His Beloved Treasure

Fanghua and the little Ziyu in her arms raised their eyes together, looking at the scene before them, unable to help but furrow their brows. This was her precious daughter, looking so disheveled and unlike herself.

The aunt came over to coax Ziyu to play, while Fanghua straightened her back and sat on the sofa, staring at Qingxin: ”You still know what hunger is, huh?”

Qingxin opened her bleary eyes, slightly displeased as she looked at Fanghua. Something felt off, but she couldn’t pinpoint it, so she forced a smile: ”I’ll go to the kitchen to find something to eat first.”

As Qingxin spoke, she turned to find food, and Fanghua sighed: ”Truly worrying.”

After finishing breakfast, Qingxin ran back to the sofa, hugged a throw pillow, and lay down again: ”Where’s Ziyu?”

”Out playing with the aunt. What’s going on between you and Jiang Yan?”

Fanghua looked at her daughter’s weak face beside her, asking worriedly.

Qingxin was still struggling to keep her eyes open, intent on going back to sleep. But when she suddenly heard Fanghua bring up Jiang Yan, she widened her eyes as if recalling something. She sat up abruptly.

”Wait! Didn’t I go out for dinner last night? How did I get back?”

Qingxin’s face turned pale, as though she was startled by the fact that she was home now and so carefree.

”Oh, you silly girl...”

Fanghua was so angry she nearly smacked her. But being her own flesh and blood, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

”What’s the matter? I forgot, okay!”

”Of course, Qin Mu brought you back! What did you think happened? Even if you’re fighting with Jiang Yan, you don’t need to run off and drink yourself into a stupor. What do you imagine yourself to be—still single? A married woman should at least have the semblance of maturity. Are you trying to infuriate me to death?”

Fanghua’s face flushed various shades of green and white from rage.

”Married or not, I’m still your daughter. I’m still Mu Qingxin, I still have a temper. Why do I have to suddenly become mature just because I got married? Also, why are you being so fierce?”

Qingxin looked at Fanghua’s furious expression, not quite understanding her.

”Why else? Because you’ve angered me!”

Fanghua said, truly tempted to smack her, but reminded herself repeatedly that she couldn’t lay a hand on her own child, no matter how infuriating.

”I didn’t do it on purpose!”

Qingxin suddenly lowered her head in sadness, remembering how free and unrestricted she had been before marriage. And now...

Her friends had been chatting about old times. Growing up, she had been pampered to the heavens by her family, and now Jiang Yan was equally indulgent toward her. But post-marriage life was something she had never adjusted to. With Jiang Yan constantly busy, she suddenly felt overwhelming sadness last night. The more she drank, the more upset she became, until...

She got drunk.

”Tell Mom the truth. What happened between you and Jiang Yan? Why did you fight?”

Fanghua asked.

”I don’t want to talk about it.”

Qingxin lowered her head. Then she heard movement nearby and turned her head, noticing two new robots in the house. Her eyes widened instinctively: ”What the hell? My brother’s into these gadgets now?”

”It’s not your brother’s interest. Huanhuan wanted them. Don’t change the subject.”

Fanghua explained briefly before returning to the main topic.

”So, where’s Qin Mu?”

Qingxin asked again, simply unwilling to continue discussing the previous topic.

”You think she’s as idle as you? Of course, she’s at work.”

Qingxin thought about it and figured as much—that Qin Mu must indeed be at work.

She lazily lay back down again, clutching the throw pillow, still unable to recall how she got home last night. Not daring to ask Fanghua, she decided to wait until Qin Mu returned.

But she couldn’t wait for Qin Mu to come back. As soon as Fanghua left, she quickly got up, ran to her room, and sent Qin Mu a message.

Qin Mu was busy working on her designs at the time. When she heard her phone’s notification sound, she didn’t pay it any attention, focusing instead on her design. She was toying with ideas for the edge of her artwork, feeling the need to add some small element. Unable to figure it out right away, she kept experimenting with random additions, swapping them out one by one.

The phone buzzed again, then again, until Qin Mu finally had no choice but to put down her stylus.

She reached out to pick up the phone next to her, reluctant to tear her eyes away from the computer screen.

Mu Qingxin’s name was prominently displayed on the phone screen, along with several WeChat messages.

Mu Qingxin: ”How did I get home last night? Did you come to find me?”

Mu Qingxin: ”Mom seems really mad. Did I say something inappropriate after I came back?”

Mu Qingxin: ”Qin Mu, if you keep ignoring me, you’re dead meat, you hear me?”

Qin Mu: ”Miss Mu, you got drunk last night and came home without saying a word. Of course, I was the one who brought you back. But the whole family saw you crying your makeup off while wasted.”