A Promise in a Thought 55

Chapter 55

Mrs. Shao’s voice suddenly rose, as if she were questioning Bo Muyu. “I have an emergency at home. Who else can I turn to? Who else is there for me?”

Bo Muyu glanced around, making sure no one was nearby, then took a step forward with a surprised expression and asked, “Exchanged for a life? I’ve heard a little about Auntie Yin’s matter, but didn’t the other person jump off the building himself?”

“How would my son have jumped off the building without Jiang Chenyin!” Mrs. Shao glared at her, her eyes filled with a deep resentment. “Do you know, if Jiang Chenyin had agreed to marry my son back then, he wouldn’t have jumped. If my son could have graduated from university smoothly and gotten a job, our family wouldn’t be living in such hardship!”

“But Auntie Yin agreed to his request to prevent him from being impulsive,” Bo Muyu said, her face calm, but the hand clutching her briefcase was in pain.

“And after that?” Mrs. Shao sneered. “It was just to make her give a guarantee. She wasn’t even willing to say a few words. What was that if not deliberately not letting my son feel at ease?”

A dull ache throbbed in Bo Muyu’s temples. She gritted her teeth to hide her emotions, her voice lowering. “I heard that those guarantees were for her to curse her own family.”

“So what?” Mrs. Shao’s smile turned bleak. “That’s much better than letting my son die. It was just saying a few words. Aren’t people supposed to be not superstitious these days? If she said her parents would die the next day, would they really drop dead? I don’t think she didn’t dare. She did it on purpose!”

Bo Muyu gritted her teeth so hard that even her other free hand, hidden behind her back, clenched into a fist. Even so, she still felt that both her hands were trembling.

She wanted to kick her right then and there, but she couldn’t, she couldn’t…

She chanted silently, forcing herself to calm down, and murmured against her will, “So that’s how it is. I actually don’t know the details of this matter.”

“Sigh, let’s not talk about this,” Mrs. Shao sighed, then said with a beaming smile, “I was really sorry about what I said to you before, little sister. I shouldn’t have said that to you. It’s no wonder you’re close to Miss Jiang. After all, you’re spending her money.”

“Yes, I can go to school all because of her,” Bo Muyu said with a low laugh.

“What should I do now…”

Mrs. Shao became troubled again, sighing.

Bo Muyu looked at her watch again. It was about time.

She tried to soften her tone as much as possible. “Mrs. Shao, how about this? I’m going on a long trip soon, and Auntie Yin is often not at home. When I come back and confirm that she’s at home, I’ll contact you. But you must not let her know that I told you. What do you think?”

Hearing this, Mrs. Shao’s face lit up with an excited smile. She reached out and grabbed Bo Muyu’s suit sleeve. “Really? That would be great. I won’t have to come for nothing next time.”

“Alright then,” Bo Muyu’s gaze was cold, but there was a smile on her lips. “Let’s exchange numbers for convenience.”

“Sure, come on.”

After exchanging numbers, Bo Muyu said with a serious expression, “Mrs. Shao, remember to wait for my call. I’ll contact you when I come back and confirm that Auntie Yin is at home.”

Mrs. Shao patted her arm cheerfully and agreed, “No problem. I’ll leave it to you then. I’ll be waiting for your news.”

The temperature at night seemed to have dropped abruptly. A gentle breeze brushed past her face, bringing a chill, but it couldn’t extinguish the anger in Bo Muyu’s heart.

She squinted her eyes and watched Mrs. Shao’s retreating back, then lowered her head, took out her phone, stopped the recording, and pressed save.

Back at Jiang Chenyin’s house, Bo Muyu did not go back to her room immediately. She couldn’t calm down to work, not even to quietly wait for Jiang Chenyin to come back.

She felt a fire in her heart, burning so fiercely that it was about to burst through her chest. No matter how cold the weather was, it couldn’t be extinguished.

Jiang Chenyin’s liquor cabinet held various types of alcohol—baijiu, red wine, fruit wine—but she went to the refrigerator and took out a can of beer. She needed a way to vent to help her think about the current situation, and it was best if it was a little cold, otherwise it wouldn’t be able to extinguish that fire.

She took off her suit jacket, rolled up her shirt sleeves, and leaned against the cabinet, taking sips of the ice-cold beer.

