"It's nothing, it's nothing." Chai Qianning hugged her. "It's just a sentence, I don't think it's anything, I was just worried about you."
"What are you worried about me for?"
"Did your mom say anything provocative to you?"
"She just can't accept that I'm with girls."
Chai Qianning sighed softly: "I didn't expect you to tell your mother so quickly."
Sheng Muxi held her hand: "I was bound to find out sooner or later, and besides... my mother has been arranging blind dates for me lately."
"Why are we arranging blind dates for you? We never cared about you before, but now that you're grown up, what's the point of starting to interfere?" Chai Qianning's tone was gentle, but Sheng Muxi could detect a hint of anger in it.
"I went to Ms. Ni Chujing's house this afternoon. She told me about your family situation."
Seeing that the other party was in a bad mood because of her, Sheng Muxi couldn't help but feel a tender pain in her heart.
She pulled the other person closer to her: "I don't care about the past at all, but my mother feels guilty and wants to make it up to me, which is unnecessary for me. To be honest, there isn't much affection between my mother and me, it's just because of that blood relationship, but that's all."
No wonder, Chai Qianning finally understood why the relationship between Sheng Muxi and her mother seemed so strange.
It is said that blood is thicker than water when it comes to family ties, but without intimacy and affection, it cannot be considered true family ties.
Meng Xuelin's feelings for her were perhaps more guilt than affection, which is why she worried about her future. Sheng Muxi, on the other hand, was perhaps simply accepting the regrets of the past. But the timing was wrong; what's missed is missed. No matter how harmonious things appeared on the surface, the inside remained broken and irreparable.
Chai Qianning was originally thinking that if the other party's mother didn't agree, she would work hard slowly. Even if she didn't get the other party's mother's blessing, at least she wouldn't object.
But now, she has no such thoughts at all.
Especially after Meng Xuelin uttered the word "delay".
"You went shopping with your mother today, did you have a fight with her?" Chai Qianning asked.
Sheng Muxi shook her head: "No, I don't argue with people, I just stated the facts. My mother can't accept it, and I don't know how to make her accept it."
Because their interactions were neither frequent nor deep to begin with.
“So, there’s nothing I can do if she can’t accept it. I can’t live according to her ideas.” Sheng Muxi stroked her fingertips.
Chai Qianning held the phone and placed it on her lap.
Sheng Muxi stared at her for a few seconds, then asked her to open WeChat.
Chai Qianning did as she was told, but she didn't know what she was going to do.
Sheng Muxi then deleted all the messages sent by Meng Xuelin.
"If you feel uncomfortable looking at it, don't look at it. If my mom sends you messages like this again and it makes you feel uncomfortable, just set it to Do Not Disturb and ignore it."
Chai Qianning turned off her phone screen: "So you and your mother have fallen out?"
Sheng Muxi thought for a moment: "It's not like we've fallen out, it's just that we've gone back to our original relationship."
Returning to the original, distant relationship, without having to deliberately maintain a superficial kinship, can also reduce some of the tedious and meaningless procedures in life.
"She doesn't have to always think about making up for me, and I don't have to suffer from her making up for me. It's better for everyone."
Chai Qianning hugged her and kissed her happily: "Okay, as long as you don't feel bad because of your mother's matter."
"So what made you sad just now?"
"Because of you."
"I?"
"Well, I don't care what others think, but because she's your mother, I don't want you to feel pressured about our relationship because of your mother's opposition. My dear teacher Sheng, I hope you will be happy from now on."
Sheng Muxi smiled, pursing her lips, and stroked her cheek with her fingertips: "What about your family? Will they agree?"
"I don't know." Chai Qianning lazily rested her chin on her hand, while playing with the other person's fingers with her other hand.
She wasn't actually worried about herself at all, probably because the family environment she grew up in was quite free and relaxed.
"At most, they'll beat me up, and then they'll agree."
Sheng Muxi was shocked: "So brutal?"
Chai Qianning smiled and said, "Just kidding."
After all this time, it's getting late.
Before leaving, Sheng Muxi asked her if she wanted to eat a banana.
Chai Qianning nodded.
So the other person brought her a big bag of bananas.
Chai Qianning was extremely puzzled. Sheng Muxi doesn't eat bananas, so why did he buy so many for the house?
Then she remembered that it was her mother who had sent it.
She gladly accepted the task and helped the other party resolve the issue.
"Teacher Sheng," Chai Qianning leaned closer, "let's have a goodbye kiss."
"A goodbye kiss? It's not like we'll never see each other again."
Despite saying that, Sheng Muxi still went over and kissed her.
However, the man was not satisfied at all, and turned his face: "I want this side too."
Her ear brushed against the corner of her lips, and Chai Qianning wrapped her arms around her neck, smiling as she said, "How about we live together in a while?"
Sheng Muxi nodded: "Move it up here."
Chai Qianning tilted her head and thought for a moment: "Can I just bring myself up here?"
"Pfft." Sheng Muxi smiled: "Okay."
"Then it won't take long."
"?"
“I can bring myself up here anytime.”
Chapter 46 is quite embarrassing.
