Hedgehog's Belly - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Inside Jingguan Garden, the light from the crystal ceiling chandelier illuminated the corners of the dining hall. The private room was decorated with extravagant luxury. Amidst the flickering lights, the hidden agendas and unfathomable schemes of everyone present were reflected—each person harboring their own ghosts.

Luo Mu observed the pace of the meal out of the corner of her eye. She moved slowly, gripping her knife and fork to cut the beef into small pieces before placing them in her mouth.

Between soft chews, she lifted her gaze to the woman opposite her: President Wang, a woman in her forties. Elegant and charming, she possessed a maturity and confidence settled by time that couldn’t be learned in any classroom. The woman lightly swirled the base of her wine glass, the corners of her mouth slightly lifted as she chatted and laughed with those around her.

It seemed this woman was in a good mood.

This deal should go through.

Luo Mu rubbed the rim of her wine glass with her fingertip, her eyes moving slightly as she calculated precisely. Once the woman was happy, she would settle the contract—quick and decisive.

There could be no further delays.

“President Wang, it is an honor to cooperate with you again.” Once the other woman’s conversation ended, Luo Mu stood up, holding her glass high. Her tone was sincere and earnest; her silver wild rose earrings caught the light, serving as a perfect finishing touch to her look.

“I am very grateful for your push on the Ningzhou Thousand-Tunnel project, which allowed it to land smoothly. If you ever need me, I will do everything in my power to serve you. This glass is for you.”

Luo Mu held her arm in mid-air, toasting President Wang before taking a sip. Through the glass refraction, Luo Mu noticed the woman’s brow furrow slightly as she gave an unnatural laugh. The moment the glass was lowered, the woman toyed with her curly hair, tucking a strand behind her ear. The mole at the corner of her eye was bewitchingly beautiful.

“A-Mu, today isn’t a business dinner. I invited you here to celebrate my beloved daughter’s birthday.” President Wang gestured for her to sit, her voice gentle yet firm. She didn’t reprimand Luo Mu for her opportunistic behavior.

“It wasn’t easy getting you back to the country. We won’t talk about work today.”

Everyone knew Luo Mu loved money as much as her own life, but since President Wang had paid a fortune to bring her back from Japan, Luo Mu truly hadn’t expected to be unable to guess her purpose at the dinner table.

Luo Mu lowered her head slightly, placing her hand against her chest in a slow bow of apology.

“I was presumptuous. I didn’t know today was your daughter’s birthday. I came in a hurry this time and didn’t bring a gift to express my congratulations.”

“Then I’ll offer a toast. I wish the young miss good health and that all her wishes come true.”

Luo Mu swirled her glass, the red wine rising and falling against the walls—just like her current state of mind, swaying and unstable.

It was early winter. It never snowed in Chujiang, but the cold was still biting.

As the red wine slid down her esophagus, the sudden chill made her body shudder. Luo Mu felt cold sweat drenching her back, her nerves pulled taut. If she said one more wrong thing, the consequences would be unimaginable.

She frowned. Don’t let things go wrong now.

From the conversation between President Wang and the people beside her, Luo Mu learned that the daughter planned to travel to Japan and President Wang wanted Luo Mu to take her, feeling that she could be trusted.

Luo Mu sighed and took a sip of hot soup. Take someone’s money, do someone’s work.

In truth, Luo Mu didn’t really know where to go for fun either. In the six years she had been abroad, she had simply changed the location of her wandering.

A difficult benefactor and a difficult young miss indeed.

“This child is always telling me she wants to go to Japan. Luo Mu, you’ve stayed there so long, you must be very experienced.”

President Wang’s gaze fell on Luo Mu, waiting for her response. Luo Mu gave a calm smile, hearing the subtext.

She wasn’t just a dog; she was a guide dog.

Luo Mu nodded, showing a single dimple as she smiled, and responded frankly, “Of course. If President Wang asks, I will certainly provide a warm reception.”

She paused, then asked, “Forgive my boldness, but may I ask the young miss’s age?”

