A Promise in a Thought 31

Chapter 31

What did that mean?

Before Bo Muyu could ask, the curve of Jiang Chenyin’s lips flattened slightly, and she let out a soft sigh. “And for me, it might be a little difficult to accomplish this.”

Although her gaze was on Bo Muyu, it was as if she wasn’t looking at her, but rather talking about something else through her.

Bo Muyu tried to summarize the meaning of her words, “Auntie Yin, do you mean that starting a family is not part of your life plan?”

“Mmm, very smart,” Jiang Chenyin said in a warm voice. “I’ve yearned for it before, but I’ve never treated it as something that must be done. And I’ve never let that yearning affect the path I was to take at every step. It’s been like this until now.”

“Yearned for it? When was that?” Bo Muyu felt that it probably wasn’t too long ago. At least when she was dating Meng Yi’an, she still had hopes for marriage.

Jiang Chenyin smiled and replied, “Probably around twenty.”

“So early?” Bo Muyu was a little surprised. Jiang Chenyin’s twentieth year was more than a decade ago.

“Mmm.”

Jiang Chenyin reached out to stroke the coffee cup, her eyes calm, her thoughts unreadable.

A girl in her formative years, her yearning for love would have sourness, sweetness, beauty, and also regret. These hidden expectations that grew in her heart, after that incident, were crushed into pieces and never appeared again.

All that was left was panic and fear. The things she had once longed for, in the end, she couldn’t avoid them enough.

Bo Muyu thought for a moment, moved a little closer to her, and asked in a somewhat cautious tone, “Then why did you stop yearning for it after you turned twenty?”

Jiang Chenyin’s body stiffened, her eyes widened slightly, and then she quickly squeezed them shut. It was only after a few seconds that she slowly opened them.

Her eyes were calm as she murmured, “It’s because of what I told you last time. I’m afraid of hurting others. To prevent that from happening again, I slowly stopped hoping for this kind of relationship. Especially after I turned thirty, I don’t even feel anything when I see others being happy.”

In the beginning, it was still fear, but over time, it gradually became placid. Her family had always been taboo about the past and never brought it up. If it weren’t for the unexpected incident four years ago, she probably wouldn’t have been affected for a long time.

Bo Muyu carefully observed Jiang Chenyin’s expression. Seeing nothing amiss, she continued to ask, “Then don’t you feel lonely?” She paused and said in a small voice, “Sometimes when my dad is out for a long time, my mom will say at home that she’s very lonely and empty.”

“Ahem…” Jiang Chenyin couldn’t help but laugh. “What do you think she means by lonely and empty?”

Bo Muyu was stumped. She thought for a long while before answering, “It means there’s no one to cook for her, no one to watch TV with her, no one to go shopping with her, and no one to listen to her gossip.”

That should be it. Her parents were very happy every day, but sometimes when her father was not at home, her mother would occasionally grumble about being lonely and empty.

Jiang Chenyin nodded with a half-smile and asked her, “Then can’t you do all that? Why would I be lonely?”

“Me?” Bo Muyu pointed at herself.

Jiang Chenyin reached out and put an arm around her shoulder, her eyes filled with a warm smile. “Mmm, I have you. How could I be lonely?”

Bo Muyu inexplicably felt that the little bit of sourness in her heart had been suppressed. She stared at Jiang Chenyin in a daze, and the corners of her lips finally slowly lifted.

She composed herself and said, “That’s right. You have me. I’ll be with you for a long, long time.”

Until Jiang Chenyin no longer needed her, until the person Jiang Chenyin could rely on appeared. Before that, let her be with Jiang Chenyin. Although Jiang Chenyin had left for four years in the middle, she had also been with her for so many years. Now that she had grown up, it was her turn to be with Jiang Chenyin.

On the day she returned to Qinzhou from Lingzhou, Su Man drove Bo Muyu home first.

The car stopped near the entrance of her building. Bo Muyu said to Su Man, “Senior, thank you for driving me back. Please come in and sit for a while.”

“Hmm? Can I?” Su Man confirmed with a smile.

Bo Muyu nodded. “Of course you can. My parents have known about you for a long time.”

Although she rarely accepted Su Man’s invitations, she had no intention of deliberately avoiding her. After all, Su Man had driven her home, and she had also helped her a lot in Lingzhou this time. It was only right to invite her in for a sit-down.

