Sharing the Dorm with the Enemy from Previous Life

You Paint, I Write Poetry (3)

Xiao-Zheng wanted to open his mouth, but Mu Wanli hurriedly tapped her chopsticks. “Cough, cough! It’s good too if there are fewer people. Massaging people all day long makes my waist sore and my feet ache.”

Ruan Qingmu raised his head to look at her but didn’t say anything.

“Mu Mu, you have to study well. We will create a good environment in the home for you during this critical period!” Mu Wanli rolled her sleeves. “We decided to receive fewer customers during Saturday and Sunday starting this semester so that it will be more peaceful!”

After eating, Mu Wanli nimbly picked up the pile of dishes and went to the kitchen to wash the bowls.

Ruan Qingmu looked at the back figure of his mother and softly asked. “What happened? My Mom actually forbids customers to come?”

“Mm. Sister Mu told several regular customers yesterday that they’re not allowed to come in Saturday night and Sunday.”

Ruan Qingmu raised his eyebrows. “Who are considered regular customers? Did Old Li, that rotten old man, still come back?”

That old pervert that could only grope all day long!

Xiao-Zheng smiled. “Your mom is afraid you will hit people again.”

Xiao-Yun fumbled around and walked to the water dispenser at the side. After getting a cup of water, she sat opposite Ruan Qingmu. Her pair of unfocused eyes couldn’t fall on the correct spot. After a long time, she then softly moved her lips. “Actually, Old Li is a very good person.”

Ruan Qingmu suddenly raised his head. “What?”

Xiao-Yun’s voice turned softer. “He… He never truly did anything. I’m well aware of the situation.”

Ruan Qingmu couldn’t refute anything. He depressedly stood up and walked toward the kitchen.

The house was a very old residential building and the design was also unreasonable. The kitchen was narrow and unexposed to the sun. Even with the light on, there was still a slight lack of light in the room.

Mu Wanli stood at the edge of the sink and quickly washed the bowls, chopsticks, and pans under the running water. Unlike the hands of ordinary women of her age, her hands weren’t old and frail but were exquisite and white instead, like a young woman’s hand.

She usually gave people massages and back-opener massages and her hands were regularly soaked with the frosting ointment and essential oil. Although she would always feel exhausted and tired, her skin was really good.

“Mom, do we still have the hawthorn pie from before in the house? It’s the one you packed for me before. The one with soft skin and hawthorn stuffing inside.”

Mu Wanli turned her head in surprise. “Do you like to eat that? I will buy it for you tomorrow. I bought it at the pastry shop that faces the street.”

Ruan Qingmu nodded. “Mm. My friend likes to eat that.”

The last time when he placed several of the pastries on Qin Yuan’s desk, they were immediately put away. Could it be that he also liked to eat hawthorn flavors like in his previous life?

Mu Wanli was thrilled. “That’s good. I will give you more to bring.”

Her son had such a big change recently. He seemed never to have any friends before, but now he would actually think of bringing something for his friend. Was he learning how to get along with people now?

“Furthermore, you don’t have to tell the customers not to come. I don’t have any other intention.” Ruan Qingmu considered his words and carefully said, “I only got mad last time, but I’m not saying that our family business isn’t good.”

Mu Wanli slowed down her movement. “I knew it, I knew it. Don’t think blindly!”

Ruan Qingmu breathed out a sigh. “Xiao-Zheng and Yun-jie rely on this salary. It’s not good not to let them work on the weekend.”

Mu Wanli turned her head in a daze and looked at her son.

Her son would go into his room as soon as he arrived home in the past. When he saw Xiao-Zheng and Xiao-Yun, he would also look gloomy. Why did he take the initiative to think on behalf of other people today?

Ruan Qingmu reached out and helped her to turn down the running water. “It’s okay as long as you don’t let troublesome people like Old Li come.”

Mu Wanli stealthily glanced at her son and hesitated for a while. “Actually… Old Li can’t be counted as a bad person.”

