Su Xiao arrived home.
It was 10:00 PM.
For modern youths, the nightlife was usually just beginning. But for Mother Su, who rarely had time to rest, sleep was perhaps the best plan.
Yet, she was not asleep.
She sat on the living room sofa with a book spread across her lap. The cover bore her name, Su Wenjun.
“You’re back,” Su Wenjun said.
“Yeah.”
Su Xiao changed her shoes and placed the empty insulated bag on the entryway table. “I gave the soup to a friend.”
“Was there enough? If not, I can stew more tomorrow.”
“It was enough.”
“…”
Su Xiao lowered her eyes, her fingers picking at the small charm on her keychain.
Su Wenjun looked at her, wanting to say something but fearing she might say the wrong thing and annoy her. “…Did she like it?” Su Wenjun finally found a topic.
“Who?”
“Your friend.”
“She liked it.”
Su Wenjun wanted to ask if Luoluo was feeling better and how that boy was doing, but logic told her that if she asked too many questions at once, Xiao Xiao would get frustrated.
So, she simply said, “That’s good.”
Silence fell again.
Su Xiao remembered Luo Tiantian saying, “At least she’s still trying to care about you.” She recalled those serious eyes when he asked why she had such a bad attitude toward her mother.
She grit her teeth.
She walked to the other end of the sofa and sat down.
Su Wenjun’s body stiffened slightly.
“Mom,” Su Xiao began.
“Yes.”
“Did you ask Shen Xixi about the game today too?”
Su Wenjun was stunned for a moment, not expecting her to ask that. “Yes, I just wanted to understand it a bit. Is it silly? Someone my age trying to learn how to play games like a young person.”
Su Xiao did not answer whether it was silly or not. “What character are you playing?”
Su Wenjun gave her a surprised look; her daughter was actually taking the initiative to ask about her game character. “I’m called… Si’s Mother. It’s during the era of King You of Zhou. She’s a Criminal Woman, and her daughter is a Concubine in the palace.”
Su Xiao frowned. “That sounds miserable.”
“It is quite miserable,” Su Wenjun said with a smile. “She lives in the Cold Palace, sick and poor, and even wanted to jump into a well to end it all.”
“Then why do you still play?”
“She changed her mind later. Her daughter is still in the palace, and she couldn’t leave her behind.”
Su Xiao remained silent.
Su Wenjun did not say anything more. She was afraid that if she continued, she might accidentally slip up and reveal that her “daughter” in the game was actually her friend, Luoluo.
At this moment, she was already satisfied that her daughter was willing to sit here and ask these boring questions.
Su Xiao did not know what else to say. Finding no further topics, she looked up and suddenly noticed Su Wenjun’s face.
The fine lines at the corners of her eyes.
The shallow furrows on her forehead.
The sagging skin along her cheekbones.
The white hair at the crown of her head.
Su Xiao felt a bit dazed.
In her memories, her mother was clearly very young, with pitch-black hair…
But the person before her.
She seemed old.
Not just a little old… when did she secretly age this much?
Su Xiao could not remember the last time she had looked at her mother’s face so intently.
“Xiao Xiao, if you have time, could you lead me through that game for a bit?” Su Wenjun asked softly. “I’m just not very good at it yet and don’t understand some parts. Shen Xixi said I could ask you, but of course, if you’re busy, then forget it.”
“Okay,” Su Xiao replied.
Su Wenjun stared at her blankly.
Her expression was like someone who had received a gift they had never dared to hope for.
Su Xiao felt somewhat afraid to meet her eyes. She looked down, picking up the insulated container from the coffee table and pretending to examine the scratches on its surface.
“This soup was quite good.”
“Ah, you like it? Then I’ll stew more next time…”
“Teach me.”
Su Xiao interrupted her, the tips of her ears turning slightly red. “Just regular chicken soup, pork rib soup, and stuff like that. You don’t need to deliver it to me in the future. I’ll stew it myself.”
“Alright,” Su Wenjun said joyfully. “I’ll teach you.”
