The video recording didn’t go smoothly. Shu Rong’s voice was so soft that Lin Xu had to press her ear right up to the child’s face, but holding the phone too close wouldn’t work either.
With no other choice, Lin Xu somehow got her hands on a microphone and clipped it to the child’s pajamas. Shu Rong was tossed around enough by her that she sat unsteadily on the sofa, swaying as if she might topple over.
Lin Xu steadied her daughter’s drooping head with one hand. “Hang in there—persistence is victory. You want Mama to hear you calling her, right?”
Sure enough, Mama was her motivation. At such a young age, Shu Rong had somehow learned to be sensible, knowing she had to please Mama if she wanted to see her.
Thanks to the microphone’s amplification, Shu Rong’s brief “Ma” was captured on video.
Lin Xu immediately contacted Shu Wan Ning on WeChat, whose contact was saved as: The Biggest Stumbling Block on the Road to Love.
Lin Xu: [You there?]
Shu Wan Ning glanced at it, marked it as read, and didn’t reply—an attitude of What are you gonna do about it?
Lin Xu waited for a while, wanting to preserve some dignity, so she held off on sending the video for now. She opened the food delivery app and crooked her finger.
“Rongrong, I’m hungry.”
Shu Rong, who had eaten her fill at the restaurant, hesitated before slowly toddling over with small steps, timidly looking up at Lin Xu.
With Mama gone, Mommy was acting all weird—one moment smiling, the next crying—which scared Shu Rong so much she didn’t dare hug her casually.
For the first time in her life, Shu Rong felt utterly isolated and helpless.
Lin Xu patted her lap, and Shu Rong trembled before obediently climbing onto it.
She had planned to treat her daughter to something nice, but seeing the child’s terrified expression, her little mouth pursed tight…
Lin Xu nervously observed her daughter, checked her forehead, pinched her cheeks—everything seemed normal. She was still just as adorably cute.
Shu Rong had been fine until Lin Xu started fussing over her. Pondering this, she slowly crawled toward the corner of the sofa. Lin Xu watched her daughter crawl like a little kitten, her behavior odd.
She shook her head. Whatever, it didn’t matter if her daughter was timid. Being able to call “Mama” was already the greatest blessing Lin Xu could ask for.
She ate something casually, but it still tasted bland. She began to worry if she’d lost her sense of taste.
Shu Wan Ning still hadn’t replied.
Lin Xu: [I know you’re still in touch with your sister. You beat me until I could barely function, so you have the duty to help me contact her.]
It even gave her an ego boost—like beating her was just venting for her sister. Shu Wan Ning sent a rolling-eyes emoji.
The other side instantly flooded the screen with ten angry cat punching images.
Just from the emojis, one could feel Lin Xu’s rage, plain as day.
Shu Wan Ning: [Not beaten enough? Itching for more? My sister wouldn’t love you or feel sorry for you anyway.]
Lin Xu heard her fragile heart shatter into pieces with a clang—impossible to put back together.
But she was physically battered yet mentally strong. She wouldn’t let romantic failure defeat her. Embracing the mindset that failure is the mother of success, Lin Xu endured the humiliation without cursing.
[I don’t have time to bicker with you. Here’s video proof.]
What video? Shu Wan Ning eyed the twenty-second clip and tapped play. It wasn’t like it’d cost her anything.
As the sappy BGM started, Shu Wan Ning’s lazy eyes suddenly widened.
Something huge had happened—Shu Rong had actually spoken, calling out “Ma” in a pitiful voice, even if it was just one syllable.
In the last five seconds, the camera panned to Lin Xu with red, swollen eyes and drooping brows as she gazed at the screen, looking all pitiful: “I’m so happy Rongrong called for Mama. It’s too bad you weren’t the first to hear it… Don’t be sad. I hope everything’s going well for you.”
Anyone unaware of the truth would be moved. In the video, Shu Qingyou came off like a heartless woman who abandoned her wife and child. No doubt about it—Lin Xu was using a sob story tactic.
What a cunning trick, exploiting everything she could, even her own daughter.
Shu Wan Ning: [Lucky for you. Fine, I’ll send this video to my sister and see what she says.]
Talk about the perks of being the go-between. Even if she tampered with it, no one would notice—like how Shu Wan Ning sat at her computer, full of disdain, furiously editing the video with relish.
Little Lin Xu, she cut out that pathetic, play-for-sympathy face of yours in one swipe, leaving only the segment of her most adorable baby niece.
Shu Wan Ning grinned, utterly immersed in the pleasure of getting revenge on Lin Xu for her sister.
Meanwhile, Lin Xu was smug. She finally had a point in her favor with Shu Qingyou.
She remembered Shu Qingyou telling her they’d settled on a points system—fix something, add a point. She was probably in the negatives in Shu Qingyou’s heart.
An unprecedented sense of crisis washed over Lin Xu.
She looked at her daughter, who was hugging a stuffed toy and stacking blocks, and couldn’t help approaching. Shu Rong shrank back in fear.
With things as they were, Lin Xu had no choice but to coax her earnestly: “In this emergency, how can you keep playing with toys?”
Shu Rong: “……”
She glanced at the toys; she still held a block in her hand. Mommy was unhappy again… What to do?
Lin Xu didn’t understand her daughter’s subtle thoughts and simply took over, building a tower for her.
“Good girl, I know you’re bored. I’ll take you out to broaden your horizons.”
Nooo, I think the toys are fun. But Shu Rong still didn’t speak. Her body suddenly lightened as the toy in her arms jumped down.
