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墨書 Inktalez
After Fuxi and Fu Qingyun had been busy in the kitchen for a long time, they finally finished their work. When it was time to serve the dishes, Fuxi felt a bit urgent and asked, "Little girl, where is your bathroom?"
"It's just around the corner over there. Do you want me to take you?" Fu Qingyun pointed ahead.
Fuxi shook her head and said, "No need, I can go by myself. You hurry up and call them over for dinner. I just finished eating not long ago, so I'm not hungry. You don't have to wait for me."
After saying that, Fuxi walked in the direction indicated by Fu Qingyun.
Fu Qingyun called out to Mo Ming and Lin Yuan'er, who were chatting on the sofa in the living room, "Cousin-in-law, cousin, stop sitting there chatting and come over to eat! Hehe, this was made by me and the beautiful sister... oh no, I mean Sister Fuxi."
"Hey, you can cook?" Lin Yuan'er walked over, took a look at the dishes on the table, and teased, "What did you make? These dishes look kind of ugly."
"Hmph, don't look down on people! Cousin, you can't cook either!" Fu Qingyun wrinkled her nose defiantly and said, "I guarantee it's much tastier than whatever you make!"
"Alright then, I'll see how your dishes taste. If they're not good, don't blame me for being harsh!" Lin Yuan'er cheerfully picked up a piece of something resembling Dongpo pork with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth. After chewing it, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes.
Fu Qingyun caught the surprise in Lin Yuan'er's expression and said proudly, "So how is it, cousin? Did it taste so good that it shocked you? Hmph, let's see how you won't be nice about it!"
"Well, although it looks a bit ugly, it really is delicious," Lin Yuan'er praised. "I really didn't expect this from you. How come I've never seen you make something this tasty before?"
"I just didn't bother to cook before!" Fu Qingyun replied with a smile. "Actually, it's not too late for you to know now. Hurry up and learn some cooking skills from me; otherwise, Cousin-in-law might be captured by me!"
"You little brat, stop talking nonsense or I'll expose your secrets!"
Since finding out that Fu Qingyun wasn't scary at all last time, Mo Ming had stopped being afraid of her. Whenever she made wild claims, he would respond with a serious expression.
This stark contrast left Fu Qingyun feeling somewhat bewildered; she seemed to start fearing Mo Ming, her cousin-in-law. Recently, she rarely dared to speak recklessly when talking to him.
"Come on, Cousin-in-law, can't you let it go? I made a mistake!" Fu Qingyun was afraid that Mo Ming would reveal that she didn't actually cook these dishes. Feeling a bit awkward, she said, "Alright, enough talk. I'm starving; let's eat. Sister Fuxi said not to wait for her."
"Brother Mo, what did you mean by 'exposing that little girl's secrets' earlier?" Lin Yuan'er glanced back and forth between Mo Ming and Fu Qingyun, asking, "What secret do you two have that I don't know about? Little girl, spill it!"
"Oh come on, what secrets could there be? Let's just eat!" Fu Qingyun was genuinely worried that Mo Ming would tell the truth; that would be too embarrassing. She quickly lowered her head and randomly picked a few dishes to eat in silence.
"Hmm?" Lin Yuan'er shifted her gaze to Mo Ming and asked, "Brother Mo, tell me what you meant by exposing that little girl's secrets?"
"Ahem... Actually, it's nothing much. Alright, Yuan'er, don't dwell on this issue. Just eat your food; you haven't eaten anything today, and you can't afford to get too hungry."
Mo Ming certainly wouldn't reveal the truth. He intended to use this leverage to make Fu Qingyun more obedient. He immediately pressed the still somewhat suspicious Lin Yuan'er down into her chair before sitting down himself.
...
"Wow, are you all starving? I just stepped away for a moment, and you've cleaned everything up!" Fuxi looked at the messy table in shock and then laughed, "Is it because my cooking is so good that you all wanted more?"
Oh no... Fuxi's comment completely exposed Fu Qingyun's lie. Just as she was thinking of retreating, the inevitable happened.
"Little girl, where do you think you're going?"
Fu Qingyun smiled at the accusatory Lin Yuan'er and quickly thought of an excuse. "Cousin, I finished eating but my stomach feels a bit uncomfortable; I want to go to the restroom."
"Don't try to wriggle out of this! Are you trying to escape now that your true self has been revealed?" Lin Yuan'er said with displeasure. "I wondered why your cooking suddenly improved; turns out you were just showing off someone else's dishes!"
"Uh, what's going on here?" Fuxi was unaware that Fu Qingyun had boasted about cooking these dishes. Hearing their exchange left her confused.
Mo Ming shook his head with a bitter smile and said, "Because of you, Fu Qingyun has really embarrassed herself."
"Ha? How did I suddenly become the sinner?" Fuxi said, feeling a bit frustrated and still not quite understanding. "I just went to the bathroom, and now I'm a sinner? This logic doesn't make sense."
"Don't ask me, just keep listening," Fu Qingyun said with a look of grievance, pointing at the empty plate on the table. "Who said I took someone else's food to show off? The meat and vegetables you just ate were all washed and cut by me. I may not have any credit, but I certainly put in some effort!"
