Rong Jin successfully tricked Su Xijing onto the wheelchair and had her sit with her as the wheelchair sped off.
Su Xijing let out excited little squeals the whole way. “Auntie, Xixi loves playing this!”
Rong Jin said, “Fun, right? Next time, Auntie will find somewhere else to take you wheelchair racing.”
Su Xijing replied, “Okay! Auntie is the best!”
Teacher Yu chased after them from behind. “Xixi’s Auntie, wait!”
Rong Jin: “…”
Su Xijing: “…”
Whoa.
Teacher Yu looked gentle and soft-spoken, but her running speed was no joke—probably a former sprinter. She actually caught up.
She stood in front of the unreliable adult and child, hands on her hips, panting as she scolded them until they hung their heads in shame.
“Xixi’s Auntie, that was way too dangerous! How can a wheelchair carry two people? Do you think you’re riding an electric scooter?!”
“Xixi, how could you be so reckless? Just because your auntie told you to get on, you did it?”
Rong Jin sat on the wheelchair with her head lowered.
Su Xijing got off the wheelchair and stood beside Rong Jin, also hanging her head pitifully.
“Teacher, I was wrong.”
“Teacher, Xixi was wrong too.”
Afraid they would cause more trouble, Teacher Yu escorted both of them directly to the entrance of the Su Family Villa. She gave a few extra warnings, mainly lecturing the unreliable auntie not to fool around, before leaving.
Rong Jin and Su Xijing both let out long sighs of relief. They stood at the foyer entrance, exchanged a glance, and burst into laughter.
Su Xijing giggled nonstop. “Auntie, Teacher Yu scolded you! Shame face.”
Rong Jin laughed too. “You absolutely cannot tell your mom about this. It’s our little secret, got it?”
Su Xijing hooked her pinky with hers. “Pinky promise.”
Rong Jin reached out and hooked pinkies with her. Their thumbs pressed together in a proper stamp.
…
It was not even four o’clock yet. Su Xijing pulled out her homework from her small schoolbag, sat on the carpet, spread it out on the living room coffee table, took out a pencil, and started writing.
First grade at Yuying Primary School—the best elementary school in the city—already assigned quite a bit of homework.
Rong Jin watched her work diligently, pulled some files from what Xiao Qiangwei had brought, shifted herself from the wheelchair to the sofa, and got to work as well.
For a moment, the only sounds in the living room were the rustle of turning pages and the scratch of pencil on paper.
Milk woke up from a nap, stretched lazily on the balcony, then lightly jumped onto the coffee table. Its paw stepped on Su Xijing’s workbook, leaving two dirty paw prints.
Su Xijing set down her pencil and picked up Milk. “Milk, no messing around. Xixi has to do homework.”
Milk was placed on the floor and tilted its head at her in confusion.
Why aren’t we playing anymore?
Ever since the little master started school, she never played with it anymore.
It huddled pitifully by Rong Jin’s feet, obediently not disturbing Su Xijing, and soon fell asleep again.
Rong Jin looked up and saw the paw prints on her workbook—like a plum blossom. Two small ones, actually quite pretty.
Then she noticed something else on Su Xijing’s workbook.
Besides the paw prints, there were several pig heads of various sizes drawn on it. Su Xijing flipped a page, and the next one had them too. The lines were crooked and wobbly—clearly drawn by a child.
This…
Was someone bullying Su Xijing at school?
No way would that fly.
Rong Jin said seriously, “Xixi, are other kids bullying you at school?”
Su Xijing kept writing without looking up. “No, all my classmates are great to get along with. Xixi likes playing with them. Tomorrow, Yan Yan even invited me to fly kites.”
Yan Yan was her new deskmate. Ever since Song Chuyi fought with her and their seats were completely separated, Teacher Yu had placed the well-behaved and quiet Yan Yan next to Su Xijing.
Rong Jin pointed at the pig heads on her workbook. “Then who drew these?”
Su Xijing followed her finger. “Weiwei drew them.”
Rong Jin: “Weiwei?”
Su Xijing explained, “Because Xixi wouldn’t let Weiwei copy my homework, Weiwei got mad and drew pig heads on my book.”
Rong Jin: “…”
Su Xijing added, “Xixi didn’t really refuse to let Weiwei copy, but Xixi thinks it’s a bad habit to copy someone else’s homework instead of doing your own. But Weiwei wouldn’t listen and always wanted to copy.”
“So Xixi prepared two workbooks on purpose—one with the right answers, one with the wrong ones. Sometimes Weiwei copies the right one, but when it’s the wrong one, Weiwei draws pig heads on it.”
Rong Jin: “…”
Holy crap.
A mastermind.
Mostly wrong, but occasionally right—that easily fostered a gambler’s mentality.
Song Chuyi probably copied a few wrong ones and realized Su Xijing didn’t want her copying, but since there were right ones too…
She couldn’t stop.
Always tempted to try if this time’s homework was right or wrong.
Rong Jin recalled the silly, sweet girl with pigtails and deeply felt this kid was the type who could be sold and still help count the money.
Rong Jin’s gaze shifted back to the top of Su Xijing’s head.