After nearly half a month of overcast, rainy, and cloudy weather, the first day of December finally brought a rare sunny day, with the sun shining for once.
The green leaves shimmered on the balcony, casting faint shadows on the railing.
On a whim, Chai Qianning finally remembered to take care of the flowers at home, only to find that several potted plants on the shelf had withered.
The potted plant was a gift from a friend to cultivate her mind, but it turned out she couldn't cultivate that mind.
Because of her long-term neglect of care and maintenance, the only thing that survived in her home was the succulent that Chai Shuqing brought back. Even though its owner ignored it for a long time, it still grew vigorously and showed great vitality.
After tidying up the plants on the balcony, Chai Qianning took a picture of her succulents and posted it on her WeChat Moments: "I guess I'm only suited to growing succulents."
The folding recliner she ordered online arrived a few days ago. It fits perfectly on the balcony, allowing her to sunbathe in the winter and enjoy a moment of warmth during the cold season.
The post she made on WeChat Moments a few minutes ago was getting a lot of likes. Chai Qianning washed her fingertips, which were still a little dirty, sat down on the recliner, opened her phone, replied to a few comments on the post, and then opened Sheng Muxi's chat box. Just as she was about to edit a message to send, she received a message from him: "[Did you buy this for me?]" The accompanying picture was a tracking number.
The package was shipped with Sheng Muxi's number on it, so Chai Qianning didn't receive any notification.
Chai Qianning typed a reply: 【Yes.】
I just placed my order yesterday, and it arrived today! The logistics are amazing!
Sheng Muxi: [Bed sheets? A pack of ten? Are you sure? Are you doing wholesale?]
Chai Qianning smiled as she looked at the message: [Wholesale is more than just this.]
They found some time and went to Ni Chujing's house together.
After they got together, besides their friends, the first elder to send them blessings was none other than Ni Chujing.
Sheng Muxi was quite surprised at first, thinking that it was what Chai Qianning had confessed to Ni Chujing last time, but Chai Qianning said that the other party had guessed it.
The photo frames on both sides of the TV cabinet were still in their original positions, and even the angles were unchanged. Chai Qianning pointed to one of the photo frames and said to Sheng Muxi, "You said that Teacher Ni is not a relative to you, but he is closer than a relative. I think you must be quite important to Teacher Ni. The only two photos here are of you and Teacher Ni's lover."
Sheng Muxi was about to speak when she heard the word "lover" and paused for a moment. She looked over and asked in confusion, "What lover?"
"You don't know?" Chai Qianning examined the old photograph. "Teacher Ni told me that this girl is her lover."
"Aren't we friends?"
"Huh?"
Ni Chujing brought them a plate of fruit from the kitchen. Sheng Muxi's eyes twitched, and she said softly, "Teacher Ni, that's not very kind of you. I've known you for so long, and you've never told me that you have a lover. When I was little, I asked you who that girl was, and you told me she was a friend."
Ni Chujing glanced at Chai Qianning standing next to the photo frame on the TV cabinet, then looked away and smiled: "You were still young back then, and I'm afraid you wouldn't understand what I meant by 'lover'."
"So, the pear tree by the back gate was also planted by your husband?" Sheng Muxi asked.
Hearing this, Chai Qianning turned her gaze and looked out the window at the bare tree: "So that's a pear tree!"
“Yes, my husband and I lived here for a while.” Ni Chujing said slowly, “After she passed away, I was easily reminded of the past by staying here, so I moved away. Once, when I came back to pack my things, I saw that the pear tree by the back door was full of pear blossoms. In that instant, I changed my mind and decided to stay here and keep the things she left behind.”
Chai Qianning listened quietly, her gaze lingering on the old photograph. The girl standing next to Ni Chujing had a thick braid. Chai Qianning seemed to have seen the girl's clothes in her grandmother's wardrobe before; they were floral and would look outdated by today's standards, but they must have been a very popular style back then.
"Teacher Ni, do you have any other photos at home?"
There are only these two.
Ni Chujing picked up the photo frame on the left, her eyes gentle: "Xiao Liu didn't like taking pictures before. I had to coax and trick her into taking this photo. Look, she's so shy when she looks at the camera."
Chai Qianning gently stroked the edge of the photo frame with her fingertips, staring intently at the photo: "She is quite shy."
"Why are you starting to talk about me?" Sheng Muxi took a sip of tea and placed it on the table.
Seeing Chai Qianning take a picture of the photo in the frame with her phone, she walked over and glanced at it.
Chai Qianning swiped her finger across the screen, then suddenly leaned close to her ear and whispered, "You get shy very easily now."
His warm breath brushed against her ear, making her feel slightly hot. Sheng Muxi glared at her: "You want to keep photos of me when I was little?"
"I only have one photo of Teacher Sheng when he was a child, so of course I have to save it on my phone."
A potted plant in the front yard fell over and collided with an empty glass bottle next to it, making a clear sound.
"Oh dear, the wind is really strong." Ni Chujing stood up and walked outside to right the overturned flowerpot.
Sheng Muxi turned her gaze away from outside and nudged Chai Qianning's arm: "Last time you came to Teacher Ni's house, I wasn't there. What did Teacher Ni say to you?"