Chapter 47 Interaction
As they left the store, Sheng Muxi glanced sideways and repeated what Chai Qianning had said: "The youngest is already in high school?"
Chai Qianning blinked lightly.
“I feel like…” Sheng Muxi pursed her lips, “The generational hierarchy is a bit messed up.”
"Really? Aren't you taking advantage of me?"
Sheng Muxi: "?"
People streamed by on the street. Chai Qianning held her arm, and even through the thick sweater, they could still feel the warmth of each other's bodies.
After a moment's thought, Sheng Muxi understood what she meant. She gently pinched Chai Qianning's fingertips and raised her chin slightly at her: "Then let me hear you shout it."
"What are you shouting for?" Chai Qianning's long eyelashes trembled slightly.
Sheng Muxi said matter-of-factly, "How can I take advantage of you if you don't call me?"
Chai Qianning chuckled softly a few times: "So you really want me to call you Mom?"
"Never mind." Sheng Muxi turned her gaze back to the front: "That would make me look older."
It was still early, so the two strolled around the neighborhood, leisurely choosing which restaurant to have dinner at.
What to eat for three meals a day is a philosophical question, especially when you're not very hungry, you'll struggle with this issue.
Seeing Chai Qian staring intently at the row of restaurants across the street, Sheng Muxi assumed she was considering where to eat. But then she suddenly blurted out, "How could it make you look old?"
"?"
"You should look young. Think about it, your child is already in high school, so you must be at least 35 or over 40. But you look like you're in your twenties. Doesn't that make people praise you for your eternal youth?"
".."
The other party always had a lot of strange logic, and Sheng Muxi told herself that she should get used to it.
Winter days are short and dark. The cold wind blows across the road and hits people, blowing Chai Qianning's hair to the side of her face, covering half of her chin.
There's no point in staying outside in this temperature. Chai Qianning casually pointed to a row of shops across the street and spotted a hot pot restaurant: "Let's go eat hot pot then."
There are many hot pot restaurants on the street, and perhaps because of the cold weather, they are all quite crowded when you look through the glass.
When the two reached the intersection, the green light had just turned red, so they had no choice but to patiently stand on the side and wait. The traffic light at this intersection had an unusually long duration, a full ninety seconds.
Chai Qianning was wearing a loose-fitting coat, and her sweater underneath was also loose, making it easy for drafts to get in. Sheng Muxi felt the coldness of her fingers, so he took her entire palm into his own.
"Wear more clothes." Sheng Muxi tugged at her hat with concern and put it on her to block out some of the wind: "It's cold."
The hat was so big that it almost completely covered Chai Qianning's eyes.
She slightly raised her chin, revealing her eyes as she looked at Sheng Muxi: "You're wearing three layers."
"Your clothes don't look warm at all."
"I'm not cold."
Sheng Muxi was wearing a dark striped trench coat, one hand in his pocket, the other holding Chai Qianning's hand. Then he put Chai Qianning's hand into his pocket as well.
The red light finally turned green, and the two stepped onto the zebra crossing to cross to the other side.
Whether it was psychological or the warmth emanating from the other person's palm, Chai Qianning felt that Sheng Muxi's pocket was warmer than her own.
She stroked Sheng Muxi's hand, then gently ran her fingertips across his palm, playing with his fingertips, and even stirred them inside his pocket. Sheng Muxi felt her hand moving around like a little eel and laughed, "What are you doing?"
"Didn't you say my hands were cold? I'm rubbing them together to start a fire."
"You think you can start a fire by rubbing wood together? I can start a fire by rubbing wood together."
Sheng Muxi held her hand down, preventing her from moving around.
The two entered the hot pot restaurant, where the heating immediately dispelled the cold air from their bodies.
This is a self-service hot pot restaurant. There is a fixed fee per person, and if too much food is left uneaten, a deposit will be deducted.
Before the hot pot broth was served, the two went to the self-service condiment area to get some ingredients.
Because it was a bit hot during the meal, Sheng Muxi took off her trench coat and placed it next to her seat.
Mist occasionally swirled between the two, creating a stark contrast between the cold outside and the warmth inside the hot pot restaurant. As Sheng Muxi ate, her cheeks flushed slightly.
Chai Qianning didn't eat much; she preferred watching Sheng Muxi eat, which led Sheng Muxi to constantly ask, "Why aren't you eating?"
Then she would take a bite, and then continue to admire Sheng Muxi's elegant eating manners.
Sheng Muxi placed a piece of blanched vegetarian tripe into her bowl: "The owner of the buffet restaurant must love customers like you the most."
"Why?"
"You're eating so little, you won't even get your money's worth."
"But I'm already a little full."
Sheng Muxi tilted her head: "So that's your reason for eating late-night snacks? If you eat little for dinner, you'll get hungry easily in the middle of the night."
She could tell from the other person's words that they were talking about the time in the summer when she got up in the middle of the night to fry chicken cutlets at the guesthouse. Chai Qianning blinked innocently and said, "Who said I often eat late-night snacks? That time I got up in the middle of the night to fry chicken cutlets was an accident. How come you remember it for so long?"
But if nothing unexpected happens, Sheng Muxi will probably remember it forever. Because that night in the kitchen, they weren't just frying chicken cutlets.
Considering their ambiguous relationship at the time, it was indeed an unforgettable experience. Especially hearing Chai Qianning utter the words "affair," he could still recall the feeling of his heart racing and his breathing becoming erratic.
After we finished eating the hot pot, the neon lights outside lit up one after another.
Within the halo illuminated by the lights, fine, soft wisps of snow drifted by, like a gentle drizzle. But in City A, it doesn't snow in winter; it's just a light drizzle.
Neither of them brought an umbrella, but Chai Qianning drove over.
