Chapter 57: Why isn't anyone asking me?

Pei Muyin didn't know how long it had been since she last slept so well.

Her whole body was wrapped in a soft, relaxed warmth like cotton, and then she naturally woke up in the faint morning light streaming in through the window.

She turned her head; the neighboring bed was empty, but her own blankets were tucked in tightly, and the humidifier on the nightstand exhaled a fragrant mist.

Walking into the washroom, a pink toothbrush with toothpaste already squeezed out lay horizontally on the rim of a water-filled cup, beside it were facial cleanser and two small towels folded into squares.

Pei Muyin involuntarily imagined in her mind what Mousse Sister looked like when she placed these items.

She picked up the toothbrush and began washing up; in the gap of spitting out foam, she unconsciously glanced at the mirror.

She saw in the mirror the girl's peach-blossom eyes happily narrowed, her face with cute baby fat showing an unprecedented cheerfulness.

…

When Pei Muyin finished tidying up, changed clothes, and came out of the room, Shu Lingchen had just sat down on the high stool at the water bar.

The boy yawned repeatedly, his half-lidded eyelids drooping, a tuft of black hair messily sticking up on his forehead, looking exactly like a little lion that hadn't woken up.

"... Good morning."

Pei Muyin walked over slowly and said to him.

"Mm, morning." Shu Lingchen pointed to the nearby stool, indicating she should come sit.

Hearing the movement, Shu Shu, with an apron tied around her waist, poked her head out from the kitchen's glass door, smiling: "Muyin, you're awake?"

Pei Muyin blinked her eyes: "Good morning, older sister."

"Good morning." Shu Shu asked: "Did you sleep well last night?"

Pei Muyin nodded: "Mm-hmm, I slept very well."

After answering, she asked again: "And you, older sister?"

Pei Muyin worried that her sudden move-in last night might affect her sister's sleep quality.

Then she heard Shu Shu say: "I'm doing well too."

The happiness index of being able to sleep while holding her recovered daughter is self-evident.

The two smiled at each other.

Beside them, Shu Lingchen glanced at Shu Shu, then at Pei Muyin, his gaze sweeping back and forth over their smiling faces; he instantly felt out of place, and, puzzled and somewhat accusatory, said: "Why isn't anyone asking me if I slept well?"

Pei Muyin and Shu Shu looked over at the same time.

Shu Shu raised an eyebrow, curled the corner of her mouth, and repeated his words: "So, dear, did you sleep well?"

Shu Lingchen straightened his back slightly, seriously recalled it in earnest, then said with considerable satisfaction: "Not bad."

He just vaguely remembered having a not-so-good dream, and in that half-awake state felt a wave of sadness in his chest.

Aside from that, everything was fine.

"You little brat," Shu Shu gave the boy a sideways glance while smiling.

For breakfast, Shu Shu made sandwiches.

The filling inside was fragrant pan-fried luncheon meat and egg, cheese slices, meat floss, and cucumber; the outer slices of crustless bread used for wrapping were also coated with egg liquid and pan-fried in the pot until golden.

Just looking at it made it seem delicious; Pei Muyin stared with bright eyes.

Shu Shu picked up a cup and poured heated milk; she placed the first cup on the table, Shu Lingchen, with a sandwich in his mouth chewing, naturally pushed that cup toward Pei Muyin with his other hand; when it came to the second cup he pushed it beside Shu Shu's plate, and he himself waited quietly for the last cup.

Pei Muyin glanced at Shu Lingchen and softly said thank you.

After breakfast, the three went to school together.

Although before today the three also went to school together, today Pei Muyin felt it was quite different.

Previously she would wait at the apartment building entrance for Shu Shu and Shu Lingchen to come down, but today she left together with Shu Shu and Shu Lingchen from the same door.

…

Yesterday, the homeroom teacher Lao Liu led Pei Muyin to Class 12, finished the introduction, and assigned her a seat.

At that time, the only empty seat in the class was the one next to Bo Luo Zai.

But Lao Liu remembered the words of the director of education, to give extra care to this student Pei Muyin, so naturally he could not seat her next to Bo Luo Zai, one of the class troublemakers.

Lao Liu then casually pointed to a table of girls and had one of them swap seats to become Bo Luo Zai's desk mate.

However, the two girls had been desk mates for nearly two semesters, already sharing a deep friendship; hearing this, their faces showed reluctance, and the one pointed out to change looked as if she were about to cry.

Pei Muyin immediately flusteredly waved her hands and told Lao Liu she could just sit in the empty seat.

She could not cause anyone any trouble just to look after herself, or she would feel very guilty.

After Pei Muyin's repeated requests, Lao Liu agreed.

Lao Liu was also quite surprised; he had heard about Pei Muyin's situation in the office, the focus revolving around the four words "precious identity"; children from such families tend to be spoiled and accustomed to putting themselves first.

If not forced by circumstances, Lao Liu would certainly not want his own class's students to suffer injustice.

But he hadn't expected this girl to be thoughtful and kind; at the time, his gaze upon Pei Muyin revealed a hint of relief.

Thus, those two girls did not need to be separated, and Pei Muyin thus became Bo Luo Zai's desk mate.

At that moment, Shu Shu was immersed in the shock of her daughter's appearance and didn't notice this.

After arriving at the classroom, Shu Shu said to Shu Lingchen: "You and Muyin swap seats."

"Oh, okay."

Shu Lingchen agreed without much thought; Bo Luo Zai's seat was also in the back row, so swapping seats with Pei Muyin merely meant moving from Shu Shu's left to her right, with only an aisle between them.

Moreover, he had just made an agreement with Pei Muyin the previous night that he could ask her about his studies thereafter.

Then, as a grown man, changing seats was nothing to him.

Furthermore, Pei Muyin is introverted; upon arriving at a new class she would surely feel unfamiliar, so being desk mates with the familiar Shu Shu was the best possible arrangement.

Shu Lingchen cheerfully moved his desk to beside Bo Luo Zai.

Pei Muyin came over from Class 1 yesterday with only a backpack; her textbooks and such were still in Class 1.

Without even waiting for Shu Shu to speak, Shu Lingchen grabbed Bo Luo Zai's collar and walked off: "Go get the textbooks."

…

On the eve of the early reading class.

The students of Class 1 had already all assembled; before the bell even rang, clear reading voices rose.

Shu Lingchen and Bo Luo Zai entered through the back door openly.

The reading voices fell silent instantly, and surprised gazes shot from all directions.

Holy shit! Look! It's Shu Lingchen from Class 12!

What is he doing in our class? Is he here to find Chu, the school belle? Before, when she chased after Chu, the school belle, she never once so openly ran into the classroom.

Don't say it, but Shu Lingchen has gotten really handsome.

Others noticed Shu Lingchen; Chu Lian naturally noticed as well. At this moment, she was holding a test paper, leaning over, asking Shi Jin mou a question from the front seat.

Seeing Shu Lingchen, her expression was very surprised, but then she recalled that day in the cafeteria, when Shu Lingchen had so ignored her, leaving her holding a grudge; she therefore deliberately acted aloof, turning her face away as if she hadn't seen him.

But her peripheral vision kept secretly glancing——