A Promise in a Thought 83

Chapter 83

On the first weekend of August, Bo Muyy was to move out of Jiang Chenyin’s house.

After she had told Jiang Chenyin that she was moving out, she had quickly told her parents. As expected, her parents were very surprised.

Bo Mingliang was the first to ask, “Why don’t you want to live with Xiao Jiang anymore?”

Ye Xialan was the most surprised, grabbing her clothes and asking incessantly, “Why do you suddenly not want to live with Teacher Jiang anymore? Do you have someone you like more outside, so you don’t like Teacher Jiang anymore? That’s impossible, right? Is there someone who can poison you more than Teacher Jiang?”

Bo Muyu was both helpless and at a loss for how to explain.

But before she could speak, Ye Xialan slapped her thigh. “You haven’t gotten a boyfriend, have you!”

This time, Bo Muyu retorted quickly, “Mom, don’t guess wildly. I’m not in a relationship. I just want to be more independent. With Auntie Yin around, I’ll still be taken care of by her to some extent. I want to see if I can take care of myself without you guys, without Auntie Yin.”

Her expression was unusually serious and solemn as she said these words. Having been a screenwriting supervisor for a while, she felt that she could use her aura to bluff people.

After hearing this, Ye Xialan was half-believing, but after meeting her gaze again, she was mostly convinced.

“Then what did Teacher Jiang say?”

“She said it’s fine as long as you agree.”

“We don’t have a problem…” Ye Xialan looked at her husband, then at Bo Muyu. “You’re really not having a fight with Teacher Jiang?”

Bo Muyu lowered her eyes slightly, then quickly looked up and smiled faintly. “Of course not. How could I have a fight with Auntie Yin?”

“That’s true…” Ye Xialan thought for a moment, then asked, “Then if you’re living by yourself, have you solved the problem of your meals? Have you practiced your cooking skills?”

She sized Bo Muyu up and down suspiciously. She admitted that Bo Muyu had become more filial to her elders after living with Jiang Chenyin. She would even take the initiative to help in the kitchen when she came home, and she knew how to cook many more dishes. But living alone, this child, without anyone watching her, wouldn’t she go wild?

Bo Muyu nodded. “Mom, my cooking skills are very good. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Auntie Yin.” She paused, seeing Ye Xialan’s worry, and then continued, “And, I’m very well-behaved when Auntie Yin is not around.”

Ye Xialan shook her head helplessly and waved her hand. “Move then, move. Just don’t do anything bad.”

With this, Bo Muyu had gotten their approval and was to live alone in another apartment that Bo Mingliang had purchased. She had not lived there for a long time before. It was just that when she was little, and Ye Xialan and Bo Mingliang wanted some private time, they would either leave their daughter with Jiang Chenyin or the two of them would go and stay there for a night, just like going to a hotel.

On the Saturday she moved out, Jiang Chenyin did not go back to the old residence. She drove with Bo Muyu and helped her carry her luggage upstairs.

This was also a residential complex with a pleasant environment. The long-vacant house had been cleaned by an auntie hired by Ye Xialan a few days ago. Now, all she had to do was to arrange her things and she could move in.

Just like when Bo Muyu had moved into Jiang Chenyin’s house last year, Jiang Chenyin pulled the suitcase into the room, intending to help her unpack.

Bo Muyu stood at the doorway, unable to move forward for a long time, her eyes filled with the image of Jiang Chenyin organizing her things, her expression serious, her movements gentle. This scene was just like when she had moved into Jiang Chenyin’s house. Jiang Chenyin had personally helped her organize all her luggage, so that she wouldn’t have to worry about anything when she came back.

But today was the first day she was to leave Jiang Chenyin.

She walked to Jiang Chenyin’s side, took her hand, and said in a low voice, “Auntie Yin, I’ll unpack myself. You should sit down and rest for a bit.”

Jiang Chenyin stopped taking the clothes out of the suitcase, stood up straight to face her, and let out a light breath.

Bo Muyu pulled her to the sofa and sat down with her, very close, her arms wrapped around hers, not letting go.

Seeing Bo Muyu’s reluctant look, Jiang Chenyin’s heart finally felt a little better. She didn’t want to see Bo Muyu move out, didn’t want to face this day, even though she had gotten her promise that she would be back. But she couldn’t bear to see Bo Muyu pack her things and leave all by herself. That would be even more unbearable for her.

After a long while, she gently pulled her arm back from Bo Muyu’s embrace, then put an arm around her shoulder and asked softly, “What do you want to eat tonight?”

It sounded just like she would usually ask what she wanted for dinner. Bo Muyu was taken aback for a moment and said in a small voice, “I’ll go out and buy something to cook. Don’t worry.”

“You…”

Bo Muyu’s sudden words interrupted Jiang Chenyin, “Auntie Yin, aren’t you going back to Grandpa Jiang’s? I can’t go over this weekend. Please say hello to Grandpa and Grandma Jiang for me.”

Jiang Chenyin’s words were suddenly stuck in her throat. She had been about to say, “Do you want me to stay and have dinner with you?” but her words were blocked by Bo Muyu’s next sentence.

She forced a smile. “You don’t need me to help you organize? It’s just you in this big house.”

Bo Muyu shook her head. “I can do it.”

