It was unrealistic for Gu Shao to accompany her all the time. As he had said, his work pressure was heavy.
Su Su thought that if she went with him, she would only be a distraction. Even though she wanted to cling to him, there was no helping it.
She felt a little down.
So when Gu Shao was leaving, Su Su unusually got up early and clung to him for a while, making him both amused and helpless.
Gu Shao kissed her and said softly, “I’ll try to come back earlier today, alright?” He kept his voice low because Qu Qingwei was also in the living room, and he felt embarrassed to be seen being affectionate.
Qu Qingwei still glanced over and sighed.
Su Su didn’t care what her mother thought. She pointed to her other cheek, asking for another kiss.
Qu Qingwei frowned. “Are you going to let him leave or not? Once Zai Zai wakes up, he won’t be able to leave even if he wants to.”
Su Su pouted. “Fine, go.”
Gu Shao squeezed her hand gently to comfort her, then turned to Qu Qingwei. “Mom, I’m heading out. I’ll be back tonight.”
Qu Qingwei nodded gently. “Alright, be careful on the road.”
…
After Gu Shao left, Su Su stretched. “Mom, I’m going back to sleep.”
Seeing her casually head upstairs, Qu Qingwei widened her eyes. “So you got up this early just to see Gu Shao off?” Even with her good temper, she couldn’t quite tolerate this.
She knew how to care about Gu Shao, but didn’t know how to care about her own mother? If she woke up early, couldn’t she spend some time with her?
There was a hint of complaint in Qu Qingwei’s tone.
Su Su didn’t notice anything unusual and thought her mother was teasing her for being clingy with Gu Shao. She smiled and said, “Didn’t you say Gu Shao works very hard, so I should be more considerate? That’s why I got up early to see him off.”
Qu Qingwei: “…Fine, now I’m the one to blame.”
“Go on, go on. Just don’t let me see you, you only annoy me.”
Still sleepy, Su Su continued upstairs, entered the bedroom, threw herself onto the soft bed, and burrowed into the blanket. The warmth and lingering scent of her and Gu Shao made her feel drowsy, and she quickly fell asleep again.
…
When she woke up again, it was to the sound of knocking on the door.
The knocking was light, one knock, then another. Su Su lifted her head, rubbing her eyes as she looked toward the door. “Who is it?”
No one answered. Her head sank back into the soft pillow as she stared at the ceiling, trying to wake up.
Suddenly, she heard a clear voice, “Mom!”
She looked toward the door again. It was Zai Zai.
In that case, she decided not to open the door and turned over to lie down again.
“Mom.”
“Mom.”
Even though she hadn’t opened the door yet, Su Su was already feeling a little anxious. Still, she wanted to see if Zai Zai would give up and leave.
“Mom.”
Alright, her good son. After he had knocked for at least five minutes without leaving, Su Su finally got up and opened the door.
As soon as the door opened, Zai Zai’s adorable little face came into view. Su Su smiled and teased him, “Who is it?”
“Zai Zai!” he giggled, jumping happily when he saw his mother.
Qu Qingwei stood behind him and gave Su Su a look. “What were you doing in there? We’ve been calling you for ages.”
Su Su didn’t respond. Zai Zai grabbed her pants and pulled her outside.
Going downstairs, Su Su saw that breakfast had been prepared for her again.
She picked up Zai Zai. “Did you come to call Mommy to eat?”
Zai Zai didn’t answer, just looked at the food in the bowl and tried to grab it.
Su Su sat him on her lap and fed him while eating herself.
She also asked, “Zai Zai, Mommy scolded you yesterday, are you still mad at Mommy?”
She still got no answer from the little fool.
…
Su Su shifted her focus to the children and her competition with Ning Ke.
Inspired by her earlier conversation with Gu Shao, she created a short educational comic for children. Its biggest flaw was that her thinking was still somewhat adult-oriented, so the presentation might not be entirely suitable for children.
Unfortunately, there was no time to revise it. Competing against someone as experienced as Ning Ke required not just a good story, but also appealing technique and coloring.
She needed to set aside time to refine the drawings.
When the agreed day arrived, Su Su and Ning Ke brought their finished works to Su Su’s mother for her to review.
Their mother didn’t know they were competing, but as someone with a design background, she had a very sharp eye.
She first praised Su Su. “Back when you were in university, I wanted you to study painting or design, but you refused no matter what. Still, it seems you haven’t lost your fundamentals.”
Influenced by Qu Qingwei, the original host had some skill in drawing. That was one of the reasons Su Su dared to return to it after taking over this body.
