Mu Xing decisively pulled her outside: "The cook can take care of things here."
Next to the kitchen is the bathroom, which is in a Western style and equipped with hot water pipes, a bathtub, and a toilet. Behind the living room is the study, which is designed entirely based on Mu Xing's study.
"Huh? Why is the bookshelf full?" Bai Yan opened the bookshelf with some curiosity and casually picked up a book. But after only glancing at the cover, she looked at Mu Xing in astonishment.
Mu Xing just smiled and said, "Open it and take a look."
She pursed her lips and opened the magazine she knew all too well. The rest of the magazine was brand new, except for a few pages that showed signs of having been read. She turned to that page, and right at the beginning was the author's pen name: "Xiao Heren".
Setting down the book in her hand, Bai Yan pulled out another one, another familiar "Strange Words and Wonderful Thoughts" magazine, with the same signs of having been read.
Beside those densely packed lead characters, there was another stroke of free and unrestrained handwriting, carefully marking his reading notes:
"The female protagonist in this story is filled with sorrow and melancholy; the subtle and delicate emotions she expresses strongly suggest that the author is depicting her own self-pity..."
"This passage describes the scenery, where spring flowers are abundant and vibrant, yet it focuses solely on cherry blossoms. Why? Because the late-blooming cherry blossoms possess an unparalleled youthful beauty, but are unfortunately confined to the garden..."
"This description is unique, sharp and eccentric, showing off its skill while also displaying self-arrogance. The subtle hints of its intention make it noticeable, making it both endearing and pitiful..."
Every word and sentence resonates so deeply with my heart. As I read through the pages, I don't need to consciously recall what I was thinking when I wrote it. Even the small sense of pride I felt when I penned a brilliant passage resurfaces in my mind.
However… it is said that writing reflects the author's personality; an article is akin to another presentation of the author's inner journey. Being read by a stranger is a completely different experience from being browsed by a close friend. Being unexpectedly exposed to one's old writings can inevitably evoke a sense of almost annoyed embarrassment.
Closing the book, Bai Yan glared at Mu Xing and said reproachfully, "You knew all along?"
Seeing the blush on her cheeks and the furrowing of her brows, Mu Xing couldn't help but chuckle, "It wasn't very early, only... about half a year ago."
Seeing Bai Yan's expression, she continued, "So, what do you think? Wasn't my book review quite insightful? I always thought I'd show it to you someday. Tsk, it's really quite eloquent..."
Not having her writing commented on in person made Bai Yan less shy. She straightened the magazine she had pulled out and said, "Actually, these were just things I wrote casually in my spare time. There's nothing profound about them. I'm glad you read them all and even wrote a comment."
Mu Xing immediately seized the opportunity: "I think it's great. Speaking of which, I haven't read the sequel to your serialized story from not long ago."
Mentioning this, Bai Yan suddenly realized, "Oh no, how long has it been since I sent in a manuscript?"
Mu Xing helped her calculate: "It's been almost two months since I got injured, right? You haven't been secretly writing any articles during this time, have you?"
“I was in a bad mood for a while, so I didn’t send any manuscripts. Then you got injured… It’s been almost half a year now.” Bai Yan sighed. “I’m afraid Jinbao’s house will be flooded with manuscript requests lately.”
Mu Xing asked in confusion, "Jinbao? How did your letter urging me to finish my manuscript end up at Jinbao's house?"
There was no need to hide it from Mu Xing, so Bai Yan explained everything clearly: "Although I only write articles occasionally, I still earn some royalties. If my mother knew, she would probably squeeze me dry. So I usually give the articles to Jinbao and have her send them to the editorial office for me. The royalties are also deposited into her account."
Mu Xing nodded: "I see."
At this point, Bai Yan remembered to ask Mu Xing how he discovered her pen name.
Mu Xing then recounted how she noticed the clues, how she consulted numerous books, and how she ultimately obtained the answer by testing Bai Yan—she explained the entire process. At the end, she said rather smugly, "How about that? Aren't I incredibly clever?"
Bai Yan was both amused and exasperated: "I don't know whether to praise you for being so meticulous or to say you're too boring."
Mu Xing clicked his tongue: "It's because I cared about you so much back then that I discovered these things. Otherwise, if it were someone else, they wouldn't have had these thoughts."
She spoke without blushing, and Bai Yan laughed, "According to you, shouldn't I give you a reward?"
Mu Xing wagged her big tail: "Yeah, yeah, what's the reward..."
Before she could finish speaking, Bai Yan tiptoed slightly and gently touched her lips.
She tilted her head and chuckled, "How about I let you apply my lipstick as a reward?"
Body temperature and heart rate began to rise rapidly, blood and purplish-redness rushed into the head, and the breath collided into an ambiguous rhythm.
