After Agreeing to Go on a Parenting Show With My Omega Ex-Girlfriend – Chapter 90

I Will Remember Tonight Well.

When Ah Ran woke up, she saw Yu Luo sitting by the hospital bed, gazing at her in a daze.

The corners of the woman’s eyes were crimson, as if she had just been crying.

She instantly grew a little flustered and hurriedly sat up. The word “Mommy” that was on the tip of her tongue was forcefully held back, and she stumbled over her words before asking:

“…Why were you crying?”

She reached out a finger, wanting to confirm the other person was real with a touch, but in the next second, she realized Yu Luo might be repulsed by it and sheepishly withdrew her hand.

Yu Luo took in every detail of her actions.

A bitter feeling surged in her heart.

She had been unwilling to get close to Ah Ran in the past, partly because Ah Ran occupied Qi Song’s body and had destroyed all of Qi Song’s career; on the other hand, her childhood experiences made her distant and wary of everyone except Qi Song, and Ah Ran had appeared so suddenly, never willing to reveal her identity.

But she was not an unperceptive person. Even through her natural resistance, she had gradually come to feel it over the past two years—Ah Ran loved her very much, and also respected her very much.

Just like a child admiring their mother.

It wasn’t that she didn’t care or wasn’t moved.

But she had been alarmed by this care and emotion—she always felt that it was wrong to feel another person’s emotions through Qi Song’s body and to offer that person warmth in return. If Qi Song knew, she would probably be sad.

Besides, how could she, with her own one-sided wishful thinking¹, believe that Ah Ran, who so clearly spoke and acted with maturity, was a child?

But before Qi Song left today, she had used all her strength to emphasize: “Don’t hate Ah Ran. If you can, give her a proper hug.”

This sentence dissolved all the shackles and doubts in her heart.

Because no one in the world understood her better than Qi Song, and no one’s heart ached for her more than Qi Song’s.

For Qi Song to say such a thing, she must have guessed the current state of her relationship with Ah Ran and hoped that she could treat Ah Ran well, leaving no regrets.

In that case, Ah Ran must be a very important person in their future lives, and no amount of closeness would be too much.

In a state of embarrassment and self-blame, Yu Luo didn’t even dare to meet Ah Ran’s gaze for a moment.

She lowered her eyes and asked softly, “Now that the differentiation is over, are you uncomfortable anywhere?”

Ah Ran said, “I don’t feel anything.”

After a pause, she smiled, “After all, I’ve been taking good care of this body for the past two years. When Qi Song comes back, she’ll find her body is even healthier than before.”

Yu Luo pressed her lips together.

“After Qi Song returns, where will you go?” she asked, a little cautiously. “Back to the future?”

This wasn’t actually the first time she wanted to know the answer to this question, but it was the first time she dared to ask.

Ah Ran was speechless for a moment, her silent eyes filled entirely with the sight of Yu Luo.

After a short while, she smiled faintly. “Yeah.”

Yu Luo lifted her eyes to look at Ah Ran, catching the guilt in Ah Ran’s eyes that she hadn’t had time to hide.

—She was lying.

Her heart wrinkled. Yu Luo’s lips parted and closed, but ultimately, she couldn’t say a word.

She knew very well that Ah Ran couldn’t possibly reveal anything more.

“Thank you for rushing to the hospital to be with me today.” Ah Ran got up from the bed and stretched. “It’s already nighttime. You should hurry home and be with Taotao.”

“That little kid is very clingy,” she said, letting out a soft snort.

“Auntie Zhang is with her,” Yu Luo said. “Let me take you out for dinner, and then I’ll take you home.”

Ah Ran froze slightly, looking at her with some surprise.

The joy that was so clearly overflowing in her eyes stung Yu Luo.

Her throat tightened for a second. Yu Luo pinched her sleeve and led her out of the hospital room.

And Ah Ran followed behind her, as obedient as a tail.

For a fleeting moment, Yu Luo turned back to glance at her and suddenly felt that this scene was familiar.

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“I want to eat at this place.” Ah Ran pointed at the family-themed chain buffet restaurant in front of them, her eyes shining. “You guys have taken me here before.”

After saying that, she paused, trying to cover it up only makes it more obvious²: “Although the family theme doesn’t fit our relationship, the decorations here are especially cute, so nothing else matters, right?”

Yu Luo looked at her with her ink-black eyes and gave a soft “mhm.”

This shopping mall had little foot traffic, and it was already past the dinner rush, so there weren’t many people in the buffet restaurant.

Due to her status as a public figure, Yu Luo took Ah Ran to a private booth.

This booth had a Doraemon theme, with related cartoon characters printed on the walls and tablecloth. Ah Ran liked it a lot and stealthily took a few more glances at the dolls in the glass cabinet to the side.

