The last bit of light in the evening had faded by the ti they were "crazy."
At half past nine, Mu Qiu finally received a call from her parents.
She sat on the sofa on the first floor, speaking in a low voice, her smooth hair draped down, covering half of her side face. Her sitting posture was perfectly normal, well-behaved, making her appear excessively quiet and peaceful.
Cheng Zhirang stood in the open kitchen, lowering his head to slice winter lon. In the pot beside him, bubbles were gently bubbling up, and once they burst with a pop, the aroma of duck soup wafted through the air.
The security in the Half Mountain Villa District is very high, and each household has its own land and villa. The surroundings of each villa are different, and they are not close to each other. Few people venture onto soone else’s territory.
So, there’s no need to worry about being secretly photographed by paparazzi or intrusive fans.
Mu Qiu was making great efforts to communicate with her parents, calming their worries, avoiding their persuasion, and finally inquiring about their recent health.
Perhaps her tone was not very energetic, as Mu Zhi, who was usually strong-willed, didn’t say much this ti. After she steered away from an unwelco topic once, he didn’t bring it up again, only expressing his concern for her.
In the end, he urged her not to easily forgive those two paparazzi and to sincerely apologize and compensate "that driving young man."
If she ran out of money, she should ask her family for it; after all, compensation was a must.
"It’s necessary," Mu Qiu replied, indicating she understood.
Then Yuan Chun took over the call, avoiding Mu Zhi, and asked where she was staying now.
Mu Qiu glanced toward the kitchen, where the man under bright lights elegantly lifted the pot lid, and said, "At his place."
Yuan Chun was montarily speechless. After a while, she spoke earnestly.
"Although there’s nothing wrong with you dating at your age, you’re dating a celebrity...
Your dad got drunk with Professor Wei and rambled on about you for days, afraid you’d get hurt. If you feel wronged, how could we help you get justice? We wouldn’t know how to help."
Mu Qiu felt a sudden pang in her heart.
"Mom, it’s just dating. I’m not involved with his money or his career. Even if it doesn’t work out and we break up, it’s no big deal."
Yuan Chun sighed, "You’re young now, you don’t understand."
This line again.
Patiently, she said, "Being young is also a kind of capital. Who hasn’t regretted sothing in youth? It’s the age to rush and experience things. You can’t expect to suddenly mature and see through worldly affairs overnight, right?"
Yuan Chun: "If you don’t hit the southern wall, you don’t realize the impact that indulging at this ti might have on you."
"But Mom, you at least need to give the chance to hit that wall first. You know, just like with dad, I can’t listen to a word of those motivational sayings."
Aren’t your early twenties the age to rush toward that wall? If you manage to avoid it, it’s all good and you held back. If you hit it, that’s the most normal outco, a test you encounter while transitioning from naivety to maturity.
Her reasoning skills were getting better. Yuan Chun couldn’t argue with her, ending with a playful reprimand: "No wonder Brother Lin says your logic is getting sharper."
Mu Qiu raised an eyebrow, "Did Brother Lin co over for dinner?"
"No, he just called to check on us. Did you move into the apartnt he found for you?"
"I did."
"That’s good," Yuan Chun sighed, "even if you like soone a lot, you shouldn’t live at their place. It’s not proper."
Mu Qiu repeatedly promised, "I know. I ca over today because it wasn’t convenient to go back alone, and I have a program recording tomorrow."
"On the show, don’t be too intimate with others, or your dad won’t be able to stand it."
This was a bit surprising, so Mu Qiu asked, "You all watch the show?"
"It’s on everywhere we go. Can’t help but watch. Your dad even confiscated students’ phones during political classes last weekend, and it was your show on them."
Mu Qiu couldn’t help but smile.
"That’s good, I’ll surely be mindful of the impact tomorrow."
Right off the show, she couldn’t afford to receive a barrage of calls from her dad.
After finishing this long conversation that finally lightened up a bit, Mu Qiu felt inexplicably relaxed, holding back the urge to go online and check on the event’s developnt. She turned up the volu on her phone and casually left it on the sofa, then walked toward the kitchen.
The tomato and lean at congee that had been simring was ready, and the old duck soup had been on the fire for so ti. Once the chunks of winter lon on the cutting board were added and boiled for a while, it could be served.
Cheng Zhirang drained the boiled corn and cut it into sections, threading them onto a skewer, and handed one to Mu Qiu.
"If you’re hungry, have so of this first."
Mu Qiu smiled at him, took a bite of the corn, circled her left arm around his waist from behind, and pressed her cheek against his back.
"How much longer?"
"Very soon. The congee is already drinkable; I’ll scoop it out to cool for a while." His voice was gentle as he asked, "Do you want more or less?"
"More. I’m starving."
"Then I’ll cool two bowls."
She quickly finished the small piece of corn, washed the chopsticks clean, placed them in the sterilizer, and helped him serve the congee.
Her hair was now gathered up using a simple warm yellow clip, loosely set at the back of her head. A few strands of hair misbehaved, draping down her face when she lowered her head.
Wearing a light gray, loose-fitting cotton autumn dress, she quietly concentrated on serving congee, her slender swan neck gracefully bent, appearing gentle and lovely.
Cheng Zhirang took the congee bowl she handed over, reached out, and tucked those stray hair strands behind her ear.
"It looks nice clipped like this too."
Mu Qiu smiled sweetly.
Although it was a bit late, this dinner was a rare sumptuous "feast" for both recently.
Cheng Zhirang rarely ate so much at night, and Mu Qiu hadn’t consud any staple foods in the evening for a long ti due to dietary control.
After skipping a al, they were a bit looking forward to it.
The bowls, chopsticks, and plates were all set. Mu Qiu looked at the congee in front of her and asked Cheng Zhirang, "May I ask, do divine beings eat pickled vegetables?"
Cheng Zhirang was startled, then smiled helplessly: "I’m not a divine being. If I rember correctly, there’s still one of those ’white congee divine artifacts’ Jiang Lu gave in the fridge."
"Who?"
Cheng Zhirang stood up to find the mildly spicy sea cabbage can and repeated, "Jiang Lu, Emperor Jiang. We worked together previously, and for that movie, we had to maintain a thin figure. Our usual lunch staple was white congee, and then he found a delicious side dish and gave two cans."
Though she pitied him, a grown man only having white congee with pickles for als was quite sad. However, the scene of soone suggesting pickled vegetables to him made her want to laugh.
"Does friendship between two n start with two cans of pickled vegetables?"
She’d heard from Guan Yu and Shu Ran that in the entertainnt industry, the one who could most likely rival Cheng Zhirang’s looks was Jiang Lu.
They represented two entirely different styles. The audience even paired them up as a CP, implying they were the celestial duo, one clearly looking like a protagonist, the other like a villain.
And then the villain bribed the protagonist with two cans of pickled vegetables.
Mu Qiu watched him place the pickles on her plate and couldn’t help laughing.
Cheng Zhirang looked at her puzzled, not quite understanding what she found amusing.
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