A Warm and Cute Strike (GL) - Chapter 9

Seeing her daughter’s tears, Ye Feifei felt her heart being torn to pieces; the pain made it difficult to breathe. Her eyes grew red as she hurriedly reached out to pull the terrified, weeping girl into her arms.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry. Mommy didn’t mean to be scary. It’s all Mommy’s fault…” Holding her daughter’s feather-light body, she finally couldn’t stop her own tears from falling.

But she had to figure out what was going on. Though her relationship with her husband had grown cold over the years, neither of them had ever intended to mistreat their daughter.

She was busy with her career and had no time to be by her daughter’s side, for which she felt immense guilt. She wanted nothing more than to place every good thing in the world before her daughter so she could grow up happily. She believed Xiang Nan felt the same.

Yet, she never imagined a day would come when she would see their daughter—their precious pearl—hiding lonely in a corner of her room, eating a piece of sour, spoiled mantou that had been sitting out for god-knows-how-many days!

Ye Feifei wiped her eyes, patting her daughter’s back while asking softly, “Nuannuan, tell Mommy… why didn’t you go downstairs when you were hungry? Why were you hiding in your room eating… eating these things?”

She choked up, nearly unable to finish the sentence.

Even in her hardest times, Ye Feifei had never sunk to the level of eating spoiled bread. Something that even a poor family wouldn’t touch was being eaten by her daughter, right here in A-City’s most elite luxury residential area—all because she was starving!

To Ye Feifei, this was the height of absurdity! Even seeing it with her own eyes, she still struggled to believe it, so she had to ask.

Nestled in Ye Feifei’s embrace, Xiang Qingnuan realized her mother wasn’t angry with her. She calmed down and, under her mother’s soothing, gradually stopped crying. She squinted and nuzzled into the hug; her mother smelled so fragrant, warm, and comforting, filling her with a sense of deep attachment.

Hearing the question, her body stiffened. She hugged Feifei tightly, burying her face in her chest. Her resistant attitude made a mountain of suspicion rise in Feifei’s mind.

Ye Feifei softened her voice even further: “Nuannuan, can you tell Mommy? Mommy won’t be angry.”

Under the gentle questioning, Qingnuan only shook her head desperately.

In Qingnuan’s limited experience, Auntie Chen had cared for her much longer than her parents had. Auntie Chen was just a nanny; her parents could fire her at any time and she had no real power. But Qingnuan didn’t understand that. Auntie Chen’s long-standing tyranny and coercion meant that even when she wasn’t physically there, the child didn’t dare speak out, fearing even more painful retaliation.

Seeing that the gentle approach wasn’t working, Ye Feifei decided to try a “tougher” tactic. She took a deep breath, wiped the tears from her face, and controlled her strength—despite her daughter’s struggle—to pull the small hands away from her.

She looked at her daughter, intentionally hardening her expression to frighten her: “You won’t tell me? If you don’t, Mommy won’t want you anymore!”

Saying this, she stood up as if to walk away.

Qingnuan froze. Seeing her mother’s suddenly cold face, she was instantly reminded of being left alone in the bathtub—the raw terror of facing death. That fear of being helpless, like a piece of rootless duckweed.

“Waaaaah—!” The little girl burst into loud sobs. She reached out to grab Ye Feifei’s leg, crying out frantically: “Mommy! Mommy!”

How could Ye Feifei truly be heartless? The moment she heard the cry, she started crying too and quickly knelt down to scoop her up.

“Wooo… Mommy, don’t not want me…” Qingnuan hugged her neck tightly, sobbing so hard she could barely catch her breath.

Ye Feifei felt as though her heart was being crushed. She held the little one but knew she couldn’t give up now. She pressed once more: “Baby, tell Mommy what happened, and Mommy will never leave you, okay?”

“Auntie… Auntie said I can’t tell…” Qingnuan’s lip trembled; her emotional walls finally crumbled.

“Auntie Chen? Why wouldn’t she let you tell?”

