After Being Bent by Reader

Sun An did not come back, so only the four of them ate dinner together. However, unlike the usual joyful atmosphere, an awkward atmosphere currently surrounded the dining table.

The four women tacitly remained silent about that matter. Xu Chuanchuan knew that Murong Mingshu was a vegetarian, so she silently picked up a piece of steamed pumpkin and put it into Murong Mingshu's bowl.

Murong Mingshu's eyelids trembled slightly at this sight. Then, she beamed a smile at Xu Chuanchuan and said, "You should eat more as well."

When Xu Chuanchuan saw Murong Mingshu eating the steamed pumpkin, she secretly sighed in relief.

Aunt Lian wasn't much of a picky eater, so Xu Chuanchuan served a piece of tenderloin for the elderly woman. In response, Aunt Lian also ate the food with a smile.

Overall, though, this meal still ended up being an awkward one.

It was raining outside, so Murong Mingshu couldn't go out for her after-meal stroll. She also felt too embarrassed to stay with Murong Shi and Xu Chuanchuan, so she thought to excuse herself and return to her room. However, just as she was about to speak up...

Murong Shi picked up the books on the coffee table and asked, "Have you read them?"

Murong Mingshu didn't know what her daughter was trying to do. After pursing her lips for a moment, she said, "I only glanced through them."

"Were they good?"

"..." Murong Mingshu's expression turned slightly unnatural. Then, she said, "I told you I only glanced through them. I don't remember the content..."

Murong Shi smiled. Then, she said, "They're quite a good read. Also, Chuanchuan wrote these novels."

"Chuanchuan wrote them?" Murong Mingshu was stunned. Then, she looked past her daughter's shoulder and searched for Xu Chuanchuan's figure.

Coincidentally, Xu Chuanchuan was also looking at Murong Mingshu. When she overheard their conversation, she lowered her head in embarrassment.

"Mhm, she's quite talented. She has written six such books. If you're interested, I can bring the rest for you to read in the future."

The creases on Murong Mingshus' forehead trembled slightly. Then, she waved her hand and said, "Nevermind. My eyes are terrible, and I can't read things clearly. Besides, these... How can I read these things? You're just trying to make me angry."

Murong Shi observed her mother's face for a moment. Then, she softly asked, "Then, are you angry?"

"Angry for what?"

"Angry that we kept our relationship a secret from you."

"...Let's talk about this on another day." Murong Shi was reluctant to continue this topic, so she stood up and left for her room.

...

Her mind occupied with thoughts on today's matter, Xu Chuanchuan decided to take the day off from writing. After bathing together with Murong Shi, the two of them laid down on the bed. Although they were not in the mood for sex, they did not go to sleep, either.

"Aunt Lian barely smiled today. Is she unable to accept me?" Xu Chuanchuan asked nervously.

Seeing that even her own mother had not clearly voiced her approval for their relationship, Murong Shi couldn't confidently provide Xu Chuanchuan with an answer. After pondering for a long time, she said, "Don't panic. They might need a little more time."

The two only left the Murong household after staying over for three days. As soon as they returned to the dormitory, Fang Qin called them saying that she had returned from her business trip and wanted to treat them to a meal.

As soon as they met up, Murong Shi extended a hand and asked Fang Qin for her lunar birthday present.

"No presents," Fang Qin said, rolling her eyes.

"Did you at least bring back some cakes? The walnut cakes you brought back last time were quite good. Chuanchuan likes them a lot," Murong Shi teased.

"..." Fang Qin ignored her friend's ridicule and looked at Xu Chuanchuan's sullen expression. Then, she said, "What's wrong with you today?"

In response, Xu Chuanchuan placed a hand on her cheek and sighed, saying, "Auntie Mingshu and Aunt Lian already found out about us."

Fang Qin's eyes immediately lit up upon hearing Xu Chuanchuan's words. Then, she eagerly asked, "Did you come out of the closet already?"

Xu Chuanchuan replied with a listless "Mhm" while absent-mindedly flipping through the menu.

Seeing the frown on Xu Chuanchuan's face, Fang Qin thought that they had encountered obstacles. Yet, she couldn't help but doubt her assumption when she saw Murong Shi's calm expression. Confused by the contrasting reactions, Fang Qin asked, "Tell me about it."

"There's nothing to say," Murong Shi said. "Even I would find it hard to accept this kind of thing within a short time, let alone my mother. It doesn't matter, though, since I've already figured out a solution."

"What solution?" Xu Chuanchuan asked, her spirits rising.

However, Murong Shi acted mysteriously and refused to say anything.

...

