Yang Shiluo was dumbfounded for a long time, unable to collect herself. She could only stare at the girl in front of her with wide eyes.
“You said your name is…”
“Lai Yunyue.” Although the girl was petite, her voice was soft and serious. Yang Shiluo nodded and sighed in her heart, acknowledging that she was indeed the daughter of Lai Zuo-Yi, just like her personality – always looking serious.
“So, you’re my daughter?”
“Mom said so.”
Yang Shiluo scratched her head in distress. How should she handle this situation? Was this girl really her and Lai Zuo-Yi’s daughter? Yang Shiluo looked at the girl’s emotionless face, and finally just nodded. “Alright, you’re my daughter.”
Thankful that it was not some kind of emotional reunion, Yang Shiluo began to observe the girl. She couldn’t help but wonder why this girl seemed to have no emotions. She considered the situation and decided to investigate a bit more.
“How long do you plan to stay?”
“My mom said I should be careful talking to strangers…”
“It’s alright. Just a creme brulee. Eat it; it’s sweet.”
“Thank you, but mom…” Lai Yunyue nervously glanced towards the direction of the restroom. Yang Shiluo, with her hand on her cheek, reassured her, “It’s just a creme brulee.”
Despite her reassurance, the girl remained motionless, sipping the lemon tea ordered by Lai Zuo-Yi.
Yang Shiluo sighed in her heart. What exactly was the situation now? When she received the message of Lai Zuo-Yi’s return yesterday, she agreed to meet here. She wondered if she should have refused.
Lai Zuo-Yi, her senior from junior high school, had decided to study abroad during high school, and they lost contact. The intimacy they once had was now replaced by strangeness. Yang Shiluo only wanted to meet this senior out of nostalgia, but now she felt like she had been calculated.
Continuing to stare at the girl, Yang Shiluo found herself reflecting on the past.
Fifteen minutes ago, they had a long-awaited reunion. If it weren’t for Lai Zuo-Yi’s greeting, she might not have recognized her former senior. As they were about to enter, she noticed a short girl holding onto Lai Zuo-Yi’s clothes. She was momentarily stunned, and Lai Zuo-Yi casually dropped a bombshell.
“My daughter.”
“Oh.”
Yang Shiluo didn’t have time to feel sad that the senior she had secretly admired had already become a mother. As they sat down, Lai Zuo-Yi, in a calm manner, dropped another bomb.
“Yours.”
“What?”
“I said, yours.” Lai Zuo-Yi looked at her inexplicably. “Yang Shiluo, you won’t forget this child is yours, right?”
“What!”
“You’re the child’s mother.”
“What on earth is going on? Who’s the father? I haven’t even touched a man!”
“I.”
“Oh!”
“Yang Shiluo, are you pretending to be stupid with me?” Lai Zuo-Yi smirked. “My seed, your child!”
Yang Shiluo was horrified at Lai Zuo-Yi’s statement. She couldn’t comprehend why these two women had a child together. She was thoroughly stunned. Just as she was about to ask more questions, Lai Zuo-Yi had already ordered the meal and pushed the menu toward her. Yang Shiluo couldn’t decide on the dishes from this unfamiliar restaurant, hesitated for a few minutes, and finally ordered. Under Lai Zuo-Yi’s approving gaze, she had no choice but to swallow all the words she wanted to say. The atmosphere became extremely awkward.
How could two women have a child? She had never even seen her senior naked!
As she screamed in her heart, Lai Zuo-Yi went to the restroom, leaving Yang Shiluo and Lai Yunyue facing each other.
Indeed, a typical student of her senior. Yang Shiluo sighed at the girl’s serious attitude. Back then, she was still picking her nose at her age. Unable to resist, she asked, “Little Yuelun, how old are you this year?”
“Six…” Lai Yunyue seemed uncomfortable with the intimate address. She hesitated for a while before responding, looking a bit scared. Yang Shiluo couldn’t help but feel helpless. Why did this girl seem to have no connection with her at all?
“How long do you plan to stay?” She asked casually. Lai Yunyue mumbled for a moment and finally said something that made Yang Shiluo almost spit out her food.
“Mom said not to talk to strangers…”
Lai Zuo-Yi!
Yang Shiluo almost cried without tears, feeling that she was being played. “What about your dad?”
Lai Yunyue looked nervously towards her mother and nodded before handing over her phone. Yang Shiluo smiled and handed it back after entering her number. “If Little Yuelun wants to find me, isn’t it better to have a phone?”
“I only have a regular phone.” Lai Zuo-Yi nodded when she heard it. The girl then took out a very nostalgic flip phone from her bag, and Yang Shiluo felt it was probably the one Lai Zuo-Yi used in junior high school.
“That works too.” Yang Shiluo smiled, noticing the nervous look from Lai Yunyue towards her ‘mom.’ The girl nodded and handed the phone back, saying, “Little Yuelun looks mature but a bit shy, huh?”
“Children.” Lai Zuo-Yi smiled back. Unconsciously, their conversation drifted back to the old days, and Yang Shiluo listened with nostalgia, unable to take her eyes off Lai Zuo-Yi’s more confident smile.
She was the senior she secretly admired in junior high school. Although she never expressed her feelings, Lai Zuo-Yi once said that if she were a man, they would definitely be together.
“Why, senior, are you so convinced that I don’t have a partner? What if I have a boyfriend now?” she asked, curious about the answer.
Lai Zuo-Yi turned her head, and under the shining sunlight, her confident smile was extraordinary.
“I just believe in you,” Lai Zuo-Yi said.
Yang Shiluo revealed a shy and silly smile, as if Lai Zuo-Yi had said they would definitely meet again.
They did meet again, even though there was a child involved now.
Yang Shiluo’s gaze shifted to Lai Yunyue, and once again, she waved goodbye to this quiet little adult. Even though she didn’t understand why Lai Zuo-Yi was so firm that the child was hers, it didn’t matter. She was more than willing to become the second mom to little Lai Zuo-Yi.
