Deceased Mother's Inheritance - Chapter 18
Chapter 18: I should kiss her.
The school organized a graduation photo shoot. Yun Zhixue’s position was changed a few times, and she was moved to the back row of the girls. She slowly realized that she had grown a little taller.
She wanted to tell Meng Zhengyue. When her name popped into her mind, her body felt a kind of growing pain, as if her bones were being pulled and were about to be deformed. She wanted to be wrapped in Meng Zhengyue’s tightest embrace.
But she liked this change. After the photos, the school leaders specifically asked her about her recent situation. Yun Zhixue just nodded each time.
During class, the gatekeeper told her that a woman was looking for her, but because school security was very strict after the last incident, they didn’t let her in.
Yun Zhixue immediately went to the school gate after class.
The woman who came to see her was not Meng Zhengyue. She didn’t know the woman. The woman was thin, with a cotton pad on her forehead where she had a bump. She was shouting something. Yun Zhixue didn’t dare to get close and took a step back.
The gatekeeper asked, “Do you know her?”
Yun Zhixue shook her head. “No.”
The gatekeeper immediately sent the woman away. Yun Zhixue could still hear the woman shouting as she walked away. She turned her head for a look. The woman looked ferocious as she was breaking down. Yun Zhixue ran away quickly.
In the afternoon, there was a diagnostic test. She didn’t do well last time, so her mood became heavy. She wasn’t 100% sure that she did well this time, so she walked to her dorm with her head down.
She reached out to touch the doorknob, just about to push the door open.
Yun Zhixue had a sensitive sense of smell. In an instant, she smelled a faint fragrance. Her body immediately swelled up.
Meng Zhengyue stood quietly on the balcony.
The setting sun cast a golden glow on her blue dress. In Yun Zhixue’s eyes, there was only her and the twilight.
The door closed silently behind her. She tiptoed closer, her eyes sparkling with excitement, her lips pressed together in unsaid joy.
She had planned to blend into the other person’s space as silently as air, but she was the first to let out a trembling question, “Why are you here?”
Meng Zhengyue turned slightly, her voice gentle. “Work is so tiring, and I don’t want to go out and get sunburned. I thought of you, so I came.”
Yun Zhixue let out a very soft “mm.”
“Aren’t you having a test? Let me see how you did.” Meng Zhengyue turned around. “I just came over in the afternoon to take a nap. It’s very quiet here, and the air is good.”
The air conditioner was on in the room. Yun Zhixue’s skin got goosebumps. She said, “Wait for me for a moment.”
Meng Zhengyue turned to the side, about to eat with her, but Yun Zhixue ran out. She was gone in a flash. Meng Zhengyue propped herself up against the railing and looked. The athletes were still running downstairs. The little girl was running even faster than them.
“She’s so energetic, honey.”
Yun Zhixue ran into Chi Ruishou on the way. Chi Ruishou asked her, “Did your mommy come?”
Yun Zhixue was surprised. “How do you know everything?”
Chi Ruishou was about to answer, but Yun Zhixue was already gone. Chi Ruishou raised an eyebrow. “As soon as your mommy comes, you get all excited…”
About ten minutes later, Meng Zhengyue had just finished a phone call. The door was pushed open from the outside. Yun Zhixue came in with a bag. The weather was hot, and the little girl was sweating all over. Meng Zhengyue asked, “What did you buy? I brought you food.”
Yun Zhixue was still panting when she got to her side. Her face was flushed from the last bit of sunlight. “Ice cream and soda, and sugar-free coffee. It’s cold. You can drink it.”
Meng Zhengyue looked at her in surprise.
Yun Zhixue tucked the damp strand of hair that was sticking to her cheek behind her ear, then handed her the things. “You always drink something cold when you wake up from a nap… There’s only the milk you bought me in the fridge.”
“Mm, it’s refreshing.”
Meng Zhengyue took the orange soda. Her fingers touched the condensed water droplets on the glass. “Go wash your face.”
Yun Zhixue obediently went to get a towel. Meng Zhengyue leaned against the sofa and asked in a random manner, “Did you eat well?”
“Yes.”
“Did you bite your fingers?”
She answered indistinctly.
