After the Maniacal Alpha Settled Down, She Had a Wife and Daughter - Chapter 33

Bai Shiqian hadn’t seen Chu Jiayun for quite some time. He mostly heard about her situation from Bai Jiling. This time, he was leading a research team to the Netherlands for a medical forum and specifically asked Bai Jiling to inquire whether Chu Jiayun would be willing to go.

Chu Jiayun had given birth to a daughter that year. She was a little premature and thus particularly tiny when born. Fortunately, she had no other health issues. Now three years old, there was no trace of her former frailty.

Chu Jiayun was on the phone with Bai Jiling. The little girl wiggled out of her mother’s arms, wanting to find her toys.

“Xinxin, wait a minute, and Mom will get them for you, okay?”

Chu Jiayun named her daughter Chu Nian, with the nickname Xinxin (Heart). The child’s overall features resembled hers, but upon closer inspection, her eyes actually looked like Yu Sui’s. Chu Jiayun only started showing her pregnancy after moving to Licheng, so her newly acquainted friends there weren’t curious about Xinxin’s existence.

In this day and age, there were many people raising children alone after divorce or a breakup. Aside from the initial concern that Chu Jiayun couldn’t manage by herself, no one thought she was an anomaly.

Dr. Chen had recommended a reliable maternity nurse, and Bai Jiling had also selected a competent nanny. Moreover, Xinxin was very well-behaved as a baby, so Chu Jiayun hadn’t found it too exhausting.

Licheng couldn’t compare to Jingcheng and was quite a distance from Ancheng, but its relatively slower pace was more suitable for the current Chu Jiayun. She couldn’t use cruel methods and sacrifice the other person to obtain cells from Yu Sui’s scent gland. She could only hope that medical advancements would continue to develop more efficient ways to treat her sister.

Working and living in this small city gave Chu Jiayun more free time to spend with her daughter, slowly melting the heart that had been frozen by the burdens of life.

Xinxin scampered a few steps forward on her short legs, placing both hands on the coffee table. Hearing her mother, she turned to look at her, her big eyes round and her expression adorably earnest.

“Mom, hurry up.”

Bai Jiling laughed and asked: “What is Xinxin rushing you to do now?”

“She wants to play with the toy that just arrived yesterday. I disinfected it yesterday and promised to play with her today.”

“Then you better hurry. You can’t lie to children.”

Bai Jiling had called today to discuss the trip to the Netherlands. In recent years, due to her child, Chu Jiayun had turned down many work trips and academic exchanges, so her career had indeed stagnated somewhat.

Fortunately, her professional competence had always been very competitive in the industry, and her fundamental career hadn’t been affected. Bai Jiling occasionally regretted Chu Jiayun’s sacrifices and missed opportunities, but seeing her patiently accompany her daughter, she felt it wasn’t entirely a bad thing either.

Chu Jiayun’s eyes remained fixed on Xinxin: “Does Uncle Bai truly believe it’s necessary for me to attend this medical forum?”

She had heard that there were medical technology topics related to her sister’s treatment, which naturally interested her. If it were in the past, she would have agreed without hesitation. But now she had her daughter. Leaving her at home, even with the most trusted caregiver, made her uneasy, and she would miss her terribly.

Bai Jiling knew her concerns: “This is a rare opportunity, or I don’t think he would have mentioned it. If you really can’t put Xinxin out of your mind, you can take her with you.”

“Take her with me?”

“I heard that concurrent with the medical forum, there’s a toy exhibition in Brussels. We can take two days to go over to Belgium.”

“You even know about a toy exhibition. You could consider changing careers.”

Since having her daughter, Chu Jiayun spoke more than she used to, which Bai Jiling thought was a good sign.

Xinxin’s eyes, which had been slightly impatient, suddenly sparkled when she heard the word ‘toy.’ She giggled and waddled back to her mother’s leg, resting her head on her lap.

Chu Jiayun reached out and gently stroked her hair. Xinxin had naturally curly hair, which was also very fine and soft. Combined with her fair skin and large eyes, she was truly endearing.

Even Bai Jiling, who had done a lot of mental preparation, was completely captivated by Xinxin’s cuteness the first time she met her, forgetting all the little issues in her heart.

After all, this was the child of the person she had long admired and someone else. And Chu Jiayun had done an excellent job of protecting the other person’s identity all these years, leaving Bai Jiling completely unaware of who that person actually was.

The only thing Bai Jiling was certain of was that the person had never visited Chu Jiayun and her daughter over the past few years. Recalling their conversation back then, Bai Jiling increasingly felt that the other person might not even know Xinxin existed, or simply didn’t want to know.

With more contact, Bai Jiling’s reservations about Xinxin gradually lessened. Who wouldn’t like such a cute child? The heart she thought had died seemed to have revived this spring. If Chu Jiayun was willing to let her take care of them, Bai Jiling wouldn’t mind having Xinxin as another daughter.

“Take some time to think about it. Just give me an answer within the week.”

Chu Jiayun hadn’t had a chance to seriously consider Bai Jiling’s suggestion before her attention was drawn to the little ball of flesh on her leg. Xinxin’s chubby hand grabbed her arm and shook it: “Mom, Mom, it’s time to find the toy.”

Chu Jiayun stood up and led her toward her toy room, which was filled with her favorite things. But Chu Jiayun didn’t spoil her unconditionally. Playing was fine, but they had to have “three rules.”

She handed her daughter the spaceship she had cleaned yesterday: “We agreed, you can only play for one hour.”