Jiang Chenyin lowered her eyes, not knowing what to say for a moment. This was a rare situation for her and Bo Muyu. She didn’t know what to say or do. In the end, it was because she was not prepared. She didn’t want Bo Muyu to move out.

After a long silence, the hand on Bo Muyu’s shoulder tightened, and her voice was deep. “Let me hug you.”

As soon as she finished, Bo Muyu’s whole body rushed into her arms, the familiar, cool scent rushing to her nose. She held the warm, soft body tightly, just like before, and just like the night when Bo Muyu had told her she was moving out.

After a long while, she patted Bo Muyu’s back and said in a low voice, “Alright, I have to go. You should eat well tonight.”

Bo Muyu let go of Jiang Chenyin’s waist, her head down, not looking up, and watched as Jiang Chenyin stood up and left after a few seconds.

The sound of her footsteps slowly faded away, from near to far, until it was blurry.

Bo Muyu suddenly stood up and ran out, and just before Jiang Chenyin opened the main door, she shouted, “Auntie Yin! Wait!”

Jiang Chenyin turned around, a hint of hope in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Bo Muyu was panting. She faced her and took a step back, then quickly turned and ran back to her room.

Jiang Chenyin was puzzled and waited at the entrance.

Bo Muyu quickly ran out again, ran to her, and then stuffed a set of keys into her hand, panting slightly. “Auntie Yin, these are the keys to this place. You can come over directly if you want to see me. If I miss you, I’ll go back and see you too.”

Jiang Chenyin’s gaze was deep and bottomless. She listened silently as Bo Muyu finished, then took the keys and at the same time held Bo Muyu’s hand in her palm, her voice also deep. “Come back with me. Is there something you can’t tell me? You have to move out by yourself.”

Bo Muyu shook her head vigorously and looked at her. “No, I have to live by myself. You believe me. I’ll be back. I’ll definitely be back.”

Jiang Chenyin gazed at Bo Muyu quietly, then suddenly smiled, let go of her hand, and only held the keys in her palm, sighing softly. “Then I’m leaving. Call me if you need anything.”

Bo Muyu nodded and watched Jiang Chenyin leave.

After getting into the car, Jiang Chenyin sat in the car for a long time without starting it. Her phone buzzed with a few message notifications, but she didn’t look. Her gaze was aimlessly on the front, without a focus.

To this day, she still believed every word Bo Muyu said to her, but at the same time, only the sentence “I won’t leave you,” she never dared to believe. If such words were said to Ye Xialan and Bo Mingliang, the couple probably wouldn’t believe it either. Their daughter had grown up and would have a sweetheart sooner or later. So what confidence did she have to think that Bo Muyu really wouldn’t leave her?

To put it bluntly, it wasn’t just Bo Muyu who was dependent on her. She was even more so.

During the years she was abroad, she had never truly let go of her family and friends in Qinzhou, and had even been closely following the developments in the country. When the threat had disappeared, she had immediately set off to return. She missed her family and friends, and what she couldn’t deny even more was that she had never let go of Bo Muyu for a single day.

She regretted that she couldn’t be with Bo Muyu for those four years, couldn’t witness how she had grown from an introverted and naive girl to the person with a distant and placid look in her eyes.

She had never forgotten to care for this child, even though they were in two different places.

Even in the four years she was away, she had never felt that they were truly separated. But today was different. She always felt that some things were different. This feeling made the sense of loss in her heart grow exponentially.

Jiang Chenyin sniffled, her fingers gripping the steering wheel tightly, and started the car and drove away.

From a window in a tall building not far away, a gaze was fixed on Jiang Chenyin’s car until it was out of sight.

Bo Muyu turned around and closed her eyes, finally letting the tears that had been welling up for a long time fall.

She walked slowly in this house, her fingertips brushing from the sofa to the coffee table, the TV stand. She tried to relive the feeling from last year when she had moved into Jiang Chenyin’s house, but these things were all extremely cold, from her fingertips to her heart.

The air in this house was very fresh, but there was no scent of Jiang Chenyin. There would be no Jiang Chenyin leaning against the doorframe with a gentle smile, telling her that she was going to take a shower after her workout. There would be no Jiang Chenyin in the study, working with a serious expression, not even having changed out of her suit. And in the bathroom, there would be no couple’s toiletries that she had bought with her little thoughts.

Bo Muyu walked back to her room step by step. Jiang Chenyin’s suitcase, which she had opened just now, was still by the bed.

The room in Jiang Chenyin’s house was her favorite place, because she could sleep while hugging her, and she could also snuggle in her embrace and listen to her heartbeat, counting it one by one, hoping that this heartbeat would quicken for her.

She walked to the bed and sat down, her gaze empty as she looked at the wide bed.

She had not brought the bear that Jiang Chenyin had bought last year, but had left it at her place. She hoped that that bear could help her, to make Jiang Chenyin think of her at night. Even if it was just that, it would be enough.

The sky gradually darkened. Bo Muyu lay on the bed, motionless, a pillow in her arms.

The phone she had casually tossed aside lit up. A WeChat message had come in. It was a photo from Jiang Chenyin, a picture of the dining table at the Jiang family’s house, with a sumptuous dinner.

Bo Muyu’s fingers gently stroked the phone screen, and in the dim room that the sunset light could not support, a smile appeared on her face, lingering for a long time.