Disturbed by her mother, Jiang Sui picked up the fallen knife and tucked it back under the pillow. When she turned around, she saw that her mother had reached the bedroom doorway at some unknown point.
“What’s wrong, Sui’er?”
“Are you still cleaning the room?”
“I just finished mopping the floor. The kitchen and living room haven’t been tidied up yet.”
Trash bags from finished snacks were scattered across the cabinets in the living room. In the kitchen, the dishes had been sitting for heaven knows how many days; just walking in, one could smell a faint, musty odor.
“Looks like it will take a while longer to finish.” Xia Youqing scratched her head.
‘Seriously, if you ate a bit less or did even a tiny bit of housework, I wouldn’t be this busy the moment I got home.’
Hearing this, Xia Youqing could not help but put on a pitiful expression.
Here it comes again. Jiang Sui was long used to her mother’s sequence of moves. Next, she would likely complain about her own hardships, praise her daughter’s virtues, and then go have a beautiful nap, ignoring the housework entirely.
Just as Jiang Sui passed her while carrying the mop, Xia Youqing suddenly reached out.
“What’s this?” Jiang Sui looked at her.
“Give me the mop. I’ll help you clean.”
“Huh?”
Jiang Sui thought she had misheard.
“Mom, are you still drunk? Let me go get you some honey water.”
“I’m fine, I’m very much awake!”
Xia Youqing pointed at her own face, her voice rising an octave.
“I’m serious. You should take a good rest. Leave the rest to me.”
Jiang Sui remained unmoved, not even loosening her grip on the mop.
After a minute of silence, she spoke slowly, “Mom, are you planning to abandon me too?”
“What on earth? Can’t I just simply want to help my daughter?”
“Hmm…”
Jiang Sui had already figured out her mother’s personality. Hearing her offer to help with housework made it hard not to suspect she had some hidden motive.
Seeing that her daughter did not trust her, Xia Youqing’s temper flared. She snatched the mop directly out of Jiang Sui’s hand.
Jiang Sui sat in the living room—the very spot where Xia Youqing had been sleeping earlier—and watched her mother start doing housework for the first time in her life.
“I never thought I’d see the day you’d clean the house, Mom. I feel like I could die without regrets now.”
“What are you talking about? In the past, I was always the one cleaning the house.” Xia Youqing shot her a glare.
Jiang Sui brushed it off with a few casual words. Truthfully, she didn’t remember such a thing at all, and she was secretly relieved that her mother didn’t suspect her of being an impostor.
Finally able to take a break, Jiang Sui lay down on the sofa. Listening to the bustling sounds from the kitchen, she checked her mobile phone screen.
Lu Yunze had sent a message saying he was still being followed by guards. To avoid raising suspicion, he might not be able to arrive at her house until after noon.
Seeing this, Jiang Sui couldn’t help but sigh. She hoped Lu Yunze could deal with things quickly. She had prepared extensively for this weekend; if Lu Yunze didn’t show up, wouldn’t it all be for nothing?
*Clang!*
Just then, Jiang Sui suddenly heard a crisp sound from the kitchen. She quickly stood up to look.
Xia Youqing stood before the sink with a broken plate at her feet. The mother and daughter stared at each other, and for a moment, the atmosphere was a bit awkward.
“It’s fine. There’s only the two of us at home. Missing one plate isn’t a big deal.”
“Right…”
Though a bit uneasy, Jiang Sui sat back down to continue resting.
However, that first accident was like opening Pandora’s box. Every time she tried to let her guard down, accidents followed one after another.
*Clang!*
“Oh, it’s fine. It’s just two plates. Don’t worry about it.”
*Clang!*
“Three… three don’t matter either. It’s not like we don’t have the money to buy more plates.”
*Crash!*
“I was tired of this flower I’ve been growing for six months anyway. If it’s gone, it’s gone.”
Jiang Sui couldn’t sit still any longer, but she was pushed back down.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. I’ll mop this up. Sui’er, you keep resting.”
Even though she was working up a sweat, Xia Youqing insisted on pushing through.
Jiang Sui didn’t say anything, but she watched her mother walk into the bathroom and come out with the mop. She dripped water the entire way, leaving a long trail of puddles on the floor.
More importantly, Jiang Sui hadn’t heard any running water. Xia Youqing was likely using the water she had used before she left for her trip; it had long since turned murky.
‘Can’t you at least change the water?’
Looking at the floor that was getting dirtier as it was “cleaned,” Jiang Sui couldn’t help but sigh. In the end, she had to step in personally to clean up her mother’s mess.
“Hehe, as expected, my Sui’er is the capable one. I haven’t done housework in so long that I’ve gotten rusty.”
Even though she wasn’t helping, Xia Youqing stayed by her side, cheering her on, which at least made Jiang Sui feel a bit better.
After finishing the cleaning and resting for a while, she heard Xia Youqing complaining that her stomach was hungry since she hadn’t eaten breakfast yet.
Since she hadn’t eaten either, Jiang Sui opened the refrigerator. Her pupils instantly dilated.
Wine. It was all wine. Jiang Sui had never seen so much alcohol in her life. It was all hidden deep in the refrigerator so that people wouldn’t notice it at first glance.
“Mom, didn’t you say you wanted to save money?”
