Chapter 3: How Could Mom Not Love You?
Source: https://www.gongzicp.com/novel-1711067.html
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
The heart of Jin District in Fujing is very lively, and the square street is full of tourists who walk and play. The luxury ferry on the river shines with lights, and the rich people on the top deck hold the rail as they look at the tourists on the lower deck who shout and take photos. The shimmering waves shine on the river, and the lights from the crisscrossing tall buildings fall like stars that flow down, bright and dazzling.
People always thought the view on the top floor was the best.
It was true.
When you look down from the floor-to-ceiling windows of a tall building, you could not see people, only the wide river and the land. The noise of music and voices was no longer annoying here, and you only hear the wind and the bird calls that passed by now and then.
Ma Gu'er held her forehead and lay on the sofa on her side like she was at home, watching TV. She played with the remote now and then to fast-forward and only watched what she wanted.
Yi Xianqi, who had finished cleaning the room, boiled water. She opened the fridge, which had just been powered on when she entered, and it was not cold yet. The drinks were already expired. She took them out and threw them in the trash, then closed it.
Outside the open kitchen was the island table. There was a cloth in the sink that had dried into a hard block. There were no cleaning tools in the house. When they came in, only the sofa and the bed were covered with dust cloths, and the other places all had a thin layer of dust.
Yi Xianqi chose the smallest room to clean and worked for more than an hour. If she had not eaten something, she would have had no strength to do it.
When she heard the sound, Ma Gu'er looked back. Yi Xianqi held a cloth and walked back and forth to wipe here and wipe there, too much of a distraction for Ma Gu'er watching TV.
“Can you not…”
Ma Gu'er suddenly remembered why she had come. Her tone softened a little as she smiled and suggested, “Can you be a bit lighter with your movements?”
Yi Xianqi looked at her. “When are you leaving?”
Ma Gu'er blinked. “I’ll sit a little longer. I’m thirsty. Once you boil the water, I’ll have a drink and then go.”
“Move aside.” Yi Xianqi’s tone was calm.
Ma Gu'er placed her arm across the edge of the coffee table, the back of her hand covered in a streak of gray dust. She turned her wrist and held it under Yi Xianqi’s eyes. “Pat it for me, then you can wipe it.”
Yi Xianqi ignored her and, holding the cloth, wiped around Ma Gu'er’s hand, leaving a half-circle of dust on the table.
Ma Gu'er froze for a moment, then laughed and called out, “Qiqi, look!”
Yi Xianqi didn’t want to pay attention, but Ma Gu'er kept making noises, so she had no choice but to look.
Ma Gu'er curved four fingers and pointed her thumb down along the edge of the coffee table, aligning it with the dust mark Yi Xianqi had left.
“Heart gesture, love you.”
Ma Gu'er rested her chin on her hand, smiling, her white teeth dazzling.
Yi Xianqi: ...
“You can leave now,” Yi Xianqi said. “I’ll tell my… my mom.”
Did she really think Ma Gu'er was sent by Yi Anran?
Ma Gu'er stood up and stepped forward, closing the distance to Yi Xianqi. They were about the same height, at most two or three centimeters apart. As she got closer, she had to lift her eyelids, so she sneakily tiptoed.
“Actually, I’m not sent by your mom, but I used to be one of her people.”
Ma Gu'er raised her hand and rubbed the dust from the back of her hand hard against Yi Xianqi’s chest. “Next time, don’t bring strangers into the house casually. Even if they are your mother's people, they probably wouldn’t be this friendly to you, right?”
Yi Xianqi lowered her eyes, and clasped her hands behind her back and pressed the acupoints on her hands, not looking at Ma Gu'er. When the scent faded, Yi Xianqi stepped aside and, in a polite tone, asked Ma Gu'er to leave again:
“It won’t happen next time. You should go.”
“I’ll come again.”
Ma Gu'er didn’t argue. She opened her arms and hugged Yi Xianqi.
Then, a loud smacking sound came from her left and right cheeks. The sudden intimate act made Yi Xianqi’s expression change drastically. Her eyes widened in shock, and she pushed Ma Gu'er hard, asking, “What are you doing?”
"Isn't that how foreigners greet each other?"
She tumbled onto the sofa, bracing herself with one hand behind her back and raising the other, her fingers lightly touching her lower lip. Her gaze swept over Yi Xianqi's face as she innocently asked, "Did I do something wrong?"
Not related by blood, but their sexual orientations are similar, so it seems like there's potential.
Her fingers, hanging by her sides, curled up and then relaxed. Yi Xianqi gritted her teeth and tightened her nerves, trying to relieve the headache caused by being exposed to the cold wind for too long. She didn't say anything more and turned to walk into the only clean room.
Bang—
Ma Gu'er snorted, who couldn't slam a door?
Another bang—
The loud sound of the front door closing did not fade. The rude woman with no manners had finally left.
Inside, Yi Xianqi leaned against the door and wiped hard at the scent of lipstick on the corner of her mouth.
She filled the bathtub with hot water and sank into it. She rested her hands on the edge. The rising heat softened the air. She scratched her ear. Unlike the skin on her face and hands, her ears were red as if they were about to bleed. She tried her best not to scratch, but once frostbites came out, they were hard to heal.
It would get better when the weather grew warmer.
Bang bang bang bang bang——
Ding ding ding——
Knocking and the doorbell mixed together. Yi Xianqi pressed her fingers to her ears and rubbed hard, pretending she heard nothing. Faint shouts from a woman came through the door. Yi Xianqi frowned in annoyance. In the end, she wrapped her bathrobe and went out to open the door.
