After Being Bent by Reader

The weather in November was cool, so Murong Mingshu was wearing a plain satin dress. When she felt a gust of wind hit her, she snapped out of her daze and looked at the empty doorway. Then, she said, "Ah Lian, was I seeing things just now? I think I saw them..."

In response, Aunt Lian shook her head and said, "No, I saw it too."

The silken shawl Murong Mingshu wore silently fell to the floor. However, Murong Mingshu didn't pay it any attention as her mouth gradually opened in shock.

Meanwhile, Aunt Lian strode towards the door, opened it, and poked her head outside. After making sure that Xu Chuanchuan and Murong Shi had left, she shut the door and quickly returned to Murong Mingshu's side, saying, "They're gone."

Murong Mingshu nervously clasped her wrinkled palms, "What is the meaning of this?"

"How would I know?" Aunt Lian also wore an anxious look on her face. "No matter how good their relationship is, there's no way they will kiss each other on the lips. Do you think the two of them are..."

Murong Mingshu stared at Aunt Lian with a blank look for a moment before asking, "Have you noticed anything strange about them before?"

Aunt Lian pondered in silence for a moment. Then, she said, "Yes, I did! On one weekend morning, Little Shi accompanied you out for a walk. I saw that Chuanchuan was still asleep, so I went to wake her for breakfast. She was changing out of her pajamas when I opened the door, so I ended up seeing..."

"What did you see?"

A blush appeared on Aunt Lian's wizened face. Then, she pointed at the area around her collarbone and said, "I saw a few red marks here. When I asked her about them, she covered them up in a panic and said they're mosquito bites. I didn't think much about it at the time, but looking back at it now, there's no way mosquito bites could cause such huge marks. Rather than mosquito bites, it looked as if someone had sucked on those spots with their mouth."

"..." Murong Mingshu revealed a horrified expression. Then, she hesitantly said, "Could it be Little Shi???"

There were no outsiders present, so Aunt Lian boldly stated her assumption, "Don't you think it's strange. There's a guest room in the house, so why must they sleep in the same room? Apart from mealtime, they're rarely separated from each other. Also, there was one time where I woke up in the middle of the night to get some water. When I was about to head downstairs, I suddenly heard strange noises coming from Little Shi's room, the kind that men and women usually make on the bed... You get me?"

After Aunt Lian had spoken so bluntly, there was no way a married woman like Murong Mingshu wouldn't understand. It was just that she found this ridiculous situation hard to process.

Meanwhile, Aunt Lian picked up the fallen shawl and stuffed it into Murong Mingshu's arms. Then, she said, "I used to hear that it's possible two men or two women to do that kind of thing, but I never thought Little Shi and Chuanchuan..."

"N-No, that can't be possible," Murong Mingshu interrupted. "Could we be overthinking things?"

Both of them were elderly and conservative people. Aunt Lian also hoped that she was overthinking matters. However, with the facts placed before her, how could she deceive herself?

"Why don't we check their room?" Aunt Lian suggested.

"O-Okay, let's go," Murong Mingshu agreed.

Aunt Lian was usually the one responsible for cleaning the house. Whenever she cleaned Murong Shi's room, she would always avoid messing with Murong Shi's belongings. However, after something like that had happened today, the two elders couldn't care less about being reserved. After entering the room, they immediately began rummaging through the drawers and cabinets.

When they opened the bedside table's drawer, they instantly found all of the evidence they were looking for. A few unopened packets of finger cots, a magic wand massager, and an egg vibrator neatly arranged inside the drawer... Upon seeing these strange items, the two old women blushed, neither of them daring to even touch the items.

Afterward, Aunt Lian found a book hidden under the pillow. However, as neither of them could see the words written in the book, Aunt Lian hurriedly went to Murong Mingshu and brought back the latter's reading glasses.

By the time Murong Mingshu was done reading the novel's introduction, she dared not read any more of the book's contents.

Aunt Lian asked, "What's written inside?"

Murong Mingshu closed the cover, her lips trembling as she found it difficult to speak.

...

In the car...

Xu Chuanchuan's heart beat violently as she anxiously said, "Auntie and Aunt Lian must be suspecting us right now."

"I did it precisely because I want them to grow suspicious," Murong Shi said in a relaxed tone.

Widening her eyes, Xu Chuanchuan looked at Murong Shi's profile and asked, "Why didn't you tell me in advance if you were going to do something like this? At least let me be mentally prepared."

"Mentally prepared for what?"

Xu Chuanchuan was stumped.

Chuckling, Murong Shi said, "The ones who need to be mentally prepared are my mom and Aunt Lian. I think that they've probably gone to search my room by now. Once they see those things, everything should be clear to them."

When Xu Chuanchuan recalled that embarrassing scene that had taken place just a few minutes ago, she couldn't help but cover her face in shame. After a while, Xu Chuanchuan asked, "Do you think they can accept it?"

"How would I know?"

"Then, why did you suddenly...?!"

Murong Shi stopped the car in front of a red light. Using this opportunity, she looked at Xu Chuanchuan and said, "What are you afraid of? Both my mom and Aunt Lian like you so much."

"But..." Xu Chuanchuan stopped talking, unsure of what she should say in this situation.

"Don't worry. We'll know what their stances are when we return tonight," Murong Shi said as she held onto Xu Chuanchuan's hands. Then, she chuckled, "Why are you even sweating? Nervous?"

Xu Chuanchuan hurriedly retracted her hands and wiped her palms against her pants. Then, she let out an angry huff and said, "Is that not your fault? You didn't even say anything before kissing me right in front of them. I was so frightened that I even broke out in a cold sweat."

