Chapter 74

Chen Qinglin's words were straightforward enough. Yin Mu didn't understand, nor did she want to pretend not to understand and deliberately manipulate him. However, Zhong Mengyuan's whereabouts were unknown, and she couldn't just enjoy her life peacefully and fall in love happily.

"Yin Mu——"

"Don't say anymore. I know." Yin Mu interrupted Chen Qinglin, lowering his head and picking at his fingers. "I remember you once said that when two people meet far away from home, they will feel that their relationship is closer."

"You mean, my current feelings for you are all an illusion."

Yin Mu said nothing and whispered, "I just think that you shouldn't think about these things now. Settle down first and get familiar with this environment. After all, there are still many days to come, and you can't do without adapting well."

Chen Qinglin was about to speak, but Yin Mu saw that the bus was about to arrive at the station and quickly changed the subject: "We will get off at the next stop."

"……Um."

It happened to be the weekend, so there were quite a few people in the square in front of the mall, which was not surprising, but there were also quite a few people selling flowers. Yin Mu was wondering, but when he looked up and saw the promotion on the big screen, he realized that today seemed to be a special day.

At this time, a girl holding a big bunch of roses came over and said to Chen Qinglin: "Handsome boy, buy a flower for your girlfriend."

Yin Mu quickly waved his hand to refuse: "No, we don't want to buy it. We have other things to do." After that, he quickly pulled Chen Qinglin's arm and walked away.

Chen Qinglin followed her obediently and nodded apologetically to the girl selling flowers.

"What a coincidence! It's actually Chinese Valentine's Day. I had forgotten about it." Yin Mu let go of his hand and turned his head to Chen Qinglin and said, "It's a good thing we didn't go out in the afternoon, otherwise there would definitely be more people."

"Yeah, it should be quite lively."

"You don't like crowds." Yin Mu said casually, "If you want to feel the festive atmosphere, we can go out again in the evening."

"May I?"

"That's not a big deal." Yin Mu thought for a moment and said, "How about going out to watch a movie tonight?"

Chen Qinglin hesitated for a moment and shook his head: "Forget it, I won't trouble you anymore."

"It's just a movie, what's the big deal?" Yin Mu wanted to cheer him up, and out of a sense of compensation, he said, "Then it's settled. Let's go to the movies tonight."

"Okay, I'll listen to you then."

On the Chinese Valentine's Day, many shops in the mall were holding promotions. Yin Mu took Chen Qinglin around and prepared to help him pick out some clothes that would suit him better.

Apart from accompanying his parents, this was the first time that Yin Mu entered a men's clothing store with another man. He couldn't help feeling a little awkward when he sat alone on the sofa waiting for Chen Qinglin to try on clothes. He inexplicably had the illusion that he was playing some kind of dress-up game.

To hide her discomfort, she simply took out her phone and sent messages to harass Yin's mother. As she lowered her head to type, a hesitant male voice sounded above her head: "Yin Mu?"

Yin Mu heard the voice and looked up in surprise.

The man in front of him suddenly showed a bright and surprised smile: "It's really you, I thought I was seeing things."

"Li Yan?" Yin Mu stood up subconsciously and asked, "Why are you here?"

"What else can we do here? Shopping, of course." Li Yan looked around and didn't see anyone with Yin Mu, so he asked tentatively, "What about you? Are you on a date with your boyfriend?"

Yin Mu quickly denied: "No, don't talk nonsense."

"Eh—" Li Yan pretended to be unconvinced, but his expression was obviously relaxed. He smiled playfully, "It's Qixi Festival, aren't young couples dating? There's no need to lie to me."

Yin Mu smiled helplessly: "There's no need to lie to you, so I'm telling you the truth. But you, everyone else is in pairs, why are you alone?"

Li Yan spread his hands and said, "Only lonely people have time to accompany friends to buy gifts. He turned out to be late. I thought I would take a walk by myself first, and I happened to see you."

"I see."

"So, you wouldn't be shopping in a men's clothing store alone, right? You're really not with your boyfriend?"

Before Yin Mu could explain, Chen Qinglin changed his clothes and walked towards them while adjusting the collar of his shirt. The shop assistant who followed him closely was still diligently praising him: "You are so handsome that you look good in anything. Come and show it to your girlfriend."

When Chen Qinglin saw the two of them talking and laughing, his expression froze and he looked at Yin Mu.

Yin Mu was afraid that he might misunderstand, so he hurriedly introduced them to each other: "This is my friend Chen Qinglin. - Chen Qinglin, and this is my high school classmate, Li Yan."

Li Yan looked at Chen Qinglin calmly and extended his hand in a friendly manner: "Hello."

Chen Qinglin shook his hand in return, saying politely and distantly, "Hello." Apart from that, he showed no further willingness to communicate and just stood beside Yin Mu.

Yin Mu was caught in the middle and didn't know what to say.

Li Yan saw the tense atmosphere and knew that their relationship might not be as simple as Yin Mu said. However, he was in no position to ask about it. After weighing the pros and cons, he tactfully chose to retreat temporarily. "Well, it's been a while since we last met. How about having dinner together sometime?"

Yin Mu was eager to get out of this awkward situation as soon as possible, and readily agreed: "Okay, let's make an appointment when we have time."

"Then contact me on WeChat later. I'm leaving now. You guys can take your time shopping."

