Chapter 78: Pants
As soon as she pushed the door open, Xiao Moyan saw Mrs. Xu holding a pair of open-crotch baby pants high in her right hand, and a little skirt in her left. She was talking to that old man with raised eyebrows and flying hands.
Xiao Moyan squinted, surprised, and didn’t know why—but the more she looked at that little pair of baby pants, the more familiar it seemed.
Next to her, Fang Ruolin had clearly already recovered from the shock. She was bowing her head, flipping through Mrs. Xu’s treasured photo album carefully, while Mrs. Xu explained nonstop beside her. Fang Ruolin’s shoulders trembled lightly as she laughed so hard she couldn’t stop.
Even Su Lianxue, who always had a blank face, was now smiling big. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest, standing coolly to the side.
No matter how it looked, these people didn’t seem like they were doing anything good. Xiao Moyan stared at the open-crotch pants and thought for a while. Like she suddenly remembered something, her face turned red in a flash. She took a few steps forward and snatched them from Mrs. Xu’s hand.
“Mrs. Xu, what are you doing?!”
Mrs. Xu had a full naughty smile and didn’t even look at Xiao Moyan. She tilted her head and looked at the old man.
“Old Zhao, did you see it? She’s not as perfect as you think. She often yells at old people.”
The man called Old Zhao looked up at Xiao Moyan, gave a small nod.
“President Xiao.”
That voice full of held-back laughter made Xiao Moyan’s face burn red. She awkwardly smiled at Old Zhao, then turned her head and gritted her teeth, giving Mrs. Xu a fierce glare.
This old lady is really getting more and more out of control! Showing her own open-crotch pants to an outsider—how did she even think of that?!
Xia Lingying had been sleeping lightly and uneasily. She got woken up by Xiao Moyan and Mrs. Xu arguing back and forth. Knowing there were other people outside, she supported her sore and soft body and worked hard to put on her clothes one piece at a time. Only then did she open the door and walk out.
As soon as she came out, she saw Mrs. Xu and Xiao Moyan both pulling hard on some kind of blue unknown object. They were so loud it felt like chickens flying and dogs jumping. Xiao Moyan was still young and full of strength, so she didn’t care. One hand pulling that thing, she still acted cool, raising her eyebrow at Mrs. Xu. But Mrs. Xu’s gritted teeth and serious effort made Xia Lingying laugh out loud.
Hearing the laughter, all of them turned their heads at the same time—and froze.
The white shawl wrapped around her graceful body, her waterfall-like long hair spread behind her shoulders. Her face had no makeup, just a soft pink blush. That thin and gentle body leaned lightly on the wall, her eyes and eyebrows holding a quiet smile. And that touching smile seemed like something that hadn’t appeared on Xia Lingying’s face for a long time.
She walked forward, gently held Xiao Moyan’s hand, looked up at her, and softly said,
“Xiao, what are you doing? Don’t bully the elders.”
Hearing Xia Lingying’s words, then glancing at Old Zhao standing to the side, Xiao Moyan’s face turned red. She let go of her hand. Mrs. Xu, like finding a savior, grabbed Xia Lingying’s hand at once and pulled her to the sofa. Waving the open-crotch pants in her hand, she began to complain.
"Xiaxia, you be the judge for Mrs. Xu! Old Zhao was sent by Miss herself to come see me. You know how the saying goes—If you don’t respect the monk’s face, at least respect the Buddha’s face*—I had to treat him well, right? So we were chatting, and the topic naturally turned to Miss. Old Zhao kept saying she’s too overbearing, like she’s towering above everyone else. Me? I’ve got such a good heart. To help him shake off that discomfort, I actually took out Miss’s childhood pants and top to show him—just to prove she’s no different from ordinary girls. I dug up these treasured keepsakes just for this, showed them to everyone, and what do I get? Not a word of thanks. She even yelled at me! Tell me, did I just waste all that effort on her? Here, take a look yourself—what’s there to be embarrassed about?"