Murong Shi couldn't help but laugh.

Xu Chuanchuan knew that they had to come out of the closet sooner or later. She also knew that it wouldn't be an easy task to get through her parents' hurdle. After all, her parents had only met Murong Shi twice thus far. However, it was a different story for Murong Mingshu and Aunt Lian. At this point, the two elders already treated her as if she were their goddaughter. So, there was a much better chance that the two elders would accept her relationship with Murong Shi.

Even so, Xu Chuanchuan still couldn't help but worry.

After struggling through the day and finally getting off work, Xu Chuanchuan remained seated in the office.

When everyone else in the Engineering Department had left, Murong Shi came to find Xu Chuanchuan and said, "Let's go."

Xu Chuanchuan's current expression looked as if she was suffering from constipation. Hesitantly, she said, "How about...you go home by yourself today?"

"Scared?"

Xu Chuanchuan pursed her lips and nodded.

"What's there to be afraid of with me around?" Murong Shi said, pulling Xu Chuanchuan out of the chair. "The ugly daughter-in-law will have to meet her in-laws sooner or later."

"I'm not ugly."

"So, what are you afraid of?"

"..."

After going upstairs to feed Fang Qin's fish, Xu Chuanchuan eventually compromised and returned to the Murong household together with Murong Shi.

"Mom, we're back."

"A-Auntie," Xu Chuanchuan greeted Murong Mingshu with a stiff smile.

Aunt Lian was in the kitchen preparing dinner.

Meanwhile, Murong Mingshu was seated in the living room watching TV, her complexion looked the same as usual. Though, her expression changed slightly when she saw her daughter and Xu Chuanchuan holding hands with each other. However, she quickly put on a proper smile and said, "You're back? Dinner's not ready yet. How about eating some fruits first?"

Xu Chuanchuan tried to free her hand. However, Murong Shi simply tightened her hold and dragged Xu Chuanchuan to the sofa.

As soon as they sat down, Xu Chuanchuan immediately saw the several books on the coffee table. And upon seeing the familiar book covers, her breath stifled.

Those were her novels...

Xu Chuanchuan didn't know when Murong Shi had brought those books back from the dormitory. She also didn't know how Murong Mingshu found those books. At this point, her body had become so stiff that she didn't even notice the apple slice Murong Shi offered her.

"Open your mouth," Murong Shi said, poking her lover's lips with the apple slice.

Xu Chuanchuan couldn't bring herself to do something so embarrassing in front of Murong Mingshu. So, she grabbed the apple slice with her free hand and put it into her mouth. Then, while chewing, her eyes inadvertently found themselves returning to the books.

Is it too late to hide them now? Xu Chuanchuan wondered.

At this time, Murong Mingshu suddenly said, "Little Shi, Chuanchuan, I have a question to ask you two."

Xu Chuanchuan's heart thumped. Amidst her daze, she accidentally bit her tongue and cried out in pain, "Ah."

Two pairs of eyes looked toward Xu Chuanchuan simultaneously. Then, Murong Shi asked, "What's wrong?"

Xu Chuanchuan endured the pain and shook her head. And although she tried to put on a smile, she failed miserably in doing so.

After seeing Xu Chuanchuan shaking her head, Murong Shi reached out and grabbed one of the books on the coffee table. After flipping through it superficially, she looked toward Murong Mingshu and asked, "Did you find these in my room?"

A trace of embarrassment flashed across Murong Mingshu's face. Then, she awkwardly said, "It's not that I don't respect your privacy. It's just because..."

"I know," Murong Shi calmly interrupted. "You came into my room to find evidence."

Murong Mingshu fell silent.

Murong Shi held up Xu Chuanchuan's hand and kissed it. Ignoring Murong Mingshu's strange stare, Murong Shi said, "Mom, I like Chuanchuan. We've been together for a long time now. But we were worried you couldn't accept it, so we've hidden this fact until now."

Murong Mingshu had already prepared a draft of questions to get to the bottom of this matter. However, she didn't think that her daughter would confess everything so quickly. Feeling a little taken aback, she said, "But I don't understand. Weren't you together with Shaohua previously?"

Murong Shi looked down and pondered for a moment. Then, she said, "Me and Jiang Shaohua were only putting on an act. There was never any real relationship between us. We were just pretending to be lovers."

"..." Murong Mingshu was so surprised that she couldn't speak.

"I know you have always disliked Jiang Shaohua. You think that there is a problem with his character," Murong Shi said before pausing for a moment. Then, she looked at her anxious lover, whose palms had already begun to sweat, and smiled, saying, "I'm sure you and Aunt Lian both know what kind of person Chuanchuan is. She is a good girl."

Murong Mingshu switched her gaze between Murong Shi and Xu Chuanchuan. Her mouth opened and closed several times, but not once did she manage to utter a word.

At this time, Xu Chuanchuan timidly said, "Auntie, I like Murong from the bottom of my heart. I wish to be together with her forever. I hope you can accept us."

Murong Mingshu had always been weak to soft words, so how could she possibly withstand Murong Shi's and Xu Chuanchuan's joint assault? So, she instantly forgot about the long essay she had thought up. Suddenly, she stood up and avoided the topic by saying, "I'll go see if Aunt Lian is done."

After saying so, Murong Mingshu left Murong Shi and Xu Chuanchuan staring at each other in the living room.

"It doesn't seem like she can accept it," Xu Chuanchuan said in frustration.

Murong Shi pondered for a moment before saying, "She might not be able to accept it for now, but she will once you give her enough time."