Chapter 842 Spare Me!
"Aunt, you have a secret admirer?!"
'Awesome!' was the thought that flashed in Mu Chenyan's mind when she heard that exclaim from behind her. She turned slowly and was faced with two pairs of very excited eyes trying to fish for some juicy gossip. And these two pairs of eyes belonged to her niece and nephew.
Meanwhile, she found Song Xin'ai very calm. But there was nothing new about that. She was always just that calm and distant from society. However, even her eyes had a hint of amusement in them right now that didn't escape Mu Chenyan's keen eyes. After all, Mu Chenyan spent the past two decades trying to read Raelle's blank eyes. Although it was of no use, it helped her in reading others' eyes better. So, she gained something out of her hard work.
Mu Chenyan sighed to herself and looked at Xiang Weimin, "I can understand Wai, but what's wrong with you, nephew? Why are you fishing for gossip?"
Xiang Weimin schooled his expressions before saying, "Maybe I have too much free time on hand these days so..." He didn't continue but the answer was clear. He had time so he didn't mind gossiping a little.
"Aunt, don't avoid the question!" came Xiang Wai's impatient voice. "Who is it? Tell me!"
"Wai, darling, it's called a secret admirer for a reason," said Mu Chenyan. "If I knew who he is, he wouldn't be so secret."
"How are you sure it's a he?" asked Song Xin'ai.
Mu Chenyan was stunned when she heard that question and didn't react for a while.
"It could be a she as well," added Song Xin'ai. "After all, you're very popular with both genders."
Mu Chenyan laughed awkwardly, "Dr. Song, you can't joke like that before the kids."
"They are adults," said Song Xin'ai. "I don't think there is anything they can't listen to. Besides, I'm just stating a fact. Are you forgetting the explosive news of the Jia family's daughter running from her wedding? The bride even left her groom behind for you but you ruthlessly abandoned her."
Xiang Wai and Xiang Weimin'seyes glowed when they heard that and looked at Mu Chenyan with a scorching gaze making Mu Chenyan want to dig a hole into the ground to hide her face. How did it come to this? She thought people didn't remember that incident and the news was blocked as well! But she was forgetting that at that time, Song Xin'ai was her sister-in-law, how could she not know about this?
"Song Jie, spare me!" said Mu Chenyan. "I had nothing to do with that woman! How would I know that she had a crush on me?"
Xiang Wai clapped her hands saying, "Marvelous! Aunt, you're too good! You're exceeding my expectations!"
Mu Chenyan rolled her eyes and held Song Xin'ai hand as she dragged her back inside the private room. Before closing the door, she looked at her niece and nephew and said, "You both can leave. I have something to talk about with your mother." With that, she closed the door.
"Are you embarrassed?" asked Song Xin'ai. "But when did Mu Chenyan start getting embarrassed?"
"I am not embarrassed about my past or who I am," said Mu Chenyan. "But it's a little weird to have my secrets being exposed before my niece and nephew. What if it ruins my prestige? They have such high achievements, what if they think their aunt is ruining their image?"
Song Xin'ai looked at Mu Chenyan thoughtfully before saying, "You've grown up."
"Huh?" Mu Chenyan was dumbfounded by that comment.
"Now you even started considering things which seemed very unimportant to you in the past. You seem to have a lot of thoughts now." Song Xin'ai was a little surprised. Back then, it seemed like even if the sky fell down, Mu Chenyan wouldn't care.
"Was I thoughtless in the past?" asked Mu Chenyan. She mentally tried to evaluate herself and came to a conclusion that she definitely wasn't thoughtless.
"Let's be honest now, Chenyan, you weren't thoughtless per se but you're very casual about life. Very carefree. You never thought about the consequences before doing anything. And you never considered others' feelings as well. You had always been unapologetically you." She took a pause as she lowered her eyes and added, "But if I think carefully, you haven't changed much. Back then you always cared about your image in your dearest Ge's mind and now, you're worried about your image before your niece and nephew. I wonder if it's the same when you're around Raelle? Do you care so much?"
Mu Chenyan leaned against the wall as she folded her arms before her chest and said, "What's the point of caring before my Elle? She can read me like an open book. I don't have to care so much about prestige around her. She knows me way too well."
"Just like that, you should stop caring about Wai and Weimin's opinions as well. I know you must have been yearning to see them all these years and now that they are before you, you want to be your best version before them. But it's not necessary. You're their aunt. As long as they can feel your sincerity, they won't care about who or what you are like."
It was not like Mu Chenyan didn't understand that at all but she still needed someone to point it out to her. It's just that she wasn't expecting that person to be Song Xin'ai.
"Song Jie," called out Mu Chenyan. "I don't think you wanted to talk about Wai or Weimin."
Song Xin'ai nodded her head and looked into Mu Chenyan's eyes, "Well, indeed, I didn't want to talk about them."
"What is it about then?" asked Mu Chenyan.
Song Xin'ai could tell from Mu Chenyan's expressions that she already knew who she wanted to talk about. After all, Mu Chenyan had been a smart person. How could she not tell?
"You already know," said Song Xin'ai. "It's about Raelle."