A Promise in a Thought 28

Chapter 28

Bo Muyu never would have thought that Jiang Chenyin would actually come.

She had thought about it, suspected the possibility, but she had never dared to be sure.

They had returned to how they used to be, without any barriers, but she remembered. During the years Jiang Chenyin was away, she had said “I miss you” many times on the phone, said “I want to see you” many times, and also said “I want to hug you” many times, but not once had it come true.

Jiang Chenyin had not come back for her repeated expressions of longing. Every time, there was silence, and then she would coax her in an even gentler tone.

She would tell her to “be good,” tell her to “listen to your parents,” tell her “happy birthday,” but not once did she say the words she wanted to hear the most: “I’m coming back.”

She thought that Jiang Chenyin wouldn’t come to her just because of one sentence from her. This wasn’t because she doubted that Jiang Chenyin wasn’t good to her, but because such an imprint had already been branded in her subconscious.

“Xiaoyu…”

“President Su, I’m very sorry,” Bo Muyu said, trying her best to keep her tone from fluctuating too much. “I have to go back to my room now. See you tomorrow.”

“Xiaoyu…”

Su Man was stunned, watching as Bo Muyu strode over to take Jiang Chenyin’s hand. Then, Jiang Chenyin gave her an apologetic smile and indulged Bo Muyu, letting her lead her to the elevator.

Su Man laughed at herself. How hard was it to get close to this person?

If she so much as touched Bo Muyu’s hand, she would immediately pull away as if bitten by a snake. In all the years they had known each other, she had never truly held her hand. But the moment she saw Jiang Chenyin, she had rushed over to take her hand without a second thought, as if afraid that Jiang Chenyin would disappear if she were a second too late.

Was it because of time? Was Jiang Chenyin’s advantage the fact that she had been with Bo Muyu from her youth until now?

It must be.

Bo Muyu brought Jiang Chenyin back to her room. Jiang Chenyin put down her luggage and a small box, then changed her shoes at the shoe cabinet.

Just as she had put away her high heels, Bo Muyu’s fresh, clean scent rushed over, enveloping her completely.

This child was not small anymore. Although she was thin, she was still 1.7 meters tall. For her to pounce on her like this, it almost made her lose her balance.

With quick reflexes, Jiang Chenyin wrapped one arm tightly around Bo Muyu’s waist and placed her other hand on the wall beside her, finally managing to support her.

Bo Muyu murmured, “Auntie Yin, it’s really you. You’re here. I thought you wouldn’t come…”

Jiang Chenyin chuckled softly and hugged her even tighter with a pained heart.

Bo Muyu stared at Jiang Chenyin without blinking, as if afraid this was an illusion. Her gaze moved up from Jiang Chenyin’s slightly upturned red lips, resting on her eyes, meeting hers.

“Auntie Yin, are you tired?” Bo Muyu didn’t miss the trace of fatigue she showed. Now that they were back in the room with the door closed, it seemed even clearer.

“I’m okay,” Jiang Chenyin said, smiling at her.

Bo Muyu quickly let go and pulled her to the sofa to sit down.

“Are you sleepy? I saw you coming back with Miss Su. You both looked very tired,” Jiang Chenyin said, straightening Bo Muyu’s wrinkled collar as soon as she sat down.

Bo Muyu shook her head, her eyes fixed on her. “I’m not sleepy. You look very tired. Did you come over right after work without resting?”

Jiang Chenyin replied, “I rested on the plane.”

Bo Muyu gritted her teeth and lowered her eyes, feeling a little uncomfortable.

“I thought you wouldn’t come, because I’ve told you many times before. I said I missed you, I said I wanted to see you, but you never once replied that you would come back. So even though I missed you this time, I never thought you would actually come. And… you coming makes me think that in the future, I’ll be able to see you just by missing you… no matter how far…”

Her voice grew lower as she spoke. She didn’t want to investigate why Jiang Chenyin hadn’t come back in those years, because the reason was related to the past. What she cared about was why Jiang Chenyin had come this time. Couldn’t she have just acted like before?

Her coming this time would plant a seed in her heart, a seed that she could see Jiang Chenyin just by missing her.

Once a withered branch sprouts a green bud, it will grow uncontrollably.

“Muyu,” Jiang Chenyin said, gently cupping her face and speaking to her softly and seriously, “I’m sorry. I couldn’t do it at that time, but I’ve always remembered. I came here today to tell you that now, I can.”

Bo Muyu still looked down, only giving a slight nod.

Jiang Chenyin sighed. These four years must have been the period when this child had hidden the most worries in her heart. Because of her decision, this introverted child had let her mind run wild, even developing some misunderstandings and illusions, thinking that she had left back then because she had kissed her.

