Mom

Light bends when it passes through water.

Under normal circumstances, that refraction makes it hard to see clearly. Unless you’re very close, or looking straight down, it’s difficult to tell what’s beneath the surface.

The trouble was, the tub wasn’t very full.

Li Lan only had time to make a futile shielding gesture the moment the door opened. She hugged herself with one arm and turned sideways, but that only made it look even more like she was trying to hide something.

“Want to bathe together?” Zhu Qing said brazenly.

Li Lan’s expression was complicated; the feelings in it were obvious enough that Zhu Qing could read almost all of them.

For example: how can you be so shameless?

And then: the family isn’t short on water bills.

Li Lan said calmly, “If I tell you to go out now, will you listen?”

Zhu Qing was only wearing a tight camisole now. The neckline had slipped, revealing a delicate collarbone. Her gaze moved from Li Lan’s wet hair downward, openly taking her in through the haze of steam.

Water droplets slid down Li Lan’s forehead, giving her skin a soft sheen in the light.

The steam made her complexion look even paler, with a faintly dewy glow.

Her lines were taut; her curves were alluring.

“How could I, Teacher Li Lan?” Zhu Qing said. “This tub is pretty big. It’s more than enough for the two of us.”

She leaned forward, her gaze bold and lingering over the body in front of her.

Li Lan closed her eyes and said, evenly, “We can talk after the bath.”

“You really are always pretending to be proper.” Zhu Qing held back a laugh and was about to tease her a little more; Li Lan usually couldn’t hold out more than two rounds.

But Li Lan had already seen through it and looked away first.

Her throat moved slightly.

“You’ll catch a cold.”

That made some sense, but Zhu Qing was still greedy for this body. She felt that of all the reasons she liked Li Lan, at least six parts out of ten had to come from this.

She just hadn’t had the chance to enjoy it properly yet.

“I’m now highly suspicious about the relationship between us,” Zhu Qing said suddenly in the steaming haze.

Li Lan’s evasive movement paused slightly.

Her voice was a little hoarse.

“Suspicious?”

Zhu Qing sat beside the tub and reached out to scoop up a strand of water.

The droplets splashed onto Li Lan’s shoulder.

“When we first met,” Zhu Qing said slowly, “did you have something you were hiding from me?”

Li Lan didn’t turn around, and she didn’t speak, but the faint stiffness in her movements made it clear her body had tensed.

First met.

That day at the banquet had indeed not been the first time she and Zhu Qing met.

But how would Zhu Qing know that?

Still, it wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t anything important…

“I and you, the first time…”

“The first time, you were on top too.”

The two of them spoke at the same time.

Zhu Qing’s voice was louder and drowned out Li Lan’s words.

After hearing it clearly, Li Lan turned her head back in silence.

Zhu Qing smiled at her with a sly look that seemed to see right through her, carrying a sharp edge of provocation. “And here I thought I’d been drunk and pounced on the kindhearted you who’d brought me something.”

She suddenly leaned closer; her face filled Li Lan’s vision.

It was close enough that Li Lan could feel the faint currents of air stirred by her breathing.

Those currents swept across skin dotted with water, bringing a cool, tingling sensation.

Li Lan opened her mouth. “I…”

“You what? Don’t argue,” Zhu Qing said. “Tell me honestly: the first time we were together, who was on top and who was on the bottom?”

Li Lan blinked, confirming that Zhu Qing really only wanted to know that one thing.

“I was.”

The answer was short and firm.

Zhu Qing laughed in exasperation. “First time we met, you were on top; after I lost my memory, the first time again, you were on top. Don’t you have anything to say about that?”

Li Lan thought about it for a long time, then looked up. Her tone was calm and sincere. “You’re very good.”

Zhu Qing snorted. “Of course I know I’m very good! I mean you. Don’t you feel even a little guilty?”

Li Lan looked confused.