After coming out of the closet, Xu Chuanchuan had made a Weibo post asking her readers for help. She asked those with experience how they responded after coming out of the closet. Her post had received a lot of responses, and she eventually settled for one of the recommendations. Then, following the recommendation, she bought plenty of health care products for middle-aged and elderly people online, and she thought to give them to Murong Mingshu and Aunt Lian the following weekend.

However, when the weekend arrived, Murong Shi did not take Xu Chuanchuan back with her. So, Xu Chuanchuan had no choice but to stay in the dormitory and focus on her writing.

...

In the meantime, Murong Shi had brought the expensive health care products Xu Chuanchuan purchased back home. After seeing the items, Murong Mingshu sighed and said, "Why is she wasting all this money for no reason? Doesn't she make hardly anything each month?"

Adding fuel to the fire, Murong Shi said, "She spent an entire month's salary on these things. She'll probably have to eat only instant noodles for the rest of the month."

"How is that acceptable?! Can these be refunded?"

"What refund? This is a token of her goodwill, so just accept it."

"Then...why didn't she come back with you today?"

"She's afraid of coming."

"Why?"

Shrugging, Murong Shi said, "She's afraid you'll find her annoying."

"..."

Another week passed, and Murong Shi still returned home by herself. She also brought back a gift Xu Chuanchuan bought for Murong Mingshu, saying, "This is a footbath salt. It's not expensive."

Murong Mingshu wanted to say something, but before she could open her mouth, Murong Shi got ahead of her and said, "The weather is getting cold. It'll be good for your body to have more footbaths. I'll go heat up some water for you."

Murong Mingshu had the habit of enjoying a footbath before bed. However, she didn't think that her daughter would help her wash her feet this time. Frightened, she asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm giving you a massage."

Looking at her daughter's actions, Murong Mingshu hurriedly said, "Enough, enough. You don't need to please me to such an extent."

However, Murong Shi continued with her massage and said, "You've given birth to me and raised me all these years. How can this be considered fawning?"

Murong Mingshu was rendered speechless. After looking at her daughter's attentive expression for a while, she said, "I know that you've always been an assertive person and that you won't listen to me even if I say otherwise. Regarding you and Chuanchuan..."

Murong Shi looked up at her mother.

After a long silence, Murong Mingshu let out a heavy sigh and said, "It's the Winter Solstice Festival tomorrow. It might not be an important one, but it's a festival nonetheless. Have Chuanchuan come home for a meal."

When Murong Shi called to tell Xu Chuanchuan this piece of news, Xu Chuanchuan jumped out of her chair in excitement. After all, this compromise meant that Murong Mingshu had already begun to acquiesce in their relationship. Xu Chuanchuan got so excited over the news that she couldn't fall asleep the entire night.

The next day, Xu Chuanchuan rejected Murong Shi's offer to fetch her and took a taxi to the Murong household early in the morning instead.

Murong Mingshu and Aunt Lian were as kind as usual. They also treated Xu Chuanchuan warmly. However, probably because they now knew about her relationship with Murong Shi, they now began treating her with even more intimacy.

The north wind had caused Xu Chuanchuan's cheeks to flush red. Seeing this, Murong Mingshu touched her cheeks and distressedly said, "Why didn't you wear a scarf?"

Xu Chuanchuan was still a little unused to this treatment, so she shrank her neck and embarrassedly said, "I didn't expect it to be so windy outside."

"Look, even your hands have turned purple."

The only thing Xu Chuanchuan knew to do was to put on a silly smile.

Then, Murong Mingshu pointed her chin toward the kitchen and said, "Aunt Lian has stewed some big bone soup. I'll have Little Shi pour you a bowl to warm up your body first."

"Let's drink it together, then," Murong Shi said. Then, she looked toward Xu Chuanchuan and said, "Come and help me."

Xu Chuanchuan happily followed Murong Shi.

Xu Chuanchuan dared not act too presumptuously outside. However, after entering the kitchen and avoiding the gazes from outside, Xu Chuanchuan hugged Murong Shi and said, "Your mother is so nice."

"Does that mean I'm not nice?"

Xu Chuanchuan's eyes narrowed into smiles. Then, she said, "Your whole family is nice."

"My dad still doesn't know about us," Murong Shi said, shaking her head.

Xu Chuanchuan's smile instantly stiffened.

"Don't worry. Although my dad has a bad temper, he listens to my mother the most," Murong Shi said as she tugged at Xu Chuanchuan's frozen cheeks. Then, she asked, "Why does your face feel so cold?"

After taking a look outside, Xu Chuanchuan lowered her voice and said, "I called for a taxi just now. I only found out that the taxi's air conditioner is broken after getting into the car, but I was too lazy to get out and find another one."

Frowning, Murong Shi said, "Give him a bad review."

"That's unnecessary. The driver returned half of the money to me."

