Chapter 15 The “Ex” Mother-in-Law Who Loves to Wear Cheongsam

After school.

Throughout the whole day, Xu Musen and Yao Mingyue had been embroiled in a cold war of sorts.

Ever since the incident at the restaurant, both of them had started treating each other as if they were air.

Xu Musen certainly preferred it that way.

After school.

As soon as Yao Mingyue stepped out of the school gate, she got into the car. This time, she didn't even have the chance to apologize to Xu Musen before the nanny drove off.

"Moriko, I heard about the incident at the cafeteria at lunchtime. That was pretty harsh, what you said. Seems like it won't be easy for you two to make up."

He Qiang clicked his tongue as he spoke.

With a cheerful laugh, Xu Musen said, "Right now, I'm only thinking about making money. After all, I still owe you a huge sum."

"Take your time, I'm not rushing you."

While the two were chatting, a girl in a wheelchair just happened to exit the school gate.

"Whoa! Isn't that the girl who was selling flowers that day?"

He Qiang said with a tap on his shoulder after spotting her.

"I know, we've already met."

Xu Musen smiled and walked over to greet the girl, "An Nuannuan."

The girl looked up and nodded at him.

It was a bit of a struggle for the wheelchair to get through the card slot of the school gate's automatic door, and An Nuannuan was trying hard to push herself through.

Xu Musen walked over and gently held the handle of the wheelchair to help push her through.

"Thank you."

"We are partners now; it's only right," Xu Musen responded with a smile.

"Partners?"

Mumbling the word, An Nuannuan looked up at Xu Musen, "Does that mean we are friends now?"

"Of course."

Xu Musen nodded and looked at the road outside, then back to An Nuannuan, "Are you going home alone?"

An Nuannuan's clear eyes shifted, and finally, she nodded, "Mhm."

"Is it far from school? It's better to take the bus this season."

"It's okay, I'll be home soon..."

An Nuannuan pressed her lips together and slightly gripped the edge of her clothes, seeming a bit embarrassed.

Xu Musen sighed inwardly, suspecting that even the one yuan for the bus fare was too much for the girl to bear.

Without saying much more, Xu Musen thought for a moment, reached into his pocket, and while nobody was looking their way, slipped a hundred yuan into the girl's hand.

"Why are you giving me money?"

An Nuannuan blinked her eyes.

Xu Musen shushed her, leaning in a bit closer, "Haven't we agreed to collaborate? Consider this an advance payment. I'm looking forward to seeing your work tomorrow."

The two were quite close now, close enough to smell each other's scent.

An Nuannuan looked down at the large hand covering her own small one, the one he used to hand her the money, and suddenly felt her face getting warmer.

"Oh..."

She nodded slightly.

Xu Musen also quickly put some distance between them and waved, "I'll be off then, see you tomorrow."

"Mhm, see you tomorrow."

As An Nuannuan watched his waving hand, a glint of light appeared in her adorably blank eyes.

Pushing her wheelchair past a corner of the school, An Nuannuan found herself on a quiet path.

A low-profile black business car had been waiting there for some time.

Seeing An Nuannuan, a woman akin to a housekeeper descended from the vehicle.

"Nuannuan."

With a smile, the woman pressed a button on the business car, and the side seat extended automatically out of the car and gently lowered. The woman then helped An Nuannuan sit on it, and she was automatically brought inside the car.

Once in the car, the woman glanced at An Nuannuan through the rearview mirror and said with a smile, "You seem to be in a good mood today, Nuannuan. Did something nice happen?"

An Nuannuan nodded and replied, "I found another job today."

"You didn't pick up flowers again, did you? Grandpa and grandma worry about you going out every night," said the woman with a resigned smile.

"No, someone wants to pay for the paintings I draw!"

"Oh?"

Now the woman seemed a bit more curious, "How much are they offering?"

"He said fifty for a draft copy."

"Five hundred thousand... not bad. Who is the person?" asked the woman, a little more cautiously.

"Not five hundred thousand, just fifty. It's the boy who keeps getting rejected when he confesses."

An Nuannuan took out the hundred-yuan advance Xu Musen had given her, "He even gave me an advance payment."