“I mean,” Zhu Qing said, seeing that no amount of hinting was getting through and deciding to say it plainly, “today, you’re on the bottom.”

Li Lan seemed to understand at last; her brows lifted slightly. “All right.”

Li Lan agreed so readily that Zhu Qing was left a little stunned.

“Really?” Zhu Qing said.

Li Lan nodded. It was only a position; they could switch whenever they wanted. Especially if they were doing it now, the tub really was quite convenient for Zhu Qing to sit in.

Zhu Qing stared into Li Lan’s eyes and, seeing that she truly meant nothing else by it, believed her a little more.

“Then let’s do it now.” She couldn’t wait any longer and reached up to take off her clothes.

Li Lan still didn’t move, just watched her quietly.

Halfway through undressing, Zhu Qing started to feel a little embarrassed herself.

“So, um, are you cold?” Zhu Qing asked.

Li Lan narrowed her eyes. “You’re cold.”

As soon as she finished speaking, before Zhu Qing could reply, Li Lan reached out and pressed the switch nearby. The shower head above them instantly burst into a torrent of hot water.

The already thin camisole quickly clung to Zhu Qing’s body.

It fit her shape perfectly.

Zhu Qing could no longer see clearly.

Li Lan reached out and caught Zhu Qing’s arm, pulling her into the tub.

Steam surged upward; the temperature in the room rose rapidly.

…

The next day, Qian Cancan’s call was answered by Xiaobao.

“Where’s Zhu Qing? She said we were meeting today.”

Xiaobao glanced at the time.

“It’s nine in the morning. What time did you two agree on?”

Qian Cancan said, “We forgot to set an exact time, so I called to ask. Where’s your Auntie Zhu Zhu? Let her take the phone.”

“Auntie Zhu Zhu seems to be arguing with Mom,” Xiaobao said in a lowered voice. “I got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, and I heard someone crying in their room.”

Qian Cancan immediately grew a little worried.

Xiaobao added, “But it was only one or two cries. As soon as I knocked on the door, there was no sound.”

Qian Cancan: “…”

“Who was crying?” Qian Cancan adjusted her mood very quickly and began probing her old friend’s bottom line.

Xiaobao thought for a moment. “I couldn’t tell. But after I knocked, it seemed like Zhu Zhu was scolding Mom.”

Qian Cancan burst out laughing. “Xiaobao is so good. I get it.”

Xiaobao said, “Zhu Zhu is sleeping right now. Mom went out. Before she left, she said not to disturb her sleep. Auntie Cancan, call back later.”

“Your mom went out?” Qian Cancan thought about it and quickly said, “Then I’ll come over.”

Xiaobao sounded delighted. “Then can you help me heat up the egg tarts in the fridge?”

“No problem.”

After hanging up, Xiaobao felt that the plan to eat egg tarts was already halfway to success. She was in a very good mood, happy enough to spin in circles around the room.

After turning for a while, she suddenly remembered something, ran into her room, and took out a locked iron box from a locked drawer.

After opening the iron box, there was another locked notebook inside.

The notebook was very thick, with lots of photos and stickers tucked inside.

Xiaobao carefully turned to the first page.

There was a very small two-inch photo on it.

The people in the photo were only in their teens. One was Li Lan, who hadn’t changed much from childhood to adulthood; the other was the person Li Lan had once told her about, Xiaobao’s other mother.

Xiaobao touched the person in the photo, then quietly ran to Zhu Qing’s bedside with the picture in hand.

She looked at the photo, then at Zhu Qing.

Xiaobao quietly leaned forward and quickly kissed Zhu Qing on the face.

Then she ran back to her room, put the photo into the notebook, and drew three little figures after the earlier notes.

She had found her other mother.

Although Mom hadn’t told her, she was sure that Zhu Qing and the person in the photo were the same person.

They just looked really alike.

Xiaobao happily rolled around on the bed. “Mom can’t hide it from me; my two moms are both right here beside me!”