Mrs. Shao was relying on Jiang Chenyin’s kindness to ask for more money. Her confidence must have come from Jiang Chenyin’s kindness, and also the Jiang family’s doting on her. If she couldn’t get what she wanted from Jiang Chenyin, her second choice would be the Jiang family.

And Mrs. Shao’s final trump card would naturally be to expose what had happened back then. From their conversation just now, Mrs. Shao would definitely blame the entire reason for Shao Sinan’s suicide on Jiang Chenyin, downplaying the important and emphasizing the trivial.

So Jiang Chenyin had to have a countermeasure. She wouldn’t take the initiative to cause trouble, but she absolutely couldn’t be unprepared.

The possibility of making Mrs. Shao not look for Jiang Chenyin was almost zero now, so she had to have enough evidence to convince onlookers. The existence of this evidence was to let everyone realize that Mrs. Shao completely disregarded Shao Sinan’s coercion of Jiang Chenyin, and even resented her for being unwilling to curse her own parents in exchange for her son’s peace of mind.

Bo Muyu drank her beer, her brow furrowed tightly, her fingers unconsciously squeezing the can, making a “crunching” sound.

She believed that Jiang Chenyin would not give her any more money. Jiang Chenyin had no precedent of joking about serious matters. Since she had promised, she would definitely do so. But in this way, the other party would inevitably become angry out of shame, and besides, the chances of avoiding Mrs. Shao seeing Jiang Chenyin this time were not high.

She planned to get enough weapons to defeat the other party before they completely tore off all pretenses.

When Jiang Chenyin reached the kitchen doorway, she saw Bo Muyu leaning against the cabinet as if in a daze, her expression heavy, lost in thought.

In a daze, the scene of Bo Muyu rushing into her arms when she had just returned last year appeared before her eyes. The Bo Muyu of that time didn’t have so many worries. She would still call her directly when she needed her, and she rarely had such a sorrowful look on her face.

The Bo Muyu of that time would be in a daze, but she would not be troubled by deep worries.

When did Bo Muyu become so heavy-hearted? Was it because of work, or because of the past she had confessed, or something else, or all of them?

Just as she was thinking this, Bo Muyu raised her hand and took another sip of beer without blinking.

Jiang Chenyin gently shook her head, walked over slowly, and took the can from her hand, saying softly, “It’s so late. Why are you drinking beer?”

“Auntie Yin,” Bo Muyu was first taken aback, then she smiled. “You’re back. Why didn’t you call me?”

“I called you when I came in just now,” Jiang Chenyin said helplessly, holding up the can and giving it a little shake. “But someone here was drinking beer like it was water and couldn’t hear a thing.”

“I…” Bo Muyu licked her lips, unable to think of an excuse to explain to Jiang Chenyin for a moment.

She didn’t want to tell Jiang Chenyin about what had just happened for the time being, because she could handle it completely according to her plan.

Seeing her at a loss, the doting look in Jiang Chenyin’s eyes spread. “Alright, no more drinking. I brought you a matcha cake.”

Jiang Chenyin pulled her to the dining table to sit down, opened the box with the cake for her, and then went to pour herself a glass of water before coming back.

Bo Muyu was already picking at the matcha cream with a small fork, a trace of cream on her lips.

“What were you thinking about just now?” Jiang Chenyin asked, pulling out the chair opposite her and sitting down, starting a conversation. “Don’t tell me it’s nothing. That’s not how you look when you’re spacing out.”

Bo Muyu’s action of scooping up the cream with her head down paused for a moment, then quickly resumed. She looked up and said, “I was thinking about the filming of God of War. I’ve applied to join the crew, and I’ll be leaving soon.”

“Joining the crew?” Jiang Chenyin leaned back in her chair and looked at her. “You can learn a lot by joining the crew, but there are also many things you shouldn’t learn. There are too many bad habits in this industry. Since you have the possibility of getting close, you must be careful.”

“I know,” Bo Muyu smiled, then licked the cream from her lips.

“Wait…” Jiang Chenyin watched with amusement as the cream she was licking almost moved to her cheek. She had no choice but to get up, walk around the dining table, and sit beside her.

“Can’t you just wipe it with a tissue? You always like to lick the cream from your lips like this. It’s all over your face now.”

Bo Muyu turned her face to the side to let Jiang Chenyin wipe the cream off for her. After wiping it clean, Jiang Chenyin even poked her face.

“It’s a waste to wipe it off, and it’s not like I can’t reach it,” Bo Muyu said nonchalantly.