She got up and went to the kitchen, and Su Xiao followed behind her.
The night deepened.
The kitchen lights flickered on, casting the shadows of mother and daughter onto the tiles, standing close together.
“For chicken soup, you have to blanch it first to remove the blood foam.” Su Wenjun took a prepared chicken out of the refrigerator. “See, put it in the pot with cold water first, then add ginger slices and cooking wine…”
“Then take it out and rinse it clean with warm water. Put fresh water in the pot, just enough to cover the chicken. Bring it to a boil over high heat, then turn it down to low and simmer for about 1 hour…”
Su Wenjun demonstrated as she spoke. Her movements were practiced, the result of decades of culinary experience, though she had cooked less in recent years.
“Then we’ll learn chicken soup today. Next time, I’ll teach you pork rib soup, and that tomato and egg drop soup you loved when you were a child…”
She rambled on.
Su Xiao did not interrupt.
“Xiao Xiao, why do you suddenly want to learn how to cook? Are you thinking about living on your own later? You’ll definitely need to learn then…”
The familiar irritation shot straight to Su Xiao’s head.
‘Why ask so much?! Why do you need to know everything?! I don’t want to talk! I don’t want to explain! I don’t want to lay my thoughts out in front of you for your scrutiny!!’
Su Xiao grit her teeth tightly.
She knew she shouldn’t feel this way. She knew her mother was just caring, just curious—that these were perfectly normal questions any mother would ask.
But she just couldn’t help it.
That fire burned in her chest, making her throat feel tight.
Su Wenjun saw her daughter’s tense face and the way her fingers were unconsciously twisting. The smile on her face froze for an instant and then dimmed.
She was all too familiar with this expression.
It was the sign that Su Xiao was about to explode.
“Never mind, if it’s not convenient to say, then don’t.” Su Wenjun hurriedly looked away. “I was just asking casually; you don’t have to answer. I’m just happy you’re willing to learn. The reason doesn’t matter…”
She raised a hand to cover the corner of her mouth, pretending to check the soup in the pot. “The soup needs to simmer for a while. Why don’t you go wash up first…”
“It was Luoluo.”
Su Wenjun paused.
Su Xiao kept her head down, her bangs obscuring her eyes.
“Luoluo told me… to be nicer to you.” Her voice was very soft, as if squeezed through her teeth. “She said at least you’re still trying to care about me, while there’s still a chance…”
She couldn’t continue.
That irritation was still there, scratching at her heart and burning her lungs.
Su Xiao wanted to throw the spatula, turn around, run back to her room, and slam the door.
“…So that’s why you wanted to learn how to cook,” Su Wenjun said slowly.
The soup in the pot bubbled, and the rising steam blurred Su Wenjun’s vision. She looked at her daughter’s stubborn profile.
“Luoluo is a good girl. You should invite her over for dinner some other day. I’ll make her something delicious—”
*Clatter!*
The plate in Su Wenjun’s hand shattered on the floor.
Her fingers were trembling.
She looked a bit lost. ‘Why did my fingers suddenly lose their strength?’
Su Xiao grabbed a broom to clean up.
Su Wenjun stared at her own fingers. Her fingertips were twitching uncontrollably.
‘Am I sick?’
The kitchen was cleaned.
Su Xiao returned to her room.
Left alone in the living room, Su Wenjun rubbed her temples.
‘I couldn’t have ALS, could I?’
The symptoms did seem to match.
She felt a wave of panic.
***
The next day.
Luo Tiantian opened his eyes.
His forehead was still very hot, but after taking medicine, his head was no longer spinning as much.
He turned on his phone.
There was a message.
**[Respectable Assistance Player, your assisted subjects, King You/King Zhou, searched for “how to delete account and get a refund” at 2:39:58 AM. To ensure player experience, you have been specially granted 10 Game Coins. Please log in as soon as possible to soothe your assisted subjects (You must complete the soothing task while online to claim the reward).]**
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.