Chapter 3: What I Love Is My Life
Treat her to a meal?
Mu Yi froze for a moment. After a while, she came back to her senses and realized that she was not in a good situation to answer the call, or to go out for a meal.
Her face turned pale, and she stayed silent.
“Dear?”
Hearing that, Mu Yi’s expression became even worse. She really wanted to stay quiet.
All this time, the “bishoujo” had taken good care of her. Among all the editors she had worked with, this one was the most responsible. She often cared about Mu Yi’s health and well-being.
She would even help her sometimes, and during meals, she would give serious advice.
Mu Yi felt grateful for her kindness, but it also gave her a bit of a headache.
“Sorry…”
Mu Yi lowered her voice on purpose, making it soft and gentle.
“Huh? You are…” The editor dragged out her words in confusion.
“I’m Mu Yi’s younger sister, Mu Shuang. My brother isn’t here right now. If it’s something important, you can tell me, and I’ll pass the message to him.”
She planned to talk a bit using a fake identity as a “younger sister,” but after a few sentences, the editor said she would hang up.
She clearly said she wanted to talk directly with Mu Yi, because there was something very important that had to be told face to face.
Mu Yi was full of confusion.
Seeing how firm the editor was, Mu Yi didn’t push her to explain.
“Okay, when my brother comes back, I’ll ask him to contact you.”
After the other side hung up, Mu Yi turned and walked back into the small shop.
The editor’s matter was important. But right now, what mattered more was buying supplies.
She tried to choose cheap food that could fill her stomach. Taste didn’t matter for now. After she got paid, she could buy something better.
That’s what she told herself, but the shop had too many tempting snacks.
Spicy chicken feet, all kinds of spicy strips, braised pig’s feet, spicy dried fish, spicy konjac…
It felt like she could smell them even through the packaging. She touched her stomach, frowned, and let out a deep sigh.
Endure it.
She was using borrowed money, she had to pay it back!
After carefully picking what she really needed, Mu Yi carried several heavy bags and slowly made her way back home.
Along the way, many people, mostly men, offered to help her. She refused them all. She knew this kindness came from her current appearance. In the past, no one would have cared.
Mu Yi still didn’t see herself as a woman, and she didn’t want to accept the advantages that came with this new identity.
It was already getting dark. Suddenly, with a loud rumble, heavy rain started to pour.
The sound of raindrops hitting the window was very loud. Mu Yi sat down on the sofa and waved the long, thick French bread in her hand.
This was her simple lunch.
After taking a few bites, she closed her eyes. Her cheeks puffed as she chewed, and a small, satisfied smile slowly appeared on her face.
This kind of life was difficult, but she loved this kind of free life.
Even her own laziness.
When she was young, her family controlled her very strictly. Her mother forced her to learn piano. If she didn’t practice, she would be beaten or not given food. Every day, she sat with the piano, holding back tears…
Other children had kites and toy planes.
Her childhood only had the piano.
As if heaven took pity on her, one July, a boy around her age entered her life. His arrival was like a ray of light.
He was chubby and big for his age, but weak and often sick. He cried easily.
Many stronger kids liked to bully him. But Mu Yi would stand in front of him, spreading her arms like a bird protecting its chicks, full of courage.
It was at that moment that Mu Yi realized she had a strong side too.
Her younger self became the boy’s protector. Whenever she had the chance, she would sneak out to find him. Maybe their friendship started as a way for her to find comfort.
Even after being caught and punished, she still went out to see him again and again.
In the end, they became true friends.
But sadly, it didn’t last long. Her parents divorced, and her mother took her away from their small town.
On the night she left, she secretly ran out to say goodbye to him. But his house was locked, and no one was there. She waited until her mother found her…
Mu Yi never knew where the boy had gone. After that, they never contacted each other again.
Chomp chomp, chomp chomp.
As she ate, she suddenly thought of the two kids at the shop entrance earlier. Her expression changed slightly.
Now she understood what she had almost remembered back then.
Wasn’t it that chubby boy from her memories?
Actually, they had exchanged QQ numbers. But later, Mu Yi went through many things and forgot to contact him. And he never contacted her either.
Time can wash away many things. Sooner or later, she would completely forget him.
And maybe that wasn’t a bad thing.
“…Mm.”
After swallowing the bread, Mu Yi stretched and let out a long, relaxed sigh.
Then she picked up the phone beside her.
Looking at her QQ friend list, more than a thousand contacts, Mu Yi froze. She never had the habit of deleting friends. Now she couldn’t even remember where most of them came from.
Of course, she had no idea which one might be that chubby boy. He could have changed his name and profile picture, or even deleted her already.
She was probably the only one who kept contacts she never talked to.
Mu Yi didn’t try to search for him on purpose. It had been many years, and she had no intention of reaching out.
But when she thought about how that chubby boy used to follow behind her, calling her “Brother Mu” again and again, with red eyes and asking her to protect him, she couldn’t help but smile.
In fact, he was actually more than a year older than her.
Her personality was a bit strange like that. When others faced difficulties, they looked upward, to the sky or the sea. But she only looked downward, at people weaker than herself.
Their friendship had been real, but it was mixed with some impure feelings.
She knew that wasn’t right, but she didn’t want to change. She just let herself continue like that.
Thinking this, Mu Yi calmed her mind and opened the chat with “bishoujo.”
After thinking for a moment, she decided to make a QQ call.
But if another writer did something like this, they would definitely get “locked away” by their editor, no chance to escape!
…………………
At the Egg Bun website editorial office.
It was already lunchtime, and editors were heading out in small groups to eat.
A female editor, Egg Pie, knocked on the desk of her junior, Mayonnaise.
“Hey, time to eat.”
“Dear, you go ahead first. I’ll wait a bit.”
Editor Mayonnaise looked up at her, gave a small smile, then rubbed her forehead and looked back at her computer.
Seeing this, Editor Egg Pie curiously leaned over to glance at her screen.
Two QQ chat windows.
One was Gu Zhiren. The other was Canned Little Fish.
As her senior, she knew that Gu Zhiren was Mayonnaise’s older brother, and the other was one of her authors, whose real name was Mu Yi.
In a world where many novels include suggestive content…
Mu Yi never wrote anything like that.
She really was a rare “pure” writer among light novel authors.
But that also limited her growth.
After all, adding a little romance or “spice” to a story often makes it more appealing. Most bestselling authors were very experienced in that area.
Mu Yi, however, was easy to manage. Egg Pie felt that Mayonnaise’s worries probably came from Gu Zhiren, he didn’t support her working as a novel editor.
Every family has its own problems.
“Do you want me to bring you food?”
“Yes!” Mayonnaise raised her left hand and waved it. “Thanks, sis!”
After watching Egg Pie leave, Mayonnaise covered her face and looked back and forth between the two chat windows.
Neither had replied.
Looking at Gu Zhiren’s chat, she sighed sadly.
Mu Yi was doing well now, but her self-control was too weak. If she had her brother’s help, she would definitely improve and create even better works.
She had a lot of confidence in her.
It had not been easy to convince her brother to help. But Mu Yi still hadn’t replied.
If Mu Yi stood her brother up tonight…
While she was worrying about this, a QQ call suddenly popped up on her screen.
“Oh! It’s my Canned Fish!”
Mayonnaise’s eyes lit up.
But before she could feel happy for more than a few seconds, as soon as she answered, she heard loud coughing from the other side.
It sounded like the person was seriously ill.