After Confessing To My Childhood Friend - Chapter 54

Chapter 54:  Graduation

◎Hehe◎

…

Chen Mengyin: So what’s the surprise? You still haven’t told me.

Xie Zhirou: ＾＾You’ll find out when we eat later today.

…

The next day arrived.

Tang Jingxue booked a private room with a window view on the second floor of a quiet restaurant on Linjiang Road.

The restaurant had a serene atmosphere and elegant décor, and the room was well soundproofed—perfect for discussing more private matters.

That day, both families, without coordination, dressed in their most formal clothes. They also had the two kids—mainly Chen Mengyin—change into something appropriate before heading to the restaurant.

Chen Mengyin had a vague idea of the true purpose of this meal. For once, she didn’t argue with Li Ran, and opened her wardrobe to pick a suitable outfit.

When they arrived at the private room, despite the close relationship between the families, a faint awkwardness filled the air.

Tang Jingxue and Li Ran exchanged a few polite greetings and sat down.

For a moment, the room fell into silence—no one said a word.

Chen Mengyin, sitting beside Xie Zhirou, nudged her arm with her elbow and gave her a look, asking what was going on.

Xie Zhirou shook her head. From that small gesture, Chen Mengyin somehow understood what she meant, so she obediently stayed quiet and lowered her head, playing with Xie Zhirou’s slender fingers under the table.

After a while, the waiter came in with the dishes. The room’s atmosphere was so suffocating that the waiter made a swift exit after serving, even thoughtfully closing the door to leave the space to the guests.

As the door closed softly, all six faces looked at each other.

Tang Jingxue, the one who had initiated this gathering, resisted the scalp-numbing awkwardness and called out, “The food’s here. Let’s eat.”

“Yes, yes, let’s eat. That’s more important,” Li Ran added. “You two should eat more—you must be exhausted from the past few weeks.”

Two tender, slow-braised chicken legs landed in the bowls of Chen Mengyin and Xie Zhirou.

Chen Mengyin picked up hers and quietly started munching.

The private kitchen’s food was pretty good. After finishing the chicken leg, Chen Mengyin picked up a piece of garlic ribs and, finding it tasty, passed a piece to Xie Zhirou.

In that instant, everyone in the room—except Xie Zhirou—turned their heads to look at her. Their stares were so intense that Chen Mengyin, halfway through her rib, couldn’t take it anymore. She looked up and returned a puzzled expression.

“Why are you all looking at me? Eat,” she said casually, placing the rib bone on the side plate. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, she calmly peeled a shrimp for Xie Zhirou.

Li Ran nearly choked from frustration, throwing several sharp glares her way. But Chen Mengyin casually deflected them, continuing to feed Xie Zhirou as if nothing was wrong.

Li Ran: “……”

“Haha, after all these years, your relationship is still so close,” Tang Jingxue laughed awkwardly.

Li Ran joined in the fake laughter: “Haha, yes, yes it is.”

“Jingxue, I…”

“Sis, I…”

“Why don’t you go first?”

“No, you go first!”

The two moms opened their mouths at the same time. Tang Jingxue told Li Ran to go first, and Li Ran told Tang Jingxue to go first. Neither would give in, but the moment their eyes met, both burst into laughter.

The awkwardness that had plagued them for so long was completely dissolved in that moment.

Li Ran wiped the tears from her laughter. She had been worried. Tang Jingxue and her family were good, kind, sincere people.

She had only helped them during tough times—things she didn’t even think much of—but Tang Jingxue had repaid her kindness with deep, genuine affection.

That kind of relationship was rare.

Li Ran didn’t want to lose someone like Tang Jingxue, a friend who felt like a sister. When Chen Mengyin said she wanted to explain things to Tang Jingxue herself, Li Ran had refused.

She and Chen Lin weren’t dead yet—why should a little girl bear this responsibility?

She imagined many ways to explain the situation to Tang Jingxue.

But when the time came, all her mental rehearsals went out the window. Maybe the earlier laughter helped her relax. So Li Ran calmly and clearly explained everything.

Tang Jingxue listened in stunned silence.

She glanced at Xie Zhirou, who was still being fed by Chen Mengyin. Suddenly it all clicked—her daughter had already known that Li Ran knew about them.

No wonder she was so calm.

Tang Jingxue felt both amused and annoyed—annoyed that her daughter didn’t give her a heads-up and left her worrying unnecessarily, and pleased that her daughter’s relationship had gained Li Ran’s support.

“Sigh… I know this might be hard for you to accept,” Li Ran said, “Two girls being together can seem unthinkable or even morally wrong, but as parents, we should support them. Be their strongest backing.”

The heavy atmosphere made Chen Mengyin tense. Her stomach twisted like she had swallowed lead.

A cold hand reached over and clasped hers.

