A Promise in a Thought 82

Chapter 82

Jiang Chenyin felt as if a knife had stabbed her in the heart. That sentence echoed in her ears repeatedly.

“What did you say…”

Why did she suddenly want to move out? Had something happened? Or was the current situation affecting what Bo Muyu wanted to do? She was a little afraid to think further. She felt that this was a sign that Bo Muyu was about to leave her completely.

No, this was already a notification.

“Why are you moving out?” Jiang Chenyin turned her whole body to face Bo Muyu, her expression a rare sight of anxiety, her eyes full of reluctance. “Is there something that’s not right? We can talk about it. You don’t have to move out.”

This decision was too sudden, so sudden that it caught Jiang Chenyin off guard. She had thought that Bo Muyu would one day no longer be so dependent on her, but that would be a gradual change, a day-by-day transformation, a day-by-day distancing, which would also allow her to slowly accept it.

But this decision now came too suddenly. She had been planning to chat with Bo Muyu on the way home about what movie to watch tonight. She had also planned to tell her that she wanted to relax today, not to work out, and that they would buy snacks and go to the movies together.

Her reluctance made Bo Muyu’s heart ache. She bit her lip so hard that she left a tooth mark, but at this moment, she absolutely could not take a single step back, otherwise she would never be able to change.

“Auntie Yin, I want to move out,” Bo Muyu tried her best to keep her emotions steady, one hand already clenched into a fist. “It’s not your problem, nor is it the house’s problem. It’s that I want to move out.”

Jiang Chenyin gazed at her in disbelief, unable to say a word for a long time. There was no light in her eyes, and the captivating charm that usually fascinated her was not there at all, only a deep sense of loss.

Bo Muyu bit her lip and spoke again, “Auntie Yin, I want to be more independent.”

This sentence was an even sharper bayonet than the one before. Every word was ordinary, but when combined, they made Jiang Chenyin’s heart clench without a shred of mercy.

“Alright,” Jiang Chenyin turned back, closed her eyes tightly, her chest heaving. “Let’s talk at home. Let’s go home first.”

After she finished, she started the car and drove out of the parking lot. The speed was steady the whole way, and her side profile was also serious and focused. Bo Muyu did not say another word, but her peripheral vision was always on her.

The atmosphere in the car was so unbearable for the first time. Usually, the time on the way home was spent with Bo Muyu playing on her phone or the two of them chatting. But today, every second was a torment.

Back at home, no one was in the mood to cook. Jiang Chenyin went straight back to her room, closed the door, and stayed in her room for a long time.

It was not until the sky had completely darkened that Bo Muyu had no choice but to order takeout and then go up and knock on the door.

This was the first time she had to knock to enter this room, and also the first time Jiang Chenyin was unwilling to see her. Yes, she could feel it. She had felt it since their conversation in the car after work.

Jiang Chenyin did not want to hear her speak. To prevent her from saying those words again, she had closed the door as soon as she got home.

It seemed like a very willful act, and Jiang Chenyin was rarely willful. Bo Muyu knew that she had always taken her age very seriously. After she had grown older, she had almost never made the Jiang family worry, except for a few years ago when Gao Yan had pursued her in a malicious way, causing her to recall the nightmare brought on by Shao Sinan, and thus she had gone far away to a foreign country. Other than that, Jiang Chenyin was reassuring in every aspect.

But now that Bo Muyu was saying she was moving out, that she wanted to be more independent, Jiang Chenyin’s reaction made her heart ache so much that tears were welling up in her eyes.

She didn’t want to leave. If she could, she wouldn’t want to leave this place for a single step. She wanted to see the person she loved every day. She wanted to love and protect the person in her heart with all her ability and emotions.

But before that, she had to first become a lover.

So before knocking on the door, Bo Muyu had taken several deep breaths in the corner, wiped away her tears, and closed her eyes, forcing the tears back.

