Chapter 55: My House Is Quite Big

The school bell rang.

People began trickling into the classroom.

Su Ling led Su Yao into the room, and as expected, Mo Ran was already in her seat.

“Good morning,” Su Ling greeted her.

When Mo Ran heard Su Ling’s voice, she actually seemed a bit flustered.

‘Wait, I remember I left that recording at home.’

‘How am I hearing Su Ling’s voice here?’

She quickly looked up and met those questioning, cherry-pink eyes.

Instantly, her small face turned a deep shade of crimson.

“Good… good morning!”

‘Why is this girl acting like this?’

Su Ling was a bit confused.

Mo Ran gave her the impression of a thief with a guilty conscience.

Mo Ran’s eyes darted around, completely avoiding Su Ling’s gaze.

It was then that she noticed Su Yao.

“Ahem, is this your younger sister? She’s so beautiful.”

She had heard Su Ling mention having a sister before.

“Er, she’s my mother,” Su Ling said awkwardly.

Su Yao covered her mouth and let out a soft giggle, though she received a quick glare from Su Ling.

“Huh? I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”

Mo Ran hurriedly stood up and apologized.

Her panicked behavior only made Su Ling even more suspicious.

“It’s fine, but why are you so flustered?”

“Ah, I… I’m just — “

Mo Ran felt like her heart was about to skip a beat.

Just thinking about the recordings in her bedroom that she listened to every night like ASMR to fall asleep made her feel like she couldn’t breathe.

Fortunately, Jing Jie walked into the classroom at that moment, saving her from the interrogation.

“Little Ling! Wow, it’s been so long since you came to school. I missed you so much!”

Jing Jie was full of excitement the moment she saw Su Ling.

She threw her arms open and actually hugged Su Yao directly.

Su Yao’s entire body went stiff, and her mind went blank.

‘Eh? Are Ling Ling’s classmates always this enthusiastic?’

Su Ling’s forehead was covered in black lines.

She had every reason to suspect that Jing Jie was doing this on purpose.

“You’re hugging the wrong person. This is my mom.”

“Hehe, you two look so much alike as mother and daughter. It’s only natural for me to get confused~”

Sister Jing gave a playful wink.

“Hello, Auntie. I’m Little Ling’s friend, Jing Jie.”

Jing Jie let go of Su Yao.

Her appearance as a high-energy, cheerful girl made it impossible for anyone to feel annoyed by her.

“Haha, so Ling Ling’s friends are all this passionate.”

Su Yao laughed and patted Jing Jie’s small head, and Jing Jie actually looked like she was enjoying it.

‘Whoa, an adult version of Little Ling… This is pure heaven!’

Mo Ran watched Su Yao, a flicker of emotion passing through her eyes.

‘A mother…?’

Ever since she hatched, her older sister had raised her.

She had absolutely no memory of her mother.

Thinking of her sister caused Mo Ran’s expression to darken.

Last night, the Lower City had carried out an Anti-Organized Crime Campaign.

Shao Nian You had been the primary target, and her sister had been caught up in it.

Although her sister had come home this morning and said she was fine, Mo Ran could tell from her forced smile that something had likely happened.

“You too. I’ve heard Ling Ling mention you. You’re a good child who loves to study~”

At that moment, a soft hand patted Mo Ran’s head, followed by the appearance of those gentle, cherry-pink eyes.

Mo Ran stared blankly at the smiling Su Yao, even forgetting to breathe for a moment.

“Waaaah! Sister, you’re so gentle! I want to call you Mama too! Mama! Mama! Mama!”

Jing Jie’s outburst was incredibly explosive.

Su Ling stumbled and then fiercely pinched Jing Jie’s cheeks.

“This is MY mom!”

She was starting to regret this.

She wondered if bringing Su Yao to school had been a mistake after all.

“Oh my, Little Ling, are you jealous?”

“Why would I be jealous?”

Sister Jing hugged Su Yao and looked at Su Ling provocatively.

“Heehee, I’m going to call her Mama anyway!”

“You!”

“Haha, you guys are so full of energy.”

Su Yao covered her mouth and laughed.

“Don’t be angry, Ling Ling. They’re just playing around with you.”

Su Yao patted Su Ling’s shoulder, her tone sounding as if she were coaxing a child.

Su Ling sighed.

She wasn’t actually angry. It was just…

“Mama! Mama!”

She couldn’t stand it!

Su Ling pulled Su Yao away and began scuffling with Jing Jie.

Su Yao stood to the side, her eyes curving into little crescent moons as she smiled.

She eventually sat down next to Mo Ran, taking an empty seat.

A soft scent of cherry blossoms wafted into Mo Ran’s nose, causing her heart to flutter.

“Your handwriting is so beautiful.”

Su Yao looked at Mo Ran’s handwriting, which was elegant and delicate, her eyes full of admiration.

Mo Ran’s face turned visibly red.

“It’s not that great…”

This was the first time in her life someone had complimented her handwriting.

“Hehe, it’s definitely better than mine.”

Su Yao picked up a pen and clumsily wrote her own name.

The strokes of ‘Su Yao’ were so crooked they looked like crawling earthworms.

“Xiao Wei was the one who taught me how to write this.”

Su Yao looked at the writing, her voice tinged with a hint of loneliness.