If she was a minor, getting a visa would be a major hurdle. If the girl was shy and there was a language barrier—on top of being with a stranger—it would be “Hell Mode” difficulty for Luo Mu.

Seeing Luo Mu’s enthusiasm, President Wang squinted with a smile and held up two fingers to indicate two digits.

“Twenty… six?” Luo Mu was stunned, her gaze turning blank.

The same age as her. A person nearly thirty years old still needed a chaperone to go abroad.

Luo Mu’s heart bled as she realized she wasn’t just a guide dog—she was a seeing-eye dog for the blind.

Likely a pampered heiress who couldn’t take care of herself and had a severe case of “Princess Syndrome.”

Partway through the dinner, Luo Mu noticed that the protagonist who was supposed to be there was still nowhere to be seen. Looking around, only the seat next to her remained empty.

Luo Mu’s fingertips subconsciously rubbed the champagne-colored tablecloth as she sat quietly with her eyes closed. Help me. A twenty-six-year-old giant infant. The thought alone is suffocating.

If it weren’t for the fact that the Ningzhou project had just landed, she really would have reconsidered this.

Luo Mu leaned back and took a deep breath. Doing this… was all for those few “shreds of silver” in the world.

Shortly after, when the waiter pushed open the doors, a tall figure appeared. A dark brown wool coat was draped over her shoulders, and apricot-brown high-waisted trousers made her proportions look perfectly harmonious. Her slightly curly hair was soft and natural, highlighting her well-defined face. However, her eyes were sharp—like ice blades that pierced the heart invisibly, leaving only bloody wounds exposed to the light. The woman scanned the room before taking the seat right next to Luo Mu.

Luo Mu recognized her instantly.

This woman had several small dots on her ear cartilage, though she wasn’t wearing studs like she used to. The once familiar, light scent of sweet tangerine had been replaced by a blend of petitgrain and blackcurrant—fresh but carrying a hint of spice, the two scents lingering in a constant embrace.

Suddenly, their eyes met. Their first reunion in six years.

The close proximity drew them together. The woman stared at the silver wild rose earring hanging from Luo Mu’s earlobe. Looking down, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her gaze softened just a fraction.

When Luo Mu realized, she hurriedly used her hair to cover the earring. She recalled the time she had asked a master to melt her ear studs down into these earrings, and her face flushed slightly.

“A-Mu, let me introduce you. This is my daughter.” President Wang stood up and walked behind Yan Qingzhu, placing a hand on her shoulder. Yan Qingzhu subconsciously curled her lip, her tone carrying a trace of impatience. “Mom, we know each other.”

“Oh? You know each other? That’s wonderful! A-Mu stayed in Japan for six years. If you want to go there, you can have her take you.” President Wang’s gaze fell on Luo Mu, who gave a light smile and a nod.

Yan Qingzhu gazed at her. Her deep eyes were like stagnant water, yet a flicker of life slowly emerged—tiny but clear. Like a small flame burning amidst total despair with nothing to fuel it, ready to be blown out by the wind at any moment.

As President Wang sat back down, Luo Mu watched her wine glass being refilled. What flowed was no longer red wine, but the sound of blood rushing through veins that one could hear if they closed their eyes. Time had passed; the youthful spirit of the past was worth a thousand pieces of gold and could not be chased back. Encountering a person from one’s youth again, she didn’t know where to begin.

“Is Yan Yu doing okay?” Luo Mu was the first to mention her younger sister, cautiously testing Yan Qingzhu while observing her expression.

Yan Qingzhu picked up some cold appetizers, placed them in her mouth, chewed a few times, and then slowly nodded.

Luo Mu thought mentioning her sister would make her excited, but the woman’s reaction was flat, as if they were discussing someone else’s child. Luo Mu smiled faintly and asked once more, “What about you?”

“Are you okay?”

Luo Mu had asked this question back in their student days, and Yan Qingzhu’s answer remained the same as it was back then.

Yan Qingzhu paused, her tone heavy: “Not okay.”

Hearing those two words, Luo Mu lowered her eyes. It was like an invisible needle stabbing the softest corner of her heart.