*Do something for/respect someone (A), out of respect for someone else (B).
Holding the soft light-blue open-crotch pants Mrs. Xu handed her, with short tiny legs, you could kind of imagine how Xiao Moyan looked as a child. Then she looked over at Xiao Moyan’s angry face, and Xia Lingying laughed so hard she rolled onto the sofa. Fang Ruolin and Su Lianxue laughed along with her.
Fang Ruolin laughed and gasped, still teasing as she said:
“Aiya, Xiao, your legs were this short when you were little—”
“…”
Xiao Moyan’s face was full of black lines. She raised her eyebrow and looked toward Su Lianxue, using her eyes to tell her to go grab it. Su Lianxue looked at Xiao Moyan, then lowered her head and glanced at Mrs. Xu. She shrugged and opened her hands, clearly saying she didn’t dare to touch Mrs. Xu.
Seeing the timing was just right, Mrs. Xu quickly pulled out another pair of Xiao Moyan’s childhood shorts. She turned her head and looked at Xiao Moyan with eyes full of tears.
“Miss, do you still remember this one?”
Xiao Moyan looked at the pants. Her face instantly turned bright red. She gritted her teeth and glared at Mrs. Xu.
“Mrs. Xu, enough. Don’t say anything more.”
“There’s a story behind it?”
Old Zhao smiled and looked at Mrs. Xu. Mrs. Xu nodded hard, took a deep breath, and under everyone’s eyes, slowly opened her mouth.
“This was the first pair of pants Miss ever pooped in!”
“…”
The group froze for a second, then burst into loud laughter. Xiao Moyan's face turned red, and she tightly pinched her skirt with her hand. Without saying a word, she turned and walked straight back into the room.
Mrs. Xu, you’re good! I can’t mess with you, but I can sure hide from you!
Lying on the bed all annoyed, Xiao Moyan could still hear waves of happy laughter coming from outside the door. She was already fuming inside. Now she finally understood what it meant to rather offend a gentleman than offend a petty person. From now on, she would never go head-to-head with Mrs. Xu again. That old lady was really scary. Who knows what other weird stuff she could come up with...
She rolled the blanket into a ball and kicked it off the bed. Xiao Moyan hugged a pillow and flopped on the bed feeling all gloomy, full of hate, full of shame, cursing Mrs. Xu over and over in her head. Only then did the door slowly push open, and a familiar light fragrance filled her nose. She knew it was Xia Lingying.
Out of nowhere, a strange feeling of grievance rushed into Xiao Moyan’s chest. She simply covered her face with the pillow and pretended to sleep.
Didn’t you ignore me? Didn’t you laugh at me with the others? Then why are you even coming in here?
Xia Lingying softly turned on the light. She glanced at the blanket on the floor, then tilted her head and looked at Xiao Moyan curled up pretending to sleep. She shook her head and walked over to pull her pillow. But Xiao Moyan wrestled with her, no matter what, she wouldn’t let go. The two of them tugged back and forth for a while, until Xia Lingying laughed out loud.
“Xiao, are you acting spoiled with me?”
"…Who's acting spoiled with you? Go find Mrs. Xu then! Laugh at me together with Lianxue and the others!"
Xiao Moyan said in a muffled voice from behind the pillow. She was really not happy about everything right now. That Mrs. Xu totally used Xia Lingying as a human shield. Of course, Xiao Moyan also already felt super insecure about how she was becoming more and more like a “wife-fearing husband.”
Seeing that Xiao Moyan was throwing a little tantrum, Xia Lingying shook her head with a smile. She bent down, took off her shoes, turned around, climbed onto the bed, leaned close to Xiao Moyan, and reached out with both hands to pull her tightly into her arms. Feeling the stiff body in her arms, Xia Lingying pressed her cheek against her back and gently rubbed, until Xiao Moyan’s body finally relaxed. Only then did she whisper:
"Xiao, you were the one who bullied Mrs. Xu first. Mrs. Xu told me, she didn’t even want to find some old man. It was you who made A’Sen push him onto her. You know what kind of person Mrs. Xu is—how could she not see through your thoughts? She just didn’t call you out on it. She said, at her age, she doesn’t want to find anyone. She just wants to stay by your side."