Staring at the glossy red lips before him, Mu Xing licked his own lips and said, "If you're going to apply it, you should at least apply it evenly..."
…
Chapter 74
The commotion continued until evening before Mu Xing finally made his way back to Mu Garden.
While buttoning her clothes, she said, "Wan'er, I'm afraid you'll have to make do for now. You can stay at home for a while, and I'll definitely come to keep you company when I have time..."
Knowing Mu Xing's concerns, Bai Yan sat up from the new bed and leaned on her shoulder: "Okay, I'm not in a hurry, and you shouldn't be either. As we discussed before, I'll redeem myself first, and you can slowly come out of your home. Once we've laid the groundwork, we'll explain things to your parents."
He kissed her forehead, stood up, and extended his hand: "See me off."
Smiling, he took her hand. Bai Yan, wearing slippers, and the two of them twirled along until they finally reached the door.
"If there's anything you need, go buy it, or we can go look for it together when I get here," Mu Xing instructed patiently. "If the room leaks, or anything else goes wrong, call the clinic and I'll bring someone to fix it. I'm not comfortable leaving you alone. In a few days, I'll bring a housekeeper from home; someone I know well, so I'll feel more at ease..."
Bai Yan looked at her and laughed: "You've said these same few words so many times, and it's still not enough. You're not Miss Mu now, you're Granny Mu."
Mu Xing reached out and pinched her cheek: "Do you think I'm nagging? Let me tell you, I've inherited my mother's nagging skills. You'll have a lot to deal with in the future!"
While laughing and dodging her sharp claws, Bai Yan said, "Alright, alright, go on, Fu Guang is still waiting for you down there. If you go back late, your family will be worried."
Mu Xing gave Bai Yan a loud kiss on the forehead before letting go of her: "I'm leaving now. I'll come see you in a couple of days. Call me if you need anything."
"Go ahead, be careful on the road."
Bai Yan opened the door, leaned against the door frame, and watched Mu Xing walk into the elevator and disappear through the iron door.
She stared blankly for a while until she heard a sound of arrival at the destination coming from the elevator shaft, at which point Bai Yan slowly withdrew her gaze.
She should have grown accustomed to watching her loved ones leave from behind a door. But with each repetition, the loneliness remained undiminished.
Taking a deep breath, Bai Yan cheered herself up.
It's okay, things will get better in the future.
Just as she was about to go back to her room, she turned her head and suddenly noticed that the door diagonally opposite was open, and a little boy was sticking his head out of the door, looking at her curiously.
When he saw her looking over, the little boy blushed and immediately hid back inside. The heavy door slammed shut, its echo reverberating in the empty corridor.
Is he the neighbor's child?
Bai Yan glanced down the corridor again before closing the door.
She only glanced at it briefly when she came over, and could only tell that these apartment buildings were quite new and had many residents. There were four units on the third floor of this building. Judging from the faded couplets on the doors of the other three units and the worn carpet in front of the opposite door, they were probably long-time residents.
The couplets on the doors diagonally opposite and the doors next to them are in the same handwriting, suggesting that the neighbors must have a good relationship.
While modern apartment living differs from traditional detached housing, avoiding excessive prying and intrusive intimacy, certain social obligations still apply. For example, there are the customary interactions when new residents move in.
We have quite a few local specialties brought back from Tung Blossom, but it's getting late today, so we'll wait until tomorrow…
Bai Yan was thinking when the doorbell rang.
A woman's voice came from outside the door: "Hello, miss, I am a resident of 303."
303 is the little boy's home.
Bai Yan opened the door, and a young woman stood outside. Sure enough, the little boy was also there, hiding behind the woman and secretly watching Bai Yan.
Out of habit, Bai Yan quickly glanced at the woman. She was in her early twenties, with bangs, a short haircut, earrings, an apron, and unbound feet. Her hands, carrying something, were slightly red. Not exceptionally beautiful, but quite refined; likely a fashionable modern housewife, probably educated.
Upon seeing Bai Yan's face, the woman's round eyes widened even more, and she couldn't help but glance at her a few times. But when she met Bai Yan's gaze, the woman seemed to realize how impolite she had been and hurriedly looked away.
The little boy, who was clinging to the woman's lap, suddenly exclaimed, "Mommy, look! I told you the new lady is pretty!"
"This child!" The woman was immediately embarrassed and gently patted the little boy's head. Bai Yan smiled and said, "Thank you, young master."
The little boy giggled.
The slight awkwardness melted away in that laugh.
At least he's a considerate and understanding neighbor. Bai Yan thought this, and her smile softened.
"Miss, I'm a resident of 303." The woman gestured to her front door and said, "301 has been empty for a long time. I heard about the renovations a few days ago, and I was looking forward to having new neighbors. Now that we're neighbors, please don't hesitate to ask if you need any help."
