The gentle R&B love songs lingered on the dance floor, and the ambiguous atmosphere after the passion rose sharply, with men and women intentionally intertwining their fingers and dancing slowly.

Sagina once again rejected the man who asked her to dance.

James, who hosted the ball, had already left. The designers who were specially invited didn't even look at her, and no matter how hard Sedge tried to chime in, she couldn't get any attention.

Sudden.

“Hey, you’re Joris’s teacher, right?” one of the designers asked.

Sagina paused for a moment, then exclaimed excitedly, "Yes, I am Sagina, and I'm also in this Rising Star Competition—"

"Do you know what mu is?"

"..." Sagin's face stiffened.

The designer immediately said to the white-haired woman in the center, "Miranda, do you know Mu? She's the bronze medalist this year."

The white-haired woman nodded. "I know. I even specifically asked James if she was coming, but it seems she's not." She then turned her gaze to Sedge. "Perhaps this lady knows her?"

Saginaw: "I...I don't know him, sorry."

The men instantly lost interest in her. Sedge was unwilling to give up and clenched her fists. Just as she was about to say something, she caught a glimpse of someone spinning past on the dance floor. She shut her mouth and waited until the person disappeared from the dance floor before leaving.

Her sisters, who had been waiting for a long time, crowded around her. "How was it, Secia? Wow, I'm so envious of you. You got to talk to Miranda and the others. What did you two talk about?"

Sedge answered irrelevantly: "Mu Yiran."

"What?"

"Who is Mu Yiran dancing with?"

The group turned to look and saw Mu Yiran pulling a woman in a white tulle dress in the crowd, the two seemingly arguing.

"Don't pull me! My skirt! Mu Yiran!" Helian Xin staggered, pulling on her large skirt.

"Then let go." Mu Yiran stopped in her tracks.

"......."

Helian Xin glanced at the hand she was tightly gripping, then abruptly pulled it back, straightened her skirt, and casually twirled her curly hair.

Mu Yiran glanced absentmindedly at the bar outside the dance floor and immediately spotted the pink-haired man. She habitually lowered her gaze and met his narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes. Her eyelids twitched, and she turned around abruptly.

It really is...

Even though I was far enough away, I could still spot that guy right away in the bustling crowd.

Mu Yiran rubbed the pendant on her collarbone, leaving faint red marks on her skin.

She figured it must be because Shi Youxi's pink hair was too eye-catching.

"You deliberately pulled me to a corner to say something." Helian Xin took a step back and looked the woman up and down. Seeing her face clearly again, even if she didn't want to admit it, Helian Xin was still amazed.

It was terrifying.

She bit her lower lip, the pain bringing her back to her senses. She picked up a glass of red wine and slowly walked towards the indoor pool.

"What, are you trying to brag to me like those mistresses on TV, that Shi Youxi is truly sincere towards you? Don't you realize how despicable it is to be all entangled with someone else's fiancé!"

"......"

Tsk, I forgot there's this tricky one too.

Mu Yiran snapped out of her daze and walked over to Helian Xin. "So, Miss Helian, is it because you've played so many roles like this that you're so immersed in the characters that you see everyone as a mistress?"

Helian Xin frowned. "Are you mocking me?!"

Mu Yiran sighed helplessly, "I didn't mean anything by it, I just think that Miss Helian shouldn't make hasty conclusions based on what she sees."

"You can't say whatever you want in public. Miss Helian, you've been in the entertainment industry for so long, you should know these things better than anyone else."

Helian Xin slammed his wine glass into the pool and moved closer to Mu Yiran. “Illusion?! Ha, people only see what they want to see, but someone like me knows best the difference between illusion and truth.”

"What has no intention is an illusion; what has intention is the truth!"

She stared intently at Mu Yiran's face. "You approached Shi Youxi with ulterior motives, which is why I saw what was happening—that's the truth!"

"..."

