Chapter 4: You’re Not My Mom…

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.

“Are you really sleeping on the floor?”

Ma Gu’er had one big white leg out, hanging by the bed and swinging. She brushed Yi Xianqi’s coat that was covering her body. The rubbing sound rustled and broke the quiet in the room.

“I already said I’m a straight girl, what else do you want? Come up. Do you think I’d force you? Of course, if I force you, you can call the police…”

There were only two quilts here, one thin and one thick. Yi Xianqi used the thick quilt under her body like a mat and covered herself with her coat. There was heating, so she would not feel cold.

She turned over,  pulled it up to cover her ears and closed her eyes.

Ma Gu’er didn’t really want to do anything on the first night. Using your body to keep someone’s heart was the most useless way.

She pulled her leg back. She hummed a small tune. She dragged the thin quilt over and covered her stomach. She ordered like it was natural, “Baby, turn off the light.”

Two minutes later, the bright room sank into full chaos. Two seconds later, a flash of light came out in the dark. Yi Xianqi opened her eyes fast and looked back.

Ma Gu’er lay on her side facing Yi Xianqi’s way while she played on her phone. All kinds of light spots mixed on her face. Her eyes shone with small dots of light. Her chin hid in the blanket. A smile she couldn't suppress played on her lips.

Yi Xianqi turned over and turned on the light.

“What are you doing?”

Ma Gu’er flipped her phone face down fast.

“It’s bad for your eyes,” Yi Xianqi said with her back to Ma Gu’er.

Ma Gu’er hummed in response then jokingly called her “Mom’s warm little cotton-padded jacket.”* She picked up her phone again. She slid the screen and kept reading her novel. With the light on, she read even harder. She let out thin soft laughs. You could hear she held back a bit, but not much.

*term of endearment and metaphor for a daughter who is close, caring, and protective of her mother.

Yi Xianqi pulled her coat up and covered her head.

A silver moon that looked gray hung in the sky. The far city lights showed on the floor-to-ceiling window. They looked like shining ghost fire instead of stars. The faint light fell. Day and night changed with no sound. Light spots climbed the tall buildings. They passed through the glass and pricked the eyes.

Half-asleep, half-awake, Ma Gu’er pulled the blanket up. The back of her hand hit the board at the end of the bed. Then she knew she had turned one hundred eighty degrees again. If she was the only one on the bed, her place the next morning would never be the same as the first day.

She didn’t want to move, so she kept sleeping with her back to the light.

Yi Xianqi’s sound of going in and out of the room was not loud. Ma Gu’er, who stayed up late reading, slept for two hours straight. When she got up, the refrigerator outside was already full of vegetables and fruit. Yi Xianqi still wore the same clothes from yesterday. She’s not carrying anything in her hand, not even her bag. But she was at the entry area putting on her shoes. She looked like she was going out.

“Picking up a package? Bring back breakfast for me.”

Ma Gu’er opened the refrigerator. Yogurt, fruit, cereal…

Cereal in the refrigerator?

Ma Gu’er tossed the cereal out and threw it on the dining table.

Yi Xianqi looked at her from the entry area. She reminded her again, “I’m going to work. Don’t touch my things.”

“Work?” Ma Gu’er did not even open the yogurt. She dragged her slippers and ran to the entry. She asked three questions in a row, “You’re going to work? You came back yesterday and you already found a job? Is it so easy to find work now?”

“I found it before I came back.”

Yi Xianqi gave a simple answer and went out fast. She felt at ease leaving Ma Gu’er here. After all, there was nothing in the house. If a thief came in, the most they could do was eat a full meal.

Ma Gu’er bit the spoon. She looked around the room. Compared to yesterday, at least she could not see dust now.

Quite hard-working.

With Yi Xianqi not home, she also had nothing to play with.

So she took fruit from the refrigerator and pulled out a ready-made sandwich. She did not like cold food. She threw it straight into the microwave to heat. Then she held the pile of food in her arms and walked to the coffee table. She spread it out on the table, turned on the TV, picked a newly finished idol drama, and started to lie down for the whole day.

