Chapter 85: That Author
During the New Year, things were a bit different from what Mu Le remembered.
Because this year, she spent it together with Xiao Yuze.
To be more exact, both families spent it together.
That’s right. Somehow, Xiao Yuze’s parents managed to persuade the stubborn Mu Cheng. The two families specially rented a small villa and celebrated the New Year in a completely different way from before.
It was lively. Even though there were only a few more people, Mu Le still felt like it was much more cheerful.
Of course, Mu Cheng still didn’t give Xiao Shuheng a good face from start to finish.
But Xiao Yuze’s father didn’t seem to care at all. He was cheerful the whole time.
Dinner was prepared by Mu Le and Xia Ling together. Xiao Yuze wanted to help, but Xia Ling drove him out of the kitchen without a second thought.
The kitchen was a “restricted area.” Other than Mu Le, even Mu Cheng, who was technically a guest, didn’t dare go near.
In the living room, Mu Cheng and Xiao Shuheng were playing chess.
It had been many years since they last met. Their old friendship should have faded with time, but recently, for some reason, it seemed like a bit of that old feeling had returned.
Just as Xiao Shuheng had said, after all these years, Mu Cheng’s “face like someone owes him millions” hadn’t changed at all.
Mu Cheng only gave a cold laugh and completely defeated him in the game.
Although Xiao Shuheng was very capable in business, his chess skills were terrible. Against Mu Cheng, he was basically just asking to lose.
But even after losing many rounds, Xiao Shuheng didn’t show any impatience. Instead, he seemed more and more excited to continue.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yuze became the only one with nothing to do.
After a few more rounds, Mu Cheng pushed his glasses and tossed a chess piece aside.
“I’m done playing.”
“Huh? What’s wrong?” Xiao Shuheng was thinking about his next move and looked confused.
Mu Cheng gave him a cold glance.
“Games that end in a few minutes are boring.”
Hearing that, Xiao Shuheng laughed awkwardly. Knowing his own poor skill, he also put down his chess pieces.
After coughing lightly, he spoke again, “Alright, we’ll probably eat soon anyway. By the way… Old Mu, I want to talk to you about something.”
“What is it?” Mu Cheng said casually while collecting the chess pieces, his face expressionless.
“It’s about Lele. When is she going to marry into our family? You see, her relationship with our Aze is already so close. Honestly… I’ve wanted a grandchild for a long time. You don’t know, Old Li next door already has a grandson who can run errands by himself…”
As he got more excited, Xiao Shuheng started talking non-stop, not noticing Mu Cheng’s stiff expression.
After a short silence, Mu Cheng looked up and said calmly, “Why don’t you let Xiao Yuze marry into my family instead?”
Xiao Shuheng was stunned for a moment.
Just when Mu Cheng thought he would get angry, Xiao Shuheng suddenly nodded casually.
“That works too. Xia Ling and I don’t care about that. As long as we can have a grandchild soon, even a granddaughter is fine. In the end, we’ll all be one family anyway. Why care about such things?”
Mu Cheng: “……”
Is this old guy losing his sense of shame as he gets older?
When Xiao Shuheng even started to comfort him for no reason, Mu Cheng’s mouth twitched slightly.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yuze, who happened to pass by with nothing to do, heard their conversation and was full of speechless thoughts.
What exactly were these two elders talking about?
Although he really wanted to complain, he knew that joining in would only make things more chaotic, so he wisely chose to stay out of it.
Just as he passed by the kitchen, Mu Le happened to walk out.
Noticing the strange atmosphere in the living room, she asked curiously, “What are Uncle Xiao and my dad talking about? They look pretty happy.”
Well, the one who looked happy was Xiao Shuheng. As for Mu Cheng… his face was still as cold as ever.
Hearing her question, Xiao Yuze stayed silent for a moment.
Then, seeing her increasingly curious expression, he lowered his head and whispered softly in her ear, “My dad is asking when he can have a grandchild.”
Mu Le: “……”
Her face turned red at a visible speed. Seeing this, the smile on Xiao Yuze’s lips deepened.
He couldn’t help but lightly kiss her flushed cheek before continuing, “So, we should keep working hard.”
“W-Work hard your head!” Mu Le pushed him away and glared at him, both embarrassed and angry. Then she quickly turned and ran back into the kitchen. “I’m going to help! Don’t talk to me!”
Watching her rush back in, Xiao Yuze couldn’t help but smile. There was a gentle warmth in his eyes.
