"..." She didn't say a word, and Xiao Mubai understood everything.
He originally thought that finally he had something that could surpass Lu Lingchuan...
He hooked the corners of his mouth, lightly bringing the atmosphere back: "The fact that you could bring me here shows that I still occupy an important place in your heart, so I'm very happy."
Shen Nian merely curved her lips slightly and didn't deny it, calmly saying: "Yes, you've always been very important to me."
If it weren't for Xiao Mubai, she was afraid she wouldn't have been able to hold on.
Xiao Mubai was stunned for a second after hearing her straightforward words, then he stared at her fixedly.
Shen Nian felt a little uncomfortable being gazed at by the man's scorching gaze, and was just about to open her mouth when she saw the man smile faintly: "It was worth it."
He said the same thing he said to her in the hospital.
"What?"
"Hearing you say that, I also feel that I was worth it."
At least it wasn't a one-sided infatuation without response.
The two looked at each other, Shen Nian stunned, Xiao Mubai smiling.
"By the way." Just as the atmosphere was about to become awkward, Xiao Mubai immediately pulled his gaze away and looked around: "Is this the place where you've lived for many years?"
"Mm." Shen Nian nodded, hugging a cushion and lowering her head to sniff it.
It hadn't been aired out in too long.
"I didn't live here until around elementary school, after that I've lived here ever since."
"I want to take a look around." Xiao Mubai looked at her, then added: "The first time I saw you was at A University, when you were already in college. I don't know anything about what you were like as a child."
"Sure." Shen Nian stood up: "I'll show you around."
"Mm."
Shen Nian had lived in this house for over a decade, even though she hadn't lived there for a long time, she knew everything about it like the back of her hand.
"This is my parents' bedroom, after they passed away I kept it unchanged, without moving anything."
Shen Nian first brought Xiao Mubai into the master bedroom, a very large room, and as she went in she felt nostalgic.
She walked up to the dressing table, on top of which were still placed her mother's old makeup and skincare products, having gone through many years they couldn't be used anymore, but she still kept them in their original place.
Xiao Mubai looked around and nodded: "The decor looks very nice, was it Aunt's style?"
"Mm." Shen Nian responded: "My mom always had good taste."
Xiao Mubai's gaze was instantly drawn to the very large family portrait hung above the headboard.
Shen Nian turned her head and saw what Xiao Mubai was looking at, following his gaze she saw the family portrait, and she smiled faintly: "This is the family portrait we took, it was taken when I was 16 years old."
This was the first time Xiao Mubai saw such a youthful Shen Nian, her eyes and brows held a clarity untainted by the harms of society, other than that there wasn't much difference from how she looked now.
Shen Nian resembled her mother, Shen Nian's mother was also very beautiful, clearly a very gentle person.
Shen Nian's father was also handsome and dashing.
A family of three with very high looks.
"We mostly had individual photos in my family, many of just me or me and my mom, we never took a family portrait before, this was the first time. We also made a promise that we would take another one when I graduated high school, when I graduated college, when I got married, and when I had kids..."
The more she spoke, the softer Shen Nian's voice became and the more dim her gaze, as if clouded by sadness.
They had promised so much, but didn't even fulfill the first promise.
They passed away in a car accident before she graduated high school.
Sensing Shen Nian's dejected mood, Xiao Mubai immediately changed the topic: "Did you take a lot of photos before? Come to think of it, I don't have any photos of you."
He smiled.
This was true.
Shen Nian raised her head, looking at him: "Are you asking me for photos?"
Xiao Mubai raised his brows: "I said it so clearly and you still have to ask?"
He was indeed asking.
Shen Nian laughed out loud: "Then you might be disappointed, I don't have any photos left."
"Hey..." Xiao Mubai glared at her unhappily: "You just said yourself that you had a lot of photos from when you were little."
"I used to have them." Shen Nian said: "After my parents passed away, there was one time when Lu Lingchuan accompanied..."
Shen Nian originally wanted to say there was one time when Lu Lingchuan accompanied her back here, but abruptly realized and silently omitted the part about Lu Lingchuan, then continued the latter part.
"That time I gathered all the photos from home, and then burned them for my parents." Shen Nian's eyelids drooped slightly: "I hoped they wouldn't forget me."
What Shen Nian didn't say was that at the time, Lu Lingchuan had taken away a few photos, ones that he thought were the best looking ones of Shen Nian from different ages, the rest she had indeed burned for her parents.
Afraid that Xiao Mubai wouldn't be happy after hearing this, Shen Nian didn't mention it.
Xiao Mubai asked her: "Don't you think it's a pity? These were your happiest memories with them."
"Not a pity." She raised her head, pointing to the family portrait: "Having this is enough."
After saying that, she smiled and said: "There's nothing much left in my parents' room, I'll show you my room now."
"Okay."
Shen's Father was a very caring and devoted family man, putting all his efforts into his family.
Just looking at the house, one could tell.
Even though it was a family of three, there were four bedrooms.
"This is my room, and that's my dad's study over there."
Shen Nian brought Xiao Mubai out of her room, then pointed to a room not far away, and then pointed to the one next to it: "That's my other room."
After saying that, she walked over.
She opened the door and went inside.
The space inside wasn't small either, about the same size as Shen Nian's room, with all sorts of things.
"This is the desk where I did homework, the easel next to it is the one I bought when I used to paint, the thing in the corner is a piano, and the shelf has a violin on it."
She opened a small cabinet, inside were stacked some clothes.
"These are the dance costumes from when I learned dancing, and over there are the gloves and clothes from when I learned boxing..."
"Dancing and boxing?" Xiao Mubai was amused: "A clash of ice and fire?"
Shen Nian touched her nose: "Dancing was something my mom had me learn, she said learning dance requires controlling your diet, learning self-discipline from a young age gives you an advantage in all aspects."
"As for boxing, that was something my dad had me learn, he said it's good for a girl to have some self-defense skills, but after I got punched in the face by a mischievous boy the same age as me just a few classes in, my dad couldn't bear to let me continue."
Xiao Mubai looked around, nodding: "I didn't expect you had learned so many things before."
"They are all taught some basic skills." Shen Nian closed the cabinet: "Mom says that everyone's life is like a painting. Even though you don't need to hold a brush to complete it, adding a few strokes at the right time will make the painting more beautiful, more liked by others, and more valuable."
"Mom says studying is not the only path. Being able to develop in other fields is also a talent. Although learning these things at a young age can be a bit difficult, if I don't have the ability to get into a good university in the future, at least these skills can be my backup plan." Shen Nian pointed at the items in the room.
