PSMD – Chapter 128

“Parents need to think too,” Auntie Mingfen added. “We used to think that since we gave birth to our children, their whole lives should be under our control. After that trip, Xiaoqiong and I realized how narrow-minded we were.”

Shen Ningruo listened to these words, her mind replaying the scene from her last argument with Shen Yuankai. The atmosphere that day was cold and stiff, as if they weren’t father and daughter, but enemies. But Shen Ningruo felt she wasn’t wrong; the only one wrong was still Shen Yuankai.

Qiu Yang also thought about Shen Ningruo and her father. Her hand under the table reached out and quietly took Shen Ningruo’s hand. She squeezed it tightly, pulling Shen Ningruo’s thoughts back.

Shen Ningruo smiled at her, indicating she was fine.

“About the two of you being together…” Auntie Xiaoqiong frowned slightly. “Does your family know?”

“My dad knows,” Shen Ningruo said indifferently, though a sigh still escaped her unconsciously. “But we had a big fight, and there might be a second one.”

“This is a long-term battle,” Auntie Xiaoqiong slapped the table. “Just wear him down!”

Auntie Mingfen then asked Qiu Yang, “What about you, Xiao Qiu? What’s your family’s attitude?”

Qiu Yang pondered for two seconds before hesitantly saying, “My parents will never know.”

At this, Auntie Mingfen and Auntie Xiaoqiong understood. They both sighed, then changed the subject.

It was already 9:30 PM when they left Auntie Mingfen’s place. They had eaten another round of fruit in the living room and left with full stomachs.

There was a pharmacy next to the complex. Qiu Yang went in first to buy a box of digestive tablets, swallowed a few, and then got into the car.

The evening breeze blew. Qiu Yang even opened the car window. She propped her head up, looking at the night view outside.

After a while, Shen Ningruo asked, “What are you thinking about?”

Qiu Yang shook her head. “Nothing, just reflecting on what the two aunties said. Meeting them was really lucky. I was so cold back then, but they still took such good care of me.”

“Yes.”

“Exactly.”

“Everything those two aunties said should be played on repeat for my dad, but he probably wouldn’t understand even if he heard it, because his life is a failure, and he doesn’t want to see me happy.”

Qiu Yang turned her head, her lips pursed, looking at Shen Ningruo’s dejected expression.

She knew what Shen Ningruo was thinking. After all, her father was the last remaining family member in the world for Shen Ningruo. Naturally, she still hoped for his approval and blessing. However, not only did her father not give it, he was becoming increasingly unreasonable.

“It’s okay, Xiao Yang,” Shen Ningruo said then. She glanced at Qiu Yang, taking in her expression. “Me being with you is our business. My dad’s opinion and feelings aren’t important.”

Qiu Yang replied, “Okay.”

Qiu Yang’s voice was carried away by the wind. “If I ever see my mother, I’ll tell her directly that you are my lover. If she can accept it, that would be great. If she can’t, I don’t think I’ll feel too sad.”

Qiu Yang’s words made Shen Ningruo’s eyebrows twitch. Thinking about the information she had searched about Qiu Yang’s mother, coupled with Wen Yuan’s recent desire to reconnect with Qiu Yang, she felt that day was definitely not far off.

When they were just two streets away from the complex, Qiu Yang’s phone rang. It was Le Yu calling.

Le Yu started with, “Xiao Qiu Yang, are you free tomorrow?”

Qiu Yang had the call on speakerphone, and Shen Ningruo heard everything clearly. She knew Le Yu no longer had feelings for Qiu Yang, but she still felt a little jealous.

She didn’t say anything, waiting for Qiu Yang’s answer.

“I’m meeting someone tomorrow,” Qiu Yang almost forgot about needing to reply to Tao Sixian.

She had originally asked Tao Sixian out to get information about Qu Yan. Now that she didn’t need to, Qiu Yang couldn’t help but wonder if she should just stand her up.

She had never stood Tao Sixian up before; she always showed up for every meeting. But this time, the thought crossed her mind.

Le Yu’s tone was initially a little disappointed. “Ah, is that so?”

Qiu Yang’s tone shifted. “But that meeting isn’t important, I can skip it. Senior, is something up?”

“Is Miss Shen with you?” Le Yu asked again.

Qiu Yang answered truthfully, “Yes, she is.”

“Okay, so, I’ve recently gotten into escape rooms, and we have a game tomorrow that needs two more people. If you two want to come, I’ll add you.”

“It’s the weekend, so let’s just have some fun and relax.”

Qiu Yang looked at Shen Ningruo. “I’ll ask her.”

Shen Ningruo nodded, and Qiu Yang gave the answer. “Okay, Senior, the two of us will go tomorrow.”

It wasn’t hard for Qiu Yang to guess what Shen Ningruo was thinking: to help her relax. Whether it was visiting the two aunties today or agreeing to the escape room tomorrow, the ultimate goal was to distract her and keep her from dwelling on the Qu Yan matter.