Lin Xu changed them both into comfortable clothes and took her daughter out. “Broadening horizons” meant going to the company she hadn’t visited in eight hundred years.
……
The next day, Shu Qingyou set off to visit Yashin-Sensei. His workshop was located outside a mountain town—an ancient wooden house kept impeccably clean.
Upon arriving, Shu Qingyou felt a long-lost sense of peace in her heart.
The two chatted happily and agreed on a return date.
A week passed.
Her studies were simple, but each day felt fulfilling. In her free time, she rarely thought of Lin Xu—it was like something from a past life.
More often, she watched videos of her daughter’s daily life, with updates from her sister every day. Lin Xu had surprisingly behaved herself, not recklessly flying to Japan to search everywhere.
She wore a light gray work apron, standing at the potter’s wheel in the corner, her hands covered in clay, moving slowly and focused as she trimmed the edge of a tall-footed vessel.
The soft clack of wooden clogs sounded outside, followed by a gentle knock.
“Excuse me.” The voice was soft, carrying a natural gentleness.
Shu Qingyou looked up and saw a strange woman—black hair tied up with just a single white jade hairpin, dressed in a pale kimono, her steps light and elegant.
She stood at the threshold, her clear eyes smiling, like a white deer peeking out from the mountains.
Good thing it wasn’t someone looking for her. Shu Qingyou lowered her gaze and continued working on the clay form—her eyes fixed only on her work.
That evening at dinner, the teacher introduced the woman as an acquaintance: Sugihara Yuko, a young lady from a prominent family.
Whether it was an illusion or not, Shu Qingyou felt like Miss Sugihara kept casting subtle, appraising glances her way.
Shu Qingyou was used to being stared at and coveted by many. A gentle, demure Omega probably wouldn’t have any ulterior motives toward her.
She wasn’t some heartthrob, after all. Before bed, she picked up her phone to check messages as usual. She rarely used it during the day, keeping it in her room.
When she swiped to a video, her fingertip paused, her lashes trembling. After a long moment, in the phone screen’s reflection, clusters of her eyelashes glistened with fine droplets of water.
At some point when she wasn’t aware, her daughter seemed to have grown a lot and was even willing to speak.
Shu Qingyou watched the video repeatedly. Well, Lin Xu had at least served some purpose.
……
A whole month had passed, and Lin Xu’s emotions had fluctuated wildly—from full of hope to now, greeting everyone with a cold, frosty face all day.
Her subordinates bore the brunt of it. The employees had a private group chat where they gossiped fervently every day.
[Cut it out, I thought bringing her illegitimate kid would improve President Lin’s temper. What a pipe dream.]
[Tell me about it. I bet the kid didn’t come the legit way either.]
[Makes sense—why else would the other mom be totally MIA?]
[Whatever else, Rongrong is super cute. She’s the most adorable little cake I’ve ever seen!]
On that point, the employees unanimously agreed. Lin Xu didn’t hide her from the staff; from the moment she stepped into the company, she started her work-life with the child in tow—meetings, reports, feeding her daughter.
Aside from kindergarten, Lin Xu never let her daughter out of sight.
The employees didn’t just fawn privately; they openly rainbow-farted that President Lin was a rare good mother.
Only Shu Rong knew how nagging Mommy truly was.
At kindergarten, thanks to Lin Xu, no one dared bully Shu Rong—even if she didn’t speak, her superior looks were enough.
Lin Xu picked her up every week in a different sports car. Not just adults had eyes; kids treated her kindly too.
Once Shu Rong reunited with Mommy, she learned to zone out—whatever Mommy said, she’d just nod in agreement.
Lin Xu saw Shu Rong every day and thought of Shu Qingyou, pouring all her pent-up emotions onto the child. Fresh from a meeting that day,
she kicked the door shut behind her. Shu Rong quietly observed and shivered a little.
Mommy’s face had been so stern and fierce outside—now she was going to cry again?
As expected, Lin Xu buried her head in her neck and sobbed, “Rongrong, your mama hasn’t checked on me at all this whole time. Is she waiting for me to be more proactive?”
Shu Rong nodded.
Lin Xu steadied her with both hands and kept nuzzling her soft, helpless neck. “So how should I be proactive? Should I go to Japan to find her?”
Shu Rong nodded.
Lin Xu thought sadly for a moment. “No, that would make her unhappy. But she’d probably love to see you.”
Shu Rong nodded.
“So what about me?”
She could only learn scraps of Shu Qingyou’s life through Shu Wan Ning—photos and snippets that clearly weren’t Lin Xu exclusives.
Shu Rong looked forward to Mama’s new photos every day: lots of little animals, and Mama playing with clay.
Even covered in mud, Mama was the most beautiful mama in the world.
Lin Xu hung her head, stopping her tears, and asked glumly, “Rongrong, does your mama not love me anymore?”
Shu Rong nodded without hesitation.
Lin Xu: “……”
She cried speechless. She’d raised an ungrateful little wolf who ignored her suffering.
Sure enough, a kid not birthed from her own belly couldn’t be fully tamed.
Lin Xu’s chest felt stuffy. She pinched her daughter’s Q-bouncy cheeks. “Then do you love me?”
Shu Rong nodded without a second thought.
Wahhh. Lin Xu’s parched heart got a bit of moisture. She decided to keep being a good mommy to Shu Rong.
“Mommy will take you to the amusement park sometime.”
At those words, Shu Rong stopped playing dumb. Her eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously like pounding garlic.
Lin Xu felt a mix of emotions and gave a wry smile. Sigh, if only Shu Qingyou were this easy to coax…
