52: Chapter 52 The Party Begins

Amidst Mu Qing's heart, which was pounding like a drum, the movie finally ended.

The end credits rolled slowly, the ambiguous music gradually faded away, and the audio-visual room fell into silence.

Yet neither of them moved.

Su Bai leaned back in the beanbag chair, maintaining his previous posture, with one leg crossed over the other.

He stared at the screen, which had gone black, his expression as calm as if he were contemplating the meaning of life.

But in reality, what he was thinking about was,

How to get up now?!

In his current position and state, getting up would be very awkward.

Mu Qing didn't move either.

She was lying on her side in another beanbag chair, her body curled up, her face buried in a cushion.

From Su Bai's angle, he could only see the tips of her ears, which were flushed red, and her scattered long hair.

Her legs had gone completely weak.

She had no strength at all.

For the past hour or so, she didn't know how her legs had managed to endure it.

Now that the movie was over, her tense nerves relaxed, and her whole body felt as if its bones had been removed, leaving her limp in the sofa and unable to move.

The two of them remained silent like this.

One minute.

Two minutes.

Five minutes.

The atmosphere from just a moment ago still lingered in the air, a faint, ambiguous, and indescribable scent.

In the end, it was Mu Qing who spoke first.

"Um..." Her voice came out muffled from the cushion, "Are you hungry?"

Su Bai paused for a moment.

"It's alright."

"What do you want to eat?"

Su Bai thought about it.

"Just make something simple."

Mu Qing was silent for a few more seconds.

Then she slowly sat up.

Her long hair was a bit messy, her cheeks were still flushed, and her gaze was a bit evasive; she didn't dare to look at Su Bai.

She lowered her head to tidy her clothes and stood up.

"Then I'll make you some noodles."

Su Bai nodded.

Mu Qing turned to walk out, but after taking two steps, she stopped again.

"I'll go change my clothes first," she whispered, then quickly walked into the bedroom.

Su Bai watched her back disappear at the top of the stairs, and only then did he slowly stand up.

He looked down at himself.

Hmm, he would have to wait a little longer.

He stood there for a while.

His gaze shifted, and he inadvertently glanced at the beanbag chair where Mu Qing had just been sitting.

That spot, it was a bit...

Su Bai looked away, pretending he hadn't seen anything.

Inside the master bedroom, the door closed, and Mu Qing leaned against the door panel, letting out a long sigh.

Then she looked down at her lower body.

Deep blue jeans.

Nothing was visible.

But she didn't dare to be sure.

She walked to the closet, took out a clean pair of lounge pants, and changed into them quickly.

After changing, she looked down.

Mu Qing's face turned bright red!

She crumpled the pants into a ball, stuffed them to the bottom of the laundry basket, and pulled a few clothes over them to cover them up.

Then she changed into clean clothes, took a few deep breaths, and walked out of the bedroom.

When going downstairs, she couldn't help but glance towards the sofa.

Su Bai was standing there, holding the remote control, flipping through something.

She withdrew her gaze and quickly walked into the kitchen.

She opened the refrigerator and took out eggs, green onions, and noodles.

She lit the stove, boiled water, and chopped the green onions.

Soon, a sizzling sound filled the kitchen, and the aroma of scallion oil wafted out.

Su Bai smelled the fragrance and walked down from upstairs.

He stood at the kitchen doorway, watching Mu Qing's back.

She had changed clothes, wearing a light-colored sweatshirt paired with black casual pants.

Her hair was tied in a low ponytail, revealing a segment of her fair nape.

She was cooking noodles with practiced movements; the water in the pot was bubbling, and the noodles were rolling in the boiling water.

Sunlight shone in through the window, landing on her and gilding her with a soft light.

"Smells good," Su Bai said.

Su Bai hadn't felt hungry initially, but upon smelling this, his stomach suddenly reacted.

Mu Qing turned her head and glanced at him.

"It'll be ready soon."

