Chapter 282: Chapter 275: Youzi’s Mom Chapter 282: Chapter 275: Youzi’s Mom Zheng Tan’s impression of Little Youzi’s mother remained from the first year he had come here.

At that time, Zheng Tan felt that Little Youzi’s parents and his own were the same type of selfish individuals. Perhaps because Little Youzi had spent too much time with the Jiao family, harmoniously and too naturally, Zheng Tan had almost forgotten that Little Youzi even had a mother, who rarely called her throughout the year. Even during the New Year or summer vacation when they went to Jiao Ma’s hometown, Mr. Gu and the old lady hardly mentioned Little Youzi’s mother, which showed how dissatisfied the elders were with her.

But no matter how dissatisfied, no matter how wrong or unpleasing to the eye, this was after all Little Youzi’s biological mother.

Three years without visiting her daughter, not even talking about taking Little Youzi to spend time abroad, what was this woman doing here now?

Zheng Tan was in a terrible mood. He had already begun to concoct various possibilities in his mind. If this woman wanted to take Little Youzi abroad to live with her, the Jiao family had no right to stop her.

The more he thought, the more irritable he became. Zheng Tan followed beside Mr. Jiao, patiently listening to their conversation. Although the atmosphere was strained, they couldn’t keep silent forever. If they did, Zheng Tan wouldn’t be able to gather any news.

As he listened, Zheng Tan learned of something: Youzi had a half-sister from the same mother. In other words, not long after sending Little Youzi back to the country, her mother encountered her second spring abroad and had another daughter, now a little over one-year-old mixed-race child. What infuriated Zheng Tan was not that Youzi’s mother had left Youzi in China to live her own life, but that when speaking of her younger daughter, her expressions and tone of voice made Zheng Tan so angry that he felt like sharpening his claws. Zheng Tan worried—if we put it artistically—when Youzi’ mother’s heart-spot changed from a cinnabar mole to a glaring chili sauce stain, would she wipe it off or not?

After brightly discussing her young daughter, she probably realized this was not a good topic, as Mr. Jiao’s rare grim face made clear.

Youzi’s mother gave an awkward cough to steer the conversation back on track.

“Youzi must be in fourth grade this year, right? How are her grades? Can she keep up? I do not think much of education in this country,” Youzi’s mother said.

Mr. Jiao glanced at her indifferently, “Youzi was in second grade when she was sent back to China.”

Little Youzi was sent back to China in ’03, and now it was the second half of ’06.

Youzi’s mother’s face stiffened as she calculated the years, “So, she should be in fifth grade now, huh? Time flies.”

Mr. Jiao gave her another look, “She started sixth grade this September, she’ll be in middle school next year. I remember telling you when she skipped a grade.”

Youzi’s mother: “…”

Well, the silence returned.

Mr. Jiao was usually tactful when speaking, and rarely made such blunt, face-slapping remarks. Hearing Mr. Jiao’s tone now, Zheng Tan knew Professor Jiao was indeed not very calm at the moment.

Zheng Tan could tell from her expression that Youzi’s mother really didn’t know what to say, not even managing to force a dry laugh. Regardless, when it came to her elder daughter, what she felt was more guilt than anything else.

Youzi’s mother originally planned to stop by briefly and leave, as she had some business to discuss in the area. It just so happened that a professor she often collaborated with abroad was coming to Chuhua University Medical College for a presentation. Knowing the relationship between Youzi’s mother and Mr. Jiao, he even sought Mr. Jiao’s consultation through Youzi’s mother, hoping to observe that red mutated nest mouse at the Life Science Institute more closely, and preferably to obtain some samples. After all, Mr. Jiao, as the discoverer of the red mutated nest mouse, had some say in the matter. Mice are model organisms in studies of mammalian embryology and developmental biology, and whether it’s the Life Science Institute or the Medical College, research in these areas cannot do without mice. The red mutated nest mouse is even more special. As papers with high impact factors were published from Chuhua University, it caused quite a stir internationally. Whenever there’s a chance, you ought to seize it, and clearly, that professor knew the tricks of the trade. Inevitably, Youzi’s mother had to face Mr. Jiao directly, and she couldn’t avoid it even if she wanted to. Knowing she would be scolded, she had to endure it.

“Since you’re here, you should come by the house for a bit. Your sister learned yesterday of your return to the country. She missed seeing you; the two of you should chat. Besides, don’t you want to see Youzi?”

“… All right then, I’ll intrude upon your hospitality,” Youzi’s mother knew she couldn’t avoid it this time and braced herself to face it.

Jiao Ma returned home quickly today and bought a lot of groceries. Even if she felt her sister was very much in the wrong, she was still her own sister, and after not seeing her for three years, she had to be properly entertained now that she had come.

Jiao Yuan evidently had prior knowledge, displaying little enthusiasm for Youzi’s mother. He greeted her briefly before running back to his room to do his homework.

Zheng Tan watched Little Youzi in his room doodling aimlessly on scratch paper with a pen, then staring blankly while picking at his nails, clearly disinterested in doing his homework.

Zheng Tan lay beside him, about to offer a comforting hug, when he heard a scream from the neighboring room, Jiao Yuan, “Heitan—come quick, there’s a huge mouse!”

Zheng Tan: “…” Such a shameless excuse.

Mr. Jiao, who was chatting with Youzi’s mother in the living room, glanced at Zheng Tan as he leaped from Little Youzi’s room through the window and then into Jiao Yuan’s room, choosing to remain silent.

“Your cat is quite special,” Youzi’s mother said, hearing the noise from the window.

Mr. Jiao acknowledged without denial, “Hmm, this cat has abundant energy and an uncommon disposition.”

Youzi’s mother: “…” It’s just an ordinary cat, right? Yet an uncommon disposition?

