Chai Qianning: "Nothing much, I just missed you."
He Xiaoying: "Stop being silly, do you want money or something else?"
Chai Qianning chuckled lightly, "How can you say that?"
He Xiaoying: "Did the shop fail? Or did it go out of business?"
Chai Qianning: "..."
Can't you wish me something good?
He Xiaoying: "If there's nothing wrong, why would you care when I'm coming back? You must have something on your mind, so hurry up and tell me, I'm going to sleep."
Chai Qianning: "That's all, I'll hang up now."
——
The following day, Sheng Muxi spent the whole day out with his family.
With nothing to do, Chai Qianning went to Tongwan Alley.
For some time now, Chai Shuqing had been staying home all the time and was getting really bored. So Chai Qianning took her along to get some fresh air.
Before going, she told Ni Chujing on WeChat that she would be bringing her younger sister along. Ni Chujing, who had a leisurely life, sent several excited emojis when she heard that she was coming.
On the way there, Chai Qianning passed a flower shop and remembered that Ni Chujing's vase was empty, so she bought some roses to take with her.
There are several osmanthus trees in the alley, their fallen petals covering the ground. The flowering season is approaching, and the rich fragrance still lingers, reaching people's noses through the air.
When they arrived at the door, Ni Chujing came out to open it.
Chai Shuqing greeted, "Hello, Teacher Ni."
Then he handed the flowers in his hand to Ni Chujing.
Ni Chujing was delighted to see the flowers and turned to Chai Qianning, saying, "You came all this way, why did you bring a gift?"
I bought some flowers on the way.
The roses were placed in a vase, adding a touch of vibrancy to the small square table.
Ni Chujing specially brought out some homemade pastries and served them to them, asking, "What happened to your hand?"
"I fell by accident," Chai Shuqing replied, while Ni Chujing stuffed a piece of osmanthus cake into her other, uninjured hand.
"Take this and eat it. Be careful next time. Don't feel awkward here. Go wherever you want to play."
"Thank you, Teacher Ni."
"Is your sister a student in Xiao Liu's class?" Ni Chujing turned to speak to Chai Qianning.
"yes."
"Then you two are really destined to be together."
"What do you mean by that?"
Ni Chujing's gentle voice came from her throat: "I can tell. You two are together now?"
Upon hearing this, Chai Qianning paused slightly, then quickly came to her senses, smiled gently, and the wind blew her hair in front of her eyes. She raised her hand and gently tucked it away: "Teacher Ni, you are truly amazing, you even noticed this."
A soft laugh, carried on the breeze, drifted into Chai Qianning's ears. Ni Chujing said, "Eyes don't lie. The first time I saw you, I felt that Xiao Liu's gaze towards you was different."
These words surprised Chai Qianning.
Ni Chujing is older than her parents, yet she can accept the feelings between girls quite naturally, and she can also see something in them. This is truly rare.
She remembered the old photograph next to the TV cabinet. A bold guess popped into her head: "Professor Ni, I've always been curious, who is the girl standing next to you in that old photograph...?"
Chai Qianning paused.
Ni Chujing smiled, without the slightest hint of embarrassment, and said frankly, "He was my ex-lover."
"However, he passed away very early."
At the back gate, Chai Shuqing met a girl who lived next door to Ni Chujing and was also in high school.
Girls of this age easily hit it off. Sitting on the long bench by the back door, gazing at the lush grass in the distance, they always have endless topics to talk about.
In the front yard.
Ni Chujing placed a plate of melon seeds and a pot of tea on the small table.
The two sat on old bamboo chairs on either side of the table and chatted.
Ni Chujing asked, "Why didn't Xiaoliu come with you today?"
"She went to be with her mother."
"Her mother came? She came to see her on her own initiative?" Ni Chujing seemed a little surprised.
Chai Qianning nodded and said, "They came last night and brought some things for Teacher Sheng."
Ni Chujing sighed almost imperceptibly, picked up her tea and took a sip: "Before, when Xiao Liu needed her, she could never find the time. Now... sigh."
"Was her mother very unkind to her before?"
"Well, when Xiaoliu was a child, the time she spent living with her mother was less than half the time she spent living with me."
“No wonder.” Chai Qianning cracked sunflower seeds. “I think the relationship between her and her mother is quite strange. If you say they have a good relationship, they are quite polite to each other. If you say they don’t have a good relationship, they seem quite harmonious.”
The sunflower seed shells in the bone dish piled up into a small mountain.
“Her mother didn’t spend much time with her.” Ni Chujing stared ahead, her gaze lost in memories.
"I remember when she first joined my class, she was in second grade. She was very quiet and always did things silently. One winter vacation, all the other students were picked up by their parents, but she was the only one left in the classroom. It got dark early in winter, and she was sitting alone in the dark classroom without turning on the lights. When I went to lock the door, I almost locked her in if I hadn't seen her eyes. Later, I sat with her in the classroom waiting for her mother to pick her up. I called her mother in the meantime, but her mother said she had forgotten when her child's winter vacation started and was on a business trip out of town, so she wouldn't be back so soon."
"Then I took her back to my home and she stayed there for a few days until her mother came to pick her up. After the New Year, on the sixth or seventh day of the Lunar New Year, I went out to buy groceries and saw her sitting alone on a corner of the street with a backpack. I noticed something was wrong with her, so I went over and asked her. When I unzipped her backpack, I saw that it was full of clothes."
Upon hearing this, Chai Qianning paused in her sunflower seed-eating motion: "So she ran away from home?"