Su Man had not met Bo Muyu’s parents before. To be able to meet them this time, she was a little nervous. If her feelings for Bo Muyu were just those of an ordinary friend, her nervousness would not be so severe.

She followed behind Bo Muyu, waiting for her to ring the doorbell. It was Bo Mingliang who opened the door.

“Xiaoyu is back,” Bo Mingliang said, taking Bo Muyu’s luggage and looking at Su Man. “And this is?”

Bo Muyu turned to the side to introduce her. “Dad, this is the senior I mentioned, Su Man. She’s also my boss now. She drove me home today, so I invited her in for a sit-down.”

Su Man smiled gracefully with a hint of apology. “Hello, Uncle. It’s our first meeting, and I haven’t had time to prepare a gift.”

“You’re too kind. Xiaoyu’s mother and I should be thanking you for taking care of her,” Bo Mingliang said, stepping aside to welcome Su Man in. “Come, come in.”

As they entered, Ye Xialan happened to come out and see them. Bo Mingliang introduced her, “Honey, Xiaoyu brought her senior over. The one from the same university.”

Su Man faced Ye Xialan. “Hello, Auntie. My name is Su Man.”

“Su Man? Isn’t that Xiaoyu’s boss?” Ye Xialan quickly walked over.

Su Man explained softly, “That’s only at the company. In our private time, we’re still the same as before.”

“That’s still a boss,” Ye Xialan said, sizing her up with a beaming smile. “Such a beautiful girl. Your smile is so sunny and pretty, not like our Xiaoyu who’s so quiet.”

Su Man smiled and looked at Bo Muyu. Seeing her calm face, she couldn’t help but reply, “Xiaoyu is fine just the way she is. I’ve always liked her very much.”

The first time she had noticed Bo Muyu was because of her quietness, which made her stand out in a crowd. No matter how noisy the people around her were, or what interesting things were happening, her gaze, actions, and footsteps never went with the flow. Her whole person was just so quiet, as if nothing could affect her.

But later, Su Man also discovered that although this girl was quiet, her inner thoughts were mostly not bound by the status quo, and she was not sensitive to things, often unable to perceive many things in time.

A look of pride and affection for Bo Muyu appeared on Ye Xialan’s face. “That’s true. My friends really like Xiaoyu’s personality. They all say their own children are too noisy and wish Xiaoyu were their child.”

Su Man laughed. “Is that so? Then she must have been very popular with the elders when she was a child.”

“Of course,” Ye Xialan said, pointing to the sofa with great enthusiasm. The two of them sat down together.

Su Man recalled, “Back when we were still in school, she participated in the screenwriting for one of my dad’s movies. My dad came home and told me that he liked how she spoke her mind, not mincing her words at all.”

“You should stay for lunch later. I’ll tell you all about it,” Ye Xialan said, chatting happily and couldn’t help but take Su Man’s hand. “Seriously, Xiaoyu is still very popular with my friends even now. She’s as straightforward as her dad. What she says and does is all direct. But this directness is quite cute. A friend of mine who is a few years younger than me and not yet married even dotes on her like a daughter…”

Su Man’s eyelashes trembled. The friend Ye Xialan was talking about should be Jiang Chenyin.

Bo Muyu was helplessly silent. Bo Mingliang, who was still standing there with her suitcase, exchanged a look with her and made a helpless shrugging gesture.

It was rare for Ye Xialan to have someone she could talk to about her daughter. How could she control herself? Now, all her friends knew what her daughter’s personality was like. How could she get excited talking to them? It was much more interesting to talk to her daughter’s friend. Bo Muyu definitely wouldn’t talk so much with her friends.

Usually, when Ye Xialan was in high spirits, Bo Mingliang and Bo Muyu couldn’t get a word in. It was like this when she was chatting with Jiang Chenyin, and it was the same now with Su Man.

After lunch, during the lunch break, Su Man took her leave. Ye Xialan asked Bo Muyu to see her off.

The two of them took the elevator downstairs together and said their goodbyes in front of the building.

“Senior, my mom is just like that,” Bo Muyu said with some apology. “Please don’t mind her.”

