After Marrying the Aloof Beauty, I Totally Fell for Her - Chapter 27

Chapter 27:  She’s Willing to Hug Me

The hug wasn’t long, but to An Ning, it felt as if time stopped, beating in sync with her heart.

Everything around her faded into insignificance. Only the soft and slender body of Mu Yan in her arms felt real and solid.

From the court came the referee’s voice, calling her back to sign the post-match forms. Mu Yan let go of her.

The woman lowered her head, ears blushing red.

Afraid that she would turn and walk away like last time, An Ning instinctively grabbed her hand.

“Wait… wait for me.”

She didn’t know what else to say. After stammering out those two words, she ran back toward the court.

Mu Yan: “……”

The woman’s gaze swept across the crowd. The group of spectators led by Chen Ying, who had been watching enthusiastically, immediately scattered like startled birds.

…She really wanted to leave.

But An Ning told her to wait, and her injury hadn’t been properly treated yet.

Mu Yan suppressed the urge to turn and go, silently reminding herself:

She was the one who told me to hug her. If it’s embarrassing, she embarrassed herself first.

But clearly, An Ning wasn’t nearly as self-conscious as she was. When the girl came back after signing the forms, her face—which had earlier been even redder than Mu Yan’s—was already back to normal.

“An Ning, you done signing?” Her coach, having learned the reason behind An Ning’s recent good form, was in a very good mood and even spoke to her more kindly than usual.

“Mm!” An Ning nodded.

“Then I’ll take you to the hospital. This counts as a work injury, so the team will reimburse the medical costs.” The coach waved his hand, then glanced—pretending it was unintentional—at Mu Yan. “Of course, Miss Mu is welcome to come along.”

“Oh…” An Ning responded sheepishly. She had completely forgotten about that. Honestly, she wasn’t a big fan of hospitals—so many tests, so much hassle. Usually, when she got bumps or bruises from playing, she just had the school nurse handle it.

But if she refused now, the coach and her teammates definitely wouldn’t be reassured.

Just as she was about to agree—

“I’ll take her to get it looked at,” Mu Yan interrupted.

“Uh… sure.” The coach glanced at An Ning, who had obediently stepped behind Mu Yan, and suddenly had the distinct feeling that the girl’s grown up and can’t be kept at home anymore.

“Ning Ning, we’re heading back!” Chen Ying grabbed the coach and left without a shred of hesitation. She simply raised two fingers in a victory sign and waved them at An Ning.

Ning Ning, this is as far as your big sis can help you.

An Ning: “……”

She followed Mu Yan to the parking lot to retrieve the car. Sitting in the passenger seat, she remained silent for a long time before finally asking, “Teacher Mu, are you happy today?”

Even though they chatted freely on WeChat, in person An Ning felt less at ease when facing Mu Yan.

After all, their actual interaction only dated back two or three months.

Mu Yan didn’t answer directly. While driving toward the old district, she gave a soft hum.

“If you hadn’t fallen, today would’ve been perfect.”

“Oh.” An Ning looked out the window somewhat guiltily—only to realize the road looked familiar.

Wasn’t this the direction to her home?

Puzzled, she turned to Mu Yan. “Teacher Mu, aren’t we going to the hospital?”

The woman glanced at her coolly. “Didn’t you say you didn’t want to go? There’s a small clinic near the family compound. It’s pretty good.”

Could this be the one Mom had mentioned? The one Teacher Mu often went to?

An Ning’s heart stirred with excitement.

The car stopped two blocks away from the family compound. An Ning saw a small clinic by the roadside. The blue-painted signboard had faded from sun and rain. Five white characters read Chang Juan Health Clinic. Through the glass door, they could see it was empty. A gray-haired female doctor was napping by the counter.

It didn’t look much different from the clinics near her school—felt kind of homey, actually.

They pushed open the door. The bell above jingled. The doctor slowly lifted her head, squinting at them for a while before remembering to put on her reading glasses.

“Doctor, she bumped her head. Could you redo the bandage?” Mu Yan’s tone was calm and polite.

The doctor gave an “oh,” finally focusing on An Ning. Seeing the bl00d-stained gauze, she immediately stood up. “Come, sit, sit. How’d a young girl end up like this?”

An Ning sat on a small stool and watched the doctor—who just a moment ago seemed slow and sleepy—quickly pull out all the necessary bandaging materials from behind the counter.

“Such carelessness. This cut’s pretty deep. Could leave a scar if it’s not handled properly.” The doctor carefully unwrapped the gauze, her tone scolding, like a mother scolding a troublesome daughter.

An Ning instinctively looked toward Mu Yan, and sure enough, the woman’s eyes were cold as she stared at her. An Ning smiled apologetically and was just about to say something—

But a cotton ball soaked in alcohol pressed against her wound.

“Hiss—!” The cold sting pierced sharply, and An Ning couldn’t help but draw a long breath.

Mu Yan: “……”

Weren’t you the one who just said on the court that it was no big deal?

Couldn’t you at least warn me beforehand?

Embarrassed by her outburst, An Ning clenched her clothes tightly and made up her mind. From this moment on—even if the doctor poured alcohol directly onto her wound—she’d grit her teeth and say nothing.

Before she could brace for the next sting, however, another hand gently wrapped around her clenched fist.

“Teacher Mu…”

She couldn’t move her head, so she tilted her eyes sideways as best as she could—and saw a delicate side profile.

Mu Yan’s lashes drooped slightly. She didn’t look at her, still wearing her usual cold expression, but sat beside her, holding her hand.

Like a parent comforting a child afraid of seeing the doctor.

An Ning’s heart warmed. For a moment, even the pain on her forehead was forgotten.