In her memories, she had been born on an Agriculture Planet.

All the land there was used for farming, with no industrialization at all.

She had only managed to finish elementary school.

If nothing had changed, she would have married the son of another local family, given birth to several cute daughters, and lived out a quiet life.

But then that woman had suddenly dropped from the sky and taken her away from that planet, shifting the entire trajectory of her life.

She loved Bai Wei.

She knew Bai Wei’s status was extraordinary and that she was just a farm girl.

Marrying her had been way out of her league.

Although Bai Wei had suddenly disappeared for 1 year, only to reappear yesterday and take away their younger daughter, Su Yao firmly believed that Bai Wei had her reasons.

Except…

Su Yao’s eyes were now fixed entirely on Su Ling. Su Ling was all she had left now.

She was truly afraid of losing Su Ling again.

That was why she had been thick-skinned enough to follow Su Ling to school. She was scared — terrified, really.

She once had a dream where she was lying in a silent, empty palace.

She was all alone, and that feeling of isolation made her soul tremble every time she remembered it.

Mo Ran seemed to sense Su Yao’s dejection.

She opened her mouth to speak but said nothing.

“Actually, I really envy Su Ling. She has a mother as gentle and beautiful as you. Unlike me, I only have a sister.”

Mo Ran’s eyes dimmed.

She was in no mood to solve practice problems now.

Seeing Su Ling with such a beautiful and kind mother made her feel a little bitter.

“But your sister must be very good to you, right?”

Su Yao tilted her head.

“Good…? I’d rather she wasn’t so good to me,” Mo Ran said painfully, closing her eyes.

She just wanted to go back to the past.

Back then, even though their lives were poor, they were easy and fulfilling.

She truly wanted to go back to when she was a child, lying in her sister’s arms, counting the stars in the night sky, and listening to her sister’s stories.

But now, they could never go back.

Last night, she had stood outside her sister’s bedroom door and vaguely heard her sister on the phone with someone.

Her sister’s voice had been small and pleading, filled with constant sobbing.

It seemed her sister had even covered her mouth to avoid waking Mo Ran, letting out only muffled, low cries.

Just as Mo Ran was sinking into those painful memories of the previous night, a warm hand was placed on her forehead.

“You have to believe in your sister. She must have her own difficulties,” Su Yao said gently.

Mo Ran’s throat moved as she suppressed the sorrow surging in her heart.

She couldn’t cry.

In the Lower City, tears were the cheapest thing imaginable.

She nodded softly. “Mm.”

—

Su Ling regretted it.

Even though the College Entrance Examination was approaching and few people were coming to class, the group in the back row seemed to have made a pact to show up.

As expected, during class, Su Ling heard those sweet, lingering voices from the back row that could make anyone’s blood race.

‘Argh! Can’t they just do that at home?!’

Su Yao heard it too.

She looked back with a confused expression, and when she saw what was happening, she immediately turned back around, her delicate face turning so red it looked like it might leak water.

“Ling Ling, they… they’re… oh dear, how can they…”

When class ended, Su Yao tugged on Su Ling’s sleeve.

Even though she was the only one in the room who was married and had two daughters, she seemed to be the most innocent one there.

One of the girls in the back, a blue-haired girl who was currently drinking water, seemed to have overheard Su Yao.

She looked up, a few drops of water still lingering on the corner of her mouth.

When she saw Su Yao, her eyes lit up like a hungry wolf spotting a lamb.

“Hehe, does Sister want to join in too? It feels really good~”

Su Ling exploded.

She covered Su Yao’s eyes and glared at the blue-haired girl.

However, the girl only grew more excited.

“Is Su Ling joining too? Hehe, a mother-daughter bowl… It’s a top-tier delicacy.”

‘I surrender!’

Su Ling gave up.

She dragged Su Yao out of the classroom.

She was afraid that if they stayed any longer, Su Yao’s entire worldview would be shattered.

Of all the things she had planned for, she had forgotten about these “geniuses” in her class.

Mo Ran followed them out.

Her head was lowered, and even the tips of her ears were red.

In reality, the school was already in a semi-vacation state.

Aside from Gao Fei, the other teachers didn’t even bother to hold classes anymore.

“Um, Su Ling… Sister Su Yao, are you two going home?”

“Not necessarily. I wanted to find a quiet place to catch up on my lessons. There isn’t much time left.” Su Ling shrugged.

“Ha! That’s perfect then!”

Mo Ran suddenly sounded excited.

Su Ling was startled. “What’s perfect?”

“Sorry, sorry, I got a bit too excited.”

“What I mean is, I’m planning to go home too. I’m the only one at my house right now. Didn’t we agree before that if there was time, we could study at my place?”

“Isn’t that… a bit of a bother to you?”

Su Ling felt a little sheepish.

The reason she hadn’t brought up the previous agreement was that she was afraid of interrupting Mo Ran’s own study schedule.

“It’s no bother at all. Sister Su Yao should come too. My house is, well, it’s quite big.”

Mo Ran plucked up her courage and looked at Su Yao.

The hidden motive was finally revealed.

Seeing Su Yao and Su Ling standing together with their nearly identical features made her feel a strange sense of excitement.

Hehe…

Nobody knew what kind of chaotic thoughts were running through her head.