Chapter 49

Chu Jiayun didn’t quite believe Yu Sui’s words. Yu Mu had come all the way from Jingcheng directly to the residence they had just settled into, skipping even her usual polite pleasantries upon seeing her. It was clearly not because Yu Sui had invited her to congratulate them on a “housewarming.”

She stopped Yu Sui, who was about to walk away: “Would it be convenient to tell me what you two talked about?”

Yu Sui scratched her forehead, looking a bit troubled: “Just nagging about some annoying family matters. I was afraid you’d find it boring if I told you.”

“Yu Sui.” Chu Jiayun’s voice suddenly deepened, and the atmosphere became serious instantly. “Since Yu Mu came, it means some things can’t be hidden forever.”

If Yu Mu had truly come for family matters, there wouldn’t have been such a subtle shift in her attitude toward Chu Jiayun; she might have even asked for her help in persuading Yu Sui. Before today, every time Yu Mu mentioned Yu Sui in front of Chu Jiayun, her face was full of doting helplessness.

If they had really only talked about Yu family business, Chu Jiayun wouldn’t have had much interest even if she were invited to listen in. Her questioning now was simply to gain more initiative, fearing that Yu Mu’s visit represented more than just herself.

Chu Jiayun no longer doubted Yu Sui’s feelings for the child, but she remained uncertain about the Yu family’s stance. When she considered moving back to Ancheng, the Yu family had been a major concern.

Yu Sui glanced at the wall clock; it was almost time for Xinxin’s snack. Her talk with Yu Read on BaiLianTalesMu outside hadn’t gone well, and she hadn’t eaten much of the full table of food. She was hungry herself.

She walked into the kitchen and started preparing food for Xinxin, reheating last night’s dishes for herself as well. Chu Jiayun followed her and stood behind her. Seeing her unhurriedly busy with the food, she felt a flare of annoyance.

“Do you plan to just keep stalling like this?”

Yu Sui stopped moving, her back still turned. Yu Mu’s sudden appearance today was indeed a surprise, though she had expected this day would come. From the moment she decided to return to China and return to Chu Jiayun and her daughter, these things were bound to happen one by one.

She couldn’t guarantee every issue would be solved perfectly, but she was mentally prepared. However, while she stood her ground and insisted on her path in front of Yu Mu, Chu Jiayun’s attitude left her feeling a bit defeated.

They both loved Xinxin. When it came to topics involving the child, they could be harmonious, synchronized, and even work together with perfect understanding. But when the problem shifted to themselves, it became unsolvable, with no clear way out.

No matter how many difficulties lay ahead, Yu Sui didn’t care; she was willing to face and overcome them. But if the person beside her thought differently or didn’t even want to walk the same path, was her persistence bringing Chu Jiayun trouble or happiness?

Yu Mu had asked her today: “Xiao Sui, do you know what love is, or what it means to love someone? If Instructor Chu doesn’t need you to be near, then everything you’re doing is ultimately just a self-indulgent performance.”

Yu Sui had denied it immediately, thinking that if Chu Jiayun truly loathed her, she wouldn’t have allowed Read on BaiLianTalesher into their lives step by step.

But then again, Chu Jiayun had never said she wanted her to be close.

Chu Jiayun sensed Yu Sui’s dejection from her silhouette. Thinking that the encounter with Yu Mu had shaken her resolve, Chu Jiayun felt an inexplicable pang of distress.

In truth, during the hour Yu Sui was out, she hadn’t felt good either. Although her logic told her nothing catastrophic would happen, she couldn’t help but wonder about Yu Sui’s attitude.

Only now, sensing her own state through Yu Sui’s emotional shifts, did she realize she had long since begun to care about Yu Sui’s stance.

After a long silence, Yu Sui resumed her work at the stove, her tone flat: “I didn’t tell her about your situation, nor did I mention Xinxin’s relationship to me. She came here specifically for me this time.”

She turned back to give Chu Jiayun a look, her eyes appearing somewhat drained: “So, you don’t need to worry too much.”

Chu Jiayun was pricked by that gaze and froze: “I… I didn’t mean it that way.”

Yu Sui turned back to the food. They had just moved in and had been busy unpacking; they hadn’t had time to grocery shop or cook properly, mostly relying on takeout. Aside from [bailiantales.com]preparing fresh food for Xinxin every meal, the two adults ate rather haphazardly.

Yu Sui tossed last night’s leftovers into the pan to stir-fry and began preparing Xinxin’s extra meal. The little girl had recently fallen in love with milk and oatmeal, so they gave her a little every day.

“You were anxious to know what I said to Yu Mu because you wanted to prepare your response in advance, right?”

Chu Jiayun didn’t deny it, but she wasn’t used to Yu Sui speaking in such an indifferent, almost sorrowful tone.

“Yu Sui, I just don’t want to fall into a passive position.”

Yu Sui suddenly let go, and her spoon hit the stainless steel bowl with a sharp, jarring clatter. Chu Jiayun was startled.

“Am I really that untrustworthy to you? My family will be your and Xinxin’s family in the future. I haven’t forced you to accept that right now, but why must you be so guarded?”

Chu Jiayun looked away, unable to bear seeing the hurt in Yu Sui’s eyes.

“I can’t afford to lose, and I especially can’t lose Xinxin.”

Yu Sui shook her head. She felt Chu Jiayun was perfect in every other way, except for her insistence on drawing a clear line in this matter, as if they were enemies.

She walked up to Chu Jiayun and held her shoulders, forcing her to meet her eyes: “I told you, I won’t fight you for Xinxin, and my family won’t either. I won’t let you lose. Why can’t we love Xinxin together?”