Ni Chujing nodded: "She said she overheard her mother and stepfather talking, saying that they didn't have time to take care of her, that having her around would affect their work, and that they should let some relative take care of her first. The two of them even argued about it. Children are simple-minded, they think whatever comes to mind, and coupled with her mother's long-term neglect of her, she probably feels like she's superfluous."
"To be honest, her mother was really careless. She didn't even realize her child was missing until night. The security situation wasn't as good as it is now, and there were many human traffickers. If I hadn't run into her, I don't know what would have happened. As her teacher, I was terrified. I tried to talk to her mother and suggested that she spend more time with her child. You know, she sent her child to a full-time boarding school, more than 360 days a year, only away from school on holidays and winter and summer vacations. Compared to other children, she already lacked family love. But her mother's thinking at the time was probably that she should work hard to build her career and save enough money to give her child a better life."
“Once, Xiaoliu was hospitalized, and her mother couldn't come to take care of her, so she hired a caregiver. But a caregiver is only paid for what they do, and it can't compare to the care of family. At that time, her uncle lived in City A, and perhaps at her mother's request, he would visit her occasionally. But her uncle also had his own work and family, so he couldn't have much time to take care of her. I would go to see her whenever I had time on weekends, and every time I went into the ward and saw her thin back, I couldn't help but feel sorry for her.”
The sky gradually darkened.
The lights inside the room were turned on.
Ni Chujing slapped her thigh: "Oh dear, look at me, the whole afternoon has passed just like that. Why don't you and your sister stay here for dinner before going back?"
“Okay.” Chai Qianning didn’t refuse.
As she passed through the living room, her gaze swept over Ni Chujing, who was telling Chai Shuqing how to adjust the TV.
A framed photo stood next to the TV cabinet, showing a little girl wearing a red scarf, smiling shyly at the camera. Chai Qianning's gaze lingered on the photo for a long time before looking away.
After tidying up the sunflower seed shells on the table in the front yard, she went into the kitchen to help Ni Chujing prepare dinner.
"I think Teacher Sheng's mother is quite concerned about her now." Chai Qianning thought of the blind date that Sheng Muxi was arranged by her mother last time.
Ni Chujing didn't detect the sarcasm in her tone: "Maybe it's guilt."
"Maybe it's because her mother isn't as busy as she was when she was younger, and now she's given birth to such a young brother..." Chai Qianning said casually.
"What younger brother?" Ni Chujing was slightly surprised: "I didn't know about this. Xiao Liu didn't tell me."
The sound of a TV drama came from the living room, mixed with the clattering of pots and pans from the house across the street.
I glanced out the window and saw wisps of smoke rising from distant chimneys.
Ni Chujing recalled the scene: "The first time I let Xiaoliu stay at my house during the summer vacation, the little girl was a bit awkward. She felt that she had troubled me with too many things and felt bad. I said at the time, 'Teacher is lonely living alone. Please keep teacher company more.' Only then did Xiaoliu agree to come and stay."
"Actually, after she ran away from home that time, I was quite worried about her mental health. She was quiet and reserved at school, often shutting herself off and not letting anyone get close to her. Later, whenever I had free time, I would take her to the amusement park and encourage her to interact with other children. Gradually, her personality became more cheerful."
Ni Chujing smiled gently, her eyes crinkling: "During that time, it seemed like I was the one accompanying her, but she was also accompanying me. Having a child at home made life more vibrant."
Chai Qianning glanced at her; although the other woman's tone was calm, she could detect a faint sadness in it.
After dinner, Chai Qianning said goodbye to Ni Chujing and took Chai Shuqing back home.
She opened WeChat, intending to ask if Sheng Muxi had finished dinner and was back yet, but instead saw a message from Sheng Muxi's mother: "I don't want you to hold my daughter back, and you should find a good family to marry into."
Chai Qianning was stunned for a moment.
That's ridiculous.
What does "delay" mean?
You don't have to accept it, but this one sentence is really going too far.
Yesterday, she might have responded more tactfully, but after hearing about Sheng Muxi's childhood experiences from Ni Chujing, she couldn't remain calm.
She has a good attitude and rarely gets angry in her daily life.
But at this moment, she was truly angry.
If it weren't for the fact that the other person was Sheng Muxi's biological mother and an elder, she would have retorted very sharply.
But now, she thinks it's better to forget about it.
Ignore it and leave it alone.
She suddenly realized why the other woman's mother would say such a thing to her.
Her brow twitched, and she picked up her phone and dialed Sheng Muxi directly.
The other party answered after a long while.
Chai Qianning asked anxiously, "Are you alright?"
There was a pause on the other end of the phone, followed by a gentle voice: "What's wrong? What could be wrong with me?"
Are you home? I'll come up to your house.
After hanging up the phone, Chai Qianning put on her coat and, too lazy to wait for the elevator, went straight up the stairs.
Sheng Muxi opened the door for her, pulled her in and sat her down, and asked with concern, "Why are you so pale? What happened?"
Chai Qianning absentmindedly showed her the phone: "You confessed to your mother?"
Sheng Muxi glanced at the screen, her gaze suddenly darkening. Her usually gentle eyes now seemed to be covered with a layer of frost, making them look unpleasant.
Chai Qianning had never seen Sheng Muxi so cold before. Her previous emotions vanished, and she instead squeezed Sheng Muxi's hand: "Actually, it's nothing..."
"I'm sorry." Sheng Muxi seemed extremely upset. "I should have stopped my mom from adding you on WeChat. I didn't know she would say something like that to you..."