Jiang Chenyin opened the door. The two of them were silent for a while. Jiang Chenyin sighed and pulled Bo Muyu in, not closing the door again.

It was already evening, and Jiang Chenyin had not yet changed out of her formal clothes, only taking off her suit jacket, unbuttoning one more button of her shirt, and rolling up her sleeves to her elbows.

Bo Muyu’s sharp eyes saw that the chair by the desk was pulled out. They were both people with clean and tidy living habits. Even in their own home, they would not make a mess.

It was obvious that Jiang Chenyin had been sitting there all along, and had only reacted when she had knocked on the door.

The two of them stood opposite each other in silence, neither of them speaking first, nor sitting down, just standing there for a long time. She didn’t know how much time had passed, but Bo Muyu couldn’t help but take Jiang Chenyin’s hand and pull her to the desk.

Bo Muyu did not look up at her. She bent over slightly and opened the takeout she was holding, placing it on the table. “It’s too late today. I couldn’t buy ingredients to cook, so you’ll have to make do with takeout.”

Jiang Chenyin watched her quietly, an indescribable sadness bursting from her heart. She couldn’t even manage a warm smile and laugh as she usually did.

At this moment, Jiang Chenyin had to ask herself, was she really mentally prepared? If she was, then why was she so sad when it really came to this? She had clearly accepted Lan Yuxin’s advice long ago and had buried the premonition that Bo Muyu would leave her in her heart.

The answer should be no.

She knew that such a day would come, but she didn’t dare to think about it, not even a little. So she understood, but she had subconsciously never prepared for such a future. Even though she had even wanted to try and develop something with Duan Zhiheng a while ago, her starting point was not to let someone replace Bo Muyu’s position in her heart.

Because no one could replace that position.

“Are you really leaving?” Jiang Chenyin’s voice was unusually low. Just listening to it, one could feel her dejected mood.

Bo Muyu bit her lip, nodded, and stood up straight to face her. “Mmm, I’ve thought it through very clearly.”

Jiang Chenyin couldn’t help but try to pull her back with the reasons she could think of. “Will your parents agree? You’ve never lived alone outside before.”

“My parents will agree,” Bo Muyu said, gazing at Jiang Chenyin and saying softly, “I’m not a child anymore.”

This reason again, the reason that was making them grow further and further apart. Jiang Chenyin couldn’t have imagined that the reason Bo Muyu was leaving her was not because she had a boy she liked, not because she was playful, and not because of work, but because she had grown up.

For this reason that made her both pleased and disappointed, she had to leave her.

Jiang Chenyin’s chest heaved as she suddenly felt out of breath. She took a deep breath, feeling more and more sad.

Bo Muyu looked away, her eyes slightly lowered as she took Jiang Chenyin’s arm. “Alright, hurry up and eat. I’ve already eaten. I’m going to take a shower first.”

“Muyu…” Jiang Chenyin wanted to hold onto her.

“Hurry up and eat,” Bo Muyu said, pressing Jiang Chenyin down into the chair and bending over to smile at her. “I want to go to bed early tonight. I’m very tired from work today, so you should eat quickly. We can chat in bed after we’ve showered.”

Jiang Chenyin met her gaze for a long time before slowly nodding.

The sound of water came from the bathroom. Jiang Chenyin silently ate the takeout Bo Muyu had ordered in her room. She had never liked to order takeout. Before she had gone abroad, Bo Muyu had ordered it a few times and had been scolded by her. But today, she couldn’t say a single word, and she didn’t even notice what she was eating.

After today, the days of her and Bo Muyu commuting to and from work together, eating dinner together, and watching movies together would soon be over.

She paused, then sped up her eating.

Bedtime was much earlier than usual tonight. After Jiang Chenyin had showered and gotten into bed with the lights off, Bo Muyu quickly moved closer and hugged her, as usual, intimate and natural.

“Auntie Yin, are you sleepy?” Bo Muyu asked in her ear.

