After bathing and washing away the sweat and dirt, Cui Pingan changed into the clothes he had worn upon arriving at the Mo Family and miraculously discovered that the sleeves had beco shorter, albeit by just a little bit.
"Auntie, look, I’ve grown taller, I’ve grown taller again." Cui Pingan, so excited he forgot to fasten his buttons, dashed out of the bathhouse and eagerly shared the good news with his aunt in a loud voice.
You see, since he turned seventeen, his height hadn’t increased, and compared to his peers, he was quite a bit shorter. Now, to be growing once more—even if he couldn’t surpass his peers in height, he surely wouldn’t be much shorter than them anymore. This thrilled Cui Pingan, who had always been self-conscious about his stature.
"Mhmm, Xiaoqi has grown taller. Before long, you’ll surpass your aunt," Auntie said.
Cui Qingrou had never expected such a surprise from visiting the Mo Family. Seeing her nephew so delighted and at a loss for words, she silently marked a note of gratitude towards the Mo Family in her heart.
Declining Mo Yan’s kind offer for them to stay for a al, Cui Qingrou urged a reluctant Cui Pingan to leave. However, just as they were about to reach the door, they saw a carriage slowly pulling to a stop, and a gentle voice reached their ears, "Zhenzhen, slow down, wait for the carriage to co to a complete stop before getting off, be careful not to fall."
Cui Qingrou felt the voice sounded familiar, as if she had heard it sowhere, when she saw Mo Yan bounding eagerly forward, smiling and saying, "Dad, how co you’ve co back so early today?"
At that mont, Cui Pingan reminded her, "Auntie, Uncle Mo has returned. Let’s greet Uncle Mo before we go!"
Cui Qingrou ca back to her senses, looking at Cui Pingan with a face full of gratification, she said, "That’s right, Xiaoqi has truly grown up." If it were before, her nephew would never have thought of that.
Cui Pingan’s face turned red, not because of his auntie’s praise, but because he felt ashad of his past thoughtlessness.
By now, Zhenzhen had already jumped down from the carriage and was about to run inside the house when she noticed two people standing at the entrance, one familiar and one unfamiliar.
Zhenzhen approached and looked closely, noticing that the two bore so resemblance, and asked curiously, "Brother Ping An, is this beautiful lady the auntie you said was very kind to you?"
Zhenzhen had been back a couple of tis before and often pestered Cui Pingan to tell her stories. Cui Pingan wasn’t good at storytelling, so he talked about his past experiences in the South, where he often ntioned his Auntie Cui Qingrou, so Zhenzhen rembered her well.
Cui Pingan nodded and said with pride, "You guessed correctly, she’s my beautiful Auntie."
"It’s really true then, Brother Ping An is so lucky!" Zhenzhen showed a look of envy. She also had an aunt, a paternal one, but not only was she unattractive, she was also very an, and Zhenzhen didn’t like her at all.
Auntie looked so pretty and was kind to Brother Ping An too. Ah, why didn’t she have such a perfect auntie!
Feeling envious, Zhenzhen did not neglect courtesy and stepped forward with small strides to pay respects to Cui Qingrou, "Zhenzhen pays respect to the Lady."
Cui Qingrou had already been amused by the conversation between her nephew and the child in front of her, and seeing such polite behavior from the child, her affection grew, as she personally helped him up, "Your na is Zhenzhen, isn’t it? You truly are a good child."
With that, she signaled to the maid behind her with her eyes. The maid, astutely interpreting her mistress’s desires, quickly took out a purse and presented it to her mistress with a bow.
Cui Qingrou accepted the purse and said to Zhenzhen in a gentle voice, "This is our first eting, and I don’t know what you like, so please take this as a little sothing for you to play with."
Although she said this, the reality was that Cui Qingrou had co fully prepared. In addition to a box of gifts as thanks, she had also specially prepared eting gifts for the children of the Cui family.
Zhenzhen knew this was the custom of affluent families and that it would seem improper to refuse, so she accepted the purse graciously and thanked Cui Qingrou with a smile and a grateful bow.
The child before her was truly adorable, and Cui Qingrou resisted the urge to reach out and touch him. Instead, her gaze fell upon the man who had just stepped out of the carriage behind Zhenzhen, and inadvertently locked eyes with those gentle, water-like orbs, leaving her montarily stunned.
Mo Qingze was similarly taken aback but quickly regained his composure and sought clarification with his eyes from his daughter standing beside him.
Mo Yan, oblivious to her father’s reaction, didn’t miss Cui Qingrou’s lapse and, pretending to have seen nothing, remarked casually, "Dad, this lady is Mrs. Cui, Cui Pingan’s auntie. She especially ca to take him back ho."
At that mont, Cui Qingrou also regained her composure and recognized the man before her as the one who had helped her out of a predicant on the night her nephew disappeared. eting him again, she couldn’t quite identify the feeling that was erging inside her, a strange sense of elation sprouting quietly.
"Greetings, Mr. Mo."
Cui Qingrou suppressed the peculiar emotion welling up within her and stepped forward to give Mo Qingze a respectful bow, her smile genuine and without any trace of frivolity.
Listening to the woman’s soft and clear voice, Mo Qingze found it very familiar, as if he had heard it soplace before. He thought for a mont and suddenly, with a flash of insight, recalled the incident at the entrance of a tavern, where he had intervened on a lady’s behalf.
The voice of that lady matched perfectly with that of the woman before him. Could they be the sa person?
It was just an ordinary small affair, but Mo Qingze couldn’t understand why he rembered it so vividly. Perhaps it was because the woman’s voice was too pleasant, or maybe the graceful deanor she exhibited had left a profound impression, making it easy for him to recall that evening’s events upon seeing a woman of the sa deanor and voice once more.
Seeing her father staring intently at Cui Qingrou, Mo Yan’s eyes unconsciously fell on Cui Qingrou, and a thoughtful expression appeared in her eyes...
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