novelraw Chapter 53 : I Want to See Shi Qiubai
Chapter 53 : I Want to See Shi Qiubai
Over the next few days, Shen Xiaoyu rested and recuperated while contemplating her strategy plan.
Shen Xiaoyu still hadn't been able to contact the system, unsure whether it was because Su Huan had activated the blocker or because the system didn't want to deal with her.
But Shen Xiaoyu wasn't particularly concerned. Without the system pressuring her to complete missions, she enjoyed the peace and quiet, spending all her time accompanying her daughter.
During the day, they went to the beach to catch sea creatures, and in the evening they returned to make wind chimes from the shells and conches they had collected.
From dawn to dusk, they busily worked with great enthusiasm.
Su Huan also wanted to join them. During their conversation over meals, she interjected, "After we eat, I'll go with you both."
"Great! Great!" Shen Nian'an's eyes lit up, becoming even more excited. "It would be best if Mommy comes with us! Beach combing is so fun! We can find so many good things! I want colorful shells today! And conches too!"
She excitedly swung her little feet, glancing at Shen Xiaoyu beside her while secretly moving carrots from her plate to another dish.
"Then after we eat, I'll go with you?"
When Su Huan said this, her eyes stared directly at Shen Xiaoyu, anxiously awaiting her response.
Shen Xiaoyu didn't look at her, elegantly drinking her porridge. From the corner of her eye, she noticed a certain little one's self-deceptive actions and tapped her plate with chopsticks, saying gently, "Baby, you need to finish breakfast. No picky eating!"
The little girl wrinkled her nose. "But carrots don't taste good."
"Even if they don't taste good, you have to eat them. Carrots are very nutritious."
Shen Xiaoyu chattered, picking out carrots from her own bowl and putting them in her daughter's bowl. "Eat them now. I'm watching you."
The little girl sighed dejectedly, looking at the carrots in her plate with a scrunched-up face.
Shen Xiaoyu rested her chin on her hand, watching with interest as her daughter ate the carrots with a pained expression, not forgetting to remind her: "If you don't finish them at breakfast, the carrots will stay until lunch. You wouldn't want the carrots to grow bigger by lunch, would you?"
This was Shen Xiaoyu's lie to her—unfinished breakfast carrots would grow during lunch and become more numerous, requiring her to eat even more.
Shen Nian'an didn't believe it until a few days ago when she saw with her own eyes that the carrots she had thrown away kept "growing" more and more. Finally convinced by her mother's words, she began eating carrots.
The auntie who secretly disposed of the carrots under her nose remained hidden in anonymity.
After this interruption, Shen Nian'an had forgotten about Su Huan saying she wanted to go beach combing with them. When leaving, she even specially went to wave goodbye to her.
"Mommy, we'll be back soon. Don't miss us!"
Su Huan managed to force a smile at the corners of her mouth, waving at them, then watched as Shen Xiaoyu turned her head away and left with Shen Nian'an's hand in hers.
Su Huan could no longer maintain her smile, gazing at Shen Xiaoyu's retreating figure as a trace of sorrow flickered through her eyes.
It was much later when Shen Nian'an remembered that Mommy had said she wanted to go beach combing with them, but then her mother had changed the subject...
"Mama, did you two have a fight?" Shen Nian'an asked in confusion.
At that moment, Shen Xiaoyu was taking Shen Nian'an beach combing. Both wore sun hats and rain boots, carrying shovels, fully equipped as they searched the beach for cat's eye shells and razor clams while picking up small crabs along the way.
After two days of familiarization, they had gained basic understanding of beach combing and were now deeply exploring this feasible recreational activity.
"Why do you ask?" Shen Xiaoyu discovered a hole and was observing whether there were razor clams inside, asking casually while working.
"I feel like Mama is angry at Mommy." Shen Nian'an looked at her seriously for a while. "And Mommy has become different from before."
She thought for a moment and described:
"More gentle, but not as happy as before. You seem very sad."
Shen Xiaoyu paused in her action of squeezing salt into the razor clam hole, looking up at her with new appreciation for the little girl's sensitivity.
Good thing the little girl was still young, or she might not be able to hide any secrets.
"Mama?" Shen Nian'an tilted her head, blinking her big eyes with a confused expression.
