Chapter 95: Side Story: A Series of Jealousy
You can escape the first day of the lunar month, but you cannot escape the fifteenth*. Under Xiao Moyan’s order, Mrs. Xu sat on the sofa with a wronged look, waiting for her blind date today.
*you can escape problems for a while but not forever. Just as the full moon is inevitable in the lunar cycle.
It was said that today’s match was a man who had lived abroad for many years. His surname was Nian, full name Nian Ruo. As for his background and other things, they were just clouds passing by. The main reason Xiao Moyan introduced him to Mrs. Xu was because of his loyalty in love. It was said that when he was young, he once fell in love with a beautiful girl, but because of family reasons, they were forced to part. That separation lasted almost forty years. Though Nian Ruo later became successful and always had women around him, he stayed single and never got married.
Flipping through the papers in her hand, Xiao Moyan turned over and hugged the half-asleep Xia Lingying beside her, smiling happily.
“This old man is too good, he's almost as devoted as me."
Half-awake, Xia Lingying rolled her eyes at her and murmured sleepily,
"Do you want me to count up all your old swallows and sparrows* for you?"
*flings
Swallowing hard, Xiao Moyan looked at her gloomily, let go, and let her sleep. Curling up herself, she fell asleep full of complaints.
When she woke up, the bed was empty and bursts of laughter drifted in from outside. Xiao Moyan rubbed her eyes, slipped on her slippers, and shuffled out. There were Xia Lingying, Mrs. Xu, and old Mr. Nian, chatting away happily.
The moment she appeared, Xia Lingying bounded over, threw her arms around her, and and said happily,
"Xiao, you're amazing! Did you know Mr. Nian is the very same handsome first love Mrs. Xu has never stopped talking about all these years?! How did you find him? And waiting until now to introduce them, was it to surprise us?”
Handsome? Xiao Moyan shivered all over. She looked at Nian Ruo’s face full of wrinkles, cleared her throat, took a sip of water from the table, and looked up at Mrs. Xu. The water she just drank sprayed out.
Oh no, Mrs. Xu was extremely shy. Legs closed together, face flushed red, looking at the old Mr. Nian. Her long white hair was tucked behind her ears. If she had pinned a flower on her head, she would look like a sister singing mountain songs in the 1960s.
Wiping her mouth, Xiao Moyan sat on the sofa without showing emotion, watching the two of them.
“Lanlan, where have you been all these years?”
“Pfft—”
Now even Xia Lingying couldn’t hold back and laughed out loud. Mrs. Xu’s full name was Xu Lan, everyone knew that, but hearing Nian Ruo call her that out of the blue gave her a shiver, a kind of goosebump-inducing feeling.
Mrs. Xu tucked her hair and pressed her lips, saying softly,
“I’ve just been at the Xiao family doing good deeds, educating naughty girls.”
“...”
Xiao Moyan’s face darkened as she stared at Mrs. Xu without expression.
Nian Ruo held back a laugh, glanced at Xiao Moyan, and nodded,
“Lanlan, I didn’t expect that after so many years, you’re still as funny as before.”
Mrs. Xu shook her head and sighed,
“I can’t do it anymore. After taking care of the Miss, I’ve gone from a beloved school beauty to a yellow-faced old woman. No one loves me now, no one loves me—”
“How could that be?”
Nian Ruo looked at Mrs. Xu, his eyes sparkling. Xia Lingying covered her mouth, tugged at the frowning Xiao Moyan beside her, and whispered,
“Hey, Xiao, if they played Shanghai Bund music now, wouldn’t they just hug each other?”
“Hmph~”
Xiao Moyan snorted lightly, said nothing, glanced at Mrs. Xu, and went back into the room. Xia Lingying stared at her for a moment, then laughed out loud.
The old and the young, always stirring trouble. They obviously cared for each other so much. Now it was Xiao Moyan’s turn to get jealous!
****
After a busy afternoon, Xiao Moyan picked up Xia Lingying after work and drove toward the villa, smiling as she said,
“I texted Mrs. Xu today to make your favorite sweet and sour fish. We can eat as soon as we get home.”
Xia Lingying, looking tired, nodded and smiled at her.
After parking, Xiao Moyan held Xia Lingying’s hand and eagerly pushed open the door.
“Mrs. Xu, Mrs. Xu, I’m home!”
The only response was complete silence.
Frowning, she let go of Xia Lingying’s hand and turned to go upstairs.
“Mrs. Xu? Mrs. Xu?”
“Why are you shouting so loudly? I’m not deaf!”
Mrs. Xu’s angry voice came from above. Xia Lingying and Xiao Moyan looked up, and for a moment, they were both stunned.
Mrs. Xu’s signature white hair was gone, replaced by glossy black hair. Her face seemed to have makeup on, looking much fairer than usual. The most shocking, the usually black-favoring Mrs. Xu was wearing a dazzling pink suit. Xiao Moyan’s mouth fell open staring at her, then she turned to Xia Lingying and whispered,
“Xiaxia, this can’t be real...”
