Inheriting a Farm Made Me an Internet Sensation - Chapter 54.1

Down on the road below, Lin Muhan saw the figure on the second-floor balcony and immediately slammed on her brakes. A sudden wave of panic rose in her heart, fearing that Tan Xiao had discovered her presence.

She had thought that as long as she focused on her work, she could control herself and stop missing Tan Xiao.

But that longing had, without her realizing it, seeped into her very marrow. Whenever she paused, it was like this lonely, long night—her thoughts of Tan Xiao would surge like a tide, completely submerging her.

Unable to restrain this yearning, she had driven here.

She didn’t dare hope to see Tan Xiao; she simply wanted to be closer to her to alleviate the frantic longing in her heart.

But when she actually saw Tan Xiao, she panicked.

She was afraid—afraid that Tan Xiao would see through her thoughts, and even more afraid that she would waver in her resolve, even though that inner resolve had long since collapsed.

Yes, she regretted it. She regretted saying those words that day, and she felt a trace of resentment that Tan Xiao hadn’t offered even a single word to ask her to stay.

Standing foolishly on the second-floor balcony, Tan Xiao didn’t even dare to take a loud breath. Although she couldn’t see clearly who was in the car, her intuition told her it was Lin Muhan.

Why had Mumu come back here so late? Was it for business, or was it because… she missed her?

She moved her feet slightly and opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Her hands, clenched into fists at her sides, were trembling slightly.

In that instant, she had to admit she was afraid—afraid that once she spoke, once she chased after her, everything before her would turn into a phantom.

Little did she know that sitting inside the car, her hands gripping the steering wheel tight, Lin Muhan was waiting for her.

She told herself that if Tan Xiao came down, if Tan Xiao asked her to stay, she would give Tan Xiao one more chance.

But that person remained standing there as if rooted to the spot, motionless.

She took a deep breath and mocked herself: “Lin Muhan, admit it. You’re simply not important to her. She didn’t ask you to stay then, and she won’t now.”

Was that really true?

She turned her head to the left, and the tear dots shimmering in her eyes rolled down; her nose ached sharply.

Give up. Why hang yourself from this one crooked tree that is Tan Xiao?

But she was unwilling—unwilling for her first relationship to end just like this.

At this thought, she hit the steering wheel in regret: “Why? Why?”

The temperature difference between the inside and outside of the car soon caused a layer of mist to condense on the window, making Lin Muhan feel even more oppressed.

Suddenly, she vaguely perceived a figure walking toward her.

She didn’t dare look up, or even allow herself to feel expectant; she was tired of the disappointment of having her heart full of hope only for it to fall through.

Even so, her attention drifted involuntarily, watching the blurred figure outside the window.

As the figure drew closer, her heart rose into her throat, and her gloved hands couldn’t help but shake.

After struggling repeatedly, Tan Xiao, who had finally decided to chase after her, was just as nervous.

From the moment she stepped out of the yard and saw the car, she recognized it as Mumu’s.

With every step she took toward Mumu, her courage faded a little more. She knew she had no right to ask Mumu for another chance, yet she selfishly wanted to try.

Stopping outside the driver’s side window, her hand rose and fell, then rose again, repeating this countless times before she finally knocked on the glass: “Mumu, can we talk again?”

She could hear her own voice trembling. She knew it wasn’t from the cold, but from nerves.

Inside the car, hearing those words, a surge of secret joy bubbled up in Lin Muhan’s heart. She frantically fumbled for the button to let the window slide down slowly, using her peripheral vision to scan the person separated from her only by a door.

Tan Xiao had lost weight. The collagen once visible to the naked eye was gone, and her cheekbones were slightly prominent.

So, she wasn’t the only one who had been sad and miserable during this time; she still held some weight in Tan Xiao’s heart.

Thinking this, her nose felt sour and cold, and her voice was raspy: “Why should I talk to you?”

“I… I didn’t know how to tell you about that matter. I’m… I’m sorry.” Tan Xiao lowered her head, her nose turning red under the assault of the cold wind.

Lin Muhan let out a soft laugh, turned her head away, and faced Tan Xiao with her profile: “I don’t want to hear those three words.”

She told herself she had to hold back; she must not forgive Tan Xiao so easily. At the very least, she had to make Tan Xiao learn her lesson.

Was that matter really that important? It was, and yet it wasn’t.

If that matter was truly so difficult for Tan Xiao to speak of, she could stop asking, but she still didn’t want to be kept in the dark by Tan Xiao for the rest of her life.

In Tan Xiao’s downcast eyes, there was nothing but disappointment and self-reproach, and her heart was filled with struggle.

Was there really no longer any possibility for her and Mumu?

No, she didn’t want to give up just like this.

She looked up again, her voice trembling: “Can… can you still come back?”

