Mu Beiyin instinctively turned around and rubbed her eyes.Strange. Did she just see Huo Shiqing?
She stood frozen for a moment. It wasn't until Huo Shiqing walked up to her that she snapped out of it.
"Mrs. Huo, are you stunned?"
Mu Beiyin quickly regained her senses. "Why are you here?"
Before Huo Shiqing could answer, a sudden thought struck her. She blurted out, as if driven by a mysterious impulse, "Don't tell me you came here just to pick me up?"
The man's Adam's apple bobbed as he looked away. "You're overthinking it."
He was just worried she'd be bullied at the Mu family's house. After thinking it over, he couldn't rest easy and followed along.He hadn't expected that Mrs. Huo didn't need him at all.
Mu Beiyin: "…"
Why did it feel like Huo Shiqing suddenly got a little upset?
Huo Shiqing walked to a nearby small villa and opened the door. "I own property here too. I just came to check on it."
Mu Beiyin raised an eyebrow in curiosity. These villas were built twenty-five years ago and were considered a bit old-fashioned by today's standards. For someone of Huo Shiqing's wealth, why would he buy something here?
As if sensing her thoughts, Huo Shiqing said nonchalantly, "Bought it for my eighteenth birthday."
Mu Beiyin asked instinctively, "Your eighteenth birthday? You should've already been in college by then. But didn't you go to university overseas? Why buy a villa in Ancheng?"
Huo Shiqing's eyes suddenly narrowed. "And how does Mrs. Huo know I studied abroad?"
Mu Beiyin clicked her tongue internally. Grandpa Song's youngest son studying abroad wasn't exactly a secret—Song Lingqian had mentioned it several times before.
But judging from Huo Shiqing's reaction, he clearly didn't like people talking about him behind his back.
So Mu Beiyin blinked innocently. "Of course… I guessed! Don't all you rich families send your kids overseas?"
Huo Shiqing let out a faint laugh. "Narrow-minded people think foreign education is superior. I don't really agree with that."
It was just that something happened back then, and he had no choice but to go abroad.Thinking of that, his gaze darkened.
Mu Beiyin suddenly felt a chill in the air and shivered.
Huo Shiqing only glanced at the villa and said no more before locking the door again. "Let's go."
Back at Yujing Garden, Mu Beiyin lay on the bed. Her eyes drifted to the date on the calendar.September 16th… The date felt familiar somehow.
Wait a second—September 16th! She remembered Song Lingqian had once said this was his uncle's birthday.And Song Lingqian's uncle was… Huo Shiqing!
So today was Huo Shiqing's birthday?!
No wonder he made a special trip to the villa and mentioned buying it for his eighteenth birthday.How could she have been so dense and not realized it sooner!
Mu Beiyin jumped out of bed, suddenly flustered.Now that she knew today was Huo Shiqing's birthday, what should she get him?
With a conflicted heart, she paced back and forth in front of the study.
Five minutes later—creak—the door opened.
Huo Shiqing looked at her calmly. "Mrs. Huo, you've been hesitating for half an hour. Got something you can't say?"
Mu Beiyin's throat caught for a second, her brain whirring. Then her eyes fell on his wrist. "Huo Shiqing, where's your watch?"
The man glanced down, expression calm. "It broke. I threw it out."
Mu Beiyin immediately brightened.
His watch broke—that meant he needed a new one!She could go to the mall and buy him a watch as a birthday gift!
Genius! She was a genius!
Huo Shiqing watched her expression transform from troubled to radiant in an instant and raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Mu Beiyin swallowed and blinked. "I want to go out for a bit. Wait here for me."
Watching her dash off, Huo Shiqing narrowed his eyes.He hadn't lied—he really did throw the watch away.
It was a gift from the Yuan family. Out of respect for his grandmother, he wore it for a few days.Who would've thought Bai Ji would investigate and find out it was actually part of a couple's set—the matching watch was with Yuan Shishi.
So he tossed it.
But now… why was Mrs. Huo so happy after learning he'd thrown it away?
Bai Ji, who was nearby, analyzed, "Madam must've known the watch matched Yuan Shishi's. So when you threw it out, it meant you didn't care about Yuan Shishi. That made her happy!"
"She probably went out to buy you a new watch! Maybe even a couple's watch!"
Bai Ji concluded with confidence, "Sir, Madam definitely cares about you a lot!"
Huo Shiqing: "…"
Really? Why did something feel off about that logic?Then again, Bai Ji's explanation did sort of make sense.
A matching couple's watch…If it were with Mu Beiyin, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
Elsewhere, Mu Beiyin had arrived at Ancheng's largest shopping mall.
She remembered there was a luxury watch store on the third floor.A gift for Huo Shiqing couldn't be too cheap—but it also couldn't be too expensive. Otherwise, he might get suspicious.
Although the store specialized in luxury brands, she remembered it also carried some mid-luxury models with elegant designs.
However, after asking around, the clerk said that all the men's watches in that price range had sold out. Only women's and couple's models were left.
Mu Beiyin fell silent. "…"
A ladies' watch definitely wouldn't do, but a couple's watch…?Would Huo Shiqing think she did it on purpose?
But she was already here—she couldn't leave empty-handed, could she?
She could just hide the women's watch. As long as she didn't say it was a couple's set, no one would know.
With that thought, Mu Beiyin chose a stylish pair of matching watches at a reasonable price. "I'll take this set."
The salesgirl smiled sweetly. "Miss, this pair is 300,000 yuan."
Mu Beiyin nodded. The price was good—affordable for her, and not suspiciously high.
She was about to pay when suddenly, she heard footsteps and a sycophantic male voice:"Ladies, this is our couple's watch section, Miss Mu—"
Then a middle-aged woman burst out laughing. "Hahaha, 300,000? Mu Beiyin, is that all you can afford? That's hilarious!"
Mu Beiyin narrowed her eyes.
Sure enough, it was Song Lingqian's mother—Madam Song, Fang Xuan.
Fang Xuan was still fuming at Mu Beiyin. That little tramp had made her lose face at Fulu Garden last time and even got her thrown out. This time, she was determined to put Mu Beiyin in her place.
Fang Xuan's eyes gleamed with malice as she pointed toward the most expensive couple's watches in the store. "How much for that pair?"
The store manager was thrilled. "Madam Song, that pair is 3.88 million yuan. Would you like to—"
"Perfect. Just right for my son and future daughter-in-law!"
Fang Xuan beamed. "Qianrou, this pair is for you and Lingqian. You two must cherish each other."
Mu Qianrou blushed. "Thank you, Aunt Xuan."
She already knew Huo Shiqing had agreed to meet her. That's why Fang Xuan had dragged her out to buy jewelry and clothes.
So what if Mu Beiyin took her room?She was about to become Mr. Huo's honored guest—Mu Beiyin would be green with envy!
Fang Xuan's eyes were full of spite and ridicule as she sneered sarcastically:
"Some people just have bad luck—no fate to marry into the Song family. Look at our Qianrou, casually buying a 3.88 million yuan gift. And someone else? Spending forever picking out a 300,000 yuan watch—how embarrassing!"