A Promise in a Thought 16

Chapter 16

In August, Qinzhou had many days where the gentle breeze felt a bit cool, but by September, the temperature had clearly risen again.

Ye Xialan started posting scenic photos from her trip on her social media feed, occasionally grumbling, but soon after, she would post a selfie of herself by a river or a lake, boasting about how cool it was.

She even celebrated her fortieth birthday during the trip. When Bo Muyu called her, she quickly hung up, saying she was going out to have fun.

Jiang Chenyin’s work was back on track. She commuted with Bo Muyu every day, and on their way home in the afternoon, they would buy groceries to cook together. They still divided the work, though Bo Muyu usually assisted more.

In the evenings, Bo Muyu would video chat with her parents, listening to them talk about their day and watching them bicker as they talked.

At these times, Jiang Chenyin would be working out in the gym on the third floor. Her fitness routine had never stopped; she just didn’t go to an outside gym for convenience. But her fitness plan was designed by a professional trainer friend, so the results were never lacking.

It had been a bit stuffy and hot for the past few days, and a thunderstorm finally arrived in the evening, leaving a fresh, earthy scent in the air.

The window in Jiang Chenyin’s room was open. A small, foldable desk was set up on the large bed, with Bo Muyu’s laptop open on it.

The screen showed the furnishings of a luxurious hotel room. Of course, the most eye-catching thing was Ye Xialan with a face mask on.

“Let me tell you, your dad was staring at a beautiful woman at the beach today and wouldn’t look away.”

Because of the face mask, Ye Xialan couldn’t speak normally. Her mouth only opened and closed slightly, trying to keep her tone on the same level, without too much fluctuation.

Bo Muyu pressed her lips together and smiled silently, hearing Bo Mingliang defending himself from the bed behind Ye Xialan, “Wasn’t it you who told me to look? You kept tugging at me to look as soon as we walked past. I said I wouldn’t look…”

Before he could finish, Ye Xialan turned her head and scolded him, “I told you to look, and you really looked!”

Bo Muyu gently reminded her, “Mom, the mask…”

Ye Xialan was about to continue shouting, but the reminder made her realize that the lower half of her mask had bubbled up because of what she had just said.

She quickly smoothed the mask, glared at her husband, and said through gritted teeth, “I’ll deal with you later!”

Ye Xialan turned back, intending to continue chatting with Bo Muyu.

She sighed and said leisurely, “But speaking of which, that woman’s figure was really good.” She paused here, glanced behind her, and then lowered her voice to say to Bo Muyu, “She could give your Auntie Yin a run for her money. Toned abs, slim waist, long legs, but her skin is much darker than your Auntie Yin’s. Tsk, but a little darker is sexy too…”

Bo Muyu felt as if the words she wanted to say were stuck in her throat. Darker is sexy?

Isn’t fair skin sexy? But when Auntie Yin changes her clothes, and the clothes slip a little off her shoulder, it feels like a silk ribbon gently brushing past. And when she gets dressed, pulling her long hair out from under her shirt, then buttoning it up and tucking the hem into her pants, outlining that slender, graspable waist…

Every part of her was beautiful, so beautiful that Bo Muyu felt she was being a little strange. Why could she stare for so long, and then silently pull the blanket up to cover her eyes?

“Sigh, I feel like your mom will never have toned abs in this lifetime. Your dad is always taking me out to eat, and I don’t have a chance to exercise. You know those aunties are always calling me to play mahjong or cards…”

Ye Xialan lamented her life with a sad face, looked down at her own fair and tender hands, and then wore a conflicted expression of both wanting to complain and feeling happy. When she looked up again, her emotions were gone.

“Are you even listening to your mother?”

“Huh? I’m listening, I’m listening,” Bo Muyu said, looking up in confusion, only then belatedly realizing that she had been spacing out. She quickly nodded to show that she had been listening.

Ye Xialan shook her head, then looked behind her. “You’re in Teacher Jiang’s room again.”

“Mmm,” Bo Muyu admitted generously.

Just then, there was a knock on the already open door. Jiang Chenyin, who had just finished her workout, was leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed.

Bo Muyu glanced over, then immediately turned back and lowered her head, a very faint blush appearing on her face.

