Chapter 91
Bo Muyu was the last to be seated, and she still sat next to Jiang Chenyin.
Ye Xialan was very happy today, constantly saying that this birthday was definitely the happiest she had had in all these years. Her daughter was sensible and obedient, her career was going smoothly, and both she and her husband were in good health. She went through all the things worth being happy about.
It was Lan Yuxin’s first time here, but she was not a complete stranger to Ye Xialan. They had met several times before because of Jiang Chenyin. And since Lan Yuxin was not the type to let a conversation die, she and Ye Xialan drank and chatted together, their cheeks flushed red.
Jiang Chenyin only chimed in occasionally, chatting for a few sentences, and spent most of her time quietly drinking her fruit juice with a smile on her face, listening to them chat.
But from the beginning of the banquet to the end, Jiang Chenyin’s gaze only ever swept past Bo Muyu’s face, not lingering for a single second. Sometimes, it was only because she was looking at something else that she happened to glance at her.
Bo Muyu ate her meal in silence, her eyelashes casting a shadow under her eyes.
After dinner, the birthday cake was brought out. Ye Xialan blew out the candles and made a wish, then ate a small piece of cake. Besides Bo Muyu, no one else liked sweets, and the cake was taken away after a short while.
Bo Muyu gave Ye Xialan a pair of earrings, and Ye Xialan was so happy that she pulled Jiang Chenyin and Lan Yuxin over and praised her profusely.
After a short while, Ye Xialan, unable to keep her mouth still, pulled Jiang Chenyin and Lan Yuxin to the balcony to eat snacks and chat, under the pretext of “admiring the moon.” With these three women gathered together, Bo Mingliang couldn’t get a word in, and Bo Muyu was not one of them, so the two of them went to clear the dishes.
Bo Muyu was wiping the dishes that Bo Mingliang had washed, and she asked as if casually, “Dad, did Auntie Yin say anything after she came home this afternoon?”
“Say what?” Bo Mingliang didn’t understand what she meant and turned to look at her. “What are you asking about?”
Bo Muyu continued to ask, “I mean about recent things. Did she mention anything?”
Bo Mingliang’s dishwashing paused, and he frowned in thought. “Xiao Jiang was with your mom as soon as she came. I don’t think I heard her say anything… oh right, she said she just came back from the film studio, and on the way, she bought you mango pancakes and double-skin milk.”
That’s the same as saying nothing…
Bo Muyu shook her head slightly and asked again, “Besides that?”
Bo Mingliang resumed his dishwashing and said with a smile, “Then there was nothing. Because your mom pulled her to the balcony, and there was no place for me.”
“Forget it…” Bo Muyu murmured in a low voice and silently wiped the dishes.
When Jiang Chenyin came to their house, Bo Mingliang would basically avoid them, letting her and Ye Xialan have their sisterly gathering. Unless it was for a meal or Ye Xialan called him over, he would hardly say a few words to her the whole time.
After they had finished washing the dishes, Bo Mingliang went back to his room to play games. Bo Muyu walked to the corner of the corridor between the kitchen and the living room, listening to the faint sound of laughter and conversation coming from the balcony.
Her face was shrouded in shadow, and her whole person was very quiet.
On the balcony, the three women were sitting around a small table, chatting about everything under the sun. Lan Yuxin and Ye Xialan, who were a little drunk, were exceptionally talkative.
Lan Yuxin shelled two pistachios and threw them into her mouth, letting out a burp. “Sister Ye, you really had a child too early. How many years older than me are you? That little block of wood is almost twenty-three. It’s so scary.”
Ye Xialan also let out a burp, and it was longer than Lan Yuxin’s. She sighed and said, “What could I do? I was pregnant at the time. A life. How could I bear to get rid of it? And my old man was so happy. He insisted that I give birth.”
The two of them, one burp after another, made Jiang Chenyin’s eyebrow twitch. She wanted to laugh but couldn’t really laugh out loud, so she could only lower her head slightly and hide it by drinking water.
Lan Yuxin flicked her hair and said in a daze, “That’s true. If you had gotten rid of it, there would be no little block of wood. This little block of wood is quite cute. It’s rare to see a girl so dense.”
Ye Xialan slapped Lan Yuxin’s hand, which was reaching for the pistachios, and glared at her. “Don’t you dare say my daughter is stupid!”
“Ah, ah, ah!” Lan Yuxin blew on the back of her red hand and said angrily, “I didn’t say she was stupid! I was clearly praising her for being cute!”
