Chapter 127: The Toyed-With Goddaughter (2)
“Sit.”
Inside a large shopping mall on a bustling commercial street, Su Mingxiu chose a well-decorated Japanese restaurant. She entered with Yu Nian and her friend. Seeing them standing there, she raised an eyebrow, pushed the menu towards them, and said calmly.
Yu Nian’s friend, unsure whether to sit or stand, looked around awkwardly.
Yu Nian glanced at Su Mingxiu, who was sitting across from them. Her makeup today was lighter than usual, with warm maple-colored eyeshadow and matte orange-red lipstick. Compared to her usual glamorous look, she appeared more relaxed, yet even more alluring.
Yu Nian looked away disdainfully, thinking that this woman and Yu Wanru were truly two of a kind. Other women looked haggard after a divorce, but she seemed to be thriving.
“I don’t eat raw food,” Yu Nian said, not even glancing at the menu, turning to leave. Su Mingxiu’s low voice stopped her.
“I said, sit down.”
Su Mingxiu pushed another menu towards her, this one with grilled, fried, and ramen dishes. Her freshly manicured nails, adorned with tiny crystals, sparkled under the restaurant’s lights, accentuating her elegant demeanor.
Yu Nian’s friend, sensing the tension between them, and seeing the hesitant waiter at the door, tried to smooth things over. She sat down and pulled Yu Nian down with her. “Niannian, I’m hungry too, let’s eat here.”
She had wanted to address Su Mingxiu, but looking at her youthful face, “Auntie” seemed too strange, and “Sister” felt inappropriate.
Yu Nian sat down, but the first thing she said was: “You and my mom are divorced now.”
Implying, You have no right to tell me what to do.
Her friend pretended to study the menu, her head lowered, but she couldn’t help but overhear their conversation.
“So you know,” Su Mingxiu said, resting her chin on her hand, her designer jacket accentuating her elegant figure. She smiled faintly at Yu Nian. “Then why did you call me ‘Little Mom’ so loudly earlier—”
“Are you… lacking affection?”
Yu Nian: “!”
Her eyes widened. She had always known that Su Mingxiu’s concern was just a facade, that she didn’t actually care about her.
But even so, for Yu Wanru’s sake, she had still maintained a semblance of politeness. She hadn’t expected this woman’s true nature to be so… unpleasant.
Having lost her appetite, just as she was about to leave, she heard Su Mingxiu, still smiling, turn to her friend. “You’re Yu Nian’s friend, Dong Lin, right? We’ve met before. It must be hard being friends with her, with her terrible temper.”
Yu Nian: “?”
If it weren’t for her upbringing, she would have flipped the table.
Dong Lin, surprised that Su Mingxiu remembered her name, chuckled nervously, not responding directly. “You have a good memory! You’re even more beautiful than last time. Niannian and I almost didn’t recognize you earlier.”
“You’re so sweet,” Su Mingxiu smiled warmly at Dong Lin, quickly switching to a more casual tone, then subtly inquired about the reason for their encounter with the street thugs.
Dong Lin, eagerly pushing the newly arrived dishes towards Su Mingxiu, explained: “We saw them extorting money from a junior in our school. Don’t let Niannian’s cold demeanor fool you, she’s actually very kind. She couldn’t stand it and stepped in to help.”
She waited for Su Mingxiu to take a bite before picking up her chopsticks, then continued, gesturing with her hands: “Thankfully, there weren’t many of them, and she knows some self-defense. Otherwise, she would have been in trouble… Like today, if it weren’t for you, we would have been doomed.”
Yu Nian slammed her chopsticks on the table.
“I’m done.”
Dong Lin, caught off guard, “Huh? So fast?”
Then, feeling Yu Nian’s icy glare, she froze. Su Mingxiu wiped her hands with a hot towel, glancing at the clearly displeased Yu Nian, then turning to Dong Lin. “It’s good to help others, but you have to stay within your limits. Otherwise, you’ll only get yourself into trouble. Next time, it’s better to find a teacher.”
“Xiao Lin, you seem smart, can you remember what I just said?”
Dong Lin, caught between Yu Nian’s death glare and Su Mingxiu’s warm smile, felt like she was experiencing both summer and winter simultaneously. She could only reply: “O-of course, don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on her next time, I won’t let her get into trouble.”
Yu Nian, dressed in a sporty outfit, a camouflage grey jacket, now had a face darker than her jacket. Especially after Su Mingxiu deliberately ignored her and praised Dong Lin for being “smart”—
“Tsk.”
Thinking about how Dong Lin’s grades were barely above average, she thought Su Mingxiu must be blind.
“Let’s go,” she stood up, no longer interested in staying, her gaze turning to Dong Lin. Her friend, feeling her gaze, also put down her chopsticks, her earlier cheerfulness gone. She thanked Su Mingxiu for the meal and excused herself, saying she had homework to do.
Su Mingxiu didn’t expose her lie and nodded with a smile. “Okay, I’ll treat you to dinner again next time.”
Then, she looked at Yu Nian, the first time she had looked at the girl directly during this meal. “I helped you, shouldn’t you reciprocate?”
Yu Nian didn’t speak, only looking at her, asking with her eyes what she wanted.
“Let’s do a paternity test,” Su Mingxiu suggested seriously.
She didn’t trust the system and, to avoid any future surprises, she needed to confirm that she wasn’t related to the protagonist.
Yu Nian’s eyes widened in surprise. After looking at her for a long time, she finally spoke, her tone similar to Yu Wanru’s, a rare hint of emotion in her usually indifferent voice: “Are you crazy?”
She took out her phone. “Should I make an appointment for you with a psychiatrist?”
