“He’s still here, still here,” Teacher Zhao said repeatedly. “I heard Chi Zheng call her Auntie Gu.”
Chi Nuan: “……”
Teacher Zhao: “Hold on a moment……”
A few seconds later.
“It’s me.” Teacher Zhao’s voice in the receiver turned into Gu Ningzi’s.
Chi Nuan saw her own reflection in the elevator doors. Struck by the massive surprise, she looked utterly dumbfounded.
“You’re back……” she said.
Gu Ningzi: “Mm.”
“Then I’ll head over right—” Chi Nuan started to say she’d come right away, but glancing around, she paused: “……I have a dinner tonight. It’s with the teachers from my old school.”
Gu Ningzi: “Little Wutong told me. You don’t need to rush over.”
The phone was passed back to Teacher Zhao, who said, “Chi Zheng’s Mom, should I let your friend take Chi Zheng?”
Chi Nuan: “Yes, thank you, Teacher Zhao.”
After hanging up, Chi Nuan’s heart still raced with excitement—it didn’t feel real. Only when she entered the private room Xiao Pan had booked and saw the familiar faces did she calm down.
Although it wasn’t yet the time she’d agreed on with Xiao Pan, the others had come straight from work and arrived early. The whole table was waiting for her.
“Sorry I’m late,” Chi Nuan said to Xiao Pan.
“Not late at all,” Xiao Pan happily led her to the seat she’d reserved in advance. But Wang Lili said, “Oh my, our big shot has finally arrived.”
Coming from Wang Lili, the joking remark carried an unprovoked edge of provocation. Chi Nuan didn’t bother with her and just smiled reassuringly at the embarrassed Xiao Pan before sitting down.
Wang Lili took a bored sip of her drink.
At the table, they talked about school, griped about colleagues from other groups, and asked Xiao Pan when she’d bring her boyfriend to meet everyone…… Chi Nuan was only half-listening.
Gu Ningzi sent a short video. In it, Little Wutong was scooping dessert into his mouth, mumbling, “……Whenever Mommy has time to pick me up early, she often brings me treats too… Roasted sweet potatoes and chestnuts when it’s cold, ice cream when it’s hot… They’re all so yummy. I love Mommy the most.”
Chi Nuan watched it outside the private room and asked Gu Ningzi, “Is he behaving?”
Gu Ningzi replied off-topic: “I feel like I’ve heard something similar before.”
……It’s me. I told you that. Back when I was Little Wutong’s age, Brother spoiled me the same way.
Gu Ningzi, in the years you were absent, Brother was gone too…… Will the memories you lost ever return?
A new message popped up—this time a voice note in Little Wutong’s voice: “Mommy, where are you? Gu Auntie and I will come pick you up later.”
After dinner, the others headed off to karaoke. As everyone went downstairs together, Chi Nuan opted out. Xiao Pan said, “Sister Chi, I’m already thrilled you came to dinner. You still have the kid to take care of—head home.”
Outside the restaurant, Gu Ningzi had arrived. Little Wutong poked his head out the rear window. The moment he spotted Chi Nuan, he craned his neck excitedly: “Mommy! Mommy, we’re here!”
Chi Nuan said goodbye to everyone, opened the passenger door, and told Gu Ningzi, “I drove here too. It’s parked up ahead.”
Gu Ningzi glanced sideways at her: “Get in.”
Chi Nuan: “Okay.”
The rear window rolled up, and Little Wutong obediently buckled his seatbelt.
Chi Nuan: “Assistant He didn’t say when you’d be back. I thought it’d be a while—I didn’t expect it so soon.”
As the car drove away from the area, Gu Ningzi smirked faintly: “You really love your work.”
I missed you. Chi Nuan didn’t say it. Little Wutong asked from the back seat, “Mommy, do you know about Turritopsis Jellyfish?”
“My classmate told me they don’t age or die. Isn’t that amazing?”
Chi Nuan had never heard of it either. After searching on her phone, she explained the secret to Turritopsis Jellyfish’s immortality to Little Wutong.
“Auntie Gu told me the same,” Little Wutong’s voice grew quieter. “If only humans could do that too……”
Chi Nuan looked back. Little Wutong was picking at his pant leg, head down.
Her phone chimed repeatedly with notifications.
Wang Lili: “Be real, Mr. Ji is totally keeping you, right?”
Wang Lili: “With that kind of backing, why bother working? Put more effort into pleasing Mr. Ji. Even if you can’t go legit, make hay while you’re young.”
Wang Lili: “Look at teaching—busting your ass for peanuts. Being the mistress might tarnish your rep a bit, but who cares? Society laughs at the poor, not the promiscuous these days!”
Chi Nuan gripped her phone, taking deep breaths to calm her anger. Gu Ningzi noticed something was off and glanced at her.
“Wang Lili, you must be exhausted from all that rumor-mongering. Your life must be so tiring.” Chi Nuan typed the message, sent it, and immediately blocked Wang Lili.
There were still so many things in this world worth her effort. She couldn’t waste more time on someone so full of malice.
Once her emotions settled, Chi Nuan turned back to comfort Little Wutong: “When Mommy has time, I’ll take you to the Aquarium to see the jellyfish, okay?”
Little Wutong: “Mommy.”
Chi Nuan: “Hm?”
Little Wutong: “Auntie Gu said she’d take me too. Let’s all three go together.”
Chi Nuan looked at Gu Ningzi. In the shifting light and shadow, Gu Ningzi’s profile as she drove perfectly overlapped with her memories. It was as if those six years of separation had never happened, as if they hadn’t endured any hardships. Chi Nuan held back the stinging soreness in her nose and forced a smile: “Sure.”
