Chapter 16 Jealousy: "Come here."
As Mu Tingyu and Shi Tou walked along the path in front of their house, a woman came out of the house to greet them.
The woman, wearing an apron around her waist, had a slightly rough face with a reserved yet undeniably warm smile: "This must be Teacher Mu, hello, hello! I'm Shitou's mother!"
Her Mandarin wasn't very standard, with a slight accent, and her movements were unnatural; she didn't know where to put her hands, as if she rarely welcomed guests at home.
Mu Tingyu stepped forward and warmly took her hand: "Hello, Stone Mom! You can just call me Xiao Mu~ Thank you for inviting me to dinner~"
"No need to thank me!" The woman smiled. Her hands were rough and calloused. When she touched the bandage on Mu Tingyu's hand, she asked in surprise, "Oh dear, Teacher Mu, what happened to your hand?"
"It's nothing, I just accidentally burned myself," Mu Tingyu replied, her eyes crinkling.
"Oh dear," the woman said, touching her hand with a hint of tenderness, "be careful, your hands are so beautiful."
Mu Tingyu asked with a smile, "Where's Stone Daddy?"
"He went to town, and there's no rice at home." The woman smiled kindly and waved to the stone beside her. "Come here and keep Teacher Mu company! Teacher Mu, please come inside and sit down. Dinner will be ready soon."
Mu Tingyu quickly said, "Let me help you!"
"That won't do!" The woman forcefully stopped her and led her into the house. "Sit down, sit down!"
As soon as Mu Tingyu entered, she saw a square wooden table and several wooden benches, crammed together and taking up most of the space in the room. She could reach the light switch on the wall with her left hand, and a few steps ahead were the rough stone steps leading upstairs.
The woman pressed her down into a chair and turned to walk into the inner room.
Mu Tingyu asked Shi Tou, "Is that the kitchen?"
“The kitchen, and the toilet,” Stone replied. “Upstairs is where we sleep.”
These places, along with the cramped, square space before him that can hardly be called a restaurant, together form a dilapidated two-story hut, which is Stone's home.
The wall was roughly painted with a layer of white paint, and it had probably been there for a long time; the corners had peeled off, revealing the dark gray cement underneath. There were also many crooked phone numbers written on the wall in pencil, with markings next to them that Mu Tingyu couldn't understand, though they were vaguely Chinese characters.
Seeing her staring at the wall, Shi Tou explained to her one by one: "The gas delivery guy, the liquor delivery guy, and some relatives' numbers."
Mu Tingyu reached out and touched the stone's head, a slight smile curving her lips.
After a while, a middle-aged man of short stature pushed his bicycle and walked in along the path.
"Dad!" Stone jumped up from his chair and rushed out the door.
Mu Tingyu also went out the door. When the man saw her, he was stunned for a moment, and then his mouth moved as if he wanted to show a smile.
Shi Tou tilted his head back and loudly introduced him, "Dad, this is Teacher Mu!"
The man approached, pushing his bicycle. He bowed politely to her, speaking with the local accent, but in a very kind tone: "Hello, Teacher Mu."
"Stone Dad, you're too kind!" Mu Tingyu quickly returned the greeting, "Just call me Xiao Mu."
The man seemed to be not good with words. He parked his bicycle in the corner, picked up the rice bag from the back seat, turned around, and saw Mu Tingyu still standing there. He quickly said, "Teacher, sit down, sit down."
Mu Tingyu responded and watched the man enter the inner room. Soon after, the woman's voice rang out: "You're back?"
Suddenly, she felt her clothes being tugged.
She turned her head and saw Stone mysteriously spreading out his hand, on which were two candies the size of her little finger, their brightly colored wrappers shimmering with a subtle light.
“Here you go,” Stone said.
Mu Tingyu chuckled and asked, "Where did you come from?"
"Dad just gave these to me." Shi Tou stuffed the candy into her hand, then childishly clenched her hand into a fist, wrapping the two candies in her palm.
Mu Tingyu thought he was so cute: "Dad gave it to you, you can eat it yourself, the teacher has candy."
“It’s different,” Stone said seriously. “Here you go.”
As he spoke, he seemed to remember something, and ran upstairs. After a while, he came down again, holding a piece of paper in his hand.
"Teacher Mu, look!" Shi Tou proudly presented the paper to her, "You asked us to draw, and I drew it!"
Mu Tingyu caught the light piece of paper. Her eyes were met with childish, somewhat messy, and not exactly pretty lines. The wavy lines were waves, the two sharp-angled arcs were a small boat, the two inconspicuous little marks on the boat were people, and there was a giant that occupied half the size of the picture, standing in the sea protecting the boat.
Looking at the simple yet bold drawing on the paper, Mu Tingyu felt a heavy weight in her heart. Knowing the answer already, she asked, "Who is this big person?"
"It's me." Stone lowered his head somewhat shyly, his toes shifting unnaturally. "My mom and dad are on the boat."