Her phone kept dinging. Everywhere people were posting about the new rising flower pushed by Yi Anran, Yang Sang.

With the movie release, who knew how many hot searches and paid posters they bought. Marketing accounts filled the internet with praise for Yang Sang’s beauty and acting. God-like acting. God-like beauty. The entertainment circle is saved. The savior of the movie world has come.

These words sounded very familiar. Yi Anran’s ten-year-old routine never changed. No new idea whatsoever.

Yang Sang was good-looking. She had a light soft kind of face, a tall and fine nose bridge, narrow double eyelids with big eyes, and soft lips. Her whole face looked lively. You would not get tired of looking at her. On a big movie screen, this natural and pure beauty was easy to shape into a role.

As for acting…

You couldn’t judge from only two crying scenes. Ma Gu’er slid through a few video clips. She had not watched the full movie. She guessed she would not watch it. If Yi Anran had not dragged her to watch her new movies before, she would never watch any movie at all.

Everyone in the industry knew Yi Anran was Ma Gu’er’s benefactor. This little white lotus pointed at her and called her a mistress. That look and that expression… her acting should be decent…

Ma Gu’er changed her position. She threw her phone aside and kept watching her idol drama. She fast-forwarded past the awkward greasy parts, fast-forwarded past the fight scenes, and watched only the romantic parts. She moved back and forth, watching again and again. When she got tired of lying down, she stood up to move. She stretched around the living room. In the end, she sat on the floor and did a sit-and-reach exercises.

Beep—

Ma Gu’er lay back on the floor. She used her hands to support the back of her head. She looked at Yi Xianqi coming out from the entry. “You’re off work. What’re we eating?”

“You haven't left yet.”

Yi Xianqi did not even ask it like a question now.

Ma Gu’er sat up cross-legged and held her chest. “I said yesterday, I came to give you motherly love. How could I leave you? I came here to give you love…”

Yi Xianqi took off her scarf and ear muffs, and slipped out of her down jacket. The warmth from the floor climbed up from her feet. She pressed her ears to relieve the itch. She ignored whatever Ma Gu’er said and turned to the kitchen to start cooking.

“Hire a helper,” she said.

Ma Gu’er slid up and stood behind her, following her butt. “Cooking is tiring. Hiring a helper is easier. When you go out to work, someone can cook for me too. If I only eat fruit and snacks all day, I’ll get fat.”

“You can go out to eat,” Yi Xianqi said. She took out beef, washed the asparagus, mushrooms, and other things she would use…

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 came closer to look. “Why’s there only one piece of meat? What about yours?”

Yi Xianqi: …  

So she took out another piece of beef.

Ma Gu’er was satisfied. She stayed in the kitchen less than half a minute, then tiptoed back to continue watching TV.

The steak cooked fast. The idol drama’s silly plot wasn’t even fully fast-forwarded yet, but the smell already wafted from the kitchen. Ma Gu’er patted the coffee table, signaling Yi Xianqi to bring it over.

When the plates were on the coffee table, while Yi Xianqi went to get juice, Ma Gu’er quickly swapped the mushrooms on her plate for the asparagus on Yi Xianqi’s plate.

Yi Xianqi sat down. The steak had a circle of mushrooms “on top,” looking like a black person with a white afro. Her eyes shifted, and Ma Gu’er arranged the asparagus like long hair.

“When are you going back?” Yi Xianqi asked again.

“We’ll see, after you get better.”

“My cold is almost gone.”

Ma Gu’er chewed her beef slowly, then swallowed. “I mean your frostbite.”

Yi Xianqi’s fingers gripped the stainless steel fork, turning white and red from the pressure. “Then it’ll be spring.”

“Spring is fine. I’m not going home for New Year this year. I’ll stay with you.”

The remote was set aside. Ma Gu’er focused on eating meat, with no time to fast-forward the drama. The male and female leads ran wildly in the rain. The background music was very emotional. Slow motion stretched the time. Their messy state was rendered into ultimate romance.