She suddenly wanted to bury her face in her hands and repent. What had she done all those years?

If she had been a little calmer four years ago, there would have been another way. Why had she been so flustered at that time? Why couldn’t she control her fear?

Her parents and siblings were worried, and the child who had been with her for years was uneasy yet silent. What on earth was she doing?

As she was lost in thought, Bo Muyu suddenly rubbed her palm. She came back to her senses.

“Muyu, do you want some cake? I just bought it.”

“Hmm? There’s cake?” Bo Muyu looked up and licked her lips.

Jiang Chenyin nodded with a smile and pulled her to the table to sit down.

“Here. It’s a very small one, just enough for you,” Jiang Chenyin said, handing her a spoon.

Bo Muyu took a spoonful of cream and put it in her mouth, the sweetness making her lips curve into a smile.

Seeing Jiang Chenyin staring at her with great interest, she couldn’t help but ask, “Auntie Yin, aren’t you having any?”

Jiang Chenyin shook her head. “I’m old. You eat it.”

Bo Muyu poked the edge of the cake with her spoon, frowned for a moment, and then quickly scooped up a spoonful of cream and held it out to Jiang Chenyin.

Jiang Chenyin’s brow twitched. “You eat it.”

“Just one bite,” Bo Muyu insisted.

“I can’t work out these few days,” Jiang Chenyin said, feeling that the “I’m old” excuse wouldn’t convince her.

“Just one bite…” Bo Muyu’s voice softened, and the hand she held out was not as straight as before.

The first time, she had been confident. The second time, she had shrunk back a little. The third time, she would probably feel wronged.

Jiang Chenyin sighed in resignation, leaned forward, and took the cloyingly sweet cream into her mouth. Because Bo Muyu loved sweets, the cake she had bought this time was even sweeter than the small piece of cake she had brought home from her company party before.

She neither liked nor disliked sweets. After turning thirty, she rarely touched them unless Bo Muyy begged her to. Even for Bo Muyu’s birthday cake, she didn’t eat the cream.

Seeing Jiang Chenyin eat the spoonful of cream, Bo Muyu smiled, her small canine teeth showing. But her smile didn’t last long. A smudge of cream was left on the corner of Jiang Chenyin’s lips, like a dewdrop on a flower petal in the early morning.

Red lips, white cream, there was an indescribable beauty to it.

Jiang Chenyin felt something as she pressed her lips together. She took a tissue and gently wiped the corner of her mouth. Only then did Bo Muyu come back to her senses.

“Alright, hurry up and eat. I’m going to take a shower first,” Jiang Chenyin said, standing up.

Bo Muyu lowered her head and started to eat her cake, letting out a muffled “mmm,” her mind filled with the image of the cream on Jiang Chenyin’s lips just now.

It was just wiped away like that. She suddenly felt it was such a waste.

After her shower, Jiang Chenyin lay back on the bed and opened her laptop to check her emails. When Bo Muyu came out of the shower, she closed it at the right moment.

Bo Muyu turned off the lights, leaving a bedside lamp on. The orange-yellow light looked very warm.

Jiang Chenyin was wearing a light purple nightdress that fit her perfectly, outlining her well-proportioned and beautiful, alluring curves.

She lifted the blanket to let Bo Muyu in. Before she could speak, she was tightly encircled by the approaching source of heat, and warm breath fanned across her neck.

“Auntie Yin, you smell so good,” Bo Muyu couldn’t help but say in a low voice.

“Don’t fool around,” Jiang Chenyin said, her neck itching from her hair, and she laughed as she gave her a little push.

Bo Muyu paused, then also leaned against the headboard, her body close to hers, her hands not letting go.

“You really came,” Bo Muyu said in a low voice, chuckling softly. “You really came. It’s not fake.”

Jiang Chenyin’s exposed skin was a little cool. As they got closer, the touch of their skin was smooth and comfortable. Bo Muyu was greedy for this feeling, and also for this reality, and was unwilling to let go.

“Muyu…” Jiang Chenyin turned her head and pulled her into her arms, her voice soft and slow. “It’s not fake, and you’re not dreaming. I’m right here. I won’t leave again. I won’t.”

Bo Muyu bit her lip and let out a “mmm” as soft as a mosquito’s buzz.

Those four years were like a dream, a dream that had finally come to an end. She believed that she would not have such a dream again. She didn’t know what Jiang Chenyin hadn’t said, but as long as Jiang Chenyin said it, she would believe whatever it was.

Jiang Chenyin had said that now, she could appear before her just by her missing her.

