My Ex Told Me She’s Still In Love With Me - Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Desire

The dinner that followed was both silent and awkward. Meng Qingwu tried to find topics to discuss, but Cheng Yi’s consistently distant manner left her feeling defeated.

“Senior, can we exchange contact information?” Meng Qingwu asked cautiously.

There was an overly obvious expectation in the girl’s eyes, mixed with small, hidden motives that made Cheng Yi fall silent. This wasn’t the first time she had seen such a look, but it was the first time it appeared in a pair of eyes so beautiful.

Her gaze landed on the beauty mark beneath Meng Qingwu’s eye. Ultimately, finding it impossible to refuse, she nodded.

…

Meng Qingwu recalled the first time she had waited for her here; thinking back now, she felt she had been incredibly foolish. How could someone be so dumb as to eat two full meals back-to-back just for one person, only to return to the dorm and throw it all up?

Soon, Cheng Yi’s food arrived. Meng Qingwu glanced at it casually and realized they were the exact same dishes they had eaten the very first time they dined together. She looked at Cheng Yi, then withdrew her gaze without saying a word.

Cheng Yi felt uneasy under her gaze, yet seeing Meng Qingwu’s indifferent attitude, she couldn’t help but feel a wave of disappointment.

Silence began to spread between them. The surrounding noise of the restaurant seemed to fade until it vanished, leaving only the crisp, subtle sound of their utensils clinking against the bowls. This meal was worse than two strangers sharing a table. Strangers would at least have the appetite to enjoy their own food; these two couldn’t even remember what the food tasted like.

“Why did you come all the way here today?” Cheng Yi spoke softly. This place was in the opposite direction from where Meng Qingwu lived.

Having finished, Meng Qingwu set down her chopsticks and methodically wiped her mouth with a napkin before replying, “I suddenly missed the flavor here, so I came.”

Cheng Yi opened her mouth but ultimately held back. She desperately wanted to ask: Is it really just the flavor you missed? But even if she asked, the answer didn’t seem to matter much anymore.

Once the silent meal was over, Meng Qingwu stood up to pay and left immediately. Watching her retreating back, Cheng Yi set down her chopsticks, unable to eat another bite. She stared blankly at the food.

Since things are like this now, not disturbing each other is probably the best form of respect, right?

She sat for a long time before getting up to pay, only to be told the bill had already been settled. Her hand holding her wallet dropped to her side. She nodded and walked out. Thinking of the past, she realized there wouldn’t be a “return invitation” this time.

…

“Senior! You’re here to eat again!”

Just as she entered the door, a vibrant voice greeted her. Cheng Yi looked over; she had lost count of how many times she had “encountered” her here. She nodded. “You’re eating here again too.”

Meng Qingwu didn’t attend her university. It was quite a distance to travel from her own campus to this area.

“Mhm! The food here is great!” Meng Qingwu’s eyes curved into smiles as she proactively invited her: “Join me, Senior?”

Looking at those smiling eyes, Cheng Yi agreed. Throughout the meal, Meng Qingwu chattered away while Cheng Yi mostly listened, barely eating. She just thought that this little mouth that never stopped talking was really quite adorable.

“Senior, I’m treating you this time!” After Cheng Yi set down her chopsticks, Meng Qingwu jumped up to snatch the bill. Seeing this, Cheng Yi didn’t fight her, only saying, “Then I’ll treat you next time.”

Later, she wasn’t sure when it happened, but it evolved into a cycle of “you treat me, I treat you,” and they began to eat together frequently. Through these repeated invitations, the two of them grew closer and closer.

…

When Meng Qingwu arrived home and opened the door, she was stunned to find Ms. Meng there.

“Mom?” she asked, puzzled. Ms. Meng wasn’t the type to be clingy; if there was business, she usually called. It was rare for her to visit in person.

Meng Shuyu looked up at her and said after a pause, “I’m staying here tonight.”

Looking at her mother’s expression, Meng Qingwu felt something was off. “Mom, did something happen?”

Meng Shuyu shook her head. “The heating at home broke, so I came here.”

Meng Qingwu smiled and affectionately took her mother’s arm. “Sure, you can stay as long as you want. But just so you know, the other rooms haven’t been fixed up yet—no beds or anything—so you’ll have to sleep with me.” (The last time Jin Le and the others visited, they all had to squeeze onto one bed too.)

Meng Shuyu nodded. “Go take a shower.”

“Okay.”

Once Meng Qingwu left, Meng Shuyu breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, Qingwu didn’t push for more details. Thinking of the woman currently in her house, she gritted her teeth. She had ended up fleeing her own home like a stray dog, while that woman “usurped the nest”!

Seeing an incoming call on her phone, Meng Shuyu declined it without expression. However, once she settled down, her face paled as she thought of Lan Xining’s words. She was fifty now. In the blink of an eye, they had been entangled for twenty years.

Thinking of that “flirtatious fox,” a cold sneer touched Meng Shuyu’s lips. So what if it’s been twenty years? She didn’t believe that fox, who was known for scattering her affections everywhere, was only revolving around her.

She pulled her thoughts back. For someone who had already lived half her life, romance wasn’t a necessity. There was no need to waste so much thought on it. Moreover… Lan Xining was a woman.

Meng Qingwu came out after her shower and went to the kitchen to warm two glasses of milk. “Mom, drink some. It helps with sleep.”

Meng Shuyu took the glass and drank the “childish” drink in silence. Actually, when they weren’t at odds, they got along quite harmoniously.

“I heard you went back to the Lan house?” Meng Shuyu said casually.

“Yeah, Dad asked me back for dinner.” Meng Qingwu wasn’t surprised she knew. she honestly recounted what happened during the meal.

“Hmph, he’s dreaming,” Meng Shuyu sneered. “Ignore him.”

“That’s why I just left,” Meng Qingwu laughed.

“You did the right thing.” On this matter, the two were surprisingly in sync.

After finishing the milk and washing up, the two lay in bed, feeling a bit out of place. It had been many years since they had been this physically close.

Meng Shuyu kept her eyes closed and suddenly asked, “Back then… how did you know for sure that you liked that woman?”

There was one thing Meng Shuyu couldn’t wrap her head around. Since childhood, textbooks spoke of love between men and women—opposites attracting. How could two women have feelings for each other? And how could one recognize that feeling?

Meng Qingwu turned to face her mother in surprise. She hadn’t expected Ms. Meng to bring this up. Previously, she hadn’t even wanted to mention the topic, looking disgusted every time it arose. This time, she was uncharacteristically calm.

After a moment of silence, Meng Qingwu said, “Actually, it’s quite simple. The moment I saw her, I felt she was special.” Out of everyone at that social, only Cheng Yi entered her eyes and stayed in her heart.

Hearing this, Meng Shuyu’s interest waned. “So, it was love at first sight?”

“Yes,” Meng Qingwu admitted honestly.

Meng Shuyu didn’t speak again. Thinking of that “sly fox” Lan Xining, she felt Meng Qingwu’s situation didn’t quite apply to them.

“Actually, there’s one more way to be sure,” Meng Qingwu added slowly.

“Hmm?”

“Desire.”

“A desire to possess her… or to be possessed by her.”