Mu Yiran met her gaze, then suddenly smiled, her eyes crinkling. "You seem particularly certain that I have designs on Shi Youxi. Why?"

Helian Xin's breath hitched, her eyes darted around, and she pursed her lips, saying, "You, you think you're acting so well that you can fool Shi Youxi, but you can't fool me! I've seen countless women like you before."

"They've done it all the same way, even the methods are similar—"

"Are they also called Mu Yiran?"

Helian Xin froze: "...What?"

Mu Yiran stroked her chin. "Then why did Miss Helian know my name the moment she saw me?"

She took a step, and Helian Xin retreated tremblingly.

"Hmm... If you suspect me because you've met many people who have designs on Shi Youxi, then according to your logic, they should all be called Mu Yiran, right?"

"That way you'll be able to call out my name with such certainty when we're in the hospital."

Mu Yiran snapped her fingers lightly and said in a daze, "Oh, or have we met before?"

She stared intently into Helian Xin's eyes. "Before the hospital?"

Before the hospital.

It was the day she first transmigrated.

Mu Yiran also disappeared from that day on.

Helian Xin was stunned. "...You, what nonsense are you talking about! How could I have seen you before!"

"..."

Mu Yiran slowly took a step back and shrugged. "Why are you so nervous? Since you've never seen me before, it seems Miss Helian had someone investigate me."

She smiled and turned to get the orange juice from the small dining table.

"..."

Helian Xin stared at the woman's graceful back, many images flashing through his mind.

More than a year ago, three months after Cheng Ran's death, women who looked very much like Cheng Ran began to appear around Shi Youxi.

Later, she overheard Helian Jingfen making a phone call to have that woman disposed of.

A few days later, the woman was in a car accident.

Helian Xin was terrified. But fortunately, Shi Youxi didn't seem to care about the women's lives at all.

Once you do it the first time, you'll do it again.

After Helian Xin chased Shi Youxi abroad, Helian Jingfen gave her that person's phone number.

"You've grown up. You need to take control of your own happiness. You can't even handle this small thing. How dare you dream of being the young mistress of the family?"

So when Mu Yiran first moved into the apartment, Helian Xin made the first call to that person.

The other party quickly informed her that it had been resolved.

Yes! It's all taken care of!

But why did the person who should have died reappear?

That person told her that Mu Yiran's body could not be found, so... the woman in front of her was Mu Yiran.

She didn't die; she appeared safely beside Shi Youxi.

Did Mu Yiran find out?! Did she know that the murderer was hired by her?!

If she already knew all this and still told Shi Youxi, or even just found a reporter to tell...

Helian Xin trembled uncontrollably all over.

no!

no!

Ripples spread across the pool, and Helian Xin turned her pupils to take a look.

"Mu Yiran is nothing special, just an ordinary woman. If there's anything wrong with her, it's that she has a lot of flaws. She's colorblind and afraid of water."

"..."

The shimmering water reflected the figures of two women; the woman in the white tulle dress was reaching out to the woman who was smiling and drinking juice…

"Bang!"

"Ahh!"

A loud crash came from the dance floor, and Helian Xin abruptly withdrew her hand.

"Hey! A fight has broken out over there!"

"It's Candice and that handsome pink-haired guy!"

"W-what's going on!" Helian Xin realized what was happening and saw that the people around her had already rushed into the crowd.

Mu Yiran pushed through the crowd and immediately saw the scattered red wine and broken wine glasses on the ground.

There was also Shi Youxi lying on the ground.

"Shi Youxi!"

"Where are you hurt?!"

Shi Youxi had a cut on his face, and there was a red liquid, it was hard to tell if it was red wine or blood.

Shi Youxi looked up and said, "Sister, I'm fine, ouch...it hurts."

Mu Yiran quickly checked his face, pushed aside his bangs, and traced them to his ear. Then she touched a wet patch.

