Kidnapping the Female Teacher's Best Friend - Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Mu Hanxi handed the packed mandarin fish to Mo Zibei, who carefully took it.

Because Liu Chuqing was still present, Mo Zibei politely declined Mu Hanxi’s kind offer to drive her, said goodbye to the two women, and carried the takeout box out to the elevator.

It wasn’t until Mo Zibei’s figure was out of sight that Mu Hanxi turned around.

Liu Chuqing walked alongside Mu Hanxi toward the living room: “Did you meet her through Lin Xiaoran?”

“Mm,” Mu Hanxi took the fruit she had washed earlier to the small table, and the two sat on the sofa. “She’s Xiaoran’s English class representative. The first time I went to Xiaoran’s school, she was the one who met me.”

“Oh.” Liu Chuqing reached for a grape, peeled it, and popped it into her mouth.

“Quite sweet.” She was about to eat another one.

“Zibei bought them.”

Liu Chuqing’s hand stopped mid-air. She curled her fingers, awkwardly withdrew her hand, and rested it at her side.

“I ran into Sister Xuan Ya last night on the way to see a client,” Liu Chuqing abruptly changed the topic. “She must be getting married soon, right?” Passing a street intersection, Liu Chuqing had glanced inside the car and seen Mu Xuanya kissing and embracing a handsome, tall man under a streetlamp. The diamond ring on her left ring finger sparkled brilliantly.

“I haven’t heard her mention it,” Mu Hanxi pulled out a tissue to wipe her hands. “However, she plans to settle down here eventually.”

“Mm.” Liu Chuqing didn’t delve deeper into the topic.

The two talked about other things for a while before Liu Chuqing finally left Mu Hanxi’s place.

Before leaving, she said, “I’m flying to France tomorrow. Do you need me to bring you anything?”

“No, I don’t lack anything.”

Liu Chuqing didn’t say anything more, but she inwardly planned to buy her an expensive perfume.

The two walked out to the elevator, and Mu Hanxi saw her off outside the unit door.

As soon as she returned to her apartment, the phone on the small table rang. It was Mu Xuanya calling.

“Are you about to rest?” the voice on the other end asked.

“Not yet, Chuqing just left.”

“Mm. Are you free tomorrow?” Mu Xuanya didn’t know that Liu Chuqing had seen her and her fiancé kissing the night before.

“I am.”

Mu Xuanya was clearly in good spirits: “Then I’ll call to reserve a restaurant. I’ll treat you to Western food for lunch tomorrow.” The restaurant was owned by a friend, which made it very convenient.

“Sister,” Mu Hanxi suddenly remembered Liu Chuqing’s earlier question, and her lips curved slightly. “Is there good news coming soon?”

Mu Xuanya’s face flushed slightly: “Mm, Jia Zai proposed to me last night.” Mu Xuanya and Xu Jia Zai started dating in their senior year of college and have been together for four years. They were finally going to tie the knot.

Mu Hanxi smiled gently: “That’s wonderful. I’m happy for you.”

“But I haven’t told the family yet. I plan to bring it up during the New Year. When I do, please say a lot of good things about Xu Jia Zai to my parents.” This place is not close to B City, and Mu Xuanya’s parents had some reservations about the marriage, as they didn’t want their daughter to marry someone so far away.

Mu Hanxi teased: “Brother-in-law is so excellent, does he even need me to praise him?” She was usually demure and ladylike in public, but sometimes playful around her siblings.

Mu Xuanya was thoroughly embarrassed, especially by the two words “brother-in-law.” Hearing them made her ears burn. “Alright, stop teasing me. Go to bed early, and I’ll see you at noon tomorrow.”

“Okay, Second Sister, good night.”

“Good night.”

Mo Zibei arrived home, changed her shoes, and the first thing she did was put the packed mandarin fish into the refrigerator.

Mo Father was reading in the study. Hearing movement outside, he pushed the door open and peered out.

“Did you eat at a restaurant?”

“No,” Mo Father walked over without a sound, startling Mo Zibei. “I ate at… an older sister’s place.”

