Then she burrowed under the covers and pulled them over her head. All I could hear was her delighted giggling.
When she poked her face out, her little cheeks were red from lack of oxygen.
“Mom!” Miểu Miểu threw herself into my arms.
“Mom!”
…
“Mom!”
“Go to sleep!”
11.
The next morning, Miểu Miểu was still running around after me, calling “Mom!” over and over.
Từ Sâm: “?”
Me: “This is my daughter.”
Miểu Miểu: “This is my mom.”
Từ Sâm: “?”
Từ Tri Miểu sat at a little table, drawing.
She was exceptionally artistic, and when she was alone, she often liked to express her feelings through her drawings.
In the picture, a little mermaid swam freely in the sea, while on the shore stood a beautifully dressed princess whose long hair flowed like seaweed, looking utterly enchanting.
“Is Miểu Miểu drawing a mermaid? It’s beautiful.”
“Miểu Miểu is the mermaid, and Mom is the princess.”
Looking closer, the princess on the shore really did look a little like me.
“Huh? Why is that?” I asked curiously.
Từ Tri Miểu clutched her chest, her little face scrunched up as if her heart were breaking. “Because the mermaid wants the princess to love her, just like Miểu Miểu wants Mom to love her.”
“If the princess doesn’t love Miểu Miểu, Miểu Miểu will dissolve into sea foam and disappear.”
I smiled and gathered her into my arms. “No! I won’t let Miểu Miểu turn into sea foam.”
“Mom will always love you.”
“Let’s pinky swear.”
Miểu Miểu hooked her pinky around mine, then planted a kiss on my hand. “Pinky swear! You promised!”
12.
We’d planned to go hiking that weekend, but Từ Sâm said his parents wanted us to visit the family home.
Come to think of it, I still hadn’t formally met the parents of this man I’d married in a contract marriage.
After Từ Sâm’s older brother died, it took his parents a long time to overcome their grief.
All they hoped for was that Từ Sâm could live a happy life.
That was why Từ Sâm didn’t want his parents to know ours was only a contract marriage.
I understood what he meant.
When we arrived at the Từ family’s old home, I helped Miểu Miểu out of the car and linked my arm through Từ Sâm’s.
He stiffened slightly.
Seeing how distant he looked, I worried his parents would soon notice something was off.
From a distance, Miểu Miểu spotted her grandparents standing outside the house and ran up to greet them sweetly. “Grandpa, Grandma, hello!”
Miểu Miểu had also drawn them a picture as a gift. The two of them were so delighted they could hardly stop smiling, and happily invited her in for cake.
Từ Sâm’s parents looked at me, their smiles growing even brighter. “Oh, you’re so beautiful!”
“You and Tiểu Sâm look wonderful together.”
I quickly presented the gift I’d prepared beforehand.
Từ Sâm’s mother happily took my arm. “Tư Nhiên, you don’t have to be so formal. I heard from Tiểu Sâm that you take such good care of Miểu Miểu. I’m truly grateful.”
“Auntie, it’s only what I should do.”
Từ Sâm’s mother pursed her lips. “You’re married to Tiểu Sâm, and you still call me Auntie?”
I quickly corrected myself. “Mom!”
Từ Sâm’s mother was delighted, and his father chimed in. “Then you can’t call me Uncle, either.”
“Dad!”
“That’s right!”
“For years, Tiểu Sâm’s father and I kept trying to find him a girlfriend, but he refused to get married. Turns out he secretly married the woman he loves!” Từ Sâm’s mother chided him.
Từ Sâm’s father frowned and kicked him hard in the butt.
Từ Sâm staggered.
Từ Sâm’s father demanded, “You got married, so why didn’t you tell the family? I only found out when Miểu Miểu called me. Why didn’t you come home and have a proper wedding? Hurry up and arrange one! Look at how you’ve treated this young woman! Did I raise you to make your wife feel so wronged?”
“Yes, I know, Dad,” Từ Sâm mumbled. It was rare to see him being so obedient.
Từ Sâm’s parents pressed a heavy red envelope into my hand, then looked straight at Từ Sâm.
Từ Sâm: “??”
Từ Sâm’s mother glared at him. “It’s Tư Nhiên’s first time here. Shouldn’t you give her a red envelope?”
I was just about to put in a good word for him when, to my surprise, Từ Sâm really did pull another red envelope from his pocket.
Oh, it felt pretty heavy.
I smiled obediently, my eyes crinkling. “Thank you, darling~”
Từ Sâm froze. He was still stuck on the word “darling” half a day later, so I pulled him into the house.
The sound of an argument rang out from the courtyard. Từ Sâm and I exchanged a look and hurried toward the noise. His parents quickly followed.
A shrill female voice was berating someone:
“Weren’t you running your mouth just a minute ago? My brother found you a stepmother to teach you to be this rude?”
“Quý Tư Nhiên is just some country bumpkin. The Từ family would never accept someone as poor and shabby as her.”