But, if this went on, Jiang Chenyin would be very tired. Because there were too many times when she missed Jiang Chenyin. She would miss her over any small thing. If she let such emotions fester, she would be as open about it as she was when she was a child.

She couldn’t let Jiang Chenyin be so tired. She had grown up. Although she didn’t want things to change, since she had grown up, she should also make an effort to maintain their relationship, right?

“Auntie Yin,” Bo Muyu suddenly said.

“Hmm? Are you sleepy?” Jiang Chenyin asked, lowering her head to rub her cheek against hers.

Bo Muyu looked up, her clear eyes turning a little deeper. “I was thinking, in the future, if I’m not in Qinzhou, or if we’re not in the same place, you don’t have to come and see me. Like today, don’t.”

Seeing her serious look, Jiang Chenyin asked with great interest, “Why?”

“You’ll be very tired,” Bo Muyu frowned, thought for a moment, and then said, “I’ve grown up. I can’t let you be so tired. If you have to come over every time I say I want to see you, that’s really tiring. I don’t want you to be tired.”

Jiang Chenyin’s eyebrows raised slightly, and she couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh, feeling pleased by her thoughtfulness, yet also a little disappointed by her desire for restraint.

Sure enough, one day this child will no longer be so close to her.

“Then what do you want to do?”

Bo Muyu lowered her eyes in thought, unconsciously biting her lip.

Jiang Chenyin couldn’t bear it. She reached out to touch her chin, wanting her to let go. Before she could speak, she heard the girl in her arms say in a very clear, small voice, “I’ve grown up. When I miss you, I can go and see you. It can’t always be you coming to see me. And if we’re not in the same place, then I can bear it for a while, until I go back, or you go back. We can meet then. That will be enough.”

After she finished, she paused, feeling that her idea was quite good. She smiled at Jiang Chenyin, and her cute little canine teeth almost dazzled her.

“Auntie Yin, is that okay?”

Jiang Chenyin was a little surprised. She had thought Bo Muyu wanted to restrain herself, but she hadn’t expected that she was considering a more stable way.

Although this was also a form of restraint, it was not simple restraint. On the contrary, it symbolized a more intense outburst.

Four years had not made Bo Muyu distance herself from her in the slightest. So how could a few days, or even ten days, half a month, or a month of being separated for work possibly do so?

“Okay, I have no objections,” Jiang Chenyin chuckled softly. “You’ve really grown up. You’re not just thinking of yourself anymore.”

“Then…” Bo Muyu pressed her lips together and said seriously, “Auntie Yin, don’t delay your work. You should go back tomorrow.”

As she said this, she subconsciously clutched Jiang Chenyin’s nightdress. She knew how much effort it had taken for her to say it. She clearly wanted to see Jiang Chenyin, clearly wanted her to be by her side, but she couldn’t let her be so tired.

“Good girl,” Jiang Chenyin said, rubbing her nose against hers with a low laugh, a warm light appearing in her eyes. “I didn’t just come to see you. I have work too.”

“Hmm? Then how long does your work require you to stay?”

Jiang Chenyin looked at her, recalled her words from just now, and replied, “About two days.”

Bo Muyu said without much thought, “Two days. Then you’ll stay with me for these two days.”

Two days was enough. Anyway, they could meet when they got back to Qinzhou. Thinking this, she didn’t notice that Jiang Chenyin had paused for a moment before answering her, and that she hadn’t brought her assistant with her.

Jiang Chenyin stroked her hair and smiled without a word.

Late at night, after turning off the bedside lamp, Bo Muyu slipped into Jiang Chenyin’s arms. The sense of security that a mature woman brought quickly made her sleepy.

Jiang Chenyin didn’t say any more, but as she was about to fall asleep, she heard Bo Muyu murmur, “Auntie Yin, I dreamed about the past yesterday. The day I got my first period.”

Jiang Chenyin slowly opened her eyes. “And then?”

“I dreamed that you told me then that you would protect me too,” Bo Muyu said, burying her head in her chest and rubbing against her obediently. “Will you still?”

“I will,” Jiang Chenyin’s lips curved into a smile. “I always will.”

Bo Muyu looked up. For some reason, even though the lights were off, Jiang Chenyin could still see her eyes shining like obsidian.

She said in a small but firm voice, “Auntie Yin, I will protect you too.”

The curtains were not drawn tightly. Moonlight streamed in through the gap, allowing Jiang Chenyin to see the serious expression on Bo Muyu’s face as she said those words, her sleepiness gone.

“I know,” Jiang Chenyin smiled. “Go to sleep. Goodnight.”