Chapter 51
Mu Zhengxi leaned closer. "Haven't you recognized me after more than a month, Jiang Jiawei?" He raised an eyebrow, a smile playing on his lips. "Or am I just too handsome? You don't recognize me?"
Who's here?
The old woman, who was following slowly behind, asked curiously, peeking through the crack in the door at the young face that looked as tender as the newly sprouted leaves of water spinach in the field. "Young man, who are you looking for?"
"Brother Xi!!!"
Before Grandpa's motorcycle had even come to a complete stop, Jiang Jiayi excitedly jumped off and ran over, giving Mu Zhengxi a big hug. The impact made Mu Zhengxi stagger back a couple of steps. He patted her shoulder, full of surprise and excitement, "You really came!"
Mu Zhengxi glanced at the person, and now he could no longer look down at him. He thought to himself, "Did Jiang Jiayi eat fertilizer when he got home? He's grown so tall."
"How could it be fake?"
"Come on, come on, come on in." Jiang Jiayi introduced to Atai, "This is my friend, Mu Zhengxi."
Grandma opened the courtyard gate. "Oh, it's Yi-Yi's friend. Come in and sit down."
Jiang Jiawei stood there blankly, not quite realizing what was happening, until Mu Zhengxi, who was passing by, flicked her forehead. The person covering her forehead wrinkled her nose.
Grandpa, carrying a bunch of things—big bags and small bags—came over. "Yi-Yi's friend is here?"
Jiang Jiawei smiled and said, "Yes."
"No wonder they kept urging me to come back."
Originally, Jiang Jiayi was at a friend's house having tea, but before she could even settle in, she kept urging her to go home.
Jiang Jiawei reached out to help carry the things, but her grandfather dodged her, saying, "They're too heavy for you to carry. Grandpa can carry them."
"I'll take the lighter one."
"No need, it's just a short walk home. Open the door for me."
Jiang Jiawei couldn't refuse, so she turned around when she heard the sound and saw that her grandmother and two younger brothers had also returned. When they saw the motorcycle parked at the door, her two younger brothers ran wildly, like little dogs that had sniffed out a bone.
Jiang Jiayi and Jiang Jiawei stared in disbelief at Mu Zhengxi, who looked as if he hadn't eaten for eight days and eight nights. He was holding a bowl the size of his face, gulping down the noodle soup. When he put it down, the bowl was completely empty. He let out a satisfied burp and licked his lips.
This is the third bowl.
My two younger cousins, who are usually big eaters, were suddenly ashamed of themselves.
Grandma, wearing an apron, lifted the kitchen curtain. "Is it not enough? Get more. Are you full?"
Mu Zhengxi nodded vigorously and said in a loud voice, "I'm full, thank you, Grandma!"
Grandma was satisfied with the chef's approval and said, "Okay, we'll have dinner later."
Jiang Jiayi asked with genuine emotion, "Your family...you didn't go bankrupt, did you, Brother Xi?"
"You'll have to ask my mom about this."
Jiang Jiayi thought for a moment, "You were kicked out of the family?" She frowned, disbelieving, "That can't be, right?"
Mu Zhengxi ignored him. After finishing his meal, he focused on the two identical dishes in front of him. He stroked his chin and started playing a spot-the-difference game. Finally, he made a definitive conclusion, pointing to the one on the left and saying, "Your name is Lin Kaiyang."
He said to the one on the right, "Your name is Lin Kaijie."
Her eyes lit up as she looked at Jiang Jiawei for confirmation.
The twins exchanged a surprised glance and exclaimed in unison, "How did you know?!"
"Isn't my brother amazing?"
Jiang Jiawei laughed, somewhat speechless.
"Your two younger brothers look so alike."
"Yes, they are identical twins, but they are actually easy to tell apart. The one with a mole on his left cheek is the older brother, Kaiyang, and the one without is the younger brother, Kaijie."
Jiang Jia glanced at his sister and asked, "You told him, right?"
Jiang Jiawei tilted her head and revealed an innocent smile.
Ah Le, who had woken up at some point, climbed out of bed and stood at the doorway, biting her fingers as she looked at the unfamiliar faces in the noisy living room. It wasn't until Jiang Jiawei noticed her and called her name that Ah Le's short legs came fluttering over like a little duck and she buried herself in Jiang Jiawei's arms.
Jiang Jiawei picked her up and sat her on his lap, took out a tissue and pulled her fingers out of her mouth to wipe them, saying, "Dirty."
Her round eyes stared intently at Mu Zhengxi.
The little girl with ear-length hair had two small pigtails on her head. Her hair was a little messy because she had just woken up, and she looked a bit like Jiang Jiawei when she was a child.
Jiang Jiawei introduced Mu Zhengxi, saying, "This is my older brother, Zhengxi brother."
The second half of the sentence made someone's lips curl into a smile, and they were very satisfied.
Lin Jiale smiled shyly and grabbed Jiang Jiawei's clothes to cover her face.
The grandma who came over to collect the dishes teased her, "Are you embarrassed to see a handsome guy, Ah Le?"
"Grandma, let me collect it—"
"Please sit down."
Grandma pressed down on Mu Zhengxi.
Jiang Jiawei placed Ale in Jiang Jiayi's arms, "I'll get her some water."
When Jiang Jia noticed that she kept looking at Mu Zhengxi, she said, "Call him brother, this one is also a brother."
Mu Zhengxi extended his hand to her, "Shake hands?"
She took his index finger in her small hand and shook it, saying in a serious tone, "Hello." Her voice still had a slightly husky quality, as if she had just woken up.
Jiang Jia burst out laughing.
