Xi Jia asked her aunt to wake her up at seven o'clock tomorrow morning, and she wrote down her schedule for tomorrow and put it on her bedside table.
Turn off the lights and squint.
She was in solitude, with no end in sight and no one around her.
I wonder what I'll lose when I wake up tomorrow morning.
The next morning, the aunt woke Xi Jia up on time.
As before, Xi Jia started catching up on her notes.
On her way to Qin Sulan's house, she read through all her chat history with Qin Sulan over the past few days.
I don't even know what this vinegar looks like.
On her way here, Xi Jia bought a bouquet of lilies and gave it to Qin Sulan.
Qin Sulan looked at the lilies and thought of the birthday gift Mo Yushen gave her on her birthday.
Xi Jia didn't see anyone else at home and asked, "Auntie, isn't Cucumber home?"
Qin Sulan: "He went out and spends every day wandering around outside with his camera."
"Good."
Xi Jia felt that Qin Sulan's home decoration was very special. There was a large electronic display screen on the TV background wall in the living room, which was out of place with the background wall.
Qin Sulan turned on the monitor and then raised the coffee table in the living room.
The coffee table is raised to a suitable height, with a laptop on each side.
Qin Sulan sat down at one of the laptops. "This is how I usually talk to my son. The one in front of you is for Cucumber. But he rarely talks to me. He resents me, resents that I didn't ask for custody of him during the divorce."
Xi Jia: "Auntie, actually, he loves you too, which is why he resents you for not wanting him."
Qin Sulan: [I hope it's like you said. By the way, my dining room is also special; it has a monitor too, don't be surprised.]
Xi Jia turned around and looked towards the dining room. Sure enough, there was a monitor on one wall that was about 100 inches in size. There were also two laptops on the dining table.
Xi Jia looked away: "Is Cu Cu's voice... unable to make a sound now?"
Qin Sulan: [I've been basically silent these past few days.]
Xi Jia also felt uncomfortable.
She had experienced firsthand the feeling of losing something little by little.
Her notebook recorded that, besides Cucu, there was another patient like her in Beijing—a girl with an eye problem. Everything in the world appeared black and white to that girl, and her vision was deteriorating.
Xi Jia comforted Qin Sulan: "Auntie, Cucu is willing to take photos now, which is a good start. Don't worry. Look at me, I can't hear anything, but I can still write scripts for you."
Qin Sulan: [Auntie is so grateful to you, thank you for coming to help me. Otherwise, I wouldn't know what to do.]
Just then, the doorbell rang a few times.
Immediately following was the sound of the fingerprint lock.
Qin Sulan: [CuCu is back.]
Xi Jia subconsciously looked towards the doorway.
The door opened, and a tall, well-built man in a black shirt came into view. Backlit, Xi Jia couldn't make out what the man looked like, and felt too embarrassed to stare at him.
Mo Yushen hadn't seen Xi Jia for three days, but it felt like three years.
Qin Sulan typed on the screen: "[Let me introduce you, this is Jiajia, my mother's close friend despite the age difference, and also the screenwriter my mother invited.]"
【Jiajia, this is vinegar.】
Mo Yushen: "..."
What is vinegar?
Xi Jia stood up and smiled slightly: "Hello, I am Xi Jia."
Mo Yushen nodded.
He had to constantly remember his new identity. He had to be expressionless and silent.
Xi Jia then got a clear look at the man's face.
Sexy, abstinent, hormones.
So many words suddenly popped into her head.
This vinegar looks rather pretty.
Author's Note: SeSe: Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing? (Facepalm)
Chapter Sixty
Mo Yushen should have gone back to his room and acted as if he was extremely disgusted with being around strangers; this was the persona and behavior he had agreed upon with Qin Sulan beforehand.
But now, instead of going back to his room, he sat on the sofa, casually watching the video recordings on his camera, occasionally glancing at Xi Jia.
Xi Jia sat down not far from Mo Yushen. Her gaze unconsciously drifted towards Mo Yushen.
For a fleeting moment, their eyes met unexpectedly.
Then, the two pretended to look away as if nothing had happened.
An ambiguous atmosphere suddenly arose in the living room.
Xi Jia picked up Qin Sulan's book and flipped through it, trying to hide her unease; her breathing was already erratic. The way she and Qin Cucu exchanged glances seemed to have created a chemical reaction.
She thought that she was like Qin Cucu, someone who fell in love at first sight and was attracted to each other at first sight.
Is this the legendary "birds of a feather flock together"?
That's probably it.
Xi Jia turned another page. She hadn't read a single word of the previous page; she had no idea what it was about. The second page seemed incomplete and disjointed.
Xi Jia glanced at the cover; it was "The Rest of My Life," one of Mr. Yue's representative works. She should have read it before; the title seemed familiar.
Mo Yushen's gaze fell upon him again.
"Be reserved, don't give yourself away," Qin Sulan reminded her son. "Your eyes are practically glued to Jiajia."
Mo Yushen: "..." He put away his camera and went back inside.
Xi Jia watched Mo Yushen's retreating figure. The door closed, and she could see nothing anymore. For some reason, she felt a little lost.
This was the first time she had met Qin Cucu.
Even if she was attracted to him at first sight, she shouldn't feel lost or sad after he left.
Xi Jia had no recollection of the time when she picked up Mo Yushen's ID card at the restaurant. She had thought he was good-looking and felt inexplicably lost, but at the time she was immersed in sadness.
That sense of loss went unnoticed.
Qin Sulan offered Xi Jia some fruit, and Xi Jia, coming back to her senses, said, "Thank you, Aunt Qin."
My son is just like that; he's indifferent to people. Don't take it to heart.
Xi Jia thought to herself, "How could I possibly take it to heart? Vinegar is fine."
Qin Sulan created an opportunity for them to be alone: "He must have taken quite a few photos just now; you can go take a look. Right now, he's only interested in talking about photos and will chat with others about them."
This suited Xi Jia perfectly.
Mo Yushen was processing work emails when there was a knock on the door.
“It’s me, Xi Jia.”
Mo Yushen closed the mailbox and turned on the camera.
"Qin Cucumber?"
Before anyone could open the door, Xi Jia called out her name.
Mo Yushen: "..."
This name could give you a heart attack.
"Qin Cucu? It's me, Xi Jia."
Mo Yushen got up and went to open the door.
The moment the door opened, their eyes met again.
Xi Jia moved slightly away, her gaze sweeping over his profile, remaining relatively calm: "Aunt Qin said you're a photography enthusiast, may I admire your work?"
Mo Yushen opened the door and let her in.
Xi Jia didn't glance around his room randomly; she went straight to the table.
The two chairs were close together, and Xi Jia smelled a calming scent.
Mo Yushen doesn't have many photographic works. He just took some casual photos downstairs without thinking about the angles, and he doesn't know if the photos are pleasing to the eye.
He connected the camera to the computer.
The photos hadn't been opened yet, and the atmosphere was heavy as they sat there. Xi Jia took the initiative to start a conversation, "How long have you been studying photography?"
Mo Yushen opened a blank document on his computer and wrote: "[More than a month.]"
"How did you come to like photography?" she asked casually.
[Support yourself.]
Xi Jia hesitated for a moment before understanding. He wanted to learn a skill so that he could support himself when Aunt Qin got old.
The photo opens.
After looking at a few pictures, Xi Jia couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
With this level of photography skill, it would be difficult to make a living.
Xi Jia encouraged him, saying, "The photos are very good." She offered a small suggestion: "If you had a model, the combination of the person and the scenery would create an even better visual effect."
Mo Yushen remained silent, leaning back in his chair.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Xi Jia wondered what she had said wrong.