Chu Jiayun tried to pull away, but this time Yu Sui’s grip was strong and her attitude resolute; she wouldn’t let her evade.

“Trust me just once, okay?”

Chu Jiayun pursed her lips. She knew Yu Sui wasn’t talking about Xinxin; she was talking about them. She wanted to say yes, but that simple word wouldn’t come out.

“Yu Sui, have you ever thought that if there were no Xinxin, you might not feel so much guilt toward me, and you wouldn’t have developed these… additional feelings?”

Yu Sui had never heard Chu Jiayun say this. She had always thought Chu Jiayun refused to accept her because she felt their feelings weren’t deep enough.

“You don’t think everything I’m doing now is just because of Xinxin, do you?”

Chu Jiayun’s brow furrowed deeper, her silence a tacit admission.

Yu Sui was losing it. Had she been busy for nothing all this time? She let go of Chu Jiayun and paced around the kitchen with her hands on her hips before finally thinking of a way to explain.

She grabbed an empty bowl and started adding things into it at random. It wasn’t actually random; she and Xinxin had tried this “experiment” a few times back in Licheng, and Xinxin had said it was delicious.

Yu Sui held the bowl in front of Chu Jiayun: “The fruits and vegetables in here aren’t ‘pretty,’ nor do they match those so-called healthy nutrition recipes. Even the sauce was mixed by Xinxin and me.”

Chu Jiayun had been shocked the first time she saw it, but after trying it a few times and finding the taste decent, she let the two of them—big and small—have free rein in the kitchen. Yu Sui even named their innovations the “Dark Sublimation Series,” and Xinxin happily acted as the first witness.

“But, can you deny that it tastes good?”

Chu Jiayun couldn’t deny it, because she had tasted it, and it was indeed good.

Yu Sui picked out a piece of apple and popped it into her own mouth, then tucked a piece of lettuce [bailiantales.com]into Chu Jiayun’s: “As long as the food tastes good, why worry about whether it followed a set procedure or a fixed recipe?”

Chu Jiayun caught the underlying meaning and looked down.

“It’s the same between us. Having Xinxin was an accident, but that doesn’t negate my feelings for you. You can’t refuse me a chance to like you just because Xinxin came first. It’s like you can’t strip me of the right to eat something delicious just because I didn’t make it in the conventional order.”

“That’s different from whether food tastes good or not.”

Yu Sui had finally managed to stir Chu Jiayun’s emotions. Being too rational isn’t always a good thing, especially regarding feelings. Sometimes people need to be ‘happily confused’ and act on impulse once in a while.

She put the bowl back and pinned Chu Jiayun against the door of the large double-door refrigerator: “To me, you are very ‘delicious’.”

Chu Jiayun’s face suddenly flushed. That summer, she had been “eaten” by Yu Sui over and over, inside and out.

“Don’t change the subject. Cooking and dating are unrelated, and the level of rigor required can’t be compared.” Chu Jiayun’s voice clearly lacked its usual confidence, though she was still trying to hold her ground.

“I just want to tell you that coming to Ancheng is not just because of Xinxin, but because of you. Even if there were no Xinxin, I ​unauthorized copy​would still want to work hard to be with you.”

Chu Jiayun stopped arguing, her thoughts thrown into disarray by Yu Sui’s “improvisation.”

Yu Sui stared at her pursed lips and, without further hesitation, leaned in quickly, placing a soft, light kiss on Chu Jiayun’s lips. She only touched them briefly before pulling away.

Chu Jiayun hadn’t expected her to be so bold and was shocked: “You!”

“I told you, very delicious.”

Her joke couldn’t hide the seriousness and determination in her eyes, which gave Chu Jiayun a tangible sense of a racing heart amidst her inner conflict. She couldn’t bring herself to coldly push Yu Sui away. Although the cooking theory from just now was somewhat nonsensical, it made Chu Jiayun reconsider the relationship between them.

Since the reunion, she had treated Yu Sui as Xinxin’s other mother, but now there was clearly another layer of relationship they needed to consider.

Yu Mu called Yu Sui that night, saying she wanted to talk to Chu Jiayun.

“Sister, I don’t care what you say to me or how you approach me, but you shouldn’t affect her because of this.”

Yu Mu caught the protective tone in Yu Sui’s voice and sighed: “Instructor Chu is much more capable and experienced than you. Your protecting her like this only makes you look childish.”

“Staying in Ancheng was my own decision. It has nothing to do with her or Xinxin. So why do you want to see her?”

“I…”

“Sister, I’m grown up. I know what kind of life I want. If you believe in me, and believe in the Instructor Chu you respect, then give us some space.”

The next day, Chu Jiayun heard from Yu Sui that Yu Mu had returned to Jingcheng. She hadn’t received any message from Yu Mu, and she knew without asking that it was Yu Sui’s doing.

“If Yu Mu wanted to see me, I could have handled it.”

Yu Sui was preparing Xinxin’s breakfast, serious and focused: “If I can’t even handle this bit of pressure for you, how can I say I’ll walk through the storms of the future with you?”

Chu Jiayun had actually thought about it read the original at bailiantales.comall night. If Yu Mu’s sudden appearance had shaken her confidence in staying in Ancheng, Yu Sui’s performance had solidified her resolve to stay.

Xinxin would grow up eventually, and many secrets couldn’t be hidden forever as time passed. Chu Jiayun stopped wavering and began looking for a kindergarten for Xinxin, truly starting their new life here.