The silence settled in again.

And Zheng Tan, who flipped into Jiao Yuan’s room, watched Jiao Yuan pacing around the bed anxiously.

“Heitan, do you think Youzi’s mom is here to take Youzi back with her? What if Youzi really does go with her? I heard her mom is building a career abroad and doesn’t pay much attention to her. If Youzi gets bullied out there, she has no one to look out for her. I have no idea what Youzi is really thinking. No, I have to talk to Youzi about this.”

Jiao Yuan immediately sat down, flipped open a blank notebook, rolled up his sleeves, and began writing furiously with his pen, much faster than he usually did when he was struggling with composition.

Zheng Tan hopped onto the desk to take a look, and saw the first line written in nine big characters: “Enumerating eighteen ‘crimes’ of going abroad.”

Below, it listed various disadvantages of living abroad, and between the lines, there was a clear indication that Jiao Yuan didn’t want Little Youzi to leave. At the end, he even used a red signature pen to write noticeably larger characters: “Think carefully and act with caution!”

Zheng Tan, unusually undisturbed by the dirty paper, picked it up with his mouth, flipped out of the room, and then back into Little Youzi’s room to give it to her.

After reading the note, the bewildered look on Little Youzi’s face lessened a bit, and the corners of her mouth even turned up slightly as she wrote back a “Okay.”

Mr. Jiao watched Zheng Tan flip back and forth between the two rooms, and though the noise from the window was quite loud, he said nothing and did nothing to stop it.

During the meal, despite the delicious food, no one was in the mood to enjoy it. The atmosphere at the dinner table was strange, with only Jiao Ma speaking a bit more than usual. Standing together, the two sisters didn’t immediately look related, perhaps because of differences in their demeanor and dress, but upon closer inspection, there was a resemblance. In front of Jiao Ma, Youzi’s mom lacked confidence, even though she might have surpassed Jiao Ma in her career and usually held herself with dignity in front of others, in this setting, any pretense she had was stiff and forced.

Usually, Zheng Tan could be seen eating from the edge of the table while standing on a special chair, but now he was seated on a small stool beside them, unable to swallow the bowl of food in front of him.

Perhaps it was the sight of Little Youzi that ignited her maternal feelings, but Youzi’s mom said she would be in Chuhua City for a few more days and, since the weekend was approaching, she wanted to take Little Youzi out to have some fun.

This made Zheng Tan even more vigilant. A bit of emotional bonding, and Little Youzi might just be coaxed away. Youzi’s mom already had a younger daughter, and now Youzi certainly wouldn’t be happy going there, not to mention there was an unfamiliar stepfather that she had never met. However, neither Mr. Jiao nor Jiao Ma had mentioned this in front of Little Youzi, probably fearing she would overthink it.

“Letting the mother and daughter talk could be good, Youzi is precocious; she’s not an unreasonable child,” said Mr. Jiao that night.

Jiao Ma was somewhat worried. “But what if Youzi chooses to go with her? I don’t think it’s a good idea, the child might not be happy there. How about I accompany them this Saturday?” She thought for a moment, then sighed, “Never mind, since she said she wants to spend time alone with Youzi, she obviously didn’t want me to intervene. Oh, if only someone were there to remind Little Youzi.” Jiao Ma understood her sister quite well; what sounded pleasant today could drive you to the wall tomorrow.

“There’s not no way,” Mr. Jiao said.

“What way?”

“Heitan.”

Indeed, although Youzi’s mom had said she wanted to spend time alone with Youzi, “alone” surely referred only to other people, not including Zheng Tan. Zheng Tan was also worried about letting Little Youzi face her mother, who had questionable character, alone. What if Little Youzi was taken advantage of? Youzi’s mom might be willing to see that happen, but Zheng Tan couldn’t bear the thought.

Saturday.

Little Youzi, with her backpack, headed downstairs where Mr. Jiao drove her to the prearranged meet-up spot.

The location was a restaurant with a bit of class, but it imposed restraints that wouldn’t sit well with a child.

Mr. Jiao watched through the floor-to-ceiling windows as Little Youzi entered the restaurant, met her mother, and sat down before he finally drove away.

Little Youzi kept a serious expression on her face, which made the already strained atmosphere between mother and daughter even more stiff.

Without the supervision of Mr. Jiao and Jiao Ma, and even with a bit of guilt, Youzi’s mom’s words and behavior flowed more easily. Ordering juice and sweets for Youzi and coffee for herself, she laughed while looking at the bag that her daughter carefully clutched to her.

“What’s in the bulging bag? A gift for mommy?” Youzi’s mom tried to make her smile as friendly as possible.

Little Youzi glanced at her mother, bit her lip, and then pulled a small gift box out of her coat pocket and handed it to her mom.

Youzi’s mom looked at the bulging bag and then at the small gift box in Little Youzi’s hands. She opened it to find a quaint doll, not very new looking and much cruder in workmanship compared to those in stores.

“Did Youzi make this herself?” Youzi’s mom asked with a smile.

Little Youzi nodded slightly with her head bowed.

“It’s very pretty, mommy loves it!”

Inside the bag, Zheng Tan scoffed silently. True or false, that tone sounded way too forced. Little Youzi had hand-sewn the doll using materials saved from craft class along with some household items, and she had dressed the doll to mimic a photo of her mother’s outfit.

Whether it was anger or something else, Zheng Tan felt a bit stifled inside the bag. The air coming through the ventilation holes at the top of the bag wasn’t enough, so he nudged open the zipper at the back of the bag and stuck his head out to breathe deeply.

Just as Youzi’s mom had put away the gift and was adjusting her demeanor and expression, preparing to speak, her eyes caught the black cat head protruding from the backpack. Her smile froze on her face, and the words she was about to say became stuck as well. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep