So Cool!
Qiu Baiyu’s rejection caught Jiang Zimin off guard.
Confusion, surprise, and disappointment intertwined on the young, innocent face.
“Why…”
Clearly, Auntie just said she would always be with her, protect her.
She felt motherly love from her, but in the end, she was unwilling to be her mother?
She couldn’t understand, she never could understand.
Just like she couldn’t understand why the one who had always ignored her suddenly treated her well these past few days.
Could it be that she’s going to turn back into an adult like Dad?
A child’s face can’t hide emotions and thoughts, and Qiu Baiyu saw through her thoughts in an instant.
Qiu Baiyu raised her hand and patted her little head.
“It’s not what you think,” Qiu Baiyu said, “I don’t let you call me ‘Mom’ because I can’t be your mom.”
Jiang Zimin tilted her head up, her expression puzzled: “Can’t be?”
Qiu Baiyu nodded, helped her up, and said seriously, “To me, becoming a parent is the most serious matter, and I don’t think I have the courage and qualifications for it.
“Moreover, I don’t know what a qualified mom should be like, so I can’t be your mom.”
She didn’t have a qualified mom.
She had never felt love from her mom.
And she rejected the identity of “Jiang Shen’s wife” from head to toe. How could someone like her become the good mom in Jiang Zimin’s heart?
“But I know how to be a good friend.” She changed the subject.
Hearing this, Jiang Zimin’s eyes showed a bit of curiosity.
“A good friend?”
“Yes, a good friend.”
“Is Auntie my good friend?”
“Yes, from now on, I will be your good friend, a friend like family.”
In her world, she didn’t have her parents’ love, but she had her grandmother’s love, and the love from her friends, warm and uniquely hers, like family.
Therefore, she didn’t want to be Jiang Zimin’s mom; she wanted to be her friend.
Though their ages didn’t match, they could still be friends who journey together.
Jiang Zimin listened quietly to her words, and after a moment, she slowly smiled, “So cool!
“Auntie is my friend!”
On the top of her head, a progress bar indicating her blackening value suddenly appeared and slowly moved.
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Qiu Baiyu watched as the progress bar, which was at “10%,” flickered and changed to “9%.”
She successfully dispelled 1% of the shadow in her heart.
The system popped up again to remind her to complete the task of advancing Jiang Zimin’s blackening value, but she naturally ignored it.
She saw Jiang Zimin smiling, so she also smiled and reached out to rub the top of Jiang Zimin’s head.
“Since we’re friends, you can relax a bit in front of Auntie from now on. Don’t be so cautious anymore. Speak your mind, ask questions, and tell Auntie directly if you feel wronged.”
“Mm-hmm!”
“Good girl, go back and finish your meal.”
“Okay~”
Jiang Zimin happily returned to her seat.
Qiu Baiyu picked up the tablet again and continued looking for videos to watch while eating.
Jiang Zimin, feeling cheerful, took a couple of bites of her food, her eyes drifting towards Qiu Baiyu, replaying in her mind the words Qiu Baiyu had just said to her.
Her chewing gradually slowed as she replayed Qiu Baiyu’s words in her mind.
Auntie said to relax in front of her and to ask questions if there were any.
She did have a question she had always wanted to ask…
“Auntie.”
She gathered her courage.
This was her friend, a friend she could trust.
“I want to ask you a question.”
“Go ahead.”
“Why did you ignore me before, but now you’ve started paying attention to me these past few days?”
Ever since Qiu Baiyu helped her apply the medicine that day, she had been curious about this.
Auntie Baiyu, who had always ignored her, suddenly started being nice to her and even went to school to stand up for her. It was as if the sun had risen from the west.
It was very strange. Adults were really peculiar.
But the feeling of being protected was wonderful, and she was afraid that if she asked, she might lose this protection. So, she had suppressed her curiosity and behaved well for the past few days,
Until today, when Auntie Baiyu told her: relax, and speak your mind.
Upon hearing this question, Qiu Baiyu’s hands paused.
She looked at the inquisitive child and realized she couldn’t tell the whole truth, so she thought for a moment and said, “Because I was… sick before.”
“Sick?” Jiang Zimin’s voice was filled with surprise, and her face instantly showed concern. “Was it because of the illness from falling down the stairs before?!”
Upon hearing this, Qiu Baiyu’s brows furrowed slightly.
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The original owner fell down the stairs before?
She didn’t rush to answer Jiang Zimin’s question. Instead, she quietly pulled up more information about the original owner’s past from the system and, sure enough, found it.
Just half a year ago, the original owner fell down the stairs, hit her head, bled, and was hospitalized for a long time.
This wasn’t something that should have happened in the original storyline, so the system didn’t proactively provide this information.
“Auntie? Auntie, why aren’t you saying anything?”
Jiang Zimin’s worried voice came through.
Qiu Baiyu snapped back to reality, deciding to set the matter aside for now and ask the system about it later. She needed to answer Jiang Zimin’s question first.
Let’s just make something up for now!
“It wasn’t that. It was a psychological illness I had before, something you can’t see physically.”
“?”
“This illness made me only see your dad and no one else, so I ignored you and only thought about your dad before. But don’t worry, I’m cured now. I can see everyone who appears in front of me.”
“Oh, so that’s what it was… Are you really cured?”
“Really, it won’t relapse. I’m completely cured.”
“That’s good. Auntie, you have to take care of yourself and not get sick again. Being sick is very uncomfortable, and don’t fall down anymore; it hurts a lot…”
After saying this, Jiang Zimin worriedly reached out and patted the back of her hand, clearly believing her words completely.
Qiu Baiyu smiled gently and nodded in agreement. “You too, don’t get sick. Eat well and eat more.”
Jiang Zimin nodded. “Mm-hmm.”
Qiu Baiyu watched her eating with her head down and suddenly thought of her future self in the original storyline: quick to anger, often throwing tantrums and acting unreasonably in front of Yi Wanyue.
She was like a completely different person from the caring child she was now.
Sigh, that terrible script really did a lot of harm…
Thinking of this, Qiu Baiyu turned her head to look at the door.
Yi Wanyue was just downstairs.
The female lead actually left a pretty good impression on her. She really matched what was written in the story: very approachable, very gentle, like a pure, flawless little white flower at first glance.
It’s just that she didn’t seem to be a good match for the male lead.
To be precise, Qiu Baiyu felt that the male lead wasn’t worthy of Yi Wanyue.
One was gentle and kind, the other was arrogant and overbearing. Why should the male lead get her?
Whatever, it had nothing to do with her. If Yi Wanyue chose Jiang Shen willingly, no one could stop her. Just as long as she wasn’t dragged into their love play.
She pulled her thoughts back and started eating with Jiang Zimin.
Just as she picked up her chopsticks, there was a sudden knock on the door.
“Madam.”
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The voice of the housekeeper auntie called from outside.
Inside the room, the young and the old exchanged glances.
Jiang Zimin asked, “Could it be that Dad sent someone to call you downstairs?”
Call her downstairs?
After she had just attacked him like that, Jiang Shen would still want her to come down?
It would be good enough if he didn’t throw her out of the Jiang family overnight.
“You keep eating.”
Qiu Baiyu put down her chopsticks and got up to open the door.
When the door opened, to Qiu Baiyu’s surprise, the housekeeper auntie was standing there with Yi Wanyue beside her.
Qiu Baiyu: “?”
Why did she come up?
I can really relate to what mc said and author did a good job portraying someone insecure there, this is exactly the type of mentality you develop when you lack something and someone asks it of you, you don’t really think you can provide it.
Damn that female lead moves fast.