CH 30

Mother Hua’s decision to divorce and move away with their daughter to another house in one day was unusual. She didn’t even inform Father Hua. She was open-minded, and she often described herself as being indifferent and lazy with her actions. She usually allowed fate to take its course.

Furthermore, she was soft-spoken and even-tempered. She would never embarrass somebody to their face, much less start quarrels, rivalries, and the like.

On the other hand, the members of Uncle Hua’s family had a different view on morality that were often in conflict with hers. They were skilled in moral abduction*. If she had stayed there and began conversation with them, she wouldn’t be able to even utter a single word.

Thinking about it, her mother-in-law would simply inform her that she was only going to stay with them for a few days. Since she was Father Hua’s mother, it wouldn’t be a big deal if their grandson also sojourned with them for a few days. She wouldn’t be able to argue against her reasoning. Growing up, she was bestowed with friends and relatives who were kind and amiable, and her parents had taught her kindness and to not be afraid of loss.

This was the primary reason why she was able to live with Father Hua for so long. Because, for the most part, she never cared about those things. If he had married a different girl, she would have divorced him a long time ago.

However, she couldn’t overlook it anymore. She would not allow others to bully Miaomiao so easily. Miaomiao cared for Mother Hua, and Miaomiao slowly tore down the barriers to her heart and accepted the world around her. She was finally freed from her fetters. But her gentle temperament wouldn’t be able to endure or stop all this. 

Making a hasty departure from their house might have been impulsive, but she was worried about her soft temperament. She wouldn’t allow Miaomiao to return to her previous state, which was fraught with lethargy and consternation.

She understood her impulsiveness when she left so suddenly, but Mother Hua preferred such impulsiveness when she took risks.

After coming into this new environment, she also began to feel a tinge of melancholy, as she departed far too hastily and forgot to bring her savings. But she did have some money in her own Alipay** account to use, but it wasn’t enough to purchase a house.

Obviously, the rented house wasn’t that great. Both the décor and the furniture were inferior to those of her own home.

The kitchen also needed some repairs. The previous tenant had allegedly neglected to clean the exhaust hood, which was very dirty. Mother Hua sat with Miaomiao outside, and while wearing a mask, she washed the exhaust hood.

The balcony of the rented house didn’t have a balustrade or protective netting to prevent one’s fall. So, Mother Hua kept conversing with Miaomiao to keep her away from there.

“Miaomiao lives near school now, which means that you can invite your friends over to play. You could also sleep in longer during the morning since you don’t need to take a car.”

Miaomiao replied, “Mom can sleep a little longer too.”

After cleaning the exhaust hood, Mother Hua retired into the kitchen to clean up. From inside the kitchen, she saw Miaomiao standing on a stool. She was busy wiping the table with a hanky.

Mother Hua was astonished. She hurried out and carried Miaomiao off of the stool.

Miaomiao’s display of affection touched Mother Hua, so she kissed her on the head and said seriously, “Mom will clean the table.”

The issue completely filled her with panic for several reasons. On one hand, they have been together for a long time; therefore, she was obviously distressed by the abrupt separation. On the other hand, she might have felt that she was a little unreasonable.

She could have elected to stay since her mother-in-law had already promised to sojourn with them for only a few days. They promised to leave as soon as they found a house for rent.

All of this tired her out. It wasn’t like in ancient times when she couldn’t choose her own fate. Why would she plot and conspire? Why should she quarrel with a group of people? She didn’t have this kind of mentality. While she occasionally watched television, she found the plots too bumpy. She didn’t like it at all. She felt safer watching cartoons. This big clash of wits wasn’t something that she was interested in.

Since Miaomiao had entered her life, her character became much more rigid.

The day eventually gave way to the night. When Mother Hua went to bed that night, she mused over her actions. She deduced that her actions might have been too impulsive. After all, she knew that Miaomiao had difficulty adapting to a new environment, and furthermore, moving wasn’t the best decision.

Mother Hua embraced Miaomiao, hummed a few nursery rhymes and lulled her to sleep.

When Mother Hua saw her falling asleep, she felt a sweet and sour feeling in her heart. She didn’t know how to explain the situation to her. 

The following morning, Miaomiao woke up at 6:30. Next to her, Mother Hua was also awake. Mother Hua looked at her watch, as she had switched off her phone.

It was half past six.

Mother Hua was about to get up. Then, she realized that she lived near the school and didn’t need to take a 10 minute trip by car anymore; therefore, she could sleep for another half hour. “Let’s sleep a while longer.”

So, both the mother and daughter slept for a little while longer. They awoke to the sound of the doorbell ringing. When they opened the door, they saw Father Hua standing outside.

Mother Hua didn’t even need to guess. She already concluded that Teacher Li had to have given him the address.

“Don’t have work today?” asked Mother Hua who also tried not to mention their argument in front of Miaomiao.

“I didn’t go.” Father Hua replied a little aggrievedly, “You forgot to hand me the keys when you moved in. I couldn’t enter the house.”

Mother Hua replied, “I’ll give you the key later.” 

But she had no intention of giving him the key.

The two eventually dropped Miaomiao off to school.