The beef was cooked too well. By the end, it was impossible to swallow.

Yi Xianqi spat onto a napkin and tossed it in the trash. When she looked back at Ma Gu’er, her plate of beef was almost gone.

It was always like this. If she bought cheap marinated meat, no matter how long it was cooked it wouldn’t happen. Only expensive fresh meat couldn't take the stress.

It was like with people. The cheaper the stuff, the more complicated the ingredients, and you couldn’t guess what was inside. Expensive, naturally high-quality stuff, you could see the essence at a glance.

Feeling Yi Xianqi’s gaze, Ma Gu’er looked back at her. “What’s wrong? Can’t eat it?”

Yi Xianqi made a ‘Mm’ sound, ready to throw the meat away.

Ma Gu’er stopped her. “What are you doing? Such a waste. Leave it. 2e can eat it like beef jerky later, while watching TV.”

She still thought Ma Gu’er couldn’t tell the meat was overcooked.

“After being abroad for so long,You still don't know how to cook a steak. Medium-rare is just right.” Ma Gu’er took Yi Xianqi’s plate and continued watching TV. “You have to eat it bloody. Oh, no, they call it myoglobin.”

“Myoglobin only exists in the heart and skeletal muscles. Other tissues, including smooth muscle, don’t have this protein,” Yi Xianqi said. “What we eat isn’t that.”

“Then why didn’t you buy better meat?”

“Expensive.”

Ma Gu’er pouted, then turned back and directly told her how to make money: “Ask your real mom for money.”

Yi Xianqi just looked at her expressionless. Ma Gu’er said innocently, “Why are you looking at me? Take your phone and ask her for money.”

“I’m not close to her.”

Yi Xianqi frowned, seeming not to understand how Ma Gu’er could be so confident.

“You’re the only daughter on her household register. Isn’t her money all yours? Why not use it? Besides…”  

Ma Gu’er changed her tone and suddenly thought of her persona. She softly wrapped her arm around Yi Xianqi’s. “Qiqi, go get some money from your real mom. Buy us some good food…”

When Ma Gu’er is normal she isn't quite normal, and when she is not normal, she is practically a lunatic.

Yi Xianqi asked Yi Anran for an appointment. Every time, she had to wait for a reply like a handout. How could she get money that way?

“I have money…” Yi Xianqi wriggled out of Ma Gu’er’s hold and explained, “It’s just for starting a company with friends. After a while, when the project opens, we’ll go for investment…”

A small company could barely earn anything. It was better to bother Yi Anran.

Ma Gu’er exclaimed “Wow” and hugged Yi Xianqi tightly, really getting into the act. “Really? I knew you’re the best.”

The frostbite on Yi Xianqi’s ear started itching again. She couldn’t help turning her head to struggle. Ma Gu’er’s voice changed instantly. Soft and hoarse, with a spoiled laugh: “Qiqi, is it comfortable rubbing against me?”

Yi Xianqi froze, then suddenly stood up. Ma Gu’er’s eyes were quick and her hands faster, she grabbed Yi Xianqi’s, intertwined their fingers, and scolded, “Where are you going? You’ve been at work all day, and you don’t want to stay with Mom?”

“You’re not my mom…” Yi Xianqi didn’t want to play house with her.

“Be serious.” Ma Gu’er shushed. “It’s not your fault. I didn’t act well enough… Ai, it’s all my fault. I’ve never been a mom…”

As she spoke, she smoothly knelt up, wrapped her arms around Yi Xianqi’s waist, pressed her side against her lower back, and said patiently and gently, “It’s okay. We can start the scene from when you were one year old…”

“Baby…”

Yi Xianqi shivered. Then she heard Ma Gu’er’s devilish whisper: “Why are you shaking? Cold? Right, you must be hungry…”

“...Do you want some milkies?”

Author's Note:

Writing about perverted lunatics is really a piece of cake, swish swish swish.