"You're just a vegetable washer; do you really think those dishes were made by you?" Lin Yuan'er retorted. "You have no idea, thanks to you, these dishes have perfect taste but zero presentation, so overall they only score ten points!"
"So what if I'm just a vegetable washer? Without my help, who knows if Sister Fuxi could have made such delicious food!" Fu Qingyun argued back. "Besides, ten points is already high!"
"What I meant was one hundred points, not ten. Do you really think ten points is high?" Lin Yuan'er scoffed. "Without your help, she could still make it, and it wouldn't look much worse than yours."
"You're just envious and jealous because you can't cook delicious dishes. You're afraid that Cousin-in-law will leave you and marry me instead, right? Hmph, did I guess correctly?"
"You're such a fool; I'm not afraid of a little girl like you at all! Stop changing the subject and admit that you lied just now," Lin Yuan'er said disdainfully.
"You’re the one who's immature..."
"Alright, you two stop arguing; it's not a big deal. Yuan, as the older cousin, don't stoop to her level," Mo Ming said seriously after glancing at the somewhat smug Fu Qingyun. "And you, don’t lie in the future. Don’t you understand that paper can’t cover fire?"
After arguing for so long, Fuxi finally understood. She really had no words for this quirky pair of cousins; they were actually fighting over such trivial matters and even dragging Cousin-in-law into it!
Fortunately, Mo Ming's words made these feuding cousins stop arguing. Although both were still sulking, at least they weren't fighting anymore. After all, this kind of situation had happened more than once or twice.
After chatting for a while post-meal and explaining some things to Fuxi while giving her Liufeng's contact information, Fuxi ended up staying at Fu Meng's house while Mo Ming drove off to check on Murong Lian's situation.
“Ming Shao is in her room, just fell asleep,” Aunt Xiang said as she came down from Murong Lian's room. Upon seeing Mo Ming, she added, “Do you want me to wake her up for you?”
“No need, since she’s asleep, let her rest well,” Mo Ming shook his head and asked, “Aunt Xiang, is her condition any better? Is she still having nightmares?”
“Ah, poor child. If only she could forget, but she keeps remembering. The heavens really are cruel, always making things difficult for kind people,” Aunt Xiang sighed. “The nightmares keep coming; she hides in her room all day, unable to eat or sleep well. It’s worrying to see her so haggard.”
“Aunt Xiang, just take good care of her. I’ll handle the company matters for her, so she doesn’t have to worry and can focus on resting,” Mo Ming reassured her.
“I will take good care of her; this child has suffered too much, it pains me to see her like this,” Aunt Xiang said with concern. “By the way, Mr. Murong is upstairs. He asked me to let you know to go find him in his room.”
“Alright, I actually need to talk to him about something. You go ahead and keep busy, I’ll head up now.”
“Go ahead.”
Mo Ming nodded and walked upstairs to Murong Wei's room. He knocked on the door a few times.
“The door isn’t locked; come in.”
Opening the door, Mo Ming entered and saw Murong Wei sitting in an office chair, wearing a pair of white reading glasses while looking at some photos. He didn’t glance at Mo Ming but seemed aware of his presence.
“Mo Ming, have a seat while I take a few more looks.”
Mo Ming remained silent and sat down in the chair opposite Murong Wei. He glanced around the room; it was somewhat messy with things scattered everywhere as if someone had been searching for something.
Looking at the desk, he noticed a dusty box and several stacks of black-and-white and color photographs. Among them was a couple with a child; the man bore some resemblance to Murong Wei when he was younger—quite handsome indeed. Otherwise, how could he have fathered such a beautiful daughter as Murong Lian?
As for the woman and child in the photos, they were likely Murong Wei's deceased wife and Murong Lian. Seeing Murong Wei’s haggard expression indicated he was reminiscing about his late wife and worrying about Murong Lian.
What exactly happened back then is unknown to Mo Ming, but it is likely related to the recent drastic change in Murong Lian's attitude towards Murong Wei.
After waiting for a long time, Murong Wei finally blinked away the tears that were about to spill from his eyes, raised his head, and looked at Mo Ming, feeling a bit embarrassed as he said, "Sorry to keep you waiting."
"Murong Old Man, you still know how to feel embarrassed?" Mo Ming teased. "Did you expect me to come find you just to see you struggle to squeeze out a couple of tears? Come on, just say what you need to say!"
"Can't you show a little sympathy for my miserable state?" Murong Wei's response made Mo Ming chuckle. He shook his head and said, "Alright, I have something to discuss with you."
"Then hurry up and say it."
"Be patient; let me think about how to tell you." Murong Wei forced a bitter smile as he pondered. "You've seen Lian'er’s recent situation; she has nightmares every night, her spirit is fragile, and she harbors some hostility towards me. Sigh, I can only blame myself for the sins I committed back then."
"Oh, go on." Mo Ming leaned back in his chair and lit a cigarette.
"The death of Lian'er's mother was actually caused by me. Back then, I was just a young general with rising ambitions, full of bravado and a bit reckless..." As he spoke, Murong Wei fell into memories.
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