This time, Jiang Chenyin couldn’t hold it in anymore. She put down her cup and laughed out loud. “That’s enough, you two. One is in her early forties, and the other is in her late thirties, and you’re still acting like children.”
Ye Xialan pointed at Lan Yuxin. “Teacher Jiang, she said my baby is stupid! You don’t have any reaction?”
Lan Yuxin’s eyes widened as she grabbed Ye Xialan’s finger. “I didn’t!”
Jiang Chenyin shook her head with a helpless smile. These two were usually not very serious, and now that they were drunk, they were even more outrageous. The way they were going back and forth, it was as if they were about to start a fight in the next second.
Ye Xialan flung her hand away, let out a “humph,” and said, “My baby is not stupid at all. She’s very popular. Look, a while ago, Xiao Jun and Ruowei even told me that the old master wants her to be his granddaughter-in-law!”
Jiang Chenyin’s whole body shuddered. “Then how did you answer?”
Lan Yuxin also kicked Ye Xialan’s foot curiously. “Ah, how did you answer?”
Ye Xialan chuckled. “I just gave a random answer. I said to let Xiaoyu choose for herself. I’m not going to interfere in this matter.”
Jiang Chenyin subconsciously let out a slight sigh of relief, took her teacup, and stroked it, her voice low. “It’s better to let her decide for herself. After all, it’s a matter of a lifetime.”
“That’s right. What era is this? Why are you still worrying about your child finding a partner?” Lan Yuxin muttered, her action of throwing the pistachio shells unsteady.
The topic was changed. Ye Xialan grabbed Lan Yuxin’s hand, which was about to grab some snacks. “That’s right. I should worry about you first! When are you getting married!”
“What marriage? I haven’t had enough fun yet!”
Jiang Chenyin watched the two clowns, her gaze unconsciously turning to the inky black night sky. The sound of their laughter and scolding gradually faded away, as if she had been cut off from reality.
It was late at night. Bo Mingliang held the still-excited Ye Xialan, and the two of them saw Jiang Chenyin and Lan Yuxin out.
Lan Yuxin’s face was as red as anything, her foxy eyes constantly discharging electricity. She kept shouting that she wanted to stay and continue drinking with Ye Xialan, a scene of regretting not having met sooner.
“Sister Ye, let’s drink again next time. At my place!” Lan Yuxin said and even gave Ye Xialan a flirtatious wink.
“No problem. We’ll drink all night!” Ye Xialan was so happy that she slapped her husband’s broad back hard.
“What drinking? Look at the state you’re in,” Jiang Chenyin said in a huff, supporting Lan Yuxin, and then said politely to Bo Mingliang, “Brother Liang, then you can take care of Xialan. We’ll be leaving now.”
Bo Mingliang said as he opened the door, “Oh, go on. Be careful on the road.”
Just then, Bo Muyu’s voice came from behind, particularly clear amidst the wine-scented words and laughter of Lan Yuxin and Ye Xialan. “Dad, Mom, I’ll go and see Auntie Yin and Sister Lan off.”
Bo Mingliang agreed, “Go on.”
Jiang Chenyin nodded at Bo Mingliang, pulled Lan Yuxin out, and Bo Muyu quickly followed.
No one spoke in the elevator on the way down. Only Lan Yuxin was rubbing her head, making a vague, mumbling sound, as if she were starting to feel uncomfortable.
There was some distance to the garage. There were few people at night, and the chirping of the cicadas was rising and falling.
Bo Muyu stopped in her tracks and said softly, “Auntie Yin.”
Jiang Chenyin, who was walking in front, also stopped, but she did not turn around. Bo Muyu saw that the hand she had on Lan Yuxin’s shoulder had tightened a little unnaturally, her back straight, her head slightly lowered.
“Why did you stop?” Lan Yuxin was in a daze. “Teacher Jiang, little one… little block of wood, what are you two doing?”
No one answered her question. Bo Muyu’s gaze was fixed on Jiang Chenyin, her steps slow as she walked forward, one step at a time.
Jiang Chenyin suddenly let go of Lan Yuxin. “Yuxin, you can go to the garage and wait for me first.”
“No, are you two having a fight? When…”
“Go to the garage and wait for me!” Jiang Chenyin interrupted her, her face turning cold.
Lan Yuxin was drunk, but not completely. When she saw this, she sobered up a little. There was definitely something going on between these two, and it was not a small matter. She had never seen such a scene before.
“You take it easy.”
She patted Jiang Chenyin’s shoulder, then gave Bo Muyu a look and slipped away. Jiang Chenyin clearly did not want her to know, and her mood was not very good. She was still tactful.
“Auntie Yin…” Bo Muyu called her again.
