After Waking Up, I Inherited a Bookstore 14

Chapter 14: Liu Chu

Liu Chuxia was a bit bewildered by her constant apologies. Besides, Li Hanyan was hugging her so tightly that she could barely breathe.

“Hanyan, loosen up a bit. I can’t breathe.”

Li Hanyan immediately loosened her grip slightly. “Sorry, I was too nervous. Do your eyes hurt? Are you feeling uncomfortable?”

Liu Chuxia shook her head, leaning against her chest. Smelling the familiar scent, she felt sleepy again. “Carry me to bed. I’m a little tired.”

“Didn’t you just wake up? It’s not good to sleep too much. Do you want me to get some ice to put on your eyes?” Li Hanyan lifted her horizontally, walked to the bed, and gently placed her down.

“Then you can put the ice on while I sleep. I didn’t really sleep just now. Did Xiao Xu say something nonsense again?” Lying on the bed, Liu Chuxia stretched comfortably and said with her eyes narrowed.

“Then I’ll go down and get the ice. You go to sleep first.”

But just as she was about to leave, Liu Chuxia grabbed her again. She opened her eyes and looked straight at her, all traces of her earlier drowsiness gone.

“What’s wrong?”

“Can you give me a kiss on the forehead? I feel uneasy. I’m always afraid you’ll run away again.” Liu Chuxia looked at Li Hanyan with red eyes, a hint of grievance in her gaze.

“This… this… I…” Li Hanyan couldn’t even speak properly. She stood there, at a loss. She wanted to leave but couldn’t, and if she stayed, the atmosphere was too strange. She definitely didn’t dare to kiss her; she still hadn’t figured out the reason for Liu Chuxia’s sudden change in behavior.

At this moment, a woman wearing sunglasses and casual clothes walked into the main hall downstairs. Her every move exuded a unique feminine charm, and her temperament was elegant and refined. She looked to be in her thirties.

The woman took off her sunglasses and walked to the front counter, tapping on the surface.

Xiao Xu was organizing the theoretical knowledge for Liu Chuxia’s yellow talisman self-ignition. Hearing the sound, she immediately looked up. The moment she saw the woman, she stood up and ran to her, stopping in a restrained manner. “Godmother?! You’re back? Why did it take you so long to come back? I missed you so much.” She spoke sweet words, but her body honestly didn’t move a step forward, and her hands were obediently held behind her back.

Liu Chu smiled and patted her head. “Still so afraid of me.”

“Godmother~ It’s not like you don’t know that I’m not afraid of you. It’s just that the righteous energy on you is too strong. I don’t dare to get close,” Xiao Xu pouted, looking extremely wronged.

“Oh my~ I forgot, I forgot, hahaha. Don’t be sad, my little Xiao Xu. Here.” Liu Chu smiled and held out her palm, in which lay three exquisitely wrapped chocolates. Seeing this, Xiao Xu’s face instantly lit up.

“Thank you, Godmother~”

“Where are Xiaoxia and Xiaoyan?”

Xiao Xu unwrapped a chocolate and popped it into her mouth. “They’re both upstairs. Big Sister Hanyan made Big Sister Chuxia cry earlier. Big Sister Hanyan should be apologizing right now.”

“Oh! I’ll go up and see.”

Xiao Xu didn’t know why, but she felt that Godmother was particularly excited. Watching the beautiful woman hurry upstairs, Xiao Xu thought to herself that Godmother was still Godmother, always number one when it came to joining in on the fun.

Liu Chu walked to the door. Through the open door, she could see the girl on the bed holding onto the person standing by the bed, not letting her leave. The two seemed to be in a stalemate.

Liu Chu pushed the door open and walked in. “Ahem, although it’s not right for me to enter your private space without permission, there are some things I need to resolve.”

“Mom! Master!” the two exclaimed in surprise at the same time.

Liu Chuxia scrambled off the bed and ran towards Liu Chu without even putting on her shoes. Li Hanyan, on the other hand, was full of worry. “Hey! Put on your shoes, the floor is cold.”

But Liu Chuxia couldn’t be bothered with her. Liu Chu, however, glanced at her.

