she knew Xu Musen was just an ordinary student before. What kind of old profession could he have?
"Being kept by a rich older woman, does that count as a profession?"
Xu Musen spoke straight-faced.
Zhu Xianglan was taken aback for a mont, then burst out laughing, covering her bright red lips, which ")(" jostled intensely.
"Now I know why my silly little sister would instinctively turn to you, you both naively make the sa mistakes."
Zhu Xianglan's smile slowly faded as she watched Xu Musen, "Take this ssage to her as well, this world doesn't offer many choices. If you insist on choosing a less traveled road, it's bound to be full of thorns. Pushing through will only leave you covered in scratches."
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