MTMIO Chapter 72

Chapter 72: What Devil’s Whisper Is This?

Zhong Mi’s reaction was conflicted. When she said “Here,” her tone was so cheerful, but now she was stiff and unmoving.

It was as if she had suddenly thought of something, something that made her uneasy, which caused her emotions to plummet so abruptly.

Lu You thought, maybe she was happy to see them, but before they arrived, the little girl had done something wrong and had been scolded by her mother.

She had been in a similar state before, when she repeatedly played the wrong notes and was severely criticized by her piano teacher. Hearing the door open and seeing her mother return, she would immediately slide off the piano bench and run to her mother.

Just like Zhong Mi was nuzzling her, she would lower her head and burrow into Zhang Wenyin’s arms.

In the next second, Zhang Wenyin would say to her: “The aunt next door is going crazy from your playing the same passage over and over again.”

She would immediately lose her smile.

Noticing that Zhong Mi was tightly gripping her coat, Lu You became more certain of this guess. She rubbed Zhong Mi’s head and softly asked, “What’s wrong? Did you make your mommy angry?”

Zhong Mi didn’t dare to speak anymore.

“Hmph, she was picky about her food at lunch and made her mommy angry and leave!” Zhong Shuyun’s voice said.

“Left?” Lu You was taken aback.

Then who was the person in the green dress upstairs?

Lu You turned her head towards the direction of Zhong Shuyun’s voice.

Near the entrance door of the small villa, Zhong Shuyun was standing there holding her phone. Her gaze swept past Yue Yunxi and Grandma, and then landed on Lu You’s face. “Yes, she just left not long before you guys arrived.”

Lu You couldn’t help but glance in that direction. She saw Grandma taking deep breaths, as if she were breathing in fresh air, while Yue Yunxi was holding her phone and tapping the screen, as if she was sending a message to someone.

Realizing that she was looking at her, Yue Yunxi raised her eyes from the phone screen. Her gaze lightly met hers, then fell on Zhong Mi, who was hugging her tightly, and she raised her eyebrows.

Why is she still hugging her?

Lu You pursed her lips, suppressing the urge to laugh. She gently pushed Zhong Mi away a little and said, “Last time at Grandma’s birthday banquet, Mi Mi said she would bring her mommy, but we never saw her. I was wondering if we would be able to see her today.”

“Next time, maybe.” Zhong Shuyun walked closer, her tone uncertain. “Next time, maybe…”

Lu You smiled and said nonchalantly, “It’s okay.”

Zhong Mi raised her face and looked at her, asking, “Sister, why do you want to see mommy so much?”

It was a strange question. Perhaps Zhong Mi didn’t specifically mean “my mommy”.

Why do you want to see my mommy so much.

Why do you want to see mommy so much.

A slight difference in wording, but the meaning was worlds apart.

“Just curious.” Lu You answered according to the first interpretation. “I’ve met Teacher Zhong and Teacher Caroline, the only one I haven’t met is the godmother you call mommy.”

Zhong Mi “oh”ed softly, not very satisfied with her answer. “Is there no other reason?”

Yes, there was.

There was a deeper reason. Every time she heard Zhong Mi call her mommy in a very well-behaved and soft tone, Lu You could capture a sound called happiness.

Just that one word “mommy”, without any extra descriptions, could make her truly feel how good the mother-daughter relationship was.

She felt envy, jealousy, and a little bit of bitterness.

This complex emotion was like a scab that had finally formed on a wound. As long as you didn’t touch it, it could grow new flesh. Even if there was a little scar, it wouldn’t matter. But it was always faintly itchy.

It made people know that the bloody mess wasn’t pretty, know how hard it was to heal, know that it would hurt, but still couldn’t help but want to pick off the scab.

It was just a compulsion.

“Nope.” Lu You raised her hand and wiped her nose, laughing, “What other reason could there be?”

Zhong Mi moved her lips, wanting to say something.

“Don’t just stand in the yard chatting.” Zhong Shuyun glanced at Zhong Mi and pulled Lu You away from her. “There are only two days left until the competition, we need to hurry. Let me tell you, although this is an amateur competition, it’s quite challenging for you right now. Your opponents, they don’t need special fingerings to support them to play a complete piano piece.”

“I know, Teacher Zhong, I need to work harder than others.” Lu You said with a calm attitude.

