Chapter 163: Chapter 161: Of Course I Don’t Mind
After a battle, the two, who had been hungry for half a day, successfully finished the meal without wasting a bite.
“Phew, I’m so full. Did Auntie make all of this?”
“Mmm.”
“Wow, her cooking is amazing.”
“You like it?”
“Mmm, I really like it. It would be even better if Auntie could teach me a bit.”
After putting down the bowl and chopsticks in her hands, Xiaomuqing sat at the dining table and started chatting with her good brother.
Perhaps it was because she had been hungry for too long, or perhaps Mother Ye’s cooking was exceptionally good, but Xiaomuqing felt extremely satisfied after eating.
And it was just simple home-style cooking, yet it tasted so delicious, which she found quite magical.
However, she didn’t expect that her casual remark made as a joke would be taken to heart by Ye Ziming.
He was even thinking of finding time later to talk to Mother Ye and have her mentor Xiaomuqing.
Thinking of this, Ye Ziming stood up and began to clear the bowls and chopsticks from the table.
“I’ll do it, you go rest a bit over there.”
Seeing Xiaomuqing also trying to help, Ye Ziming gently tapped her small hand, clearly not intending to let her assist.
“It’s fine, there are so many plates, your two hands definitely can’t carry them all.”
After being stopped, Xiaomuqing didn’t give up, sitting on the chair waiting to help her good brother carry the plates.
But what she didn’t expect was that Ye Ziming stacked all the bowls, chopsticks, and plates together and carried them all back to the kitchen in one go.
Before leaving the dining table, he also wiped the table with a rag, giving Xiaomuqing no chance to help.
“Boss, I…”
“Be good~”
This was a bit awkward and also a bit helpless. In the end, Xiaomuqing was ushered out of the kitchen and then arranged to rest on the sofa in the living room.
Meanwhile, Ye Ziming and Mother Ye stayed in the kitchen to wash the dishes.
Thus, the living room returned to its previous state. Xiaomuqing and Meng Yue (Aunt Lin) sat on the sofa, staring at each other.
PS: Yue is pronounced “yuè”, fourth tone.
Although Xiaomuqing knew it was rude to stare at someone, she couldn’t help but want to look at the other person, and even felt that this stranger was a bit familiar.
This was too strange. She had no information about the other person in her head, which meant she shouldn’t have met Meng Yue.
But why did she feel a sense of familiarity? This was a big question.
“Muqing.”
After a short period of eye contact, Aunt Lin, who had finally come back to her senses, tentatively called out to Xiaomuqing in a very soft voice.
“Mm?”
Tilting her head slightly, Xiaomuqing looked at the other person with some curiosity and subconsciously responded.
However, she didn’t know that her seemingly ordinary expression and action of widening her eyes to look at the other person with confusion would bring an extraordinary impact to Meng Yue. This was because Xiaomuqing’s beautiful and lively almond-shaped eyes were exactly the same as her child’s from years ago.
After just a brief moment of eye contact, she felt her heart melting.
Moreover, if it hadn’t been more than ten years, Meng Yue believed she absolutely couldn’t have sat here calmly, speaking softly with Xiaomuqing.
“I… can I call you that?”
Suppressing her slightly excited emotions and taking a small deep breath, Meng Yue slowly asked.
“Yes, you can.”
Without any hesitation, Xiaomuqing smiled and nodded, indicating it was no problem.
“Muqing.”
“Mm.”
“I heard you go to school in South City.”
“Yes, at () Middle School.”
One was cautiously probing, wanting to understand Xiaomuqing more deeply.
The other answered honestly, “What goes around comes around,” treating it as care from an elder and enjoying it a little.
However, what surprised Xiaomuqing was that she, who was usually tongue-tied, was able to chat with Meng Yue for so long and so happily.
If she were chatting with someone else, she would likely have to stop the conversation due to her erratic train of thought.
So Xiaomuqing had earned herself a nickname: the Awkward Chat Prince.
While they were chatting most happily, Meng Yue unintentionally brought up the topic of parents. This surprised Xiaomuqing a little.
“If you mind, we can change the topic.”
Seeing the change in Xiaomuqing’s eyes, Meng Yue’s eyes narrowed, and she quickly spoke, internally calling out that it was bad.
“It’s fine, I don’t mind.”
Casually waving her hand, Xiaomuqing said with a smile.
In her opinion, if she passed away one day, she definitely wouldn’t want people to cry for her every day, and her parents had taught her the same.
Also, she didn’t want to be treated as special, pitied, or looked down upon, nor did she want to talk about it.
If someone changed their attitude towards her and treated her specially because of this, Xiaomuqing would be disgusted and unhappy.
In order to avoid being treated as an anomaly, even now, not many people knew about her family background.
Unless they asked directly, she not only wouldn’t mention it but would sometimes talk about past topics involving her parents.
Out of that inexplicable sense of closeness, Xiaomuqing roughly talked about some things at home.
Since she had moved on, she spoke about those things with a relaxed smile, neither sad nor happy.
“It must be difficult living alone.”
Listening to Xiaomuqing’s words and looking at the smile on her face, Meng Yue felt a pang of heartache.
As she spoke, Meng Yue came to Xiaomuqing’s side, took her small hand, and wished she could take her home right then and dote on her.
“It’s okay, I’m used to it.”
Facing Meng Yue’s sudden closeness, Xiaomuqing scratched the back of her head a bit shyly, but didn’t shy away, continuing to talk to the other person with a smile.
As they were chatting about this, the mother and son, who had been washing dishes in the kitchen for a long time, finally came out.
Upon understanding Mother Ye’s thoughts, Ye Ziming couldn’t help but knit his brows, and his gaze towards Meng Yue and Xiaomuqing became somewhat subtle.
Based on his understanding of Xiaomuqing, he felt that this matter was unlikely to succeed, because she particularly disliked using it as a topic.
What seemed like letting go was actually not letting go; otherwise, she wouldn’t have let people around her think that her parents were still alive.
Even he only found out about it by accident after spending some time together.
“Muqing, Auntie forgot to tell you something.”
While Ye Ziming was still thinking, Mother Ye had already come to Xiaomuqing’s side, took her other hand, and said with a smile.
“Ah, what is it?”
Meng Yue on the left and Mother Ye on the right, each holding one of Xiaomuqing’s hands. This felt a bit strange to her.
“It’s just that we don’t have many rooms here… so you’ll have to share with Ziming…”
Her tone was quite tactful, and she also explained the reason, before looking at Xiaomuqing with a smile.
“No need to be so troublesome, I can sleep anywhere.”
Hearing Mother Ye say she was going to call someone to fix the bed overnight, Xiaomuqing quickly interrupted her.
Then she looked up at her good brother, asking with her eyes if he would mind, regarding her sharing a bed with him.
Ye Ziming replied with his eyes, he didn’t mind.
He was even very welcoming.
