On the other end of the call, Kuang Ye’s brow furrowed deeply, his tone cold and heavy.

“What? He really didn’t tell you?”

“At that time, I had a huge fight with the old man over my professional matches and didn’t return to the Kuang family for a long while.”

“I was worried that incident would cause your classmates to gossip about you, so I specifically asked Kuang Shuyu to explain everything clearly to your teacher.”

Kuang Xingran’s face turned pale.

He didn’t.

Kuang Shuyu never told her.

There was no chance he simply forgot to mention it—he had handled the aftermath himself. But he hadn’t told the teacher the truth, leaving her ostracized by her classmates.

“Kuang Ye, was it really you who injured Zhou Ye’s arm and stopped him from taking the college entrance exams?”

“What nonsense. Back then, I was already a professional player. If I got into a serious fight, I’d be banned from competing. I just gave him a light warning—no way I’d hit him that hard.”

Kuang Xingran: “…”

So Zhou Ye not attending the college entrance exams wasn’t Kuang Ye’s fault either.

Her emotions churned. For so many years, Kuang Shuyu had let her misunderstand Kuang Ye without ever once offering an explanation. Why?

Because…

“Xingran, you didn’t used to call me Shuyu-ge. You used to just call me ge.”

Kuang Shuyu’s words from last night echoed in her mind. Kuang Xingran’s eyes widened as a chilling possibility dawned on her.

Kuang Shuyu hadn’t wanted her to get close to Kuang Ye. To ensure she stayed on his side, he had deliberately smeared Kuang Ye’s reputation in front of her.

At that time, Kuang Ye had only been back with the Kuang family for a year. Out of guilt for what her biological brother had endured, she had wanted to make amends. If she had known the truth back then, there was no way she would have remained so distant from him.

“Ah Ye, I’ll leave it here for now. I’ll hang up.”

Mu Wan, noticing how shaken Kuang Xingran was, ended the video call with Kuang Ye and comforted her.

“Xingran, are you okay?”

Kuang Xingran clung tightly to Mu Wan, tears streaming down her face again.

“Wan wan, I hate him.”

If she had only been disappointed in Kuang Shuyu’s changes before, learning about his malicious intentions—deliberately sabotaging her relationship with Kuang Ye and leaving her cold and distant toward her own brother for so many years—made her genuinely despise him.

Mu Wan, angered by how Kuang Shuyu had caused Kuang Ye to endure so much unwarranted blame, clenched her fists.

“Xingran, Kuang Shuyu is already a rotten person. He’s not worth your tears.”

“Now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, focus on getting along with Ah Ye from now on.”

“He might not say it, but I’m sure he wants to be close to you, his real sister.”

Thinking back to how she had almost embarrassed Kuang Ye at the engagement party, Kuang Xingran felt a deep sense of guilt.

“I’ll apologize to him properly.”

“Good!”

After clearing the air, Kuang Xingran sat quietly for a while to process her emotions.

After wiping away her tears, she swiftly pulled out her makeup bag and began re touching up her make up.

“Wan wan, are you free this afternoon?”

Mu Wan watched as Kuang Xingran patted her face with a powder puff, baffled but still nodded. “Yeah, I’m free.”

Kuang Xingran snapped the compact shut and linked arms with her.

“Then let’s go. Come shopping with me. I want to buy a gift for my brother.”

Mu Wan: “…”

Her ability to adjust her emotions so quickly left Mu Wan feeling self-conscious about her own lack of resilience. But since Kuang Xingran wanted to reconcile with Kuang Ye, Mu Wan was more than happy to help.

“Sure, where are we going?”

What Mu Wan didn’t realize at that moment was that Kuang Xingran didn’t always play by the rules. Among the gifts she chose, there would be a few… less conventional ones.

——

By the time Mu Wan returned to the apartment, she was carrying over a dozen luxury shopping bags, practically forced upon her.

When Kuang Ye saw her, he hurried over to help.

“Why didn’t you have the store deliver them? Bringing them back yourself is exhausting.”

With luxury goods costing tens of thousands each, home delivery was standard, especially for VIPs like Mu Wan and Kuang Xingran. Even stepping into the store was already considered a favor to the staff.

Mu Wan set the bags down and sighed.

“Your sister insisted. She was worried something might happen to the gifts she picked for you, so she personally escorted me to the elevator before heading off.”

Kuang Ye: “She made it to the elevator but didn’t come up?”

Mu Wan: “…”

“This is your little love nest. As your younger sister, I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

“Take these things upstairs to my brother and tell him I’ll find time to apologize to him properly next time.”

Mu Wan repeated Kuang Xingran’s words.

Kuang Ye, momentarily speechless, shrugged it off. “Apologize for what? I was the one who trusted the wrong person. That Kuang Shuyu is really a piece of work.”

It was bad enough that Kuang Shuyu, a grown man, acted all prim and proper in front of their parents. But to manipulate Kuang Xingran’s reputation for his own petty schemes? That was a new low.

Looking at the pile of bags, Kuang Ye asked, “What all did she buy?”

Collapsed on the couch, Mu Wan began listing: “A watch, cufflinks, ties, a high-end keyboard and mouse…”

Kuang Xingran had incredible stamina when it came to shopping. After Mu Wan gave up halfway and parked herself in a rest area, Kuang Xingran happily continued on her own, returning with a massive haul.

Kuang Ye wasn’t particularly interested, but since these were gifts from his sister, he decided to open them and take a look.

Suddenly, his gaze froze.

Among the pile of luxury-logo bags, there was a plain, unmarked one.

Curious, he picked it up first and opened it.

The moment he saw what was inside, he quickly closed it again, an unusual hint of embarrassment flashing across his face.

Even though the misunderstanding between them had been resolved, wasn’t his sister being a little too… relaxed?

What kind of gift was this?