Sharing the Dorm with the Enemy from Previous Life

The First Time (3)

As soon as he saw them, Qin Zhufeng smiled. “We finally found you guys. Xiao-Zhuang is crying because of anxiety.”

As soon as the little mute saw them, he hurriedly jumped over to them and hugged Ruan Qingmu’s thighs with tears falling from his eyes.

After Mu Wanli and Wei Qinglian went to the beauty pool for women, Qin Zhufeng, with his driver, Old Yan, took the two girls and Xiao Pile to the fish therapy pool, which was the most popular with the children.

It was said to be fish therapy, but in fact, it was a special school of small, soft fish in the water that liked to nibble at the dead skin on people’s bodies and swarm over to bite the soles of their feet, making them feel itchy and comfortable, so children especially liked it. Sure enough, the two girls giggled as soon as they put their feet into the waters. Even Xiao-Zhuang forgot to be afraid and played with the small fish in the pool.

But after playing for a long time, Xiao-Zhuang was a bit upset when he hadn’t seen Mu Wanli and Ruan Qingmu for a long time. After all, he was a deaf and mute child and had never even been this far away, so as he played, he suddenly burst into tears.

Qin Zhufeng hurriedly took him out to look for Ruan Qingmu, but there were several small hot springs with do-not-disturb signs and he didn’t know which one they were in. Only after wandering around for a while did he happen to see them.

Ruan Qingmu hurriedly rubbed Xiao-Zhuang’s head, looked up, and smiled apologetically at Qin Zhufeng. “I’m sorry. He’s timid. Uncle Qin has worked hard.”

“No problem. No problem. It’ll be good after you coax him.” Qin Zhufeng waved his hand. “Then, I will take Siquan and the others to the room. You guys shouldn’t drink too much tea. You’ll have trouble falling asleep at night.”

The little mute finally found Ruan Qingmu and reluctantly cuddled up next to him. His tears had stopped, but his big eyes were still all red.

Ruan Qingmu took the snack and fruit plate on the table and coaxed him in a low voice for a while, but Xiao-Zhuang remained restless, his eyes always following Ruan Qingmu as if he was afraid that if he blinked, he would lose this person again.

Ruan Qingmu released a soft sigh and held him onto his lap, murmuring, “Don’t be afraid. I won’t disappear again. I’m all right.”

These words sounded normal, but Qin Yuan felt inexplicably uncomfortable listening to them. Looking at Xiao-Zhuang’s panicked expression, he reached out and accessed a small, simple game on his phone, opened it, and handed it to the little mute, gesturing. “Play this. It’s entertaining.”

Xiao-Zhuang looked at Ruan Qingmu, who had a smile before he timidly took it and pressed it on his own, figuring out how to do play it after a short while.

“Xiao-Zhuang is really clingy to you,” Qin Yuan suddenly said.

The water in the electric tea boiler was boiling, so he added some heated mineral water into the teapot and poured two small cups of black tea with a strong aroma, handing one to Ruan Qingmu.

Ruan Qingmu silently looked at the little mute and the boy across the table, silently taking it.

The light snow outside continued to fall while the tea room was quiet and silent. Everything was similar to what had happened once with the same people and short moments of shared drinking after some intense fighting.

The small furnace of the previous life had become an electric tea boiler and the peach blossom wine in front of them had become a dark black tea.

“Green foam on fresh, unfiltered rice wine on a little terracotta stove. It’s getting late, and it seems to be snowing. Would you like to have a drink*?”  He bowed and took a sip, saying slowly, “Unfortunately, this is not wine.”

*T/N: Poem “” by Tang Dynasty’s poet, Bai Juyi.

Qin Yuan looked at him quietly. “Don’t worry. There are plenty of occasions to drink in the future.”

Ruan Qingmu suddenly felt a little sour in his heart. In his previous life, he had also heard the exact words of déjà vu, but sometimes, there was no more to it than that.

“Qin Yuan, we’ll always be fine, right?” He looked straight into the dark eyes of the person before him, separated by a lifetime as if he was slightly distant.

Qin Yuan was stunned and nodded solemnly. “Of course. We will not only be fine but will also spend this lifetime together well.”

Ruan Qingmu smiled, his dark eyes reflecting the faint stars in the sky: Only a lifetime, ah. He is still a firm materialist…

But it was enough. This life was quiet, without any fighting in Jianghu, and it was already better than countless others.

The two women finally came out while they were still in a trance. Mu Wanli had a pleasant look in the corners of her eyes, but Wei Qinglian appeared slightly green.

Passing by the tea room, Mu Wanli greeted them proudly, “Mu Mu, ah. Don’t keep on playing. Take Xiao-Zhuang back early to sleep.”

Qin Yuan hurriedly got up politely and smiled. “Aunty, did you have a nice soak?”

Mu Wanli gestured affectionately at Wei Qinglian beside her. “My hands itch after not working for several days. I just helped your Aunty Wei to loosen her bones. She was so comfortable that she cried out.”

***

As the two walked away, Qin Yuan pondered, “Why do I feel that your mom seemed to have beaten her?”

Ruan Qingmu leisurely held his teacup and suddenly burst out laughing. “Oh, are you saying the national team’s athlete Mu Wanli has probably unilaterally beaten up the amateur comrade Wei Qinglian?”