“Mom! You’re back! Why are you so late this time?” Liu Chuxia hugged Liu Chu, acting spoiled, completely forgetting about Li Hanyan who was still standing by.

“My dear, let’s not talk about that for now. What’s going on with you?” Liu Chu said with a slight smile, stroking Liu Chuxia’s head.

“What?”

“My dear, haven’t you noticed your abnormal behavior recently? Hanyan, you didn’t notice either?” Liu Chu looked at Li Hanyan with a serious expression.

Liu Chuxia felt the atmosphere suddenly turn serious. Before she could figure out what was happening, she heard Li Hanyan speak. “No, I thought it was your Heart Bewitchment Talisman before, but when I didn’t see you come back, I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with A Xia. Plus, there were other things, so I put this matter aside. Master, was it not you who did it?”

Li Hanyan wasn’t frightened by Liu Chu’s demeanor. If she were truly angry, she would be basking in the sun right now, with a Warm Sun Talisman added for good measure. Originally, this talisman was perfect for winter, but in the middle of summer, coupled with sun exposure, one could imagine how torturous it would be.

“Am I that bored? To put this kind of talisman on my dear?” She looked at Li Hanyan, then at Liu Chuxia, questioning them with her eyes.

Both of them nodded. In Liu Chuxia’s memory, her mother really could be that bored. She used to be so bored that she would re-wash already clean dishes a dozen times. Liu Chuxia had complained about it more than once. Sometimes she was so bored she would write one number per page in a notebook. When asked what she was doing, she would say she was too bored. Liu Chuxia was utterly speechless.

“Oh my~ Why are you two wrongly accusing me? I would never do that to my dear…” Liu Chu was so confident, but when she removed the Heart Bewitchment Talisman, she felt her own aura and instantly choked on her words.

Apparently, Li Hanyan felt it too. As for Liu Chuxia, she fainted directly into Liu Chu’s arms. Mmm, she was sleeping soundly.

“Master? You…” Li Hanyan didn’t know what to say. Sometimes Master was indeed a bit unreliable, but she never expected her to forget about a curse she had placed on her own daughter.

“Ha… haha, well, I was just too busy and forgot,” Liu Chu said, laughing it off, trying to get away with it.

“You can even forget about a curse you put on your own daughter? Let’s see how you explain this to A Xia when she wakes up. So, do you remember what it was for now?” Li Hanyan thought, what else could this talisman be used for besides pranks?

Speaking of which, Liu Chu’s interest was piqued. “I do remember that. I just wanted to see if my dear was interested in you. But things happened too quickly, and a lot of other things came up, so I forgot. So… has my dear done anything strange to you during this time?” Liu Chu looked at Li Hanyan with a grin.

“Master! How could you…” Li Hanyan was really about to be angered to death by her. She was both embarrassed and angry and stormed out of the room. She had been tormented to death during this time. Just now, she had almost broken through her mental defenses and was about to kiss her. Thank goodness she hadn’t.

Liu Chu watched as the furious Li Hanyan left the room and shook her head. “This child. If you like someone, just say it. Sigh… in the end, she just cares too much about my dear and is too afraid of my dear leaving her.”

—

When Liu Chuxia woke up, it was already past 11 PM. She felt that her mind was a bit clearer. Before, it felt like there was a fog in front of her eyes, and her actions were completely out of her control, especially when she saw Li Hanyan. Then she remembered that her mother seemed to have come back. She quickly put on her shoes and went downstairs. She didn’t understand how she had fainted in the middle of a perfectly fine conversation.

When she reached the first floor, she saw Liu Chu sitting at the front counter, chatting and laughing with Xiao Xu. She hurried over. “Mom!”

“Hey, my dear! You’re awake? Are you hungry? Xuxu has kept some food warm for you. If you’re hungry, have some,” Liu Chu said, tidying her bangs.

Liu Chuxia touched her stomach and nodded. Then she looked around but didn’t see Li Hanyan, so she asked, “Where’s Hanyan?”

“What? You need her to accompany you for dinner?” Liu Chu teased with a smile.

“Oh, Mom! What are you talking about? If I’m not looking for her, then I’m looking for you, Mom,” Liu Chuxia said, blushing slightly.

“Oh? What do you want to ask?”