MQSP - Chapter 77
Chapter 77
"What? Getting married?"
"Your aunt knows too? She's there with you?"
"You little brat, don't tell me I'm the last one to know about this?"
"Do you even have me, your mother, in your heart anymore!!!"
On the other end of the line, Xia Nan exploded.
"Uhm~ Mom~"
"Don't. Don't try to act cute, it won't work. A huge thing like this, and you tell me last. It's outrageous!" Xia Nan's tone was a bit serious; she sounded genuinely angry.
"It's not that I told you last. We only decided last night, and didn't I… immediately run down to call you?"
"Hmph."
"Mom~ Don't be angry~ Will you be able to come?"
"Of course! I'm your mother. If I don't go, can this wedding even happen?"
"Hehe, exactly~ It wouldn't work without you~"
"I guess you have some conscience, not waiting until the day before the wedding to tell me," Xia Nan grumbled.
Baiye smiled. After getting together with Auntie Lin, she really had been neglecting her mother.
She exchanged a few more pleasantries with Xia Nan before hanging up.
"How did it go?"
"Thankfully, Mom wasn't truly angry. But next time, we should probably tell her about things like this first."
"Next time?" Lin Yuqing raised an eyebrow. How many times are you planning to get married?
"Ahem, that's not what I meant."
"Alright, let's go. We need to hurry and buy the fabric. We still have to sneak up to see Godmother later."
"Okay." Lin Yuqing helped her put on her scarf, covering her mouth and nose. The last time they went shopping, they were recognized, so this time they had to be well-disguised.
People here didn't wear wedding dresses when they got married, but rather traditional ethnic clothing. As a result, there was no fabric for making wedding dresses. The materials were all rather thick, and besides white, they were mostly dark colors like navy blue or deep purple. The two of them wandered around for a long time before finally deciding to buy black fabric.
When the various groups met back at their temporary residence, the little one was very curious about what color fabric Auntie Jiang had prepared for her. But if things went as expected, it should be…
"It's white, just as I thought. I guessed right~"
Lin Yuqing was exasperated. "So the theme of the wedding is also clear now. It's 'Angel and Devil,' right?"
"Heh, to borrow a phrase from Godmother, 'A very profound understanding!'"
Lin Yuqing pouted.
Their conversation, however, gave Jiang Boyan an excellent idea. An angel, huh? She had just been worrying about how to make a wedding dress with this fabric!
"Hey, who's the godmother you just mentioned?"
"Hm? She's an auntie I met here. She's very nice. Meow Meow was a gift from her!"
"Oh? So you found a mother for your Auntie Lin just for the sake of a cat?"
"…That's not it at all."
Lin Yuqing pressed her lips together helplessly. She suddenly felt that something wasn't quite right and couldn't help but take another look at the little one.
Everyone's roles were clearly defined, and they had already started to act separately. Baiye and Lin Yuqing carried the purchased fabric back to the wooden house, while the others decided to stay at the foot of the mountain. Jiang Boyan refused to go back up, dead set against it, terrified of hearing more strange noises.
Along the way, Baiye racked her brain trying to figure out how to make the wedding dress, but she had absolutely no clue.
"Hey, I wonder if Godmother knows how to make clothes. She's so amazing, she can even build a house. Making clothes shouldn't be too hard for her, right?"
Lin Yuqing smiled. "It's fine. I'll wear it no matter how you make it. Don't put so much pressure on yourself."
"How could I do that? This is our wedding! It's a big deal, a once-in-a-lifetime event!"
"Alright, alright. Then shall we go straight up?"
"Hehe, okay."
The two of them had already reached their front door but turned around and headed directly for the mountaintop.
"Godmother~" From a distance, she saw the Flower Witch busy in the yard again. Baiye called out and waved at her.
Hearing her voice, the Flower Witch's eyes curved into a smile. Mm~ My daughter is here.
"Godmother, stop working. Please, sit. Are you tired? Let me give you a massage~" Baiye took the small trowel from the Flower Witch's hand, helped her sit on a small stool nearby, and diligently began to massage her legs.
The Flower Witch looked puzzled and turned her head to glance at Lin Yuqing.
"Fawning over me for no reason. What are you up to?"
"Hey! I'm… massaging my mother's legs. How is that fawning over you!" the little one said with a straight face.
Lin Yuqing froze. What did she just call her?
She looked at Xinran and, unsurprisingly, saw that she was stunned.
"Um… Godmother, do you know how to make a wedding dress?"
"Godmother?"
"Hm? What?" The Flower Witch snapped back to reality. "A wedding dress?"
"Yes, I want to make a wedding dress for Auntie Lin, but I don't really know how. And the fabric here is so different from what I imagined. It's really difficult."
The Flower Witch frowned and glanced at Lin Yuqing, who immediately threw up her hands, indicating that she hadn't forced her and was completely innocent.
"I did design a wedding dress once."
Baiye was astonished. "You've designed a wedding dress before!?"
"Hm? No… I saw someone else's design sketch," the Flower Witch said, shaking her head and denying it.
"I'll just give you a design concept. You'll have to do the specific design yourself. After all, it's a very meaningful thing, so it's not good to have someone else do it for you."
"Okay!"
The Flower Witch got up and went back into the house. She came out a moment later with a small pencil stub and a notebook. Sitting on the steps, she earnestly tried to recall the wedding dress she had designed for Yilan back then.