“Auntie said if I told… if I told…” The little girl hiccuped between sobs. “She… she would cook my little goldfish and eat it… and… and she would sell me to a place far, far away… so I’d never see Daddy and Mommy again…”

She sobbed, unable to even form a full sentence, but Ye Feifei understood perfectly from the broken phrases. A surge of rage shot from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head.

She should have known it was Auntie Chen. That damnable woman hadn’t just failed to care for Qingnuan—she had been terrorizing her! How much more didn’t she know? Feifei’s eyes burned with fire, mixed with a wave of agonizing guilt and self-reproach.

“Nuannuan, don’t be afraid,” she hurried to comfort the tiny person in her arms. “Auntie Chen has been kicked out by Mommy. She will never come to our house again. You don’t have to fear her anymore.”

Qingnuan slowly stopped crying, looking up from Feifei’s shoulder. She gazed into her mother’s eyes and asked timidly, “Re-really? The mean auntie really won’t come back?”

“Yes. The mean auntie won’t come back to bully our Nuannuan. The goldfish is safe, and Nuannuan is safe, because Daddy and Mommy will protect you. We will never let the mean auntie bully you again, and we definitely won’t let anyone sell you!”

Ye Feifei fought back tears, stroking her daughter’s innocent face as she spoke with absolute conviction.

Qingnuan had calmed down a lot, though she still hiccuped uncontrollably. She blinked, taking a moment to process the words. Mommy said the mean auntie was gone; she said she and Daddy would protect her and the goldfish… The sobbing girl suddenly revealed a happy smile.

Mommy wouldn’t lie to her!

It was only then she realized her mother seemed to be… crying? Qingnuan looked at Ye Feifei; she always thought her mother was the most beautiful woman in the world. Seeing her frowning in pain with tears welling in her eyes made the girl hurt too.

Is Mommy crying? Why would Mommy cry?

“Mommy, don’t cry.” The little girl used her still-red and swollen hands to gently wipe away Ye Feifei’s tears. Then, she hugged her mother’s neck and gave her a comforting squeeze: “Nuannuan loves you.”

The girl’s voice was soft and milky, devoid of any edge, but it caused the defenseless Ye Feifei to break down completely. She hugged her daughter tight, barely keeping herself from wailing aloud. She nuzzled the girl’s soft hair and whispered hoarsely, “Mommy loves you too. Our Nuannuan is the best child in the whole world.”

Grrrr— Just then, Qingnuan’s stomach protested again.

Ye Feifei snapped back to reality. She carried the girl to the table, sat her down, and placed the bowl of egg noodles in front of her.

“Let’s eat first. We’ll talk more once you have some energy.” Feifei used a small bowl she had prepared to serve her a portion.

“It smells so good!” At the scent, Qingnuan’s eyes lit up. She asked expectantly, “Is it for me to eat?”

Feifei’s eyes reddened again. She forced a smile: “Yes, Mommy made this herself for Nuannuan. Eat up, quick!”

“Mhm!” Qingnuan nodded happily, took a big bite with her chopsticks, and gave a look of pure bliss. “Mommy’s cooking is so yummy!”

“Mhm, eat slowly, there’s plenty more.” Feifei smiled, placed the poached egg in her bowl, and rubbed her hair.

Qingnuan felt incredibly happy. Not only was she with her favorite mommy, but she was eating noodles her mother cooked. She had never felt so satisfied. In the tank on the table, the goldfish flicked its tail and swam in circles, seemingly happy for her as well.

Seeing her daughter so content, Feifei smiled and probed: “Nuannuan, what do you like to eat most?”

She realized her previous method had been too harsh—forcing an answer by hurting her daughter’s feelings was wrong. So, she chose a different way to draw her out.

“I like sweet things!” Qingnuan answered instinctively. She tilted her head and corrected herself: “No, I like everything, because when my tummy is hungry, everything tastes good.”

Seeing her so earnest, Ye Feifei couldn’t bring herself to laugh. The image of her daughter eating spoiled bread flashed in her mind again; she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Then, she remembered what Lin Wen said about the daughter being a “picky eater.” She frowned and asked, “Does Nuannuan get hungry often?”