Miaomiao was exceptionally quiet and remained silent during the entire trip. When they arrived at the classroom, Miaomiao suddenly hugged Mother Hua, then she hugged Father Hua before entering the classroom.

After saying their goodbyes to her, Mother Hua and Father Hua left the school’s vicinity.

Jingjing and Deng Feng had already arrived and were waiting in the classroom. Zhou Yuan hadn’t arrived yet.

These two little ones, who were always present ten minutes before class, were obviously overexcited today.

Earlier in the morning, they got up and asked their parents to quickly send them to school.

As soon as Miaomiao entered the room, the two children leaned over immediately, “How was it? Did you see that shameless person?”

“Did…he…bully…you?” Deng Feng quickly asked when he noticed her sad expression.

“Which class is he in? Let’s go and beat him up!”

“Miaomiao shook her head. Her usual shyness fled, and she replied, “I saw him, and my mother dragged him away from me.”

“Does he seem really bad?”

“He doesn’t seem to care about hygiene.” Miaomiao recalled him spitting yesterday. It was impolite and unseemly to spit on people. It was also unhygienic.

Jingjing asked, “Then, did you hear that he’s coming to school today?”

Miaomiao shook her head. 

At this time, Zhou Yuan finally had arrived. His arrival almost seemed to engild the place, removing some of the tension from the room.

Jingjing rushed over to him and said, “That spoiled kid is already here! Miaomiao’s mother took her out to live with her!”

Miaomiao hummed in response. Unhappiness consumed her, and she wasn’t in the mood to talk. 

Zhou Yuan walked over and sat next to Miaomiao. He was worried that Mother Hua would compromise. After all, he didn’t want Miaomiao to be hurt due to her gentle personality.

It surprised him that Mother Hua had the courage to quickly act and intervene. Because of that, he felt relieved.

“That spoiled kid had to have enrolled in our school too. We have to do something to make him regret coming into our world.” Jingjing said.

Deng Feng: “Yes!”

These two first graders called a child, who was older than them by a year, spoiled.

Zhou Yuan said, “We won’t worry about him for the time being. We’ll only interact with him if he comes to bully Miaomiao.” 

In this instance, if the other party doesn’t bother them, the conflict is between the adults; therefore, the adults should resolve it amongst themselves. However, if he starts pestering Miaomiao, then that would be their problem.  

They weren’t in the same class. If the other party approached Miaomiao specifically, then people shouldn’t be surprised if they behaved a little rudely.

Furthermore, Jingjing and Deng Feng could then stop their surmises about what this kid was like. They could ascertain his demeanor in person if the other party decided to accost them.

Miaomiao considered Jingjing and Deng Feng to be good friends a long time ago. They held up their hands and uttered, “Thank you.”

Zhou Yuan: “…”

After Jingjing and Deng Feng returned to their seats, Zhou Yuan comforted Miaomiao, “Don’t worry, nothing will happen.”

Her schoolbag contained the watch that Mother Hua had bought for Zhou Yuan. Mother Hua told her yesterday that she shouldn’t just casually accept gifts from others. These things all required money, after all. 

Miaomiao took out the box that contained the watch inside. Then, she placed it atop Zhou Yuan’s table and said, “My mother bought it for you.”

Miaomiao’s explanation was very simple. It was her mother who paid for the watch; therefore, she made sure to say that it was her mother who was giving it to Zhou Yuan.

This gift astounded Zhou Yuan for a moment. Then, he said, “Your mother gave it to me?”

“Well, mom also told me to tell you this…thank you for taking care of her daughter.”

Although Mother Hua did tell her this, she did say to keep that part just between the two of them. 

However, Miaomiao thought that her mother asked her to say this to Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan was peering at this watch. Hearing her words, he couldn’t resist teasing Miaomiao, “Then, how will you thank me?”

In response to this, Miaomiao took out a shiny bracelet from her schoolbag. 

Zhou Yuan just asked her in jest, but he didn’t expect that she had prepared a gift for him.

When she went to the supermarket with her mother yesterday, she secretly bought this bracelet with all of her pocket money.

Mother Hua gave her pocket money everyday, but she rarely used it.

Naturally, little girls considered shiny things to be pretty.

So, she bought it when her mother wasn’t paying attention.

Zhou Yuan was astounded, “Did you buy it for me?”

Miaomiao nodded her head and peered at him with a gaze full of expectation.

Zhou Yuan felt that he would never wear this kind of bracelet.

Just forget it. A real man wouldn’t care about what he wore.

Zhou Yuan decided to wear this shiny bracelet that was made out of fake crystals. 

Miaomiao also prepared gifts for Jingjing and Deng Feng. Jingjing really enjoyed the shiny bracelet a lot and kissed Miaomiao, “Miaomiao, you are so good to me!” 

Deng Feng wore it as well. 

Zhou Yuan retracted his gaze and fell into his thoughts. He wasn’t a child, so he shouldn’t have the childish feeling of “you should be nice to me” that children have.

* Moral abduction, also known as moral kidnapping, is a term that has arisen in China in recent years. Moral kidnapping means that people, in the name of charity, compel others to perform morality or stop behavior conflicting with morality by the force of public opinion.