Chapter 130: Chapter 130 - 130: Do You Know my Mother

Translator: 549690339

Now, these tasks have become routine, performed with a natural ease.

He stood by the bed, watching Xu Chaomu as she slept so sweetly, her delicate, pale little paws clutching the blue down comforter, sleeping soundly.

He didn’t know how long he stood there before finally, Shen Chi turned off the light in her room and went back next door.

It wasn’t until the light in Xu Chaomu’s room went out that Zhou Ran pulled the curtains up from the balcony.

She took off her coat and, with arms crossed, paced back and forth in the room.

Walking around, for a very long time.

The next morning, Old Cheng drove Xu Chaomu to school. As soon as Old Cheng’s car left, Zhou Ran’s car then arrived.

Xu Chaomu, with her backpack on her shoulders, walked towards the school gate; by now, many students had already arrived.

It was when she crossed the main road heading to her sophomore year classes that Zhou Ran stopped her in her tracks.

Zhou Ran had a serene and refined scent of perfume on her, and with a wrinkle of her nose, Xu Chaomu knew it was her.

She was quite afraid of encountering Zhou Ran, yet here she was. With no way to avoid her, Xu Chaomu stopped walking.

“Auntie Zhou,” she obediently called out.

“Hmm.” Zhou Ran responded indifferently, her expression unreadable, leaving others unable to guess what she was thinking.

She adjusted the white scarf around her neck and stood before Xu Chaomu, scrutinizing the young lady who had already turned eighteen this year.

It was rare for her to see the girl, and she noticed that Xu Chaomu had grown quite tall, with a fair, baby-faced look that was quite endearing.

Today, she was wearing a white T-shirt, loose-fitting, but it couldn’t hide her developing figure. There was a faint youthful fragrance about her, very light and pleasant to the senses.

Zhou Ran wasn’t a man, but she knew that Xu Chaomu at this age could stir all the desires of a man.

Zhou Ran smiled bitterly, thinking back eight years when she had planted a time bomb with her own hands. She could never have imagined that her son, indifferent to women, would get entangled with this girl.

Was it fate?

“Auntie Zhou, did you come looking for me?” Xu Chaomu asked, uncomfortable under Zhou Ran’s gaze.

“Yes, I came to have a few words with you,” Zhou Ran replied coolly.

“Auntie Zhou, are you here again to persuade me to leave the Shen Family?” Xu Chaomu was mentally prepared.

Rather than directly answering Xu Chaomu, Zhou Ran looked up at her, “Achi and Bai Man are getting engaged next month.”

Honestly, Xu Chaomu was taken aback.

Even though she was prepared, her body still couldn’t help but shudder when Zhou Ran spoke the words out loud.

Next month…

“Oh, I see. I’ll prepare a gift for Fourth Brother and my future sister-in-law, ” Xu Chaomu lowered her head, her eyes bereft of any sparkle.

“That’s good. Don’t forget what I’ve told you before. Was it Achi who brought you back yesterday?”

“I haven’t forgotten,” Xu Chaomu said coolly.

Sensing impatience in Xu Chaomu’s tone, Zhou Ran’s expression also turned slightly unpleasant.

Her gaze roamed over Xu Chaomu’s face, and with a hint of an involuntary smile, she said, “Achi has been genuinely good to you; I’ve told him to treat you as his own sister and not to harbor any alternative intentions. He’s remembered my words.”

“But he hasn’t tried to send me away,” Xu Chaomu looked up.

“I haven’t forcefully driven you away either, but staying in the Shen Family serves no purpose. Once they are engaged next month, Achi and Bai Man will move out.”

Zhou Ran knew that Xu Chaomu had a strong sense of pride, just like her mother’s.

“Auntie Zhou, I have a question for you, please tell me the truth. Eight years ago, why did you bring me to the Shen Family?”

“Isn’t it good? The Shen Family provided you with clothes and food far superior to what the orphanage could offer. They also sent you to a good school, good prep classes, introduced you to things you would never encounter in an orphanage in your lifetime.”

“Why?” Xu Chaomu asked again.

“There’s no particular reason.” Zhou Ran’s eyes misted over as if she was recalling something far, far in the past…

So distant, like a mountain hidden in misty rain, only a vague outline remained.

“I don’t believe it,” Xu Chaomu raised her little face, “Auntie Zhou, did you know my mother?”

“What does it matter if I did?” Zhou Ran’s tone was light, like a fleeting breeze in early spring.

It was Xu Chaomu’s turn to be at a loss for words. Yes, what did it matter? Her mother had left her, never to return…

The Shen Family had taken care of her for eight years, fulfilling all moral obligations. Just as Zhou Ran had said, they provided her with luxuries unimaginable in an orphanage.

Yet they had sparked hope only to snuff it out.

She would have preferred to have grown up in the orphanage. “Auntie Zhou, if there’s nothing else, I’ll head to my classroom now.”

“One last warning, don’t get too close to Achi, and don’t even try to be a mistress.”

The last two words, Zhou Ran had said through clenched teeth.

Xu Chaomu knew how much she despised mistresses. With a dim look in her eyes, she said, “I only see him as my brother.”

Even though she was a bit of a scamp, fond of making harmless jokes with Shen Chi, she still had her principles.

She wouldn’t be a mistress, wouldn’t destroy his happiness.

It just felt a little regrettable. She had set a grand goal at the age of ten – to kiss him.

Eight years had passed, and he was about to get married; yet she still hadn’t achieved it.

She really was a blockhead.

How could there be such a foolish rascal in the world.

“Sigh.” With the thought, she couldn’t help but hold her forehead and sigh.

“Go to class; I won’t keep you any longer,” Zhou Ran said.

Xu Chaomu nodded, her step much lighter and less burdened.

Zhou Ran was fairly kind to her today, probably because she had already mentally prepared herself.

She wasn’t that fragile. If she were to cry and wail, she wouldn’t be Xu Chaomu.

But what should she gift Shen Chi for his engagement?

He was so wealthy; he lacked nothing, making any gift from her seem superfluous.

When she reached the classroom, she dutifully took her textbooks out of her backpack, ready for morning study. Soon enough, Yu Weiwei also arrived.

Yu Weiwei somehow procured several men’s health research manuals and, with a serious demeanor, hid them inside her Chinese textbook and studied intently.

“Chaomu, let’s study medicine together, and men’s health at that. I’ve been researching for days and found it quite fascinating,” Yu Weiwei proposed earnestly.

“What’s fascinating about it? Do tell,” Xu Chaomu challenged.

“For example, there’s an essential oil called Ylang Ylang. Heard of it? It has aphrodisiac properties, can enhance romantic moods, and adds to marital bliss, ” Yu Weiwei said with a mischievous twinkle.

“Have you used it?” Xu Chaomu looked at her with disdain.

“…” Yu Weiwei rolled her eyes, “Theory remains theory, practice is another thing. I am imparting wisdom to you. How could I, such an innocent girl, have ever used it?”

“Why give me this wisdom; I don’t need it,” Xu Chaomu retorted.

“Don’t you have a boyfriend?” Yu Weiwei winked at her..