Xie Zhirou gave her a reassuring smile, squeezing her hand gently.

Chen Mengyin gave her a shaky, half-smile in return.

“Huh? Oh no, Li Ran, you’ve misunderstood!” Tang Jingxue snapped out of her thoughts and quickly explained, “I never intended to break them up!”

Li Ran: “Ah?”

Tang Jingxue sighed, “I actually invited you here today for this very reason.”

“When I first found out Zhirou liked Mengyin, I did consider being the evil parent and splitting them up. But just like you said, we parents should support them.”

“My husband and I have worked hard all these years for what? So Zhirou could have a better life. And Mengyin—she grew up under our eyes. I know exactly what kind of girl she is.”

“I trust her. I even thought about making her my goddaughter. Too bad I was a step too late—Lin Yalan snatched her up first, and I was so mad.”

“But now, it’s come full circle. My wish has come true.”

Tang Jingxue’s words moved Li Ran deeply.

They held hands and talked sincerely, even shedding tears without realizing it. In the end, Tang Jingxue had to hand her a tissue to wipe away the tears she hadn’t noticed falling.

While the moms bonded, the dads quietly sipped tea on the side—after all, the real authority in both families lay with the moms. This dinner was really about the two kids, with Li Ran and Tang Jingxue leading the discussion. The dads were just there to fill the seats—and drive.

“So… our moms are good now? We’re in the clear?” Chen Mengyin whispered to Xie Zhirou.

Xie Zhirou nodded slightly: “Mm-hmm.”

With that affirmation, Chen Mengyin beamed with joy.

The meal ended with both laughter and tears. Though the beginning was awkward, the outcome was a happy one.

After eating, the parents decided to head back.

Chen Lin had only taken time off for the two days of the college entrance exams. He’d swapped shifts today just to make it, and now had to head back to work.

Li Ran had taken the whole day off. After an emotionally intense day, she just wanted to go home and sleep.

Tang Jingxue and Xie Yunzhao, both extremely busy, had already taken time off for the exams. During the meal, they’d received several calls that Tang Jingxue had ignored. Now, after some urging from Li Ran, they went back to the office.

Before leaving, Xie Zhirou gave her mom a hug and reminded her to get some rest.

Tang Jingxue, eyes red, agreed.

“Are you two coming back with me?” Li Ran asked.

Remembering that they hadn’t finished their travel plans, Chen Mengyin happily accepted.

Back home, Li Ran took a shower, changed into pajamas, and went straight to sleep.

Chen Mengyin opened the computer to plan the trip with Xie Zhirou, but after going through something as nerve-racking as “meeting the parents,” she couldn’t focus. Soon she gave up and pouted, saying she was sleepy and wanted to nap.

Of course, Xie Zhirou understood what she really meant. She gave her a light pat on the butt and told her to change into pajamas before bed.

“Yay! I’ll go change now—see you on the bed~” Chen Mengyin threw her a flirty wink and ran to the bathroom.

Xie Zhirou saved their barely-started document, closed the laptop, and changed into pajamas right in the room.

When Chen Mengyin came out, Xie Zhirou was already waiting on the bed.

The bedroom light had been turned off after Chen Mengyin went into the bathroom. Only the dim sunlight filtered through the thick curtains.

Xie Zhirou leaned against the headboard, her silky black hair draped across her chest like smooth satin.

When she saw Chen Mengyin come out, she put her phone down and beckoned her over.

Chen Mengyin swallowed, took three steps in two, and pounced, wrapping her arms around Xie Zhirou’s waist. Her sharp little nose rubbed against her skin, making her squirm and tense up from the ticklish sensation.

“We haven’t… done it in a while, right?” Chen Mengyin buried her face in her scent, then looked up with a pitiful expression: “Zhirou, I want to…”

What she wanted was clear without saying.

Xie Zhirou chuckled and leaned down to kiss her forehead: “Then what are you waiting for?”

With that green light, Chen Mengyin cheered and rolled onto the bed, kissing the lips she’d been craving for so long.

Kissing someone you love is one of life’s happiest things. Xie Zhirou grew hot under the kiss, reaching out to hug Chen Mengyin’s back, her slender fingers gripping her shirt tightly.

The soft lips weren’t content to stop there. After the deep kiss, they trailed downward, leaving a trail of ambiguous marks.

Chen Mengyin mischievously teased the places that made Xie Zhirou feel good, satisfied as she heard a sweet moan.

Encouraged, she lavished even more attention on the red little fruit, until Xie Zhirou hugged her head tightly, half pushing her away, half offering herself up again.

The lips still wandered, and the agile tongue found another sensitive spot. Just as Xie Zhirou was about to lose it, she felt the tongue curl teasingly and play with the fragile flower.

Xie Zhirou’s toes curled stiffly—

The flower… started to rain.