After the Maniacal Alpha Settled Down, She Had a Wife and Daughter - Chapter 40

After returning to school, Yu Sui hadn’t even had time to unpack her luggage before Professor Milon called her in, asking her to reorganize some representative works and clearly emphasize the key points of her design philosophy.

Professor Milon usually only paid attention to students’ learning attitudes and grades, but his current active push was simply because he wanted his most successful student in recent years to have a good future.

“Yu, you’ve chosen to formally enter the market after graduation. I support your decision. But I want to say that the competition is fierce and cruel. Even with great talent, you must seize every small opportunity.”

Yu Sui endured the fatigue of long-haul flights and jet lag, reviewing all the key points the professor reminded her of, and focused with all her energy to prepare for the meeting with the designer.

On the phone, she heard the professor say that a designer from Shang Ding Group wanted to meet her. This was currently the world’s second-largest toy manufacturing company, which had many emerging businesses in recent years, including the adult-focused toys that Yu Sui specialized in.

These toys often came with collection value, so the added value was very high, attracting the attention of more and more famous manufacturers. But because the potential market was limited, once a big manufacturer entered, everyone else could only have the scraps.

But it wasn’t until she met Professor Milon that she learned the person visiting was Zhuo Shang, the Design Director of Shang Ding Group.

This name was renowned not only in the toy industry but throughout the fashion world. Regardless of whether this meeting led to substantial progress, the experience of being singled out by an industry titan would be written into many people’s resumes as a “glorious” achievement.

Yu Sui’s psychological pressure instantly soared. Her desire for success was more intense now than ever before. For the first time, she felt that besides herself, there were others who needed her success, such as Xinxin, and even Chu Jiayun.

Although in the few short days they spent together, she mainly interacted with Xinxin and Chu Jiayun rarely intervened, she knew it wasn’t easy to raise a child alone until this age. She hadn’t missed that the usually refined and detail-oriented Instructor Chu also inevitably became rougher and more casual when caring for her child.

But these things didn’t diminish Yu Sui’s affection for Chu Jiayun. On the contrary, the slight infatuation from years ago was reawakened by these now more realistic details. She appreciated Chu Jiayun’s sacrifices and was also attracted by her gentle demeanor, making her want to get closer and closer.

The day Yu Sui left, Xinxin was still angry with her. She only said goodbye on the phone and refused to talk further. Chu Jiayun had spent a lot of time comforting her in the last two days, and Xinxin was now starting to miss Auntie Yu again.

So, when she woke up in the morning, she asked her mother to call Auntie Yu, and then she would chime in with some chatter. After lunch, she was a bit bored and wanted to talk to Auntie Yu about the Xinxin Airship again. When she went to see the windmills last time, she loved the flowers by the road. Mom said they were tulips, and they shared the same surname as Auntie Yu.

Thus, Xinxin thought of incorporating tulips onto her Xinxin Airship. Subconsciously, she had already treated the Xinxin Airship as her future little house, bringing in everything she liked.

She seemed to have learned how to reach Auntie Yu, so when her mother wasn’t looking, she would tap Auntie Yu’s profile picture and then tap the phone icon.

After successfully reaching Auntie Yu this way twice, Xinxin memorized the method.

Yu Sui, however, was getting a little frustrated. In the Netherlands, she had no other commitments and could fully dedicate herself to her daughter. But when her work was piling up and she barely had time to sleep, Xinxin’s frequent calls gave her the urge to avoid them.

She couldn’t bear to say harsh words to her daughter, but she didn’t know how to tell a three-year-old child that this was not a good time to bother her. Yu Sui considered asking Chu Jiayun to convey the message to Xinxin, but then worried that it would make the other woman think she was incapable of long-term interaction with the child.

Yu Sui clutched her hair, her thoughts in disarray. She was trying so hard to learn how to interact with Xinxin. Why did such a well-behaved and sensible child sometimes make her feel annoyed?

Deep in concentration while revising a design draft, her phone suddenly rang again. Yu Sui had to suppress the interruption to her train of thought and open the screen. These past two days, she could barely distinguish whether Chu Jiayun was calling her or if Xinxin was secretly calling her, but the current time made it more likely to be Xinxin.

“Auntie Yu!”

Sure enough, Xinxin’s soft voice came from the other end of the line. Yu Sui rubbed her temples and asked patiently: “Xinxin, what do you need from Auntie Yu?”

“Hehe, Xinxin wants to tell you that Mom bought me a really delicious cake today. It also has a little airship on it, but it’s red. I don’t think it looks as good as the Xinxin Airship.”

A child’s sharing, much like their mood, revolved around a piece of joy repeated over and over, trying to express every detail they could remember. For an adult with a tight schedule, these details seemed to lack a main point.

Yu Sui finally felt a bit of irritation, and her tone became slightly urgent: “Xinxin, Auntie Yu has important work to do right now. Can I talk to Xinxin later?”

Xinxin paused, then agreed: “What time? I’ll be asleep if it’s too late.”

“Before Xinxin goes to sleep, okay?”

“Okay!”

Yu Sui resumed her revisions and was busy for a very long time, not even stopping to eat. Only when everything was finally done did she remember her promise to Xinxin.

Looking at the time, it was already well past the promised hour.