Touched, Mu Tingyu gently lifted his face, supporting his chin, and praised him without reservation: "You drew very well."
The little boy's eyes lit up immediately, and he asked in surprise, "Really?"
“Really,” Mu Tingyu said earnestly, “Teacher Mu can draw. If Teacher Mu says you’re good, then you’re really good.”
The man came out of the inner room carrying dishes and called out, "Shitou, go wash your hands, dinner is ready."
"I took a shower at Teacher Mu's house!" Stone answered loudly.
Mu Tingyu stood up to help take the vegetables.
The woman came out, wiped her hands on her apron, and said apologetically, "Teacher Mu, we don't have anything nice to offer you, please don't mind."
"How could that be?" Mu Tingyu said with a smile. "I'm already very happy that I can come to eat."
There were two vegetarian dishes and two meat dishes on the table, and the aroma of cooking filled the air. The group sat down, and the man poured himself a glass of baijiu (Chinese liquor).
After pouring the drink, the man asked Mu Tingyu, "Teacher Mu, would you like some?"
The woman, both amused and exasperated, stopped him: "Teacher Mu, you're just a young girl. You can drink by yourself. Do you want someone to keep you company?"
Mu Tingyu laughed and said, "I can drink it."
The man looked surprised, but a clear smile finally appeared on his face: "Then have a drink, have a drink."
"Oh, this..." The woman couldn't stop him, looking helpless. "Teacher Mu, it's not good wine, it's just watered-down baijiu..."
Mu Tingyu waved her hand dismissively: "It's nothing!"
There was no wine cup for drinking from; the man had just poured it directly into a porcelain bowl. He handed Mu Tingyu a new bowl and pretended to pour it out as well.
Seeing that he was aiming for a full bowl, Mu Tingyu chickened out: "Pour...pour only a little..."
Finally, she took the half bowl of baijiu and stared blankly at the clear liquid inside.
She had never drunk baijiu like this before.
The man picked up the bowl, his expression brightening slightly: "Teacher Mu, here."
Mu Tingyu clinked her bowl with his and lowered her head to take a small sip.
She rarely drinks baijiu (Chinese liquor), finding it too spicy. This sip was still very spicy, but extremely bland and tasteless, making it somewhat difficult to swallow.
But how good could the wine be? She swallowed it down.
The woman intended to serve her some food, but paused in mid-air, and finally said only, "Teacher Mu, eat your food, eat your food."
Mu Tingyu finally realized who the stone resembled.
He wanted to hold her hand but then pulled back because he felt his hands were dirty; he wanted to serve her food but then remembered that the chopsticks had already been used and he was afraid she would find them offensive.
This kind of behavior—wanting to get close but cautiously shrinking back—particularly touched her heart.
"Teacher Mu, I invited you to dinner today to thank you." The woman was clearly not good at saying such things, and stammered a little. "My son, Shitou, said he likes you very, very much."
"Really?" Mu Tingyu laughed happily, looking at Shi Tou's head, which was almost buried under the table, with a hint of teasing: "What do you like about me?"
The woman recalled, "He would mention you every day when he came home, saying what you taught that day, what stories you told, how you watched the ants with him in the corner, how you helped him pick up the sandbags from the tree, how you talked to him so much... and so on... there were too many things to mention, he mentioned it every day. He said your classes were particularly interesting, and he loved listening to your classes."
Mu Tingyu deliberately drew out her words to Shi Tou: "So Shi Tou likes me that much."
Everyone at the table laughed. Stone was so embarrassed he wanted to crawl under the table, but he still blurted out, "Is there anything else I haven't said?"
Mu Tingyu asked with a smile, "What else?"
The little boy was shy, but he still managed to lift his head and look at this rather unusual teacher who had appeared in his life by chance, and said loudly:
"Teacher Mu! You never, ever say anything bad about me!"
He was a mischievous and playful child who loved to go up mountains and down to the sea. Everyone who saw him would ask: "Stone, have you gotten into any trouble today?"
He didn't like studying and often skipped classes. Everyone who saw him would say: "Stone, why are you disobedient again?"
Until that day, he had a fight with his friends and wandered aimlessly to Xing Ze's house, where he saw Mu Tingyu.
Xing Ze didn't like the kids coming into the house, so he squatted on the ground and played with the puppy.
When Xiao Ping arrived, her first words were: "Shi Tou, why are you skipping class again?"
Afraid of getting beaten up, he hid behind a pretty girl he had never seen before. The pretty girl was very gentle, and she was the only one who asked: Why are you skipping class?
What excuse could he possibly have for skipping class? Being naughty, disobedient, or immature? No one ever asked him why.
Only she asked why.
But he was too embarrassed to say that he had argued with his friend, so he just said that class was too boring.
I heard neither criticism nor blame, only her laughter and the words: "Yes, it is indeed very boring. It seems you've learned it all."
