Chapter 68: That Mother
Xiao Yuze’s mother’s cooking was clearly not something a beginner like Mu Le could compare to. After eating her dishes, Mu Le felt this very strongly.
But it made sense. Although Xia Ling had cooked less in recent years, in the past she never allowed the two men in the family to go near the kitchen.
It was even said that she had once learned from a professional chef.
Still, Mu Le didn’t feel bad about the difference. As a food lover, even though she was a bit reserved because Xiao Yuze’s parents were there, once she tasted the delicious food, she quickly forgot everything else.
During the meal, Xia Ling kept putting food into Mu Le’s bowl, while giving Xiao Yuze nothing but eye rolls. It almost felt like Mu Le was her real daughter, and Xiao Yuze was just someone she picked up by accident.
The lunch was very rich. After eating their fill, the two men were sent to wash the dishes by Xia Ling, while she pulled Mu Le to the sofa and started chatting.
Even though Xia Ling was from the older generation, after talking with her for a while, Mu Le strangely felt like she was just an older sister, not an elder.
Xia Ling was very warm and friendly. She could be a bit sharp with her words, but only toward the two men.
When it came to Mu Le, she had no airs at all.
This obvious difference in treatment made the father and son, who were washing dishes, exchange a look and smile helplessly.
Of course, seeing how much his mother liked Mu Le, Xiao Yuze felt a bit complicated, but also quietly relieved.
He knew very well that his mother was not the type to hide her feelings. If she liked someone, she liked them. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t even bother talking to them.
Back then, it was exactly this straightforward personality, loving and hating clearly, that had deeply attracted Xiao Shuheng.
And it was also the reason why Mu Cheng had let go so easily when he realized they liked each other.
Feelings are like that. If it’s meant to be yours, it will be yours. If not, no matter what you do, it won’t belong to you.
If you push too hard, it’s like stretching a rubber band too much. When it snaps back, it can hurt everyone.
Still, a first love always has a special meaning. So even after so many years, Mu Cheng still felt a bit bitter that Xiao Shuheng had, in a way, “taken” his first love.
Especially after his own family fell apart, and seeing how happy Xiao Shuheng’s family was, and even that his son was now close to his daughter, this feeling had almost turned into resentment.
But there was nothing he could do about it. When it came to family life, Mu Cheng simply couldn’t compare to Xiao Shuheng.
One had a broken marriage, while the other was still loving and happy. There was no comparison.
Of course, resentment was just resentment. Mu Cheng might feel unhappy, but he wasn’t a stubborn person.
Besides, after so many years, most things had already faded.
And meeting again in such a strange way after all this time, wasn’t that also a kind of fate?
So when Xiao Shuheng’s son showed interest in his daughter, Mu Cheng never said anything.
Xiao Yuze was a good person. Over the years, Mu Cheng rarely misjudged people.
More importantly, Xiao Yuze truly cared about Mu Le. Although, of course, still not as much as her father did.
Alright, that’s getting off track.
As someone who was once liked by both Mu Cheng and Xiao Shuheng in her youth, Xia Ling’s personality was indeed outstanding.
She could easily keep a conversation going. Mu Le had originally thought that chatting with elders would feel like visiting relatives during the New Year.
From her memory, talking with elders always came with an invisible generation gap. If you talked, you didn’t know what to say. If you didn’t talk, it felt awkward.
And because of the difference in age and thinking, even when there were topics, the conversation often felt strange.
On top of that, elders often asked questions like “How is your study?” or “Do you have a boyfriend yet?”, which made things even more awkward.
But talking with Xia Ling was completely different.
Even though she was already the mother of a grown man in his twenties, the way she spoke didn’t feel like someone from an older generation at all.
In fact, she even said that she was into anime culture. She had once dragged Xiao Shuheng into doing cosplay, which left Mu Le completely stunned.
In the end, Xia Ling even shared one of her “treasures” with Mu Le. A photo album she had kept for many years.