Mu Zhengxi responded earnestly, "Hello, Lin Jiale." Then he remembered, "Oh, I brought you a gift!"
Grandparents, great-grandmother, brothers, sisters, and Jiang Jiayi were all included.
After distributing the gifts, he slapped his forehead as if he had just remembered something and said cheekily, "Oh, sorry, I forgot to buy you Jiang Jiawei."
More than that, what Jiang Jiawei was concerned about was the deflated backpack that seemed to contain only his ID and the several empty paper bags that were all of Mu Zhengxi's luggage. "You came directly from the airport, so where is your suitcase?"
The person who licked their lips slowly lost their smile, their imposing aura vanished instantly, and they glanced at Jiang Jiawei and said in a low voice, "I've landed at the airport." They quickly added, "But I've already spoken to the staff, and they'll store my luggage for me. I'll go back and get it later."
Jiang Jiawei breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, she had only lost it at the airport; she had thought she had lost it on the way here.
"Okay, actually I was just kidding."
Mu Zhengxi bent down, picked up the schoolbag from the chair, and unzipped it.
"Huh??? It's left in the car???"
"What's lost in the car?"
"Luggage."
"At the airport."
"Then you're telling me you're lying."
Mu Zhengxi realized what he meant and smiled, "I was lying when I said I didn't bring you a gift."
A light purple box, about half the size of an A4 sheet of paper.
"What's this?"
Mu Zhengxi raised an eyebrow. "Take a guess."
Jiang Jiawei opened it directly.
Mu Zhengxi curled his lip, "Tch, this is really boring."
"Wow, what kind of flower is this? It's so beautiful!"
However, her surprised expression quickly pleased Mu Zhengxi. "Jacaranda."
An oak frame captures a timeless purple summer moment.
What Mu Zhengxi spent the summer alone during the time they didn't meet.
"Is this the specimen you made?" Jiang Jiawei looked up at the person beside her.
"Hmm." She raised her chin proudly, "I made the picture frame too."
Jiang Jiawei lowered her head and carefully touched the edge of the photo frame. "How is Mu Zhengxi so amazing?"
Mu Zhengxi noticed that her hair had grown much longer, and her jet-black hair was braided with red ribbons, a style he had never seen before. "Who did your hair, Jiang Jiawei?"
"My grandma styled it," Jiang Jiawei said, turning to look at her hair. "Isn't it pretty?"
Mu Zhengxi raised his hand and touched the ends of his hair, which shimmered golden in the sunlight, then pursed his lips and did not answer.
Mu Zhengxi won over two new underlings and a little sister in less than an hour, using a makeshift basketball hoop that his grandfather had built in the yard.
As the sun set, Grandpa rinsed the yard with well water, making it much cooler.
Mu Zhengxi lifted three-year-old Lin Jiale as easily as he would a kitten, and the basketball went in perfectly.
The person, grinning broadly with squinted eyes, revealed adorable baby teeth and clapped for himself. The old lady sitting by the door picking vegetables said, "Our Ah Le is so brave, he's not afraid at all."
But the two older brothers were a little unhappy. "Sister, take Ah Le to play quickly, we want to play ball."
Jiang Jiawei, who was cooling her hands in the well water, beckoned to Ah Le, "Ah Le, come here."
Mu Zhengxi gently put the person down.
Upon hearing the instruction, Lin Jiale ran over and very consciously pulled up her trouser leg, indicating to Jiang Jiawei that she was going to splash water on her.
Dinner was also eaten at a table set up in the courtyard, and Mu Zhengxi blended in without any sense of incongruity.
Halfway through the meal, Jiang Jiawei noticed a lightness on her lap. A-Le had sat on Mu Zhengxi's lap. Lin Jiale, who was engrossed in gnawing on a rib, was completely unaware of this. Only after finishing the rib and looking up did she realize that the person holding her had changed.
Mu Zhengxi removed the bone she had chewed clean from her hand and awkwardly wiped her bulging mouth. His movements were too gentle, resulting in a futile attempt to clean it.
Ah Le turned his face and reached out to grab the table, saying he wanted to eat more.
Mu Zhengxi scooped a piece from her bowl with a soup spoon and gave it to her.
A neighbor came over for a visit.
Plop, soup dripped down Mu Zhengxi's arm and onto his white T-shirt. Jiang Jiawei, who had just finished speaking, turned around and saw it, quickly grabbing a tissue to wipe it off.
"Wait a minute, I'll go get some dish soap."
Mu Zhengxi held his breath and only exhaled after she stood up.
The sensation of his fingertips brushing against his clothes and touching his ribs seemed to linger. It was so hot. He grabbed the fan that his grandmother used on the chair and fanned himself vigorously.
Ah Le grabbed his arm and turned the wind towards himself.
Mu Zhengxi glanced at the greasy stain.
Okay, I'll forgive you since you're cute.
Lin Jiale chuckled as she fanned her bangs, which had become tangled from sweat, and closed her eyes.
Is this fun?
"Great pill!"
Jiang Jiawei, who had squeezed dish soap onto her hands, pulled Mu Zhengxi's clothes over and smeared it on the damp clothes.
Mu Zhengxi looked up and saw Jiang Jiayi, who was visibly annoyed. He threw the fan in his hand at her and raised an eyebrow in a provocative gesture.
"Sis! My clothes got dripped too!!"
Wow, that's so childish.
Mu Zhengxi: "It seems there are some here too!"
My twin cousin said, "I have one too."
What if I get one too?
Jiang Jiawei glanced at the group and went on strike, "Oh, whatever, you can all take them off and wash them after you finish eating." She acted as if nothing could stop her from eating, no matter what happened.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com