When ordering, Yu Luo seemed to casually ask the waiter, “Excuse me, how much are the dolls in the cabinet?”

The waiter said, “You need to order a kids’ meal.”

Yu Luo asked again, “What dishes are in the kids’ meal?”

The waiter gave a description and summarized, “It’s just some sweet and cute food, probably not very suitable for the two of you…”

In her peripheral vision, a certain someone’s eyes had already turned sparkly. The corners of Yu Luo’s lips lifted almost imperceptibly as she nodded. “We’ll have two of those, then.”

The waiter was stunned for a moment but quickly complied.

Once the two of them were alone in the booth again, Ah Ran cleared her throat and feigned embarrassment. “We’re so old, are we really eating kids’ meals?”

Yu Luo rested her chin on her hand, leisurely enjoying this person’s performance. She hummed in agreement, “I want to try it. You can keep me company.”

Facing this “behead first, report later”³ approach, Ah Ran nodded obediently, as if she were truly making a concession.

In reality, the joy and anticipation in her eyes were impossible to hide.

“…” Yu Luo’s mental estimate of Ah Ran’s age dropped by a few more years.

She had long guessed that Ah Ran was probably not the same age as her and Qi Song; otherwise, a certain someone would definitely get jealous, let alone remind her to hug Ah Ran.

“How tall is your own body?” Yu Luo suddenly asked.

Ah Ran blinked, seemingly caught off guard by the question.

She unnaturally touched her ear and asked back, “How tall are you?”

Yu Luo answered her, “One meter sixty-eight.”

“Ahem, then I think I’m about one meter seventy,” Ah Ran replied.

“Did you know,” Yu Luo said slowly, “you’re a terrible liar.”

Ah Ran’s cheeks instantly flushed red.

She touched her ear again, her lips moving silently, unable to form words.

Yu Luo’s lips curled up slightly. She took a sip of the sweet water in her cup and continued to joke nonchalantly, “You’re not actually less than one meter three, are you?”

Ah Ran was also drinking water. Upon hearing this, she suddenly choked, covering her mouth and coughing until her face was beet red.

This time, it was Yu Luo’s turn to be stunned.

A child of one meter three would be about eight or nine years old. Given the maturity of Ah Ran’s mind, it was absolutely impossible for her to be that young.

Choking on water should just be from surprise, not guilt.

As she thought this, Yu Luo got up and walked over to Ah Ran’s side to help pat her back.

“Feeling better?”

As she showed her concern, a sentence suddenly surfaced in her mind—

“I’m not really a person.”

The first time they met, Ah Ran had introduced herself this way, but she, lost in panic at the time, had hastily ignored it.

Yu Luo’s hand movements paused.

Ah Ran looked up at her and chuckled. “It’s nothing, I’m fine now.”

“…That’s good.” Yu Luo returned to her seat as if nothing had happened.

The mall was located by the river. After they finished their kids’ meals, they took a walk along the riverbank to digest.

In the span of a single day, their distant relationship had suddenly been broken, the change abrupt yet inexplicably smooth.

After the shackles in her heart shattered and dissipated, Yu Luo actually felt a natural sense of intimacy towards Ah Ran, as if she had actually cared for Ah Ran just as much these past two years, only it had been temporarily obscured by a hazy fog on the surface, preventing her from facing that feeling head-on.

The complimentary doll was held in Ah Ran’s arms like a treasure. She tilted her head to look at Yu Luo, her gaze lightly falling on the woman’s hair dancing in the night wind, then shifting to that clear, cold, and otherworldly face.

She watched her, cherishing the moment.

“Thank you for having dinner with me tonight,” she said earnestly, the smile in her eyes crystal clear. “I will remember tonight well.”

For some reason, Yu Luo felt a sting in her nose for a second, like the precursor to tears.

“If you want, we can have many more meals,” she said softly. “You don’t have to specifically remember tonight.”

Ah Ran’s eyes curved into crescents. “That’s true.”

She accepted all of Yu Luo’s attitudes without the slightest hesitation.

The past distance, today’s sudden closeness—she cooperated with it all without a word, as if no matter how Yu Luo treated her, she would repay it with a heart full of sincerity.

Yu Luo suddenly found it hard to walk.

She stopped in her tracks, and Ah Ran obediently stopped with her, standing quietly by her side, waiting.

Yu Luo turned sideways, looking at the river water that was as deep and gloomy as thick ink in the night.

After a long time, she said in a low voice, “After Qi Song returns, you will disappear, won’t you?”

That was why Ah Ran had said that day, “The closer you get to Qi Song, the farther you are from me.”

Ah Ran seemed not to have heard the question.

She took the Doraemon doll in her hands and wrapped it around Yu Luo’s neck from behind, saying excitedly, “Look, this Doraemon can also be used as a scarf.”

Yu Luo’s tears silently soaked into the plush fur of the Doraemon doll wrapped around her neck.