Jiang Chenyin had tied her hair up. She was only wearing a sports bra on her upper body and a pair of hot pants on her lower. A thin layer of sweat covered her exposed skin. A bead of sweat slowly rolled down her slender face from her temple, down her neck, past her beautiful collarbone, and finally disappeared into her chest.

Her abdomen had a very distinct “川” shape, and a few drops of sweat trickled down, giving her a healthy, beautiful look.

“Hey, is Teacher Jiang done with her workout?” Ye Xialan asked through the screen.

“Mmm, I’m about to take a shower,” Jiang Chenyin replied with a gentle smile.

Ye Xialan quickly held up the laptop, her face close to the screen. “Let me see your abs. If I can’t touch them, at least let me look!”

“In your dreams,” Jiang Chenyin scolded with a laugh. “If you want to see them, go train them yourself. Once you have them, you can look at them every day, and even touch them.”

Bo Mingliang is definitely next to her. No matter how much she wants to look, she can’t look like this.

Ye Xialan’s pitiful plea came through the screen, “Teacher Jiang, just let me have one look, just one. What’s the fun in touching my own?”

“No, way,” Jiang Chenyin refused, enunciating each word. Then she said to Bo Muyu, “Muyu, I’m going to the room across the hall to shower.”

Only then did Bo Muyu lift her head slightly to look at her, but her gaze wasn’t quite direct. “Okay, go ahead.”

Jiang Chenyin smiled and turned to leave. Bo Muyu’s hands were behind her back, her index fingers twisting together.

“Sigh, Teacher Jiang is so stingy. What’s so great about having abs? Isn’t it just working out? Who can’t do that…”

Ye Xialan, who had been joking, began to lament half-seriously.

“Sigh, but it really is great. Xiaoyu, come, let me continue telling you about your dad. Do you know how long he stared at that woman today…”

Bo Muyu’s eyes looked at the exaggerating Ye Xialan on the screen, but she felt as if her ears were covered by something. Ye Xialan’s voice was not clear to her.

But she could clearly feel that her mind was filled with the image of Jiang Chenyin leaning casually against the doorway just now. Her palms were a little hot, just like her heart.

On the weekend, Jiang Chenyin took Bo Muyu back to the old Jiang residence.

Old Master Jiang had no objections to Bo Muyu living with Jiang Chenyin. When Jiang Chenyin had moved out, he had even chuckled a few times and told her to be sure to bring Bo Muyu over on the weekends.

This time, Bo Muyu, as usual, lost several games of chess to Old Master Jiang. The old master’s mood was clearly much better; he couldn’t help but tap his cane on the floor a couple of times when he reached for it.

After dinner, Jiang Chenyin went to check on her two nephews’ homework. Jiang Yingzong and Jiang Gaojun were discussing business in the living room. Old Madam Jiang and Auntie Wang went to the kitchen, and Bo Muyu followed them.

But after only a few steps, Old Master Jiang called out to her, “Ah, Xiaoyu, come to the study with your grandpa for a moment.”

Bo Muyu frowned, but couldn’t think of anything, so she nodded. “Okay, Grandpa Jiang.”

The old Jiang residence was very large. Just this building alone had many rooms on each floor, and the decor was rather elegant, filled with an artistic atmosphere. Being inside felt like being in a prestigious and distinguished family, which, indeed, was the case with the Jiang family’s background.

Upon opening the study door and turning on the light, the first thing one saw was the calligraphy hanging on the wall.

The four characters, “Heaven rewards the diligent,” were powerful and vigorous.

Bo Muyu had heard from Jiang Chenyin that this was the old master’s own work and had been hanging there for many years, ever since Jiang Chenyin could remember.

Old Master Jiang gestured for Bo Muyu to close the door. The study fell silent for a moment. The old master rested both hands on the dragon head of his cane, his brow furrowed so deeply it seemed impossible to smooth out.

Bo Muyu was puzzled and called out, “Grandpa Jiang.”

But Old Master Jiang didn’t answer. His thumb opened and closed, stroking the dragon head of the cane, his eyes, which seemed to be able to see through the world, looking straight at Bo Muyu.

After a long while, he finally sighed in a deep voice, “Ah, Xiaoyu.”

“Grandpa Jiang, I’m here.”

Bo Muyu thought for a moment. She had been close to the Jiang family since she was a child, and Old Master Jiang was almost like her own grandfather. So she couldn’t think of anything recent that would make him call her to the study alone. She could only wait quietly.

