Chapter 55
Modern Story
Extra 11

A month of handover time quickly passed, and when Li Mu left her job, Lin Que was discharged from the hospital. His father took him to another hospital in a different province for a brain check-up.

Lin Que brought Li Mu, who had yet to start at her new company, along for the check-up. They confirmed that neither of them had any lingering issues and agreed to get annual check-ups together.

Before resigning, Li Mu found a new place to live, wanting to be closer to her new company. While house hunting, she asked Lin Que for his work location.

When Lin Que received the message, he was video chatting with his mother, Gu Shu. After some small talk, they got down to business. As they chatted, Lin Que glanced at his phone, a smile spreading across his face.

On the other end, Gu Shu leaned back in her chair, raised an eyebrow, and asked, “Girlfriend?”

While typing a message, Lin Que replied, “Her name is Li Weixi. Soon, she won’t just be my girlfriend.”

Gu Shu: “Oh?”

Lin Que: “I’ve ordered an engagement ring. Once I propose, she’ll be my fiancée.”

And once they’re married, they can happily be husband and wife.

Gu Shu chuckled, “You’re so sure she’ll accept your proposal?”

Lin Que suddenly froze.

Gu Shu had a point. Their backgrounds were different, and Li Mu once said that if she could refuse, she wouldn’t marry him. Not wanting to marry doesn’t mean not liking him. Lin Que was sure Li Mu liked him, but what if she did not intend to marry?

Gu Shu hadn’t expected to hit her son’s heart so easily. She cleared her throat and said there was no rush, suggesting they eat first, then ended the video call.

Lin Que, suppressing his anxiety, focused on Li Mu’s message.

Li Mu carefully chose a new place convenient for both of them to commute. She had a driver’s license and could afford a car, but since her previous place was close to her company and she rarely went out, the thought of buying a car and dealing with all that came with it was overwhelming, so she hadn’t bought one.

Lin Que sent Li Mu his work location, and she fell silent. Although they were in the same city, it was… a bit far.

Lin Que: “Don’t worry about me. I can get to work by noon without anyone docking my pay.”

Li Mu, with a hint of sarcasm: “…Who asked you?”

Lin Que could almost imagine Li Mu’s resentful look. If they were face-to-face, she’d probably pinch his cheek.

After choosing a new place, finding time to view it, and signing the lease, Li Mu moved directly from her old place.

Once Li Mu moved, Lin Que moved too. He took Li Mu to his previous place, input her fingerprint at the door, and told her, “If we ever have a fight and you kick me out, remember to come here and find me.”

“Just call me, and I’ll come to you immediately.”

Then he added, “Actually, I’ll just wait by the door. In case you’re too lazy to come over.”

Li Mu was curious, “What if you leave on your own?”

Lin Que replied, “If I don’t come back within ten minutes, I probably forgot my keys. Please give me some face and open the door for me. Don’t leave me outside for too long.”

They talked seriously as if they had been married for years and had real arguments or had ever left each other during a fight.

After moving, Li Mu started her new job. She woke up early, nervously getting ready. Lin Que got up, went to the kitchen, and made her breakfast.

With his old habit of not having an appetite in the morning, Lin Que couldn’t eat anything. He went to wash up and change clothes while Li Mu finished her breakfast. They left together. No one had ever taken her to school, but now she had someone taking her to work. She felt both curious and nervous about the new environment, her face tense.

When they arrived, Lin Que unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned over to kiss Li Mu.

Li Mu had makeup on, so Lin Que lightly touched her lips, careful not to smudge her lipstick. But he still got a bit of red on his lips.

Li Mu looked at him and suddenly remembered a photo on her phone. In the photo, Lin Que was leaning against the headboard, his shirt open, with her lipstick marks on his cheeks, neck, and chest. Under the dim, intimate light, he looked at her behind the camera with a tender, dark gaze, captivating her heart.

Li Mu cleared her throat, “Ahem.”

