Chapter 3
"What's your name?"
"Mu Zhengxi".
"Which Mu, which Zheng, which Xi?"
Mu Zhengxi stared at the person in front of him, making no attempt to hide his scrutiny or his disappointment. However, his hands, which were clenched at his sides, and his heart, which was pounding in his chest, were also pounding with nervousness. Under the direct gaze of those dark pupils, he swallowed hard.
He cursed under his breath, "The oxygen content in the air here is way too low!"
"Mu Guiying's Mu, Zheng's Zheng, and Xi's Xi."
The weak, almost drowning pronunciation.
The embers of the sun falling into the shop were scorching hot, and sweat rolled down my back.
He glanced at the ID card in the wallet, closed it, and handed it to the person. "Yes, it's yours."
"Th-thank you."
"You're too kind."
After returning the item to its rightful owner, Jiang Jiawei turned to go upstairs.
People who have snapped out of their daze urgently speak out.
"Hey, wait a minute!"
The steps that were about to ascend the stairs came to a halt.
"Your name is Jiang Jiawei?"
How do you know my sister's name?
Mu Zhengxi lowered his head slightly in the direction of the sound, almost forgetting about this little devil. Ever since he helped him call his sister downstairs, he had been standing guard next to Jiang Jiawei, like a puppy, his eyes darting back and forth between the two of them, his vigilance was undeniable.
"I, I—" How should I know? I dreamt about it!
The interjection saved him from his predicament, and Jiang Jiawei asked, "Yes, what's wrong?"
Mu Zhengxi quickly retorted, mimicking her earlier words, "Which Jiang, which Jia, which Wei?"
The person staring at him as if he were a weirdo frowned, and after a few seconds, said, "I don't know you."
It's roughly equivalent to a euphemism for "Why should I tell you?"
"We don't know each other, we two..." Mu Zhengxi hesitated, knowing he was sure he'd be seen as crazy if he said that. He opened and closed his mouth, his mind racing. "We met this morning. I had breakfast at your house."
Oh yeah, didn't they see each other this morning?
"What's wrong?"
Jiang Jiawei's words interrupted Mu Zhengxi's thoughts.
"Then, doesn't that mean we're acquainted?" he started to ramble. "I, I think your name is quite unique, and I'm a little curious about it."
The eyes beneath the baseball cap were very sincere.
The person standing on the stairs hesitated for a few seconds before slowly saying, "The ginger in ginger."
"Jia" means "to commend".
"Azure blue."
With each word he confirmed, Mu Zhengxi's lips drooped downwards, and he could no longer smile.
The figure at the stairwell disappeared.
Mu Zhengxi, his mind still a mess, was startled when he saw the little brat staring straight at him. "What are you doing?"
The other person retorted, "What are you doing now?" He crossed his arms, looked up and down at the unfamiliar face standing in front of him, showing no fear despite being much shorter.
Mu Zhengxi recalled that Jiang Jiawei did indeed have a younger brother named Jiang Jiayi. When the two of them often had childish arguments, he liked to tease him about his name as an accident.
Mu Zhengxi gave it a try on a whim.
"Hey Jiang Jiayi, is this your older sister?"
"Huh?! How do you know my name too?"
Mu Zhengxi's expression changed, his face filled with horror. "What?! Your name is really Jiang Jiayi?!" He grabbed Jiang Jiayi's shoulders and shook him, incredulous. "Really Jiang Jiayi?!"
"What are you doing?! Let go of me!!"
With a size difference of half, Jiang Jiayi was held in Mu Zhengxi's hand like a little chick, unable to move.
This is unbelievable!! Does anyone know why?!
Mu Zhengxi loosened his grip, looked around blankly, not knowing what day it was, and floated out of the shop with cotton-like steps.
Jiang Jiayi quickly followed him out and saw the strange customer off for a while. When she turned around, she saw his sister standing on the stairs with a book in her arms.
"Sis, is this someone from your school?"
Jiang Jiawei looked equally blank and shook her head.
Jiang Jiayi said anxiously, "How could you just tell other people your name like that!"