Meng Zhengyue put in a straw, took a sip, and said, “Come here.”
After she washed her face, it was clean and fair. Meng Zhengyue curled her finger and flicked her forehead. “Go eat.”
Yun Zhixue didn’t feel humiliated. Instead, she smiled and pursed her lips as she opened the lunch box.
On the milky white marble dining table were a few books and trophies. The base was engraved with the words “Physics Competition Gold Medal.” The name “Yun Zhixue” was clearly and forcefully written on the certificate of honor on top.
A few weeks ago, this table held her suicide note. Now, it was full of glory. Meng Zhengyue felt proud. She picked up the trophy to look at it and praised her. “You’re amazing.”
Yun Zhixue asked, “Do you want it?”
“Hmm?”
“I’m giving it to you,” Yun Zhixue said softly.
Meng Zhengyue smiled and said, “…This is your honor. You should keep it yourself.”
Yun Zhixue was drinking corn and pork rib soup. Her spoon trembled. She said softly, “…I just… want to give it to you… You’re my mommy.”
Meng Zhengyue held the slightly heavy trophy and took a sip of orange juice. “Okay, then I won’t be shy. I’ll put it on my desk from now on, okay?”
“Okay.”
She looked at the watch on her wrist.
She moved the dial, and the snowflakes inside were floating.
After getting used to it, looking at the time no longer felt like a hassle.
Yun Zhixue had another physics experiment that night.
After dinner, Yun Zhixue ran to the lab in a hurry. She negotiated with the manager, asking him to let her in to do the experiment first. The manager didn’t agree. The equipment inside was expensive, and she had to wait for the teacher to come and open the door.
She regretted it so much. She should have stayed in the dorm with Meng Zhengyue. It would have been fine to be half an hour late.
Her phone vibrated: “Go, my honey.”
Yun Zhixue’s arm trembled.
The experiment took a long time. A few students couldn’t get the data right and had to change it many times. Yun Zhixue was also in a hurry. She messaged Meng Zhengyue, but Meng Zhengyue didn’t reply.
She was so anxious that she walked over to that group, took the instrument from their hands, and did it once. It was very smooth, and the data tape was also very accurate. The students in the group were stunned for a few seconds, then said thank you stiffly.
Ten minutes later, Yun Zhixue was surrounded by a low pressure. Facing the deliberate greetings of those girls, she just turned her face away coldly. They were the ones who made her come out late.
The night was as dark as ink. The streetlights cast a pale white light.
She stood in front of the dorm room, sniffing like a puppy. In an instant, her dark eyes lit up.
Meng Zhengyue was sleeping on the sofa. She had one hand on her eyes and the other on her waist. Her eyes were closed. There was a newly bought midnight snack on the table.
Yun Zhixue slowly approached. Her gaze crossed the line for the first time, climbing from her usual focus on Meng Zhengyue’s fingers and finally stopping on her lips. Her fingertips unconsciously tightened on the edge of her textbook. A secret desire welled up in her throat.
She was not awake. She was sleeping soundly. The light and the dust in the air formed a colloid. The light and shadows danced on Meng Zhengyue’s eyelashes, saying, “Come closer.”
Yun Zhixue stared at the moonlight that shone in.
It slanted down from the distant sky, like an opportunity from heaven. She changed from a half-squat to a kneeling position, using the cover of the light and shadow to stare at that face—this person had cooked porridge for her, taken her temperature, and her breathing was so steady now that she wanted to disrupt it.
Meng Zhengyue’s eyes were closed, and her face was slightly turned. There was a kind of heat steaming from her. Yun Zhixue tried hard not to look at her, but her eyes kept moving back to her.
“Mommy…”
Mommy was a wonderful word.
She could enjoy a woman’s powerful and pure motherly love, and also hug her back like a close lover, using her body to fill the emptiness and longing.
Love was growing in the dark, enveloping her completely.
Her mother did it.
Why can’t I?
I should kiss her.
Her back was tense, like a broken skeleton holding up scattered parts, about to collapse completely onto Meng Zhengyue.
I love her so much. She’s so gentle. Such a good mommy. I love her so much.
Yun Zhixue’s hands were propped up above her. She slowly lowered her head, inch by inch… She lowered her lips to her.