Shen Xiaoyu came back to her senses. "No, you don't need to worry too much. We don't have any problems."
She lowered her head to continue squeezing salt. "Come look, the razor clam is coming out."
Shen Nian'an looked down and indeed saw the razor clam poking its head out. She immediately forgot about their previous conversation, crouching down to grab the razor clam with her little hands.
Shen Xiaoyu looked at the little girl's profile with gentle eyes. The most right thing Su Huan had ever done was give birth to their daughter. Even though her initial motives weren't pure, it didn't affect their daughter's adorableness.
"Mama! Mama! I caught it! I caught it!" Shen Nian'an excitedly showed her the razor clam in her hand, smiling with crescent-shaped eyes.
Shen Xiaoyu couldn't help but kiss her. "How can you be so precious? Come on! Let's go home and eat razor clams for lunch!"
"Home! Home!"
One big and one small, carrying their bucket and holding hands, walked home.
Su Huan stood on the steps, watching them from afar. Seeing them return, she immediately went to greet them. "How was today's harvest?"
Shen Xiaoyu ignored her, taking the small bucket from Shen Nian'an's hands and saying to her, "You go wash up first. I'll take these to the kitchen auntie and ask her to cook them for our lunch."
"No! I want to bathe with Mama!" Shen Nian'an hugged her with two little dirty hands, acting cute.
"Okay, okay, then let's go to the kitchen together."
She kept agreeing, taking the little girl's hand and walking to the kitchen together.
Su Huan, completely ignored, stood at the door, staring blankly at their departing figures. Her face showed undisguised disappointment, her chest feeling as if it had been stuffed with cotton, making it hard to breathe.
It had been five days, and Shen Xiaoyu showed no intention of talking to her, even treating her like air.
Not looking, not listening, not acknowledging.
It wasn't even as good as when she had lost her memory. Although she would say things to anger her then, at least she wouldn't treat her like complete air.
When she lost her memory, Shen Xiaoyu said she hated her, but ignoring her was her final attitude toward her.
Su Huan closed her eyes tightly, swallowing back the rising disappointment and sadness.
This was all her own doing. She deserved it.
She had to bear the consequences of her choices.
She exhaled heavily, composing her emotions before following them into the kitchen.
One big and one small went upstairs hand in hand to bathe. When they came down, the kitchen had already prepared lunch—a full table of dishes with only two small plates of seafood.
"So little!" Shen Nian'an pouted unhappily. "But we caught so many things!"
"There are many shells." Shen Xiaoyu pointed to the basin outside. "The conches and shells are all there. After we eat, we'll go pick through them. We might be able to finish the wind chime tonight!"
"Yay!"
Shen Nian'an was very happy and ate two extra bowls of rice.
Unlike their happiness, Su Huan, sitting across from them, became increasingly silent, like an outsider observing their mother-daughter warmth with low spirits.
After finishing her meal, Shen Nian'an remembered the morning's events and said guiltily, "Sorry, Mommy. I forgot you also wanted to go beach combing. Tomorrow morning we'll go together, okay?"
"It's okay." Su Huan forced a smile. "I also had work to do this morning, so I couldn't go with you. Tomorrow morning..."
Her gaze swept to Shen Xiaoyu beside her. Seeing her indifferent expression, her heart sank and she shook her head.
"I also have work to handle tomorrow morning. When I'm free next time, I'll go with you, okay?"
Shen Nian'an sighed disappointedly. "Alright then. Mommy, please take care of your health too. Don't get too tired. Tomorrow I'll definitely catch a big fish to bring back and nourish your body!"
Su Huan's mouth slowly curved upward. "Okay."
After eating, Shen Xiaoyu and Shen Nian'an played games on the first floor while Su Huan sat in the dining room with a laptop in front of her, but her eyes were on Shen Xiaoyu playing games.
Her gaze was tender, unconsciously becoming lost in thought.
They used to play games like this during their free time. When playing racing games, she would babble apologies for hitting people in the game. When about to lose, she would cling and interfere from the sidelines, sometimes with a kiss, sometimes with inappropriate scenes—
And when she won the race, she would raise both hands high, standing on the sofa as if she had won the world rally championship, dramatically awarding herself—a banana.