Old Master Jiang’s lips moved, as if he wanted to say something but didn’t know how to begin.

He lowered his head in thought for a moment, then looked at Bo Muyu and asked, “You’ve been living with Liu’er for almost half a month now. Have you seen her getting close to any young men?”

Bo Muyu was even more confused, but since Old Master Jiang had asked, she had to think carefully.

But since Jiang Chenyin had returned, and during the days they had lived together, Bo Muyu had only seen Lan Yuxin get close to Jiang Chenyin.

She replied, “Yes, Sister Lan is close to Auntie Yin.”

“Not her,” Old Master Jiang laughed, then asked again, “A boy, any?”

“No, Grandpa Jiang,” Bo Muyu shook her head. She didn’t even have to think about this one. She was very sure that no male was close to Jiang Chenyin.

“Sigh…”

Old Master Jiang turned and walked to the window with his cane, standing there for a long time without moving.

“Grandpa Jiang, is there something you want to tell me?”

Bo Muyu had a strong feeling. Although Old Master Jiang and Ye Xialan expressed themselves differently, their inner thoughts were the same, and the essence was the same.

“Not exactly, but I do want you to help me with something,” Old Master Jiang said, turning around and tapping his cane on the floor.

Bo Muyu went to support Old Master Jiang, her eyes lowered, waiting for him to speak again.

After a while, Old Master Jiang said, “You know, I have three children. The oldest and the second have already started their own families, so I’m not worried. Liu’er is my only daughter, and the child I worry about the most. Although she’s the youngest, she’s not young anymore. The oldest’s son is eighteen, and the second’s son is fifteen. Only she doesn’t even have someone to talk to.”

Night was the quietest time of the day. Old Master Jiang’s voice was already weathered, and now, listening to it, Bo Muyu felt it was tinged with a hint of sorrow and some other indescribable emotions.

“But your Grandma Jiang and I can’t rush her like other parents. Sometimes, we don’t even dare to continue after mentioning it once or twice. We can’t help her. We can only try not to bring up the past. But even so, as a father, I still hope she can have someone by her side.”

Old Master Jiang’s voice grew lower, but he couldn’t seem to get to the point, always circling around it.

It seemed that even he himself was avoiding certain things.

Bo Muyu’s hand, hanging by her side, clenched into a fist. Her thoughts were a tangled mess. She felt that everything she had noticed these past few days must have a complete cause and effect; otherwise, Grandpa Jiang and her own mother wouldn’t speak to her in such a vague way.

“Grandpa Jiang,” Bo Muyu said in a low voice, “did something happen to Auntie Yin? Can you tell me?”

Old Master Jiang turned to look at her, but his gaze seemed to pass through her to somewhere unknown.

After a moment, he shook his head heavily. “There’s no need to bring up the past.” He paused, then grabbed Bo Muyu’s arm and said in a deep voice, “But I hope you can help her, let her be influenced by you as much as possible, and let her state of mind slowly return to how it was before that time…”

Before what time? Bo Muyu didn’t understand, but she couldn’t ask any more.

Old Master Jiang murmured, “None of us can influence her anymore. Only you can. You’re still young, only you…”

He didn’t know why he was asking this child to do this. Perhaps it was because her age was just right. She hadn’t experienced any major storms and had just entered society.

She had the clarity and brightness of a young person. This age was the most beautiful and also the bravest time of one’s life.

The chances of success were slim, but Jiang Chenyin was his youngest child. Even if there was just a sliver of a chance, he had to try.

Bo Muyu left the study, her steps slowly coming to a halt. She turned to look at the closed study door.

Old Master Jiang hadn’t said much more just now. He had been silent for most of the time, his eyes filled with worry. But from his few words, Bo Muyu couldn’t piece together much information.

What did Old Master Jiang need her to do? Just the phrase “let her be influenced by you as much as possible” was not enough for her to understand what she needed to do.

But his subsequent words seemed to suggest to Bo Muyu that the key was the word “young.”

How could her age possibly influence Jiang Chenyin? What on earth had happened to Jiang Chenyin? What did all this have to do with Jiang Chenyin being single for so many years? And what did it have to do with her leaving four years ago?

And that dream that had startled Jiang Chenyin awake.

Bo Muyu’s brow furrowed in pain. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that the tangled mess in her heart was becoming even more chaotic.