Mo Father didn’t know who the “older sister” Mo Zibei was referring to was. Just as he was about to ask, Mo Zibei proactively explained: “A friend of our English teacher.”

Mo Father nodded and said stiffly, “Don’t go bothering people next time. I’ll cook whatever you want to eat.”

“Got it.”

“Going out again tomorrow?” Mo Father asked another question.

“No,” Mo Zibei closed the refrigerator door. “I’ll stay home and do homework.”

“Mm,” Mo Father turned and went to the kitchen. Just as he was about to enter the room, he seemed to remember something and asked, “Can you still drink milk?”

Mo Zibei was about to say no, but she felt that her father had spoken more than usual today and sensed something inexplicable: “I can drink it.”

Mo Father nodded, but for some reason, this time he only poured Mo Zibei half a cup, drinking the remaining half himself.

Mo Zibei thought it was strange. Why was her father drinking milk tonight? In her memory, except when she was weak as a child and Mo Father would drink milk with her, he hadn’t had any since she developed the habit of drinking a cup every day, as he couldn’t stand the taste of pure milk.

Mo Zibei shook her head, not dwelling on it, and picked up her phone to send a text message to Mu Hanxi: Thank you, Sister Mu, for your hospitality tonight. (Satisfied face)

Mu Hanxi quickly replied: You’re welcome. Go to bed early.

Mo Zibei smiled, put down her phone, pulled out the phonetics notebook Mu Hanxi had prepared for her today, and planned to review.

After practicing obediently for more than ten minutes, she couldn’t help but get other ideas. She sent Mu Hanxi another text message: I feel like it would be more convenient to ask study questions on WeChat. Is Sister Mu’s phone number her WeChat ID?

Mu Hanxi had finished showering and dried her hair before she noticed the incoming text message. She replied: Give it a try.

Within a minute of her reply, another text message came in: Please accept the friend request, Sister Mu.

It was almost midnight, and this kid still hadn’t gone to sleep. Mu Hanxi shook her head and chuckled. She logged into WeChat and saw a friend verification request from someone named “Polaris.”

Quite poetic? Mu Hanxi didn’t change her note and immediately clicked “Accept.”…

Ever since sending the second text message, Mo Zibei had been eagerly waiting for Mu Hanxi’s reply, losing focus on her studies.

After waiting for over an hour, she finally got Mu Hanxi’s three words: “Give it a try.”

!!!!!!! Mo Zibei screamed internally, thrilled and overjoyed! She immediately logged into WeChat to search for Mu Hanxi’s phone number. She found an account with a simple “Mu” character, and the background profile picture was a vibrant green tree.

She added the person as a friend and then texted Mu Hanxi again, asking her to accept the request.

The friend request was quickly accepted. Mo Zibei bit her knuckle, suppressed her excitement, and politely greeted the other person: Sister Mu, good evening.

Mu Hanxi replied: Kid, you should be sleeping.

Mo Zibei deleted and retyped several times, finally sending five gentle words: Sister Mu, good night.

Mu Hanxi looked down and smiled: Good night.

Mo Zibei raised her eyebrows, got up, went to the bathroom, took a quick shower but didn’t wash her hair. Once finished, she lay down obediently and had a sound sleep.

The next day, Mo Zibei woke up early and reviewed the more difficult-to-pronounce phonetic symbols before going to wash up.

Mo Father also woke up very early and planned to make breakfast for Mo Zibei.

“Dad, don’t make breakfast for me later,” Mo Zibei took a towel from the balcony and wiped her face. “I’ll just heat up the fish and eat that.”

“Eating fish first thing in the morning?”

Mo Zibei’s face flushed slightly, and she nodded softly.

Mo Father said no more and went downstairs to buy congee and small fried cakes.

The father and daughter ate at the same table, saying little. Mo Father returned to his former quiet self.

After eating, Mo Zibei returned to her room to do homework, and Mo Father went downstairs to stroll in a nearby park.

