Su Liumeng and I were still being clingy, repeatedly arguing over whose fault it was, when a voice suddenly emerged from under the blankets on the other side.
“What are you two whispering about?”
“Are you going to sleep or what!”
“Su Liumeng, you keep pestering my mommy. What are you trying to do…”
In the darkness, Xi Zhiruo slowly opened her eyes and poked her head out from under the covers. The little one’s sudden voice held a milky, childish interrogation. It made the two adults so embarrassed they wanted to crawl into a crack in the floor.
Xi Zhiruo had only been awake for a few seconds. She was always in a defenseless state when sleeping with her mother.
“Aren’t you going to crawl out yet?” Xi Zhiruo questioned with her hands on her hips.
She was still a little baby and hadn’t even gotten a hug from her mother yet. That hateful, bad woman — she spent all day clinging to her mother.
Su Liumeng was thick-skinned and remained as steady as a mountain. “Your mother is in a bad mood right now, so I’m keeping her company for a while.”
Xi Zhiruo went silent. She had been sleeping and was still bleary-eyed. Seeing that nothing major was happening and that her mother’s mood was decent, she let out a yawn.
“I’m not going to bother with you. Zhizhi is going back to sleep.”
She was being quite generous for now, not clamoring for her mother’s embrace. This was because Su Liumeng had been gone for a long time. For the sake of Su Liumeng having just comforted Si Xinyan, she gave her a tiny bit of face and didn’t compete for favoritism.
The little one rolled over, clamped the quilt between her legs, and went back to snoring. This time, she was truly exhausted. She didn’t even have the energy to shout anything else.
I raised my head and exchanged a look with Su Liumeng, my tone accusatory. “It’s all your fault. I told you we’d wake our daughter up.”
Su Liumeng raised her hands in surrender. “My fault, my fault. Go to sleep now.”
‘Your health isn’t great to begin with; you can’t stay up late.’
“Whatever problems or worries you have, we can talk and think about them tomorrow. In this vast world, sleeping is the most important thing.”
“Okay,” I responded, then stopped speaking altogether.
Su Liumeng was hugging me from behind. I could use her arm as a pillow. Beneath her arm was a very soft pillow, so her bones didn’t feel like they were poking my neck. Hearing me quiet down, Su Liumeng’s breathing gradually stabilized.
Unlike her, who was completely relieved and could fall asleep smoothly, I couldn’t enter the land of dreams for a long time. There was a window in the bedroom, and a gentle breeze entered the palace through it. I watched the white curtains fluttering, my thoughts drifting off to somewhere far away.
‘Ji Yue?’
Was that my mother’s name? Her body hadn’t been found in the fire, so was it possible she was still alive? Immediately, I shook my head violently. Why was I thinking about that woman who abused me? Even if she were still alive, I wouldn’t say a single word to her.
What kind of person could be heartless enough to lock their newborn child in a deserted, dark attic? And to keep them imprisoned for 1 or 2 years? During that time, only occasional food and water were delivered, with total neglect. How did a child only 1 or 2 years old survive in such a dark environment?
Just putting myself in those shoes, I could understand that despair and helplessness. A child who couldn’t even speak yet could only curl up in the corner of the attic, looking up at the only skylight above. Because only there was a sliver of light.
In an unchanging world of darkness, only the twice-daily meal deliveries provided any variation. Long-term loneliness could swallow anyone’s soul and twist it into an abnormal shape.
The tips of my canines bit slightly into my lip. I rarely reminisced about the past, but too many things had happened recently. Coupled with Su Liumeng thoroughly investigating the past, these memories, long buried in my heart, were surging out uncontrollably one after another.
My eyes were somewhat vacant, as if I had returned to my childhood, staring blankly at the light in the sky. It was because of this that others always called me an NPC. I lowered my head sadly.
Su Liumeng was hugging me from behind, so I couldn’t curl up into a ball. In that warm embrace, I suddenly turned around slowly. Like a child, I faced the girl and pressed my head against her chest.
Su Liumeng didn’t wake up; she simply followed her instincts, habitually hugging my back. Resting against her, my emotions were strange.
“Mommy…” I murmured unconsciously.
Su Liumeng pulled me even closer. I blinked my moist eyes and vowed never to think about that woman who abused me again. This would be the last time. The last fantasy of this life — and the final call for her eventual discovery of a conscience.
From now on, I had no other relatives, only my daughter.
‘And Su Liumeng,’ I silently added in my heart.
Xi Zhiruo was sprawled out, snoring away. Beside the cute little girl with bright eyes and white teeth, the two young women huddled together. On the bed of just the right width, a warm, cozy, and harmonious scene unfolded.
***
The next day.
Su Liumeng was the first to wake. She was different now, especially after just taking over the position of Great Elder. There were many matters in the family waiting to be handled every day. She could no longer be like before — waking up and holding her little wife, sleeping sweetly together until noon.
It was currently 6:30 AM.
Su Liumeng crept out from under the covers. She estimated the time her little wife would wake up, planning to handle a few hours of family affairs first and then return before Xinyan woke to listen to her talk about the troubles that had been bothering her for so long.
I vaguely felt it when Su Liumeng left. I reached out to hug her, but only a soft pillow remained. My beautiful willow-leaf brows furrowed subconsciously, making one want to smooth them out in pity.
Seeing this, Su Liumeng rubbed my head. Sensing a reassuring scent, I didn’t care much and sank back into a heavy dream.
When Su Liumeng left, only one person opened her eyes. The little dumpling’s eyes were half-squinted as she watched the girl’s back depart, and then she let out a sleepy yawn. She was still in her infancy and was very greedy for sleep every day. She couldn’t waste even a bit of sleep time; otherwise, she definitely wouldn’t develop as well as her peers. In the future, she might end up being a little potato.
Mainly, her genes weren’t that great. In the forties and fifties of the twenty-first century, everyone’s nutrition wasn’t just sufficient; it was overflowing. The average height for girls had long approached 1.7 meters.
Si Xinyan, who wasn’t even 1.6 meters tall, did indeed have the vibe of a little potato in the traditional sense. If one had to talk about the early twenty-first century, whether 1.58 meters counted as a little potato — it certainly didn’t. At the very least, it was a normal height. Only below 1.55 meters was considered a bit short.
Xi Zhiruo’s body was tiny now, and since the bed was so big, her sleeping habits were a bit chaotic. She often rolled from side to side, either tossing around with a pillow or simply pressing her little feet against Si Xinyan’s stomach. Sometimes, she would press most of her body against her mother, clutching an arm while she snored.
At this moment, she rolled over again. Likely knowing that Su Liumeng had left, she pressed her foot directly onto Si Xinyan’s thigh.
In her sleep, my eyelids flickered twice. Being accustomed to my daughter’s movements, I wasn’t startled awake. Xi Zhiruo slept for another 30 minutes, then simply hugged me, seemingly finding this the most comfortable way.
Among the thousands of sleeping positions, nesting in her mother’s arms was the most comfortable for the little one.
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