Chapter 55 Heartbeat
After a lively meal, Chen Mo and Xu Hongdou took the bell and prepared to say goodbye to Xu Hongdou Mi.

"Then let's go. Don't stay up too late." Xu Hongdou said to Xu Hongmi.

Xu Hongmi was answering the phone and waving her hand nonchalantly.

Seeing this, Xu Hongdou shook her head and muttered, "Be careful, you may make money but not spend it."

Xu Hongmi glared at Xu Hongdou and pretended to hit her, so Xu Hongdou quickly ran away holding the bell.

"Lingdang, say goodbye to your mother." After Xu Hongdou ran a few steps while pulling Lingdang, she stopped and said to Lingdang.

"Goodbye, Mom." Lingling turned around and waved to Xu Hongmi.

Xu Hongmi responded with a smile and a wave. As she was on the phone, she was only speaking with her lips, probably saying something like "be good and obedient".

Xu Hongmi still had work to deal with in the evening, and even in the second half of her meal, she had been constantly replying to work messages.

It has to be said that Xu Hongmi obviously squeezed out time to have a meal with Xu Hongdou and Chen Mo during this business trip.

Obviously, Xu Hongmi said that she wanted to treat Chen Mo, not to have dinner with Xu Hongdou.

But in fact, it was because she was concerned about Xu Hongdou's situation and wanted to get together with the sisters, but she was just harsh in her words.

"Let's go." Xu Hongdou said to Chen Mo.

"Yeah." Chen Mo nodded and waved to Xu Hongmi.

Xu Hongmi watched them leave, and recalled the long-lost "warm exchange" scene with Xu Hongdou, and couldn't help but smile.

But soon the sound of the phone in her ear brought her back to reality:

"What do you think, Mr. Xu?"

"Mr. Liu, you also know that we must have the utmost sincerity in this project."

Xu Hongmi continued to devote herself to her busy work at night.

The moon is bright, the night sky is clear, and the city's neon lights are flashing, dazzling and charming.

But obviously not everyone can enjoy this prosperity leisurely, and most people just bury their heads in their work.

Perhaps many people will only have the leisure to appreciate this colorful painting when they decide to leave this city.

When Chen Mo and the other two were on their way back, Lingling was sitting in the back seat, already dozing off in a daze.

"Lingling, are you sleepy?" Xu Hongdou asked softly from the passenger seat, but got no response.

"She must be exhausted after playing for a whole day. Let her sleep. We will be there soon." Chen Mo glanced in the rearview mirror and lowered his voice.

"Yeah." Xu Hongdou nodded.

"Thank you so much today." Xu Hongdou said softly.

"If you really want to thank me, you might as well put my status conversion on the agenda, so that you don't have to thank me in the future." Chen Mo said with a light smile.

Under the projection of the light outside the car window, Chen Mo's face was a mixture of light and dark, and was a little blurry, but from the warm and upturned corners of his mouth and the gentle tone, Xu Hongdou could truly feel Chen Mo's sincerity.

Thinking of Chen Mo's gentleness and patience towards Lingling today, Xu Hongdou pursed her lips, feeling a little touched, but still did not answer.

Chen Mo didn't care. Just as Xu Hongdou had already gotten used to him saying these words from time to time, he himself had also gotten used to bringing them up from time to time.

In fact, what Chen Mo was most looking forward to was not Xu Hongdou's agreement, he just liked to see Xu Hongdou's reaction and expression when she heard these words.

That shy, angry, happy and angry look is so beautiful.

The wind doesn't move, the flag doesn't move, but the heart and soul move.

So Chen Mo was not in a hurry. He enjoyed the current period of time they were spending together and this hazy and heart-moving feeling.

The destination of the journey is important, but the scenery along the way should not be missed.

Just like Chen Mo said yesterday, he has enough time and patience to allow the two to slowly get to know each other and clarify their feelings for each other.

Chen Mo did not continue to ask about the previous question, but instead asked: "By the way, what is the henna you just mentioned?"

"Henna is Impatiens balsamina, also called Golden Phoenix Flower in some places," Xu Hongdou explained.

"Because its pods will eject seeds when lightly touched, it is also called 'Don't touch me'."

