Xu Xinduo: [Actually, I’m kind of scared of him sometimes— I feel like he’s more vulnerable than anyone else and I’m afraid I’d find out about him just disappearing into thin air one day.]
Xu Xinduo: [He said he regarded me as his support system and he always wanted to see how I survive and pull through.]
Tong Yan: [Do you want to save him?]
Xu Xinduo: [I don’t think it counts as ‘saving him’ when I can’t even take care of myself. Where would I find the goodwill to do that? It’s just a thought.]
Tong Yan: [Mm, now that we’re talking about it, which college are you going to study in?]
Xu Xinduo: [I haven’t thought about it, but I’ll go wherever I’m accepted.]
Tong Yan: [But what about me?]
Xu Xinduo: [I’ll just follow you then.]
Tong Yan: [Haven’t you ever thought about where to go, though?]
Xu Xinduo: [You chose to remain in the country for me, so I’ll choose a university for you— seems fair to me.]
Tong Yan looked at the phone before he suddenly sat up from the bed and continued to study.
God damn it, what is sleep? I’m going to study!
Xu Xinduo agreed to see mother Mu, but she did mention that she had to find ample time out of work before she could see her.
This meeting was arranged two weeks later. After Xu Xinduo finished filming, she finished work at 7 pm and took the car to the Mu family’s residence at this time.
Mother Mu was obviously waiting for a long time and she was even a little restless. After seeing Xu Xinduo approaching, she immediately came out and greeted her for a while.
Xu Xinduo went for a shoot today, so she still has makeup on her face. Today’s theme consisted of a very depressing smoky makeup, showing off a dark and decadent side of her. She came over in a hurry and didn’t remove her makeup, which caused mother Mu to be startled when she saw her. Then, she asked her with a smile, “Are you tired?”
Mother Mu was so nervous to the point where her smiles seemed on the brink of turning into a cry; the irony of a once elegant woman being reduced to this state was overwhelming.
Xu Xinduo couldn’t bear it, so she replied in a low voice, “It’s okay, I’m not tired.”
Mother Mu now lives in a small villa that was temporarily rented. The environment was quite good and the decorations were exquisite as the rooms were designed to cater to a simple Nordic style. It was more than enough for Mother Mu to live alone.
This place was meant to be a short-term rental homestay for vacationing travellers and families. However, Mother Mu was more lavish and rented it for a few months straight. She would move out when the issue with the divorce was all settled.
Xu Xinduo walked in and saw a pair of larger shoes befitting a boy and she guessed that Mu Qingyi was also there.
When she walked to the kitchen, she saw Mu Qingyi standing in front of the pot. Pinching his waist and looking at the pot as he frowned, he asked when he saw Xu Xinduo approaching him, “The lid of the pot is jumping. How should I close the fire so that the water won’t be splashing everywhere?”
The question silenced both women.
Xu Xinduo walked over and turned the gas switch bluntly. After turning off the fire, she actually received Mu Qingyi’s admiring gaze.
Xu Xinduo, “…”
Mother Mu walked in and took out a rag to wipe the stove before she explained to Xu Xinduo,”I live here alone, so I didn’t ask for a nanny. After all, I usually don’t have anything to do, so I can do this myself. I was in a hurry to greet you just now, so I forgot about the soup that I was boiling.”
Xu Xinduo nodded before she followed the mother and son duo to the living room.