An Old Admirer
Back when Lin Wei lived alone, her kitchen had barely ever been used.
There had only been an induction cooker and a single pot, which she and Mu Wan occasionally used for hotpot.
After Lu Feng moved in, however, the kitchen gradually filled with cookware, and the refrigerator was packed with ingredients.
Liu Qianxiu stood beside the kitchen counter.
Tall and straight, he rolled up his sleeves, revealing two pale wrists with prominent bones.
The kitchen was a place saturated with the ordinary warmth of daily life.
Yet the moment he stepped inside, it somehow felt as though even that worldly atmosphere had faded.
Mu Wan did not remember Liu Qianxiu until after she had finally managed to calm Lin Wei down.
She left the bedroom.
Liu Qianxiu was standing near the stairs on the first floor.
He had just washed his hands and was slowly drying them with a paper towel.
The moment Mu Wan came out, his gaze met hers.
Before she could say anything, Liu Qianxiu looked at her and said,
“Come eat.”
It was already seven thirty.
After returning from the airport, the two of them had only eaten a simple lunch before resting for half the day.
When they woke, they had gone to Xu Xingkong’s house to pick up the cats and then come straight here.
After running around for so long, Mu Wan really was hungry.
“Oh. Okay.”
She had not expected Liu Qianxiu to make dinner for her in Lin Wei’s kitchen.
Mu Wan rubbed her stomach and walked downstairs.
Liu Qianxiu took her hand.
Just then, they ran into Lu Feng.
“Lin Wei fell asleep.”
Seeing how exhausted he looked, Mu Wan immediately told him so he could relax.
Lu Feng visibly loosened.
Only now did he finally have the presence of mind to thank her.
“Thank you.”
“What are you thanking me for?”
Mu Wan smiled.
“I’m her best friend. Of course I should be here.”
Then she glanced toward the dining room.
“You haven’t eaten properly these past few days either, have you?”
“Lin Wei can’t eat much, but she told me to persuade you to eat something.”
Lin Wei could not eat because of her morning sickness.
Lu Feng, naturally, had no appetite because he was worried about her.
He shook his head and smiled faintly.
“No. You two eat.”
“I’ll go check on her.”
Looking at him, Mu Wan knew there was no point trying to persuade him.
So she did not.
She watched Lu Feng go upstairs, then followed Liu Qianxiu into the dining room.
Dinner was very light.
Mu Wan’s appetite was only average, but she still ate some.
Her body belonged to more than just herself now.
As she ate an egg, she looked down at her abdomen.
Beside her, Liu Qianxiu handed her a glass of water.
“How come I don’t have any morning sickness?”
Although Liu Qianxiu was a surgeon, ever since Mu Wan became pregnant, he had read quite a few books on obstetrics and gynecology.
“Some people have it and some don’t. It depends on the individual.”
Liu Qianxiu placed more food into her bowl.
His gaze rested briefly on her abdomen.
“This one is relatively well-behaved.”
Severe morning sickness could truly wear down a person’s spirit.
Lin Wei had always been so optimistic and cheerful.
Now she looked completely exhausted.
Mu Wan remembered the way Lin Wei had held her hand before falling asleep.
She could not bring herself to leave.
Setting down her chopsticks, Mu Wan took a sip of water.
Then she looked at Liu Qianxiu.
“Liu Qianxiu, I want to discuss something with you.”
“Do you want to stay here tonight?”
Liu Qianxiu took a tissue and wiped the corner of her mouth.
His expression remained completely calm.
Mu Wan was slightly surprised that he had already seen through her.
Then she smiled.
Resting her elbow on the table and propping her chin on her hand, she nodded.
“Mm.”
“She just fell asleep. When she wakes up later, she might feel terrible again.”
“Mm.”
Liu Qianxiu did not look surprised.
After answering, he said,
“I’ll come pick you up tomorrow.”
Everything went so smoothly that Mu Wan needed a moment to react.
Then she realized that Liu Qianxiu had probably already guessed she would stay with Lin Wei.
That was likely why he had made dinner for her here in the first place.
Knowing that he understood and supported her so completely filled Mu Wan’s heart with sweetness again.
After dinner, Liu Qianxiu prepared to leave.
Mu Wan walked him to the door.
Night had already fallen.
Lights were on in the villa’s small private courtyard.
Soft light spread across the lawn, easing some of November’s chill.
Mu Wan stood one step above him on the stairs.
Even then, she was still slightly shorter than Liu Qianxiu.
She wrapped both arms around him and leaned her entire body against his.
Liu Qianxiu let her cling to him.
He gathered her into his arms and lowered his head to kiss her slightly cool forehead.
“It’s cold outside.”
Then he kissed her cheek.
That was cool too.
Mu Wan felt a little guilty that she would not be spending the night with him.
She clung to him even more.
Rubbing her cheek against his, she smiled.
“I’m not cold.”
Liu Qianxiu held her tighter.
The two stood at different heights on the steps, lingering affectionately with each other.
After a while, Mu Wan heard Lin Wei calling from inside the villa.
Both of them looked up.
Mu Wan immediately pulled away from Liu Qianxiu.
She turned to go inside.
Before entering, she rose onto her toes and kissed his lips.
Her dark eyes looked straight into his.
“I’ll go home tomorrow and stay with you.”
Hearing her promise, Liu Qianxiu’s lips curved slightly.
He raised a hand and rubbed the top of her head twice.
“All right.”
Mu Wan smiled and hurried inside.
Liu Qianxiu watched her disappear.
Then he saw the light on the second floor turn on.
He remained standing at the entrance for a while.
Finally, he turned and left.
Mu Wan had promised to return home the next day.