“If you could reach it, would the cream have moved to your face?” Jiang Chenyin chuckled softly, her finger tapping the corner of her lips where the cream had been. “Can your tongue reach that far to lick your face?”

Her fingers were slender, and the cool touch of her fingertips on her face.

It was clearly a very comfortable feeling, but Bo Muyu had a little hope in her heart. She wanted Jiang Chenyin to hold her face with both hands. That would surely be more comfortable. But after she had this thought, a hint of shyness was added to her heart.

She licked her lips and met Jiang Chenyin’s gaze, her head moving a little closer, her heart beating so fast it was about to burst out of her chest.

Jiang Chenyin ruffled her hair. “What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and eat.”

Bo Muyu came back to her senses, feeling that she had been in a trance just now, her ears burning.

How could this be… she had almost been unable to resist leaning over, wanting Jiang Chenyin to hold her face. But not now. She didn’t know if Jiang Chenyin’s feelings for her had deviated from the track even a little.

If not…

Bo Muyu turned her head back and ate her cake in silence, suddenly feeling that the matcha cake, which originally had a faint tea fragrance, was a little sour.

Just then, Jiang Chenyin’s voice came from the side, interrupting her emotions, “If you’re joining the crew soon, then you won’t be able to spend the Lantern Festival in Qinzhou.”

“Mmm, that’s right,” Bo Muyu replied in a deep voice.

Jiang Chenyin tucked her fallen hair behind her ear, thought for a moment, and then said, “If anything comes up after you’ve gone, just give me a call. It’s also fine if you’re not busy at night. I’ll always be here.”

Bo Muyu felt that the cake was even more sour, almost losing its previous sweet tea fragrance.

She took a bite woodenly, her nodding becoming mechanical. She recalled her previous thought. She didn’t know if there would be another person by Jiang Chenyin’s side in the future, a person who could accompany her day and night, and also give her support and a sense of security.

At that time, even calling Jiang Chenyin would probably be a luxury.

And also, she had been afraid of this possibility so long ago. And thinking of it again today, she only felt that such a day would be nothing less than the end of the world for her.

Seeing her silence, Jiang Chenyin guessed that she was reluctant to leave for so long, so she didn’t say any more, thinking to herself that she would take the initiative to send her more messages and ask if she was busy.

After Bo Muyu finished her cake, the two of them turned off the lights on the first floor and went back to their room.

Jiang Chenyin told Bo Muyu to go and take a shower, while she planned to pack some luggage for her first.

Bo Muyu stood beside Jiang Chenyin, who was bending over to fold clothes, holding her pajamas, and looked at her, whose side profile was even softer under the light.

“Still not going to take a shower? What are you in a daze for?” Jiang Chenyin’s eyes curved up. She didn’t need to look up to know what she was doing.

“Then, Auntie Yin, you’re packing for me?” Bo Muyu’s eyes flashed, her hands clutching the pajamas in her arms.

“Mmm, go on,” Jiang Chenyin said, still not looking up, folding a suit and putting it aside.

“Auntie Yin, wait…” Bo Muyu suddenly took a few steps forward, a wave of heat surging in her heart.

Jiang Chenyin stood up straight and was about to continue picking out clothes from the wardrobe. Seeing her approach, she asked with a smile, “What’s wrong?”

Bo Muyu’s lips moved, but the words on the tip of her tongue were swallowed, and the surging tide in her heart also subsided in Jiang Chenyin’s gaze.

She was still as gentle as ever, no different from every day in her memory. Since that was the case, she naturally would not change into the way she wanted just because of her impulse at this moment.

If she said it now, all she would get was separation.

No, she couldn’t destroy this already extremely small possibility with her own hands. As long as there was a little bit, one in a thousand, one in ten thousand, as long as there was that little bit, it could slowly spread.

“It’s nothing,” Bo Muyu’s gaze finally cleared, and the corners of her lips lifted in a smile. “I’m going to take a shower. Auntie Yin, you can continue packing.”

After she finished, she turned and went to the bathroom, leaving a somewhat puzzled Jiang Chenyin behind.

She felt that Bo Muyu’s eyes just now seemed to have something to say, and her expression was as if she still had something on her mind. There seemed to be a hint of reluctance, and that final smile was as if she had figured something out.

Was it because she was about to join the crew? Jiang Chenyin couldn’t think clearly. She felt it was more than just that.