“Uh…”
“Then explain these bottles. Were they also gifts from friends?”
“Well…”
Facing her daughter’s questioning, Xia Youqing thought for a long time before choosing her response.
“Meow~”
“Acting cute won’t work on me.”
It was a headache, but Jiang Sui didn’t dwell on it. Instead, she continued to look through the fridge.
The refrigerator was full of wine and didn’t have a single vegetable. Did they have to starve?
“Sui’er, lunch is ready. You can come eat now.”
“Huh?”
‘Could it be that she prepared a meal in advance?’
That wasn’t right. She clearly wasn’t in the kitchen just now. How did she manage to…
Walking out of the kitchen, as expected, Jiang Sui saw Xia Youqing waving goodbye to a delivery driver. When the woman saw Jiang Sui, she broke into a smile.
“After working for so long, it’s time to eat something and recharge.”
“So it’s takeout.”
Well, that was very much Xia Youqing’s style.
Ordering takeout meant they didn’t need to stock up on groceries, which meant the saved space and money could “rightfully” be used to buy more wine.
Watching her mother tear open the packaging and push the buns and soy milk toward her, Jiang Sui hesitated to start.
This was hardly any different from when she had first crossed over.
Back then, both mother and daughter were shrouded in the shadow of the 1.8 million debt. Xia Youqing had spent her days washed in tears, ordering takeout every day; Jiang Sui had never seen her cook a single meal.
It wasn’t until Jiang Sui found a job that could pay off the debt that Xia Youqing’s face finally regained its smile, and she wouldn’t stop praising her daughter for growing up.
“What’s wrong, Sui’er? Why aren’t you eating?”
“No, I’m just not very hungry.”
Xia Youqing was eating with great gusto, but Jiang Sui really had no appetite.
Once they were nearly finished eating, Xia Youqing spoke up again.
“Sui’er, how have you been this past six months? Tell Mom all about it.”
Jiang Sui was a bit surprised that Xia Youqing would proactively ask about her life over the past six months, so she casually made up some experiences.
After all, she couldn’t tell her that she was currently busy trying to seduce a Young Master, nor could she say that her daughter had almost died several times at the hands of a Secret Arts Practitioner. Xia Youqing didn’t look like someone who knew about Secret Arts.
“I see. So, how is your work going? Does it interfere with your studies? How are your colleagues treating you?”
When the topic returned to work, Jiang Sui only said she was working for someone without giving specific details.
If she relied solely on her own salary to pay the debt, it wouldn’t be finished in twenty or thirty years.
Hearing this, Xia Youqing’s expression slumped instantly, and she began to sigh to herself.
“It’s all our fault. You just started university, yet you’re living like a member of the workforce burdened by a mortgage.”
“Isn’t this all that bastard father’s fault?”
Jiang Sui’s expression became incredibly cold.
“If I see him, I’ll give him a direct punch right in the face.”
“Sui’er, don’t say that about your dad. He must have gone into hiding because he had no choice, probably afraid of involving us or something.”
“If he truly cared about us, he should have paid the debt himself instead of running away and leaving the burden to us.”
Jiang Sui’s tone was beyond reproach, leaving Xia Youqing unable to argue.
Jiang Sui also realized she shouldn’t vent all her anger on her mother. After all, she hadn’t abandoned her and run away, and the concern she showed just now was genuine.
Compared to her scumbag father, Xia Youqing was countless levels better.
It was time to change to a lighter topic.
“Mom, how have you been lately? I heard you went out of town for overtime.”
“Uh, yeah.”
“I’m surprised you actually looked for a job and even did overtime out of town. It doesn’t seem like your style at all.”
“Sui’er, what are you saying? Your mother is a proper university graduate. With my ability, finding a job is a piece of cake.”
“And yet you’re usually lounging at home or running off to play.”
“…”
Having her wounds ruthlessly exposed, Xia Youqing lowered her head in shame.
“It won’t happen again, Sui’er. Our situation is different now.”
She lifted her head, her eyes shining.
“A mere 1.8 million debt… we will definitely get through it.”
“I hope you aren’t just saying that only to push it all onto me when the time comes.”
“Sui’er, why has your tongue become so sharp? You used to be so quiet and obedient.”
‘Is that so? Was the original host a quiet girl?’
Because Xia Youqing had never seemed suspicious, Jiang Sui thought she had played the role perfectly.
Anything else was fine, but to attract Lu Yunze, Jiang Sui had intentionally cultivated this personality. She couldn’t change it even if she wanted to.
“Mom, you should drink less and go out to play less. That would be a huge help to me.”
“I said before that I went to work overtime…”
“Then don’t drink the moment you get back. You have a bed but didn’t sleep in it, choosing the sofa instead, and you kept talking in your sleep. You scared the life out of me.”
“Huh?”
Seeing her confused look, Jiang Sui imitated the tone of the dream talk she had heard, repeating things like “Please” and “Let me go.” It was truly the kind of thing that would make someone suspicious.
Upon hearing this, the corners of Xia Youqing’s mouth merely twitched twice. she let out a dry laugh and rubbed her forehead, her voice sounding forced.
“Is that so… I really should drink less, or I’ll end up talking in my sleep.”—
👀 freaky mom???