She wanted to call Chu Jiayun but felt it was too late at night for her, and she had an early flight back home the next day. She didn’t want to disturb her.

Zhuo Shang was a demanding little old Frenchman, a man of few words but decisive in both praising and dismissing people. Earning his approval meant immediate access to resources. Losing his trust could mean all your efforts amounted to nothing.

But for Yu Sui, she didn’t have much to lose now. She might as well go all out to earn his approval.

Zhuo Shang didn’t express an opinion immediately but asked Yu Sui to clarify some details and resend them to him. This gave Professor Milon hope.

He encouraged Yu Sui: “Zhuo Shang won’t waste his time. If he thought your design lacked any highlights, he wouldn’t ask you to supplement any details.”

Yu Sui was delighted, but Professor Milon also cautioned her: “Don’t get too excited. It might just be a qualification check, and it doesn’t mean he will definitely choose you.”

“I understand. I just want to try my best to grasp every opportunity.”

Professor Milon nodded approvingly: “Yu, I like your all-out attitude.”

After the meeting with Zhuo Shang, Yu Sui slept for two full days in her apartment to recover. Chu Jiayun had also returned to Licheng. Due to the time difference and the many things they both had to deal with, they couldn’t meet and mostly exchanged messages.

Yu Sui was still bothered by not calling Xinxin on time last time. Since then, Xinxin hadn’t actively sought her out again, so she had to inquire through Chu Jiayun.

“Is Xinxin still mad at me?”

Chu Jiayun stood by the balcony door. Seeing the familiar cityscape made her feel more at peace.

“She’s not mad.”

Yu Sui breathed a sigh of relief, then heard Chu Jiayun say: “But she was hurt.”

Yu Sui frowned: “Because I didn’t keep my promise?”

“No.” Chu Jiayun hesitated, then decided to tell Yu Sui the truth: “She just felt that you were annoyed with her.”

“What? How could she think that? She’s my daughter. How could I be annoyed with her?”

“Yu Sui, of course, we know that, but a child’s perception mostly comes from direct feelings. I don’t know how you communicated on the phone, but she did feel that you were resisting her calls.”

Yu Sui was speechless. After a moment, she spoke again: “My tone was indeed a bit rushed that day, and over the phone, she might have felt my attitude was poor. But I really wasn’t annoyed with her. I miss her very much, and I really like her…”

The more she spoke, the more agitated she became. Chu Jiayun soothed her: “You don’t need to be so anxious. I’ve already explained it to her. She doesn’t think that now.”

Yu Sui calmed down a bit: “Thank you.” She sounded somewhat powerless and self-deprecating: “I really don’t seem to know how to get along with children. I thought all I had to do was play with her.”

Chu Jiayun had also experienced this kind of frantic and helpless feeling, but it was unavoidable for every parent. If Yu Sui wanted to be a part of Xinxin’s life, she had to accept all aspects of Xinxin—the good and the bad, the happy and the annoying, even the things that made one furious.

“Give yourself some time. Being a parent is not easy, but your willingness to learn and take responsibility is already very good.”

Yu Sui remembered Instructor Chu’s encouraging words from back then. Although the context had changed, it still touched her heart.

“I will strive to be a more qualified parent.”

When Sheng Nanxi and Ren Xuran heard about Yu Sui’s decision to return to China, they thought she might still be sleepwalking.

Ren Xuran waved her hand in front of her eyes: “Did your sister Yu Mu brainwash you during your trip to Europe?”

Yu Sui slapped her hand away: “I’m perfectly sober. I want to be an independent designer. The location of my residence isn’t that important. What matters is staying connected with industry resources and information. With the advanced internet, information can be received anywhere, and as for resources, I might just have to travel a bit more, which is no different from flying to Europe from here.”

Sheng Nanxi saw that she had analyzed so much and seemed to have considered it thoroughly, so she couldn’t help but ask curiously: “A Sui, you were so adamant about not returning to Jingcheng for four years. Why the sudden decision to go back now? Is there something important?”

Yu Sui concealed the most crucial factor and only said: “I’m not going back to Jingcheng. I’m going to Licheng.”

“Licheng?”

Sheng Nanxi and Ren Xuran were both surprised. It was a small city in the truest sense of the word.

“I want to make a home there. Even if I have to fly around in the future, at least I’ll have a place to go back to.”

She had been abroad for four years, and even though her original plan was to live there, she had never considered it home. The fact that she was now actively setting up a home in Licheng made Sheng Nanxi feel that the reason was definitely not as simple as she claimed.

Yu Sui maintained email contact with Shang Ding Group and also reached out to a few domestic companies with achievements in this field, but they hadn’t responded yet.

While looking for resources, she was also packing her luggage to return to China. The mailing address was Licheng. She had rented an apartment through an agent, right in Chu Jiayun’s residential area.

She didn’t want to raise hopes only to disappoint others, so she only told Chu Jiayun that she was returning after everything was ready.

“You’re going to live in Licheng?” Chu Jiayun obviously had hoped Yu Sui would do this, but she also knew it wasn’t a good choice for Yu Sui, so she had never mentioned it.

Yu Sui’s voice carried a hint of pride: “I plan to show Xinxin with practical actions that I wasn’t annoyed with her at all, and that I miss her very much.”