Chapter 45: Going Home
The holiday passed quickly, but in the end, Mu Le still hadn’t learned how to swim.
Although she had thought about practicing again later, every time she was around Xiao Yuze, she felt, maybe it was just her imagination, that he seemed to be deliberately teasing her in a very suggestive way.
It was a strange feeling, and it made Mu Le a little uneasy. So in the end, swimming was completely forgotten.
At the beach, it hadn’t felt that obvious, but when she returned to her home city, she subtly noticed that autumn had arrived.
Even though it was only early October, the autumn air was already in the city.
Mu Le and Xiao Yuze had only spent three days at the beach. The timing was just before the Mid-Autumn Festival, so Mu Le needed to go home to visit her lonely father, and Xiao Yuze would also be returning home for a short while.
Before they parted, she stood on her toes and lightly tapped Xiao Yuze’s arm, speaking sincerely.
“When you miss me, eat one of the mooncakes I bought for you. By the way… aren’t you going to sit down for a bit?”
“Next time. I’ll go now, and I’ll pick you up the day after tomorrow.” Xiao Yuze shook his head, half laughing and half exasperated, then teasingly ruffled her hair. Of course, he also carefully fixed her strands afterward.
“Oh.”
Mu Le twisted her neck in slight annoyance, but she didn’t say anything about his affectionate gesture.
“Make sure you eat the mooncakes!”
A little while ago, Mu Le had pulled out several fancy boxes of mooncakes from somewhere and insisted on giving them to Xiao Yuze.
“Got it.” Xiao Yuze didn’t really like mooncakes, but hearing her insistence, he could only smile helplessly.
He didn’t say anything more after that, just waved and walked toward his car.
Mu Le watched him leave. Only when the car disappeared from view did she finally turn around.
……………………
Even though it had been a long time since she had been home, it didn’t feel much different to Mu Le.
Both places were her home, just in different forms.
“Dad, I’m home!”
When Mu Le opened the door, Mu Cheng was on the sofa watching some financial news. Hearing her voice, he looked over with a serious face and snorted, “You still remember to come back?”
Even though he said that, he naturally turned off the TV and stood up to help Mu Le with her luggage.
Mu Le knew her father’s temper well. She chuckled softly, then affectionately hugged one of his hands. “Who made Dad unhappy? You know getting angry makes you age faster.”
“Angry? What do I have to be angry about?”
Mu Cheng looked at her with a faint smile. His expression was still stern, but it was just his habit.
“I’m happy enough as it is. Soon, I guess I’ll have to start preparing my dowry, right?”
“…Ahem.” Mu Le almost spat out her drink at her father’s words. She coughed twice, her face turning a little red. “Dad! What are you saying?”
“Hmph, seeing you like this, that Xiao guy from the Xiao family is really doing well. Tell me, when will I finally get a grandchild?"
Mu Le: “……”
Just a moment ago it was about a dowry, and now it’s about holding a grandchild? Writing a novel doesn’t even happen that fast!
Of course, although her mind was in a whirlwind, on the surface Mu Le fake-coughed lightly, tidied up her small amount of luggage, and then found any excuse to slip into her own room.
Watching her escape-like figure, Mu Cheng’s lips curved into a small smile. But then, as if recalling something, he shook his head helplessly.
After reminding her to eat later, he walked toward the kitchen, sighing softly.
He thought about how his first love was taken by the Xiao family, and now his daughter was also “taken” by that Xiao kid. Thinking about this twisted fate with the Xiao family, Mu Cheng couldn’t help but feel more melancholy.
At the same time, he quietly decided. If Xiao Yuze made Mu Le even a little unhappy, he would break that kid’s legs, no matter what.
Back in her own room, Mu Le naturally had no idea what her father was thinking. But if she did, she would probably be completely embarrassed.
Her room hadn’t changed much. It was very clean, clearly well-kept, and the air carried a faint scent of lemon water.
Looking around with a hint of nostalgia, Mu Le’s mood became a little complex, though only for a short while.
Soon, she flopped onto the soft, large bed.
Rolling around a few times, she rubbed her face against the blanket and let out a soft sigh.
Unconsciously, several months had passed.
From initially refusing to accept it, to later being forced to, at some point she seemed to have forgotten something.
At first, what kept Mu Le going was the thought of returning to how she had been. But when did that idea start to fade?
Suddenly… she felt nothing.
Habits are a strange and powerful thing, especially when you have no choice but to accept something, or when you can only do what’s in front of you…
Unconsciously, she grew used to this body. Unconsciously, her way of thinking changed. Unconsciously, everything seemed unchanged, but in reality, everything had shifted.
She had gotten used to seeing people from a new perspective, to dressing in a new way, to sometimes standing on tiptoe because of her height.
So many things, so many habits, that she had gradually forgotten her original purpose.
Turning over, Mu Le looked at the ceiling above, and finally a faint smile appeared on her face. She suddenly remembered a saying…
All the unknown changes may exist to make you see things from a new angle, to grasp treasures you once didn’t notice or had forgotten.
When you see from a new perspective, your own sadness might become your greatest happiness.
Of course, the premise is… that you see it as something that can bring happiness, something that can even make you forget your sorrow.
So now, between her present self and her past self, which one is truly happy?
Mu Le blinked, trying to find an answer.
Or maybe there is no answer, because whether it was the past him or the present her, both were happy.
The self that is liked by others, the self with someone to like, the self that is loved, the self that loves…
Being able to cross over so-called sorrow and change might be possible because of the right to love and be loved.
Because she wasn’t abandoned by the world or by those who mattered, she naturally didn’t have the right to give up in this change.
Whether as a man or as a woman, in the end… she was still just Mu Le.
If change exists to give oneself the power to grasp happiness, then all of these changes are no longer things to reject.
………………
When Mu Cheng gently opened the door to call Mu Le for dinner, he found that she had already fallen into a deep sleep.
Seeing the soft expression on her face, Mu Cheng shook his head with a smile and quietly left the room.