Le Yu was immediately delighted. “Yay! Okay, I’ll tell my friends. But will you feel awkward?”

“No.”

“That’s good. I’ll send you the address and time later.”

“See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.” Qiu Yang was about to hang up.

Le Yu then added, “Oh, right, among the people tomorrow, there’s someone I’m currently interested in.”

“Interested in” meant someone she had a crush on.

Qiu Yang understood as soon as she heard this. “Okay, we’ll be good wingmen.”

Le Yu chuckled. “Heh, Xiao Qiu Yang is so smart.”

After the call ended, the car just happened to pull into the underground parking lot. Shen Ningruo raised an eyebrow. “Have you been to an escape room before?”

“Yes.”

“I went with colleagues.”

Shen Ningruo unbuckled her seatbelt and cleared her throat. “I haven’t been.”

“Hope I don’t make a fool of myself tomorrow.”

Qiu Yang leaned over and kissed Shen Ningruo’s cheek, then raised her hand to pinch it. “So our esteemed Director Shen is also afraid of making a fool of herself?”

Shen Ningruo, in the dim light, glared at Qiu Yang. “I have an image to maintain.”

“I know, it’s okay, Ruoruo. You might make a fool of yourself, but I won’t. Your girlfriend here might not be good at other things, but I’ve watched a lot of crime dramas and escape room variety shows. I’m good at this game. Last time I played with colleagues, I was the MVP.”

Shen Ningruo said, “Wow,” in surprise. “That amazing?”

That was even better. This way, Qiu Yang wouldn’t think about the Qu Yan matter.

Shen Ningruo had once used herself to distract Qiu Yang, but that was in terms of feelings. She succeeded, and Qiu Yang even fell in love with her. But the current situation was different. No matter how hard she tried, it didn’t have much effect. She could only try to make Qiu Yang think less by doing things.

However…

There was something to do tonight too.

Shen Ningruo had been very well-behaved these past few days because she knew Qiu Yang was exhausted and hadn’t thought about doing anything with her.

But tonight was different. After talking with the two aunties, Qiu Yang’s mood was clearly much better.

Pingzi had also been very well-behaved these past few days, knowing Qiu Yang was in a bad mood, staying relatively quiet. Occasionally, when Qiu Yang was spacing out, it would walk over and rub against her hand.

They came back quite late tonight and hadn’t fed her wet food or meat before leaving. As soon as she heard the sound of the door opening, she ran to the door and squatted.

As soon as the door opened, she let out a “Meow,” both excited and pitiful.

Excited because she was finally going to eat!

Pitiful because her mealtime was late!

Qiu Yang’s mood had improved significantly. She scooped up Pingzi. “Are you hungry?”

“I’ll go cook her some meat,” Shen Ningruo said, having changed into her slippers.

Qiu Yang sat down on the sofa. “Okay.”

Pingzi leaned against Qiu Yang. She watched Qiu Yang unlock her phone, then watched Qiu Yang open the chat with Tao Sixian, and even watched Qiu Yang block her.

Qiu Yang had originally planned to just stand Tao Sixian up without saying anything, but she felt a bit unsatisfied.

Shen Ningruo came out of the kitchen and happened to see Qiu Yang putting away her phone. She asked curiously, “What’s wrong?”

“I sent a message to Tao Sixian,” Qiu Yang said, massaging Pingzi. “I cursed her out, then blocked her.”

Shen Ningruo chuckled. “How did you curse her out? I’m so curious.”

Qiu Yang slightly raised her chin, her eyes filled with a smile. “I said if she wanted to mess with Pingzi, she should first weigh her own worth.”

“Stop tearing off the skin from your left cheek to stick on your right. One side is thick-skinned, the other is shameless.”

“Cute,” Shen Ningruo rubbed Qiu Yang’s head. “Then I’ll reward you tonight.”

Qiu Yang: “…?”

As soon as she heard this, Qiu Yang immediately became alert. “Reward me with what?”

“I bought a little toy before, haven’t used it yet. Let’s try it tonight.”

Qiu Yang’s eyelids twitched. “When did you buy it?”

“Last month, I think. A long time ago.”

“Haven’t tried it.”

Qiu Yang turned her face away, her ears quietly turning red. “Okay…”

“Then let’s try it.”

Pingzi’s eyes were wide, full of confusion. She jumped down from Qiu Yang and ran to the kitchen door to squat and wait for her food.

Shen Ningruo put away her smile and rubbed Qiu Yang’s head again before going to the fridge to get the wet food.

Perhaps because they hadn’t done anything recently, Qiu Yang was especially sensitive. Every place Shen Ningruo touched caused a tremor.

She wrapped her arms around Shen Ningruo’s neck, burying her face in her shoulder, a soft moan escaping her throat. Her eyes were slightly misty.

“Ruoruo Jiejie…” Qiu Yang whimpered. “Slow down.”