After the case at Star Home was resolved, Mu Mian and her colleagues took a few days off.
Jiang Yinian invited Mu Mian to attend Jiang Yun's funeral, but she declined. No matter what expectations and emotions she had once harbored for Ms. Jiang, they no longer mattered on the day of her death.
Mu Mian disliked funerals! The deceased were reduced to ashes, and crying loudly wouldn't make them hear anything. Why bother?
On the last day of their vacation, Zhang frantically called for help in the group chat. After a long time, only Mu Mian, full of excitement, and Fang Rui, looking sleepy and irritable, showed up.
"Only you two came?" Zhang looked behind them, finding it empty. He had been shouting in the group chat for a while, but only Mu Mian and Fang Rui had come. And in such matters, they were the least helpful.
"Where's the body?" Mu Mian stood in the luxurious hotel lobby, bewildered.
"There's no body."
"Then why did you call me here? I only know how to dissect bodies." Mu Mian sighed. Zhang had sent a location in the group chat earlier, saying, "Everyone, hurry up, someone's going to die." Mu Mian quickly went to Fang Rui's place, dragged him out of bed, and had him drive her over.
"If you don't help me, you might only see my corpse tomorrow." Zhang whined.
"But Officer Zhang, I'm not interested in your remains."
"Mu Mian, isn't it time to stop bickering when things are this urgent?"
Fang Rui impatiently interrupted him, "Then please get to the point."
"The thing is, last night, I went to Chen Xue's rented place for dinner, and unexpectedly, her mom showed up and caught me red-handed. She didn't say much at the time, but if looks could kill, you'd be seeing a corpse right now. Before letting me go, her mom coldly said, 'Let's have lunch together tomorrow.' Chen Xue told me that all her aunts and uncles would be there, and she asked me to bring a few people to boost the numbers. That's why I called you guys."
Zhang's parents were on a trip and wouldn't be back soon. Also, calling relatives over seemed too formal, and Chen Xue mentioned that her mom hadn't yet agreed to their relationship. Zhang had no choice but to ask his colleagues for help.
Mu Mian looked at Fang Rui, "There will be about fifteen aunts and uncles, plus Chen Xue's mom. Fang Rui, can you handle so many people? Maybe we should just leave. I'm scared!"
"Okay."
"Boss, please don't leave! Mu Mian, 'aunts and uncles' is just a term, not a specific number! And you're not here to fight; you're here to eat."
Mu Mian asked, "So how many people are there exactly?"
They soon found out. Chen Xue's mom arrived with a large group of aunts, about fifteen or sixteen of them, bustling in. Chen Xue covered her face, looking helpless.
Chen Xue's mom owned a shop and had some money. She had already booked a large private room that could accommodate twenty people.
On the way to the room, the aunts all looked at Fang Rui with satisfied smiles. Then they saw a young girl hiding behind Fang Rui, her hand tightly gripping his arm. Their smiles froze, and their gazes slowly shifted to Zhang, whose smile faded.
Although Zhang was decent, his physique and build couldn't compare to Fang Rui's. Too bad Fang Rui already had a lovely girlfriend.
Once seated, Zhang introduced himself confidently, "Hello, aunts. I'm Chen Xue's boyfriend, Zhang Qiang. You can call me Little Zhang. It's my first time meeting you all, so I'll toast you with tea."
Soon, the aunts changed their minds.
Zhang was good at dealing with these aunts. He poured tea and chatted with them, making everyone laugh. He also didn't neglect Chen Xue, often serving her food and handing her tissues, showing meticulous care.
In contrast, Fang Rui was a mute. Not only did he not initiate conversations, but he also didn't respond when the aunts tried to engage him. He even ordered a dish of Kung Pao Chicken and ate it alone, which was quite rude.
The aunts shook their heads.
Fang Rui picked out the chicken from the Kung Pao Chicken and placed it in Mu Mian's bowl, who then ate it.
"Young people these days are picky eaters," an aunt said sarcastically.
"That's right. With better conditions now, they can afford to be picky. Back in our day, having something to eat was good enough." The aunt next to Mu Mian directly addressed her, "Little Mu, even if your boyfriend spoils you, you can't be so picky. It's important to have a balanced diet and eat everything."
Mu Mian whispered to the aunt, "Yes, being picky is bad, but I'm not picky. Fang Rui is very picky; he only likes the cucumbers and carrots in Kung Pao Chicken. I like the chicken, so I help him eat it."
"..."
The aunts were even more dissatisfied with Fang Rui. He was so inconsiderate to put disliked food in his girlfriend's bowl. In contrast, Zhang was incredibly considerate.