Jiang Chenyin did not turn around, just stood there quietly with her back to her.
“You know, don’t you?”
It was very quiet on the path to the garage, with only the chirping of the cicadas. Bo Muyu bit her lip and desperately suppressed her emotions. Her eyes began to turn red and sore, and her heart was as heavy as if a large stone were lying there.
If she had only been suspicious after she had come home, then Jiang Chenyin’s silence at this moment had confirmed that guess. Jiang Chenyin knew, knew the secret love she had hidden in her heart, and perhaps also knew the hope she should not have had.
Jiang Chenyin did not answer, but her hands, hanging by her sides, unconsciously clenched into fists, trembling slightly.
Bo Muyu’s eyes were red. She walked to a very close spot behind her and stopped. The hand she had reached out to hug her as she used to stopped in mid-air, and finally fell dejectedly.
The familiar scent from behind her made Jiang Chenyin’s lips move, a dull ache in her heart.
Bo Muyu’s voice was hoarse. “Auntie Yin, you haven’t smiled at me all night. You’ve never been like that before. No matter how many days we haven’t seen each other, you would always smile at me very gently, stroke my hair, and hold my hand. As long as I talk to you, you would always look at me, and never avoid me.”
She couldn’t hide her sadness. She couldn’t even force a smile to show the small canine teeth that Jiang Chenyin liked.
“I thought that was something I could always have, so I greedily wanted to try and get more. I know that’s not right. It’s my fault…”
Jiang Chenyin raised her head, closed her eyes tightly, and bit her lip, her breathing becoming difficult.
“I shouldn’t have…” Bo Muyu was so choked up she couldn’t speak. She wiped away her tears haphazardly. “I never wanted to make things difficult for you. I thought that if I didn’t find out that you had a little bit of a feeling for me, then I would go back to my original position… I never thought you would know…”
Jiang Chenyin’s shoulders were trembling. She raised a hand to cover her mouth, her lips bitten so hard they left a mark. Her heart was like a coming storm, indescribably damp and heavy.
Bo Muyu lowered her head, her tears rolling down incessantly. She was at a loss and flustered, and she said with a low sob, “I’m sorry, Auntie Yin. I won’t make things difficult for you… don’t hate me…”
She was crying so hard she couldn’t breathe. Because she was suppressing her emotions, her head was throbbing with a dull ache. She reached out again, wanting to hug Jiang Chenyin, but her hands just couldn’t reach. Her fingertips had already touched Jiang Chenyin’s clothes, and she gritted her teeth and forced herself to hold back.
“Auntie Yin, when you think of me in the future, think of how I used to be,” Bo Muyu suddenly laughed, her laughter tinged with a sob. “That way, you won’t hate me…”
Her face was streaked with tears. She looked at Jiang Chenyin’s retreating back deeply, her steps retreating one by one. Jiang Chenyin still did not turn around, did not give her the gentle gaze and smile from before, only her cold back.
She bit her lower lip, closed her eyes, and committed Jiang Chenyin’s figure to memory, then turned and ran back the way she had come.
Jiang Chenyin’s eyelashes were wet. A heavy sadness, accompanied by the sound of Bo Muyu’s running footsteps, swept over her consciousness like a tidal wave, and tears rolled down her cheeks.
Back at home, Bo Mingliang and Ye Xialan had already gone to their rooms. Bo Muyu had run all the way back, and after closing the door, she found it difficult to walk.
Her whole person was as if all her strength had been drained. She covered her mouth and went back to her room, leaning against the door, and tears gushed out. She bit her lip to keep from crying out, and then slid down powerlessly, sitting on the floor.
She had never thought that Jiang Chenyin would know about her feelings. She had tried so hard to hide them just to be able to preserve their original familial love. When she was sure that Jiang Chenyin had no romantic feelings for her, she would have completely given up and returned to her original position.
That was something she could have for a lifetime, something she would never lose.
But why did Jiang Chenyin have to find out?
Bo Muyu’s eyes were filled with tears. She looked at her trembling hands through the mist. She hadn’t even dared to hug Jiang Chenyin again just now. She was afraid that she would break free, and also afraid that she would turn around and show her a distant expression.
She hugged her knees and cried with suppressed sobs, her body trembling violently. Why did Jiang Chenyin have to find out about her feelings? Why couldn’t she even protect the last, most precious thing? Now there was nothing left.
She would never get Jiang Chenyin’s hugs again, nor that breeze-like smile. She would never be able to go back to that home with Jiang Chenyin, back to her side.
There would be no more Jiang Chenyin in her life from now on, no more.
