Zhou Yue was passing by the small grocery store at the alley entrance carrying a bag of rice, flour, and vegetables when she accidentally caught a news broadcast playing on the store’s small television.
“Recently, a severe car accident occurred at the famous resort Silver Lake Villa. The driver was Mr. Jiang Chengli, husband of Ms. Yan Songyu from Ruixin Group. Mr. Jiang was seriously injured and hospitalized. After emergency treatment, he has now been transferred to a general ward.”
“According to our reporter’s investigation, Mr. Jiang had been drinking at a banquet that day. However, police reports indicate that the brakes of the vehicle Mr. Jiang was driving had been deliberately tampered with. This was not an ordinary accident but attempted murder. The investigation is ongoing, and our reporters will continue to follow the story.”
Zhou Yue stood frozen in place, the cloth bag in her hand falling to the ground. A shriveled potato rolled quite some distance away, but she remained completely unaware.
A small hand with prominent knuckles and rough, yellowish skin picked up the potato that had rolled to her feet.
Zhou Yue walked home absentmindedly, completely forgetting about the food for herself and her daughter.
Zhou Mu watched her mother’s retreating figure, silently picked up the potato and put it back in the bag, then crouched down to carefully gather the spilled rice grain by grain, storing them in her pocket before struggling to drag the heavy cloth bag home.
“Oh, little Mu is so capable, already going out to buy groceries!” Xia Dahai said when he spotted the small figure ahead. He quickly stepped forward to take the cloth bag from Zhou Mu, then frowned. “So heavy! How could your mother let you carry this alone?”
Zhou Mu smiled shyly. “Thank you, Uncle Xia! Mom bought these – she had other things to do, I’m just bringing them home.”
“So sensible!” Sun Caiying patted her messy hair and said to Xia Mingyang, “Yangyang, where are those candies you just bought? Give one to little sister Mu.”
Xia Mingyang nodded obediently and pulled two corn candies from his pocket. “Here, little sister.”
“Thank you, brother, but I don’t like candy.”
“Pfft~” Sun Caiying laughed and pressed the candy into Zhou Mu’s hand. “Such a little adult, still being polite with us! Take it quickly.”
Zhou Mu blushed. “Thank you, Auntie Sun!”
When she returned home, Zhou Mu found her mother sitting by the window in a daze, seemingly holding a photograph. She hesitated for a moment, then closed her mouth and quietly carried the groceries one by one into the cramped kitchen. She picked out some greens and potatoes and went outside to wash and peel them.
Zhou Mu’s movements didn’t disturb Zhou Yue at all. Each time she passed by, she glanced at her mother – something was clearly wrong today, but she didn’t dare ask, simply continuing to prepare their meal.
Yes, preparing meals – though Zhou Mu was only five years old, she had already started learning to cook.
She moved her usual stepping stool to the cutting board, climbed onto it, and gripped the knife with both hands to cut the potatoes into uneven shreds? Strips? Then she tore the greens into sections, her movements showing an incongruous proficiency.
“Not too much oil, when there’s bluish smoke you can add the potatoes, one spoon of salt…”
Zhou Mu silently recited the steps her mother had taught her last time, operating with extreme care. But an accident still occurred.
Plop—
Sizzle—
When pouring in the potatoes, Zhou Mu accidentally dropped the bowl in too. She turned around in panic, afraid her mother would scold her, but Zhou Yue hadn’t noticed at all, still lost in thought.
Patting her chest in relief, Zhou Mu set aside her concern about her mother’s unusual behavior, quickly retrieved the bowl, and began stir-frying the potatoes…
A meal was prepared amidst Zhou Mu’s flustered efforts. She brought slightly burnt fried potato strips, a bowl of vegetable soup, and two bowls of indeterminate rice-or-porridge to the table beside Zhou Yue, then called softly, “Mom, dinner’s ready.”
Zhou Yue’s eyebrows twitched slightly as her gaze shifted from the window to the photograph in her hands.
Thinking she hadn’t heard, Zhou Mu gently tugged her sleeve. “Mom, let’s eat. I stir-fried these for a long time—they’re definitely cooked this time.”
But the photograph slipped from Zhou Yue’s grasp due to the tug and fell to the floor, landing face down so Zhou Mu saw nothing. Zhou Yue snatched it up instantly. “Who told you to pull me?”
The roar was accompanied by a sharp slap—crack!
Zhou Mu was knocked to the ground by the blow, lying there dazed. Her face went numb after the initial sting, but her ears kept ringing. She saw Zhou Yue’s face contorted in vicious curses, yet why couldn’t she hear them?
Gradually, Zhou Mu closed her eyes. Before losing consciousness, she thought: Being deaf wouldn’t be so bad—then she wouldn’t hear her mother’s curses and wouldn’t feel so heartbroken anymore.
After cursing her fill, Zhou Yue stormed out, paying no mind to the little girl unconscious on the floor.
*
At Yan Songyu’s request, the doctor examined Jiang Chengli again and confirmed his condition was stable. The moment the doctor left, Yan Songyu threw herself by the hospital bed, pressing down hard on Jiang Chengli’s right hand.
It hurt!!!
“Darling, how could you be so careless? What would Feifei and I do if something happened to you? Wuwu~”
Newly awakened, Jiang Chengli was weak and parched, unable to speak. He could only glare at the perpetrator. My hand! Get off!
“What’s wrong? The doctor said you were fine! Why are you sweating so much? Is the wound hurting? Bear with it, darling—painkillers might hinder recovery.”
Yan Songyu spilled a stream of concerned words while her covert actions never ceased.
Jiang Chengli passed out again.
From the pain.
Yan Songyu glanced at the blood seeping through the bandage on his right hand and scoffed softly, “So useless!” Then she switched to a worried expression and rushed out of the room. “Doctor, my husband fainted again!”
“What happened?” Dr. Qi hurried over. “He shouldn’t have lost consciousness again so soon.”
“He noticed the injury on his right hand and couldn’t accept it. He struggled and hit his right hand, passing out from the pain,” Yan Songyu said tearfully. “His hand is bleeding—it won’t be completely useless, will it?”
After some commotion, Dr. Qi examined Jiang Chengli and had the nurse change his dressing.
“The wound was strained, but the tendons are fine. You must be careful from now on—no more agitation.”
Yan Songyu nodded repeatedly. “I’ll have the caretaker watch him closely.”
After picking up Feifei from kindergarten, Yan Songyu asked for her opinion: “If you want to go home, I’ll take you back first. If you want to visit the hospital, come with me, and we’ll go home together later.”
“I’ll go to the hospital to see Dad,” Feifei choked out, tears already welling in her eyes.
She was a clever child who knew she’d nearly lost her father. Though she wasn’t deeply attached to Jiang Chengli, blood ran thicker than water—she hoped he’d live a long, healthy life.
Holding Feifei, Yan Songyu bumped into a furtive, headscarf-wrapped woman at the hospital entrance.
“S-sorry.”
Zhou Yue?
Yan Songyu sized up her enemy from a past life. This was her first face-to-face encounter with Zhou Yue in this lifetime. Although she wished she could skin her alive and break her bones, Yan Songyu maintained a facade of unfamiliarity. How could she not play along with the grand drama Zhou Yue had so meticulously directed?
“It’s fine, just watch where you’re going.” Yan Songyu’s brows furrowed noticeably, and she even took two steps back, as if disgusted.
Zhou Yue’s face flushed crimson, and she stammered, “O-okay, I’ll be more careful next time.”
Yan Songyu noticed Zhou Yue’s gaze drifting toward Feifei throughout their brief exchange, and a strange sense of satisfaction welled up inside her.