“Why do you think she’s so nice to you? It’s because she wants the Từ family’s money. You’re taking her side, but have you even asked whether Quý Tư Nhiên wants to raise you?”
“Don’t think I can’t see through that poor-little-thing act of yours and whatever you’re scheming. You’d be better off learning to talk from your stepmother than turning mute again like you were when you were little.”
At first, Từ Tri Miểu argued back a few times, but in the end she could only sit on the floor and sob.
“Shut up!” Từ Sâm and I pushed the door open at the same time.
Inside, a beautiful woman dressed head to toe in designer clothes, carrying a platinum handbag, was loudly berating Miểu Miểu.
[That was Từ Sâm’s younger sister, Từ Tinh Nhã.]
In the story, aside from the main character, the person who felt the most hostility toward Từ Tri Miểu was Từ Tinh Nhã. She believed that if Từ Tri Miểu didn’t exist, her parents’ property would belong to her.
Though Từ Tri Miểu was introverted, she was very perceptive. She realized Từ Tinh Nhã didn’t like her, so she’d kept her distance since childhood.
For some reason, this time Từ Tri Miểu had actually gone out of her way to provoke Từ Tinh Nhã.
The pastries on the table had all been knocked to the floor. Từ Tri Miểu had fallen, her coat covered in crumbs.
Sitting on the floor, she choked back tears. “That’s not what you said…”
I hurried over and hugged Từ Tri Miểu.
I held her close.
“There, there.”
“Miểu Miểu.”
“You must have been so scared, huh?”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I let you be treated so unfairly.”
Từ Tri Miểu clung to me, bundled up in her white fur coat like a little lamb.
Gradually, she calmed down, a bewilderment in her eyes that I’d never seen before.
Từ Tri Miểu and this aunt of hers had never gotten along. It wasn’t the first time her aunt had berated her, but this time she was sadder than ever.
She tried to explain it to me.
When Tri Miểu came in to have some pastries, she heard Từ Tinh Nhã badmouthing me and immediately argued back. Từ Tinh Nhã flew into a rage and shoved her.
Từ Tinh Nhã had always been quick-tempered and had disliked Từ Tri Miểu for a long time, so she finally exploded this time.
Từ Tri Miểu clung to me, sobbing softly. “Mommy, Auntie lied. I’m a good girl.”
…..
“Please don’t leave me, okay?”
My throat tightened.
What made Miểu Miểu sad wasn’t that Từ Tinh Nhã had scolded her. It was that Từ Tinh Nhã had said I would leave her.
The system silently added a note to Từ Tinh Nhã’s character card: [Từ Tinh Nhã, you’re awful.]
The older couple stood nearby, looking at Từ Tinh Nhã’s ashen face.
I stepped in front of Miểu Miểu to protect her. “Apologize to Miểu Miểu right now.”
“Apologize?” Từ Tinh Nhã sneered and slapped me across the face.
“You call that an apology?”
My face jerked to the side. Từ Sâm rolled up his sleeves, about to rush in and deal with her.
Miểu Miểu hurried over to protect me. “Miểu Miểu, sit on the sofa and wait for Mommy. Don’t run around, okay?”
“Mommy…” Miểu Miểu stared at my face and burst into tears, heartbroken.
“I’m fine. You have to trust me.”
Miểu Miểu badly wanted to help, but Mommy had told her to sit quietly, so she had to obey.
After coaxing Miểu Miểu into staying put, I turned to look at Từ Tinh Nhã, who was standing there smugly. My gaze darkened.
Keeping my expression neutral, I said to Từ Sâm, “Could you open a bottle of wine for me?”
I picked up the bottle of wine and walked over, then splashed its contents all over Từ Tinh Nhã without hesitation.
Từ Tinh Nhã stood stunned for two seconds. I took the opportunity to slap her back, even harder and louder than before.
She shrieked.
“You vile woman! What are you doing? Brother! Hit her back for me!”
Từ Sâm laughed coldly. “Looks like you still haven’t had enough of a beating.”
Từ Tinh Nhã swallowed hard and backed toward the dining table.
She didn’t dare take on Từ Sâm, so she turned her attack on me instead. “What gives you the right to be here? Don’t think that just because Miểu Miểu calls you Mom, you’re welcome in the Từ family’s home.”
“I’ve met plenty of women like you. You deliberately get close to kids so you can marry into a rich family, don’t you?”
“Let me tell you, that’s never going to happen!” Từ Tinh Nhã’s face twisted, her voice so shrill it could pierce someone’s eardrums.
She gritted her teeth and grabbed a table knife, intending to stab me.
I was faster. I dashed into the kitchen and grabbed a chopping knife.
“You made the first move. If anything happens, it’s self-defense.”
The blade flashed across my face.
Từ Tinh Nhã let out a scream, then spun around and clawed a tear into my purse.
As she ripped my purse, she stared at me, waiting for me to look devastated.
I delivered the killing blow: “I got this purse by scanning a QR code at the roadside. If you like destroying things, go ahead.”