After the Maniacal Alpha Settled Down, She Had a Wife and Daughter - Chapter 39

Bai Jiling had initially planned to take Xinxin to see the windmills in the afternoon. In the morning, she heard about a good restaurant recommended by the hotel staff and intended to take them there for lunch first.

Chu Jiayun was surprised to see her arrive much earlier than the agreed time: “Why are you here already?”

Bai Jiling stood at the doorway, smiling as she held up her phone to show her: “I heard about a good restaurant, so I wanted to take you guys for lunch first, and then we’ll go see the windmills.”

They didn’t have any special arrangements for the past two days. Chu Jiayun would definitely be in the room with her daughter. Bai Jiling felt that leaving two or three hours earlier wouldn’t have a big impact, so she came directly without texting Chu Jiayun.

To her surprise, Chu Jiayun didn’t readily agree and was clearly hesitant about the impromptu suggestion.

Bai Jiling was confused: “Do you have other plans?”

Chu Jiayun sighed softly: “Yu Sui is here to see Xinxin. We agreed to have lunch together later.”

Lunch was probably supposed to be close by, as Chu Jiayun had accurately scheduled the time for going to see the windmills in the afternoon.

“Yu Sui is here too?”

Chu Jiayun had no choice but to let her in. Bai Jiling saw Yu Sui and Xinxin happily chatting over a pile of toys on the coffee table, and Xinxin had even placed her most favorite ones in front of Yu Sui.

Xinxin was a very well-behaved child, but she was very protective of the things she liked. Unless she offered to share, it was hard for others to take anything from her.

“I didn’t expect Yu Sui and Xinxin to get along so well.”

Chu Jiayun paused, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear: “Maybe.”

Bai Jiling nodded to Yu Sui, greeting her. Xinxin saw her and called out happily: “Auntie Bai, why are you here? Didn’t we say we’d meet in the afternoon?”

Only then did Yu Sui realize they had other plans for the afternoon, and she felt a little disappointed. She had originally been thinking about what to arrange after lunch to spend more time with them.

Bai Jiling said gently: “I heard about a place that has really delicious food. I wanted to take Xinxin and Mom to try it.”

Xinxin’s chubby little face scrunched up in distress: “But we agreed to eat with Auntie Yu.”

“Mom already told me just now. I’ll take Xinxin to eat there tomorrow.”

Bai Jiling sat for a while watching Yu Sui and Xinxin discuss how to design the Xinxin Airship. Both were completely engrossed, seeming to have forgotten that two other people were sitting nearby. Yu Sui basically agreed to all the imaginative and unconventional requests Xinxin made.

Always saying yes, in the eyes of most children, was the definition of a good person.

Auntie Yu’s easygoing nature quickly won Xinxin over and earned her greater affection. She was very satisfied with the sketch Yu Sui drew on the paper, because it included the birthday mark, the pink little water bottle, and the “big hands” that could hug her and Mom, just as she wanted.

She clapped her little hands, smiling at Yu Sui, and after a while, suddenly moved closer to her.

“Auntie Yu, can I kiss you?”

Yu Sui was greatly surprised, but quickly became overjoyed. She immediately leaned her face over: “Yes, of course, you can!”

A rich scent of milk, along with a little bit of drool, the child’s kiss instantly melted Yu Sui’s heart.

She wanted to stay with Xinxin for a long, long time. She didn’t want to be separated from her daughter.

Bai Jiling left after sitting for a while. However, Yu Sui’s sudden proactive approach to Xinxin confused her. What puzzled her even more was that Chu Jiayun agreed to let her daughter get so close to Yu Sui. They had barely mentioned Yu Sui over the years, and she never thought Yu Sui and Chu Jiayun would be so familiar with each other.

Xinxin had a very fulfilling day. In the morning, Auntie Yu helped her design the Xinxin Airship. In the afternoon, Auntie Bai took her to see the big windmills, and there were many beautiful flowers along the way. A child’s energy is limited after all. She was already asleep in Chu Jiayun’s arms on the way back.

Bai Jiling watched Chu Jiayun carefully wipe the sweat from the child’s forehead and said softly: “Yu Sui seems to really like Xinxin.”

Chu Jiayun looked down, her gaze still on her daughter, her tone quite calm: “Probably because she is a designer, it’s her job. She wants to understand the client’s needs better.”

“Xinxin is still small. What real demands could she possibly make?”

Chu Jiayun remembered Yu Sui encouraging Xinxin to express her ideas, earnestly telling her: “The Xinxin Airship is designed just for Xinxin, so Xinxin is Auntie Yu’s big client, the most important kind. Xinxin can say any ideas or requests she has, and Auntie Yu will try her best to fulfill them.”

She wasn’t trying to just coax her, nor was she using insincere, polite language. Even as an adult, Chu Jiayun could sense Yu Sui’s sincerity. She was genuinely willing to listen to Xinxin’s opinions, not just to make the child happy.

