When they came out from the wedding venue, it was already two o'clock in the afternoon. Having just experienced a sincere and touching wedding ceremony and seeing the warm sunshine outside again, Sheng Mumu felt somewhat dizzy.
Stepping out of the revolving door of the hotel, she stopped in her tracks at the entrance. While waiting for Xiao Wang to drive the car over, she blankly looked up at the sky for a while. The faint warmth on her face was blown away by the gentle autumn afternoon breeze. This finally stopped her from constantly recalling Qi Mo's hot and lingering gaze at her inside just now.
"Going to the company in the afternoon?"
Qi Mo suddenly turned his head and asked.
Sheng Mumu looked back at him, thought for a moment, smiled and answered, "No, with Jia Mu sister and Cheng Zhuo there, I can slack off for half a day."
As she spoke, her eyes lowered and she saw that Qi Mo was holding the complimentary gift box distributed at the wedding banquet.
The small square box in lake blue had a butterfly knot tied with pearl white satin ribbons.
The man with the aura of being in high position was casually holding a gift box in such a delicate and cute style.
It gave a strange sense of disharmony for some reason.
But Qi Mo didn't seem to feel that way at all and his expression was as usual. Then he asked again,
"Then come with me for a walk?"
"Okay," Sheng Mumu said, "Where to?"
Qi Mo looked towards the not too far away place.
That area had already been developed into tall buildings.
"I'll take you to tour the place where I grew up."
Sheng Mumu followed his gaze and looked over. She then remembered that on the way here, Qi Mo had said that the wedding hotel happened to be near the old neighborhood where he used to live.
At this moment, a black luxury sedan stopped steadily in front of the two.
Xiao Wang got out of the driver's seat and opened the rear door for Boss Qi and his wife.
Qi Mo handed the gift box to Xiao Wang, "Put this in the car. My wife and I will walk around first, we don't need the car for now."
Xiao Wang was confused but professional. He responded in one second, "Yes, Boss Qi."
After leaving the wedding hotel and crossing a road junction, winding through a shady path.
It was a street full of strong living atmosphere.
There were shops lined on both sides of the street.
Many of the shop signs had faded in color.
You could tell at a glance that they hadn't been renovated for a long time.
There were many such old neighborhoods around. Although some had been demolished, quite a few still remained.
Even on an ordinary weekday afternoon, the pedestrian flow was still very large.
The noodle shop owner lifted the pot lid, and steam instantly rushed up.
Schoolchildren with schoolbags lingered in front of the stationery store.
Debating whether to use their pocket money to buy notebooks or new colored highlighters.
Elderly people pushed their grocery carts slowly past the produce store. Attracted by the discounted vegetables being called out through a small loudspeaker inside, they stopped to take a look in.
At the corner bakery, the young shop assistant in an apron placed freshly baked bread on the shelf near the shop window.
The aroma of wheat drifted over.
"Ding ling ling--"
Behind them came the sound of a bicycle bell.
Qi Mo's hand gently touched Sheng Mumu's lower back, leading her inwards while taking a step to the outer side.
Two students wearing middle school uniforms sped through the crowd on bikes.
Their school uniforms were blown up by the wind, bending into the arc of youthful abandon.
"Ride faster, the first class in the afternoon is Teacher Ban's lesson," the boy in front urged.
The girl lagging behind pouted and complained, "I shouldn't have gone out of the way to get you. If we're late, we'll have to copy the school rules again as punishment."
The boy's voice faded away, "I'll copy it for you then..."
The old streets have a special magic.
Walking on them.
It would give people the illusion that time had stopped.
Unknowingly, the two slowed their pace.
Proceeding at an extremely leisurely pace, walking slowly down this street shaded by the ginkgo trees.
The coldness in Qi Mo's eyes became gentle.
The smells, sounds here, and even the loose feel of the ground bricks.
Were all exactly the same as before.
Only before, he would always rush through alone. Rarely observing the people around.
Returning after so many years, he finally realized how lively this street was.
No.
It may have always been so noisy, it was just that his past self had never noticed it before.
His eyes dimmed slightly, and Qi Mo silently curved the corners of his lips.
That's not right either.
He should say, his past self didn't have the ability to pay attention to little things in life.
Apart from work, there was only work in his mind.
The world was vast, waiting for him to break new ground.
Since she appeared in his life.
The world had become diverse, tiny and soft.
For him, she was reconstruction, and also subversion.
Sheng Mumu glanced at the man by her side.
Seeing the undisguised tenderness on his handsome face.
Her mind suddenly became curious.
What was little Qi Mo like?
Was he the child who hesitated in front of the stationery store with pocket money?
Or the unconstrained and carefree teenager riding a bicycle?
Looking at his handsome profile, her guesses grew more and more.
The two lazily strolled along.
When they encountered familiar shops, Qi Mo would talk to her in a low, reminiscent tone for a few sentences.
Such as: "I once had a stomachache after eating in this noodle shop", or "I didn't expect the beancurd seller uncle's hair to be all white now" and so on.
Sheng Mumu listened quietly, sometimes teasing him: "I didn't expect the boss to get stomachaches too."
Sometimes on a whim, she would pull him back to buy a bowl of cold taro and beancurd dessert.
In just an afternoon, she understood this man she slept with every day a little more.
He showed his sensitivity and childhood memories to her.
Unreservedly, in full.
When they returned to Xiyu Yue Ting, it was dinnertime.
The two had already eaten.
Butler Zhang stood at the door with a smile on his face:
"Welcome back, Sir and Madam."
Qi Mo nodded slightly, while Sheng Mumu touched her very full stomach and smiled slightly in response.
In the room.
Qi Shaobai's ears perked up when he heard Butler Zhang's loud voice outside.
He leaned back into the computer chair a little.
In fact, when he was texting with his little stepmother at noon, there was one thing he didn't get a chance to say.
The school had scheduled a senior prom for the 12th grade on Wednesday next week.
They invited parents of students to attend together.
Qi Shaobai was about to ask which of them had time to go.
But he was silenced by his father's intimidating voice message.
He was debating when to casually mention the prom to them, when there were two knocks on the door outside.
"Knock knock--"
Opening the door, Sheng Mumu was standing outside, waving the bag in her hand.
"Little Qi, don't say your dad and I ate deliciously without bringing you any. I bought freshly baked chocolate toast for you."
Qi Shaobai didn't stand on ceremony and reached out to take it, "Thanks."
Sheng Mumu turned to go upstairs and heard Qi Shaobai's lazy voice calling her.
"Oh right, the school is holding a senior prom on Wednesday next week, in the auditorium. Do you guys have time to come?"
Sheng Mumu turned her head and saw the aloof little Qi absently rubbing the back of his neck, chin slightly raised.
His expression was casual, his tone carried a touch of indifference, then he added,
"It's fine if you're busy, it's not a very important event anyway, just a unified school activity. Most classmates in my class aren't eighteen yet."
"We'll go," Sheng Mumu said without thinking, "I love lively events, of course I have to go."
Qi Shaobai's cold piercing eyes glanced away.
The piercing look was gone, his sarcasm unchanged, he retorted,
"No need to be so proud of loving lively events."
Sheng Mumu: "???"