“I’m not sleepy. If you’re tired, you can go to sleep,” Jiang Chenyin said, suppressing the emotions that were constantly rising and falling in her heart and gently wrapping her arms around Bo Muyu, her tone so placid it was as if she didn’t want to talk much.

“Auntie Yin, I’m not leaving you, really,” Bo Muyu couldn’t help but say, but she couldn’t tell her everything. She couldn’t bear to see Jiang Chenyin sad because she was moving out.

She wasn’t leaving. How could she bear to leave?

Jiang Chenyin was silent for a while, then said, “But you’re leaving.”

A nightlight was on by the bed, and the light in the room was hazy. Bo Muyu’s eyes stung, and tears almost fell.

This was the first time she had heard Jiang Chenyin say such a thing. This sentence was as obvious as “you’re leaving me.” Jiang Chenyin saw her decision to move out as leaving.

“I just want to live by myself for a while. I’m not leaving you!” Bo Muyu said, biting her lip and suddenly hugging Jiang Chenyin tightly, her voice low and hoarse as she spoke contradictory words.

Jiang Chenyin closed her eyes. She found that she couldn’t sort out her thoughts, nor could she sort out Bo Muyu’s. But no matter what, Bo Muyu’s decision to move out was already made.

“Will you come back?” Jiang Chenyin tried her best not to show too much of her negative emotions, keeping her voice steady.

Bo Muyu looked at Jiang Chenyin’s hopeful eyes and nodded vigorously. “I will. I will come back. I will definitely come back.”

If she really couldn’t achieve her wish, then at least they could still live like this. This was at least something she would always have.

Receiving this answer, Jiang Chenyin finally smiled. She moved closer to Bo Muyu’s face, held her in her arms, and tilted her head up to rub her chin against her forehead, the unease in her heart slowly fading.

The two of them held each other for a long time. Bo Muyu buried her head in Jiang Chenyin’s chest, taking deep breaths of her faint fragrance, not wanting to keep any distance at all. She understood that even if Jiang Chenyin didn’t know that her feelings had changed, she must have known her reluctance, so expressing it without reservation at this time would not arouse her suspicion.

“When are you planning to leave?” Jiang Chenyin suddenly asked.

“Next month,” Bo Muyu blinked, feeling her eyelashes brush against the skin of Jiang Chenyin’s chest.

“So soon…” Jiang Chenyin murmured in a low voice, her hands gently stroking Bo Muyu’s long hair.

Even though she had received the answer that she would be back, Jiang Chenyin still couldn’t imagine the days when she would be the only one in this house. There would no longer be anyone to commute with her, nor would there be anyone who was both dependent on her care and would in turn care for her, like a little adult.

She paused, then let out a bitter laugh. No, the girl in her arms now was already an adult.

“Then be careful when you’re driving to and from work. You must not be stubborn and do anything. If you can’t handle it yourself, call me. For work matters, ask Miss Su for advice more. If you still don’t understand, call me too. And…”

Jiang Chenyin tried her best to speak in her usual gentle tone, but as she spoke, she suddenly didn’t know what else to remind her of. There were clearly many things in life, but at this moment, she couldn’t say much.

“I know, Auntie Yin. I understand everything,” Bo Muyu said, looking up to cover her lips and once again promising her seriously, “I won’t leave you. I’ll call you often. I’ll ask you out for dinner, to see a movie, and to go shopping. I’m just moving out for a while. I’ll be back.”

These words were spoken with such determination, just like when Bo Muyu had said, “I only want you,” when she was a child. It was just that she had been so childish then, and now she was an adult.

“Okay…” Jiang Chenyin sighed with a laugh and held her head back in her arms.

Bo Muyu snuggled obediently in her embrace, listening to her steady heartbeat. A kiss as light as a cicada’s wing landed on her left chest through her nightdress.

I’ll be back. Wait for me.

Bo Muyu closed her eyes and silently recited in her heart.