“This time, you have to perform well, don’t disappoint me. I still want to take you to bigger competitions, bigger stages.” Zhong Shuyun held Lu You’s hand and spoke eloquently, “You should have received an email about the competition process, right? There are a few things to pay attention to…”

Lu You listened attentively, completely unaware that Zhong Shuyun was leading her forward, leaving the other three far behind.

Zhong Mi, who was still standing in the same place, pouted. Suddenly, she felt a weight on her head. Her hair, which Lu You had messed up, was now messed up even more by a fair hand.

Yue Yunxi withdrew her hand and said in a flat tone, “Mi Mi, do you remember the first kite you made with Yun Zhu? You didn’t paste the paper well, she didn’t fix the string well, and then you were anxious to fly it. As a result, the kite broke, the string snapped, and it fell into the water.”

Zhong Mi opened her mouth, and after a long while, she finally said, “Then how long will it take for the kite to be made well?”

As she asked this, Grandma stopped and looked at the two of them.

“At least, we have to wait until she finishes the competition.” Yue Yunxi said.

Grandma breathed a sigh of relief.

“Oh!” Zhong Mi slapped her head in frustration. “…Sorry, I almost ruined something important.”

“That’s right, you almost spilled the beans, so as punishment.” Yue Yunxi bent down next to Zhong Mi, to a height level with her, and said in a low voice, “You’re not allowed to get too close to your sister today.”

Zhong Mi: “…”

What devil’s whisper is this!

Yue Yunxi patted Zhong Mi’s shoulder as a way of comforting her. After straightening up, she faced Grandma’s gaze and softened her tone even more: “There’s plenty of time today. Auntie said she’d like to have a good chat with you. But if you’re not ready, we won’t see her. And don’t worry that she will be unhappy, I will smooth things over.”

“We”, as if she was standing on her side. Even if that wasn’t the case, it made her feel comforted.

This was a kind lie.

Grandma started walking forward, smiling. The wrinkles on her face, etched by time, were filled with helplessness towards herself. “I specifically asked you to help, wanting her to come back and acknowledge Yo Yo. Now I don’t want to see her, how can I be like this? I’m just a little… a little conflicted… I want them to be well, but I’m also afraid that they will be well.”

Afraid that if they were well, the girl’s eyes would only be on her mother, and not on her, this grandma.

“You’re overthinking it.” Yue Yunxi said. “She’s biased towards you.”

Grandma nodded, but this sentence couldn’t give her much security.

It sounded too much like a comforting remark.

“You are in her life. Long-term companionship and the habits that have formed are the most difficult things to give up. Even if it hurts, it’s a connection that she can’t bear to let go of.” Yue Yunxi’s voice was still as calm and waveless as ever.

Grandma was surprised for a moment.

The feeling of these words coming from her mouth, was just like her name.

A stream reflecting the moonlight, such a soft scene, but the sky was dark, the moonlight was cold, and the stream was also ice-cold.

She possessed a kind of loneliness after the night completely devoured the day, and was also like the blue flame on a stove, a cool color that contained a frantic heat.

After the surprise, Grandma felt an unprecedented sense of peace.

It was like wading through that stream.

Indeed, if this was a gamble on emotional choices, then these were all the chips she could bet.

She said, “Thank you, Yunxi. This time, really thank you.”

Zhong Mi, who was stepping on shadows behind the two of them, stepped on Yue Yunxi’s shadow and thought, she said “sorry,” and the bad moon gave her such a heavy punishment. Now that Grandma said “thank you,” the bad moon would definitely ask for a thank you gift!

How would she ask Grandma to thank her?

That shadow slipped away from the tip of her little leather shoe and hid inside the house.

Yue Yunxi smiled and said nothing.

Zhong Shuyun and Lu You had already reached the stairs ahead.

Ending the small talk, Zhong Shuyun leaned against the stair railing. “Our little aunt is upstairs, she has prepared tea and snacks on the terrace. Yunxi, please take Little Lu’s Grandma upstairs, go rest for a bit first, and then let her take you to look at the house.”

Lu You raised her eyes slightly, following the wooden steps upwards.

A long corridor, deep brown wood, like a hollowed-out tree stump. She thought of that velvet-textured dark green dress, and the words of Zhong Shuyun poured into her ears.

So it was Teacher Zhong’s family’s little aunt.

“If Little Lu’s Grandma is satisfied, then let’s settle it as soon as possible, so we can hand it over sooner.” Zhong Shuyun asked, “Alright?”