When Xiao Moyan heard the words “at her age,” her chest suddenly felt sour. She turned over and hugged Xia Lingying back.
“I just want to see her happy. Xiaxia, you know it. Mrs. Xu and I have been through a lot. I—”
Xiao Moyan’s voice choked. She couldn’t go on. Thinking of all the hardships Mrs. Xu had gone through while following her these years made her eyes sting. Xia Lingying kissed Xiao Moyan’s forehead and softly comforted her.
“Xiao, Mrs. Xu won’t blame you. In her eyes, being with you is already happiness. You suddenly trying to find her an old partner made her misunderstand. She thought you already have me now, and don’t need her anymore, like you want to push her away.”
“I didn’t. Even if I disliked anyone, I’d never dislike her…”
Xiao Moyan’s eyes turned red. She rubbed her head against Xia Lingying’s chest, not wanting her to see her weakness.
Xia Lingying reached out and gently pulled out the little head from her arms, quietly looking into Xiao Moyan’s eyes. She spoke softly:
“Right now, things are still not stable. We only made up not long ago. How could Mrs. Xu have the heart to go look for a partner? Xiao, don’t rush. When the time is right, we’ll talk to her together, okay?”
“Mm…”
For once, Xiao Moyan softened. She let Xia Lingying hold her chin, and the two of them quietly stared at each other, eyes full of deep, tangled love.
After a long time, Xia Lingying gave a light smile, leaned forward and kissed Xiao Moyan on the lips, then snuggled into her arms.
“Xiao, tomorrow I have to go start work at the radio station.”
“Did you get everything ready?”
Xiao Moyan lowered her head and gently asked against Xia Lingying’s forehead.
“Mm, I looked over everything. There shouldn’t be any problem. It’s just that I feel a little nervous inside.”
“When going to a new place, there’s always a time to get used to it. Don’t be scared. If anything happens, just call me, okay?”
“Okay.”
“And also—”
Xiao Moyan looked at Xia Lingying but stopped halfway through her words. Xia Lingying froze for a second, then looked up at her.
“What is it?”
“Xiaxia, no matter what others say, don’t believe them. Just believe what I say, okay? I don’t want our relationship to have cracks because of other people.”
Xia Lingying gave a soft smile, sat up straight, moved out of Xiao Moyan’s arms, reached out, and tapped her forehead.
“You too. You only need to listen to me. You only need to see my beauty. Those bees, yellow wasps, you're not allowed to let me see them again!”
Xiao Moyan smiled and nodded hard. Then she reached out and hugged Xia Lingying back into her arms.
This hard-earned happiness—Xiao Moyan won’t let anyone get in the way of it. Even if there was any past affection, she, Xiao Moyan will never allow it.
Xia Lingying already did so much for her. She took off her cold outer shell, and showed all her tenderness to her only. She learned how to use softness to handle hardness, and didn’t want to be like before—when they had a small fight, the two of them would argue nonstop. She held her like a child in the palm of her hand and pampered her in her heart. What else could she not be satisfied with?
But that Fang Ruoxi…
Xiao Moyan frowned a little. She thought of the tricks she saw back in college, and felt a chill inside. Fang Ruoxi was different from Fang Ruolin. Her personality was more obsessive. Whatever she wanted, she would try every way to get it.
Thinking of this, Xiao Moyan looked down again at Xia Lingying, who was leaning in her arms and narrowing her eyes with a satisfied look. She shook her head. Maybe she was overthinking it.
It’s already been so many years. How could Fang Ruoxi still love her? Even if they separated because of a misunderstanding, time always washes everything away. The hate in her heart should’ve long been gone too…
Author’s Note:
Yezi is in a writing drought…