Chapter 37 — The Old Lady Who Gives Everyone a Headache

After her fever subsided, Ruan Ruan still seemed listless and unhappy, lying under the covers and hugging her “Little Princess” doll in silence.

“What’s wrong? Mommy already asked for leave for you, so you don’t have to go to kindergarten today. Aren’t you happy?” Lin Xiaowen sat at the bedside, touched Ruan Ruan’s forehead with the back of her hand once more, and only relaxed when she was sure her daughter’s temperature had really gone down.

“I just told Auntie Ning that I won’t be going to the shop today. I’ll stay at home and keep you company, all right?” she coaxed gently.

Ruan Ruan’s long lashes fluttered twice before she finally looked up at Lin Xiaowen, her voice small and aggrieved. “Why did Brother Yishu have to leave? Why didn’t he wait until I woke up?”

“Brother Yishu... he had to go to work,” Lin Xiaowen explained patiently in a soft voice. “He saw you were being so good, taking your medicine and resting, so he felt reassured and went back to work.”

“But I haven’t shown him Little Princess’s new dress yet!” Ruan Ruan raised the doll’s hand and continued, “And I painted her nails and put lipstick on her too!”

The doll, which had been a perfectly good collectible, had its fingers and lips messily colored with watercolor pens, making Lin Xiaowen sigh inwardly. “Such an expensive toy—what a shame.”

“It’s all right! You can show him next time. For now, just lie down and rest, and I’ll squeeze some orange juice for you, how does that sound?”

“Then can we video call Brother Yishu?” Ruan Ruan pleaded, looking up at her mother.

“That’s probably not a good idea,” Lin Xiaowen hesitated. “He’s definitely working right now, and we might disturb him.”

Even though she rather wanted to see him too... Yishu had said she could message him, but a video call? No, that would surely be trouble for him.

“How about we take a photo and send it to him, along with a message? That way we won’t disturb him,” Lin Xiaowen suggested, inspiration striking her.

And so, while Cheng Yishu was touching up his makeup on set, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He immediately took it out and unlocked it.

On the screen appeared a beautiful little girl, grinning as she displayed a—was it a doll? After a good look, Cheng Yishu recognized it as the Little Princess collectible he’d brought back from Beijing for Ruan Ruan. Only now, it looked rather more like a “witch.”

How could a little girl be so destructive? he wondered. But the drawings were not half bad...

Suddenly, Cheng Yishu laughed out loud, startling the stylist fixing his hair, who thought she might have hurt him by mistake.

“It’s fine, you can keep going,” he reassured her.

Within the industry, Cheng Yishu was known for being reticent and reserved—always polite, but never warm. The stylist was surprised to see him smiling at her; such a rare occurrence!

Another message came in, this time a voice note. Cheng Yishu’s finger hovered over it, then, thinking better of it, he stopped.

“Are you done? If so, I’ll just pop to the restroom,” he returned to his usual cool and courteous manner.

“All done!” The stylist nodded with a smile.

“Thank you,” Cheng Yishu replied calmly, then turned to leave.

The set was crowded and noisy; if you wanted a quiet place, the restroom was the best option.

“Brother Cheng—” Da Lingzi called out, just coming in, thinking he was looking for her.

“You stay here, I’m just going to the restroom,” he instructed softly, quickly walking away before she could stop him.

Finally “safe,” Cheng Yishu opened the unread voice message. A sweet, soft child’s voice floated out—

“Brother Yishu, why didn’t you keep your promise... You said you’d wait until I woke up so I could show you my Little Princess’s... nail polish and lipstick... Last time you disappeared too, and it was so, so long before I saw you again...”

The words were a little muddled, but the meaning was clear enough, with a hint of disappointment at the end. Cheng Yishu could almost picture that adorable little face all scrunched up in a frown.

“Brother Yishu has to work, he really didn’t mean to break his promise! Next time, next time I’ll keep my word, okay? As soon as I have time, I’ll come see you. You have to be a good girl, all right?”

After sending the voice message, Cheng Yishu found himself disliking his own voice, pitched gentle and soft in imitation of tenderness. Was this really him? But you’re supposed to be gentle with children, aren’t you?

His phone buzzed again. He opened the message.

“Then I’ll wait for you! Xiaowen says... if you lie, your nose will get bigger. If your nose gets big, you won’t be handsome anymore, you’ll look silly...”

“This little rascal! Is she trying to provoke me, or is that her way of complimenting me?” he wondered.

“A promise is a promise, I won’t break my word!”

This time, a reply came almost instantly.

“Just focus on your work, don’t worry about her! I’ll take good care of Ruan Ruan. Remember to rest!”

The message was written text—so it had to be from Lin Xiaowen, her own words.

Cheng Yishu smiled silently, a warm current rising in his chest.

“Okay.”

He sent the single simple word, and could almost picture the bashful smile blooming at the corner of Lin Xiaowen’s lips.

He couldn’t help but smile even more himself, only regaining his composure when no further messages came. He checked his reflection in the mirror, making sure his expression was no different from usual.

At the same time, Lin Xiaowen put away her phone with a smile, and Ruan Ruan, now satisfied, stopped pouting and happily set about giving her Little Princess another makeover.

When Lin Xiaowen’s phone rang again, she was in the kitchen preparing lunch for Ruan Ruan. She wiped her hands and answered. Xuningning’s anxious voice burst from the other end.

“Xiaowen, I can’t help you this time! If I keep covering for you, I’ll be next! That old lady already can’t stand me, and now she’s just looking for an excuse to give me trouble...”

Lin Xiaowen, utterly confused, cut her off, wishing she could reach through the phone and cover her friend’s mouth.

“What are you talking about? What’s wrong now? Your mother? Your aunt?”

“Who else but my mom!” Xuningning, breathing a little steadier, continued, “Don’t you remember what she said to you last time you brought Ruan Ruan to our place for dinner?”

“What was it?” Lin Xiaowen wracked her brains, and suddenly slapped her own forehead as realization dawned.

“I remember now! You mean your mom wanted to set me up with someone...”

“Yes, yes!” Xuningning snapped, frustrated. “I thought she was just saying it, but who knew she’d actually do something about it! Last night she called me, said you should come over so she can talk to you again. I told her you were busy, and that Ruan Ruan almost got lost—that gave her a real scare... She kept saying it’s too hard for a woman to raise a child alone, that you need to find someone you can rely on for the rest of your life...”

As Xuningning continued to chatter away, Lin Xiaowen felt her head begin to spin.