Late June.
I was crouched in the bathroom, laughing and playing with my daughter, who was tinkering with some medicinal water in the tub. The frosted glass of the bathroom door was gently knocked from the outside.
“It’s already been half an hour, hasn’t the water cooled yet?”
“Be careful not to let the baby catch a cold.”
I reached out to check the water temperature.
“It’s fine, it’s summer now, the water cools down slowly.”
“Let her soak a bit more. It’s not easy to find these medicinal herbs—let her absorb as much as possible, it’ll only be good for the child.”
“Okie!” On the surface of the water, a little plastic duck floated. I’d tried several times to take it away, but Zhi Ruo simply insisted on bringing it into the bathroom.
She just wouldn’t let go.
If I forced her, she’d purse her lips and wail at the top of her lungs.
This child, who’s never lacked a bit of nutrition, could shatter the whole ceiling with her cries if she let loose her voice.
Sometimes, I couldn’t help but want to plug my ears.
“How about we play with the duck later, alright?” I looked hopefully at the little dumpling, her small body mostly submerged in the tub.
The little dumpling hugged her duck toy even tighter.
Mama’s words aren’t always right, after all.
Me: “……”
Forget it.
I just can’t bring myself to talk to kids in a coaxing tone.
“Fine, you keep holding onto it. But when Mama wipes you down later, if I can’t get you clean, you can’t blame Mama for not taking care of you. You’ll just have to put your clothes on with water marks left on your skin.”
The moment she heard that, the little one immediately let go.
The duck toy plopped into the water, splashing droplets everywhere.
Looking at my half-soaked chest, I had to hold back the urge to pick up my daughter and give her a spanking.
She’s my own child.
My own child.
I can’t get angry—
A bit naughty is fine, after all, she wasn’t born for nothing… With as gentle a smile as I could muster, I scooped my daughter up, rinsed her body under clean water, then dried her off with a towel.
Zhi Ruo wasn’t the type to sit still—she squirmed as I wiped her down, her tiny hands always pawing at me, leaving my clothes a total mess.
I couldn’t help but wonder if my child had reached the age when mothers start complaining about their kids.
Getting a little wild now.
While wiping her down, I suddenly paused, unconsciously letting go of her arm, only to realize she could already stand steadily on her own.
“You little rascal.”
“You can stand now and never told your mom?”
“All those times I tried to get you to stand with your toys, and you wouldn’t do it once?”
The little one tilted her head, looking irresistibly cute.
All my pent-up grievances and the woes of being a mother melted away under that adorable gaze.
Never mind, cuteness is justice.
Why would I hold a grudge against a baby just a few months old?
Now that she could stand, it meant she was close to speaking.
I put on her little ancient-style ruqun.
Carrying my daughter out of the steamy bathroom, I saw Su Liumeng handling the Su Family’s daily affairs in the living room.
As the head of her branch, Su Liumeng couldn’t be a hands-off boss. Newly appointed, she hardly had anyone of her own under her; if she didn’t handle things herself, she’d soon be sidelined.
Getting the token doesn’t mean everything’s smooth sailing—if you can’t handle the job, the high council could still vote you out.
Of course, Su Liumeng could attend the meetings.
She could even cast a vote for herself.
“Did the medicinal bath work?” Su Liumeng asked.
“It should’ve helped quite a bit. Her little hands are warm, like a tiny sun—it feels wonderful to hold.”
That’s nice.
She’s just like a real child—there’s not a trace of ghostly aura from head to toe, and her soft cheeks just beg to be kissed.
“All you care about is your little duck, and not even a hug for Mama?” I watched my daughter, lost in the toy, a bit of envy sneaking into my voice.
A mother and daughter, one big, one small.
Both were rare beauties, almost too lovely for the world.
Right now, standing together in the living room, Su Liumeng couldn’t help but get lost looking at Zhi Xinyan.
Her eyes softened countless times as she gazed at the little dumpling whose features were just like Zhi Xinyan’s. Even Zhi Xinyan herself hadn’t noticed that when coaxing her daughter, she gave off a mesmerizing charm.
When Zhi Ruo heard my words, she stopped looking at her duck and instead raised her face, imitating me, and gave my cheek a gentle kiss.