As for Mu Le, although she said she was going to help, in fact, Xia Ling had already finished most of the cooking.
So before long, with Xiao Yuze’s help, plates of beautifully prepared dishes were placed one by one onto the large dining table.
Xia Ling’s cooking was excellent. Just from the smell alone, Mu Le already felt her appetite growing.
Since it was New Year, Xiao Shuheng was finally allowed to drink. So at the table, taking advantage of the rare chance and his good mood, he and Mu Cheng kept drinking glass after glass. In the end, even Xiao Yuze was made to drink quite a bit.
Knowing Mu Le’s low tolerance, they only gave her juice.
Of course, using juice instead of alcohol wasn’t a problem for anyone.
The meal was lively. Although Mu Cheng kept his usual cold expression the whole time, Mu Le knew very well that it was just his habit.
And when he was drinking with Xiao Shuheng, his old friend, she could tell that her father was actually very happy.
For Mu Le, it had been a long time since she experienced such a lively New Year.
She liked this kind of atmosphere very much and hoped that every year in the future could be like this.
After dinner, she and Xiao Yuze went out into the yard to set off fireworks.
At this time, the sky was already filled with many fireworks, big and small. But because they were far away, there wasn’t much sound.
Neither Xiao Shuheng nor Mu Cheng were interested in fireworks, and Xia Ling stayed inside to clean up the table.
Mu Le originally wanted to help, but she was pushed out instead.
Sitting in the yard, watching Xiao Yuze place the fireworks in the right spot, Mu Le smiled brightly.
After lighting them, Xiao Yuze came back and sat beside her.
Mu Le was about to say something, but a streak of light had already torn through the night sky.
Boom!
Looking up at the colorful fireworks blooming in the sky, Mu Le couldn’t help but smile.
“So beautiful…”
Xiao Yuze looked at her with a smile and agreed, “Yeah, very beautiful.”
“You weren’t even looking at the fireworks, were you?”
“Because you’re more beautiful than the fireworks,” Xiao Yuze said, still smiling.
“Hmph, smooth talker.” Mu Le snorted softly, but as she looked at the fireworks, her eyes slowly became soft and dreamy. “Hey, Aze… did I ever tell you something?”
“What?”
“I really, really like you.”
Xiao Yuze didn’t answer. He just looked up at the sky with her.
After a while…
“Do you like me more than I like you?”
“Guess.”
…………………………
“What are you doing?”
After returning to the room, Xiao Yuze noticed that Mu Le didn’t go to take a shower. Instead, she sat in front of the computer.
She didn’t turn around, just calmly looked at the screen.
When Xiao Yuze walked behind her and lightly wrapped his arm around her neck, she suddenly smiled.
“Of course I’m preparing the outline for my new novel…”
“Oh?”
Hearing that, Xiao Yuze showed interest. He already knew that her last novel had finished.
As someone who had become her fan, he asked curiously, “What kind of story are you going to write?”
Mu Le smiled mysteriously.
“Of course… a romance story about a writer who transforms.”
Xiao Yuze was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but laugh. After taking a breath, he said softly, “Are you going to write your own story?”
“Well… maybe no one will believe it, maybe no one will look forward to it. But I still want to write it down, even if it’s just for you and me to read. Because this is probably the happiest time in my life…”
She didn’t finish her sentence, because a finger from behind gently pressed against her lips. Then the man’s gentle voice sounded above her.
“I think all your future days will be happy too, Lele.”
“Really?” Mu Le tilted her head after moving his hand away. “Then ‘Uncle’ Xiao Yuze, you’ll definitely be happy too.”
“Mhm. This 'Uncle' is going to have a very ‘happy’ life, especially at night.”
“…The ‘happy’ you mean isn’t the same as what I’m thinking, is it?” Mu Le blinked, sensing something strange in his tone.
Xiao Yuze looked away slightly, a bit guilty, but kept his voice calm.
“You’re imagining things. By the way, when are you going to start your new novel?”
In the end, he changed the topic.
“My new novel… I’ll write the outline first, then… I’ll see when I have time. I want to start right away, but it also feels troublesome. Honestly, I haven’t even started yet, and I already feel like slacking off…”
Hearing that, Xiao Yuze couldn’t help but smile helplessly. He patted her head.
“Slacking off won’t do. I’m very interested in the story you just mentioned. So, author… your man is telling you to update!”