Mu Mian ate while occasionally glancing at the table, ready to flee if they decided to attack Zhang. She chose a seat by the door for this purpose, though it meant she and Fang Rui had to move dishes every time the waiter served them.
Fortunately, the atmosphere at the table was good, and Chen Xue's relatives grew more satisfied with Zhang, especially in contrast to Fang Rui and Mu Mian.
After finishing dessert, Chen Xue's mom said to Zhang, "Little Zhang, I'm not a conservative person. If you want to be with Chen Xue, that's fine, but you two need to settle down soon. Chen Xue is a good girl, and you mustn't mistreat her."
"Yes, Chen Xue is a wonderful person," Mu Mian chimed in. "Auntie, I'll keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't bully Chen Xue."
Chen Xue's mom teased Mu Mian, "Little Mu, with your small frame, I doubt you can beat Little Zhang."
"True. But I'm smarter than him. And I can have Fang Rui help me beat him." Mu Mian looked at Fang Rui, "You'll help me, right? Even though you know Little Zhang longer, I feel like we're closer."
"Hahaha." Everyone laughed.
Mu Mian didn't understand why they were laughing, so she laughed along.
Chen Xue's mom looked at Fang Rui, "When do you plan to get married?"
"Not that soon," Fang Rui replied.
After the meal, Chen Xue's mom and the aunts went to play mahjong, Chen Xue and Zhang went on a date, and Mu Mian and Fang Rui planned to go home and spend the rest of their vacation in bed. But Mu Mian received an email sent two hours ago.
Dear Cherry,
I'm flying back to Florida at four o'clock this afternoon. I want to have lunch with you before I leave. Would you like to come to a restaurant near the airport?
The sender was Ms. Mischel.
Mu Mian quickly replied to the email. She hadn't seen Ms. Mischel in a long time. Although they couldn't have lunch, Mu Mian thought they could meet at the airport.
"Fang Rui, can you take me to the airport?"
"Sure." Fang Rui saw the word "dear" and asked jealously, "Who are you going to see? Are you going to have another friend pop up?"
"It's Ms. Mischel."
Fang Rui suddenly remembered that it was this lady who had told Mu Mian that people with autism shouldn't get married.
"Let's hurry to see her then. We can't let her leave."
"Fang Rui, don't walk so fast. It's only two o'clock now, and it only takes half an hour to get to the airport. We have plenty of time."
When they arrived at the airport, Fang Rui saw an elegant foreign woman sitting in the waiting area, reading a book.
"Cherry," Ms. Mischel could speak Chinese, but not very fluently, "You seem to have grown up a lot."
She wanted to reach out and hug Mu Mian, but she remembered that Mu Mian was resistant to physical contact, so she tried to pull her hand back.
Mu Mian hugged her first, "It's been two years since we last met, so a hug is okay."
Ms. Mischel smiled, "Cherry, your sister was right, you've changed a lot."
"Hello, Ms. Mischel," Fang Rui greeted her.
"Hello," Ms. Mischel was a bit surprised, she looked at Mu Mian and exclaimed, "Cherry, is this your boyfriend? You've found love?"
"I don't have love yet," Mu Mian sighed, "People with autism find it hard to have love."
"Who told you that? People with autism can have love. Do you remember Amy? She later got married and she's very happy."
Mu Mian asked confusedly, "But you said people with autism can't get married. You told Linda's parents not to let her get married, don't you remember?"
"That's because Linda's boyfriend didn't love her, he was a liar, so they couldn't get married."
Mu Mian looked at Fang Rui excitedly and said, "Fang Rui, I can get married, I don't have to live alone forever."
"Mm-hmm."
Ms. Mischel looked at Mu Mian affectionately and asked, "So, Cherry, do you have someone you want to marry?"
"Ms. Mischel, your plane is about to take off, you should hurry to board," Mu Mian pointed at Ms. Mischel's watch, reminding her of the time.
"Cherry, I hope the next time I come back to China, it's for your wedding," Ms. Mischel glanced at Fang Rui, smiled at him, and then took her handbag to board the plane.
"Cherry, goodbye."
"Ms. Mischel, goodbye!"
After Ms. Mischel walked away, Fang Rui curiously asked, "Mu Mian, why didn't you answer Ms. Mischel's question directly just now?"
"Fang Rui, I'm hungry."
"You ate a big bowl of rice and half a plate of chicken at lunch." Fang Rui felt Mu Mian's ability to change the subject was getting stronger.
Mu Mian pleaded, "I want seafood paella."
"Alright."
Mu Mian happily followed behind Fang Rui. She had thought about marrying Fang Rui, so she could legally obtain his body, but she had promised never to mention those two words in front of Fang Rui again, so she didn't want to answer that question.
But how could she get Fang Rui to willingly marry her?
