Chapter 39 The phone rang for a long time before automatically disconnecting. ...
After saying goodbye to Xing Ze, the girls hugged and cuddled with Mu Tingyu for a while before reluctantly leaving.
The two stood at the doorway, gazing down the path as the tall roof of the RV slowly moved backward in reverse, gradually disappearing from sight.
Looking at the empty space in front of the house, Mu Tingyu sighed, "It's suddenly become so deserted."
Xing Ze's face remained expressionless.
It's said that after spending a lot of time together, you can tell what the other person is going to do just by looking at their every move. Mu Tingyu can now analyze his mood at any given moment just by looking at his perpetually expressionless face.
She tilted her head to look at him: "Are you happy?"
Xing Ze raised an eyebrow.
Just like that raised eyebrow, she instantly deduced that it meant a question.
"You seem very happy," Mu Tingyu said with a smile. "Is it because they left?"
Xing Ze doesn't like strangers coming into his house. Last time Shi Tou came to invite her to his house for dinner, he didn't dare to go in. She had to lead him in by the hand.
Although he never said these things, Mu Tingyu could sense it.
These past two days have been hectic, with him using the kitchen and the bathroom. Although he doesn't seem to react much on the surface, he must be feeling uncomfortable inside.
Mu Tingyu smiled and said to him, "Give me a hug."
Before Xing Ze could react, she snuggled into his arms and wrapped her arms around his strong waist.
Xing Ze, who was still holding a bowl of porridge in one hand, subconsciously moved it a little further away and put his other hand on her waist.
"What's wrong?"
Mu Tingyu took a deep breath, and his nasal cavity was instantly filled with the refreshing and calm scent emanating from him.
She nuzzled his chest contentedly, her hands wandering over his waist, giving him a satisfying little rub.
Xing Ze patted her waist lightly: "Why are you hugging me all of a sudden? You little hooligan?"
Mu Tingyu never expected that this word could come back, and she was immediately aroused by lust. She lifted his clothes and tried to crawl inside.
Xing Ze clicked his tongue and grabbed the soft flesh behind her neck: "What are you doing?"
Her attempt to grope him failed, and she scratched him in frustration: "I let it go before, but why won't you let me touch you now?"
Xing Ze narrowed his eyes, leaned down slightly, almost touching her forehead: "You wanted to touch me before? When?"
"......"
What she actually meant was, anytime.
But that would make her seem too unreserved, so she hesitated for a moment before speaking: "When we first met."
"......"
“Oh no, it was before we met, when you were surfing.” Mu Tingyu glanced down and pursed her lips. “Back then you weren’t wearing any clothes, unlike now, where you’re covered up more than anyone else.”
Xing Ze ignored her almost blatant harassment and repeated the three words: "Just met?"
Just as Mu Tingyu was about to nod confidently, he suddenly said, "—'If you like someone, you'll like them at first sight'?"
"......"
She opened her mouth in surprise.
Those were the words she had just spoken to Wang Jiale.
Although her original intention was to dissuade him, this was indeed her true feeling.
But I never expected that Xing Ze would overhear me.
Xing Ze lowered his head, touching his forehead to hers, and whispered, "—You liked me at first sight?"
Mu Tingyu's eyes flickered: "How much did you hear?"
Xing Ze's breathing was heavy as he stared intently at her: "I heard everything."
"......"
She flinched slightly, lowered her eyes, and dared not meet his gaze.
His eyes were burning with passion.
Mu Tingyu reached out and scratched his chest with her finger, then asked as if possessed, "Do you want to kiss me again?"
Because his expression now is exactly the same as it was in the kitchen just now.
Xing Ze's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, making no attempt to hide his feelings: "I want to."
"That won't work."
She raised her head, her eyes innocent: "I'm hungry, I want to eat."
"......"
After all this commotion, she was almost late for class.
She originally intended to eat a few bites and leave, but Xing Ze grabbed her by the collar and dragged her back, pressing her firmly against the table and watching her drink the porridge.
The porridge was made with mung beans, which were cooked until they were soft and mushy, melting in your mouth. It seemed to have a little rock sugar added, giving it a very sweet and refreshing taste.
Normally, she would definitely drink it all without leaving a drop, and then ask for another bowl.
But now she's going to be late.
She was already very embarrassed when she overslept and was late last time, but luckily Zhuang Ren had a good temper and told her he didn't mind.
But after all, a teacher has to set a good example. If she is late every day, will the children still come to class on time?
She stuffed two more mouthfuls into her mouth, tilted her head back, and tugged at Xing Ze's sleeve: "I'm really full. I'll eat the rest at noon."