Of course she wasn’t okay.

When she was surrounded by rumors and gossip, her lover had turned a blind eye.

When she was grieving the loss of a relative, her lover had flown far away.

Her pain existed because she had an unqualified lover.

And now that they met again, the two of them were terrifyingly calm.

Luo Mu’s eyelashes trembled.

If you cannot love me, my lover, then forgive my pain.

“Do you still remember our promise?” Luo Mu swirled the base of her wine glass. Knowing it was the most painful spot, she still chose to lick the wound—one touch, one sting—so that she wouldn’t forget.

Yan Qingzhu murmured, “I don’t remember.”

But Luo Mu wouldn’t let her off. Her shoulders trembled slightly as she forced herself to say the words that felt disgusting now. “You said we’d go see the ocean together, raise a little hedgehog, see the Japanese fireworks festival, go to…”

“Luo Mu,” Yan Qingzhu said with abnormal calmness, “I said I don’t remember.”

“You really don’t remember,” Luo Mu looked at her, holding back the glint of tears, her tone mocking. “A great person like you has a short memory for the past.”

Seeing her silence, Luo Mu raised her glass, her voice light, afraid the other woman would hear the sob in her throat.

“Let’s have a drink. Everything I want to say is in the wine.”

Yan Qingzhu did not meet her eyes. “Luo Mu, I don’t drink.”

Luo Mu nodded and waved her hand. “Driving, right? That’s fine.”

But Yan Qingzhu told her clearly: “I said I’ve quit drinking.”

Luo Mu paused for a long time, her eyes turning bloodshot. Their hearts ached, yet she pretended to be unbothered. “It’s fine. If you won’t drink that glass, I’ll drink it for you.”

If you won’t drink it, I’ll drink it in your place.

I know your pain; let me bear your pain too.

Don’t stand in a far-off place, humiliating me with your gaze.

After two glasses of wine went down, followed by toasts with many of the leaders present, Luo Mu’s consciousness began to fade. She had been propping her forehead with her hand, but her head grew heavy, and she suddenly slumped onto Yan Qingzhu’s lap.

Yan Qingzhu caught her with one hand and propped Luo Mu’s head against her own shoulder. To be able to experience the embrace she used to seek whenever she felt wronged again after six years—Luo Mu smiled faintly. She could die without regrets now.

Yan Qingzhu’s face remained calm, but her hand trembled slightly as she gently stroked Luo Mu’s head. She said to Wang Ranping, “Mom, this kid can’t handle her liquor. I’ll take her back first.”

Supporting Luo Mu’s back with one hand and her knees with the other, she picked her up, using her wool coat to shield her face from the wind. In that moment, Luo Mu smelled the unfamiliar scent of bitter orange. But the Yan Qingzhu of their youth… that orange scent had been sweet.

“Are you coming back?” Wang Ranping asked, confused. After all, this dinner had been set for Yan Qingzhu’s birthday.

If she wasn’t there, it was just a meaningless meal.

But this dinner was something Yan Qingzhu hadn’t looked forward to at all.

“I’ll see.” Yan Qingzhu replied anxiously, then left without looking back.

The city of Chujiang was by the sea, and the early winter evening wind stung as it scraped against the face.

Yan Qingzhu carefully placed Luo Mu in the front seat, pulled the seatbelt over her, and brushed the stray hairs away from her forehead. She studied her like this; after all these years, this person was still similar to how she once was—the baby fat on her face hadn’t completely faded, and her slightly curled eyelashes trembled, making her still look like a schoolgirl from their student days.

Moving her gaze slowly, Yan Qingzhu was all too familiar with the silver wild rose pattern on Luo Mu’s earlobe. She hadn’t expected her to turn the studs into earrings.

Yan Qingzhu returned to the driver’s seat and lowered the window slightly, letting the cold wind clear her head.

She turned her head slightly, her gaze drifting to the person beside her. Yan Qingzhu let out a shallow laugh.

“Stop faking it. Get up. I know you don’t get drunk.”

Already twenty-six, yet still playing children’s games.