Chapter 62: Missing Mom

“Hmm?”

Lin Xiaojue suddenly lifted her head, her footing slightly unsteady.

“Qiu Yu, do you feel the ground shaking at all?”

“No.”

Murong Qiuyu shook her head and took a sip of her milk tea.

At this moment, the two were walking aimlessly along the street.

The rain had just stopped, and the air was filled with a fresh scent; puddles on the road clearly reflected the passing crowds. Lin Xiaojue stepped around a puddle and inadvertently took Murong Qiuyu’s hand.

Murong Qiuyu lowered her head, not putting up much resistance.

Pedestrians rushed by, occasionally casting curious glances before quickly looking away.

If it had been any other friend, they might have let go after being watched like that.

After all, it was embarrassing.

But Lin Xiaojue didn’t care; she hadn’t finished her milk tea yet.

The night view of the city after the rain and snow was both cold and distant.

The wet, biting wind blowing against their faces made everyone tighten their winter coats. Lin Xiaojue looked at the passing figures and caught a glimpse of festive red among them.

Red and black intertwined, gold and scarlet mixed; a man with a stubbly face wrapped in a military-green coat was sitting behind a shed with his arms tucked inside his sleeves.

Snowmelt dripped intermittently onto the ground in front of him, but he didn’t care at all, just smiling foolishly at his mobile phone and breathing out puffs of hot air.

“Hehe, okay, wait for me to come back and eat dumplings.”

The man wrapped his military-green coat tighter and began hawking his goods again.

Perhaps a passerby would turn their head to look, but very few people came here to buy anything.

Lin Xiaojue turned to leave, but her body felt as if it had been caught by a gravitational pull, and she was yanked back with a stumble.

She looked up to find Murong Qiuyu standing still, her violet eyes fixed on the man in the distance.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Xiaojue asked aloud.

“Ah, nothing.” Murong Qiuyu shook her head, turned, and followed Lin Xiaojue away.

“I just remembered something.”

“Hmm?”

Lin Xiaojue was a bit confused; why had Murong Qiuyu suddenly decided to say that?

“What was it that you remembered?” This sparked her curiosity.

“Well, just things about my mother and father. Even though they passed away a long time ago, I can still remember how they raised me.”

Murong Qiuyu drank her milk tea as she walked in front, her pace involuntarily quickening, forcing Lin Xiaojue to hurry to keep up.

“It would be weird if you forgot, right?” Lin Xiaojue said, her eyes filled with helplessness.

“…Hm, right. It would be weird if I forgot.” Murong Qiuyu walked ahead, remaining silent for a moment before speaking.

The topic ended quickly, and Lin Xiaojue followed behind Murong Qiuyu as they continued forward.

Before she knew it, they had reached the seaside.

The beach was snow-white and flawless, and even though it was shrouded in the hazy night, it was still dazzlingly bright.

Murong Qiuyu leaned against the railing, facing the sea breeze, which lifted her locks of hair and brought a scent of violets with it.

Lin Xiaojue tried to imitate this posture by leaning on the railing, but she had to lift her arms high, appearing both ridiculous and exhausted.

Murong Qiuyu was much taller than her; if she wanted to look that cool, she would need to wear at least 4-inch elevator shoes.

“That, thank you so much for today, Jue.” Murong Qiuyu said softly in the night wind.

“What’s there to thank me for? For acting like your mother?” Lin Xiaojue asked crossly.

“I suppose so.” Murong Qiuyu rubbed her nose, feeling a bit guilty.

“So, what was it you remembered earlier?” Lin Xiaojue leaned back against the railing, crossing her arms.

Fine, this made her look cool too.

“I remembered that my father used to sell fruit, and my mother sold breakfast. Our family worked from dawn until dusk, fighting for every second.”

Murong Qiuyu spoke without a ripple in her voice; her thoughts were drifting far away, as if she were truly searching for that memory.

“I remember one day my father came back and said he hadn’t sold anything at all.

“But I heard this in my sleep; maybe it was an auditory hallucination, because there wasn’t any sound after that.

“The next day, I gathered a pile of mud and molded two mud people for them. They pulled me in to help them mold a third one, and then we all sat down at the table and had a meal.” Murong Qiuyu continued her recollection.

The salty sea breeze blew, and Lin Xiaojue felt her eyes sting a little.

She rubbed her eyes.

“That’s all I remembered, there’s nothing more.” Murong Qiuyu stopped abruptly and returned to silence.

Eh? That’s it?

Lin Xiaojue’s hand stopped rubbing her eye; she had thought she was going to hear a tragic and heartbreaking story!

She had even prepared to cry her heart out.

“I’m not good at telling stories, so I just say whatever comes to mind, but you’re the first person to know these secrets of mine, Jue.”

A moment later, Murong Qiuyu suddenly broke the silence, turning back with a smile in the corners of her eyes.

“This is the first time I’ve shared something like this with someone else.”

Buzz buzz.

At that moment, the mobile phone in Murong Qiuyu’s pocket vibrated. She opened it and hung up a call urging her to get to work.

“Oh my, I hung up by accident.” Murong Qiuyu propped her chin in her hand, looking thoughtful.

“Looks like I’ll have to find another job, but that’s fine, at least I have time to spend with you now.”

Murong Qiuyu put away her phone and rested both hands on the railing.

Lin Xiaojue raised an eyebrow ever so slightly.

Was that person, Murong, just trying to look cool again?

And what did she mean by, “I have time to spend with you now”?

Lin Xiaojue suddenly realized something; she couldn’t help but take a few steps back, looking up at Murong Qiuyu, whose smile was gradually fading.

“Uh……” The smile vanished from Murong Qiuyu’s face. Was there some kind of misunderstanding between them?

“I only said that because I thought you needed me to ask you something; I didn’t mean anything else.”

Murong Qiuyu waved her hands, explaining with a clumsy tone.

Then, she saw Lin Xiaojue take another few steps back.

Murong Qiuyu had no choice but to rein in her emotions, returning to her usual cold and indifferent demeanor.

Nobody likes someone who sounds clumsy.

She had learned this through her work; a person with poor social skills could not enter a social circle.

If such a person were actually pulled into a social circle, and they lacked a special skill, or were unable to resonate with the people in it, or maintain enough interest in the same things,

They would be kicked out.

Murong Qiuyu felt that her analytical thoughts were a sign of literary youth disease.

She hated literary youth disease and didn’t like how people droned on about principles all day, yet she had become someone whose mind was full of them.

Was this her way of surviving?

Murong Qiuyu didn’t intend to analyze it any further. These relationships were like a tangled ball of yarn, confusing and nonsensical.

She took a few steps back, disappearing into the shadow where the streetlights couldn’t reach.

“Sorry, my head was a bit of a mess just now. How about we talk when we meet tomorrow?”

With that, Murong Qiuyu ran off into the shadows like she was escaping, never looking back.

“Eh?” Lin Xiaojue reached out, only to find that Murong Qiuyu had already vanished without a trace.