"Let's finish what we have here first," Xing Ze said. "There's still some left in the pot."
She said somewhat discontentedly, "I'm really full!"
"Didn't you just say you were hungry? You're full after only a few bites?" Xing Ze frowned. "You have classes all morning, eat more."
“Teaching isn’t tiring,” Mu Tingyu tried to lie through her teeth, “It’s just chatting and playing games with the kids.”
Xing Ze stared at her for two seconds without saying a word, then picked up the bowl, scooped up a spoonful, and brought it to her lips.
She instinctively reached for the spoon.
Xing Ze raised his hand to stop her from touching it, then continued to bring it to her lips.
She puffed out her cheeks and leaned in to eat it.
Then another spoonful was handed over.
She continued eating, somewhat angrily.
After taking several bites, she finally stood up and declared, "I'm not eating anymore!"
Xing Ze looked at the bowl, which still had a little more than half full of porridge, and finally nodded in approval: "Wipe your mouth."
She quickly grabbed a tissue and hurriedly got up.
Xing Ze followed him out the door, watched her push her bicycle to an open space, and told her, "Ride slowly on the road."
"Okay."
"I'll be back after class."
She drawled, "Okay."
"You are not allowed to speak to Zhuang Ren."
"......"
She hopped on her bicycle, turned to look at him, and raised an eyebrow: "Trying to make things difficult for me?"
"I have never heard such an unreasonable request."
"Man, you've caught my attention."
She pointed at him with her finger.
"......"
Xing Ze also realized that this was impossible, sighed helplessly, and repeated, "I'll come back after class."
"Where else could I go if I didn't come back? You think I'd run away?" Mu Tingyu waved at him. "I'm leaving!"
Xing Ze stood there, watching her figure disappear at the end of the path, then turned and went back into the house.
He fed the puppy, then went into the kitchen to wash his hands, picked up the half-eaten bowl of porridge that Mu Tingyu had left on the table, and went to the stove to add some more.
He stood by the window and slowly scooped a spoonful into his mouth.
The sun shone brightly for several days in a row, and the sheets in the backyard swayed gently on the clothes rack, making a soft rustling sound.
Without that cheerful, bright voice, the room suddenly became completely silent; you could even hear the dripping of water.
Xing Ze lowered his eyes, slowly sipped his porridge, and thought to himself.
It was indeed rather deserted.
-
At noon, Xing Ze made braised pork, boiled shrimp, and a small plate of romaine lettuce.
Several of the dishes were Mu Tingyu's favorites, and she asked for another bowl after finishing her meal.
Well, what dish made by Xing Ze doesn't she like?
She sat down after adding more rice, feeling perfectly at ease, and picked up a shrimp with her chopsticks.
"By the way, aren't there still a lot of food left in the fridge? Why don't you eat that?"
With a shrimp in her mouth, Mu Tingyu mumbled, "You went out again this morning?"
Xing Ze took a napkin, pushed the shrimp shells she spat out onto the edge of her bowl further in, and replied, "Mmm."
Did you go to the liquor store?
Xing Ze looked up at her.
"What? Didn't you say you wanted to ask the boss for another jar of wine?" Mu Tingyu nudged his shoe with her toe. "No cheating."
Xing Ze said helplessly, "You clearly can't hold your liquor, so why do you love drinking so much?"
Actually, Mu Tingyu wasn't a big drinker. At university parties, the drinks in bars were terrible—a mix of cheap alcohol and all sorts of other beverages like Coke, Sprite, and Red Bull, leaving her with a headache the next day. She generally didn't drink much.
However, whenever she saw Xing Ze drinking it, she couldn't resist trying it herself.
He loves drinking so much, there must be some kind of appeal to the wine, and he's also picky about his taste, so drinking with him is always a good idea.
"I don't care, you owe me a jar of wine."
How did it turn into owing her a jar of wine again?
Xing Ze smiled slightly, helpless with her expression: "You said it was for me, but it's actually for you."
“Yes,” she said, lifting her chin, “didn’t I tell you this already?”
He reached out and affectionately flicked her cheek.
Mu Tingyu scratched her finger: "But there are so many vegetables in the refrigerator, why don't you buy any more? Let's finish what we have first, otherwise it'll be such a waste."
"All that's left are vegetables."
"No, I clearly saw there was still some meat in it." Mu Tingyu thought for a moment, "Do you have one of those pots at home?"
She gestured with her hand: "It's the kind of thing you use for hot pot, the one with two ears."
Xing Ze couldn't help but laugh when he heard the analogy: "Yes."
"How about we have a clear broth hot pot tonight?" she said with a smile. "I've been eating a bit too much oily food these past few days, so having some vegetables will help cool me down, okay?"