Then she would eat her reward with big bites, proudly telling her not to be envious or jealous, sighing that geniuses were champions on any track.
Being with her made it easy to feel the joy of gaming.
Su Huan hadn't played games with her in a long time. The game discs at home had been thrown away at some point, and when she wanted to find them, they were gone.
"Mama! You're cheating!"
Shen Nian'an's exclamation brought Su Huan's thoughts back. Her scattered gaze focused to see Shen Nian'an bouncing angrily on the sofa, accusing Shen Xiaoyu of not following the rules.
"If Mama hadn't interfered with my gaming, I never would have lost!" The little girl was huffing mad, lunging forward with claws out to grab the banana in her hand. "This is my reward! Mama can't eat it!"
Shen Xiaoyu held Shen Nian'an with one hand to prevent her from falling while raising the banana with the other to keep it away from her: "This is strategy! All's fair in war. You're still too green! Learn from Mama!"
"Mama is bad!"
Shen Nian'an got angry, her eyes rolling as she went to tickle her.
Shen Xiaoyu fell onto the sofa and fought back just as fiercely. Soon both were laughing together, their laughter filling the entire living room.
Su Huan watched them, unconsciously smiling.
She got up and walked over, but before she could speak, she met Shen Xiaoyu's gaze—dark and deep like an impenetrable night.
She briefly withdrew from her happiness, using her eyes to warn Su Huan not to forget what she had said—
Stay away from her!
Su Huan's smile immediately froze, standing by the sofa like a wooden statue, watching as Shen Xiaoyu got up and carried Shen Nian'an upstairs.
From beginning to end, Shen Xiaoyu didn't say a word. Just one look completely broke Su Huan's defenses.
Su Huan bit her teeth, looking at her retreating figure, tears instantly welling up in her eyes.
"Xiaoyu!"
The only response was the sound of a door closing upstairs.
In the room, Shen Nian'an was somewhat confused: "Mama, I think I heard Mommy calling you."
"You heard wrong."
"Really?"
Shen Xiaoyu put her on the bed, rubbing her head. "Alright, don't think about it. Do you want me to tell you a story to help you sleep?"
"Yes!" Shen Nian'an nodded. "I want to hear about Kuafu Chasing the Sun for my nap."
"Okay." Shen Xiaoyu picked up "Classic of Mountains and Seas: Classic of the Great Wilderness North," finding the "Kuafu Chasing the Sun" section. After Shen Nian'an lay down beside her, she began reading: "Kuafu raced with the sun..."
Classical Chinese was still too difficult for the little girl. By the time Shen Xiaoyu finished reading the entire piece, the little girl had fallen asleep.
Shen Xiaoyu put away the book, looking at Shen Nian'an's sleeping face, and bent down to place a gentle kiss on her forehead.
Then Shen Xiaoyu got up and quietly left the room.
Su Huan sat in the living room, staring at something in a daze, appearing listless like a doll drained of spirit.
Shen Xiaoyu went downstairs and sat in the single sofa, saying indifferently, "I want to see Shi Qiubai."
Su Huan's gaze shifted to her, and in those scattered eyes, like ripples stirred in a calm lake, undercurrents surged.
"Shi Qiubai?" she murmured. "Why?"
"Is that any of your business?" Shen Xiaoyu asked back. "Either you contact Shi Qiubai, or give me a phone so I can contact her myself."
Su Huan closed her mouth, her lips pressed so tightly they turned white. The sadness in her eyes deepened as she unconsciously intensified her tone: "Xiaoyu! Can you not treat me like this? You can hit me or scold me, I can accept all of that, but can you please not ignore me?"
Her voice choked up, tears dropping one by one down her cheeks.
These five days, she had been like a prisoner on the execution ground, anxiously waiting for that elusive blade to fall.
Shen Xiaoyu speechlessly twitched her mouth, completely ignoring these words, coldly dropping a line.
"Don't waste words. By tomorrow at the latest, I want to see Shi Qiubai."
Then she got up to go upstairs.
Her arm was grabbed. Su Huan sat on the sofa, gripping her tightly while burying her face in her palm.