"Don't touch me?" Chen Mo thought for a moment and said, "It's almost the same as a mimosa."

"Mimosa?" Xu Hongdou said.

"If you touch the mimosa lightly, it will close its leaves as if it is shy. This kind of plant is only found in the South." Chen Mo described it.

"Hearing what you said, their reactions are quite similar." Xu Hongdou said with a smile.

"But one is extroverted and flies into a rage when he disagrees with something, while the other is introverted and covers his face with shyness at the slightest provocation."

"Really." Chen Mo smiled, "It's called henna because it can be used to dye nails?"

"Yes." Xu Hongdou nodded.

"How to dye?" Chen Mo asked curiously.

"First, crush the henna, add some alum, and then apply it directly on the nails, and then wrap it with leaves." Xu Hongdou described.

“I usually apply it before going to bed at night, and it’s ready when I wake up in the morning. I don’t have to worry about the inconvenience of wrapping my fingers.”

"Add alum? Isn't alum a food additive?" Chen Mo asked.

"Yes, the color dyed with alum is bright and beautiful."

"This is what my grandma taught me." Xu Hongdou said with some nostalgia.

There are many varieties of Impatiens and the colors of the flowers are also diverse, the most common ones are purple, white and pink.

Because the flowers of Impatiens contain natural reddish-brown pigments, children often use them to dye their nails.

But using Impatiens to dye nails was actually quite common in the Song Dynasty. At that time, the description of Impatiens was:

The robe is purple with white edges, and has four different shades of deep red.

It can be seen that the flowers have various colors.

India's famous body painting is also dyed with Impatiens.

It is said that Cleopatra also used this flower to dye her hair.

"When I was a kid in my hometown, I liked to dye my hands with mulberries." Chen Mo thought for a moment and said
"Can mulberries be dyed?" Xu Hongdou asked.

"No, just playing around." Chen Mo shook his head.

"There is a mulberry tree outside my grandfather's house, but the mulberries are not very sweet, so few people go to pick them."

"Some of our neighbor kids would sometimes pick some, squeeze out the juice on their hands, and smear it on each other's bodies and faces for fun."

"So when I got home, my face, hands, and clothes were often covered in purple and red."

"The whole person looked like a debt collector, with bruises all over his face." Chen Mo smiled with some nostalgia.

"Can it be washed off?" Xu Hongdou asked curiously.

Maybe girls rarely play such "dirty" games.

"The ones on your hands and face will disappear in a few days, but the ones on your clothes are very difficult to wash off," said Chen Mo.

"Won't you get beaten when you go home?" Xu Hongdou asked.

"My mother knows that I go back to my hometown just to have fun." Chen Mo smiled.

"Either I would steal sweet potatoes from other people's fields to roast, or I would go fishing in other people's ponds. Every day I would come home dirty, like a savage."

"So I only changed two or three pieces of clothes every day, and I would wear them even if they were dyed. My mother didn't care."

"That auntie is quite open-minded." Xu Hongdou said.

Hearing this, Chen Mo said with some regret:

"But I came home one time and forgot my hands were full of mulberry juice, so I hugged my mother."

"I left two purple handprints on my mother's favorite white dress, and I had a meal of bamboo fried meat that day."

Xu Hongdou couldn't help but laugh after hearing this: "Auntie is very clear about gratitude and resentment."

If he wasn't driving, Chen Mo would have wanted to roll his eyes.
"But were you so wild when you were a child?" Xu Hongdou said with a smile.

"There is no boy who is not wild." Chen Mo said.

"Chasing chickens and chasing dogs, stealing melons and fishing, five, six, seven years old is the age when people hate him and dogs dislike him."

"Children in cities today simply aren't given the opportunity to have fun. It's the same thing if they're sent to the countryside for a few months."

"Yeah, when I was little I always played with my sister." Xu Hongdou said.

"No wonder you sisters have such a good relationship." Chen Mo said.

Although the two people's conversation style is very unique, it does not make people feel that the sisters are not getting along. Instead, it makes people feel that they really have a good relationship and that is why they are acting like this.

"Heh." Xu Hongdou curled her lips and refused to admit it.