Xing Ze couldn't bring himself to say "no," so he could only nod.
After finishing her meal, Mu Tingyu played with the puppy at the door for a while to help digest her food.
After Xing Ze finished washing the dishes, she looked up and asked, "Has Xiao Yu grown up? She seems to be a whole size bigger than when I came."
He nodded: "Puppies grow fast."
How big will it grow?
"have no idea."
“My neighbor also has a big yellow dog. When I sit at the door, it always lies down at my feet.”
Mu Tingyu sat on a small stool and reached out to pat the puppy's head: "It lies at my feet like Xiaoyu. It's very big, ten times bigger than Xiaoyu, but it's very well-behaved and honest. So I often secretly save bones for it to eat."
"When I was going to university, I got on that tricycle and it kept chasing me for a long time."
She said nostalgically, "I haven't seen it in so long, I wonder how it is now."
Xing Ze didn't say anything, but reached out and gently patted her head.
"Xiaoyu will grow up to be like that soon, won't she?"
"meeting."
Mu Tingyu smiled and rubbed her eyes against his palm.
After a while, Xing Ze said, "Let's rub against each other again."
She couldn't help but laugh, and spun halfway around on the small stool, wrapping her arms around his legs like a koala, before resting her head against them.
Xing Ze discovered that she really liked this way of hugging him, where she was completely clinging to him.
"Planning to use it as a pendant?"
Mu Tingyu replied, "I'm clinging to someone's coattails, can't you tell?"
She raised her head and said to him with great interest, "Hey, you know what? You were really fierce at first, and you didn't seem to have a good temper. I was afraid that one day I would offend you and you wouldn't give me food. In order to keep my long-term meal ticket, I could only praise you in different ways every day."
Xing Ze glanced at her: "So you weren't genuinely praising me?"
"Why are you misinterpreting me?" she said, somewhat displeased. "It's just that you seemed a bit difficult to get along with back then, so I had to try to please you."
She carefully examined Xing Ze's features and nodded in satisfaction: "He looks much better now."
He crossed his arms and looked at her, saying casually, "You seem difficult to get along with, so why do you like me?"
Mu Tingyu paused, then looked away: "Why are you so fixated on this question?"
"You said it, from the very beginning."
"......"
So, is it true?
Mu Tingyu looked at the pebbly path in the distance and blinked: "What did you ask?"
Xing Ze looked down at the top of her soft hair and slowly asked, "You liked me from the very beginning, is that true?"
Mu Tingyu hadn't expected him to be so persistent about this issue.
However, shouldn't lust at first sight also be considered a form of love at first sight?
So she turned her head and answered, "It's true."
Xing Ze tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, his voice slightly hoarse: "Okay."
Mu Tingyu asked in surprise, "You look so happy."
"Hmm," Xing Ze's hand, which was holding her hair, naturally moved down a little, touching her face and gently stroking it.
“I’m very happy.”
-
The sun slowly sets, its edge about to sink below the horizon.
Xing Ze took the quilt that was drying in the backyard, made it up for Mu Tingyu again, and then went down to the kitchen to start preparing the ingredients for tonight.
He washed the pot, wiped the induction cooker, and took all the vegetables out of the refrigerator and arranged them on a plate.
The bone broth simmering in the pressure cooker, mixed with pepper and goji berries, exudes a rich aroma.
He turned off the heat, tasted it, and then put the lid back on.
Both gas stoves were working diligently, and in another pot was a soup of red dates and longan, with white fungus added. It was already stewed until it was soft and sticky, and Mu Tingyu could drink it when he came back.
After he finished everything and sat down, it was already getting dark. He looked out the window and unconsciously frowned.
I picked up my phone and saw that it was already twenty minutes past the time Mu Tingyu usually gets home.
"......"
He immediately dialed the number, but the phone rang for a long time before automatically disconnecting.
He stared silently at the screen for a few seconds, then dialed the second, the third...
Still no one answered.
He frowned deeply, quickly scrolled down, found Zhuang Ren's phone number, and dialed it.
The phone continued to ring long and coldly.
The longer the bell rang, the more irritated he became.
He unconsciously rubbed the cold phone with his fingertips, trying to use the coolness to suppress the irritation in his heart.
Fortunately, the call was answered in the last second before the automatic disconnection.
"Hey, Brother Xing? What's up?"
Xing Ze took a light breath: "Have you finished class? Where's Mu Tingyu? Is she back yet?"
"ah?"
Zhuang Ren sounded surprised.
"We finished class a long time ago, didn't she leave then? Didn't she go back?"
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