Looking into her eyes, Stone understood that she knew everything, but simply hadn't exposed him.
He also knew that the words "smart" and "sensible" had nothing to do with him.
However, this was the only person who was willing to squat down and listen to him properly.
.
Mu Tingyu sat on a small wooden stool in front of the stone house, enjoying the moonlight as she digested her food.
I can't believe it, she actually finished that half bowl of baijiu.
Diluted liquor really doesn't taste good; it's still spicy, but it has no aroma at all.
Perhaps it was the warmth of the Shi family, perhaps it was Shi's words that made her happy, or perhaps it was the cozy atmosphere during the meal.
Perhaps it had been a long time since she had eaten such a lively meal with her family.
That day, I went to Xiaoping's house for dinner. The male host wasn't home, and the female host was busy with chores. I couldn't stand the quiet and deserted dining table, so I put down my chopsticks after a few bites.
Indeed, it's better to have a lively meal.
Mu Tingyu sighed almost imperceptibly, when suddenly a surprised voice came from ahead: "—Teacher Mu?"
She looked up and exclaimed, "Oh, Teacher Zhuang?"
Zhuang Ren walked up to her: "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to freeload a meal," Mu Tingyu said with a smile, tilting her head back.
Zhuang Ren looked at her flushed cheeks and stammered, "You, you've been drinking?"
"I drank a little."
The woman inside came out when she heard the noise: "Xiao Zhuang, what brings you here?"
"My mom asked me to get you some seafood." Zhuang Ren picked up the bag in his hand. "It's fresh from today."
"Oh dear," the woman quickly refused, "No, why do you send things over every day!"
Zhuang Ren joked, "Aunt Lin, I'm just a gofer, I can't make the decision. Please accept it, otherwise I'll definitely get scolded when I get back."
"Really," the woman glared at him feigning anger, "then please thank Yue'e for me!"
"I know."
The woman put her things inside, then went out and walked up to Mu Tingyu: "Teacher Mu, do you know the way in the dark? Let me take you... Oh dear, why is your face so red?"
Mu Tingyu smiled with narrowed eyes: "It's okay, I only get flushed when I drink, I'm not drunk."
But the effects of the alcohol were definitely kicking in, and my head felt a bit heavy.
"I just told you not to drink so much!" the woman scolded affectionately. "Can't you even walk? I'll take you home."
"No need, no need! I know the way!" Mu Tingyu stood up, leaning against the wall, swaying slightly. "I can manage by myself! No need to trouble yourself!"
"Oh dear, how can this be?" the woman exclaimed, both amused and exasperated. "Wait a minute, I..."
"Aunt Lin!" Zhuang Ren's voice rang out, "I'll deliver it!"
Upon hearing this, Mu Tingyu waved her hand and said, "No need, Teacher Zhuang, it's too much trouble for you!"
Zhuang Ren stepped forward and insisted, "My home is in that direction too, it's on my way, no trouble at all."
Having said all that, Mu Tingyu had no choice but to agree.
With the woman's instructions to "be careful and make sure you get Teacher Mu home safely," the two slowly walked out along the path and onto the main road.
Zhuang Ren glanced at Mu Tingyu, who was focused on walking with her head down, and asked somewhat awkwardly, "Teacher Mu, are you alright? Do you need... a hand?"
Mu Tingyu looked up and smiled, "Actually, I can hold my liquor pretty well, so don't worry."
The few streetlights along the road cast a dim yellow glow, which fell on her flushed cheeks and reflected in her beautiful eyes, which were slightly watery.
Zhuang Ren's breath hitched, and he nodded blankly.
Throughout the journey, Zhuang Ren tried his best to find topics to talk about, but he was bad at talking and didn't know what topics Mu Tingyu would be interested in.
Moreover, perhaps because of the alcohol, Mu Tingyu didn't seem very energetic, only offering a few simple replies.
As they approached Xing Ze's house, Zhuang Ren became somewhat anxious.
He opened and closed his mouth several times, finally mustering his courage, gritting his teeth, and stammering, "Teacher Mu, next... next Saturday, are you free to go to town? With me... you know... over there... there's a new little movie theater..."
"Huh?" Mu Tingyu seemed not to have heard clearly and turned to look at him.
Zhuang Ren was captivated by those beautiful, watery eyes. He held his breath and involuntarily took a step closer: "I'll say..."
"—Mu Tingyu"
A deep voice suddenly came from the end of the path.
When Mu Tingyu heard someone call her name, she turned her head groggily.
Xing Ze stood ten steps away from them, his expression cold.
Zhuang Ren, unaware of how long he had been standing there, suddenly took a step back and awkwardly began, "Brother Xing, what's wrong...?"
To everyone's surprise, the man didn't even glance at him, but stared straight at the girl with the flushed face, and slowly spoke.
"—Mu Tingyu, come here."
A note from the author:
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