Qian Cancan’s voice came from behind her.

“What two moms?”

Xiaobao slid down from the bed. “Zhu Zhu is also Xiaobao’s mom!”

“Don’t scare her like that,” Qian Cancan said with amusement. “She’s only just reached the legal age to get married.”

Xiaobao didn’t understand marriage at all and looked proudly mysterious as she crooked a finger at Qian Cancan.

Qian Cancan bent down and picked her up.

Xiaobao leaned close to her ear. “Zhu Zhu is the one who gave birth to Xiaobao.”

Qian Cancan: “Pfft.”

Xiaobao shot her a sidelong look. “You all don’t know. Only I know.”

Qian Cancan nodded again and again. “All right, yes, good, you’re right. Give birth! Let her give birth!”

Zhu Qing had painful periods from the first time she got them in sixth grade; it didn’t stop until she got a Mirena at fourteen, and Qian Cancan had no doubt that Zhu Qing had already kicked the idea of having children entirely out of her life plan.

Still, hearing Xiaobao say it like that and following the thought through was rather amusing.

“I’ll go get your egg tarts first,” Qian Cancan said, carrying Xiaobao out. “Then the two of us can go take a look at your Zhu Zhu mom.”

Xiaobao thought for a moment. “Don’t make Zhu Zhu angry.”

“I’m not making trouble. I’m going to visit the sick,” Qian Cancan said gleefully. “To see my good best friend who’s weak after giving birth.”

Xiaobao didn’t quite understand, but she was delighted. “Then I’m going too.”

“You’re going too? Haha, sure, you can go too.”

—

The place Li Lan and Yang Huayi had arranged to meet was at the headquarters of Heguang Tongchen.

This building stood in the city center, where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold; it was magnificent and imposing. Even the daily cleaning and maintenance of its glass panels was, for the Li Lan of those years, an enormous expense.

The first time she came here, she was like a country bumpkin entering the city, not knowing where to look or where to put her hands and feet.

Everything here was too unfamiliar, too distant, too far beyond her reach.

Years later, when she came to this building again, her state of mind was completely different.

Li Lan took Yang Huayi’s private elevator up to her floor.

Waiting by the elevator doors was an assistant prettier than a celebrity, who smiled and nodded before leading her inside.

“Please wait a moment. Chairman Yang is on a conference call; she’ll be done very soon.”

The assistant brought her a cup of tea.

Li Lan looked around Yang Huayi’s office. “I wait for her here?”

This was a private space; by rights, there should have been a reception room.

The assistant smiled. “Yes. Please make yourself at home.” With that, she withdrew.

Make herself at home?

Li Lan took a sip of tea; it tasted good, and her mood, which had been somewhat unpleasant since entering the building, lifted a little.

She got up to look around and walked to Yang Huayi’s desk.

Yang Huayi was the kind of businesswoman who was very good at winning over subordinates and managing a company. On the desk were framed photos of the stars she had personally cultivated.

There was a three-time consecutive Best Actress winner.

There was a cross-over singer she had brought up.

There was also an outstanding director who had gone abroad to accept awards on behalf of Chinese filmmakers.

Following the line of sight from frame to frame, those photographs froze them at the moment they received their awards; they were proof of lives at the height of glory.

As Li Lan looked at them, a trace of longing rose in her heart as well. This was the career she had chosen; perhaps one day she, too, could stand on an awards stage and have a moment of her own.

But very quickly, Li Lan’s eyes caught on one particular photo, and her gaze slowly stopped.

The person in it was someone she knew very well.

Li Lan’s expression gradually turned extremely ugly.

————————!!————————

Zhu Qing: What happened? I’ve been sleeping through this whole chapter.

Li Lan: Nothing much; you’ll be sleeping through the next one too.

(Sorry the update was late. My hand hurts like I rolled two hundred dumpling wrappers today [melted]…)