My eyes went wide.
Joy and surprise tangled together, my body frozen in shock.
Words failed me.
“Ah?”
No way… Su Liumeng suddenly jumped up. “She’s only four months old and already understands such complex sentences, can think for herself, remember what you’ve done, and even imitate you?”
I pondered for a couple seconds, then lowered my head seriously. “I think she gained intelligence last month. She already has a clear sense of self and knows she’s different from other creatures. She just can’t speak yet.”
At this moment—
A sudden realization dawned on me.
No wonder she’d long since learned to stand, but no amount of encouragement from me could get her to take a step.
Turns out she’s just lazy and doesn’t want to move.
For babies who haven’t gained intelligence, as long as they understand what you say, they’ll usually do as their mother says.
Understanding speech is the first step; many babies can do this before they’ve truly awakened their intellect.
Gaining intelligence is the second step—that’s when self-awareness forms and a memory network begins to build. Old memories start to fade away until they’re completely gone.
That’s why most people only remember things from after they gained true awareness.
Some recall things from age two, some at three, some at five or six—those who awaken late usually aren’t great at thinking, and are often at the bottom of their class.
The reason is simple: they don’t even realize they’re people yet, so how could they possibly learn complicated knowledge?
“I suppose so.”
I looked at my daughter, who was still playing with her duck, and poked her cheek once or twice. “Zhi Zhi, do you know your own name is Zhi Zhi?”
The little dumpling kept squeezing her duck, but when she heard me, she slowly raised her head in my arms.
She tilted her head, then nodded slowly.
“Do you know your full name is Si Tongyu?”
She thought for a moment, then slowly shook her head—then gently nodded.
“What does that mean? What’s she trying to say?” Su Liumeng was totally confused.
“She’s saying she didn’t know before, but now she does.” The bond between mother and daughter was perfectly clear in that moment.
Nodding and shaking her head were things I’d already taught Zhi Ruo.
I’d already known she could understand human speech back then.
But that she could comprehend so much, form her own understanding, and respond appropriately… this was my first time realizing just how much she grasped.
I was honestly stunned.
I held onto her little hand, and she looked at her own hand being held, her adorable blank stare suggesting she wanted to break free and keep playing with her duck.
But she couldn’t succeed no matter how hard she tried, and her eyes grew more anxious.
“Su Liumeng, I feel like she’ll learn to talk soon.”
“She can’t speak now only because her body hasn’t developed enough.”
“Her mind’s definitely ready.”
Still holding her little hand, I coaxed gently by her ear, “Has our little princess Zhi Zhi put all her nutrition into growing her brain?”
Zhi Ruo watched her captured hand wobble in the air, then looked at her other hand holding the duck.
But because only one little hand could hold it, and babies don’t have much strength, the duck was starting to slip and could fall any moment.
Seeing this, she started to struggle in my arms.
Her little feet pressed against my elbow, like she wanted to stand and face me directly.
Su Liumeng: “Why do I feel like… your daughter—if she could—would be reaching out to slap your face right now?”
“Nonsense, how could my daughter ever hit me?”
“Yaah!” The little one was getting more and more upset, wriggling in my arms.
Su Liumeng’s gaze landed on her struggling spot. “Is it because you keep holding her hand?”
She stepped forward, picked up the nearly-fallen duck, and stuffed it back into Zhi Ruo’s arms.
The little dumpling stopped struggling, just staring at her toy in a daze.
Then she looked up at the person so close to her, shrinking back a little on instinct, but not by much. In the end, she simply watched with a puzzled expression.
“Of course I know she just wants to play with her duck.” I was calm and unruffled, my tone so composed Su Liumeng nearly coughed up blood.
So you knew all along.
I shot Su Liumeng a look. “I’m her mom—how could I not know what she’s thinking?”
Su Liumeng’s expression grew complicated as she watched the little dumpling with perked-up ears. She stopped herself from saying, “You did that on purpose,” right in front of the child.
Children have pure, sensitive hearts.
Sometimes, a careless word will stick with them for years.
Just because they don’t say anything doesn’t mean they didn’t hear.
I looked at Zhi Ruo, who was seriously squeezing her duck’s belly to make a “pu pu” sound, and grumbled, “I’m really getting annoyed with that little duck.”
Now Su Liumeng finally understood.
“You’re the kind of mom who gets jealous of a toy?”
“She’s only played with this one toy these days, and even insists on bringing it into the bath.”
“Ya ~ ”
Zhi Ruo lifted her head and met her mother’s unhappy gaze.
With a plop!
The toy hit the floor.
Her two chubby arms half-wrapped around my neck, making it easy for her to hug me tightly.
“Waa waa.”
She babbled a string of unclear words, which sounded meaningless.
Su Liumeng came closer. “Translate—what’s she saying?”
“She’s probably calling my name, saying Mama is more important than a toy.”
I squatted down, picked up the duck, and put it back into my daughter’s arms. “At least you’ve got a conscience.”
“If you ever said a toy was more important than Mama, I don’t think I’d sleep tonight.”
Spending my days with my daughter is the happiest part of my life.
Especially playing games with her, watching her grow little by little—there’s nothing that can match the sense of fulfillment in my heart.
During meals, my daughter played with building blocks nearby. Su Liumeng watched my glances in her direction and said, “How about I go keep her company for a bit? Once you’re done eating, we’ll switch.”
“It’s fine.” I shook my head, my jade bracelet sparkling vividly in the light—a deep, flawless imperial green more brilliant than glass. Just wearing it out once had earned me countless admiring looks from wealthy ladies.
No wonder I’m always mistaken for a rich miss or rich madam when I go out—half the credit belongs to this pure, perfect imperial jade bracelet.
That’s right, sitting on my wrist, the sunlight shining through it, casting beams of pure wealth—who could ignore it?
“I’m watching to see if she puts any blocks in her mouth.”
That’s my biggest worry. There’s hardly any small things in the house, and after playing with puzzles or blocks, I always put them somewhere a child can’t reach.
“She’s teething,” I explained.
When babies teethe, their mouths itch, so they drool and instinctively grab at things, stuffing them in their mouths at random.
Zhi Ruo gained awareness early, so she’s never chewed on anything she shouldn’t.
I taught her well—she actually listens to me.
But even if she does, I just can’t relax, and have to watch her while I eat to feel reassured.
Su Liumeng paused, then looked at me seriously. “Xinyan, do you have postpartum anxiety? The second you lose sight of the baby, you get panicky.”
My hand holding the chopsticks froze. “A little.”
“But it should be fine.”
“I’m just worried about my daughter, that’s all.”
Thinking back over these past four months, I’ve kept my daughter by my side even while sleeping—always within arm’s reach. Except for that one night with Su Liumeng, I honestly haven’t let Zhi Ruo out of my sight.
“She’ll get a bit older and it’ll be better.”
“Lots of new moms are like this.” Su Liumeng comforted me.
With a magician’s flair, she produced a box out of nowhere. “Xinyan, I got you a new bracelet. See if you like it—space bracelets are important, but at home you don’t need it, so change up your accessories a bit. It’ll make you feel better.”
I opened the box—a bracelet encrusted with tiny diamonds, scattering sunlight into countless lines. The exquisite design was so gorgeous it was hard to look away, yet somehow subtle in the shadows, a perfect match for my skin tone.
“It’s beautiful.”
“I really like it.”
Looking at my wrist, after a moment’s thought, I didn’t take off my jade bangle. “Never mind, I’ll wear the new bracelet on my left. I can’t take off the jade bangle—all my life-saving items are stored inside. Other people’s talismans, and some treasures you gave me—if anything ever happens, they might save my life.”
“If I took it off, and had to go out alone with my daughter, how would I ensure we could survive until you got there?”
Su Liumeng explained, “I’m not saying you should take it off, just that at home you can switch things up a bit. But you’re right—enemies could come to us. Better keep it on, even at home.”
Su Liumeng glanced at the girl’s slender left wrist adorned with the bracelet, a satisfied smile curling on her lips.
So pretty.
Her Xinxin looks beautiful in anything.
Nothing could ever overshadow her, only make her even more dazzling.