She scooped the noodles into a bowl, drizzled them with scallion oil, sprinkled them with chopped green onions, and placed a few slices of golden-brown pan-fried luncheon meat on the side.

Finally, she set out two small dishes of pickles: one with pickled radishes and one with spicy cabbage.

"Help me carry these," she said.

Su Bai walked over, picked up the two bowls of noodles, and placed them on the dining table.

Mu Qing heated a few sausages in the air fryer, cut them into pieces, and served them as well.

The two sat down at the dining table.

Su Bai picked up his chopsticks, took a mouthful of noodles, and put them into his mouth.

The noodles were chewy, the scallion oil was fragrant, and the saltiness was just right.

"The taste is not bad," he nodded, "Almost as good as my cooking."

Mu Qing rolled her eyes at him, annoyed.

"A young master like you can cook?"

She had already decided that Su Bai was a rich second-generation heir.

"Of course," Su Bai took another mouthful, "I'll let you try it sometime when there's a chance."

Mu Qing was stunned for a moment.

Try?

Try what?

Try his cooking?

Or... try something else?

Her face felt hot again, and she quickly lowered her head to eat the noodles.

The two ate in silence, occasionally picking up some pickles and chewing them with a crisp crunch.

After finishing a bowl of noodles, Mu Qing served him another half bowl.

Su Bai didn't stand on ceremony and took it to continue eating.

"Have you decided where to go for winter break?" Mu Qing asked.

Su Bai thought about it.

"I might go to Xinjiang."

Mu Qing was stunned for a moment.

"Xinjiang?" She looked up, "Why?"

Su Bai looked at her, the corners of his mouth slowly curling up.

"There are many beauties there."

Mu Qing rolled her eyes.

"That's all you care about."

Su Bai smiled and continued eating his noodles.

He picked up a sausage, took a bite, and suddenly said:

"That eye-roll of yours just now, it seems a bit familiar."

Mu Qing was stunned for a moment, then realized what he meant.

An eye-roll?

...The Superwoman in the movie?

When she was being bullied by that man, she had also rolled her eyes like that.

Her face turned bright red!

"You!" She picked up her chopsticks, making a gesture to hit him, "Don't say it!"

Su Bai laughed and dodged.

"I didn't say anything; you guessed it yourself."

"You did! Your eyes said it!"

"Eyes count too?"

"Of course they count!"

The two messed around for a while, and Mu Qing finally put down her chopsticks, crossing her arms and pretending to be angry.

But the blush on her face could not be hidden at all.

After the meal, Su Bai helped clear the dishes.

"That's about it," he said, "I'm leaving now."

Mu Qing walked him to the door.

"Today... thank you," she whispered.

"What are you thanking me for?"

"Thank you for helping to teach those people a lesson," she said, "And also thank you..."

She paused and didn't continue.

Su Bai looked at her.

She stood there, in the light of the entryway, the blush on her face not yet fully faded.

"Next time," Mu Qing lowered her head, "If you want to watch... you can come again."

Su Bai was stunned for a moment.

Then he smiled.

"Okay."

He pushed open the door and walked out.

Before the elevator door closed, he saw Mu Qing still standing at the door, waving at him.

As the panamera drove out of the residential complex, Su Bai's phone rang.

It was Luo Ying.

The call connected.

"Su Bai!" Luo Ying's voice came through the receiver, with some noise in the background,

"Tonight is the 60th anniversary celebration of Jingzhou University, are you coming to join the fun?"

Su Bai thought about it.

"What time?"

"It starts at seven, you can come anytime," Luo Ying said, "There's good food and performances, and Diliyereza, whom you asked someone to help invite, will also be coming!"

Su Bai remembered the matter he had asked Shen Tian to arrange earlier.

"Alright," he said, "I'll go over in the evening."

"Okay! Call me when you arrive, and I'll come to pick you up!"

After hanging up the phone, Su Bai checked the time.

Three o'clock.

Four hours left.

He thought about it and decided to go home first.

His current state wasn't quite right; he needed to calm down.