She handed over what she was holding, and Bai Yan then noticed that it was a small food box: "These are some snacks I made for lunch, please don't be shy."
Bai Yan accepted the food box, thanked the woman, and invited her inside to sit for a while. The woman declined, saying her husband would be home soon and she shouldn't stay too long. After exchanging a few more words and names, the woman took the little boy and went home.
Bai Yan carried the food box back to the living room.
303 belongs to Mrs. Ma, Mr. Ma, and their "little pony." According to Mrs. Ma, 304, which has the same couplet as 303, belongs to another family of three, while 302 belongs to a male teacher who lives alone.
Bai Yan opened the food box and looked at the small, cute red bean cakes inside, and breathed a sigh of relief.
The sound of the elevator going up and down could be heard in the hallway, and heavy footsteps passed by outside the door. A moment later, a little boy's laughter echoed in the corridor.
Upstairs, the sounds of high heels and leather shoes clattered, indicating someone was preparing a late dinner. The windows were open, and the aromas of food, spices, and the laughter and chatter of neighbors drifted in on the breeze.
This is the "normal" life she has been longing for.
She absolutely cannot mess this up.
Mu Xing felt that his life after returning to Wenjiang was not much different from before.
Because she had been "hurt by love" before, she did not need to appear in the ceremony to annul her engagement with Song Youcheng. Last month, her parents presided over the return of the engagement invitation and betrothal gifts. The rest was nothing more than various relatives offering condolences and greetings, which need not be elaborated upon.
As for external relations, she had completely severed ties with Tang Yu and his group of young masters, which was not a big deal. The only problem lay with Zhang Derong.
Before the attack, Mu Xing and Zhang Derong were planning to try to collaborate on the production of a new pill, but the problem of the Japanese prescription had not yet been resolved.
Now that she's been attacked and reverted to her identity as "Miss Mu," the awkwardness of her interactions with Zhang Derong and others is another matter. The most important issue is that Zhang Derong was originally on Tang Yu's side, and his previous connection with the Mu family was due to Mayor Tang's belief that they could be brought together to "make money." Now that Uncle Mu has rejected the railway construction proposal, and with the attack on Mu Xing creating a rift between the two families, Zhang Derong's position has become quite delicate.
Although Mu Xing was confident, he still consulted his uncle. His uncle only said one sentence: "Mr. Zhang is a businessman. He will know what the most advantageous choice is."
After pondering those words, Mu Xing still contacted Zhang Derong, hoping to meet and talk. Over the phone, she didn't notice any change in Zhang Derong's attitude; he readily agreed as always.
But when they met, the differences became apparent.
Unlike previous meetings in hotels or theaters, this time Zhang Derong chose a bright and spacious coffee shop with many people coming and going, and he did not bring his girlfriend.
Mu Xing naturally stopped wearing men's clothing and instead wore a proper suit with all her accessories and jewelry. She also brought along Fu Guang and Uncle Song—in Fu Guang's words, she finally had the air of a young lady from a prominent family.
Upon arriving at the coffee shop, as soon as the two sat down, Zhang Derong inquired about the severity of "Miss Mu's" illness. He also mentioned that he had not known about Mu Xing's condition beforehand and therefore could not disturb her without prior notice. He added that he had already sent someone to deliver some high-quality tonics to Mu's residence.
That natural and slightly intimate feeling was more than enough, as if there had never been any "Young Master Mu" incident.
After expressing his gratitude, Mu Xing didn't want to waste time with pleasantries and went straight to the point: "My illness has caused me to miss many things, such as the pill-making project that Mr. Zhang was discussing. I wonder how Mr. Zhang is making progress?"
She didn't ask Mr. Zhang if he still wanted to cooperate, and Mr. Zhang didn't bring it up at all. He directly took out a stack of proposals and handed them to Mu Xing, explaining what he had done during the month or so that Mu Xing was recuperating: how to contact the medical school Mu Xing had chosen to negotiate cooperation, how to sign the contract; how to purchase pharmaceutical equipment, and where the newly planned factory would be located...
All matters had been arranged and everything was ready. The next step was for Mu Xing to handle the issues of securing investment and sponsorship, and seizing market share.
This is also the basis for Mu Xing's confidence that Boss Zhang would not break his promise—building a love nest is not an easy task. If this project fails, not only will Bai Yan's redemption be postponed, but her final cash flow will also be in trouble.
Fortunately, Mr. Zhang is a smart man.
After Boss Zhang finished giving his instructions, Mu Xing naturally needed to offer something to reassure the troops. Although she had been immersed in the dual nourishment of love and nature for over a month, her mind was still working. She already had a basic plan for the investment, and was just waiting to return to Wenjiang to begin.