The air seemed to melt. Jiang Leyi’s voice was very soft, like snow landing on a warm stove, and just as it touched Shen Ruxue’s heart, it quietly melted away.
“I know you’re a sensible child, but if I don’t do these things, my heart won’t be at ease…”
Golden potato crumbs. Shen Ruxue’s hand holding the chopsticks paused for a moment, the edge of the porcelain chopsticks still stained with a bit of mashed potato. She looked down at her daughter’s slightly lowered eyelashes,
“I was gone for so long. Only by doing this can I accurately feel my daughter’s warmth, and only then can my heart be at ease.”
“How could making amends be so simple? Even if you and your dad and Aunt don’t say anything, that’s because you’re good people, but I absolutely cannot be so self-righteous. I was gone for so long. If I don’t do something, my heart will feel very uneasy.”
Her voice lowered a bit, her gaze falling on Jiang Leyi’s hand holding the porcelain bowl. Those hands were slender yet steady,
“Can you let me do something for you two?”
Jiang Leyi didn’t speak, only slowly swallowing the potato pancake in her mouth. The charred fragrance of the pancake skin still lingered on her tongue tip, the mashed potato wrapped inside was soft and mushy, carrying a bit of salt and the freshness of scallions.
She was silent for a long time, until she had completely swallowed the potato pancake in her mouth, before speaking again,
“Then whatever Mom wants to do, go ahead… My thoughts and expectations are only one: I hope you can spend more time with us in the future and stay by our side more, that’s what’s most important, you know? Mom…”
Shen Ruxue’s eyes grew moist hearing this. She reached out to tuck the loose hair by her daughter’s ear behind her ear, her fingertip touching her daughter’s warm earlobe, her heart feeling filled to the brim by something.
Jiang Leyi nodded and reached out to hug Shen Ruxue,
“Mom, actually, it’s good as long as you’ve come to terms with it now… You’re back, our family is together, and that’s already very good.”
“I know. From now on I’ll spend lots of time with you… Mm… As long as I can do that, I’m already very satisfied.”
Shen Ruxue held her daughter, feeling her daughter’s warm body temperature, and tears finally fell uncontrollably,
“I will do my best to stay by your side.”
She also knew that the past time could never come back, and those missed moments couldn’t be made up for again. But it didn’t matter. Now she was back. She could accompany her daughter, watch her daughter’s life going forward, and watch her daughter have her own happiness.
“Our family together, that’s already very good.”
Shen Ruxue gently patted her daughter’s back, her voice choked yet carrying a smile,
“From now on, Mom will always be with you and never leave again.”
Jiang Leyi leaned in Shen Ruxue’s embrace and gently nodded. At this moment, she could be considered to have finally accepted the mother before her. Jiang Leyi was very sensible, just as Chi Yingyu had said, it was only a matter of time before she thought things through.
And Shen Ruxue could finally make up for those missed times, and finally fulfill a mother’s responsibility.
Time really could change too many things, and could even make miracles happen. The hardest days in the past had already passed, and going forward for Jiang Lai’s family, it seemed like nothing would be a problem.
Life on Jiang Lai’s end continued as usual. Going to work as usual. Sometimes spending good time with Xu Ruobing. But in this respect, Xu Ruobing also had self-awareness, almost never forcing Jiang Lai to stay overnight, at most taking up the daytime on workdays.
And Chi Yingyu was Jiang Lai’s true home. Daily companionship, daily longing, daily love—they had long since become a habit. And the situation on Shen Ruxue’s end was becoming clearer and clearer. Aside from sometimes being very busy with work, almost nothing troublesome happened.
Even when work was sometimes very, very busy, Shen Ruxue tried her best to find time to return home and accompany her family. Even if her work wasn’t finished, she would switch to online work at home. But as long as she could be by her family’s side, that was the happiest thing.
Everything was on track and life was gradually stabilizing. While everyone was enjoying the beauty of the moment, Jiang Lai looked at the ring Shen Ruxue had given her in her hand and was reminded of the ring with which she had proposed to Chi Yingyu.
‘I want to get married…’
But would a thought like this ruin their current happiness? What she wanted to give Chi Yingyu was everything she deserved, a carefully prepared wedding. Even if it was just a simple one, it still had to be properly held. She absolutely could not let Chi Yingyu’s expectations down.
So while at work she made a phone call to Shen Ruxue, properly explaining her thoughts to her. After all, she was going to hold a wedding, and Jiang Lai hoped to have Shen Ruxue’s understanding. After all, she and Shen Ruxue had also had a wedding in the past.
However, with this phone call, Jiang Lai was not hesitant like before at all. She made the call very decisively and said what she had to say very directly. Because between her and Shen Ruxue, there was nothing left to hide—whatever thoughts she had, she could just say directly.
“Hello, Jiang Jiang?”
Shen Ruxue’s voice came through the current, carrying the softness of someone just pulled away from work nine parts over, and in the background the lingering sound of keyboard tapping could still be heard,
“Calling at this time, is something urgent the matter?”
When she wasn’t back, Jiang Lai basically always waited until she got off work at night before calling. Calling while still at work like now was truly very rare.
Jiang Lai’s hand holding the phone tightened, her fingertip slightly paling. She deliberately made her tone sound calmer, yet still couldn’t hide a trace of trembling,
“Nothing urgent. I just want to have a good talk with you.”
She paused, her gaze falling on the ring Shen Ruxue had given her on her ring finger. There was a bit of hesitation, but only a bit.
“Xiaoxue, I want to hold a wedding with Yingyu. Is that okay?”
The other end of the phone was silent for a few seconds, leaving only faint breathing.
Jiang Lai’s heart hung in suspense along with it. She could even imagine Shen Ruxue’s expression at this moment—was it surprise, incomprehension, or would she recall those past memories about the wedding?
Just when she could hardly hold back from explaining, Shen Ruxue’s voice came again, yet softer than before,
“You’ve finally decided? I thought you would wait a while longer…”
“This time is quite good. If I wait any longer, my heart will feel uneasy. After all, this was something I agreed to when I proposed to Yingyu. It’s just… I’m a little worried about you…”
When Jiang Lai said this, her tone carried a bit more caution. This was also the main reason she had made the call, wanting to explain things properly.
“Xiaoxue, that wedding between you and me before, I still remember it deeply even now. Now that I’m going to hold a wedding with Yingyu, I’m afraid you’ll feel… feel that I’ve forgotten the past, or that you’ll feel uncomfortable in your heart.”