"But you and your sister have very different personalities. In fact, you are somewhat complementary." Chen Mo said.

"My sister has always walked with great vigor and never looked back since she was a child." Xu Hongdou complained.

"Then I had to jog behind her, but I couldn't keep up with her, and she said I was slow."

"So you cried when she snatched your henna?" Chen Mo teased.

"I didn't cry." Xu Hongdou denied.

"A crybaby who didn't cry?"

Xu Hongdou rolled her eyes, blaming Xu Hongmi for talking nonsense. "But we don't seem to have the henna you have."

Chen Mo thought about it and realized that he had never heard of this before, otherwise he would definitely know about such an interesting thing.

"Then you can come to our place if you have a chance, and I'll take you to experience it."

"I will definitely help you dye your hair the brightest color, and then you will look very handsome when playing the guitar." Xu Hongdou promised.

After she finished saying this, Xu Hongdou couldn't help but laugh.

When Xu Hongdou thought of Chen Mo with red nails and playing the guitar coolly, she felt that the scene must be very interesting.

"Then there must be a chance." Chen Mo nodded with a bright smile when he heard this.

"Really? You find it interesting too, right?" Xu Hongdou thought Chen Mo was interested in painting his nails red.

"I have nail polish if you want."

"No, no, no, nail polish has no soul. The main purpose is to experience the fun of your childhood." Chen Mo shook his head.

"That's true." Xu Hongdou thought about it and nodded.

"Then we have a deal. You have to take me back to your hometown." Chen Mo smiled brightly.

"Okay, of course I didn't ask." Xu Hongdou stopped halfway through her sentence and blinked, as if something was wrong.

"That's good. I've made note of it." Chen Mo nodded to himself.

"You..." Xu Hongdou reacted and didn't know what to say.

Xu Hongdou found that Chen Mo had become really "ambitious" ever since he said he wanted to pursue her last night, and everything he said could be circumvented around this.

"What? You want to go back on what you just said?" Chen Mo said deliberately.

"No wonder Lingling said you were stingy."

"I'm stingy? Is this a stingy thing?" Xu Hongdou was amused by Chen Mo, "How dare you say you don't have any other intentions."

"No matter what I mean, it doesn't affect the fact that you just promised to take me to experience henna nail painting." Chen Mo shook his head and said.

"Of course, as a basic courtesy, I should go visit my uncle and aunt at their home."

"No need to wait until then. Henna is available everywhere." Xu Hongdou sneered.

"I will go to the flower market tomorrow and buy one to fulfill my promise immediately."

"No, that won't work. I only buy henna from Zibo, Shandong." Chen Mo shook his head.

"I bought it online. The place of origin is Zibo." Xu Hongdou took out his mobile phone directly.

"Your promise just now was to take me to your hometown for experience. It doesn't count if you don't let me pick the henna with my own hands on the land of Zibo," said Chen Mo.

"Forget it." Xu Hongdou put down her phone and decided to deny it.

"How can you be such a dishonest person?" Chen Mo couldn't believe it.

"I just cheated, so what?" Xu Hongdou raised her chin.

Xu Hongdou felt that the best way to deal with a gangster like Chen Mo was to act like a rogue.

You can say whatever you want, I don’t admit it anyway!

"Lingling, get up quickly and see your aunt playing tricks on you." Chen Mo said.

"You dare?" Xu Hongdou warned. She still cared about her image in front of Lingling.

"Hey, someone dares to do it but doesn't dare to admit it?" Chen Mo said.

"I don't want to listen, it's just a turtle chanting sutras." Xu Hongdou covered her ears with her hands and shook her head.

Chen Mo was amused by Xu Hongdou's childish appearance, it was so cute.

At this time, a melody sounded in Chen Mo's mind.
Chen Mo couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, with a smile on his face, and sang softly:

[A beautiful and lovely woman who makes me blush

A lovely woman who is gentle and makes me feel bad
The lovely woman who moved me with her transparency
The naughty and cute woman who drives me crazy]

Xu Hongdou didn't expect Chen Mo to use this trick.

What is this called? Confession at the first sign of disagreement?
The lyrics, like love words, add color to love.