Tsk—
Calling her bad? This child was so young and already this scheming.
Future is boundless.
Su Xijing suddenly remembered something. “Oh right!”
Rong Jin: “What?”
Su Xijing scrambled up from the carpet, her little slippers pattering as she dashed upstairs.
“Auntie, wait for me! I have something to show you!”
She remembered.
Back when they were in the United States, she had told Auntie Rong Jin that Mommy’s room had her photo, but Auntie didn’t believe her.
For over half a month, she had secretly wanted to show Auntie the proof—to confirm she was right, that Mommy’s room really had Auntie’s photo.
She thought it best to keep it from Mommy. If Mommy found out, she definitely wouldn’t allow it.
But she had never had a chance to be alone with Auntie at home. Auntie always came home from work with Mommy, and Aunt Zhao was usually there too, so no chance to sneak into Mommy’s room for the photo.
Now Aunt Zhao was out taking care of family, and Mommy was still at work—wasn’t this the perfect opportunity?
Su Xijing charged into Su Qingqiu’s room like a little firecracker, rummaged around for a bit, grabbed a photo album, and came thumping back down. She stood solemnly beside Rong Jin and handed her the album.
“Auntie, see? Xixi was telling the truth!”
Rong Jin, puzzled, set aside her files and took the album.
She hadn’t caught on. “What truth?”
Su Xijing pointed at the people in the album.
It was the one from Su Qingqiu’s bedside table—the one Rong Jin had seen those two nights she slept with Su Qingqiu. The photo showed Su Qingqiu and Su Xijing at an amusement park or zoo, both wearing cartoon Mickey Mouse headbands, clearly taken during a fun outing.
Rong Jin: “So?”
Su Xijing saw she hadn’t gotten it, snatched the album back anxiously, and poked her tiny finger into the seam, trying to pull out the photo.
She wasn’t strong enough, so she shoved the album back into Rong Jin’s lap.
“Auntie, look inside the album—there’s more than one photo!”
Rong Jin held the album.
Last time she saw it, she noticed the thick interlayer, suggesting multiple photos, but before she could look closely, Su Qingqiu was doing a face mask and watching her through the vanity mirror, so she pretended to sleep.
Afterward, she forgot about the minor detail.
Did this album have more than one photo?
Rong Jin pried open the edges, and the photos spilled out onto the sofa.
Indeed, more than one.
Rong Jin’s gaze fell on them, growing serious as she sat up straighter on the sofa.
She slowly picked up all the photos.
There were three in total. The outermost was a parent-child photo of Su Qingqiu and Su Xijing. The middle one was Su Xijing as a newborn, not yet filled out—a wrinkly little bundle.
And the innermost one.
Was her.
Rong Jin stared at the photo of herself.
The girl in it was very young, around eighteen, probably from her university days.
Rong Jin studied it closely—it was from right after she was elected Student Council President, during the inauguration speech at the auditorium podium. Behind her was dimness, with only a spotlight from above illuminating her. She stood straight, a smile on her lips, looking out at the audience below.
Full of vigor.
Youthfully bold.
From the angle, the photographer was likely in the left side of the auditorium. The pixels weren’t great—probably shot with a phone camera from back then, not very advanced.
Rong Jin zoned out staring at the photo.
So back then…
Su Qingqiu had been in the audience watching her?
Why take this photo?
Why keep it for so many years?
Back then…
What feelings had prompted her to tuck this photo, abandoned by time, into the album?
She…
Su Xijing: “See? Xixi was right—Mommy’s room really has a photo of Auntie. Mommy likes Auntie!”
Su Xijing’s voice snapped Rong Jin out of her thoughts. She slipped the photos back exactly as they were, restored the album, and smiled at Su Xijing.
“Xixi, put the album back, okay?”
Su Xijing asked, puzzled, “Why? Don’t you want Mommy to like you, Auntie?”
She puffed up her cheeks. “Doesn’t Auntie like Mommy?”
Rong Jin paused.
She liked Su Qingqiu.
She thought she did.
Su Qingqiu approached her actively, took care of her.
Even if she hadn’t seemed too willing at first.
But she was willing.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have stayed at Su Qingqiu’s home for so long.
She would have found a chance to leave.
In all these years, meeting so many people.
No one else had stirred such intense feelings in her.
She liked how Su Qingqiu slowly drew near.
She liked Su Qingqiu’s responses to her.
It made her feel…
That in those past years, she hadn’t been imagining things.
But did Su Qingqiu really like her?
Even with her photo tucked in the bedside album.
Did she truly like her?
Rong Jin couldn’t be sure.
She blinked, then slowly revealed a gentle smile and patted her head.
“Xixi, relationships between adults are complicated—not just like or dislike.”
“Even if Auntie likes your mommy, your mommy used to really dislike Auntie.”
“Auntie has never liked anyone else, no experience… so I really can’t be sure what your mommy thinks.”
Su Xijing seemed to get it and nodded. “Xixi understands. Auntie still doesn’t believe what Xixi says. Auntie is a scaredy-cat.”
“Auntie and Mommy are both scaredy-cats.”