Her slightly rough hand clutched the pencil stub, sketching seriously, stroke by stroke. With her movements, the outline of a slender woman with perfect proportions leaped onto the paper. Watching from the side, Baiye couldn't help but click her tongue in admiration. She never would have guessed her godmother had such hidden talents.
She was probably just used to seeing her do manual labor, so seeing her suddenly do something as delicate as drawing felt quite novel.
The little one couldn't help but rest her chin in her hands, looking at the sketchbook one moment and then up at her godmother's serious and meticulous expression the next.
Before long, the general outline of the wedding dress had taken shape. Baiye glanced at it. "Is it a ball gown?"
"Yes, it's a voluminous design. The skirt is made of overlapping layers, creating a distinct sense of depth."
"Oh."
"And she was a bit thin, so wearing it, she looked like a chubby penguin. It was very cute, but not bulky."
"A chubby… penguin?"
"Yes." The Flower Witch nodded and glanced at her. A light seemed to flash in her beautiful eyes, making Baiye pause. She must have loved that chubby penguin very, very much.
It took nearly two hours for the rough draft to take shape. The Flower Witch straightened her back, and as soon as Baiye saw, she immediately reached out to massage her lower back.
Baiye leaned over to take a look. Her godmother's drawing skills were truly excellent. The woman in the drawing had one hand stroking her hair, and the wedding dress flared out from the waist like an open umbrella. It really did look a bit like a chubby penguin, but…
"Why didn't you draw a face?"
The Flower Witch pressed her lips together and shook her head. I can't draw it. I would miss her too much.
"It's beautiful, but such a cute style doesn't suit me," Lin Yuqing quickly interjected, trying to smooth things over.
"You're right. This style doesn't suit you."
"Hmm… I have an idea now," Baiye said, inspiration striking.
"Godmother, can you draw…" She leaned in and whispered in the Flower Witch's ear.
Lin Yuqing eyed her suspiciously. She had a feeling the girl was up to no good.
Hearing this, the Flower Witch chuckled softly, nodded, and glanced at Lin Yuqing before picking up the pencil to continue drawing on the paper.
Before long, she had sketched out a rough shape. "Like this?"
Baiye took one look and nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, yes! This style is perfect for Auntie Lin!"
"What?" Lin Yuqing also looked over curiously, and her eyelid started twitching uncontrollably. The drawing on the paper was basically the wicked old witch from a cartoon! A black robe covered her from head to toe, she wore a tall, pointed hat, had a pointy nose, and long fingernails. All it needed was a flying broomstick drawn next to her to be a perfect match.
Lin Yuqing was furious. She rolled up her sleeves. "Gu Baiye!"
"Hm?" The Flower Witch tilted her head and glanced at her.
Lin Yuqing's anger instantly fizzled out. "What a great name, haha." She was being a total coward.
"Huh?" Auntie Lin is afraid of Godmother!
The little one looked as if she had discovered a new continent, her big eyes starting to sparkle.
"Auntie Lin~ Don't you think this style is great~"
Serves Auntie Lin right for always bullying me. I'm going to bully her back!
Without any warning, Lin Yuqing suddenly stood up. The little one let out a yelp and turned to run, terrified. But when she looked back, she saw that Lin Yuqing had merely brushed off her bottom and sat down in a different spot, a smug look on her face. That woman is the worst!
The Flower Witch watched the two of them for a moment, then lowered her head again, stroking the drawing paper. "By the way, I'll be going down the mountain in a few days."
"What? Going down the mountain? Where to?" Baiye asked hurriedly.
"The flower seedlings are ready. I need to go down the mountain to plant them in the manor."
"The manor?" Baiye froze, then it dawned on her. "You mean that flower sea manor at the foot of the mountain!?"
"You built that too?"
"Yes."
"Godmother, you're so amazing!"
"So soon?" Lin Yuqing frowned. If she went down the mountain, not only would it be inconvenient to visit her, but those other people were all nearby. If they ran into her and recognized her, it would be another pile of trouble.
"Yes. I'm afraid it will be too late if I wait any longer."
Too late?
Lin Yuqing thought for a moment, and then it dawned on her. She gave a helpless smile. So the gift she said she needed a month to prepare was these orchids. How thoughtful.
"Ah, but I was hoping you could teach me how to make the wedding dress. And if you go down the mountain, I won't be able to see you every day…" The little one pouted, unhappy.
The Flower Witch unconsciously raised a hand to pat her head. "It's enough to know that we're both well. We don't need to see each other every day."
"But I'll miss you," Baiye paused, pouting her lips as if she were whining.
"You'll be right there, but we won't be able to meet. Isn't that too cruel~"
Listening to the little one's whiny, childish voice, Lin Yuqing couldn't help but glance at her a few more times. She was getting better and better at acting cute lately, and she'd do it with anyone and everyone. She wasn't being well-behaved at all!
"It's fine. If you miss her, we'll just go down the mountain to see her often. It's just a bit more walking. We can treat it as exercise."
"Mmm, okay."
"Then, Godmother, can you give me this drawing?" Baiye asked, eyeing the notebook clutched in the Flower Witch's hand.
"Hm?"
"It's drawn so beautifully. I'd like to keep it as a memento~"
"Mm, okay."
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