Lin Que: “?”

“Time for work,” Li Mu quickly got out of the car, pushing away the sudden intimate memory and forgetting her nervousness.

The new work environment was good. Although she couldn’t escape the fate of overtime, at least the high salary and good company benefits were some consolation.

As usual, Li Mu stayed quiet for a while, only speaking when necessary. At first, her colleagues thought she was very aloof, but they soon realized she was just a helpless and efficient social anxiety sufferer. She seemed unaware of this aspect of herself, always trying to lower her presence and avoid being noticed. Despite her efforts, she was easily noticed. Although she preferred to take a backseat and avoid the spotlight, she was inherently capable. When her mood hit rock bottom, she displayed a more aggressive side rather than just enduring, quickly forming good relationships with a few colleagues, just like at her previous company.

Her colleagues tried to involve her in social activities, but Li Mu, though grateful, declined. How else could she get through the workweek?

One weekend, Li Mu was lounging in bed and sleeping in. Since her time-travel experience, she no longer had insomnia due to the ancient environment and occasionally stayed up late by choice.

The previous night, she had gone to bed very late, setting her alarm for eleven. However, at nine, the doorbell rang. Lin Que, who had also stayed up late, got dressed and answered the door, finding a middle-aged woman he didn’t recognize.

The woman, seeing him, said, “Oh, I must have the wrong place.”

Lin Que didn’t suspect anything and closed the door. But the doorbell rang again, and it was the same woman. She asked, “Is this Li Mu’s place?”

Lin Que replied, “Who are you?”

The woman said, “I’m her mother.”

Lin Que paused for a few seconds, then stepped aside, “Please come in.”

He added, “She’s still sleeping. I’ll go wake her. Please wait a moment.”

Lin Que was very polite, even switching to formal language, but it felt like Li Mu’s mother was a guest in someone else’s home, not her daughter’s.

Lin Que went to the bedroom, closed the door, and climbed onto the bed to nudge Li Mu, “Weixi?”

Li Mu covered her head with the blanket, mumbling, “Just a bit longer.”

Lin Que hugged her through the blanket, “Wake up, sweetheart. Your mom is here.”

Li Mu was silent for a few seconds, then slowly pulled down the blanket and opened her eyes with difficulty.

Seeing her expression, Lin Que asked, “Should I not have let her in?”

Li Mu shook her head, whispering, “She’s my mom.”

No matter what, she was still her mom, different from her dad. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have given her new address to her.

In her pajamas, Li Mu hobbled out of the room and told her mom, who was sitting in the living room, “I’ll wash my face first.”

She then pushed Lin Que to the bathroom with her. After washing up, Lin Que went to the kitchen to boil water for tea, while Li Mu, still in her pajamas, sat on the other side of the long sofa.

Li Mu’s mom glanced at the kitchen and asked, “Is he your boyfriend?”

Li Mu nodded, “Yes.”

But soon, he won’t be just that, she thought, her gaze falling into the sofa’s crevice.

Li Mu’s mom asked many questions, like his name, age, job, family background, and what his parents did.

Li Mu answered each one.

When they went to another province for check-ups, Li Mu had helped Lin Que with his ID card. Unlike in the book, Lin Que was now three years older than her.

However, Li Mu’s mother felt Lin Que was a bit too old and their family backgrounds were too different, making them an unsuitable match. She quietly tried to persuade Li Mu until Lin Que came out of the kitchen.

Lin Que made tea for Li Mu’s mother and brought a cup of warm water for Li Mu, asking her what she wanted to eat. He also asked Li Mu’s mother if she had eaten and if she wanted to join them.

Li Mu’s mother replied, “Thank you, I’ve already eaten.”

Li Mu looked up at him, “I want something with soup.”

Lin Que patted her head, “Tomato egg noodles? Or seaweed dumplings?”

Li Mu chose, “Tomato egg noodles.”