Ruan Qingmu’s face turned slightly cold. “Oh?”

Mu Wanli let out a soft sigh. “Someone like Old Li has been single for his whole life and never took a wife. He is also ugly, poor, and a coward.”

She slowly washed the bowls. “You don’t know the circumstances of Xiao-Yun’s family. She has a mute little brother in the countryside village; only this one close relative is left. They won’t be able to live without one another.”

Ruan Qingmu took a breath. “How can it be like that?”

“Her mother was abducted and sold and was a handicapped person. Both of the children that she birthed had shortcomings too. Nobody knew why she committed suicide later. Xiao-Yun’s father also had a serious illness and he also died not long after her brother was born.” Mu Wanli calmly spoke. “Although they have relatives, they also won’t be willing to raise two handicapped children for the rest of their lives.”

Ruan Qingmu frowned as he listened.

Mu Wanli paused for a while. “The two siblings are inseparable and they couldn’t only rely on relatives to raise them too for their lifetimes. She had no choice but to come out and get a job here. She wanted to make some money to admit her brother into a deaf and mute school in the future.”

Ruan Qingmu took the stack of clean dishes from her, helped rinse the water, and bent down to put them in the cupboard. “Mm, it’s necessary to attend school and learn some words. It will be good if he can learn to count too.”

“Last time, she received a call from her home saying that her brother was admitted to the hospital because of acute myocarditis and asked for money. I just helped everyone in the store pay their yearly social insurance several days before that. She knew that I had no money and was embarrassed to borrow money from me. Xiao-Zheng collected some money, but it was still not enough.”

Ruan Qingmu quietly listened. The previous host of this body had never cared about this matter, so he didn’t know much about it at all.

“Old Li just happened to come for a massage and heard about this. Without saying anything, he took all his savings of twenty thousand yuan and gave it to Xiao-Yun.” Mu Wanli watched her son. She didn’t know if her son could really understand or not.

“He also didn’t write a loan receipt and didn’t have any other request.” Mu Wanli laughed, a hint of frustration was revealed in her usually bold appearance. “He’s an old bachelor, that’s all. He also only touches a little of her leg or something like that. After borrowing this money, people won’t think too much.”

Seeing her son didn’t show any loathing expression, she finally opened up. “Xiao-Yun also didn’t dare to take the money and asked how she could repay him. Old Li even became anxious and said he wasn’t an animal; how could he ask for repayment for something like this.”

Ruan Qingmu was silent for a while and finally sighed.

He looked at Mu Wanli and his expression was slightly gentle. “I understand, Mom.”

After pondering for a while, he asked in a low voice. “Mom, do you like that arm-tattooed man?”

Mu Wanli’s face turned red and she flicked his forehead hard. “What nonsense are you spewing?! This old woman is older than him by seven or eight years. Even if he likes me, I don’t like him.”

Ruan Qingmu didn’t dodge and endured her hit. “Fine, then I feel relieved. As usual, I will still beat him every time I see him coming.”

Mu Wanli was angry and anxious. “Don’t cause trouble. He is a customer!”

Ruan Qingmu laughed as he looked at her and softly called out. “Mom.”

Mu Wanli helplessly looked at him. “What’s up again?”

“If you find someone you like and trustworthy, you can get married.” Ruan Qingmu reached out and helped put a strand of her mother’s hair behind her ear. “I will be eighteen years old soon and won’t oppose it.”

Mu Wanli looked at this unfamiliar son in a daze and her eyes suddenly turned red.

She concealed her face by lowering her head. All of a sudden, she silently wiped the kitchen countertop. It was a long time before she crudely scolded. “What kind of disgraceful thing are you saying? If your departed father heard this, he would definitely jump out from his urn to spit at you!”

Ruan Qingmu laughed as he turned around and waved his hand behind him. “It’s fine if you don’t want to marry. I will gladly support you for the rest of your life.”