Chapter 17

There were two sinks on the balcony, one occupied by Song Wenzhou and the other by Mu Chi.

Song Wenzhou lowered his eyes to wash the clothes while Mu Chi hummed a song and dried his hair.

The buzzing sound of the blow dryer couldn’t drown out Mu Chi’s out-of-tune singing, which sounded like it came from his grandmother’s house. Song Wenzhou felt as if his ears were being assaulted by an irritating noise, and couldn’t help but look up at Mu Chi in the mirror and say, “Can you stop humming?”

“Huh?” Mu Chi didn’t hear Song Wenzhou. He turned off the blow dryer and asked, “What did you just say?”

Song Wenzhou stared at him. “I asked what song you were humming.”

“That one… I haven’t named it yet,” Mu Chi said seriously, making up a story, “I came up with it on the spot, it’s my original composition.”

“…” Song Wenzhou fell silent. “Oh.”

“Why don’t you give it a name, Zhouzhou?” Mu Chi asked.

“If you can repeat it exactly, I’ll name it.”

Mu Chi suddenly laughed, then turned to the mirror, fiddling with the stray hair on his forehead. He muttered, “This hair is so annoying, I’ll go get it straightened out soon.”

Song Wenzhou glanced at him and said, “It looks good like this.”

Mu Chi’s hair was naturally wavy, but the waves were unique. Some strands always curled in a direction he didn’t like. Every morning, before leaving, he had to twist those strands to match the rest of his hair. But once he went outside, the wind would mess it up, making his hair look messy.

“It looks like a curly dog.” Song Wenzhou accidentally said what was on his mind.

Mu Chi looked at him through the mirror, with a look of grievance. “If you only said the first half of that sentence, I’d be pretty happy. But adding the second half makes it seem like it looks good only because it’s like a curly dog.”

Song Wenzhou couldn’t help but laugh. “Look at you, all dressed up. Even if it’s a dog, it’s probably a poodle level.”

“I’m not dressed up!” Mu Chi protested.

Song Wenzhou glanced at himself in the mirror—he was wearing the school uniform, looking completely unremarkable, with his body and organs growing freely. Compared to Mu Chi, who was spraying hair mousse, he looked so plain. He thought to himself, if Mu Chi wasn’t dressing up, then who was?

“Anyone who doesn’t know might think you’re going to meet your mother-in-law,” Song Wenzhou teased.

Mu Chi opened his mouth to retort, but then seemed to think of something. He tilted his head, glanced at Song Wenzhou, and laughed, “That metaphor… it’s interesting.”

Song Wenzhou thought for a moment and realized it wasn’t the best comparison. He paused, ignored Mu Chi, wrung out the water from the clothes, handed them to him, and then turned to go into the dorm.

“Hurry up and hang up the clothes.”

Mu Chi had delayed them too long. When they got off the bus near Song Wenzhou’s house, it was already past two in the afternoon.

Mu Chi insisted that he couldn’t go to someone’s house empty-handed. Despite Song Wenzhou’s objections, he insisted on making a detour to buy a gift. By the time they arrived at Song Wenzhou’s house, it was already past three.

Ren Suyi and Song Chenglang had both taken the day off and were waiting for them at home.

As soon as Mu Chi entered the door, Ren Suyi warmly invited him to sit on the sofa, with all kinds of snacks and cut fruit laid out in front of him. She even helped tear open the snack packages, clearly eager to feed him herself.

“Mom,” Song Wenzhou timely intervened to rescue Mu Chi, “Let Mu Chi pick what he likes to eat.”

Ren Suyi paused for a moment, pulling back her hand. “Right, you’re right.”

Mu Chi, however, was not at all intimidated by Ren Suyi’s enthusiasm. Smiling, he took the snacks from her hand and said, “I really like this, thank you, Auntie.”

He then turned to Song Wenzhou and said, “You should eat too, no need to be polite.”

Song Wenzhou: “…”

Wait, is he the guest or is Mu Chi the guest?

“You’re really not being polite at all,” Song Wenzhou gritted his teeth.

Song Chenglang gave Song Wenzhou a reproachful look.

“What’s there to be polite about?” Ren Suyi directly said. “Xiao Mu is your benefactor.”

“No, no, it’s not that serious,” Mu Chi quickly waved his hand, then subtly tattled, “Actually, Song Wenzhou always talks to me like this, I’ve gotten used to it.”

Sure enough, Ren Suyi took the bait, and with a serious tone, she said to Song Wenzhou, “You shouldn’t be harsh with Xiao Mu. He’s so good to you. Do you remember, when you had a stomach problem as a child, no one around you cared, let alone carried you to the hospital?”

She specifically emphasized the word “carried.”

Song Wenzhou helplessly explained, “At that time, we were all just kids, what did we know?”

Mu Chi took the opportunity to ask curiously, “How did Song Wenzhou get his stomach problem?”

He had asked a few times before, but Song Wenzhou always refused to tell him.

“How do you think he got it?” Ren Suyi shook her head and sighed. “When he was little, his dad and I were busy with work and couldn’t make him breakfast, so we just gave him money and told him to buy breakfast on his way to school. And guess what happened?”

She even interacted with Mu Chi while telling the story.

“What happened?” Mu Chi replied, playing along. “Was it because it wasn’t hygienic?”

“He spent all the breakfast money on buying spicy strips!” Ren Suyi exclaimed.

Mu Chi struggled to hold back his laughter, turning to look at Song Wenzhou in surprise. He never imagined his deskmate was such a troublemaker as a child.

“We didn’t stop him from eating snacks, but those things can’t replace meals,” Ren Suyi said, clearly upset. “It wasn’t until later when his stomach started having issues that he finally told us about it. Do you think this kid’s brain is missing a wire?”