Xinxin was very happy and nodded: “Mhm, I know. I have to rest once every half hour. I remember all of it.”

Chu Jiayun let her play on her own. Xinxin was a quiet child who rarely cried when she was little, which was both a source of happiness and occasional worry for Chu Jiayun.

Being too naughty or too reserved wasn’t necessarily a good sign, but she also knew that a child’s early behavior could change. She understood the principles, but as a mother herself, she couldn’t help but worry excessively.

Chu Jiayun watched Xinxin send the spaceship from the carpet into the air and then slowly descend back to the carpet. The overall height was only about half her own height. But her serious and absorbed, adorable look made Chu Jiayun even more grateful that she had changed her mind back then. Otherwise, she might never have experienced this wonderful feeling.

Chu Jiayun didn’t interrupt Xinxin while she was engrossed in playing, until Xinxin voluntarily stopped after half an hour.

“Xinxin, Auntie Bai said there’s a toy exhibition next month. Lots and lots of toys will be displayed together. Would you like to go and see?”

“Yes! I want to go! I want to go!”

“But the exhibition is abroad. We have to take a long plane ride, and the time is different from ours. We might eat breakfast in the afternoon and lunch in the evening.”

Xinxin’s attention was focused on the ‘lots and lots of toys.’ The conditions her mother mentioned didn’t seem like a big problem to her. In fact, she couldn’t analyze any problems, as she hadn’t experienced any of it before.

“I want to go see the toys. Mom, take me there.”

**

Yu Mu, as the head of the Yu Pharmaceuticals Group, was attending the same forum as Bai Shiqian. Over the four years, the collaboration between the Yu Group and the research institute had progressed smoothly, successfully developing several new drugs that were highly anticipated in the market and were currently applying for approvals.

However, Yu Mu’s focus was clearly not just on pharmaceuticals. Medical services encompassed a lot, and she always paid close attention to medical developments.

But she didn’t leave with Bai Shiqian. Instead, she went to Yu Sui’s place ahead of time.

“Sister, if you’re here to persuade me to come back after graduation, just forget it. We rarely get to see each other. Let’s not argue, okay?”

Yu Mu sat on the hastily cleared space on the sofa, looking at Yu Sui’s dark circles. She felt both heartache and annoyance: “I don’t object to you sticking to your dreams and pursuing a career you love. But how can I support you if you haven’t been home for four years? Honestly, I understand you, but I don’t agree.”

Yu Sui organized the toys she planned to exhibit. Only then did she have time to seriously talk to Yu Mu.

“Sister, I’m not staying away to anger anyone, nor am I trying to coerce anyone. But you’ve seen Dad’s attitude. From the moment I changed my major until I’m almost graduating, he still hasn’t accepted it and hasn’t even seriously listened to my explanation.”

Yu Mu pursed her lips and remained silent. She was indeed caught between a rock and a hard place.

“He can’t accept it, and I’m not willing to compromise. Not seeing each other is the best way for both of us to get along. Even if I go back, he’ll either scold me every day or keep me stuck in Jingcheng or force me to work at your company.

Sister, can I be a little selfish?”

Yu Mu sighed: “So you’ve made up your mind to abandon the family?”

“I know it’s wrong for me to let you bear the family pressure alone, but can you at least let me pursue my dreams for these few years?”

Yu Mu’s face was stern, but she no longer tried to persuade her to go back.

Yu Sui knew she had successfully refused to go home again and was grateful for Yu Mu’s tolerance.

Yu Mu gave her a displeased look: “I’ve given you four years. I can afford to give you a few more.”

She picked up the design draft on the coffee table. It was a logo. She looked at it for a while but couldn’t recognize the characters.

“Is this the brand you designed for yourself?”

“An initial concept, not finalized yet.”

“Can children recognize this brand?”

Yu Sui smiled: “Sister, not only children love to play with toys, okay?”

“Then who are you selling your toys to?”

“There are many adults who like to collect toys. There’s a saying that it’s about healing childhood.”

Yu Mu was more skilled at business; she was indeed not as good as Yu Sui at design.

But in terms of support, she was never lacking: “Do you have startup capital? I can invest a sum of money in you. That way, you can save a lot of time in the initial preparation.”

“I’ve saved money, and I haven’t even used the money you gave me before. I’m fine.”

Yu Mu knew that forcing Yu Sui to return now wouldn’t yield practical results. Starting her own toy brand was also a form of entrepreneurship and could develop business acumen. Compared to Yu Zhongqing’s fixed mindset of playing with art and not focusing on proper work, Yu Mu was much more open-minded.

“Ask Nanxi and the others to come out for dinner. The day after tomorrow, you’ll fly to Europe with me.”

Yu Mu went to the Netherlands, while Yu Sui went to Belgium to prepare for the exhibition.

This exhibition was a relatively new one in the industry over the past few years. Most of the participants were young, starting designers, but they were all very creative and energetic. Every year, popular items would emerge from the exhibition, highly sought after by collectors.

As the exhibition’s reputation grew, it naturally attracted more renowned manufacturers and buyers, making it increasingly popular.

Many locals came to visit the exhibition that day, including many cute fair-haired, blue-eyed children and handsome, lovely young people. Yu Sui’s booth was not conspicuous, but the people lingering there were not few.

A European buyer approached her booth with the exhibition’s promotional material in hand, communicating with her in English with a distinct French accent.

Yu Sui was diligently explaining her design philosophy to the buyer while keeping an eye on the customers wandering in front of her booth. She suddenly felt a tug on her pant leg. Looking down, a pair of large eyes were staring up at her.