Grandma trembled, her face turning pale. She swallowed, moved her lips, and swallowed again, but still couldn’t answer with an “alright.”

“Teacher Zhong, the way you put it, Grandma doesn’t even dare to say she’s not satisfied.” Yue Yunxi said half-jokingly.

“How could that be? Little Lu’s Grandma looks like she’s very bold.” Zhong Shuyun also said in a joking tone, looking over the old lady, meeting Yue Yunxi’s eyes, and shrugging, “There’s nothing bad about my house. I have a lot of confidence in her. Little Lu’s Grandma, you just look at it. I guarantee you, after you look at it carefully, you won’t dislike it.”

Grandma twitched the corner of her mouth, her smile a bit unnatural.

“Teacher Zhong, it can’t be ruled out that you have a filter on your beloved item.” Lu You couldn’t stand to see Grandma like this, and gave Zhong Shuyun a warning shot first. “If I don’t buy it, you won’t be angry with me, right?”

“…” Zhong Shuyun huffed. “I want to, but I can’t.”

“Why can’t you?” Lu You said. “If you’re angry, just torment me more during the lesson.”

These words made it sound like she had already decided not to buy it.

Zhong Shuyun was filled with anger and said unhappily, “Heh, I didn’t realize you were also someone who likes to be abused.”

“Also?”

Zhong Shuyun coughed and selectively ignored her question. “It’s time to start the lesson. I have a date tonight. Let me see what today’s schedule should be…”

Raising her hand, Zhong Shuyun only remembered that she wasn’t wearing a watch today when she saw her empty wrist. She conveniently grabbed Lu You’s hand and looked at the time on her watch.

“Ends at four o’clock. When you guys are done looking at the house, you can go back and sit on the terrace.”

“Okay, then see you later.” Yue Yunxi looked at Lu You, with a bit of playfulness. “Study hard, don’t daydream, okay?”

She knew that she would daydream and think of her!

Lu You looked away and didn’t speak.

“Dare to daydream? Daydream and you’ll be punished, play it again!” Zhong Shuyun said, flicking the back of her hand.

Lu You gasped in pain and quickly pulled her hand back. “I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare.”

She gave the culprit a resentful look.

Yue Yunxi glanced at the hand that had been flicked, blinked slowly, and when she met her gaze, she raised her eyebrows slightly and chuckled softly.

It was as if she was directly saying, “You really wouldn’t dare?”

Lu You glared at her unhappily.

“Teacher Zhong, she’s still young.” After Yue Yunxi said this, she helped Grandma upstairs.

These words felt like she was saying, she’s still just a child, don’t take her too seriously.

It also felt like she was saying, she’s still young, so she’s prone to daydreaming.

…But neither of them were quite right.

Zhong Shuyun was already walking towards the music room.

Lu You followed and glanced at the back of her hand, which had turned red from the flick. “…Oh my god, Teacher Zhong, you’re really heavy-handed.”

Lu You rubbed the back of her hand and said without any respect, “Are you a Dom?”

She wasn’t thinking straight when she spoke, but she couldn’t entirely be blamed. It mainly because it really hurt.

“Pah! Apologize!” Zhong Shuyun’s serious voice had a sense of pressure.

Lu You immediately said, “I was wrong.”

After saying that, Lu You clearly felt that Zhong Shuyun, like a hedgehog with its quills raised, had retracted her quills and softened a lot.

Zhong Shuyun opened the door to the music room, stepped aside to let her in first, and looked at her wrist. “Your watch, why does it look a bit familiar?”

Lu You: “…Um.”

Zhong Shuyun looked towards the corridor on the second floor, her eyes searching for Yue Yunxi’s wrist, raising her eyebrows. “How do I remember that Yunxi doesn’t have that color on her hand?”

“You two?” Zhong Shuyun squinted at her. “Tsk, what’s the relationship?”

It was a tone of questioning with the answer already in her mind.

Lu You blinked, with a kind of desperate determination. “It’s the kind of relationship you think it is.”

Zhong Shuyun widened her eyes slightly, then raised her face, with an “I understand” expression. Then there was an indescribable silence, followed by hesitant and hesitant words.

Lu You’s heartbeat was getting faster and faster under the change in her expression, was she unable to accept it?

Finally, Zhong Shuyun asked uncertainly, “Is it? A Dom… and S relationship?”

Lu You’s heartbeat stopped completely.