Chapter 191: Everyday Life
Originally, Li Mu had planned to visit her grandpa for New Year’s Day, who had even specifically asked for her to be there.
But because her appearance and gender had changed, she felt a little nervous about it. Even though her grandpa might be too old to notice any difference.
After having dinner with Yu Fan outside, it was already 7 p.m. by the time they got home.
Not long after they arrived, Xiao Jing came out of the bedroom in a new body. She still looked super excited and ran happily toward Li Mu.
Then Li Mu smacked her head off with one slap.
“Big sister…”
Xiao Jing’s head rolled around on the floor a few times as she called out in a sad voice.
But Li Mu just sat back down on the couch without saying a word. She didn’t bother to explain or say anything to Xiao Jing and just looked down at her phone.
“Sister~” Xiao Jing didn’t feel pain anyway. Her headless body quickly picked up the head and ran back to Li Mu’s side, acting all cute. “Don’t be mad~”
“So you know what you did wrong?”
“I won’t do it again!”
The head in her arms looked very serious.
Li Mu gave her a glance and reached out to help her reattach her head.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Xiao Jing wanted to go open it but realized she wasn’t wearing any makeup yet, so she ran back into the bedroom to hide.
Seeing that she had gone back inside, Li Mu slowly went to open the door.
“I knew you’d come back for New Year’s break,” Ren Tianyou said with a smile as he carried a foam box into the room. “Some relatives gave us two boxes of crabs. My mom told me to bring one over.”
“Crabs? Aren’t those really expensive?”
“They’re not too bad, only the big ones cost a lot.”
Ren Tianyou noticed that Li Mu’s expression seemed much livelier than before. Her face used to be cold all the time, but now there was some warmth to it.
That made him feel really happy. After all, no one wants to see their friend always looking lonely or closed off.
He placed the box of crabs in the corner and reminded her, “Just take out one or two when you want to eat. Leave the rest alone, they won’t die that easily. Don’t soak them in water.”
“Got it.”
“I have three days off too. Want me to drive you somewhere nearby for fun?”
“I already have plans.”
Ren Tianyou nodded and looked around the room. Then he asked, “Where’s Xiao Jing?”
“She’s sleeping. Just leave her be.”
Since Xiao Jing looked like Li Mu’s younger sister, he felt especially close to her, even if she might actually be a ghost that came back to life.
Li Mu opened the box and peeked at the crabs inside. There were about seven or eight. It would be hard to finish all of them during the three-day break.
She thought it would be a good idea to bring some over to Yu Fan’s house tomorrow as a gift.
“They all look pretty lively. Should be fine for a few days.”
“Mm.”
“Oh, and don’t worry too much about my mom,” Ren Tianyou said, sitting down on the couch with a smile. “She just needs time to adjust. She actually cares about you a lot. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have told me to bring the crabs over.”
“I know.”
Running into auntie the other day didn’t really bother Li Mu. Back then, she had been more worried about the awkward situation of wearing girls’ clothes on stage and didn’t have time to think about anything else.
“So… where’s your boyfriend?”
“Brother Tianyou, he’s really not my boyfriend.”
Li Mu felt like the big brother next door had misunderstood things way too much.
“Come on, you think I can’t tell?”
He was someone who had lots of love stories and many late nights. How could he not notice Li Mu’s little feelings?
Back when Li Mu was still a guy, he could joke about things like this. But now that Li Mu had become a girl, he didn’t dare to bring it up anymore.
Li Mu didn’t feel like explaining. She turned on the TV and started watching a drama.
TV dramas had been getting worse lately. A few years ago, there were good ones like In the Name of the People, but now she could hardly find any she liked. Before meeting Xiao Jing, the TV at home was mostly just used to play ads, to make the house feel less quiet.
Ren Tianyou didn’t stay long. He helped steam a crab, then left, ready to enjoy his night out.
Xiao Jing ran out of the bedroom only after hearing the door close. She had tried putting on makeup in the room, but her face looked super pale like a ghost, and powder was falling off as she ran toward Li Mu.
“Sister! I want to eat too!”
“You can have half. I’m taking the rest to Yu Fan’s house.”
Li Mu had already cut the crab in half and handed one part to Xiao Jing. She frowned and said with dislike, “Go wash your face. I’ll help you do your makeup after we eat.”
“Okay!”
Xiao Jing was usually pretty obedient. The only problem was that once she took over the body, she liked to cause trouble.
Li Mu remembered the time when Xiao Jing used her body to get close to Yu Fan. Back then, she couldn’t move on her own, but she could still feel everything that happened…
“How embarrassing.”
She muttered softly to herself. But she also knew Xiao Jing probably didn’t understand what was wrong with it. After all, she acted like a child and always liked to follow Yu Fan around.
The crabs Ren Tianyou brought weren’t that big, maybe around 300 to 350 grams each. Normally, people around here ate ones over 500 grams. But if one crab costs about 100 yuan, then the seven or eight crabs in the box were worth around 500 yuan total.
She started thinking about whether she should give something back to the auntie. Back when her parents were still around, their two families often exchanged gifts, extra seafood, and local goods from the countryside. It was a way to stay even with each other.
Now that Li Mu had some money, she figured it was time to learn how adults return favors.
“Here’s the problem… what does Auntie like?”
She tried to think of a good gift to give back. Just then, her phone rang.
“Li Mu, my family went on a trip.”
“That late at night?”
“They went north to see snow. Took a plane, so it's normal to leave late.”
“Oh…”
“Are you coming over tonight?”
“I’ll come tomorrow. I have some crab here. I’ll bring it to you.”
“Okay, what do you want to eat tomorrow? I’ll go buy groceries in the morning.”
Li Mu was surprised. “You know how to cook?”
“Of course!” Yu Fan said proudly. “I’m a Michelin 3-star chef!”
She didn’t reply to the joke. She kicked off her slippers, curled up on the couch, and started chatting quietly with Yu Fan.
She wasn’t sure why, but with Yu Fan, she always had so much to talk about. They chatted from cooking to games, to singing today, and even about Yu Fan’s drawings.
Before, Li Mu couldn’t understand how people could talk on the phone for hours. But now, when she talked to Yu Fan, she completely lost track of time.
Xiao Jing tried to interrupt a few times, wanting Li Mu to help her with makeup, but she couldn’t find a chance to speak. In the end, she sat on the floor, annoyed, and watched TV by herself.
“I’ll come pick you up tomorrow morning?”
“Okay.”