CH 52.1

Going to Your House (1)

Many people were traveling on the morning of October 1st and all public transits became quite overcrowded as a result.

Ruan Qingmu hugged his bag and took the bus to get back home.

As he walked into the house, nobody was at the customer service desk. Since today was a holiday, many people came to have a massage and relax. Even Mu Wanli had to work.

Ruan Qingmu passed by two massage rooms, looking inside. They were packed as expected.

His mom and Xiao-Zheng were in a room and two blonde little brothers obediently lay inside, one being massaged on the feet and another on the back.

Ruan Qingmu poked his head inside, calling out, “Mom, I’m back.”

Mu Wanli turned back in surprise, becoming worried as she looked at Ruan Qingmu carefully. “Aiya, what happened to your face?”

Ruan Qingmu touched the wound on his forehead. He had gotten it during the fight with Liu Jun last night. Today was the day after the fight and the bruises on his face had become even more apparent.

He grinned while saying, “This is from falling during the sports competition. A bastard tripped me on the track, knocking me down, but I still got first place in the end.”

Mu Wanli looked at him in distress, finally feeling some relief after seeing that it wasn’t that serious. “There are potstickers I made this morning inside the kitchen. I’ll pan-fry some for you now. Do you want some?”

Ruan Qingmu nodded his head. “Okay. I’ll have some.”

Mu Wanli took a clean towel and wiped her hands on it, telling the blonde little brother who was on his phone. “That’s enough. I’ll collect half of your money now. Get up.”

With a bitter face, the blonde-haired boy said, “Li-jie, my feet are still soaking in the milk bath. The massage is over just like that?”

The brother next to him comfortably lay on the bed, enjoying his back massage. “Why are you chirping? Continue to soak your feet by yourself. It’s so comfortable! Just to let you know, my girlfriend uses milk to make a face mask.”

The blind Xiao-Zheng silently laughed.

The blonde-haired resentfully sat up. “Li-jie, you’re too inconsiderate. You were in the middle of giving me a foot massage, but you want to make breakfast for your son now?”

Mu Wanli was furious, reaching out to whip him with the towel that was in her hand. “Shut up!”

Ruan Qingmu said from behind her, “Mom, go ahead and do your thing. I’ll heat the potstickers on the stove myself.”

Mu Wanli was forced to give up. “Okay then. Do it yourself. Don’t break the bowls, ah.”

Ruan Qingmu casually asked the blonde-haired men, “Where’s your arm-tattooed boss?”

The two blonde-haired little brothers spoke in unison. “Qiu-ge went to buy a braised dish. He didn’t want to come here empty-handed, saying that the Huang Kee Old Braised stall on the next street had delicious braised beef.”

Mu Wanli awkwardly looked at Ruan Qingmu, turning around to spit on the floor. “Of course, why would he dare to freeload here without bringing something?”

Ruan Qingmu laughed, not bothering to say anything. He passed by another room, looking inside.

Xiao-Yun stood beside a massage bed, giving a back-knocking massage to an older sister. The bed beside was empty.

Ruan Qingmu poked his head inside. “Yun-jie, where’s Xiao-Zhuang?”

Xiao-Yun half turned her head sideways and smilingly pointed her finger outside. “Uncle Li took him to the neighboring small convenience store to play.”

Ruan Qingmu turned around and went out. Indeed, Old Li sat on a rattan chair in front of the neighboring small convenience store and held the little mute in his arms, teasing him.

“Is this tasty? Or this?” Under the sunlight, the old man held a few brightly colored things in his hand and eagerly showed them to the little mute. “This is the yellow peach flavor and this is the strawberry flavor one…”

Ruan Qingmu quietly tiptoed inside and stood behind him, eerily saying, “Are you planning to kidnap the child?”

Old Li trembled and suddenly jumped. “Little rotten embryo*, you scared me. This old man is going to have a heart attack someday because of you.”

*T/N: A metaphor for the character and temperament of someone.

The little mute turned around, his eyes brightening upon seeing that it was Ruan Qingmu.

He struggled free from Old Li’s embrace and pounced over, hugging Ruan Qingmu’s leg.

Old Li held several beautiful jelly candies in his hand, but the little guy was still afraid of people. He only seemed to feel safe around Ruan Qingmu and immediately clung to his leg as soon as he saw him.

Ruan Qingmu grabbed a jelly from Old Li’s hand, peeled it open, and handed it to the little mute. “Here, eat this.”

The little mute immediately opened his mouth and happily swallowed a mouthful of the jelly.

The small convenience store’s boss clicked his tongue. “Don’t give Xiao-Zhuang too much to eat. He’s too greedy.”

Ruan Qingmu took another from Old Li’s hand. “Let him eat them. It’s normal for children to be greedy. It’s not like we don’t pay you for the candies.”

The little guy was way more energetic than on the previous days before. The various bruises on his body had faded a bit, the gauze had been removed from the area on his head that was smashed by a brick, and the fine fluffy hair on his head had grown out a bit.

He clasped the giant cup of jelly, carefully sucked in a few sips, held the yellow peach-flavored cup with his mouth, and inhaled it like it was treasure.

The small convenience store’s boss sighed. “It’s not that I don’t want to sell them to you, ah. I just gave him a dozen jellies just now.”

Ruan Qingmu was shocked and looked at the little mute’s belly, reaching out to pat it. “You’re only skin and bones. I would’ve never thought that you could eat so much.”

He already had a dozen jelly candies. If Ruan Qingmu had eaten that much, he would definitely feel full already.

The weather outside still had a little autumn hot spell and it was still scorching in the early October morning, so the little mute only wore a tiny tank top, showing a little bit of his scrawny stomach and a small, round belly button protruded from his shirt.

The little mute immediately giggled when Ruan Qingmu patted him on his belly and twisted his body around like a brown piece of candy.

Old Li felt sour on the side. “I gave him food and teased him for half a day, but he wouldn’t even give me a smile. But he smiles like a flower when he sees you. This little brat truly is ungrateful.”

Ruan Qingmu squinted at him. “Of course. I’m fated to have met him.”

He reached out and pulled the little mute over, gesturing a zipper on the mouth, pointing at his belly, and making an explosion gesture. “Watch yourself and don’t overeat. Your stomach will explode!”

The little mute was very smart and understood his meaning at once. He was so shocked that he immediately hid to the side, clutching his belly and face turned a sallow color.