At first, Jiang Song’ai restrained herself slightly because they were present, but it was not long before she completely dropped all pretense, her domineering nature thoroughly on display.
Bumper cars were meant to be a game without any real rules, just pure fun.
Yet with Jiang Song’ai, she insisted on fighting for victory and claimed she had to reign supreme in this small arena.
Whether it was intentional or not, every time she made a round, she would turn her car around and deliberately crash into theirs.
Several times, Song Wanyi was bumped so hard that her body leaned over, gently falling against Jiang Ya.
Jiang Ya glanced at the person beside her, then looked toward Jiang Song’ai, feeling once again that strange sensation of being set up.
Could these two have teamed up to mess with me?
Jiang Ya usually couldn’t be bothered to argue with a child, but now that she was being openly bullied, she had to ram right back.
Mindful of the fact that Song Wanyi was sitting right beside her, she kept her head forward and muttered in a low voice, Sit tight. We’re going to crash into her.
As long as Song Wanyi could sit next to Jiang Ya, everything else didn’t matter. Her eyes instantly lit up, and she grew excited as well. Okay!
Jiang Ya stepped hard on the accelerator, turned the steering wheel sharply, and drove straight toward Jiang Song’ai’s car.
With a loud bang, Jiang Song’s small car was almost flipped over.
Looking at the woman who was smiling brightly, Jiang Song’ai secretly let out a sigh.
She had been so focused on playing matchmaker for her two mothers that she almost forgot these two were people whose competitive spirits were second to none.
Her own bad temper was entirely inherited from both of them.
After that round, Jiang Song’ai didn’t take the initiative to ram Jiang Ya’s car anymore.
However, Jiang Ya seemed to have inherited the title of Bumper Car Overlord, driving around the arena with Song Wanyi and crashing into things wildly.
Helplessly, Jiang Song’ai parked her car in the safe zone and watched the veteran mother in her thirties drive around smashing into people, the corners of her mouth curling up beneath her mask in a wide grin.
Meanwhile, Song Wanyi sat beside her with curved eyebrows, looking completely willing to accompany her in this wild frenzy.
Lifting the phone Jiang Xuyin had given her, Jiang Song’ai quietly snapped a few photos and saved them to her album.
Seeing that neither of them was paying attention to her, she lowered her head and began sketching doodle art in her memo pad, wishing to preserve this exact moment forever.
While concentrating deeply on her drawing, Jiang Song’ai did not notice that two girls who had come together had quietly taken notice of them nearby.
The tall girl’s eyes grew brighter and brighter. She tugged at the sleeve of the shorter girl beside her, lowering her voice yet failing to hide her excitement. Look at the alpha’s backpack! It’s a limited edition. I remember only the spokesperson Jiang Ya has that! It even has ‘JY’ embroidered on the back; those are Jiang Ya’s initials!
The short girl frowned slightly, comparing the scene against a photo on her phone, and squinted over carefully. Could it be a high-end knockoff…?
Impossible. The tall girl shook her head, gesturing for her friend to look at the omega beside the alpha. Just look at who is standing next to her.
The entertainment industry wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t small either. Best actresses and award-winning stars could be counted on a few hands, but among the post-2000s generation of top-tier young cinematic actresses, there were only two prominent names nowadays.
One was Jiang Ya, and the other was Song Wanyi.
The short girl narrowed her eyes in recognition. Having spent years in the entertainment circle and worked as a fansite manager for quite a few celebrities, swapping out biases one after another, she rarely paid attention to these two.
The reason was simple: neither of them belonged to the traffic-driven category. They only acted in serious dramas, rarely appeared on variety shows, and went completely off the grid the moment filming wrapped. With zero scandal, no hype-building, and a strict aversion to publicizing their private lives, paparazzi and fansite masters couldn’t dig up any juicy scoops.
Yet, having lingered in the industry for so long, the short girl suddenly chuckled. It really is Song Wanyi… But aren’t those two notoriously fierce rivals in the domestic entertainment world? Word has it they’ve been competing since childhood.
The tall girl shrugged, her occupational instincts already kicking in as she raised her phone to burst-shoot several photos. They were both child stars following identical career tracks, so they were rivals back then. But now one is an alpha and the other is an omega; who knows how things will develop? They might have been in an ambiguous phase for ages. This is the entertainment industry, after all. On camera, they act like they’ll have nothing to do with each other for the rest of their lives; off camera, they probably already have kids old enough to buy soy sauce.
Your imagination is wild… but it does make a certain kind of sense. The short girl laughed, though she proceeded to share some insider news she had recently heard. Still, it could also be an intentional ‘arch-rival’ narrative manufactured to generate buzz. I recently received an internal tip that Jiang Ya might participate in a dating reality show.
Really? The tall girl’s hand paused for a second before she quickly backed up the photos she had just taken. Is the rumor reliable? Does she look like the type to join a dating show? Could it be that the domestic entertainment industry is going through such a severe winter that even top-tier heavyweights have to resort to chasing internet traffic?
The short girl didn’t care about all that; she just wanted to hold tightly onto the gossip in her hands. Just wait and see, trust me on this. I’ve told you many times that you need to go out and walk around more often. Look, isn’t this scoop delivering itself right to our doorstep?
Yes, yes, yes, the tall girl agreed, nodding along.
Fearing discovery, the two quickly retreated after finishing their photography, hiding off to the side to continue observing and hoping to capture a bit more evidence.
Flipping through the freshly taken pictures, the short girl hesitated. This interaction isn’t even all that ambiguous… The explosive value isn’t high enough.
