Shuishui was still paying attention to the woman's expression. Seeing that the woman did not say anything, Shuishui picked up her plate and stood up. "Excuse me."
Shuishui was a responsible child. Since the buffet was self-service, she took the liberty of picking up her plate and putting it back on a table with other used dishes. Plates that were not returned to that table were at risk of falling and breaking because of the heavy crowd inside the banquet hall.
The noblewoman looked at Shuishui. She really wanted to go forward and tell Qian Shuishui that she was her mother, but she could not do so. When Shuishui walked back towards her, she stood up as well and said, "Shuishui, come to my house when you have time. You can leave your phone number with me."
The woman wanted Shuishui's phone number so that she could contact her in the future.
Shuishui looked at her for a while and gave her her number. "This is my number. Auntie Sun, I'll go to Uncle Jiang first."
The noblewoman wanted to say something, but Shuishui had already walked away. She returned to Jiang Yuan's side. Jiang Yuan had just seen Shuishui talking to the noblewoman. He said, "It seems that she has feelings for you too. Don't get too close to her for now. I know that it's not good to say that, but I am responsible for you. To that woman, benefits are always more important than love. Don't keep your hopes up." Jiang Yuan was worried that Shuishui would be emotionally invested and would end up getting hurt.
Shuishui only glanced at him. "No. I'm not getting my hopes up. Uncle Jiang, does my father know about it?"
"I don't know. But why are you asking so many questions? You just need to study hard." Jiang Yuan felt that Shuishui knew too much. Fortunately, she was sensible and wouldn't say anything.
After a while, Jiang Yuan decided that it was time for them to go home. Jiang Li got into the car and said, "Sister Qian, your friend Zilin was looking for you."
Shuishui recalled that Jiang Li had already met Zilin through that online game. They had even exchanged numbers. "Oh," she answered casually.
She flipped through her phone and dialed Mu Zilin's number. Zilin picked up. "Aiya, you finally called me. It's so hard to contact you. I'm changing my number. I'll inform you of my new number later. Let's go out for supper tonight and have fun! Come stay at our house. We already prepared your room."
"I have to ask the elders." Uncle Jiang was accountable for her safety, so she had to ask his permission. Her father had told her to listen to Uncle Jiang.
"Hmm?" Jiang Yuan didn't know what they were talking about.
"Uncle Jiang, my friend asked me to have supper with him and spend the night at his house," Shuishui said directly to Jiang Yuan.
"Which friend?" Jiang Yuan asked back.
"Mu Zilin, my good friend from back in the city," Shuishui answered.
Jiang Yuan was relieved that it wasn't Mu Ziyu. "It's not safe to go tonight. You can go tomorrow. It's already a bit late."
She repeated Uncle Jiang's response to Mu Zilin. "Not tonight. I'll go tomorrow. It's already late."
"All right. You're acting more and more like a good girl now. I've been quite tired these past few days. I don't go out anymore. It's actually nice to just stay at home and rest. Remember to come tomorrow. And keep your phone close. You always end up missing my calls. I don't know what's going on with you lately," Zilin complained.
"I haven't been able to answer calls because I've been busy recently. Why are you complaining? I didn't even tell you yet how annoying you were in the past days. You called me early in the morning and texted me in the middle of the night," Shuishui said bluntly. Zilin was really bored. Their family had been very busy and had so many things to do. Fortunately, their family was originally from Beijing and already had connections there. They could simply ask for help whenever they needed it.
Mu Zilin felt guilty for pestering Shuishui. In fact, he was just bored. He had just returned and knew that Shuishui was also at the capital, and he wanted to see her. He felt grateful that he had a friend like Shuishui.
Shuishui looked ahead. They were almost at the villa. "I'll end the call. See you tomorrow."
"Hmm. Dress well tomorrow." Mu Zilin did not force Shuishui anymore. He felt that Shuishui's temperament had changed a bit. She was quite strict. Was she staying at a relative's house? After Zilin hung up, he went to pester his brother. "Brother, where do you think Shuishui is staying now? She was with an elder. I heard his voice over the phone just now. Maybe he's quite strict. Maybe I can go visit her one time."
"Don't worry about it. She's staying with her father's good friend. It seems that he arranged for Shuishui to come here." Mu Ziyu did not really like Jiang Yuan, who actually told Shuishui that they were not suitable. Ziyu still had to meet with him. He thought it would be better if they met the next day. He sent Shuishui a text message: "Let me meet your uncle tomorrow."
"Okay."
When they reached home, Shuishui went up to Jiang Yuan and said, "Uncle, what do you think about meeting Ziyu tomorrow?"
"Sure. I'll book a private room. We can talk about it while we eat." Jiang Yuan called his secretary and asked her to cancel his appointments for the next day.
Shuishui replied to Mu Ziyu: "Let's have lunch together tomorrow. I'll send you the location tomorrow morning."
