She Wants Me to Beg
“You two are even planning to have lunch together now?”
Lin Wei’s face gleamed from the facial treatment, rosy beneath the oil.
After a moment, she delivered her verdict.
“Round that up and you’re basically living together.”
Mu Wan had barely left Liu Qianxiu’s apartment when Lin Wei summoned her over.
Lin Wei had booked an aesthetician to come to her home for a facial and had dragged Mu Wan into getting one too.
Mu Wan lay on the neighboring recliner with a mask spread over her face.
She had been filming since four that morning and had not rested at all. Sleep had just begun creeping over her when Lin Wei’s ridiculous rounding-up calculation chased it away again.
Mu Wan glanced at her.
“Let’s call it living together when I actually move into his place.”
Besides, even sleeping at Liu Qianxiu’s home might not necessarily lead to any real progress.
She had spent two nights in his room in Wen City.
If Liu Qianxiu had felt even a little that way about her, surely something would have happened.
Mu Wan did not say that part aloud.
It was slightly embarrassing.
“You already eat lunch and dinner together. Sleeping at his place is only a matter of time.”
The aesthetician was patting product into Lin Wei’s face, but her voice remained full of confidence.
“Slowly boil the frog. Little by little, drag Immortal Liu down into the mortal world.”
The rhythmic patting was almost hypnotic.
Mu Wan began drifting off again.
“You’re the one calling him an immortal,” she mumbled. “Immortals aren’t that easy to drag down.”
“I still think your offensive isn’t strong enough.”
Lin Wei turned her head toward Mu Wan.
“Next time, just ask to stay at his place. Get under the same roof first. The closer you are to the water, the sooner you get the moon.”
“I literally slept right under his nose last time.”
Mu Wan opened one eye.
“Besides, he cares a lot about his personal space. I don’t want to disturb him too much.”
Liu Qianxiu’s apartment was sparsely furnished.
Most things came in single sets, just enough for one person.
The guest bedroom was beautifully decorated, yet there was no sign anyone had ever stayed there.
Clearly, he rarely let people stay overnight.
“You’re awfully considerate of him.”
Lin Wei rolled her eyes.
The last time Mu Wan had shown up at her place, Lin Wei had already showered and prepared for the fitness trainer she had invited over.
Mu Wan had still made her send him away.
“Of course.”
Mu Wan grinned.
“My man. I have to spoil him properly.”
Lin Wei fell silent.
“…”
When the facial was finished and the aesthetician had left, the two women crowded in front of the mirror, inspecting their skin as though the glass might reveal demons.
Mu Wan studied her reflection for a while.
Then she pressed one finger into her cheek.
Smooth.
Soft.
Lin Wei finally pulled away.
“Vegetarian hotpot tonight?”
They had just had facials, so neither should eat anything too heavily seasoned.
“I have to go home.”
Mu Wan began gathering her things.
“Want to come? Auntie Wu called earlier. She made spare ribs for me.”
The two had been close for years.
Sometimes Mu Wan followed Lin Wei back to her family home in Jing City.
And whenever Auntie Wu cooked home-style dishes for Mu Wan in Xia City, she often told her to invite Lin Wei too.
Lin Wei licked her lips.
Then sighed.
“Better not. If I go, I might not make it back in time.”
She smiled.
“I have plans with a bartender tonight.”
Mu Wan stared at her.
“Wasn’t it a fitness trainer last time?”
“I’m into younger guys lately.”
Lin Wei looked perfectly pleased with herself.
“You’ll understand someday. Youth is capital. Their stamina is incredible…”
Then she suddenly asked,
“How old is Daoist Liu?”
Mu Wan looked at her.
“…”
On the taxi ride home, the sky gradually darkened.
Heavy clouds hung overhead, threatening rain without releasing it.
The air was hot, humid, and oppressively still.
Auntie Wu was already waiting at Mu Wan’s apartment.
She had her own key.
Even so, she always knocked first and only let herself in after confirming Mu Wan was not home.
Dinner had already been prepared.
The table was full.
There was no air conditioning in the living room, so Mu Wan dragged over a standing fan and ate beneath its breeze.
Whenever Auntie Wu came over to cook, she really did only cook.
She never stayed to eat.
Mu Wan sat alone with her bowl, listening to the hum of the fan and Auntie Wu’s familiar nagging.
Everything should have felt full of ordinary domestic warmth.
Yet somehow, Mu Wan always felt as though something were missing.
Auntie Wu had started talking about finding a boyfriend again.
It reminded Mu Wan of the joke she had once made.
If Mu Qing found someone from the Shen family, then she would find someone from the Liu family and outdo her.
Now she really did like a man surnamed Liu.
But as far as she knew, he merely happened to have that surname.
He had nothing to do with the Liu family she had joked about.
More importantly, she had not even won him over yet.
Suddenly, the spare ribs in her bowl did not taste quite as good.
Liu Qianxiu had said he was having dinner with family tonight.
How many people were in his family?
Who were they?
What did they do?
The spare ribs were rich with meat juices.
Yet Mu Wan realized she knew almost nothing about Liu Qianxiu.
Auntie Wu eventually exhausted the boyfriend topic.
Seeing Mu Wan’s lack of interest, she changed the subject.
“Your mother’s tenth death anniversary is coming. Are you going with the Mu family?”
At the mention of her mother, Mu Wan’s wandering thoughts returned.
Her expression did not change.
She bit the meat from a rib.
“No.”
“They can pay respects their way. I’ll do mine.”
Ever since moving out of the Mu residence, Mu Wan had observed her mother’s memorial separately.
In truth, even before she moved out, they had often done it separately.
After the fifth anniversary of her mother’s death, the Mu family had rarely bothered arranging a separate memorial anymore.
This year was different only because it marked ten years.
Apparently, their concern for appearances was enough to make them arrange something again.
“Mu Qing mentioned that the two of you were in the same drama recently.”
Auntie Wu hesitated before continuing.
Mu Wan looked up.
She picked up a slice of lotus root.
“Mm. So?”
“She said you’re professionally trained and shouldn’t keep taking these kinds of small roles.”
Auntie Wu watched Mu Wan’s expression.
“She said if you ever don’t have work, you can go to her.”
Mu Wan lowered her eyes and bit into the lotus root.
Then she gave a quiet laugh.
“She wants me to beg her.”
— To be continued in Part 2 —
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Thanks for the chapter! Stay safe!
ReplyDeleteNow, there we have clear phrasing about the "competition" in the Mu family. Regardless of how MW's mother ended up as a single mother, it's really distasteful that the Mu treat her child as an outcast. I feel like there should be a significant story about SKZ (MW's father). I wonder if the author would told us about it.
ReplyDeleteFN: Grammatically and contextually [They worshipped themselves, and I will worship myself] and [..., the Mu family rarely went to worship themselves again.] should be [They worshipped by themselves and I will worship by myself] and [... went to worship by themselves...]. The [by myself/themselves] can also be changed to [on my own/their own].