The school was still a bit quiet on registration day, mainly because it was only noon; many students wouldn’t return until the afternoon or evening.
Bai Yao walked ahead, her arm linked with her mother’s, her expression tense and a little nervous.
Qiu Ye followed two steps behind, like a bodyguard.
“Are your legs still uncomfortable? Have you gone for a follow-up these past few days?”
Although Bai Yao tried her best to hide her slightly awkward gait, her mother spotted it at a glance.
“Mm… I only went yesterday. The doctor said it’s fine.”
She quickly nodded and made up an excuse: “Maybe I’ve been walking too much these past few days.”
It had only been nine days since they last saw each other, but her mother felt her daughter had changed a lot.
‘More mature? More womanly?’
But she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what had changed.
Lost in thought, her mother suddenly turned back and glanced at Qiu Ye.
Qiu Ye quickly put on a nervous, ingratiating smile, like a big wolfdog being noticed by its owner, wagging its tail frantically.
The family education in Bai Yao’s home was quite conservative.
Growing up, her family had never given Bai Yao any sex education, which led her to rely entirely on the internet for learning materials, causing her to be very repressed until she turned into a chinyu…
So even if her mother had some suspicions, she was too embarrassed to speak plainly with her daughter.
“The campus scenery is nice.”
Bai Yao followed her mother’s gaze to the Great Banyan Tree in the central square.
The tree’s canopy blocked out the sky and sun, casting the entire square in shadow.
Dense aerial roots hung down, swaying gently in the wind; some had already taken root in the ground, creating a stunning illusion of a single tree forming a forest.
“Usually, events are held here—last semester’s Top Ten Singers and such.”
“Did you participate?”
“No…”
“You should participate in more campus activities. Don’t always wear a stern face or you won’t make friends.”
Speaking of friends, Bai Yao had made some!
She quickly told her mother, “I just met a Senior a couple of days ago, and I’ve been going to her house every day for meals. I feel like I’ve gained a bit of weight? She’s fattened me up.”
“Yes, a little plump looks good.”
Although Bai Yao agreed that a slightly chubby girl was indeed sexier, she herself still wanted to be thinner, to make her legs look slender and long, and to feel lighter overall.
“That’s the Boys’ Dormitory, seems like three or five buildings. This is the cafeteria. Qiu Ye, is the cafeteria serving food today? Let’s grab a meal?”
Qiu Ye finally found something to do.
Like a dog off its leash, he ran over: “Let me go check!”
In no time, he ran back out: “A few stalls are open. Come on, let’s eat?”
“Mom?!”
Since neither of them had eaten, her mother followed Bai Yao into the cafeteria.
She looked around the cafeteria, curious about everything in the university.
“I often eat at that fast food place. It’s like a food court. Each station sells something different, and the taste is pretty good.”
Bai Yao explained: “A meal costs about fifteen yuan.”
“That’s quite expensive. If you have time later, it’s better to cook yourself—it’s cleaner and more hygienic. The food outside is too oily and heavily seasoned.”
“Mm.”
Bai Yao responded, but while her mother kept chattering, she let it go in one ear and out the other, leaning over the food counter to look for her favorite dishes.
However, on the first day of registration, the selection was half of what it normally was, and there weren’t many students eating in the cafeteria.
The auntie came over carrying a tray and a serving ladle.
Bai Yao couldn’t name the dishes either, so she pointed with her finger—a point here, a point there—and ordered two meat dishes and one vegetable.
“Mom, what about you?”
“I’m fine with anything, just a little something.”
“Then chicken feet?”
Bai Yao remembered that her mother quite liked chicken feet.
Whenever the family bought braised dishes or had barbecue, her mother would always order some chicken feet to gnaw on.
After ordering, the three of them took their trays and sat down at a random spot.
Qiu Ye sat across from them, feeling uneasy, as if the auntie’s attitude toward him had turned a bit cold?
When he was helping take care of Bai Yao at the hospital, the auntie had been quite nice to him.
Even after learning that he and Bai Yao were already a couple, she hadn’t shown any opposition.
‘Could she have seen through what happened last night?!’
Qiu Ye was panicking, but he didn’t dare say anything, nor could he show signs of nervousness that might give him away to Bai Yao’s mother.
Like an outsider, he watched the mother and daughter across from him chatting quietly while he could only force an awkward smile, fidgeting and lowering his head to shovel a few bites of rice, but it tasted like wax—he couldn’t taste anything at all.
Bai Yao only ate half a bowl of rice, then habitually pushed the rest of her rice and dishes over to Qiu Ye’s table.
Qiu Ye didn’t mind at all that her saliva might be in the food; he picked up the bowl and started eating.
Then she suddenly realized what she had done and secretly glanced at her mother’s expression.
It was a bit too intimate.
This kind of interaction between her and Qiu Ye was almost like an old married couple.
Fortunately, her mother only frowned and said, “Eat more. How can you get enough with just that little?”
“I’m full.”
At home, Bai Yao only ate a bowl of rice the size of her palm.
She burped, took a couple of sips of the free pickled mustard and egg drop soup, and asked her mother, “So when are we going to see the counselor?”
“Didn’t you tell the counselor in advance?”
“Uh…”
Bai Yao was too embarrassed about this kind of thing~
Qiu Ye was busy eating, but when he heard that, he looked up: “I’ll handle it. I’ll call the counselor and ask.”
He didn’t even bother to finish eating; he directly called the counselor.
He was usually quite active in class, got along well with everyone, and had interacted with the counselor many times.
After a nine-minute call, Qiu Ye put down his phone: “Go see the counselor at 2 PM to get an application form. Need both the new and old ID cards, plus the police certificate and household registration booklet. Did you bring them all?”
Her mother looked at Bai Yao.
“The old ID card is in my rented apartment…”
“Rented apartment?”
“Uh… I just rented a place to live.”
Bai Yao immediately realized she had let it slip and quickly covered: “Otherwise, would I really go stay in the boys’ dormitory tonight?”
“That’s true.”
Thankfully, her mother didn’t ask where the money came from.
Otherwise, her mother might think she was mooching off Qiu Ye, right?
“I brought the household registration and the certificate.”
“Just submit the documents to the Student Status Management Office later,” Qiu Ye added.
“Also need to scan and email them as a package. Give me the documents first; I’ll scan them with my phone.”
Her mother nodded, checked the time—it was only 11 AM.
“Then let’s go take a look at your rented apartment?”
“Ah?”
“Uh… alright.”
Bai Yao could only secretly rejoice that she had already tidied up the rented apartment beforehand.
‘There’s absolutely no way her mother could find any fault!’
After eating, the group headed to Bai Yao’s rented apartment.
After pushing open the door, her mother’s eyes immediately took on a scrutinizing look.
Habitually, she first glanced at the floor, then looked at the neatly folded quilt, and nodded in satisfaction.
Bai Yao breathed a small sigh of relief and said as if seeking credit, “My cleaning is passable, right?”
“Of course you have to keep your own place clean. Since you’re renting outside, buy an induction cooker. Wouldn’t it be better to cook yourself?”
Then her mother saw the two pillows on the bed, two sets of toiletries in the bathroom, two laptops on the table…
In just nine days, had her daughter already moved in with Qiu Ye?!
Looking again at her daughter’s awkward gait, a complex and indescribable emotion surged in her mother’s heart.
‘She had to remember that for the past eighteen years, her son had never even had a girlfriend.’
‘Even if that was partly because she didn’t allow early relationships…’
‘But she’s only been a girl for a month?’
‘Isn’t this a bit too fast to accept?’