For lunch, Mo Father cooked two home-style dishes: chicken stewed with potatoes, and scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

While Mo Father went to the kitchen to bring out the congee, Mo Zibei quickly took a photo and sent it to Mu Hanxi, adding the caption: My dad made it.

When the WeChat notification sounded, Mu Hanxi had just cut a bite of steak. She ate the beef before opening her phone to look, then smiled and replied: Uncle’s cooking looks great.

Seeing her smile, Mu Xuanya swirled her red wine glass and teased, “Dating someone?”

“No,” Mu Hanxi was slightly surprised, then chuckled. “Just a young friend I recently met.”

“Much younger than you?”

“Sister,” Mu Hanxi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “What are you thinking… She’s only in her last year of high school, and she’s a girl.”

Mu Xuanya realized she had indeed jumped to conclusions. She thought it was someone who could be a potential partner…

“I heard from Jia Zai that Ruan Xuekai is back in the country.” Ruan Xuekai was Jia Zai’s classmate and had been interested in Mu Hanxi for several years, though his long pursuit was unsuccessful.

“Mm.” Mu Hanxi knew. Ruan Xuekai had sent her a message a few days ago.

“He’s actually a decent person.” He had remained single all these years, without a single girl by his side.

“He is quite good.” Mu Hanxi raised her glass and took a sip of red wine.

Mu Xuanya wanted to persuade Hanxi to consider him, but she deeply understood her sister’s personality. If she liked him, she would have accepted long ago. Why would there be no progress until now?

“When Jia Zai gets back, the three of us should have dinner together,” Mu Xuanya changed the subject. “We can go to my new apartment; consider it a housewarming party.”

“Okay,” Mu Hanxi put down her wine glass. “Where did Brother Jia Zai go?”

“He went back to his hometown.” Xu Jia Zai was not local; he came here for university and decided to develop his career here. His hometown business was in medicinal herbs, which he wasn’t very interested in, so he opened his own studio focused on advertising and media-related business.

Mu Hanxi asked casually, “Sister, have you met Brother Jia Zai’s parents?”

“I met them once,” Mu Xuanya put down her knife and fork. “When we were traveling last year, it was close to their hometown, so we visited.”

“Mm.”

“His parents are very kind,” Mu Xuanya poured herself a little more red wine. “But his grandfather seemed a bit stern and serious, not smiling at all. I was so nervous the first time I met him that I broke out in a sweat.”

Mu Hanxi couldn’t help but smile.

Seeing her reaction, Mu Xuanya teased, “What are you laughing at? You’ll probably be more nervous than I was when you meet your partner’s grandfather.”

Mu Hanxi’s face flushed, and she looked down, not speaking. Just then, a WeChat notification came in from Mo Zibei: Sister Mu, have you had lunch?

Mu Hanxi used this as an excuse to avoid her sister’s teasing and replied: I’m eating now, eating out with my Second Sister.

Mo Zibei quickly sent another message: Do you have a picture?

Mu Hanxi found it amusing. She pursed her lips: You asked too late.

She didn’t have a habit of taking photos of her food, but if Mo Zibei had asked for a picture from the beginning, she might have taken one for her.

Mo Zibei first sent a ‘pouting’ emoji, followed by a sentence: Next time I’ll ask you earlier.

Perhaps because of the emoji, Mu Hanxi found her even cuter and couldn’t help but smile again.

“Is that the young friend again?” Mu Xuanya asked curiously.

“Mm.”

“She seems quite fond of chatting with you.” A high school senior would be at least five or six years younger than Hanxi. She hadn’t expected the two to have so much in common.

Mu Hanxi’s eyes brightened: “It’s alright.”

“How did you two meet?” Mu Hanxi had only been here for about a week, not long.

Mu Hanxi briefly told Mu Xuanya about her first meeting with Mo Zibei. In the telling, she recalled how Mo Zibei had called her by name the very first time they met, looking slightly stunned. Thinking of this, the dimples near Mu Hanxi’s cheeks appeared again.

Sitting across from her, Mu Xuanya couldn’t help but wonder: How many times has Hanxi smiled today?

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