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Just before noon, when it was almost time for lunch, Ma Nanji made his way back home leisurely. Musheng had already promised Ma Changying to go buy a mobile phone in the afternoon, so upon seeing Ma Nanji return, he asked, "Nanji, I'm going with your sister to buy a phone this afternoon. Do you want to come?"
Upon hearing this, Ma Nanji's expression became even more peculiar.
Musheng went to the kitchen to serve the meals, paying him no mind.
Ma Nanji hadn't come back home all morning, not to cajole his mother by pretending to go for a jog. Besides, it wasn't possible to run all morning. He really felt angry and wanted to vent, but unexpectedly, he stumbled upon some shocking news.
His childhood playmate from the neighborhood, Pan Chengyang, mysteriously let him in on something—his sister had beaten up the entire Wa Miaohua family!
"Apparently, according to my mom, your sister went to ask Wa Miaohua to repay a debt. No one knows exactly how she asked, but that day, many people heard Wa Miaohua and her son screaming. Eventually, Wa Miaohua called the police, claiming your sister beat them up, but since the medical examination confirmed no injuries and there was no surveillance footage, the police could do nothing. They even pressured Wa Miaohua to repay the money... Some people even saw it was Wa Miaohua's son who dragged your sister inside..."
Hearing his friend's words was like a paradigm shift for Ma Nanji, even more shocking than the stimulation his mother brought him. He knew exactly what kind of people the Wa family were—their son was a rough hooligan, a ruffian; Wa Miaohua herself was a shrew who had moved from the countryside. The entire Wa family had a reputation in the neighborhood where not many dared to provoke them. How could his sister have the gall to confront them?
Ma Nanji, finding it dreamlike, was reluctant to accept this reality, but after making inquiries from multiple sources, he had no choice but to accept it—it was true.
"Now that scumbag from the Wa family hasn't dared to return to the neighborhood for days, and Wa Miaohua has been clutching her waist, complaining of pain for days. The doctor says there's nothing wrong with her, but she keeps crying out in pain. Did your sister actually hit them or not?" At the time, many had heard the Wa family's screams, and they felt it was certain that they had been hit, yet not a single wound was to be seen—sheesh—Ma Changying really shocks people when she decides to assert herself!
Faced with the truth, Ma Nanji wore a complex expression, no wonder Musheng had asked him to go around the neighborhood to gather information. It seemed the world had indeed changed during his five days of absence!
Remembering how he had been bested twice by Musheng the previous night, he couldn't figure out why, but even though he felt his pride had been wounded, he wasn't as enraged as before and even felt a hint of curiosity.
How had Musheng suddenly become so capable?
This was also the reason for his odd expression upon returning home. His mother was now completely won over by her, 'coaxed' to compliance. Ma Nanji still wanted to know what exactly had happened.
Thinking this, he took Ma Changying to his bedroom to ask. Ma Changying, with a troubled expression, thought for a moment and then decided to tell him about Wa Miaohua coming to their home to borrow money.
To Ma Nanji's shock upon hearing the whole story, his face changed, "Mom, you didn't, did you? The money Dad left for my sister, the money she was going to use for college, you lent it to that unreasonable shrew?"
No matter how much he disdained Musheng and found her bothersome, they were still tied by blood, and it was just a case of him wanting more of his mother's favoritism. But whenever there was trouble, he would stand up for Musheng.
Ma Changying turned her face away, too embarrassed and ashamed to look into her son's questioning eyes. She wasn't dense. Between Musheng's scolding and Wa Miaohua's plight, she had come to her senses and understood just how wrong she had been to treat her own flesh and blood the way she did in the past. "This... it's my fault, so now I'm trying my best to make it up to your sister..."
Seeing Ma Changying's ashamed and cautious words, Ma Nanji felt somewhat gloomy. He used to dislike Musheng for her personality and his desire for more of his mother's attention, but now that Musheng had suddenly changed, he felt a flicker of joy along with a sense of helplessness about how to face the situation.
It was then that he heard Musheng's detached voice coming through:
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"Where did you all go for dinner?"
Only then did the two of them awkwardly push open the door and go out, Musheng standing by the dining table and looking at them airily, Ma Changying piled on a smile and went forward to pull out a chair, "Eat, eat, Nanji, today it was your sister who cooked the meal!"
Ma Nanji: "…" Didn't she always do the cooking at home before?
He immediately realized that certainly since the Wa Miaohua incident, Musheng stopped cooking... No wonder Changying had to go out alone to buy food last night.
Musheng's cooking skills indeed left nothing to be picked on, sour and spicy shredded potatoes, green pepper fried pork, sweet and sour cabbage, and spinach ball soup—all simple dishes she made irresistibly fragrant and tasty. Compared to the cafeteria food at school, Ma Nanji's desire not to board reignited.
"Tasty?"
While Ma Nanji ate his meal in silence, Musheng suddenly propped her head up and asked him, with an almost expectant look in her eyes. Ma Nanji was taken aback, and since there was no need to lie about such a thing, he honestly nodded his head.
"Oh… then eat more."
Seeing Musheng's expression, she actually seemed a bit pleased.
Ma Changying also felt relieved, thinking that the two had finally gotten along, and said gently, "Your sister is telling you to eat more!"
Ma Nanji: "…" He always felt that wasn't what Musheng meant.
And Musheng really didn't mean that. In her past life, she was a kitchen disaster, the kind who could start a fire just trying to fry an egg. Now, her cooking skills seemed innate and outstanding, undoubtedly something she'd inherited from the original owner, equivalent to picking up a skill for free. If her subordinates from her past life knew about this, wouldn't they be scared to death?
After dinner, Ma Changying went to wash the dishes, while Ma Nanji sat hesitantly on the sofa as if he had something to say. Observing his hesitation to speak, Musheng couldn't stand his girlish mannerisms and snorted coldly, "If you've got something to say, spit it out. If you've got a fart, let it rip!"
Ma Nanji's face darkened instantly, and he stood up, stormed off, and slammed the door behind him.
Seeing the person driven away in anger, Musheng clicked her tongue, "Young people are just hot-headed..."
After Ma Changying finished the dishes and came out to take Musheng to buy a phone, she didn't ask where Ma Nanji had gone; grabbing a bag, she went out the door with Musheng.
Just as they were leaving the house, they happened to run into Wa Miaohua from across the street, a middle-aged woman so fat she could take up the space of three, with small eyes and a big mouth, cheeks like fermented buns, and an oily look that was repulsive. She had the image of a gossipy woman sketched all over her; upon seeing Musheng, she reacted as if she'd seen a ghost, hurriedly shutting her door and retreating inside.
Seeing this, Ma Changying just shook her head. She was initially somewhat hateful toward Wa Miaohua for stirring up this matter, yet seeing the other party's fear of Musheng gave her a touch of satisfaction. Only Musheng glanced in the direction of Wa Miaohua's house, her lips curving into an almost imperceptible arc, and nonchalantly called Changying to leave.