The rouge-like blush on Xu Hongdou's face spread wildly and uncontrollably.

In an instant, Xu Hongdou was like the peach blossoms in full bloom in the mountains, delicate, beautiful and charming.

Xu Hongdou lowered her head slightly. She could clearly hear her own heart beating.

Chen Mo's seductive voice made her feel a little at a loss for a moment.

However, Chen Mo was driving and obviously did not notice the spring scenery in the garden next to him.

Chen Mo just wanted to tease Xu Hongdou, so he sang it casually, but he didn't expect to catch Xu Hongdou off guard inadvertently.

Not hearing any response from Xu Hongdou next to him, Chen Mo thought that Xu Hongdou was pretending not to hear again.

Xu Hongdou felt a little hot and wanted to roll down the car window to let the wind blow to refresh herself.

"Lingling is sleeping in the back. She will catch a cold if the window is opened." Chen Mo reminded.

"Oh yes, I forgot." Xu Hongdou withdrew her hand.

"What's wrong? Is it hot?" Chen Mo asked.

"No, I just felt a little bored suddenly."

"Stuffy?" Chen Mo looked at the center console and saw that the air circulation was on.

"Are you shy after listening to me singing?" Chen Mo couldn't help but joked.

Xu Hongdou paused for a moment, concealing her strangeness, glanced at Chen Mo's voice, and asked calmly:

"Just based on the tricks you often use to deceive little girls?"

"What do you mean by lying? Singing is a way of expressing emotions. I am speaking from my heart." Chen Mo retorted.

"And what do you mean by often? You're the first one, okay?"

Xu Hongdou's heart seemed to be tickled, and she couldn't help but pursed her lips.

When it comes to people you care about, words like "first time" and "the first" always have an inexplicable weight.

However, Xu Hongdou remained calm and said, "So I am the first 'victim'."

"If I'm lucky, I also hope you're the only one." Chen Mo said with a smile.

"Oh? Are you so confident that you think this is lucky for me?" Xu Hongdou asked.

Chen Mo shook his head: "I only know that this is my luck."

When they encountered a traffic light, Chen Mo stopped the car, turned to look at Xu Hongdou, and added:
"It's nice to meet you."

Xu Hongdou was silent for a moment.

The red light turned green and the car continued to move forward.

"I wonder how many girls you can deceive with your sweet words in the future." Xu Hongdou said in a casual tone.

"Then you have to keep a close eye on me in the future. I will only lie to you." Chen Mo smiled when he heard that.

"Who wants to watch you?" Xu Hongdou turned her head to look out the window.

"Wow, can you bear to let me cheat others?" Chen Mo asked in an exaggerated tone.

"What's there to be reluctant about?" Xu Hongdou raised her eyebrows.

"You have such a cruel heart." Chen Mo "couldn't believe it".

"Hmph~~" Xu Hongdou snorted softly.

The moon looked at the two of them and couldn't help but smile.

The three returned to the community garage.

Xu Hongdou first took out Lingling's small suitcase from the trunk of the car, and then tried to wake Lingling up:
"Bell, here we are~~"

"Don't call her, let her sleep, I can just carry her upstairs." Chen Mo said.

"This..." Xu Hongdou hesitated, feeling that it was a bit too much trouble for Chen Mo.

"Don't worry, it's not heavy." Chen Mo said.

"Didn't I tell you when we were watching the floats this afternoon that it would be okay for me to hold you again?"

Xu Hongdou rolled her eyes at Chen Mo but didn't refuse.

However, Xu Hongdou discovered that every time she was hesitant about something, Chen Mo could always make her accept it by using joking statements.

Xu Hongdou watched Chen Mo open the back door of the car and carefully picked up the sleeping Lingling as gently as possible.

If she were alone, she would definitely not be able to pull the suitcase with one hand and hold the bell with the other.

Anyone who has stolen a child knows that it is much more difficult to hold a sleeping child without waking her up than to hold her while she is awake.

"Let's go." Chen Mo said in a very soft voice.

"Yeah." Xu Hongdou nodded.

Chen Mo held Lingling, and Xu Hongdou held Lingling's small suitcase, and they went upstairs together and returned to 1101.

(End of this chapter)