"It's just a name, what does it matter?"
Jiang Jiayi lowered her head, clenched her hands, and her face was tense.
A tall, muscular man wearing ripped jeans and a giant skull T-shirt looks like he's a delinquent.
Jiang Jiawei called to him, "Come up and do your homework."
"What about the shop?"
Although we no longer offer dine-in service in the evenings, we still sell braised food for late-night snacks.
"I'll watch from downstairs; Dad will be back soon."
"Then I'll go too."
As she spoke, Jiang Jiayi, who had run upstairs, came downstairs with her schoolbag.
That's ridiculous.
Mu Zhengxi lay sprawled on the hotel bed, limbs outstretched, without moving for a long time.
These signs of confirmation can no longer be explained by coincidence; it's practically metaphysics! Could it be a prophecy?! A hint from heaven?! But what could it be?!
Before he could figure out what was going on, news of his father's return to China swiftly pulled him back home like a dog leash.
The round dining table is divided into three groups, with each person sitting a fraction of an inch apart, a distance that would be considered unlucky by anyone who gets too close. To the uninitiated, it looks like a three-way mediation meeting.
Mu Shaoqing glanced at his son, who was lounging around with his leg shaking, and asked, "Where have you been these past two days?"
"Nowhere."
"How are you feeling? Are you still experiencing any discomfort?"
Mu Zhengxi picked up the orange juice on the table and took a sip. "It's alright, not as bad as when you beat me up."
Mu Shaoqing's chopsticks paused in mid-air for a second. "The school in the UK has already been arranged for you. You'll go there next week to attend your brother's old school."
"Did I say I was going abroad?" Mu Zhengxi scoffed disdainfully. "And I'll be going to the same school as Mu Zhengting."
Zeng Yuan said coldly, "Do you think this means we're discussing it with you?"
Mu Zhengxi immediately retorted provocatively, "Then it's the same as you having children without consulting me, right?"
The metal chopsticks made a soft sound as they tapped against the marble countertop.
Mu Zhengxi turned to the side, resting his hand on the back of the chair, and looked directly at his mother, whose anger he had just provoked. He smiled and continued, "Besides, if I went to England, Mom, wouldn't you find it disgusting? Could you even breathe the air there?"
The emotional fluctuations that welled up in his eyes, so similar to his, were as fleeting as striking a match. He became an incurable mental patient in his mother's eyes. The man who elegantly took a napkin to wipe his mouth stood up and left the table.
Mu Shaoqing, the only one at the table who respected the food, was used to this scene. He looked at his youngest son with some amusement and warned, "Don't go too far, Mu Zhengxi."
He was referring to Mu Zhengxi's attitude towards Zeng Yuan earlier.
He then asked, "Is this the result you wanted?"
"I will not go abroad."
"This is not your decision."
"Then give it a try."
"That's what I should be saying to you, Mu Zhengxi."
Mu Shaoqing, who picked up his wine glass and lightly clinked it against his, smiled.
As he stood up, he cast a shadow over his son, who had somehow already surpassed his own height.
The young man was fearless and outspoken.
"Fine, I'll wait until you kill me so I can pack up my body and transport it."
Mu Shaoqing tilted his head and seriously considered the possibility of packing it into a box. It's not a good method now, but there are always other ways, after all, he's still a child.
When Mu Zhengxi returned to the family compound, Minxia had just changed the old lady's diaper. This timing surprised her. After Mu Zhengxi entered junior high school, she rarely stayed overnight here. Firstly, it was far from the school, and secondly, the house was small with only two rooms. After Professor Jiang's accident, she started staying overnight here.
"Why are you here at this hour?"
"Oh, I'll stay here tonight, I'll sleep in the cot."
"Did you have a fight with your mom?"
Mu Zhengxi pursed his lips and remained silent.
Minxia understood. Every time his parents came home, he would run here. For some reason, Mu Zhengxi was sent to Yunshan Temple to be raised after he was a month old. He was taken back to Professor Jiang's side when he was five years old. Mu Zhengxi's mother, Zeng Yuan, had a big argument with her about this several times.