Having his old secrets exposed, Song Wenzhou’s ears turned red with embarrassment, but…

“Mom, at least spare me some dignity,” he muttered. If you’re going to bring it up, fine, but why does it have to involve personal attacks?

“You still care about face?” Song Chenglang interjected. “Your mom told you to eat less chili, but you didn’t listen, and then you ended up with your stomach problems again. How is that having face?”

Song Wenzhou muttered softly, “Spicy food is the best.”

Mu Chi quickly smiled and tried to ease the atmosphere, saying, “Actually, there are many delicious things that aren’t spicy. I’ll take you to try them sometime.”

At that moment, Song Chenglang’s phone rang. He stood up and walked to another area to answer the call. Ren Suyi, still warmly, urged Mu Chi to eat some fruit.

Mu Chi ate a piece, then leaned close to Song Wenzhou’s ear and quietly asked, “Where’s the bathroom? I really need to go.”

Perhaps many people have a habit: sleep on the bus, pee when they get off.

Mu Chi had felt the urge to go to the bathroom since he got off the bus but had held it in until now, finally getting a chance to mention it to Song Wenzhou.

Song Wenzhou rolled his eyes slightly, stood up, and led Mu Chi to the bathroom. He waited outside, and when Mu Chi came out, they both returned to the sofa.

Just then, Song Chenglang came back from the phone call. With an apologetic look, he said to his wife, son, and Mu Chi, “I’ve got an unexpected dinner meeting, so I won’t be able to join you for dinner.”

Song Wenzhou knew his father had been busy managing business relationships lately and nodded to show it was fine.

Ren Suyi understood as well. While feeling for her husband’s hard work, she also felt a little bad about leaving Mu Chi as a guest. “Sorry, Xiao Mu, your Uncle Song has been really busy with work lately.”

“It’s fine, Uncle can go ahead with his work. Don’t worry about me,” Mu Chi said with a smile. “My parents are busy too, I hardly get to see them a few times a year.”

Upon hearing this, Ren Suyi’s motherly instincts kicked in. She had always felt guilty about not spending enough time with Song Wenzhou due to her work, but now, hearing that Mu Chi only saw his parents a few times a year, she felt deeply sorry for him.

“What do your parents do for work?” Ren Suyi asked.

“My dad runs a small company, and my mom works in the arts,” Mu Chi replied.

“That does sound busy,” Ren Suyi said, though she felt it wasn’t enough to justify only seeing their child a few times a year. She looked at Mu Chi with affection. “So, if you can’t see them, do you live alone most of the time?”

“No, I’ve lived with my grandparents since I was little.”

Ren Suyi nodded, understanding that he was a left-behind child.

She asked again, “Are your grandparents retired?”

“Ah, Mom, why are you asking so many questions?” Song Wenzhou interrupted. “It’s not a blind date.”

Ren Suyi realized her mistake and said, “Right, I overstepped.”

“It’s okay,” Mu Chi joked, “It’s just a chance to get used to it. When the time comes for a blind date, I’ll know what to do.”

Ren Suyi laughed at his words. “Xiao Mu, you’re so handsome and sensible. You definitely won’t need a blind date to find someone.”

She then remembered a conversation with her colleague from yesterday, who had complained about her daughter dating early. She casually said, “With your personality, I’m sure you’re very popular with your female classmates. Do you have a girlfriend at school?”

“No, no,” Mu Chi quickly waved his hand to deny it, then glanced at Song Wenzhou.

Song Wenzhou: “?”

“Aunt, don’t worry,” Mu Chi took the initiative to take on the task, “I’ll help supervise Song Wenzhou and make sure he doesn’t have a chance to fall in love early.”

Song Wenzhou laughed in frustration, saying, “What does that have to do with me?”

“Early love affects your studies,” Mu Chi said matter-of-factly.

“Mm,” Song Wenzhou nodded, somewhat agreeing with his point, “But what does that have to do with me?”

“Don’t you fall in love early? Oh, wait, don’t you study?” Mu Chi asked.

“I do,” Song Wenzhou answered calmly.

Mu Chi was left speechless by his attitude, saying, “Then you…”

Song Wenzhou looked at him, confused.

Mu Chi slapped his thigh and said, “Then let’s go study now!”

Song Wenzhou nodded in satisfaction, “Alright.”

“Good, good,” Ren Suyi’s eyes darted between Song Wenzhou and Mu Chi, and upon hearing the last comment, she agreed, “Xiao Mu, you and Song Wenzhou go to the room to do your homework. If you want anything to eat, just tell Auntie, I’ll call you when the food is ready.”

“Thank you, Auntie. Just make whatever Song Wenzhou likes, I’m not picky,” Mu Chi said.

Song Wenzhou turned to look at him, “So you’re implying that I’m picky?”

Mu Chi blinked innocently, “I didn’t mean that, don’t overinterpret my words.”

Song Wenzhou opened his mouth, about to respond, but Ren Suyi stopped him, “Alright, Wenzhou, take the fruit in for Xiao Mu to eat.”

Song Wenzhou held back, and once they were in the room with only the two of them, he gave Mu Chi a glare.

Mu Chi was just taking advantage of the fact that Ren Suyi would speak up for him, subtly badmouthing Song Wenzhou and tarnishing his image at school.

“Alright, alright,” Mu Chi said with a playful smile, using his go-to line, “I was wrong.”

Song Wenzhou snorted.

“Fine, fine, from now on I’ll only say good things about you…” Mu Chi paused for a moment, holding back laughter, then said, “No more telling the truth.”

Song Wenzhou grumbled, “Brother’s kindness.”