Xia Lingying was stunned too, staring blankly at Mrs. Xu. Mrs. Xu swayed down the stairs, and even before she reached them, the strong scent of perfume hit them. She looked at Xiao Moyan and Xia Lingying with a radiant smile and said,
“Sorry, the old man asked me to dance. You two can manage dinner yourselves. Don’t always eat greasy stuff. Forget the sweet and sour fish, eat some salad instead. I’m off, muah~”
“...”
Xia Lingying instinctively stepped back from the flying kiss. Xiao Moyan, on the other hand, just stood there with her mouth open, dumbfounded, unable to say a word. Only when Mrs. Xu had walked far away, and Xia Lingying pulled her shoulder, did she snap out of it. She clenched her fists, face dark as iron, looked in the direction Mrs. Xu had left, and without a word, went forward, yanked the door open, and shouted,
“Go, and don’t come back!”
Not far away, an equally loud voice shot back,
“Thank you, I wasn’t planning to come back anyway!”
Xia Lingying couldn’t help laughing and crying at the same time as she looked at the quarreling pair, one old and one young. She sighed, stepped forward, and grabbed Xiao Moyan, whose chest was heaving with anger, shaking her head.
“Xiao, what are you doing? Weren’t you always hoping Mrs. Xu would find a nice old man and have a happy twilight romance?”
Xiao Moyan took a deep breath and glared at her.
“I do want her to be happy, but her happiness shouldn’t be built on my suffering! They’ve only been seeing each other for a few days, and she’s already skipping dinner, not even coming home! What’s she planning to do next?!”
Shaking her head, Xia Lingying ignored the jealous one and went back inside to mind her own business.
With no one to comfort her, Xiao Moyan sat heavily on the sofa, grabbed the remote in frustration, turned on the TV, and flipped through the channels aimlessly.
Time ticked by. Even her usual “Tom and Jerry” had ended, yet Mrs. Xu still hadn’t returned. Now Xiao Moyan was really getting worried. She looked at the clock, gritted her teeth, picked up her phone, and furiously typed:
Mrs. Xu, if you don’t come back before midnight, I’ll cut all ties with you. I, Xiao Moyan, mean what I say!
Pressing send with force, crossing her legs, Xiao Moyan continued fiercely tapping the remote and checking the clock, waiting for Mrs. Xu to come home.
Xia Lingying, in her pajamas, had peeked through the door cracks countless times and let out a long sigh. For some reason, seeing Xiao Moyan act like a grumbling wife while waiting for Mrs. Xu made her heart ache a little. She sighed again, pushed open the door, walked to the living room, and sat on the sofa to wait with her.
When the clock pointed to eleven, Xiao Moyan slammed the remote onto the table and got up, pacing back and forth, occasionally looking out the window and complaining,
“Xiaxia, just wait, wait for Mrs. Xu to come back! I’ll give her a proper lesson on being a proper lady. How can she go off to sleep with that old stinky man so soon? Just because he’s old, he doesn’t get to be shameless!”
Xia Lingying rolled her eyes and kept watching her TV.
“Hey, Xiaxia, do you think Mrs. Xu is so happy with that old man she’s thinking of moving out?”
“...”
“Move out if she wants, who cares about her! I’d rather she move out sooner!”
“...”
“But, do you think she might be tricked? No, I need to call my secretary and check that stinky old man’s background properly.”
Sighing, putting down the remote, Xia Lingying stepped forward, held Xiao Moyan’s hand, and said helplessly,
“Xiao, even if you’re alert, you can’t trouble other people like this. Look at the time now. Doesn’t she need to sleep?”
“I—”
Just as Xiao Moyan tried to argue, the sound of a car came from the yard, a bright light shining into the room. Xiao Moyan tensed, slipped on her slippers, and rushed outside. Xia Lingying watched her frantic, running figure and shook her head, amused.
“Mrs. Xu, where have you been?!”
The moment the door opened, she got yelled at. Mrs. Xu, holding Nian Ruo’s arm, jumped in surprise.
“Miss, are you out of your mind? Didn’t I tell you we’re going on a date? Why send me such childish messages, threatening to cut ties? How old are you?”
“...”
Xiao Moyan glared angrily at Mrs. Xu and Nian Ruo, then turned and stormed back into the house.
Mrs. Xu smiled, linked arms with Nian Ruo, opened the door as usual, and sat on the sofa.
Nian Ruo, perceptive, looked at Xiao Moyan sulking with a dark face on the sofa, then glanced at Mrs. Xu happily spitting grape seeds, and smiled.
“Lanlan, you and President Xiao really have a good relationship.”
Xiao Moyan snorted without saying anything. Mrs. Xu spat out a grape seed and looked at Nian Ruo with a smile.
“Of course, I raised her from diapers. How could we not be close?”
