At that moment, Fu Yi was only bothered, not paying much attention to Mo Kexin. Seeing her today, he realized she truly was reckless.

"What does this matter have to do with you? You stop us and ask questions out of the blue, and I’m supposed to answer honestly?"

Mo Kexin furrowed her brows, her impression of Fu Yi soured slightly. "Is it that Young Master Fu is too shy to speak? I’ve heard that the Princess of Ping has mentioned Bai Qingqing several times, and everyone in Xuancheng believes the Fu and Bai families are intending to marry. If you’re so fond of your cousin, why would you interfere with Bai Qingqing’s reputation?"

Hearing this, Bai Qingqing, who had been about to quietly leave, paused in surprise. She hadn’t expected that Mo Kexin was speaking up for her.

When she mentioned Bai Qingqing, Fu Yi was equally surprised. After a moment's thought, he replied, "My relationship with my cousin is entirely proper, just sibling affection. I don’t know where you’ve heard these rumors."

"Don’t know? It’s all over Xuancheng. The Princess of Ping treats Miss Lu like her own daughter, everything she wears and uses is from you. Could that all be false?"

Mo Kexin’s gaze shifted to Lu Qingyun, who was wearing a delicate necklace, and casually asked, "This necklace looks nice. Did Fu Yi give it to you?"

Lu Qingyun, hiding the heartbreak in her eyes caused by Fu Yi’s words, lowered her head and softly replied, "It’s a birthday gift from my cousin…"

Mo Kexin’s eyes flickered for a moment before she noticed a pair of dark jade bangles with gold inlays on Lu Qingyun’s wrist. "These bangles are nice too. A birthday gift as well?"

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"This… was brought back by my cousin when he traveled far."

"Ha."

Mo Kexin curled the corner of her mouth. Bai Qingqing had indeed been right. Her gaze toward Fu Yi immediately changed, and her smile took on a hint of sarcasm. "So, Young Master Fu dares to do but not admit it? I thought you were a gentleman, but it seems I misjudged you. If Bai Qingqing hadn’t reminded me, I would’ve still been kept in the dark, truly thinking you and your cousin shared only sibling affection."

"You’re talking about Bai Qingqing? What did she say?"

Mo Kexin, feeling irritated because she had been blind earlier, was about to vent her frustration when suddenly a figure swiftly appeared from the side. Upon seeing her, her eyes seemed to brighten, and she walked straight toward Mo Kexin.

"Ah, what are you doing here? I’ve been looking for you everywhere! We agreed to wander around together, and you didn’t come to find me, making me wait for so long!"

The excited, almost coquettish tone left Mo Kexin stunned. Bai Qingqing walked over and familiarly linked arms with her, leaving half of her body stiff. After a long pause, she managed to mutter a few disjointed words. "What do you mean, looking for me... you were waiting for me? You…"

"It’s okay, I’m not really mad at you. Yaoyao said it’s very lively over there, so I came to find you. Let’s hurry and go see."

With a cheerful smile, Bai Qingqing pulled her away without even glancing at Fu Yi and Lu Qingyun. Mo Kexin, unable to resist, was dragged off.

It wasn’t until they had moved quite a distance, well out of sight of Fu Yi and Lu Qingyun, that Mo Kexin finally reacted. "When did I say I’d go wander around with you? Where did you come from?"

Bai Qingqing let go of her arm, as though the effort of pulling her had exhausted her, and with a puffed-up face, she rubbed her slender arm. "Why won’t you cooperate with me? You made me pull so hard, now my hand hurts."

"Sorry, I didn’t mean to… No, it’s not that I made you pull me!"

Mo Kexin was livid, almost being dragged off! The look on Bai Qingqing’s face was so innocent that it instinctively made people feel like it was their own fault.