Chapter 5: What Kind of Misunderstanding Would Make You Push Me into the River, Cousin?

When Ye Muqi got home, she found that her parents hadn’t gone to bed yet—they were watching TV, clearly waiting for her to return.

“Qiqi, how did the talk go?” Seeing her come in, Xia Ying immediately asked with concern, turning down the volume on the TV.

After the two kids had gone out, Yin Lan had helped her wash the dishes and left soon after.

“Rong Jingchen said he wants me to go with him to the military base,” Ye Muqi answered honestly when she saw both parents looking at her expectantly.

After all, she was going to leave with Rong Jingchen soon. They would have to know eventually.

“Join the army family…” Ye Zhengfeng was momentarily stunned, but then quickly understood what Rong Jingchen meant. “That’s good. It’s good he’s willing to compromise.”

His voice was soft, with a barely audible sigh.

Rong Jingchen was now a battalion commander. Since he had already filed a marriage report, getting a divorce wouldn’t be easy. Him asking Ye Muqi to go to the base showed he truly wanted to make it work.

“It’s just…” Xia Ying frowned slightly. “You’ll have to do everything by yourself over there. I won’t be able to help.”

“Mom, I’m already 20. You can’t help me forever,” Ye Muqi said with a smile, walking over to hug her.

She had no intention of being a spoiled child forever.

Xia Ying’s nose tingled with emotion. She realized her daughter had grown much more mature since waking up. Maybe this really would be a great opportunity for her.

What could be more important than seeing your child happy?

…

The next morning, an unexpected visitor came to the house.

Ye Muqi was watching TV, and Xia Ying, who had the day off, was keeping her company.

There was a knock at the door.

Xia Ying went to open it. The visitor was Ye Huihui.

The daughter of the original host’s uncle—her cousin.

“Hello, Auntie. I heard Qiqi was discharged from the hospital, so I came to visit her,” Ye Huihui said sweetly with a smile, holding a bag of fruit. “I even brought some fruit.”

“Come in, come in,” Xia Ying said, taking the fruit and placing it on the coffee table. She turned toward her daughter. “Qiqi, your cousin Huihui came to see you.”

Ye Muqi: “…”

She lazily glanced at her cousin and said nothing.

Ye Huihui froze for a moment, her smile faltering slightly. “My parents are busy at the construction site, so they sent me. Qiqi, how’s your health?”

“Didn’t die,” Ye Muqi replied flatly.

That one sentence instantly dropped the room’s temperature to zero.

Ye Huihui always acted sweet and called the original host “dear sister,” but in reality, she was jealous of her. Every time she visited, she would sneak off with something.

“Qiqi hasn’t fully recovered yet, don’t take it personally,” Xia Ying said, sensing the awkwardness but unsure what had caused it.

“It’s okay. She’s my cousin—I won’t take it to heart,” Ye Huihui replied with a demure smile, still acting the part. She picked up a banana from the table and handed it to Ye Muqi, trying to please her. “Qiqi, here, I brought this just for you.”

“Not eating it. Put it down,” Ye Muqi said without even looking at her or moving a finger.

“…”

A flash of anger flickered in Ye Huihui’s eyes. She quickly turned around and put the banana back on the table, her smile gone.

Xia Ying didn’t notice, and casually headed to the kitchen to prepare the fruit so it’d be easier to eat.

“Qiqi, I heard Rong Jingchen is back?” Ye Huihui asked once Xia Ying left, pretending to be casual.

Ye Muqi rolled her eyes. Here it comes.

“Oh, cousin, you’re really well-informed,” she said sarcastically. “He just got back yesterday afternoon, and you already know?”

“I’m just concerned about you,” Ye Huihui replied. “You’ve been married for a year, and this is his first time coming back…”

“Speaking of which, I fell into the river a few days ago, didn’t I?” Ye Muqi cut her off, eyes scanning Huihui’s face. “Didn’t you say you care about me? So where were you all these days?”

“I…” Huihui was caught off guard. “I-I had to work!”

“Really? Not because you like Rong Jingchen?”

It was like someone stepped on her tail. Huihui’s face turned red and her eyes widened. “W-what? That’s impossible! You must’ve misunderstood!”

Her voice was too high-pitched—she was clearly flustered—and she even stood up from the couch.

Looking at the pretty girl lazily reclining on the sofa, Huihui suddenly found her unfamiliar.

“Misunderstanding?” Ye Muqi looked her over. “Then tell me, what kind of misunderstanding would make you push your cousin into the river?”

That’s right. The original host hadn’t fallen in herself—she’d been pushed in by this very cousin.

Ye Huihui was completely shocked, frightened by the sharp look in Ye Muqi’s eyes. She even instinctively shuddered.

Is… is this really the same dim-witted cousin?

“N-no… Qiqi, what are you saying? I’m your cousin! Why would I push you?” Huihui protested with teary eyes. “You must still be sick, you’re remembering wrong. You fell in by accident!”

Her eyes turned red and began to well up with tears.

A perfect little white lotus.

“You know very well whether I remember correctly or not,” Ye Muqi said coldly. If only cell phones were common in this era… or if there were surveillance cameras in this small town—this little white lotus would be in the police station already.

“I really didn’t…”

“Huihui, stay for lunch, okay?” Xia Ying came out of the kitchen carrying the fruit platter, looking puzzled at Huihui’s tearful expression. “…What’s wrong?”

Why is she crying all of a sudden?

“Give her food? Might as well feed it to a dog,” Ye Muqi sneered. “Mom, I’m not cooking for her.”

“Auntie, Qiqi misunderstood me. She—”

Just as Huihui was about to cry and complain to Xia Ying, Ye Muqi lost her patience. She suddenly stood up, grabbed Huihui by the arm, picked up the bag of fruit, and tossed both her and the fruit out the front door.

Apples and bananas rolled everywhere.

Ye Huihui: “…”

She was stunned. She didn’t expect Ye Muqi to throw her out like that—and with such strength that she couldn’t even break free.

BANG! The door slammed shut.