The woman glanced back at the red bills in her hand, her mind momentarily crashing.

Without the ten thousand, was it just a single buck then?

Fifty yuan for a painting... Indeed, not too shabby for an average junior high school student.

But for An Nuannuan, who had been drawing since childhood and had gained some fame in the industry a few years ago... fifty yuan, is that even enough for the cost of paints?

However, seeing the joy on An Nuannuan's face, the woman couldn't bring herself to say anything.

The family had sent her here to study, so she could integrate into society sooner.

Including An Nuannuan's own whimsical ideas of self-reliance and earning money, the family supported her.

And the boy who got rejected every time he confessed... The woman, picking up Nuannuan from school every day, naturally saw him a few times.

The flowers An Nuannuan sold were picked up from those others had tossed away.

Thinking of this little boy, the woman let her guard down a bit.

After all, what harm could a lovesick puppy do?

As long as Nuannuan is happy, that's what matters.

In the end, the woman shook her head with a smile and drove away.

...

On this trip, Xu Musen noticed that many students had started playing "Sheep into the Fold."

The game was one thing, but the hundred yuan referral red envelope was simply too tempting for students.

Xu Musen's phone kept notifying him of withdrawals from time to time.

Xu Musen, pocketing the cash given by He Qiang, went to the bank and deposited it all first.

But as soon as he deposited it, five or six hundred were withdrawn.

Xu Musen felt the pinch.

Back at home, neither mom nor dad were there.

On the table lay a note and twenty yuan.

"Your dad and I are working overtime today. Here's some money, buy whatever you want if you're hungry."

Xu Musen went to his room and continued optimizing the game's code on his computer.

User logins had reached two or three thousand, virtually ensuring the first place in this collaborator event.

A few more days of grinding, and he would smoothly secure his first pot of gold.

As night fell,

Xu Musen stretched lazily, shut down the computer, and prepared to go out for a late-night snack, buying a chicken leg and a serving of stir-fried rice noodles.

Just when he returned to the entrance of the community,

a red Bentley drove in through the gate.

"Eh, Xiaosen?"

The window of the Bentley rolled down, and a voice of intellectual elegance floated out.

While biting into his chicken leg, Xu Musen turned back, meeting a pair of phoenix eyes identical to Yao Mingyue's.

However, these eyes lacked some of the sharpness and instead possessed an added dose of graceful regality.

Her face also featured the standard melon seed shape, a facial structure that does not betray signs of aging even with years added on.

Besides, her skin was well-maintained, showing no wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, with a high nose bridge and lips as red as blooming roses.

"Mom... Aunt Liu?" Xu Musen almost called her by the wrong title, and quickly corrected himself.

Liu Rushuang merely pursed her lips slightly, with a sparkle of curiosity in her phoenix eyes.

"I just spoke with your mom on the phone. Come over to eat at your aunt's place today; we haven't dined together in so long."

"I... I've already bought this."

Although Xu Musen had a favorable impression of his former mother-in-law, her household... had caused him too many psychological scars.

"You haven't eaten it yet, have you? It's been a long time since I've seen you all. Please keep me company, won't you?"

Liu Rushuang's every frown and smile radiated a supremely mature allure. She leaned on the car window, genuinely looking a bit pitiable.

Xu Musen: ...

Could you mother and daughter switch personalities, please?

In the end, Xu Musen still got into the car with her.

At the entrance to the villa.

Liu Rushuang got out of the car to fetch things from the trunk, while Xu Musen actively helped to carry them.

"Oh, Xiaosen has grown up, you even know how to show concern for others," Liu Rushuang said with a warm smile, reaching out to ruffle his hair.

Liu Rushuang liked wearing cheongsams, and today she donned a light cyan one. Despite being a mother,

you couldn't spot a hint of excess flesh on her, and her arms and neck were as fair and delicate as a young girl's.

Moreover, her gracefully mature figure was something beyond what a young girl could match.

At that moment, the villa's door swung open, and Yao Mingyue stood behind it, her phoenix eyes emitting a faintly dangerous gleam.

They fixed intently on her mother caressing Xu Musen's head with a close intimacy.

Xu Musen: ...

This tsundere... is hopeless.