The cold wind-swept past, blowing her hair which was draped loosely over her back. The stray hairs by her face became restless, obscuring her vision and preventing her from seeing Lin Muhan’s expression.

If you can’t even be honest with her, where do you get the nerve to ask Mumu to come back?

This voice suddenly echoing in her heart, combined with the silence around her, successfully shattered the last of her hope.

“I’m sorry for making things difficult for you.” Those last few words were almost silent as she withdrew her gaze and turned back toward the courtyard gate.

Lin Muhan spoke up urgently, sounding annoyed: “Who told you that you could leave?”

Hearing this, Tan Xiao stopped her steps.

In a place Tan Xiao couldn’t see, Lin Muhan’s expression was a bit stiff: “I… I was also wrong. I shouldn’t have pressured you like that.” She slowly shifted her gaze, landing it on Tan Xiao. “I will wait for you to tell me of your own accord.”

What did this mean? She was forgiven?

Realizing this, Tan Xiao’s mood turned from cloudy to sunny. She turned around quickly, her eyes bright and glowing.

Lin Muhan unnaturally raised her hand to brush her hair and continued: “Don’t get happy too early. I know the experiments are very important to you, and I know how much you’ve sacrificed to reach your goals. But since you chose to let me enter your life, you should give some of your time to me. Let me see the hope of walking forward with you, rather than just bland, cold, and heartless experimental data.”

She turned her head away again, not letting Tan Xiao see her, and added: “Be… besides, appropriate life adjustments can also relieve the pressure from your experiments.”

Tan Xiao stepped forward twice without a moment’s hesitation: “Okay.”

She had actually thought about this during this period of time. If Mumu was willing to give her another chance, she would allocate her time reasonably so that her life wouldn’t be entirely consumed by experiments.

Lin Muhan breathed a slight sigh of relief, took off her glove, and extended her right pinky finger: “Pinky swear.”

Tan Xiao cooperatively extended her finger, hooking it tightly with Lin Muhan’s, and said firmly: “On workdays, I will stick to nine-to-five. On weekends, I’ll only work half a day.”

This was actually something Chai Zitao had suggested. At the time, Chai Zitao had said: “The experiments are important, but my state of mind is even more important. Making me squat in that field every waking moment is worse than just burying me there on the spot. If I stay there long enough, I might actually sprout roots and grow.”

She had actually grown tired of this day-in-day-out routine long ago. Back in her original world, she didn’t have to manage the entire farm and had helpers to help her monitor the data. Although every day was still tedious, compared to the current hardship, it was much more comfortable.

Lin Muhan was half-doubting: “Really?”

“Yes, three helpers have arrived,” Tan Xiao answered truthfully.

Lin Muhan: “…”

She felt as if what she had just said had become redundant.

When Tan Xiao wasn’t in the field but in the yard, she was the type of person who would never stand if she could sit. Once such a person caught an opportunity to be lazy, they would never miss it.

Therefore, it wasn’t that Tan Xiao wanted to be rooted in the soil at all times; it was just that circumstances hadn’t allowed otherwise.

Tan Xiao didn’t know what Lin Muhan was thinking. She naturally took Lin Muhan’s hand: “Princess, can we go home now?”

Those few simple words caused the last of the awkwardness and unease in Lin Muhan’s heart to vanish completely. Her lips curved upward: “Who speaks to a princess like that?”

Tan Xiao’s mind worked incredibly fast, and she immediately changed her wording: “Princess Highness, please come home with your humble servant.”

“Seeing as you are so sincere, I shall reluctantly allow it this once,” Lin Muhan said haughtily.

“Please step out of the car, Princess Highness. I will park the car and be right back.”

After Tan Xiao drove the car into the yard, she came back, took Lin Muhan’s hand, and they went upstairs together.

When Lin Muhan opened her bedroom door, she saw that everything inside was not only unchanged but also very clean and tidy. She knew this was Tan Xiao’s doing.

Instantly, she felt that her previous sadness and hesitation had been comforted.

Regardless of what Tan Xiao was like before, the one she knew was the current Tan Xiao, and the one she loved was the current Tan Xiao. At this moment, the answer was no longer important.

Tan Xiao, entering the room first, went straight to the bathroom. While running the bathwater, she called out to Lin Muhan: “I’ll put two basins of water in the corners later. That will increase the humidity in the room so the heater doesn’t make it so stuffy.”

Lin Muhan put her bag on the table, changed into her slippers, and came to the bathroom. Leaning against the doorframe, she teased: “You won’t admit you’re old-fashioned, but technology is so advanced now; a humidifier could solve that.”

Tan Xiao realized belatedly: “Oh right, I’ll order one later.”

Lin Muhan didn’t respond. She took her phone out of her pocket, casually selected a humidifier, changed the quantity to two, and placed the order instantly.