Lin Que went to the kitchen to make breakfast for her. Li Mu slowly turned her gaze back to her mother and said, “Mom, you never took care of me before. Can you continue not to care now?”

“How can it be the same? You’ve grown up, you can’t just…”

“It’s the same,” Li Mu said. “Whether it was when I was a child or now, it’s the same.”

“Mom, you wouldn’t think that Zhao Ziyi and Zhao Ziqin are too young to be taken care of, would you? Would you wait until they grow up to care for them?”

Zhao Ziyi and Zhao Ziqin were the siblings born to Li Mu’s mother after her remarriage. Unlike the neglected Li Mu, these two children grew up under the love and care of their parents.

The mother and daughter sat in silence for a while. Li Mu’s mother seemed to finally realize something. After a long pause, she took a deep breath and said, “Alright, I won’t interfere with you anymore.”

Li Mu replied, “Thank you.”

Li Mu’s mother stood up to leave. Li Mu escorted her to the door and said, “Mom, I’m doing well now.”

Li Mu’s mother didn’t stop or turn around, so Li Mu wasn’t sure if she nodded.

Li Mu watched her mother’s figure disappear around the corner. She waited until she heard the elevator ding and the doors close before stepping back into the hallway and closing the door.

Lin Que came over and hugged her, “Want to sleep a bit more?”

Li Mu nodded, “Yes.”

The half-made breakfast was left unfinished. They both went back to sleep, and when they woke up, Lin Que made the tomato egg noodles for lunch while Li Mu prepared a fruit platter.

Lin Que’s tomato egg noodles didn’t have fresh tomatoes but used tomato sauce. After reuniting with Lin Que, Li Mu discovered that he didn’t dislike cooked tomatoes but didn’t particularly like them. He only ate them because he saw her struggling to eat them and didn’t want to waste food.

The modern, richer-tasting tomato sauce made the tomato egg noodles delicious.

The morning’s incident didn’t affect them much. After lunch, they went for a walk and then drove to the supermarket for groceries. In the afternoon, they lounged on the sofa, the unfinished fruit platter on the coffee table, still cold from the fridge.

Lin Que read a book while Li Mu browsed technical articles on her tablet absentmindedly. As time passed, Li Mu became increasingly restless, frequently getting up with various excuses. The last time, she said her back hurt and tried to get up, but Lin Que pulled her back.

“Let me massage it for you,” Lin Que said, putting down his book.

Li Mu replied, “…Okay.”

Lin Que massaged her back for a while. Li Mu stealthily reached into the sofa crevice and pulled out something, asking Lin Que to extend his hand.

Lin Que obediently extended his hand, and Li Mu placed a deep blue velvet box in it. She opened the box to reveal a simple yet elegantly designed men’s ring.

Lin Que’s breath caught, and his relaxed posture straightened as he watched Li Mu place the ring on his middle finger.

The middle finger is where an engagement ring belongs.

With her social anxiety, Li Mu couldn’t handle a grand, ceremonious proposal. It would scare her. So she chose an ordinary weekend afternoon when the winter sun was at its warmest, and the location was their cozy sofa at home.

After placing the ring, Li Mu softly said, “If you don’t like it, you can take it off.”

Lin Que covered the ring, pretending to try and remove it, saying, “Hmm… can’t take it off, it’s welded on.”

Li Mu laughed.

Lin Que then said, “Wait here for a moment.” He went to the spare bedroom, which served as a closet, and returned with a black box. Seeing the box’s size, Li Mu guessed what was inside.

When Lin Que opened the box and revealed the engagement ring, Li Mu laughed and fell into his arms.

Lin Que smiled, “Your turn. Give me your hand.”

Though it was a proposal, it felt like a wedding ceremony where they exchanged rings.

Li Mu gave him her hand, and Lin Que slowly slid the engagement ring onto her finger.

With their hands clasped, they celebrated their successful proposals with a passionate and lingering kiss.

End of Modern Story