"Yeah, bye."

"Bye." Li Yan waved with a smile, looked at Chen Qinglin thoughtfully, turned and left.

Watching Li Yan leave, Yin Mu pulled the corners of his mouth stiffly and returned his gaze to Chen Qinglin: "This outfit is not bad, do you like it?"

Chen Qinglin said: "Just listen to you."

The waitress watched the excitement and put away her curiosity. She quickly switched to serving and waited for them to make a decision with a smile on her face.

Yin Mu didn't feel comfortable staying any longer, so he pretended to be calm, paid the bill, and quickly took Chen Qinglin's wrist and left.

Chen Qinglin was pulled away by her obediently without saying a word.

Yin Mu finally felt relieved when they were far away from the store. Just as she was about to let go of Chen Qinglin, Chen Qinglin stopped and grabbed her hand: "Yin Mu."

Yin Mu was pulled by him and was forced to stop. He looked back in confusion: "Huh?"

"You two have a good relationship with Li Yan?"

"Well..." Yin Mu said vaguely, "We're high school classmates who we're close with. We've kept in touch even after graduation, and we occasionally get together during holidays."

Chen Qinglin pressed on: "Just the two of you?"

"Of course not! There are several more, both boys and girls."

Chen Qinglin seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and his tense expression relaxed: "Is that so? That's good."

Yin Mu looked at him like this, not only amused but also a little embarrassed: "What are you thinking about? How can you be so childish when you are so old?"

Chen Qinglin remained silent.

It's not a good idea to block the road like this. Yin Mu sighed silently, tugged at Chen Qinglin's clothes, and pulled him to the railing: "Don't block the road, come over here."

The atrium on the first floor was in a mess. Yin Mu leaned over the railing and looked down. He saw people moving various equipment back and forth, as if they were setting up some venue.

Chen Qinglin also followed her example and leaned over the railing, asking, "Are there any activities?"

"Probably. After all, it's Qixi Festival, and organizing activities can help the mall attract more customers." Yin Mu said, "Speaking of which, everyone has been paying more and more attention to Qixi Festival in recent years."

"How did you celebrate Tanabata before?"

"Me? I don't have a boyfriend, so I'll just celebrate Chinese Valentine's Day as an ordinary day." Yin Mu tilted his head. "But, the dream coming true is quite ceremonial. Last year, their company gave us a little mercy and we left work early, and she insisted I treat her to dinner. In the end, she ate her fill of dog food and then angrily urged me to go home."

When she said this, a faint smile appeared on her face: "That guy is always like this, he likes to join in the fun, but when it's really lively, he finds it troublesome and is very difficult to please."

Chen Qinglin was silent for a few seconds, then comforted her, "Zhong Mengyuan will definitely come back. Didn't she say so?"

Speaking of this issue, Yin Mu's mood became heavy again: "That's what I said, but..."

Chen Qinglin gently touched the top of her head: "I will wait with you."

After staying quietly for a while, Yin Mu straightened up and said, "Okay, let's go somewhere else. Since we're out, do you want to eat outside at noon?"

"It's better to go home. I didn't report to Auntie in advance."

"Yeah, that's right. She also said she was going to the supermarket to buy groceries." Yin Mu nodded. "Then let's go out for dinner tonight and watch a movie at the same time."

"Yeah, okay."

The two of them strolled around for a while, and seeing that it was almost time for lunch, they prepared to go home.

When they reached the first floor, Chen Qinglin slowed down and took a few more glances. Yin Mu didn't notice at first and didn't respond when he spoke to him. Then he turned around and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

Chen Qinglin shook his head: "Nothing, let's go."

They returned home just in time for lunch. Yin Mu had gotten up early and felt sleepy after lunch. She left Chen Qinglin and Yin's mother to chat while she went back to her room for a nap. She slept until around three in the afternoon. When she yawned and walked out of the room, only Yin's mother was left in the living room, eating grapes and watching TV.

She looked into the guest room and saw that the door was open, the sheets were flat, and there was no one in the room.

When Yin's mother saw her, she greeted her, "You're finally up. Would you like some grapes?"

Yin Mu walked over to sit next to Yin's mother and asked curiously, "Where is Chen Qinglin?"

"Oh, he said he had to go out for something and would be back soon."

"You didn't say what you were going to do?"

"No."

"You didn't even ask?"

Yin's mother didn't take it seriously and thought she was weird. She said, "Why am I asking so many questions? What if it's something private he doesn't want to talk about? Wouldn't it be embarrassing for him if I asked?"

She didn't know the whole story, so she wasn't worried. But Yin Mu was worried. Chen Qinglin had just arrived and didn't even know where he was. Where could he go alone?

Seeing her like this, Yin's mother became suspicious and her expression became serious: "Yin Mu, tell me honestly, who is Qing Lin?"

Yin Mu shuddered when his full name was called. Guiltily, he stuffed a grape into his mouth and said, "Didn't I tell you everything? Why are you still asking?"

"You're not lying? You're not hiding anything else from me?"

Yin Mu stubbornly denied: "No..."

Mother Yin didn't intend to let her go and continued, "Yin Mu, I have never restricted your interpersonal relationships, nor do I object to you dating, but if you deliberately lied to me for any reason, then the problem is very serious. Tell me clearly."