The car was parked in the underground parking lot of the shopping mall across the street, and it took five or six minutes to get there.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Sheng Muxi fastened her seatbelt and then casually unwrapped a piece of candy and popped it into her mouth. The candy was a freebie from the hot pot restaurant; it was incredibly sweet, so much so that Sheng Muxi's eyes narrowed slightly.
Chai Qianning noticed her expression and asked with a smile, "Are you eating bitter melon candy? Is it really that awful?"
"It's not bad, it's just too sweet. It's so sweet that it's giving me a high blood sugar attack."
Chai Qianning chuckled and asked, "How sweet?"
Sheng Muxi picked up an unopened candy from her fingertips and offered it to her: "Want to try some?"
"Of course I'll try." Chai Qianning didn't take the candy, but instead leaned closer. Sheng Muxi's outstretched hand was blocked by her chest, and her fingers curled up.
At that time, the parking lot was deserted, and the car was parked in a parking space on the side, so the interior of the car was not well lit.
Chai Qianning's sudden closeness made her catch her breath, and the candy in her mouth slowly spread its sweetness on her taste buds.
Perhaps it was the light, but the other person's eyes were very bright, as if they were moistened with water, and the gaze they cast was mixed with a kind of intense passion.
Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the hem of her clothes. The moment the other person leaned in, she smelled the fragrance wafting from above their collar, mixed with hormonal impulses, which covered her lips and assaulted her sensitive nerves.
The sweet interaction lasted for about ten minutes. When she heard a noise not far away, Chai Qianning released her, with a rather pleasant smile on her face: "I've tried it, it's really sweet."
The car drove out of the parking lot.
Sheng Muxi's disordered breathing calmed down a little. She leaned back in her seat, staring at the scenery outside the car window. Her lips still felt numb, and the numbness was sweet, which was running around in her body and making her dizzy.
Amidst the soft background music in the car, Sheng Muxi turned her head to look at Chai Qianning. The other woman's thin lips glistened, and a few strands of hair fell messily beside her ears. Looking away, she licked her lips, still savoring the memory.
In late December, Chai Qianning moved into her home and began a shameless cohabitation.
Of course, this "shameless and unrestrained" refers to Chai Qianning. Sheng Muxi was always led into that shameless and unrestrained world.
Before she moved in, Sheng Muxi had already bought all sorts of daily necessities for her online, so all Chai Qianning really needed to do was come up here.
Chai Qianning lived right downstairs from her, so it was very convenient for her to go back to get something or stay for a while; it was just a side trip.
I saw a post on Chai Qianning's WeChat Moments lamenting that she couldn't grow flowers well. So Sheng Muxi brought out the only clivia in her house.
They slept in the master bedroom, while Sheng Muxi occasionally used the second bedroom as a study for work.
The master bedroom bed was covered with soft, yellow sheets and a duvet cover. The SpongeBob SquarePants pattern on them drew merciless criticism from Sheng Muxi, who said her taste in choosing sheets was too unique. But thankfully, the quality was good; the pure cotton was very warm and felt great against the skin.
Later, Chai Qianning bought another set of yellow fluffy pajamas. After putting them on, she snuggled into the bed, seemingly blending in with the sheets and duvet cover.
But their happiness was short-lived. Just as Chai Qianning bought Sheng Muxi a set of yellow fluffy pajamas and asked her to match them, they stained the sheets that very night, leaving the bed looking brand new the next day, a sea of blue.
On a cold winter night, Sheng Muxi was grading students' homework in the second bedroom, which also served as a study. After playing a few games, Chai Qianning went to bed early, claiming that she was there to warm his bed.
She was covered by the blanket, but her head and hands were cold, so she buried her whole body, including her phone, under the covers.
After finishing grading the students' homework, Sheng Muxi went to the bathroom, came out of the living room, drank some water, and went into the bedroom. She saw a big bulge in the blanket on the bed and assumed that the other person was asleep. Fearing that the other person might suffocate, she went over and reached out to pull the blanket back a little for Chai Qianning.
However, when she pulled back the blanket to reveal the other person's head, she found that Chai Qianning was not asleep at all. While playing with her phone, her face was flushed with a suspicious blush.
Before Sheng Muxi could think about whether she was suffocated by the blanket or something else, Chai Qianning jumped up excitedly and called out to her, "You're finally going to sleep!"
"Hmm." Sheng Muxi lifted half of the blanket and sat down, her eyelids twitching slightly, as if the other person was hiding some kind of conspiracy.
Sure enough, the next second Chai Qianning leaned on her shoulder, looking very happy, her tone even carrying a hint of excitement, but her lowered voice seemed to be about to reveal a secret: "I found a new position online, do you want to try it?"
Chapter 48 Keep Up the Good Work
The other person's breath was very hot, and Sheng Muxi blushed. As soon as she heard what Chai Qianning said, she knew what it was about.
She swallowed hard: "Try...what?"
"You'll find out in a little while." Chai Qianning gently lifted her collar with her fingertips.
However, halfway through, Sheng Muxi found the position too awkward and refused to cooperate.
Chai Qianning chuckled softly, "Teacher Sheng, do you still care so much about your image in bed?"
Sheng Muxi turned her head away, but her body, which was pressed against the other person's, continued to heat up, and a soft groan came from her throat.
After a long pause, he finally uttered five words: "Shut up."
These words had no deterrent effect. Chai Qianning not only did not shut up, but also went further: "But you have no image left in front of me, so what is there to be embarrassed about?"
Hmm, pushing their luck, Sheng Muxi closed her eyes.
.
I thought it would be over after one night, but when I woke up the next day, I found that my body was not like that.
It was almost the same scene as last time when Chai Qianning got drunk and ran around restlessly in the living room and bedroom, resulting in many bruises all over her body.