But she broke her promise.
Lin Wei’s wedding was scheduled for Monday.
Mu Wan stayed with her throughout the entire preparation period.
Because of her severe morning sickness, Lin Wei looked terrible these days and needed Mu Wan even more.
As long as Mu Wan was there, her mood remained relatively stable.
She could even force herself to eat a little.
Mu Wan stayed at Lin Wei’s house all the way until the day of the wedding.
During that time, Liu Qianxiu came by several times to bring her things.
Mu Wan felt somewhat guilty.
But Lin Wei’s wedding was only two or three days away.
It was not a long time.
So she settled down and continued accompanying her friend until the day Lin Wei married.
On Monday, Mu Wan was busy from early morning onward.
She had not even been this busy during her own wedding.
She kept running around until nearly noon.
Before the wedding ceremony began, she finally sat down at the table reserved for their high school classmates.
Mu Wan had not possessed a particularly gentle personality in high school.
She had been rebellious during adolescence.
Both her parents were gone, and she had endured the Mu family’s cold treatment.
As a result, she had matured earlier than most of her classmates.
She was beautiful, yet she had never accepted any of the boys who pursued her.
After graduation, she was admitted to film school.
Back then, she had been something of a campus celebrity.
But from her classmates’ perspective, the most impressive moment of Mu Wan’s life had probably been getting into film school.
Several years had passed.
They rarely saw her in television shows or movies.
Even when she appeared, she usually played minor supporting roles.
Apparently, being beautiful alone was not enough to succeed in the entertainment industry.
When Mu Wan sat down, she could vaguely recognize most of the people at the table.
But she could no longer remember many of their names.
She was even more beautiful now than she had been in high school.
Her personality was also much gentler.
That made her old classmates less hesitant to speak to her.
Lin Wei had been very popular in high school.
A large table of former classmates had attended.
The former Youth League secretary greeted Mu Wan first.
“Are you Mu Wan?”
“I see you on television all the time. I didn’t expect you to be even prettier in person.”
Once she said that, several female classmates immediately agreed.
Women their age generally enjoyed watching dramas.
Mu Wan’s roles might not have been particularly important, but she had acted in quite a few productions.
So her face was familiar.
Mu Wan had not expected to be recognized.
She smiled and nodded.
“Yes. Thank you.”
“It’s been such a long time.”
A female classmate beside her picked up a bottle of red wine and started pouring.
“We haven’t seen each other for years. Let’s have a drink and catch up.”
“I can’t drink alcohol.”
Mu Wan looked apologetic.
She moved her glass away.
Seeing the classmate awkwardly holding the bottle, she quickly explained,
“I’m pregnant.”
The moment she said that, it was like dropping another bomb onto the table.
Their former school beauty was pregnant?
The women’s curiosity instantly awakened.
Eventually, someone asked,
“You’re married already?”
“What does your husband do?”
“How come we never heard anything?”
“Then definitely don’t drink. Have tea.”
Someone enthusiastically poured tea for her.
Mu Wan thanked her.
Then she answered their questions one by one.
“I got married in October.”
“My husband is a doctor.”
“We kept the wedding relatively private, so we didn’t notify too many people.”
That was what Mu Wan said.
But her classmates had plenty of room to interpret it.
She was so beautiful.
She worked in entertainment.
Yet her wedding had been extremely low-profile.
That probably meant her husband was someone important who did not want too much attention.
Otherwise, an ordinary minor actress would usually use her wedding as an opportunity to attract publicity.
If they had not, perhaps it was simply because they had no need for it.
The table buzzed with discussion.
Someone asked,
“Is your husband coming today?”
The moment she asked, everyone at the table turned toward Mu Wan.
Under all those gazes, Mu Wan smiled and nodded.
“He is.”
“He’ll come after work.”
She raised her wrist and checked the time.
It was almost six.
Liu Qianxiu should be arriving soon.
“I really want to see what kind of man managed to win over a beauty like you.”
The former Youth League secretary laughed.
“Back then, our school heartthrob Qiu Jiang pursued you for ages and still couldn’t win you over.”
“Right, Qiu Jiang!”
A round-faced female classmate’s eyes practically lit up.
“He was every girl’s dream back then.”
“Handsome, excellent grades, and his parents were in real estate.”
“And Mu Qing... that was her name, right?”
“She kept pursuing Qiu Jiang too.”
“But he never accepted her.”
“He only liked Mu Wan.”
The Youth League secretary laughed.
“He wasn’t just every girl’s dream back then.”
“He’s still our dream now.”
“I saw him a few days ago.”
“He’s even more handsome.”
“He’s now the finance director at a Fortune 500 company.”
“His future is really promising.”
His family was wealthy.
And he was capable in his own right.
“I remember Lin Wei was pretty close to him.”
“Why didn’t he come today?”
Someone asked.
The Youth League secretary glanced at Mu Wan.
“I told him about Lin Wei’s wedding.”
“He was free.”
“But he said he was afraid that if he saw Mu Wan, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from pursuing her again.”
In truth, Qiu Jiang’s original words had been far more ambiguous than that.
But Mu Wan was already married.
The Youth League secretary did not want to say too much and put her in an awkward position.
“That’s incredibly devoted.”
“After all these years, he still likes her.”
Someone sighed.
Mu Wan listened to them chatter as though they were discussing someone else’s story.
She was just about to speak when the back of her chair suddenly sank slightly.
At the same time, a familiar voice sounded above her head.
Low and faintly amused.
“Oh?”
A chill ran down Mu Wan’s back.
She turned around.
Her eyes met a pair of dark ones.
Liu Qianxiu had arrived.
— To be continued in Part 2 —
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