Candice, who was standing to one side, saw her coming and was at a loss for words. "Ran, he started it—"

Mu Yiran: "Call an ambulance! Call an ambulance first!"

Candice watched as the woman anxiously massaged Shi Youxi's body, each touch and movement done with utmost care.

He rubbed his swollen, aching cheek, the dried blood at the corner of his mouth cracked, he was in pain too... but he still silently dialed the emergency number.

The scene was chaotic for a moment. The paparazzi who had sneaked in did not recognize Shi Youxi, but they knew the youngest son of the Stuart family. Upon seeing this scene, they immediately took out their cameras to take pictures.

"Stop it! Hey!" The bodyguard noticed and stepped forward to stop it.

"Gentlemen, no photos! please show me your invitation letter."

The paparazzi, not knowing any invitations, shouted when their cameras were snatched away, "We were invited!"

"who?"

"If you are not invited, I will call the police. This is illegal filming!"

Helian Xin, who had caught up, wanted to run to Shi Youxi's side immediately, but stopped when she heard the bodyguard say that he was going to call the police. The paparazzi panicked and searched for her in the crowd.

Helian Xin cursed under her breath and turned to hide backstage.

...

…

Hospital.

Initial examination in the ambulance revealed that Shi Youxi only had wounds on the back of his neck and the back of his head. The boy was huddled on the hospital bed and was wheeled into the CT room after the nurses refused to allow his family to accompany him.

At the doorway, Mu Yiran leaned against the wall with a sigh of relief. Her heels were swollen and sore. She kicked off her high heels and twisted her ankles. Suddenly, a shadow fell on her feet, and a pair of white slippers were placed next to her high heels.

“Condis.” Mu Yiran looked up and saw the British boy, her gaze lingering on his bruised lips.

"Did you apply the medicine? Are there any other injuries?"

Condis suddenly covered his mouth; he had just applied medicine there, and it was all sorts of colors—it must look awful!

"All done. The rest of the body... isn't badly injured." Condis glared resentfully at the closed CT room. He and Shi Youxi had only exchanged a few punches, and this guy was specifically targeting his face!

This obstructed his view while he was dodging and retaliating, which led to Shi Youxi being pushed onto the wine table.

But……

He clearly remembers that he didn't use much force!

Although he was reluctant to admit it, Shi Youxi was indeed much stronger than him, and he was basically being forced to fight!

Being beaten up by a minor is so humiliating! Kandis didn't want to tell Mu Yiran at all!

Seeing him awkwardly avoiding her gaze, Mu Yiran, who had been curious all the way, finally couldn't help but ask, "Why did you two suddenly start fighting?"

Condis immediately said, "He hit me first! He, he said..."

Mu Yiran: "What did he say?"

Candice wouldn't say, so Mu Yiran thought for a moment, "Shi Youxi wouldn't hit you for no reason. Did you do something to offend him?"

Condis's eyes widened suddenly, and he stopped covering his mouth, pouting as he shouted:

"Why can't he have hit me for no reason! Why do you think I provoked him first instead of him being the one who's sick!"

Mu Yiran hadn't expected him to react so strongly. "Ah, don't panic. He's not the type to act rashly..."

Mu Yiran had never seen Shi Youxi openly make a move since he was 15 years old. He had grown up well, knew how to control his temper, and was even so calm that she could hardly fathom him.

Seeing how she kept explaining for Shi Youxi, Candice felt extremely uncomfortable, even more so than when Shi Youxi hit her.

"You really know him that well? You've only known each other for less than half a month... I was the one who knew you first! How could you!"

Condis's voice was low, "Why did you side with him..."

"I……"

Mu Yiran rubbed her hands together, unsure how to comfort the tall yet short British boy in front of her.

She couldn't very well say that she actually raised Shi Youxi, could she?

“He does have some issues. He’s a minor, a prickly kid, rebellious in every way. I’m just asking to avoid any future conflicts between you two.”

“Our conflict stems from you,” Condis suddenly said.