“Oh?”
Nian Ruo blinked at Mrs. Xu. Mrs. Xu glanced at Xiao Moyan, unable to stop talking.
“You don’t know, when she was just born, she was different from other babies, so delicate. Every day when I prepared milk for her, I had to taste it first. Too hot and she would grimace and wail, too cold and she would open her little mouth and spit it all over me.”
“Hahaha—”
Xia Lingying, sitting nearby, laughed, imagining little Xiao Moyan spitting milk. Seeing someone laugh, Mrs. Xu got even more into the story.
“That’s not all. Her digestion was amazing from childhood. Right after meals, I had to hold her to pee and poop. And she had mild cleanliness habits from the start. Even before she could talk after using the toilet, she would widen her eyes and pull your hand to the bathroom, like saying, ‘I peed, I pooped, why am I not getting a bath yet?’”
“Hahahahaha—”
Xia Lingying and Nian Ruo laughed together, while Xiao Moyan’s face kept turning red and white unpredictably. She looked at Mrs. Xu’s eyes, which were no longer sharp, slowly getting moist. Mrs. Xu had never told her about her childhood before, never made her think about how much she’d done for her from the start. She always thought the family’s old nanny handled everything, just being careful...
“The most annoying thing was, she hit puberty earlier than other girls. Hormones overactive, starting in middle school, there would be one or two idle devils lurking at the gate.”
“Devils?”
Xia Lingying froze, but Nian Ruo understood Mrs. Xu and explained,
“She meant kids chasing her.”
Now Xia Lingying pressed her lips together and stopped laughing, staring at Mrs. Xu nervously.
Mrs. Xu, chewing grapes, got more excited.
“In middle school there were only one or two wild ones. In high school, a small girl-army appeared. At that time, though she had long hair, she liked casual outfits. She was a school celebrity. Countless people chased her, but she was very aware, eating the meals I made, strutting out without giving any of the girls a second glance.”
After finishing, Mrs. Xu glanced at Xia Lingying, who snorted coldly this time and looked at Xiao Moyan without a word. Xiao Moyan glumly shook her head at Mrs. Xu. Old lady, please, stop talking!
Too excited, Mrs. Xu forgot to exchange glances with Xiao Moyan and waved her hand, continuing.
“What impressed me most was her fiery first love with Fang Ruoxi. On Valentine’s Day, she ordered 999 roses to send to her. But they seemed to argue over long-term happiness. In a fit of temper Miss dumped Fang Ruoxi at a café and stomped home alone. Later, Ruoxi came looking for her, but Miss ignored her. The heavy rain poured outside, Ruoxi was soaked, sat by the door, and refused to leave. Miss was like a boiled ant inside, torn between pride and love. Finally, feeling softhearted, she opened the door, rushed out, hugged Ruoxi, and started crying. I watched from inside, thinking, wow, this girl is amazing, a master in love. She purposely didn’t use an umbrella, knowing it would ruin the romance. Look, they both caught a cold, but how happy, how romantic!”
Xia Lingying's face had already reached its limit, and Nian Ruo beside her had long since stopped laughing. She looked at Xia Lingying nervously, and Xiao Moyan was even more terrified. She reached out to grab Xia Lingying's hand, but she shook her off forcefully.
“Uh...”
Finally realizing the situation, Mrs. Xu looked at Xia Lingying’s frighteningly cold face and whispered,
“I ended up making ginger soup for the two of them.”
“Xiao Moyan.”
Xia Lingying, who had been silent all this time, spoke coldly. Xiao Moyan shivered, nervously looking at her.
“We should rest now, right?”
“...”
“Cough, cough, cough—”
A grape peel got stuck in her throat. Mrs. Xu coughed violently. Nian Ruo quickly helped her lean forward. Mrs. Xu covered her mouth, looking at Xiao Moyan’s miserable face, and whispered,
“Miss, go ahead. Though doing it yourself is best, sometimes being lazy is not bad either.”
“Mrs. Xu!!!”
Author's Note:
Haha, why did Yezi have so much fun writing this chapter!
______
Tenth project done!!! 🥰🌻🎉
Started: Jan. 24, 2024
Finished: Nov.. 11, 2025
I was planning to read Ye Se’s Universe’s Most Jealous Goddess, but I saw some comments saying it gets too dark and depressing in the later chapters. So I decided to put it off and instead check out her earlier works first to get a feel for her style and test the waters before diving in. Hmm, this one is okay but feels a bit too telenovela-ish for me, especially the dialogues. But hey, everyone's tastes differ, so if you enjoyed this, that’s great too.👍🏼
Thank you for reading with me, I hope this edited MTL gave you a better reading experience. Apologies for the mistakes and erratic schedule. 😅🙏🙇🏽♀️🌻🌹
See you on the next project. Check out the INDEX for other stories, if you haven't yet. And join Discord if you want, I have three novels not posted on NU in there.