A few years ago, Zeng Yuan took her eldest son, who was in junior high school, to study abroad and practically settled in London. Mu Zhengxi refused to go, and later, when Professor Jiang had an accident and became what he is today, he was even more unwilling to leave.
Minxia didn't ask any more questions, only asking, "Have you eaten?"
Mu Zhengxi shook his head.
A dozen minutes later.
A simple, fragrant bowl of tomato noodles appeared on the table.
Minxia still kept the habit from when he was growing taller, and poured him a glass of milk.
Having drunk too much milk during his growth period, Mu Zhengxi felt nauseous, but he didn't say anything and finished it. After all, the only person who still felt he was growing and therefore should drink milk was Sister Xia.
"Jung-hee, you can sleep in the room. I'll change the sheets."
"Need not."
Sister Xia said, "The bed for the caregiver is too small."
"It's okay, I want to stay with my grandma for a while."
"good."
"Sister Xia, you don't need to worry about me, you go and rest."
Unable to stretch out his legs on the hospital bed, Mu Zhengxi could only bend his legs and cross them. With his hands crossed behind his head, he stared at the ceiling, idly tugging at the fluttering window curtains with his toes, starting his pre-sleep disturbance mode.
"Wenqing, are you asleep?"
The person lying on their side facing him has their eyes slightly closed, mostly feigning sleep to avoid him.
Mu Zhengxi began to say to himself, "Mu Shaoqing is going to send me abroad to London, and I will study at the same school as Mu Zhengting."
Then they curse.
"What a fucking bad luck."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I was wrong."
He rarely swears now, but occasionally he still can't help it, such as when he mentions Mu Zhengting.
When he was in junior high school, Mu Shaoqing wanted to send him to England, but he refused, and Jiang Wenqing disagreed as well.
Since Jiang Wenqing had spoken, Mu Shaoqing still had to listen.
But this time, lying on the cradle, Jiang Wenqing, who was exhausted just breathing, could no longer make the decisions.
To be honest, Mu Zhengxi thought that Mu Shaoqing was unlikely to kill him, but the possibility of knocking him out and then shipping him to Great Britain was not out of the question.
As his thoughts drifted, Jiang Jiawei's face flashed into Mu Zhengxi's mind. He sat bolt upright. Yes, Jiang Jiawei too! How could he go to England? He hadn't even figured out what was going on with Jiang Jiawei yet! How could he go to England?!
Mu Zhengxi jumped off the bed and began to tell him what had happened after he arrived in Changqing.
"I'm serious, Wenqing, this is terrifying."
"This can no longer be explained by science."
“The place names and personal names all match up.”
Has your research institute studied this area?
Mu Zhengxi began rummaging through the bookshelf by the moonlight. The shelves were full of books on talent education, political ideology, and various physics, which gave him a headache. He couldn't find a single one that was relevant, so he clicked his tongue in disapproval.
"Look at you, your knowledge base is still not broad enough."
However, more than the science program, Mu Zhengxi was concerned about, "Isn't it said that daughters resemble their fathers? How come Jiang Jiawei doesn't look like her father at all?"
"Such a lovely girl, and her skin is almost as dark as mine. Is that acceptable?" Mu Zhengxi glanced at his own tanned skin, which he had developed from running wildly on the football field all summer.
But it's one thing for a man to be dark-skinned, but what does it look like for a girl to be dark-skinned?
After saying that, he tried to justify himself, saying, "I'm not judging people by their appearance; I'm just stating objective facts."
Mu Zhengxi didn't dare to say the rest of his comments about his physique, fearing that Jiang Wenqing would jump up and hit him.
It's really boring not to get a response.
Mu Zhengxi settled down on the chair by the bed, took Jiang Wenqing's bent, loosely clenched fist, and thought, "I'll really beat him up."
He straightened and spread his fingers one by one, guiding his cool palms to stroke the top of his head. He curled up by the bed and closed his eyes. The sound of breathing beside him was a comforting lullaby, and he fell asleep without realizing it.
Moonlight streamed through the window, and a glint of light shone in the corners of her slightly closed eyes.
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