Qingnuan stuffed a piece of egg into her mouth. Now that she was relaxed and free of the psychological burden thanks to Feifei’s promise, she answered everything. She nodded: “Because I couldn’t finish my missions, Auntie wouldn’t give me food. She said I only get to eat if I do my missions well…”

Ye Feifei felt like a needle had been driven into her heart. She clenched her fists. Finally, she understood why her daughter was so thin and small—it wasn’t pickiness; she simply wasn’t being fed!

Resisting her rage, she continued, “What kind of missions?”

Qingnuan started counting on her fingers: “Washing dishes, mopping the floor, hanging laundry, and pulling weeds…”

With every item mentioned, Feifei’s eyes widened. She looked at her daughter’s swollen hands and asked in a trembling voice, “Did Nuannuan pull weeds today?”

Sure enough, Qingnuan nodded: “Mhm! Once I finished pulling weeds, I got mung bean soup! It was sweet and very yummy!”

Another needle to the heart. Ye Feifei bit her lip, but was caught off guard when her daughter suddenly asked, “Mommy, do I have to do those things to get food?”

Ye Feifei looked at her daughter’s innocent face and felt her heart bleeding. she wanted nothing more than to tear Auntie Chen into a thousand pieces!

Don’t let me ever see that woman again!

Auntie Chen had no idea her former employer was nursing a grudge. She carried her luggage and finally made it home. As soon as she walked in, she saw her eldest son, Chen Hui, coming from the inner room.

“Mom, you’re back? Did you get the money for me?” Chen Hui asked excitedly.

“No…” Auntie Chen’s eyes flickered. “Where’s your father?”

“Why are you back?” Just then, a slightly grey-haired old man walked out of the room, looking a bit tipsy.

“I…” Auntie Chen stammered, afraid to speak.

Though Old Man Chen was drunk, his logic was still intact. He looked his wife up and down, saw her bags and her strange expression, and guessed immediately. His eyes widened in anger: “You got fired?”

“No, no,” Auntie Chen waved her hands frantically. “I just made a small mistake. Mrs. Xiang has a bad temper and kicked me out suddenly. I still have stuff there; I’ll go back in a few days to get it once she cools down. I’ll beg her to let me keep working…”

Old Man Chen’s expression relaxed slightly. He sat on the sofa, drinking while saying, “Give that 35,000 in your card to Ah Hui. He’s in some trouble and needs the cash.”

Mentioning money made Auntie Chen look uneasy, but she eventually told them the whole story about the “TV station” prize. She got more excited as she talked, ending happily: “Just wait a few more days! In a few days, we’ll have 480,000! That’s a huge amount of money!”

Her son Chen Hui’s face went pale. He looked at her with pure frustration: “Mom, you were scammed! That’s a classic telemarketing scam!”

“What?” The smile froze on Auntie Chen’s face. Deep down, she had realized it, but she had been unwilling to admit it. “No… Mr. and Mrs. Xiang are big stars. The TV station wouldn’t lie to them…”

SMASH! Old Man Chen suddenly snapped. He hurled his bottle to the floor, stood up, grabbed Auntie Chen by her hair, and delivered two heavy slaps to her face.

“You wasteful woman! Look at what you’ve done!”

He was much stronger than Ye Feifei; Auntie Chen’s face was bruised and swollen instantly.

“Wooo, I was wrong! Stop hitting me, stop!” Clutching her hair, Auntie Chen wailed for mercy.

Old Man Chen threw her to the ground and kicked her in the stomach a few times: “You were wrong? Where’s the money? Where’s MY money? I’ll beat you to death today!”

Though Chen Hui was angry, he couldn’t let his father kill his mother. He rushed forward to plead.

“Dad, stop for a second. I have something to ask Mom.”

Chen Hui calmed his father down, then bent over to help the battered Auntie Chen up. He asked, “Mom, did you just say… Mr. and Mrs. Xiang are big stars?”

Old Man Chen, standing back, felt his eyes flicker at his son’s question.