The nanny brought out a pot of sugar water. "I've cooked coix seed congee with red beans today. Come and try it. It will help you sleep well tonight."
Shuishui filled her bowl and enjoyed the soup. After one bowl, she was already full. She didn't want to drink or eat too much at night because she hated going to the restroom in the middle of the night.
Ever since she arrived at the capital, she would go to bed full. She would have to wake up in the middle of the night just to go to the toilet. The next morning, she would be very sleepy.
Jiang Li walked over to Shuishui and said, "It's really good. Are you sure you don't want another bowl?"
"No. I don't feel like eating a lot tonight. Go ahead." Jiang Li sat down in front of Shuishui. "Sister Qian, the person you're dating is Mu Zilin's brother, right? Your relationship is really complicated. My dad is such a busybody. Don't mind him."
"Huh?" Shuishui was a little confused.
"The other day on my way downstairs, I overheard my dad's conversation with you. Although I didn't hear much, I inferred that he wanted you to stop seeing Mu Ziyu. I actually think that he can get a bit too nosy when it comes to relationships." Jiang Li felt that his father was meddling too much. Qian Shuishui was the child of his father's friend. In fact, it had nothing to do with his father, but his father was the type who would interfere.
Shuishui finally understood why Jiang Li had been acting strangely towards her. He had overheard Jiang Yuan's conversation with her, and he was basically embarrassed about his father's behavior.
"It's fine. Actually, Uncle is doing this for my own good. When I came here, my father entrusted me to your father. They are older than us, and they know better. If they're right, we should listen." Shuishui was sensible enough to listen to the advice of her elders. She was not stubborn enough to think that she was always correct.
"Eh, I feel quite embarrassed that my father actually told you to stop seeing Mu Ziyu. He even said that aristocratic families are bad." Jiang Li felt that his father had made hasty generalizations.
Jiang Li had a very good opinion of Qian Shuishui. His father felt that he would be very contented if Jiang Li and Qian Shuishui ended up together. Qian Shuishui had a good personality and was not bratty unlike other girls her age. She would have to return to the city, so it would be okay if Jiang Li and Shuishui remained friends for the meantime.
Shuishui was amused with Jiang Li. "You're so adorable. But you should understand that Uncle Jiang had said those things to me for a reason. I do not think that he was wrong, but I will not completely follow his advice. One cannot immediately break up with a partner just because of someone's disapproval of the relationship. All people are sentimental. There are other people who value height and age before entering a relationship and committing to a partner. For others, family background is very important. If two people want to be with each other, however, no external factors could keep them apart. Some couples don't easily break up just because of minor reasons," Shuishui explained bluntly. She wanted a new life, and she didn't want to grow old with regrets.
Jiang Li lowered his head. He then glanced at Shuishui and asked, "If you like someone very much, but that person doesn't like you anymore, what should you do?"
"What can I do if the other person doesn't like me anymore? I can only try my best to forget him. I can study hard or try to distract myself with activities. That way, it will be easier to forget that person." Shuishui had not yet met someone whom she loved very much. She was a very rational person, and she was not the kind who would foolishly give her all for one person. There were other girls age who were desperate for love. She felt that such a mentality was silly and immature. She wanted to be selfish and to love herself more.
She did not know what Jiang Li was feeling that day to talk about such things with her.
Jiang Li felt that he had found the wrong person. Talking about such things with Qian Shuishui was like talking to an *****. She was very direct. If she had no feelings for him, then so be it.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm just being selfish. I'm going back to my room. You should rest early," Shuishui said as she walked back to her room. When she got inside, she dialed Mu Ziyu's number.
"Ziyu, Jiang Li asked me a strange question just now. He asked, 'If you like someone very much, but that person doesn't like you anymore, what would you do?' It's not really strange, but what do you think of it?" She wanted to ask for Ziyu's opinion on the matter.
"I will do my best to make that person fall in love with me again," Mu Ziyu said in a mellow voice. Shuishui became a little absent-minded.
Shuishui continued to make scenarios. "Then what if that person doesn't love you anymore and is with someone else?"
"I don't really want to answer a hypothetical question. We would probably react differently if it happened to us." Mu Ziyu refused to answer the question since it was just hypothetical. Even if it happened, they would not deal with it the same way.
Shuishui nodded silently. She did not really like hypothetical questions. She pondered on it. She felt that in such situations, she would still do what she had to do.
Mu Ziyu broke the silence. "I never believed in love at first sight, but I believe that love grows over time."
"Interesting. That's true. But when you pursued me, didn't you consider what others would think? Didn't you worry that people would think you're a pedophile?" Shuishui couldn't help but tease Ziyu. She was exaggerating when she tagged him as a pedophile, but she knew that others found their relationship strange because of their age difference.
"I never thought about it, and I don't care what other people say or think." Mu Ziyu's resolute and willful words made Shuishui's heart skip a beat.