“Hmm?” The doctor didn’t stop what she was doing. She glanced at their joined hands, then at An Ning’s face, her tone slightly uncertain: “Your sister treats you really well. Wait, why do you two look so familiar?”

After bandaging An Ning’s wound, she stepped back and studied her carefully. Then her eyes lit up in recognition. “Oh! Aren’t you that little An girl? You’ve grown so tall!”

Before An Ning could even be surprised, the doctor squinted at Mu Yan too. “And you… are you from the Mu family?”

Clearly, Mu Yan hadn’t expected the elderly doctor to have such a good memory. Her expression stiffened for a second, but she didn’t deny it. She simply nodded slightly.

“Ah! You’ve both grown so big!” The doctor’s previously stern face softened with a kindly smile. “You two used to come here all the time when you were little. Then you just… disappeared.”

“How much is the fee?”
“Did we really come here a lot as kids?”

They both spoke at the same time. Mu Yan wanted to pay and leave. An Ning, on the other hand, was eager to hear what this unfiltered doctor had to say about their past.

Clearly, the doctor agreed with An Ning’s priorities. Ignoring Mu Yan’s question, she answered An Ning’s instead.

“Of course! You don’t remember? You were always climbing and jumping like a monkey. Whenever you got hurt, your mom brought you to me,” the doctor said, warming up to the story. She turned to Mu Yan as well, “And this girl—always getting fevers and bumps. You’d bring her in all the time.”

I brought Teacher Mu here to see the doctor?

An Ning looked at Mu Yan. No matter how she tried, she just couldn’t picture it.

“I’ll wait outside.” Knowing that even if she interrupted now, An Ning would just find a way to ask again later, Mu Yan stood up stiffly and walked out the door.

“ Teacher Mu!” An Ning wanted to follow, but was also too eager to hear more. She hesitated until she saw Mu Yan wasn’t driving off, then relaxed a bit and turned back to the doctor. “Do you remember anything else about my childhood? Could you tell me? I… I lost some memories because of something that happened.”

“Oh, so that’s what happened.” The doctor nodded thoughtfully. “I was wondering why you two stopped coming.”

She looked at the girl’s hopeful expression and chubby cheeks. Gradually, she connected her with the lively little girl from years ago—the one who was always hurt but always smiling—and softened her tone.

“There’s not much else. You mostly came in with surface wounds, always laughing like nothing happened. Mu-girl came in sometimes sick, sometimes bruised. But her injuries—” the doctor paused, brows furrowing, voice low and filled with reluctant anger, “Hers didn’t look like accidental falls. I always suspected she was being hit at home.”

An Ning’s fists clenched tightly on her knees, a wave of pain surging in her chest.

What exactly did Teacher Mu go through?

The doctor, seeing the sadness on her face, tried to soothe her. “But seeing you both grown up and doing well now… I feel relieved. You’ve become stronger. I remember back then, you rarely cried when hurt—much tougher than other kids your age. The only times you cried were when you came in with Mu-girl. She’d still be putting on that cold face, and you’d already be bawling, clutching her hand while I treated her.”

The doctor’s mind drifted back to a distant evening. A small girl had pulled a taller one into her clinic in a flurry, urgently begging her to check on her injuries.

In truth, Mu Yan’s injuries were rarely serious—mostly just bruises. An Ning’s were worse.

Yet when it was Mu Yan hurt, An Ning was the one crying her heart out.

The two girls had been unforgettable—both striking and so unusual—which was why the doctor remembered them all these years.

And just now, when Mu Yan had held An Ning’s hand, it reminded her of how An Ning used to pull Mu Yan’s hand back then—that was why she recognized them so quickly.

Still nothing.

Even after hearing about their past from the doctor, An Ning couldn’t recall a thing. Only a blank void.

She even felt a stab of resentment—resentment toward her own useless brain.

But from what little she heard, she could tell that Mu Yan’s childhood had been painful.

What would the old me have done?

I wouldn’t have been this timid, asking for a hug so cautiously…

A strange jealousy rose in her heart—jealousy of the past self who knew everything and had been so close to Mu Yan.

The bell jingled as the door opened. An Ning looked up to see Mu Yan walking in, holding a colorful ice cream cone.

“All done talking?” The woman didn’t comment on her red eyes—just handed her the cone casually. “Let’s get you home.”

After saying goodbye to the doctor, they returned to the car. Mu Yan drove silently toward the ceramics factory family compound.

An Ning looked at the colorful ice cream cone in her hands, decorated with bits of candy. It looked delicious.

Did I used to like eating this too, when I was little?

She took a bite. The sweet flavor spread in her mouth, soothing her aching forehead.

Maybe, many years ago, Mu Yan had also bought her ice cream like this…

How could I have forgotten all of it?

The ice cream was sweet, but An Ning’s eyes burned again.

Even though she had resolved to wait until Mu Yan was ready to tell her everything, at this moment, a new impulse stirred within her.

She was willing to hug her. She bought her ice cream. She almost never said no.

If that’s the case—why couldn’t she ask for a little more indulgence?

The car stopped at the entrance of the compound. Mu Yan turned to look at the girl beside her, who sat silent with her head bowed, and felt a growing unease.

She didn’t know what the doctor had said to make An Ning go from cheerful to quiet, but something told her—it was best to let the girl have some space for now.

“Go on. Get some rest.”

The girl responded softly but didn’t get out of the car. She turned her head, her eyes red like a bunny’s—adorable and pitiful.

“ Teacher Mu… could you tell me about our past?”

Her voice was barely above a whisper—almost pleading. She hung her head low, as if knowing she shouldn’t be asking, yet still stubbornly refusing to leave.