The room was quiet, but Shen Moyu's heart was in turmoil.
Su Yi wasn't home. There was a faint smell of air freshener in the house, which must have been cleaned before his uncle left.
He sat on the sofa, looked at the big house he had dreamed of as a child, and suddenly felt that it wasn't so great after all.
It turns out that every time Su Yi left, Aunt Cui went back to her hometown, and Su Jinning always had such a lonely time after school.
"Woof!"
The ball ran straight from Su Jinning's bedroom and jumped into Shen Moyu's arms, rubbing against him incessantly. It kept licking Shen Moyu's cheeks with its tongue, as if they hadn't seen each other for a long time.
"Silly boy, you scared me." Shen Moyu looked at the lively ball and affectionately patted its head.
Rolling Ball had grown several sizes larger than when she first found it, and Shen Moyu was getting a little tired holding it. It still smelled of shampoo, probably because it had just taken a bath.
Shen Moyu kissed its forehead, pointed upstairs helplessly, and said, "What should we do? Do you have any ideas to make Daddy happy?"
He looked at the ball as if pleading, but the only response he received was the ball's wet tongue.
Shen Moyu felt like she was going crazy. She was probably desperate and started trying to rely on dogs.
Looking at Rolling Ball's rather dim-witted appearance, he didn't know whether to laugh at Rolling Ball or at himself: "Forget it, your dad might kick you anyway."
Shen Moyu stared blankly at the large chandelier above his head when the door behind him suddenly opened.
He turned around and saw Su Yi standing at the door, changing his shoes while carrying a large bag of groceries.
"Uncle." Shen Moyu stood up.
Su Yi looked up at him, seemingly a little surprised: "Ah, Mo Yu, I thought you had left."
"No, he just fell asleep. I was just about to leave." Shen Moyu picked up her schoolbag from the sofa, ready to leave.
Su Yi is back, so it's not good for him to be here too.
"Hey, no, no, no!" But Su Yi stopped him abruptly, snatched his backpack away, and said with a smile, "Stay for lunch. You've worked hard these past two days."
Shen Moyu smiled sheepishly, "No, it's not hard work at all."
Su Yi patted him on the shoulder, looking at him with an extremely approving gaze, and suddenly sighed, "Ah, Xiao Ning is so lucky to have such a good friend like you."
Shen Moyu smiled and said, "I'm very lucky to have a friend like him."
Su Yi laughed generously, then firmly pressed him onto the sofa, refusing to let him leave: "Stay and eat with us. I'll let you try my scallion fish. I've been learning from your aunt for a long time, but I haven't had time to make it for Xiao Ning."
At this point, neither of them knew how to continue the conversation.
A moment later, Su Yi reached for the apron beside him, grinned, and said, his wrinkles crinkling together, "Eat here, it'll keep Uncle company for a while."
Shen Moyu was speechless, a feeling of frustration rising in his chest.
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Author's Note:
It really hurts.
Chapter 72 Missing
Shen Moyu glanced at the slightly ajar door, then knocked before finally going inside.
Su Jinning remained seated by the window, lost in thought, fiddling with the jade pendant in her hand. She caught a glimpse of Shen Moyu out of the corner of her eye, but only shifted slightly.
Shen Moyu put down the food in her hands: "Uncle made scallion fish, try it."
Upon hearing the words "scallion fish," Su Jinning turned to look at the things on the table, her movements somewhat too hasty.
The bowl contained a whole fish head, which Su Yi knew he loved. Below it was about half a bowl of fish meat that had already been cut out, still emitting a fragrant aroma; it was cooked very tenderly.
He stared at the bowl of fish for a long time, then looked away and sighed, "I don't want anything greasy, rice porridge will do."
His hoarse voice trembled slightly, as if he was suppressing tears.
Scallion fish was his favorite dish when he was a child, and it was also his mother's specialty. Every holiday, New Year, or his birthday, the whole family would gather together, his father would make chicken soup, and his mother would make scallion fish.
Inside the warm and cozy home, the three of them sat around a round little table to eat. Dad would ladle a bowl of steaming chicken soup for him, and Mom would scoop out a whole fish head and put it in his bowl.
The house was very small at the time, but he didn't feel crowded.
Later, he also learned to make scallion fish. His mother taught him on her own initiative. At that time, he was lazy and didn't want to learn at all. He pestered his mother and acted spoiled, thinking that his mother would make it for him anyway, so why should he learn?
He remembered his mother's hand seemed to tremble slightly, then she patted his head and smiled serenely: "If Mom isn't home in the future, you can cook for yourself."
He smiled mockingly, then looked at the jade pendant, which still felt warm, and kept stroking it in his hand.
When his mother handed it to him, she smiled and told him to keep it safe, because she would take it back when she returned after her treatment.
How stingy, it's just a jade pendant.
Su Jinning's nose tingled with sadness. "But Mom, I really want to return this jade pendant to you..."
That summer was very short; it seemed that after that afternoon, it turned into an endless winter.
Su Jinning lowered her head, staring intently at her trembling fingers.
Shen Moyu squatted down, seeing right through his thoughts. He held Su Jinning's hands and said softly, "Uncle has been making this for a long time. You should eat some; you can't just drink porridge all the time, right?"
After a moment, Su Jinning regained his composure. He turned his head slightly to stare at Shen Moyu's face, lowering his voice as if in negotiation: "Take it away, I really don't want to eat it."
Shen Moyu couldn't persuade him otherwise, so she could only take the fish and meat untouched and go downstairs.
When Su Yi saw him come downstairs, she threw off her apron and came over. When she saw the untouched fish in his hand, her face immediately fell.
He sighed softly. He took the bowl of fish, looked down at it as if he suspected something was wrong, but wasn't surprised: "Alright, sit down and eat."
The two sat facing each other. Su Yi handed him a bottle of cola, but poured himself a glass of baijiu.