The questioning voice from inside the door forced Su Qingluan to press the pause button on her frantic complaints. She used all her self-control to put on a very calm expression and asked, "Excuse me, is Mr. Mu here? I'd like to borrow a book from Mr. Mu."
With a "click", the wooden door opened. Su Qingluan hurriedly stepped forward and saluted. Then she looked up and her whole body stiffened: the person who opened the door was none other than the old man pushing the wheelchair who died in the community when she first met Mu Xingzhi?
But don't panic! Su Qingluan comforted herself: I didn't see this guy the first two times I met Mu Xingzhi. It's been a month, and now I'm dressed as a man again. This old man may not remember me -
But the next moment, her fantasy was completely shattered by the old man opposite her. He looked her up and down, and his originally stern expression softened. He opened his mouth and said, "Isn't this the young lady I met by the river the other day? Why are you dressed like this...?"
Su Qingluan looked down at her men's clothes that were wet by the rain, and said embarrassedly, "This is just for convenience of walking..." As she spoke, she gently patted the rain that had just stained her clothes.
Song Bo looked at Su Qingluan, then looked up at the weather: "Come in and take shelter from the rain, but please try to be quiet - the boss just took medicine and went to bed."
"Boss?" Su Qingluan thought for a moment, "Is it Mr. Mu?"
Song Bo nodded.
Su Qingluan's face showed apology: "Oh, I came at a really bad time. I'm really sorry for disturbing you."
Song Bo shook his head to indicate that it was okay.
Following Song Bo into the courtyard, Su Qingluan discovered that although Mu Xing's yard looked no different from other houses from the outside except for the bamboo, there was a different world inside the yard.
Unlike the courtyards of Sun Guixiang or Liu'er's homes she had visited, which were paved with loess, the road from the courtyard gate to the door of Mu Xing's home was paved with fine gravel and fine sand, which was not as soft as loess when stepped on.
Moreover, this layer of "road" is slightly higher than the loess ground, so even if it rains now, the rainwater will quickly seep to both sides. When I step on this gravel road, I don't feel muddy at all.
Su Qingluan measured the width with her eyes and felt that it should be enough for Mu Xingzhi's wheelchair to pass through easily.
Moreover, unlike other houses that have thresholds at the entrance, Mu Xing’s house has no thresholds at either the main door or the door of the house. There is also a gentle slope next to the steps at the entrance, which makes it more convenient for wheelchairs to enter and exit.
Su Qingluan followed Song Bo to the front hall - it was called a front hall, but it just had a wooden table and two wooden chairs, unlike the thatched house next to it.
"Please wait a moment, I'll bring you a bowl of hot ginger soup." Song Bo said to Su Qingluan.
Su Qingluan quickly waved her hand: "Don't bother, I just wanted to borrow a book, but Mr. Mu is ill now, and it would be rude of me to disturb him."
In fact, Tian Xing'er and the others had said before that Mu Xingzhi was in poor health and would often close his door to visitors for ten days or half a month. Su Qingluan just came to try her luck, but who knew it would be like this.
However, thinking of Mu Xingzhi's thin figure and pale face, Su Qingluan frowned slightly: What kind of disease can make a person bedridden so often?
This thought flashed through his mind as a low, extremely weak voice came from the inner room and asked, "Song Bo, who is here?"
"Boss, why are you up?" Song Bo walked towards the inner room in two steps, and Su Qingluan also stood up awkwardly: it was really inappropriate for her to come and disturb someone who was sick in bed.
"Come with me to change clothes. How can you meet guests in such an unbecoming manner..." Mu Xingzhi's low voice came.
This made Su Qingluan want to just say "Don't bother, I'll leave now", but when she looked at the increasingly heavy rain outside, she felt embarrassed - what's more, it would be even more rude to run away while her master was changing clothes.
So she could only sit obediently on the chair as if waiting for the head teacher to check her homework, thinking that she really shouldn't have come today. She disturbed the patient and couldn't get a good rest. She was also so embarrassed that she didn't know where to put her hands and feet.
A moment later, Song Bo came out pushing a wooden wheelchair.
Mu Xingzhi still looked frail and thin, as if he would disappear with a gust of wind.
"It's Madam Su." Mu Xingzhi said with a smile, "I never thought you would come."
Su Qingluan complained to herself in her heart: Just look at it! Which patient would like to be dug out of his comfortable bed by a visitor?
But now we are here!
Su Qingluan thought to herself, at worst we can just end this quickly and let the patient rest soon!
So she stepped forward, bowed, and said simply, "I want to rent a shop." Then she briefly explained the unusually low price she saw for the shop, her concerns, and her request to borrow legal books related to house rentals, emphasizing efficiency and speed.
Perhaps because they had never seen someone speak as fluently as he was reading out the names of dishes, the two people on the opposite side were stunned for a moment. Then Mu Xingzhi laughed and said, "Miss Su, there's no need to be so anxious."
Then he looked at Song Bo and said, "Go get a handkerchief, at least let Madam Su wipe her face."
Following these words, Su Qingluan felt the rain falling down her cheeks and hair.
"Oh, no need to trouble you, I'll be back soon..." Before he could finish his words, Song Bo turned around and walked out.
Su Qingluan: ...Oh, that’s a bit embarrassing.
This was the main room. Although there was a sound of rain outside, the main door was not closed. Su Qingluan felt the cool breeze blowing in from the door. Looking at Mu Xingzhi's thin clothes, she frowned with some worry: "Mr. Mu, is it okay for you to be exposed to the wind here?"
Although it is summer now, the breeze in the rain is not cold, but Mu Xingzhi is sick after all.
Unexpectedly, Mu Xingzhi shook his head and said it was fine. He then turned to look at her and smiled faintly: "Didn't you say we should call each other by name? Why are you calling me 'Sir' too?"
Su Qingluan blinked and reacted: "Oh, I met a few friends recently, and they all called you that. I got used to it." She didn't notice anything wrong with it.
Mu Xingzhi smiled, but didn't comment. He only asked another question: "I heard that Madam Su was adopted by a wealthy family by mistake?"
Su Qingluan nodded: "But I don't remember. I heard that when I returned to Huaxi Village, I fell into the water and had a high fever. When I woke up, I forgot a lot of things."
"So there's also a case of a baby being taken away by mistake nearby..." Mu Xingzhi sighed. "I heard from a friend of mine who came to the city that the young lady from the An Ning Marquis's Mansion was also taken away by mistake..."
It was clearly just an ordinary piece of gossip, but Su Qingluan felt that her reaction was very strange: why did her heart beat so violently for no reason when she heard the words "Anning Marquis Mansion"?
Why does a feeling of...resentment arise in my heart?
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