"Xiaoyu, please don't be like this. I've already been punished. Please don't ignore me anymore." She cried chokingly, sobbing uncontrollably. "I'll do whatever you ask, just please talk to me, okay?"
Shen Xiaoyu frowned impatiently, shaking off her hand and disgustedly wiping the tears from her palm with a tissue.
"I told you, don't touch me without my permission!" Her voice was stern. Facing the tearful beauty, she showed no softness.
"Miss Su, our only connection now is being Shen Nian'an's mothers. For her sake, I don't want to make things too ugly, but that doesn't mean I'll give you a good face." Shen Xiaoyu's face was gloomy. "I haven't pursued charges for illegal detention and endangering my personal safety—that's giving you enough face. I'm warning you one last time: either do as I say, or never let me get my hands on a phone."
She stepped forward, staring into Su Huan's eyes with cold malice.
"Otherwise, when I leave, I'll make sure you're completely ruined!"
So what if she was a villain? So what if she had been saved by her?
She had so much evidence in her hands. If provoked, she could make Su Huan pay the price just the same.
After speaking, Shen Xiaoyu turned and went upstairs. "Don't forget—by tomorrow at the latest, I want to see Shi Qiubai."
Su Huan sat on the sofa with vacant eyes, as if her soul had been hollowed out. Tears streamed from her eyes as suppressed sobbing gradually grew louder before being muffled again, unclear and indistinct.
The sky seemed to darken instantly. Thick clouds covered the alluring sun, black and heavy like paper soaked with ink, quickly becoming dark and black.
Tonight's darkness was particularly deep—no moon visible, no stars either.
In the darkness, Su Huan sat in her study, looking at photos of herself and Shen Xiaoyu on the computer, her eyes red and swollen, her heart full of wounds.
She picked up the phone and dialed a number she had long since blocked.
The phone was answered after one ring. Shi Qiubai's cold, stern voice echoed in the study: "Su Huan, where is Sister?"
Su Huan closed her eyes, uttering a few words before saying hoarsely: "Come pick her up."
After speaking, she hung up, closed her eyes tightly, and murmured: "It's okay. Whether she hates me or ignores me, we'll be together."
Crack—lightning bright as day illuminated Su Huan's face, her dark eyes gloomy and bleak without a trace of light.
"We still have our daughter. She'll never be able to get rid of me! Unless I die!"
Rumble—thunder crashed, swallowing her final words.
Heavy raindrops slanted down onto the sea surface, splashing countless droplets that bloomed on the wave crests.
This rain lasted a long time. The storm trapped Shen Xiaoyu by the seaside and temporarily slowed Shi Qiubai's hurried steps.
Shen Nian'an lay on the balcony, her little hand supporting her chin, sighing deeply: "What a pity. My wind chime is still missing some shells. I wonder when the rain will stop."
Shen Xiaoyu sat on the carpet not far from her, packing clothes into a suitcase. "Next time. When we have time, we'll come again."
"I guess that's all we can do." Shen Nian'an turned around to sit on the balcony, swinging her little feet and tilting her head to watch her movements. "Aunt Shi hasn't arrived yet. Is Mama leaving already?"
"With such heavy rain, Aunt Shi probably won't come." The little girl pouted. "Then we can stay a couple more days."
She could also spend more time here with Mama and Mommy.
Shen Nian'an really liked their current life. She was reluctant to leave.
"We'll have to leave eventually. I'm just making preparations in advance to avoid being rushed when we do leave."
Shen Xiaoyu reached out to hold her, pinching her chubby little cheeks. "Go pack your clothes too. When Aunt Shi arrives, we'll go home."
"Alright then." The little girl sighed and ran off to pack her clothes.
Shen Xiaoyu turned to look out the window. The rain was really heavy. It seemed like a water curtain hung between heaven and earth, white and rushing, making everything hazy and blurred. Distant scenery was completely invisible.
Suddenly, a silver light appeared at the end of the road, getting closer and closer to them.
Shen Xiaoyu stood by the window, squinting to see clearly—it was a silver sedan slowly driving toward them.
Ten minutes later, the car stopped at the door. A figure hurriedly got out of the car. The woman's beautiful face was full of excitement as she stood in the storm waving at the window.
"Sister! I've come to take you home! Sister!"
