Chapter 4

I had laid everything out for Qi Sinian.

With nothing left to hide, he wasted no time going abroad.

I got ready and went to the family estate to pick up Yanyan.

His great-grandfather had agreed to let him stay with me today.

He was so excited. He chattered on the phone, urging me to hurry.

While I waited outside for him, Qi Muyuan came home unexpectedly.

“Muyuan.”

He nodded.

“Waiting for Yanyan?”

“Yes.”

“You can wait inside. Grandfather won’t make things difficult for you.”

I smiled and shook my head.

“It’s all right.”

You had to know when to advance and when to retreat. Know your place, and never push for more.

Over the years, perhaps because I was so obedient, perhaps because I never caused trouble, the people at the estate had gradually softened toward me.

Especially the old man.

He no longer controlled my time with Yanyan so strictly.

Sometimes, when I brought Yanyan back, he even said, “Stay for dinner if you have time.”

I never had, but it was a sign.

A sign that I was being accepted.

I said goodbye to Qi Muyuan and took Yanyan to an amusement park.

We played to our hearts’ content. Then I took him to eat what he wanted, and we didn’t go home until he’d had his fill of fun.

“Mommy’s going away for a month or two. I’ll be back before the Lunar New Year.”

“Is it a holiday, Mommy, or are you going for work?”

Such a tiny person, speaking as though he were a grown-up. He made me smile every time.

I pinched his nose.

“A bit of both. I’m going to a country retreat. They have a place for firing pottery. Shall I make a little cat and bring it back for you?”

Yanyan nodded.

Then he asked, “What’s firing pottery?”

I found a video and played it for him.

His eyes shone as he watched.

“Can you take me next time?”

“Of course.”

I patted him gently. Before long, he was asleep.

No crying, no fussing. No unreasonable demands, no need for lengthy explanations.

He had been raised very well.

Even though his mother wasn’t accepted by the Qi family, no one told him to look down on her, keep away from her, or treat her as beneath him.

Yanyan had his life.

His parents had theirs.

His great-grandfather had his too.

It was the most ordinary thing in the world.

Like needing to eat, sleep, or use the toilet.

Why dwell on whether to accept it, or whether it made you sad?

I had never imagined that one day a child would be the one to keep me from falling apart.

But he did.

Little by little, he taught me there weren’t so many things worth tearing myself to pieces over.