“Won’t you?” she repeated stubbornly through a sob.

Ah Ran was at a loss for words.

Taking a deep breath, she took a tissue out of her pocket and carefully handed it to Yu Luo. “You said I’m not good at lying, that you can see through me with a single glance.”

“…So I don’t plan to answer you.”

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Yu Luo took Ah Ran home.

She looked at the shabby and small rental unit before her, momentarily speechless.

“Didn’t I arrange a place for you to live?” Yu Luo asked in a hoarse voice. “Why are you living in a place like this?”

She had rented a nice apartment for Ah Ran to stay in temporarily, with exquisite decorations and furniture, and in a convenient location. In addition, she had regularly given Ah Ran money for living expenses.

She never thought that Ah Ran would leave that apartment empty to live in such a humble place.

Ah Ran said, “Don’t forget, I’m occupying Qi Song’s body right now. I’m a person who has lost her wealth and career, destitute and heavily in debt. I have to live roughly according to the current situation.”

“Besides, I don’t have many material needs to begin with, so it’s the same no matter where I live.”

“Hey, why are you looking at me with such a heartbroken expression? I haven’t mistreated myself when it comes to food. I used the money you gave me to buy delicious things without any hesitation.”

After a pause, Ah Ran said, “Also, this is actually why I agreed to let you take me home.”

“I need to remind you—” Ah Ran’s expression became serious. “When Qi Song comes back, she might not be the same as when she left.”

“She might think she really is a poor, unlucky egg⁴, having forgotten herself and you.”

“For her stability, you have to completely cooperate with her perception and pace, and slowly lead her out of it. You must not be too hasty, or the consequences will be hard to predict.”

Yu Luo pressed her lips together.

“I’m worried I can’t do it,” she said calmly. “Can you be there to remind me then?”

After a pause, she added with emphasis, “I need you to remind me.”

Ah Ran was slightly taken aback. The seriousness on her face suddenly dissipated, replaced by a kind of sorrowful silence.

She knew Yu Luo wasn’t making a request.

—It was a mournful plea for her to stay.

After their conversation by the river tonight, Ah Ran’s departure had already become an unspoken understanding⁵ between them.

“I…” Ah Ran couldn’t bear the tears that began to well up in Yu Luo’s eyes, her throat tightening. “I’m not sure.”

“Maybe there’s a small possibility…”

She didn’t want to leave either. At the very, very least, she should wait until she witnessed Yu Luo and Qi Song finally find each other.

Yu Luo was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.

“There’s a possibility,” she repeated in a calm tone, but her voice couldn’t hide its tremor. “As long as there’s a possibility, it’s good.”

Before the first tear could fall, she turned around. “I’m heading back now.”

“Okay.” Ah Ran watched her back eagerly. “Let me walk you out.”

Yu Luo raised a hand to wipe away a tear, trying hard to calm the sob in her throat, before forcing a relaxed smile. “If you walk me out, then I’ll walk you back. Are we playing house?”

Ah Ran touched her ear.

She smiled too. Actually, Yu Luo really had played house with her, seriously and patiently.

Yu Luo was so good.

Perhaps because Yu Luo had been too good to her tonight, Ah Ran couldn’t help but get greedy. “The… the day after tomorrow is my birthday. Can you have another meal with me?”

Yu Luo paused for two seconds. “I can spend the whole day with you.”

Ah Ran beamed with joy. “Okay, bring Taotao with you.”

“Why?” Yu Luo said. “I was planning to spend it with you alone.”

Ah Ran was quiet for a moment, then said cautiously, “Is that okay?”

“Mhm.” Yu Luo’s voice held a teasing tone. “Don’t you dislike her? We won’t bring her for your birthday.”

Ah Ran’s eyes widened, and she said with some urgency, “I, I don’t. I wouldn’t stoop to bickering with a little brat.”

“But you were never willing to meet her, nor were you willing to tell me her birthday,” Yu Luo said slowly.

Her next sentence shocked Ah Ran into silence: “Like the possessiveness and jealousy children have for a parent’s love.”

“I do not!” Ah Ran was even more stubborn than Qi Song.

Yu Luo nodded, indulging her with an amused smile. “Alright then. In that case, it’s me who wants to spend the day alone with you.”

“I’m leaving.” She turned back, walked to Ah Ran’s side, and, across Qi Song’s body, hugged the soul inside.

Gently.

Perhaps this hug was completely unexpected, as Ah Ran remained frozen in place, not moving, until long after Yu Luo had left.

When Yu Luo came out from downstairs, she subconsciously looked up and saw that person leaning against the mottled window frame, watching her eagerly.

Like a little puppy reluctantly seeing its owner off.

Yu Luo smiled.

She felt that Qi Song, as well as the two “kids” at home, were all quite like little puppies.

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