As for why she had refused to continue studying it, the reasons were complicated. Now that Su Su was married with children, Qu Qingwei didn’t want to bring it up again.
Su Su also had those memories. Although they were a bit awkward, she wasn’t the original person. After recalling them briefly, she let it go.
Qu Qingwei examined her work carefully, a trace of nostalgia in her gaze. In the end, she nodded, then added, “Your style has changed quite a bit.”
That single sentence made Su Su’s heart skip. She quickly explained, “You went abroad before I started university, and only came back after I graduated. It’s been so long, I’ve grown and changed too.”
A genetic test might not reveal her true identity, but that didn’t mean she could be careless and expose too much. After all, there were still hypnotists and psychologists in this world. Who knew if someone might notice something.
If it was just a personality change, it could be explained as a shift in temperament. But handwriting and artistic style were harder to hide, better to conceal them if possible.
Qu Qingwei said, “It’s decent.”
With composition and color already harmonious, content became the key factor. She clearly saw Su Su’s weakness. It was meant for children, yet it felt somewhat complex and dull for them, so the overall effect would not be ideal.
In the end, her mother concluded that Ning Ke’s work was better.
Su Su thought, you can’t possibly be my real mother.
There was no way she would say that kind of thing to Gu Shao.
“Ning Ke…” Su Su shook her head repeatedly.
“Are you going back on your word?”
Su Su could only plead, “Give me a little time.”
Despair.
If she had been married to Gu Shao for three years, she might have just said it. After all that time, saying something embarrassing wouldn’t feel like much.
But now? It had only been twenty-eight days.
Even if you fell in love within twenty-eight days, that was still the honeymoon phase. Who would say something like that during that stage?
No, absolutely not.
Not to mention, the original host had always treated Gu Shao coldly. If she suddenly said something like that, he would be completely shocked.
Ning Ke said, “So this is the kind of person you are.” She took out her phone again.
The moment Su Su saw it, that embarrassing photo flashed through her mind. She quickly covered Ning Ke’s phone. “Ning Ke, don’t, please, just let me off this once.”
The original host had been very outgoing, constantly going out with friends, regardless of gender, and played freely.
If Gu Shao saw this side of her, she would have no face left. How could she face him afterward?
No, more importantly, no one would want to be caught looking at that kind of content. Especially since she might continue creating it in the future. Someone as sharp as Gu Shao would definitely figure out her pen name if he became suspicious.
That would be unimaginable.
And then, unexpectedly, Gu Shao suddenly came back.
Su Su froze.
Why did he come back at this exact moment?
“Miss Ning is here too?” Gu Shao greeted Ning Ke briefly.
Su Su hurriedly said, “Gu Shao, why are you back now? Don’t you need to work?”
“A product we launched three years ago was supposed to have a promotional event, but the venue was requisitioned at the last minute, so it’s postponed. I didn’t have other plans today, so I came back.”
What was wrong? Was she not happy to see him?
Just a couple of days ago, she said she wanted him to stay with her all the time. Now that he had come back, she looked like she wanted him to leave.
Women really were contradictory.
Gu Shao’s expression darkened slightly.
Su Su sensed his subtle change in mood, but with Ning Ke around, she couldn’t worry about that. She quickly pushed him. “Go check on Wan Wan, she should be waking up.”
It wasn’t appropriate for him to interfere in matters between women. Although unhappy, he nodded and turned to leave.
Suddenly, Ning Ke spoke up, “Gu Shao, don’t rush off. I was just chatting with Su Su, and I realized she has something she wants to tell you but doesn’t dare. You’re husband and wife. Sometimes you should listen to her more instead of always overlooking her. Now she’s too hesitant to even say it to you.”
Su Su fell silent.
Gu Shao was surprised. He suspected Ning Ke was talking about someone else. When had he ever ignored Su Su?
And Su Su didn’t seem like someone who would hesitate to speak up in front of him.
Could it be that he really had shortcomings, to the point that she could tell Ning Ke but not him?
Gu Shao looked at Su Su with doubt.
Su Su, on the other hand, felt like she was doomed.
With Ning Ke saying this, she wouldn’t even be able to explain later that it had just been a joke between them.
Seeing Su Su’s face turn bright red, Ning Ke suppressed her laughter and waved her phone. “Su Su, do you want to take a look at my photo album and gather some courage?”
“Su Su?” Gu Shao stepped closer, his tone apologetic. “Sorry, have I been too busy with work and neglected you? I…”
Su Su made up her mind, pulled him closer, and whispered in his ear,
“…Give me a baby, I want one.”
She froze.
She couldn’t say it.
No way.
Refused.