Chapter 118: Dreaming Back to a Year Ago
“The guest room has been turned into a storage room. Tonight, you’ll sleep in that room.”
With a smile that was not quite a smile, Ye Ziming spoke softly to Lin Muqing.
Now that the misunderstanding was cleared up, Ye Ziming didn’t feel upset at all. In fact, he was in an even better mood because of it. He knew that Lin Muqing only said what she did because she cared about these kinds of things.
“Oh… oh, okay. Then I’ll head back to the room.”
The atmosphere was really awkward, and the more she made eye contact with her good buddy, the harder it was for the awkwardness to go away.
Ye Ziming’s expression at that moment was very meaningful. He didn’t say a word, but his eyes seemed to say more than a long speech ever could. So after Lin Muqing said that, she turned around and walked straight to the other room, without even looking back once.
As she walked, she made sure to lift her pants a bit and tugged at her very loose top.
“Pfft—”
Seeing Lin Muqing flee in such a flustered way, Ye Ziming couldn’t help but let out a laugh. He thought to himself, She’s seriously too cute. She must’ve grown up by eating cuteness, right?
While thinking that, he casually picked up the hair dryer and turned to head back to his own room.
Once back in his room, he didn’t go straight to bed. Instead, he went to his bookshelf and took out a box from the top. Inside the box lay a jade pendant, it looked somewhat similar to the one Lin Muqing had.
So here’s the question, could there be a connection between the two?
He wasn’t sure, so he wanted to do some research. Maybe he could uncover a big secret. The night passed quietly, and the two of them, each in their own room, slowly drifted off to sleep.
……………………………………
At the hospital, in the intensive care unit.
A patient lay on the bed, covered in tubes. The machines nearby beeped softly from time to time. A boy in a simple disposable isolation gown provided by the nurses knelt beside the bed, holding the patient’s hand and crying very hard.
“Please don’t let the patient get wet,” a nurse gently reminded him, as if used to scenes like this.
“Take your jade pendant… and go find your real mom and dad…”
The patient spoke her final words in a very weak voice, and then she couldn’t hold on any longer. Her eyes closed forever.
At the very last moment, the boy clearly felt the hand holding his suddenly grip tighter, then slowly let go.
“Mom!”
The boy finally broke down and cried loudly over the bed.
“Ah!”
Lin Muqing suddenly opened her eyes from her sleep. Along with the surprise in her eyes, there was also a trace of sadness.
Sigh…
She looked outside the window, then reached out to grab her phone and saw that it was already morning.
She let out a helpless sigh, then sat up on the bed, picked up the pants she had tossed to the side, and put them on before officially getting up.
That event had happened a long time ago, more than a year now. She didn’t want to remember it, which is why she rarely had dreams like that anymore.
Strangely, even though she missed them a lot, she didn’t often dream about them.
She didn’t really understand why.
“…My real mom and dad?”
After getting up, she didn’t leave the room right away. Instead, she walked over to the window and looked out at the buildings, whispering to herself.
That was the last thing her mom said to her. Her dad had more serious injuries and never woke up again, so he didn’t leave any last words.
She didn’t know how to find them, or where to look. So for more than a year, she hadn’t done anything about it.
Hands on the windowsill, she looked up at the sky, then glanced at the cars parked along the road outside the apartment complex.
After a while, once she made sure she looked okay and had put on her usual friendly smile again, she turned and walked toward the door.
"Good morning, Boss."
When she stepped out of the room, she saw that her good buddy was already up, busy doing something in the kitchen with an apron around his waist.
"Mm, morning."
Hearing Lin Muqing’s greeting, Ye Ziming glanced over and replied with a calm voice.
"Whoa! Boss, are you making breakfast?"
Like she had just found out some huge piece of news, Lin Muqing hurried over to the kitchen, smiling as she teased her best friend.
To be honest, her buddy looked really cool wearing an apron, like really good-looking!
This is what people mean by “a caring guy who’s good at home stuff,” right? Her buddy was totally that type. Super awesome!
“Go brush your teeth and wash your face.”
With no expression on his face, Ye Ziming turned to look at her. Holding a ladle in one hand, he used the other to tap her lightly on the head.
If you looked closely, you could even see a little “#” symbol forming on his temple, clearly not too happy about being teased.
"Ow!"
Even though it didn’t hurt at all, Lin Muqing pretended it did, covering her head with both hands and shouting while laughing happily.
While pretending, she saw that her buddy raised his hand again. That scared her, and she quickly stepped back a few steps and rushed out of the kitchen.
“Hehe~ Good luck, Boss!”
She gave a cheeky little laugh, then ran off toward the bathroom, her footsteps light and fast.
The first hit was a warning, so it was light. But who knows about the second one? Better to run now than be sorry later...
Watching her leave, still expressionless, Ye Ziming suddenly thought, this girl really needed to be disciplined.
Her butt must be made of stone, huh? A few smacks should soften it up. If not, just add a few more.
Too bad he was cooking soy milk. He had to stir it often, or it would burn and stick to the pot.
Besides the soy milk, there was also a pot of lean pork congee boiling beside it, with some shredded ginger added to help warm the body. Speaking of which, that bowl of ginger syrup last night seemed to work well. Lin Muqing looked healthy today, not like someone who had caught a cold. He figured he could make her another bowl later.
When Lin Muqing came back to the kitchen after brushing her teeth and washing up, Ye Ziming had just finished making breakfast.
"Are you still feeling unwell?"
As he placed the breakfast on the table, he asked casually about how she felt after getting caught in the rain last night.
"Unwell? I’m not unwell at all."
Hearing the question, Lin Muqing looked confused. She didn’t know why her buddy was asking that.
Since she had completely forgotten about getting soaked in the rain the night before, she didn’t understand what he was referring to.
“Then let’s eat breakfast.”
Relieved, Ye Ziming scooped a bowl of congee for her and placed it in front of her along with a spoon.
“Oh, okay~”
She didn’t think much of it, because it was time to eat!
After her buddy found out all her secrets last night, Lin Muqing felt a lot more relaxed. Now, she could talk and joke around more freely. With nothing left to hide, she could just be herself. Her buddy and she were so close anyway, he definitely wouldn’t mind.
“Later, go home and change your clothes.”
After breakfast, Ye Ziming looked at Lin Muqing’s soft, bare shoulders and said this gently.
In this state, she definitely couldn't go out. He wouldn't agree to that. It was fine wearing that at home. He was the only one who would see it, and honestly, he didn’t mind. He even thought it was kinda nice.
But outside? He thought Lin Muqing should dress more warmly, just in case she caught a chill, even if the weather was already in the mid to high 20s, almost 30 degrees.