Her Entire Court Reborn with Her in the Modern World

Chapter 116: Chapter 115: Cui Jinghan’s Junior Brother Is Not to Be Trifled With

The moment those words were spoken, a heavy silence fell over the living room.

Xu Shuyu’s sudden outburst was entirely outside of Xu Zhao Yu’s plans. She furrowed her brow. "Shuyu, sit down."

Turning a deaf ear to her mother, Xu Shuyu kept her eyes fixed on Shi Changying. She spat out her demand coldly, "Give it to me now, and I won’t hold this against you."

She couldn’t suppress her fury when she thought about how she had been driven to her wits’ end searching for her sheet music, only for Shi Changying to waltz right in holding it in broad daylight.

"What is going on?" Old Madam Xu frowned. "Why would Shuyu’s sheet music be in Changying’s hands?"

"Mom, Shuyu lost her sheet music a few days ago and hasn’t been able to find it," Xu Zhao Yu said, looking troubled. "She’s just getting a bit anxious. Of course, Changying couldn’t have stolen it. She doesn’t know how to play the piano, so it would be completely useless to her."

Old Madam Xu neither nodded nor shook her head. Instead, she looked at Xu Shuyu. "Shuyu, you tell me."

"Grandma, I’m sorry," Xu Shuyu said plainly. "But that sheet music is incredibly important to me. You know I’ve always been straightforward. I just say whatever is on my mind."

Old Madam Xu sighed. "Ah, Shuyu, I don’t blame you."

Shi Changying looked on with piqued interest. "So, you’re absolutely certain that the sheet music in my hand is yours?"

"First of all," Xu Shuyu said in a freezing tone, "only your class has been to the place where I practice the piano. Second, no one in your class knows how to play. And third, the manuscript book in your hand can’t be bought on the market anymore. Only fifty copies were ever released!"

Meng Baizhou had managed to buy a copy for her, and she cherished it deeply.

Yan Sinian looked thoughtfully at the manuscript in Shi Changying’s hand. He had seen this type of book before; it was custom-made and limited edition. Although the covers were identical, each one possessed a unique serial number.

Shi Changying raised an eyebrow. "Well-reasoned and highly convincing. So, want to make a bet?"

Suppressing her anger, Xu Shuyu snapped, "Bet on what?"

"Since you think the sheet music in my hand is yours, naturally we’re betting on whether it actually is," Shi Changying replied, her expression casual. "If it is, I’ll give it to you and make a public apology in front of the whole school. If it isn’t, you have to write a self-reflection essay, apologize to me, and you’re banned from ever stepping foot into our classroom again."

"Shuyu, wait—"

"Fine, you’re on!"

Xu Zhao Yu failed to stop Xu Shuyu from accepting the wager. An ominous premonition began to bloom in her chest.

Only then did Shi Changying flip the manuscript open to the first page. "Take a good look. Is this yours?"

Upon seeing completely unfamiliar musical notations, Xu Shuyu froze, her heart instantly seizing up. "This..."

Shi Changying then flipped the book to the back cover. The number printed there was "7".

Meng Baizhou spoke up gently, "Shuyu, the one I bought you was number forty-nine."

Xu Shuyu’s body went stiff. She clenched her hands tightly and forced the words out with difficulty. "I’m sorry. I was too anxious and made a mistake."

She panicked, wondering where her sheet music had gone and who could have possibly taken it.

"No, you didn’t make a mistake. You simply didn’t look at all," Shi Changying said with a half-smile. "Because subconsciously, you assume that someone like me, who came from some impoverished backwater, is naturally prone to petty theft."

Xu Shuyu was stunned. A chilling sensation crept up from the bottom of her heart, and her expression turned flustered.

She... she truly had thought exactly that. Just like how she looked down on everyone in Class 17 of the senior year—the absolute worst class in the entire school—with the sole exception of Shaoyuan, the student council president.

