CH 38

Zhou Yuan found strolling around the city to be the most annoying part of his day.

If people invested more time into acquiring knowledge and skills to enrich themselves instead of idly strolling around in the park, then they would be able to fix society, and there would be fewer complaints. Furthermore, they would stop complaining about the amount of time they have left in their short, ephemeral lives.

Zhou Yuan sighed as he watched the people coming and going.

Father Zhou saw Zhou Yuan absorbed in his thoughts and said, “Dude, please hurry up and move already. Your mother will check the total step count later.”

Mother Zhou went to the gym, so Father Zhou took Zhou Yuan out for a walk.

Father Zhou was an indoor man, so he hated the idea of going out for a stroll, but every time he saw his son worry about the country and the people, he felt less hesitant about this matter.

Father Zhou teased Zhou Yuan, “Have you been paying attention to the recent tax reforms during the last two sessions?”

“Are you talking about the one where the Secretary of Finance proposed to convert the classified tax system into a comprehensive and classified personal income tax system?”

Father Zhou pretended that he didn’t hear him, “Hey, they are square dancing over there. Let’s go watch them.”

Zhou Yuan: “…”

Then, Father Zhou pulled Zhou Yuan over to watch the square dance performers…

Zhou Yuan couldn’t resist at all, so he had no choice but to follow his father.

Large crowds of people thronged the square. There was a warren of shops selling flashy and gaudy toys for children.

A song was playing in the square, “Let me stay with my heart ~singing leisurely~ the most dazzling national style.”

Zhou Yuan: “…” When I’m old, I absolutely refuse to partake in any form of square dancing.

Then, he noticed a small figure in the crowd. She had a little ponytail. She danced awkwardly with the other performers. She tried to keep up with their dancing speed, but she was unable to keep up, so she performed every move with a hastened pace. However, she didn’t give up, and she tried to do her best to keep up with the other dancers. 

He blinked to make sure he wasn’t just seeing things.

Isn’t she…Hua Miaomiao?

At first, the adults nearest to her watched and laughed, but after a short while, they realized that the girl was a little shy and wasn’t able to dance the correct moves, but she was still trying her best.

While she danced, she whirled to the right, and then she realized that she didn’t whirl in the same direction as the other dancers, so she quickly halted her movements. She then swirled in the opposite direction with a look of confusion. All the parents’ hearts melted as they watched her perform her cute and clumsy dance moves.

Like those parents, Zhou Yuan felt the same way. He felt as if his heart turned into a fluffy blanket that wanted to wrap itself around this little girl.

Father Zhou happily squatted down and teased Zhou Yuan, “Isn’t she your little wife?”

Zhou Yuan peered at Father Zhou with a very serious expression this time and said, “You can’t always make jokes like that. Once or twice is enough. I understand that you adults are forced to endure miserable, mundane lives and have little to no fun in life, so you like to joke around like this, but the more you tease, the more boring your jokes become.”

In response to his reprimand, Father Zhou said, “Then, should I just call her your little deskmate?”

Zhou Yuan: “…”

On a nearby bench, Mother Hua sat near Miaomiao’s great-grandmother. Adorned with exuberant looks on their faces, they observed Miaomiao and her grandmother dancing with glee.

After the song ended, Miaomiao was panting and covered with beads of sweat, which she wiped off her forehead.

When Grandma and Miaomiao walked over to Mother Hua and great-grandmother, grandma finally said, “Miaomiao is very good. Even though she never learned how to dance before, she still performed with me for such a long time.”

After exercising, a person felt more relaxed. Miaomiao straightened her chest, feeling a great sense of satisfaction.

She didn’t know whether she performed the moves perfectly like Jingjing, but she was aware that she had a long way to go before she could perform with perfection.

Because Miaomiao perspired a lot today, Mother Hua bathed her in a tub full of hot water. She even added some flower petals into the water.

The fear of water no longer assailed Miaomiao, so she enjoyed taking baths very much.

Obviously, Mother Hua wouldn’t allow Miaomiao to take a bath by herself since she still feared that something might go wrong.

Mother Hua carried Miaomiao into the bathtub. The bathtub was large enough to accommodate her, and the water was foaming with bubbles. 

Miaomiao’s body was still latticed with many old scars. Her wrists, back of the hands, arms, and back were covered with them, but they were no longer as frightening as before.

Miaomiao occasionally scrutinized her scars. At school, no one ever mentioned that they were ugly or scary, so she didn’t think that there was anything wrong with them.

In her opinion, this was both a rare but simultaneously a common thing to have.

Every time Mother Hua saw the scars, her sadness would besiege her, but she was also glad that those egregious people were gone from Miaomiao’s life.

During this time, Father Hua’s family did a multitude of things that made her feel very uncomfortable, but she felt very happy and mirthful today. Warmth and exuberance surged in her heart as she looked at her daughter. 

My Miaomiao can stand in front of so many onlookers without feeling fearful now. She could even dance with complete strangers. Her condition has certainly improved.

Before, she had never even thought about it. 

Mother Hua foamed the shampoo, and then she rubbed it into Miaomiao’s hair.

My Miaomiao surprises me every day.

She might not have been present to witness Miaomiao as she learned how to walk or talk when she was little, but she has watched her slowly come out of her shell.

She felt an ineffable pride in her heart, a pride that she wasn’t even able to feel when she won an international award in the past.

One by one, Miaomiao picked up all the flower petals floating in the foam and held them in her palms. Then, she stretched her hands to her mother, “Mom, these flowers are for you.”

When she held those petals in the palm of her hands, they really did resemble a large flower.

Mother Hua kissed her on the forehead, “Thank you.”

Although her embarrassment besieged her, she still had to ask, “Do grandma…and great-grandma…like me?”

She did a multitude of things today. Some of which went well, and some of which she believed were failures.

One failure was how she didn’t talk to her grandmother more. Despite that, her grandmother commented on how well she danced.

Miaomiao continued, “I’ll learn more from Jingjing tomorrow…”

Miaomiao surmised that if she resembled Jingjing more, then she would become much more likable.

Jingjing was really likeable. Miaomiao was especially fond of her.

Mother Hua was shocked when she heard Miaomiao’s words, and she replied, “Grandma and great-grandma like you very much.”

It was only then that she realized that Miaomiao had such a thought process.

Mother Hua stopped washing her hair, turned her around, looked directly into her eyes and said softly, “Mom will always love you. You don’t need other people to teach you anything because mom only loves you.”

Then, she suddenly remembered Miaomiao’s first reaction after the tablet broke. She was cradling it as if it was the most precious thing in the world to her…

“If you do something wrong, mom would never hate you for it. She would be sad. She would be worried because she didn’t teach you properly, but she’ll never hate you. Mom will always be with you. She would always teach you things slowly and wait for you to learn. Even after you grow up, mom will still love you.”

Miaomiao’s eyes felt inexplicably warm, and she wanted to cry. However, this wasn’t the same kind of crying as before. 

In the past, she cried due to pain in her heart and body. 

But now, she felt as if somebody was hugging her, bestowing a feeling of solace upon her heart and body. She felt so much comfort and warmth that she wanted to cry.