“Uh…” Su Mingxiu looked away casually. “I’ll ask again next time.”
Yu Nian turned and left without another word. Reaching the door, she suddenly remembered something and went to the cashier, asking for the bill.
Dong Lin, looking at the four-digit number, gulped. Seeing her friend scan the QR code to pay, she mumbled: “Wasn’t this meal on Mingxiu-jie?”(jie – sister)
“You expect her to pay?” Yu Nian asked softly, a strange tone in her voice, then, after paying, turned to Dong Lin. “Mingxiu-jie? You’re quite close, aren’t you?”
“I…”
Dong Lin stared at her, speechless, then mumbled: “Didn’t you say she’s divorced from your mom? She’s so young and beautiful, what else should I call her…?”
The figure in front pushed open the door and left without another word. Dong Lin quickly caught up, and they headed towards the city library together.
Since Yu Nian didn’t like staying at home, they had agreed to study together at the library during winter break.
The cold wind blew. Dong Lin, usually quiet in this weather, was unusually talkative today, especially after recalling Su Mingxiu’s kindness. She couldn’t help but gossip. “Mingxiu… Auntie is so beautiful, and now she’s single again, I wonder what kind of person she likes…”
“Want to know?” Yu Nian, her face as cold as the wind, stopped suddenly.
Dong Lin blinked, chuckling. “Of course, who wouldn’t be interested in a beautiful woman like that—”
“You can try,” Yu Nian’s usually indifferent eyes now held a chilling glint, her calm words carrying an unspoken warning.
Right.
The generational difference is a bit awkward.
Dong Lin, realizing her mistake, apologized for her careless words. After coaxing Yu Nian back into a good mood, she saw her friend looking her up and down, then heard her say coldly:
“She likes rich people, the richer, the better. You don’t meet her criteria.”
Dong Lin, a poor student: “?”
A personal attack, is it?
Su Mingxiu, unaware of her established image as a gold digger, finished her lunch, only to find that the bill had already been paid. Recalling Yu Nian’s cold attitude, she felt slightly touched.
But she didn’t think much of it, not wanting to force a connection. She simply took a taxi home, continuing to ponder how to extract the system in this world.
One night, the sound of fireworks echoed from the distance.
Su Mingxiu looked out the window, seeing only the city lights. Checking her phone, she realized it was the Little New Year.
… Another new year.
Thinking about the person who had always wanted to spend every season with her, she put down her phone, sank into the warm bathwater, and closed her eyes.
New Year’s Eve.
At Pearl Manor, Building 8, Yu Wanru sat in the back seat of her car, frowning as she checked the time and had someone tell Yu Nian to hurry up. When Yu Nian finally got into the car, her frown deepened.
“You’re wearing that?”
Looking at Yu Nian’s casual down jacket, Yu Wanru said coldly: “Change. Have Wang Ma choose something for you. You have three minutes.”
Yu Nian met her gaze, as if wanting to say something, then silently got out of the car.
A few minutes later, she returned, wearing a black dress, a camel-colored coat, and boots.
Although she didn’t say anything, her fidgeting with the dress’s collar showed her dislike for this kind of outfit.
But Yu Wanru didn’t notice. When the car stopped at a flower shop near the cemetery, she instructed Yu Nian: “Go buy some flowers.”
Yu Nian, before getting out, wanted to ask what kind of flowers, then, remembering her mother’s unchanging routine every year, didn’t bother and simply went into the shop.
A few minutes later, she returned to the car. “The owner said they don’t have roses this year, only white chrysanthemums and lilies.”
Yu Wanru nodded, then picked up her phone, ignoring Yu Nian.
Arriving at the cemetery, Yu Nian watched as Yu Wanru meticulously wiped the tombstone. She wanted to help, but Yu Wanru’s gaze stopped her.
“She’s been alone here all year round, you rarely come, spend some time with her.”
Yu Nian froze.
She looked at the young face on the tombstone, vaguely resembling her own, her lips parting dryly, not knowing what to say.
What could she say?
Even though Yu Wanru brought her here every year, telling her that this was her birth mother, she had no memories of her.
The wind from a helicopter’s rotors ruffled her hair. Yu Nian turned and saw the helicopter landing on the cemetery lawn. Someone carried baskets of fresh, dew-kissed Damask roses towards them.
Yu Wanru’s driver went to greet them, while Yu Nian watched, her expression complex.
It was the same every year—
Even after ordering these beautiful roses from a European rose garden, she still had to buy another bouquet. Yu Nian found Yu Wanru’s behavior strange.
“Buzz.”
Her phone vibrated. She glanced at it.
A simple, impersonal “Happy New Year” message. But looking at the sender’s profile picture, she thought it must be a mistake.
Su Mingxiu, a person driven by self-interest, would never send her New Year greetings.
Yu Nian put away her phone and helped arrange the flowers. After Yu Wanru finished paying her respects, a light drizzle started falling.
She took the black umbrella offered by the driver and walked towards Yu Wanru, who said: “No, hold it over your mother’s grave.”
The black umbrella tilted, uselessly shielding the white tombstone.
At this moment, Yu Nian suddenly understood Yu Wanru’s strangeness: it was hypocrisy.
Deep affection for the dead, indifference towards the living, yet she had failed both of them.
A sudden surge of courage, and she asked the person still kneeling by the grave: “If you loved her so much, why did you marry Su Mingxiu?”
Yu Wanru was placing the last of the paper money into the metal basin, stirring the ashes, making the flames flicker. Her face, illuminated by the fire, was the brightest spot under the grey sky.
She raised an eyebrow, her expression indifferent. “Don’t mention irrelevant people in front of your mother’s grave.”
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