Seeing the happy smile on her lover's face, Murong Shi shook her head helplessly and said, "What a miser you are."

Xu Chuanchuan stuck out her tongue at the criticism.

Worried that Xu Chuanchuan would catch a cold, Murong Shi asked Aunt Lian for some instructions and cooked up a bowl of ginger soup for her lover. Although Xu Chuanchuan drank the ginger soup made with love, she still ended up catching a cold the next day.

To make matters worse, even Murong Shi got infected by Xu Chuanchuan. For this reason, Xu Chuanchuan got very upset and said, "I already told you we shouldn't do it last night, yet you still did it regardless."

Murong Shi wrapped an arm around Xu Chuanchuan's neck and gave the latter a passionate kiss. Then, in a nasal voice, she said, "Yesterday was a good day, so we naturally have to celebrate it."

Xu Chuanchuan: "..." This is the first time I've heard of celebrating by making love.

Before even recovering from her cold, Murong Shi had to leave for a business trip. This time, she was going to Taiwan. She had initially thought to bring Xu Chuanchuan with her, but Xu Chuanchuan chose to remain in S City after much consideration. After all, Murong Shi would be going for work while she would have to apply for leave. And if she left, there would be nobody to handle her work. Her department definitely wouldn't approve her leave application.

After Murong Shi left, Xu Chuanchuan immediately felt that she was missing something by her side. However, when Murong Shi called her via video chat that night and asked if she would be bored by herself, she stubbornly said, "Nope. I get to sleep and eat whenever I want. I've never had such freedom before."

"Freedom?" Murong Shi narrowed her eyes. "Does that mean you think I've been controlling you too strictly before?"

Isn't that the case? Xu Chuanchuan mentally retorted.

Some time ago, one of Xu Chuanchuan's readers had sincerely recommended her a female talent show. While watching the show, Xu Chuanchuan found herself attracted to a beautiful young lady who could sing and dance. So, after finishing her daily writing quota, she would eagerly watch the talent show every night. Afterward, a certain someone exploded in jealousy. And while Murong Shi did not confiscate her phone, what Murong Shi did instead was strip herself naked and dangle herself in front of her. This situation prevented Xu Chuanchuan from concentrating on the talent show. Eventually, she even got overwhelmed and stripped naked herself.

"No, no, I was just joking," Xu Chuanchuan's strong desire to live forced herself to utter a blatant lie. Then, she quickly changed the conversation topic and asked, "Is Taiwan fun?"

"There are many things to eat. Linda has even left the hotel to go on an eating spree."

Xu Chuanchuan started getting hungry after hearing Murong Shi's words. After secretly swallowing the saliva that had pooled in her mouth, she asked, "Are there many beautiful girls in Taiwan?"

"No idea. I didn't pay attention," Murong Shi replied without even thinking.

Xu Chuanchuan felt pleased by this answer.

After returning from her business trip, Murong Shi decided to bring Xu Chuanchuan home for another meal. Considering that Murong Shi had just got off the plane, Xu Chuanchuan took the initiative to become the driver.

Initially, Murong Shi had shared a few words with Xu Chuanchuan. However, her words became more and more perfunctory as the drive continued. Xu Chuanchuan caught a glimpse of Murong Shi fiddling with her phone through the corner of her eyes, so she asked, "Do you still have unfinished work?"

This time, Murong Shi didn't even respond with an "Mhm."

Xu Chuanchuan stopped interrupting Murong Shi. She also didn't take this matter to heart. However, when Xu Chuanchuan came out of the bathroom after her evening shower and saw that Murong Shi was still fiddling with her phone, she couldn't help but be puzzled.

Unlike Xu Chuanchuan, Murong Shi wasn't addicted to her mobile phone. However, ever since leaving the airport, Murong Shi had never once parted with her phone. She had been responding to messages even during dinner.

"You're done already?" Murong Shi asked, only noticing that Xu Chuanchuan had left the bathroom after she had stood by the bedside for some time.

Frowning, Xu Chuanchuan asked, "Who are you talking to? Linda?"

"No."

Xu Chuanchuan wanted to lean forward and peek at the conversation, but Murong Shi had turned the screen to the other side. Then, Murong Shi stood up, stretched her back, and said, "My turn, then."

After watching Murong Shi enter the bathroom, Xu Chuanchuan heard a beep from Murong Shi's phone. Simultaneously, she couldn't help but get a strange feeling.

Murong Shi's behavior today was too out of the ordinary. In the past, even when she tried spying on Murong Shi's conversations, Murong Shi would simply let her do so. Yet, why did it seem like Murong Shi was afraid to let her see the chat just now?

Apart from this point, Xu Chuanchuan also noticed a suspicious point. Ever since they met at the airport, Murong Shi had not hugged her even once.