Just then, Xinxin shifted in her arms, burying her face in her embrace, sleeping more soundly.

Chu Jiayun tightened her grip around her: “No matter how old Xinxin is, Yu Sui is a designer. As long as she is willing to listen and willing to do it, I have no reason to stop her.”

Bai Jiling saw that Chu Jiayun kept limiting the conversation to toys. This didn’t answer the doubts in her heart, but this explanation seemed plausible.

**

Yu Sui was rushing to design the Xinxin Airship in her room. She wanted to finalize the design before returning to school and then contact the factory to produce it with special materials. Whenever she was too tired to keep her eyes open, she thought of her daughter’s sweet kiss, which was more effective than ten cups of coffee.

However, her professor called, telling her that a well-known designer in the industry was giving a lecture at the school and specifically asked to meet her.

“Meet me?”

Yu Sui’s professor, Professor Milon, greatly appreciated her talent. When she applied to change majors, Professor Milon happily accepted her.

“Yu, he saw your previous works, as well as the designs you exhibited in Brussels this time, and became interested in your design philosophy.” Professor Milon rarely interfered with Yu Sui’s development, only providing professional guidance, but this time he clearly had a strong inclination: “This is a rare opportunity. You have great talent and basic skills, but you need a significant mentor to introduce you into the circle.”

“My flight is on Tuesday. I should be able to make it.”

“If there are no urgent matters, it would be best if you could return in the next two days.”

Professor Milon knew how rare this opportunity was, and Yu Sui naturally knew it too. In the past, she would probably have changed her ticket, packed her bags, and shown up at the airport first thing tomorrow morning.

But now, she hesitated to make a decision.

It was already eleven o’clock at night. After a period of indecision, she still called Chu Jiayun.

“I apologize for calling so late.”

“You’re calling at this hour, so it must be something important. Since it’s important, there’s no need to apologize.”

Yu Sui cleared her throat, a little troubled: “I received a call from my professor, saying that a famous designer wants to see me and wants to understand my design philosophy in depth.”

Chu Jiayun quickly understood what she meant and subconsciously looked back at her already sleeping daughter. She walked a couple of steps away and whispered: “When are you planning to go back?”

“The day after tomorrow. But I will definitely complete the design draft for the Xinxin Airship before I leave, so…”

Chu Jiayun wanted to tell her that although Xinxin was the client, she wasn’t like other clients who cared most about the design draft. What she might really want was to witness the Xinxin Airship gradually transform from paper into reality. She wanted the feeling of participation.

But this was too difficult for them to fully satisfy their daughter right now.

“Go back to school without worry. I will explain things to Xinxin.”

Chu Jiayun’s voice still sounded very calm, even so flat that it lacked any noticeable inflection or emotion. Yu Sui had another concern, which was why she was hesitant to hang up the phone.

“Is there anything else?”

“I… I want to know, when you return to Licheng, can we still keep in touch?”

Chu Jiayun countered: “Why do you think we can’t?”

Yu Sui was a little agitated: “I’m afraid you will disappear again after you go back, just like a dream I had in Europe.”

Chu Jiayun sighed: “Yu Sui, you were able to find Xinxin. You don’t need to worry.”

Yu Sui’s trip to the Netherlands was unplanned to begin with. It was normal for her to leave earlier than scheduled. Yu Mu didn’t seem to mind much, but Xinxin was not happy.

Both Chu Jiayun and Yu Sui explained the reason to her. The little girl nodded, indicating she understood. But she couldn’t truly grasp the importance of Yu Sui rushing back to school and the relative weight of breaking their promise to her.

The night after Yu Sui left, Xinxin was lying in bed listening to Chu Jiayun tell a story, but she was preoccupied.

“Mom, I have a question.”

“Yes?”

“Who exactly is Auntie Yu?”

“Auntie Yu is Auntie Yu. She is Mom’s friend.”

“But, why is she so nice to Xinxin? We didn’t know each other before. She’s only known me for a few days, but she’s giving me so many things.”

Chu Jiayun gently stroked her forehead, pushing her fringe up: “Because Xinxin is cute and obedient. Who wouldn’t like her?”

Xinxin covered her face with her hands, her fingers slightly parted, looking at her mother shyly: “But I’m mad at Auntie Yu, so I’m not obedient now.”

Chu Jiayun knew the reason for her anger, but such things were sometimes unavoidable. She also occasionally encountered situations where she had to work overtime or take short business trips on short notice.

Chu Jiayun was actually observing Yu Sui’s hasty return to school. She didn’t stop Yu Sui from approaching her daughter, but in her heart, she didn’t dare to have high expectations for how far she could go or how long she could persist.

Chu Jiayun didn’t want to dwell on whether Yu Sui would continue to be as brave and forward-looking as she appeared now after experiencing the other side of the impact a child brings.