“Not at all,” Su Man said, her hands behind her back, a meaningful smile on her face. “I quite like chatting with Auntie. It’s very relaxing.”

“That’s good.”

“But…” Su Man drew out her words slightly, took a step closer to her, and said with a meaningful smile, “So you were this cute when you were a child. You actually melted a bunch of lollipops together to make your own mixed-flavor one.”

“I…” Bo Muyu’s eyes were embarrassed. She licked her lips and said in a low voice, “That was when I was very young. My parents bought me a lot of candy back then. Different colored candies had different flavors. I thought it would be nice if one candy had many colors and flavors. So…”

Su Man was still smiling. “So after you melted a bunch of candies together, were there many colors?”

Bo Muyu shook her head. “No, there was only one color, and it was very ugly.”

Su Man laughed so hard her stomach hurt. She held her stomach and only stopped after a while.

“Xiaoyu, you’re so cute,” she said in a low, gentle voice, her hands uncontrollably rising, wanting to gently stroke the fair face of the girl before her.

But the memory of Bo Muyu avoiding her touch that day flashed in her mind, and her hands stopped in mid-air.

“Senior, you should go back and rest,” Bo Muyu said, not noticing her strangeness, and looked down at her watch.

“Mmm, if…” Su Man paused here, then quickly continued, “If anything comes up, give me a call.”

Bo Muyu nodded. Su Man gave her a deep look and then turned to leave.

Ye Xialan was still chatting and laughing with Bo Mingliang in the dining room, not having had enough of her chat with Su Man.

“Daddy, do you remember how silly Teacher Jiang was back then? She actually let Xiaoyu smear cream on her face! And Xiaoyu even slowly counted the numbers, one for each smear. After she was done, Teacher Jiang asked her if she was happy, and she said she was… oh my god, hahaha!”

“Mom,” Bo Muyu’s gaze was as cold as frost, and she looked a little embarrassed.

“Hey, hey…” Ye Xialan held onto Bo Mingliang’s shoulder, laughing so hard she couldn’t breathe. “Alright, alright, I won’t say any more. I’ll talk to your dad in our room later.”

Bo Mingliang noticed that Bo Muyu seemed to be thinking about something. While supporting his wife, he asked, “Xiaoyu, what’s wrong?”

Hearing this, Ye Xialan also reined in her laughter. “Hmm? What’s wrong?”

She was back from her business trip, and Jiang Chenyin had also returned to Qinzhou yesterday. So, the plan from before should be brought up again.

“Dad, Mom, the thing I mentioned before I went to Lingzhou, can we start now?” Bo Muyu couldn’t suppress the thought in her heart. She wanted to confirm it again, and she wanted to start as soon as possible.

“Which thing?” Ye Xialan thought for a moment. “You mean the thing about going to live with Teacher Jiang?”

“Yes.”

Ye Xialan was amused by her serious face. “You could have just asked if you could go over. Why ask ‘can we start now’…”

Bo Muyu obediently rephrased, “Then can I go and live with Auntie Yin?”

Ye Xialan glanced at her husband. “Daddy, can she go and live with Auntie Yin?”

“Didn’t you already agree? Why are you asking me again?” Bo Mingliang looked completely innocent.

“Mom…”

“Don’t talk,” Ye Xialan said, her playful tone gone. She asked her, “There’s no time limit this time, but I have to ask you, are you sure you won’t be a bother to Teacher Jiang?”

“Mmm, I won’t,” Bo Muyu nodded. “I do my own things, and I cook dinner with Auntie Yin.”

Ye Xialan nodded, sighed, and touched her husband’s ear.

After a moment of silence, Ye Xialan asked, “Are you driving there?”

Before Bo Muyu could answer, Bo Mingliang said, “Drive. What if something happens? It’s not like Xiao Jiang will always be around.”

Ye Xialan looked up at the standing Bo Muyu. Seeing the unconcealable eagerness on her usually calm face, she finally relented and smiled. “Alright. I’ll call Teacher Jiang over tomorrow. I still have some things to talk to her about.”

Her daughter was moving out. Although she was letting Jiang Chenyin look after her, didn’t Ye Xialan know her own daughter? She was stubborn. If she said she wouldn’t trouble Jiang Chenyin, she definitely wouldn’t. So, she still had to talk to Jiang Chenyin.