Niannian’s single remark made the atmosphere of the entire morning turn subtle and delicate.
Zhou Yang practically fled from the bed, not looking at Pei Ran once during the entire process.
Sitting on the bed, Pei Ran watched Zhou Yang’s panicked, fleeing back, the corners of her lips curling up slightly.
Niannian shuffled over, her small face completely written with the smug pride of claiming credit. “Mommy, isn’t Niannian super amazing?”
Pei Ran pinched her little nose, pretending to be stern: “Who taught you that?”
“Nobody taught Niannian,” Niannian said in all seriousness. “The mommies and daddies of the other kids in kindergarten hold hands every day when taking them to school. Niannian also wants Mommy to hold hands to take Niannian to school.”
Pei Ran’s heart turned into a soft ball of cotton. Although she also really wanted to take Zhou Nian to kindergarten every day, she couldn’t figure out Zhou Yang’s attitude, nor did she dare to make promises lightheartedly in front of her daughter.
Zhou Nian still had to go to kindergarten, so she quickly climbed down from the bed, scampered off into the bathroom, and began washing up by herself. Seeing her daughter so independent at such a young age, able to get dressed and wash up all on her own without relying on anyone’s help, Pei Ran couldn’t tell whether the feeling in her heart was gratification or heartache.
If she and Zhou Yang hadn’t divorced, perhaps their daughter could have enjoyed a bit more of the reliant time unique to childhood.
Pei Ran went downstairs, intending to check the kitchen to see if there was anything to make for breakfast. The kitchen was very spacious, but there wasn’t much inside the refrigerator. Pei Ran rummaged through the fridge and only found eggs, milk, and a few slices of toast. It would barely suffice to make a sandwich.
She tied on an apron and began busying herself.
Without her knowing when, Niannian had run over to the kitchen doorway, leaning against the doorframe with her head tilted to watch her.
“Mommy, you actually know how to cook?” Niannian’s tone carried a hint of surprise.
Pei Ran’s hand paused for a moment.
The mother who didn’t know how to cook in Zhou Nian’s memory must have been the original host of this body. The current Pei Ran not only knew how to cook, but she also cooked extremely well.
“Mommy has known how to cook for a long time,” Pei Ran said, keeping her voice as soft as possible. “In the future, whatever Niannian wants to eat, you can tell Mommy, and Mommy will make it for you.”
“Really?” Niannian’s eyes instantly lit up. She trotted over to Pei Ran’s side, standing on her tiptoes to peek up at the stove. “Niannian wants to eat an egg! The round one! The one like the sun!”
“A fried egg?”
“Mm! A fried egg!”
Pei Ran smiled, retrieved an egg from the refrigerator, and turned on the gas stove.
Zhou Nian hid to the side, seemingly afraid of being splattered by hot oil, watching eagerly as the oil in the pan gradually heated up. The egg released an appetizing aroma in the sizzling hot oil.
Holding the spatula, Pei Ran carefully pushed the egg whites toward the yolk, shaping the fried egg into a round and neat form.
“Wow!” Niannian let out an exclamation of wonder. “The fried egg Mommy made is so round! So awesome!”
Being praised like this warmed the very depths of Pei Ran’s heart.
When Zhou Yang walked downstairs, this was the exact scene that met her eyes.
Pei Ran was wearing an apron, her long hair casually tied behind her head, bending down to plate the freshly fried egg. Niannian stood beside her, holding a pair of chopsticks, looking up at the egg on the plate with her head raised, her mouth watering so much she was almost drooling.
The sunlight fell upon the side of Pei Ran’s face. Holding the spatula in one hand, she looked a little clumsy, yet also quite endearing.
Zhou Yang stood at the foot of the stairs, her footsteps pausing for a moment.
Niannian was the first to notice her and waved enthusiastically. “Big Mommy, come eat quickly! Mommy made fried eggs!”
Zhou Yang walked over and glanced at the egg on the plate.
It was fried just right, the yolk slightly runny, the edges golden and crispy; it was the look she used to be most familiar with.
In the very early days when the two of them first met, Pei Ran really enjoyed cooking, and she cooked delicious food. But starting from some unknown day, she seemed to transform into an entirely different person; not only did her personality change drastically, but she also never stepped into the kitchen ever again.
She had not eaten food cooked by Pei Ran for a very, very long time.
Pei Ran set the breakfast on the table, sat down opposite Zhou Yang, and looked at her with expectant eyes: “Aren’t you going to try it?”
Niannian took a bite, her eyes squinting into little crescents, and cooperatively gave a thumbs-up: “The sandwich Mommy made is so delicious!”
Zhou Yang stared at the simple breakfast in her hand. After hesitating again and again, she finally opened her mouth, took a bite, and let out a faint “Mm”: “It is indeed very tasty.”
The corners of Pei Ran’s mouth twitched slightly, and her tense, expectant heart finally settled down because of this lukewarm compliment.
On the way to drop their daughter off at school, Niannian chattered away in the back seat about things going on at kindergarten. Pei Ran sat in the passenger seat, listening and responding to Niannian’s words while her gaze unconsciously drifted toward Zhou Yang, who was driving.
The long, slender fingers gripping the steering wheel were beautifully shaped and clearly jointed, reminding her of the warm and soft feeling when their fingers had interlocked earlier this morning.
It would be so nice if we could hold hands just one more time.
Realizing what she was thinking, Pei Ran gave herself a big fright. She scolded herself inwardly for being so unreserved and so easily seduced by physical beauty, the tips of her ears growing somewhat hot.
The car pulled up at the kindergarten entrance. Niannian unbuckled her seatbelt, leaned over, and planted a kiss on Pei Ran’s cheek: “Goodbye, Mommy!”
She then turned around and planted a kiss on Zhou Yang’s cheek as well: “Goodbye, Big Mommy!”
Zhou Yang’s expression softened slightly as she reached out to pat Niannian’s head: “Be good, and listen well in class.”
Niannian ran into the gates of the kindergarten, turned back to wave at them, and then disappeared into the school building.
Pei Ran watched Niannian’s figure gradually disappear at the entrance of the kindergarten. Before the smile on the corners of her lips even had time to fade, an icy voice abruptly rang out inside the vehicle.
“Get out of the car.”
Zhou Yang’s voice was cold and hard, so frigid it almost froze the narrow space inside the vehicle.
Pei Ran froze for a second: “What?”
“I said, get out of the car.” Zhou Yang turned her head to look at her, her eyes cold.
“Niannian has been delivered, so your mission is complete. I am very busy, and I have no obligation to be your driver.”
Pei Ran’s face flushed red with anger. This was the first time she had ever met someone who turned their back on a person so instantly!
If she had known this earlier, she wouldn’t have made a sandwich for her! It was all fed to a dog!
Pissed off, she pushed open the car door and stepped out, turning around to unleash a torrent of abuse: “Bah! Who cares about your trashy car! I have plenty of money to take a taxi myself!”
However, the moment the car door slammed shut, Zhou Yang’s vehicle sped right off, leaving her behind with nothing but a cloud of foul-smelling exhaust fumes.
Pei Ran: “…”