"Remember to give me your public apology first thing tomorrow morning." Shi Changying waved her phone. "Your brother should have already told you that I have persecution paranoia and like to record things at all times. If you don’t fulfill your end of the bet, I’ll see you on the school forums."

Xu Shuyu pursed her lips. She had always been arrogant and couldn’t tolerate her pride being damaged. The incident where Meng Shuyan had to publicly apologize in front of the whole school still made her feel humiliated to this day. If she were forced to do the same...

Seeing Xu Shuyu backed into a corner, Old Madam Xu couldn’t help but intervene. "It was just a misunderstanding. Is it really necessary to escalate this in front of the entire school?"

Shi Changying turned her head, replying at an unhurried pace. "Then why didn’t you stop her earlier? Aren’t you her elder? If you had just said the word, your granddaughter surely would have listened to you."

Old Madam Xu choked on her words, utterly silenced by the rebuttal.

"Changying, I apologize to you on Shuyu’s behalf. She definitely wasn’t targeting you," Xu Zhao Yu said softly. "Over the past couple of days at the Meng Family’s home, she interrogated all the staff, and even asked her cousins. She was just grasping at straws out of desperation."

"To overindulge a child is to ruin them. Being anxious is no excuse." Shi Changying smiled faintly. "Today, she only slandered me. If tomorrow she slandered a Pei Family Member, would you still feel the same way?"

At those words, Old Madam Xu’s expression shifted. She raised a hand to stop Xu Zhao Yu from speaking further. "What Changying said makes some sense. The more anxious one is, the more they must remain calm."

Xu Zhao Yu’s nerves pulled taut. "Mom, I understand."

"Enough, enough. Causing such a scene this late at night gives me a headache." Old Madam Xu stood up. "I’m going back to my room. Zhao Yu, see Master Yan out."

Xu Zhao Yu offered a low murmur of assent. "Master Yan, allow me to see you out."

Yan Sinian glanced back at Shi Changying’s retreating figure before finally stepping out the front door.

Only Meng Baizhou and Xu Shuyu were left in the living room.

"Shuyu, what got into you today?" Meng Baizhou said coldly. "You were far too impulsive."

Xu Shuyu let out a shaky breath. "My sheet music has been missing for four days already. I was just too desperate, which is why I..."

"I can understand how you feel, but how could you act just like Shuyan and assume Changying was the culprit?" Meng Baizhou also felt a headache coming on. "It’s not as if this problem is unsolvable. If it’s lost, just write out a new copy."

"Dad, since I composed the piece myself, of course I can rewrite it." Xu Shuyu took a deep breath. "But that was the original copy. If someone else picked it up and plagiarized my work, how would I prove that I’m the original creator?"

Hearing this, Meng Baizhou’s expression immediately hardened. "This is the piece you were planning to use to formally take a master."

"That’s why I was in such a panic." Xu Shuyu also felt deeply ashamed. "I was wrong today. I’m sorry, Dad."

Meng Baizhou gently patted her head. "We’ll keep looking for the sheet music. As long as the talent is yours, it can never be stolen."

His words did little to comfort Xu Shuyu. Inside, she was still burning with agonizing anxiety.

Meanwhile, outside the estate.

"Master Yan, I’m truly sorry you had to witness that," Xu Zhao Yu said with a helpless sigh. "However, Changying really knows nothing about music and the fine arts. I have no idea why she would even have a piano manuscript or where she copied those notes from. That’s why Shuyu misunderstood the situation."

Yan Sinian pondered for a moment before asking, "Miss Xu, do you know Mr. Xie Lin?"

"Are you referring to Master Xie Lin? How could I not know him?" Xu Zhao Yu smiled. "I love his concerts, and I’ve listened to all his compositions. Unfortunately, I’ve never been able to snatch up front-row tickets."

Yan Sinian smiled faintly. "Then you should have recognized it, because the sheet music from earlier was written by Mr. Xie Lin himself."