The album didn’t only have photos of Xia Ling and Xiao Shuheng over the years. It also recorded Xiao Yuze’s growth from childhood to adulthood.
Every little moment of her precious son’s life had been carefully recorded and kept.
While Xia Ling happily told stories about Xiao Yuze’s embarrassing childhood moments, Mu Le laughed along. She found his younger self both silly and cute.
But at the same time, her feelings became a bit complicated.
Compared to Xiao Yuze, her experience of a mother’s love was… very faint.
She didn’t even know where the woman who should be called her mother was now, or how she was living. She had never seriously tried to find out.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to. It was that she didn’t dare.
The more fragile something is, the harder it is to face. And when you do face it, it hurts even more.
The strong motherly love Xia Ling showed when talking about Xiao Yuze… was something Mu Le had once longed for deeply.
Without realizing it, she even felt a tiny bit of jealousy toward Xiao Yuze, but it passed quickly.
At the bottom of the album, Mu Le found an unexpected surprise.
Looking at an old photo, she froze for a moment, then said in surprise, “Is this… my dad?”
“Yes. We took it together when we graduated. But sadly, except for your father, we’ve lost contact with everyone else.”
Xia Ling gently brushed her fingers over the photo, her expression full of memories and a bit of sadness.
The photo was a bit old, but still clear.
There were five people in it, three men and two women. Mu Le immediately recognized the young woman on the left as Xia Ling.
The woman on the right, with braided hair and a gentle, scholarly look, was someone Mu Le didn’t know.
Behind them stood three men. Mu Cheng was in the middle. Even when he was young, he already had that cold expression on his face, which was why Mu Le could recognize him right away.
Of course, there were some differences, but that familiar feeling deep inside was something she couldn’t mistake.
Looking at her father in the photo, Mu Le couldn’t help but smile.
“So my dad always had that ‘someone owes me money’ face, even when he was young?”
“Ah… speaking of that, you have no idea. When your dad was young, he was as cold as ice. And his temper? Terrible. Probably only a few of us could tolerate him.”
Talking about Mu Cheng, Xia Ling also laughed, clearly remembering some fun moments from the past.
Even though the memories were old, some things stayed very clear. Those little stories were like photos stored in memory, taken out from time to time to look back on.
And the longer time passed, the deeper those feelings became.
Mu Le blinked. Just as she was about to ask something more, Xiao Yuze suddenly spoke.
He looked at Xia Ling on the sofa, slightly confused. “Mom, didn’t you prepare a room for Lele?”
Xia Ling was stunned for a moment, then looked confused.
“Huh? Little Lele is staying overnight? Why didn’t you tell me earlier? I thought…”
Her reaction made Xiao Yuze pause as well. If he remembered correctly, he had explained it clearly on the phone before.
Just as he was feeling puzzled, Xia Ling suddenly gave him a look, one full of “you’re so hopeless”.
And Xiao Yuze, being himself, understood instantly.
He cleared his throat and said apologetically, “I thought I made it clear… well, I’ll go prepare the room now.”
“Prepare it now?”
Xia Ling looked satisfied with how quickly her son understood, but she didn’t show anything unusual. Instead, she put on a worried expression.
“The weather has been so cold lately. The spare blankets have been stored too long and feel damp. The room isn’t clean either. And most importantly, the guest room doesn’t have heating.”
Xiao Yuze also showed hesitation. “Then what should we do? Lele is very sensitive to the cold.”
“Well… oh right! Let Lele sleep in your room!”
Xia Ling suddenly looked like she had a great idea.
“In my room? That’s possible, but…”
“But what? Do you want her to sleep in a cold, damp, and dirty room? Even if she stays in your room, you are not allowed to bully her. Otherwise, I’ll throw you out!”
“Alright, I guess that’s the only way.”
Mu Le: “……”
Watching the mother and son reach an agreement out of nowhere, Mu Le’s mouth twitched slightly.
Wasn’t something… off?
No one had even asked for her opinion! Was it really okay to just decide like this?
For some reason, she had a strange feeling that the two of them were just putting on a show together…