The tall girl nodded, her gaze still fixed tightly on that bumper car still driving and crashing happily in the distance. Then let’s wait a little longer.
Jiang Song’ai finished her sketch and eagerly wanted to show it to the two mothers in this world.
By the time she found them, they had already dominated the bumper car arena for several rounds and were walking back, still looking unsatisfied and wanting more.
She quickly grabbed her phone and ran over with a light jog.
Mom! Before she even stood still, her crisp voice arrived first. Jiang Song’ai practically skipped right up to the two of them, holding her phone high like a treasure offering. Look, I drew this!
Almost simultaneously as Jiang Song’ai shouted that word, Mom, the two girls staking them out nearby gave a violent start.
The pair exchanged a rapid look, simultaneously raising their hands to cover their mouths to swallow back the gasps that almost escaped their lips.
Their wide eyes were filled with identical shock and disbelief, communicating wildly through gazes: Jiang Ya and Song Wanyi have a kid?!
The short girl even subconsciously took another small step forward, perking up her ears and fixing her eyes on the family of three, terrified of missing a single detail.
Jiang Ya, who had just finished her bumper car battle, was still in a bit of a daze. Suddenly jolted back to reality by that shout of Mom, she involuntarily took half a step backward.
Upon recognizing the little girl blinking before her, she vaguely remembered that this rascal was her dropped-from-the-sky daughter.
As her heartbeat slowed, she bent down somewhat awkwardly, her gaze falling upon the screen.
You drew this? Jiang Ya’s voice softened. Is this a picture of us?
On the screen, two masked women were turning their heads toward each other, the curved arcs of their eyes unable to conceal their smiles.
The lines were warm, the colors soft, and Jiang Song’ai had even thoughtfully drawn a ring of sparkling bubbles floating leisurely all around them, making it seem as if even the air itself tasted sweet.
Jiang Ya’s attention was entirely focused on the artwork. She studied the other protagonist in the drawing, that lifelong rival who had inexplicably popped up beside her since childhood, whose brow and outer corners of her eyes were now imbued with an exceptionally soft warmth she rarely ever saw.
Jiang Ya’s fingertip gently traced across the bubbles on the screen as she softly asked, These bubbles… what do they mean?
Jiang Song’ai’s eyes curved into crescent moons as she cheerfully announced in a bright, obvious tone: They’re happiness bubbles! They always pop up around the mothers when they’re together!
This sentence drifted clearly into the ears of the two girls hiding not far away. The tall girl squeezed her companion’s arm so hard she almost bruised it, murmuring in a breathy whisper: M-Mothers, plural!
The noisy background noise of the waiting area seemed to instantly fade away.
Within this tiny patch of space, the two adults stood frozen by what Jiang Song’ai had just said, while further off, two pairs of eyes burned with shockingly bright astonishment.
Only Jiang Song’ai remained completely immersed in her own world. The adults carried various hidden thoughts, staring at her with contrasting expressions.
Jiang Ya genuinely found it difficult to swallow the word happiness uttered by her unexpected daughter.
She retrieved a small mirror from her bag to touch up her makeup, speaking in a flat tone to Jiang Song’ai: You can draw something else. The scenery around here is quite nice, too.
Her implied meaning was: stop drawing just her and Song Wanyi.
As those words fell, the expressions of the two people beside her instantly dimmed.
Jiang Ya knew Jiang Song’ai wanted a word of praise, but she truly couldn’t find it in her heart to like Song Wanyi; after all, a forced melon is never sweet.
As for why Song Wanyi looked displeased, Jiang Ya neither knew nor intended to probe deeper. She wasn’t anyone’s mind reader and had no obligation to decipher every passing emotion.
In her original world, Jiang Song’ai had once heard her other mommy say that her mother was the universe’s number one iron tree, and trying to make her bloom was harder than ascending to the heavens.
She hadn’t expected the Jiang Ya of this world to be the same.
The little girl sadly tugged at Song Wanyi’s sleeve, finding an ally as she leaned her entire body against that Omega.
Noticing the child’s reliance, Song Wanyi subtly adjusted her posture and gently clasped the child’s hand.
Let’s head back. Jiang Ya glanced over indifferently, didn’t react further, adjusted the strap of her bag that had slipped down, and turned to walk ahead.
Jiang Song’ai now completely understood.
Not only was Jiang Ya apathetic toward Song Wanyi, but she also felt no maternal warmth toward herself.
Her face fell even lower.
Watching Jiang Ya’s cold back, a rebellious thought suddenly darted across her mind. Jiang Song’ai let out a quiet internal snort. You don’t like it, huh? Well, plenty of people will. She refused to believe that the shipping fans wouldn’t love to see this.
Once the three of them walked far away, the two girls who had been crouching nearby and eavesdropping finally straightened up, excitedly discussing the scene in hushed whispers.
What did Jiang Ya mean just now? The short girl asked, her shock barely contained. Why is she acting like some kind of heartless flirt? Both the kid and Song Wanyi have to walk on eggshells around her mood?
The tall girl wore an equally incredulous look. This plot reads precisely like a shotgun wedding… Could it be an unexpected premarital pregnancy? How old is that kid anyway? Judging by her height, she should be in elementary school.
The short girl gestured with her hand: A bit shorter than my sister in middle school, so she must be an elementary student. But isn’t she a little too thin and small? She looks malnourished.
The tall girl immediately chimed in: Could there be suspected child abuse going on here? Did you manage to record that last bit of conversation?
Recorded, recorded! The short girl handed over her phone; the screen clearly displayed the recently recorded secret video. Keep this safe; it might come in handy later.