Shi Qiubai jumped up and down excitedly, too thrilled to bother with an umbrella.
But Shen Xiaoyu frowned, standing by the window with a heavy heart.
"An'an, your Aunt Shi is here."
She said this and turned to go out.
Downstairs, Shen Xiaoyu saw Su Huan, who had appeared from somewhere, standing at the door with a grim expression, watching Shi Qiubai in the storm.
Shi Qiubai raised an eyebrow at her, smiling boldly and arrogantly: "Senior Su, I've come to take Sister home."
Su Huan's already gloomy face turned completely black, taut and tense, her eyes like storm clouds carrying lightning.
Shen Xiaoyu had no time to think about their confrontation. She grabbed three umbrellas and rushed into the storm, throwing one through the car window to Qiu Ye before opening another and stuffing it into Shi Qiubai's hands, pulling her toward the house.
"Stop being cool and come inside."
Just from that brief circle in the rain, half of Shen Xiaoyu's clothes were already soaked.
The attentive Shen Nian'an brought dry towels for them, then stood aside with a stern little face, proudly silent.
Shi Qiubai couldn't be bothered with "catching up" with her. Looking at Shen Xiaoyu, her eyes reddened as she stepped forward and hugged her, choking up: "Sister, I missed you so much!"
She buried her face in Shen Xiaoyu's neck, tears falling onto her one by one.
Shen Xiaoyu's whole body stiffened as she pushed her away stiffly, avoiding her gaze with complex emotions.
"Okay, okay, I'm fine. Dry yourself off first."
Shi Qiubai pouted, wiping away her tears before acting cute: "I want Sister to help me dry off~"
Like before, she forcefully stuffed the towel into Shen Xiaoyu's hands, turning to give Su Huan a provocative look.
She was too pleased with herself to notice the embarrassment on Shen Xiaoyu's face.
Shen Xiaoyu stuffed another dry towel into her hands: "Stop fooling around. Do it yourself."
"Alright then." Shi Qiubai reluctantly took the towel to dry her hair, looking guilty: "Sorry, Sister. If I hadn't been careless, you wouldn't have been taken by Su Huan."
"It's fine. Nothing happened to me, and—" Shen Xiaoyu shook her head, glancing indifferently at Su Huan whose face had turned pale. "I also had an unexpected gain."
If she hadn't been taken by Su Huan, she wouldn't have recovered her memory.
Shen Xiaoyu withdrew her gaze and smiled at Shi Qiubai: "This rain is too heavy and dangerous. We'll leave when it stops."
"Okay~" Shi Qiubai smiled with crescent eyes, soft like a harmless little rabbit.
Only Su Huan knew how much it hurt when this 'rabbit' jumped up to bite.
Shen Xiaoyu paid her no more attention, turning to look at Qiu Ye and having Shen Nian'an give her a towel before asking the auntie to prepare two guest rooms.
"I don't agree to them staying here." Su Huan, who had been silent, suddenly spoke, looking quietly at Shi Qiubai with cold eyes. "I don't like having outsiders in my home."
"Fine." Shen Xiaoyu nodded, turning to tell Shi Qiubai: "I'll go stay at a hotel with you."
Su Huan looked at her sharply, her face pale with anger: "Shen Xiaoyu!"
"What?" She tilted her head in confusion. "You're right. It's inappropriate for outsiders to stay at your house. When I get back, I'll find my cards and pay you back."
After speaking, she looked at Shi Qiubai: "Wait for me. I'll get my luggage and then we'll go."
Shi Qiubai nodded: "Okay."
Shen Xiaoyu turned to go upstairs. As she passed Su Huan, her hand was grabbed, and Su Huan said angrily: "Must you oppose me in front of Shi Qiubai?"
"I'm just stating a fact." Shen Xiaoyu showed a distant smile. "Miss Su, please let go!"
She shook off Su Huan's hand and quickly went upstairs.
Su Huan's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. She looked deeply at Shen Xiaoyu, her expression both disappointed and sad.
She gritted her teeth, as if using all her strength, saying tiredly: "You all stay!"
After speaking, she no longer looked at Shen Xiaoyu and turned to go upstairs.
Shen Xiaoyu blinked innocently, turning nonchalantly to the auntie: "Please prepare two guest rooms."