The beeping of the password lock stopped. Ma Gu'er looked at Yi Xianqi with a bright smile and shook the medicine in her hand. “I said I’d come again. Why did you go to bed so early? You did not open the door for so long… your voice sounds a bit hoarse. I bought cold medicine for you.”
Thanks to whom?
Yi Xianqi did feel a bit of a headache when she saw Ma Gu'er. She took the medicine and thanked her softly, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Source: https://www.gongzicp.com/novel-1711067.html
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Ma Gu'er pressed her toe against the door and smiled with a bit of embarrassment. “I forgot to bring my key out. Can I stay here for the night? You know it is not safe to call someone to unlock the door this late, and it is hard to get a female locksmith at night... If you do not take me in, I will sleep at your door. The security downstairs is good. I am safer here… and I can take care of you, you are sick.”
“There is no clean room…”
“We can sleep together…” Ma Gu'er's sharp canine teeth flashed as she took a step forward. Her slender finger tapped the loosest part at the center of the bathrobe. “I am a straight girl, you can relax.”
Yi Xianqi pressed her lips and stepped back to avoid Ma Gu'er’s touch. “You sleep on the sofa.”
“Okay.”
As long as she could stay.
Ma Gu'er walked in without hesitation. She turned on the heater and took a bath. She used all of Yi Xianqi’s things and even hummed a tune while picking at her skincare products.
“This is not good to use… what are these even? I have never heard of them, can you even use them? Foreign brand? What does that mean? Qiqi, translate for me… This fragrance is too strong, not good… Pure saline water, why did you buy this?”
Yi Xianqi grabbed the bag away. “Do not go through my stuff.”
Ma Gu'er raised her brow, patted essence on her face, and jumped onto Yi Xianqi’s bed. She propped her chin with one hand. “Your mom really does not care about you. Look how bad your ears are. Not even a frostbite ointment?”
Thud, the schoolbag landed on the table. Yi Xianqi held the earphone cord and wound it carefully, sorting her things and putting all the big and small items neatly into the drawer. The light in this bedroom was warm, and the room was small, but it still felt empty, very cold.
Ma Gu'er saw Yi Xianqi ignoring her. Her eyes rolled. She kicked off her slippers and climbed behind her. She wrapped her arms around Yi Xianqi from the back, and her lips pressed against Yi Xianqi’s ear as she coaxed softly, “Tell sister, let sister think how to pamper you.”
This stimulation was far more unbearable than having a woman lying on her back, the itching in her ears spread from her ears all the way down to her ribs and reflected in her spine, immediately making Yi Xianqi restless.
Yi Xianqi was about to move, but the next second, the itch was replaced by pain. A buzzing sound reached her ear canal. Yi Xianqi hissed and pushed Ma Gu'er away. Ma Gu'er fell onto the bed with the force. Her bathrobe fell open, showing most of her shoulder, and the corner of her lips had a bit of red.
Yi Xianqi touched her ear. There was a faint layer of blood on her palm. “What are you trying to do?”
“My grandaunt back home said saliva can heal all kinds of skin problems.” Ma Gu'er lifted her brow lightly. The blood at the corner of her lips made her look even more bright. “Frostbite feels bad, right? Too warm is bad, too cold is bad, and you can’t sleep well. So pitiful… but…”
Ma Gu'er changed her tone, narrowed her eyes, and said with displeasure, "I didn't even mind your rotten ears, but you mind me?”
In Yi Xianqi’s eyes there was panic, there was helplessness, and there was more shame that turned into anger.
Ma Gu’er tilted her head a little and stared at Yi Xianqi, and she suddenly laughed. “Okay okay, I will not tease you. I am the godmother your mother sent. I’ll stand in for her and I’ll give you a mother’s love.”
Yi Xianqi: ...
“You don’t believe it?” Ma Gu’er handed over the phone and played the call log with Yi Anran. “Isn’t this your mom’s number? Call your mom and check.”
Yi Xianqi leaned close to look. She stared at that row of numbers again and again, and her eyes moved a little.
“Come here, baby, your mom still loves you.”
Ma Gu'er tossed aside her phone, opened her arms, and casually wrapped them around Yi Xianqi's neck, speaking gently, "Is it hard being out there? Did you miss Mom's embrace? Mom misses you too, my dear baby."
She didn't dare tell Yi Anran how dirty the house was, let alone anything else. Ma Gu'er was so brazen because she knew Yi Xianqi was easy to fool and deceive.
Ma Gu'er now suspects that Yi Xianqi doesn't even have her mother's private number.
"Why?"
Yi Xianqi's voice was slightly hoarse, and she seemed to believe it a lot, since not many people knew that she and Yi Anran had a bad relationship, or were even strangers.
"She probably recently filmed a movie about maternal love, but she is too busy. And she is a noble person. How can you ask for her love?”
Ma Gu'er sighed for Yi Xianqi, "Besides, you two aren't biological mother and daughter. All she can give you is... In short, she's already been kind enough. I can give you what you want, what you're missing..."
Yi Xianqi leaned forward with some doubt under the gentle pull. Ma Gu’er slowly lifted the corner of her mouth. Her voice was thin as she kept speaking. “…Because like this, you can act like a sweet and loving mother and daughter with her in public.”
Yi Xianqi's face turned pale instantly. She opened her eyes slightly, her pupils trembling slightly, and stared at Ma Gu'er, who was so close to her.
Ma Gu'er smiled gently as always, her lips moving as she opened and closed her mouth.
“How could Mom not love you?”
