Appearing on a Marriage Show Before Getting Divorced - Chapter 24

No matter how strong a person is, it takes time to recover after a period of upheaval.

Over the past few days, Ruan Qiu and Chu Qing changed their plans. Neither of them returned home. Aside from handling a few critical decisions via video conference, they spent the vast majority of their time accompanying Zhengzhi while carefully looking after Chu Nian.

From the perspective of Ruan Youran’s mothers, they didn’t approve of Chu Nian’s decision to leave back then. However, after all these years, they had long since regarded Chu Nian as their own child.

At the moment, Chu Nian’s physical and mental health were both in shambles. How could they have the heart to criticize her now?

Ruan Qiu remained her usual self; no matter what anyone said, she shamelessly hovered around Zhengzhi with a grin.

Early in the morning, while Zhengzhi played with her toys, she stole a peek at Ruan Qiu on the other side of the rug. They were building small toy models. For Zhengzhi, this was a piece of cake; for Ruan Qiu, it was something she hadn’t really done much of—she hadn’t even played like this with Youran when she was little.

Jianjian hadn’t been particularly “brainy” as a kid. She just liked dolls and robots—toys that required zero mental effort.

Zhengzhi was completely different.

Ruan Qiu felt a mix of heartache and pride; she felt a sense of achievement, as if the family legacy was being carried on by a brilliant successor.

While Ruan Qiu was struggling with a little yellow duck, Zhengzhi had already finished an entire PAW Patrol set. Ruan Qiu sat there, gritting her teeth and competing with the plastic blocks.

Zhengzhi watched her and let out a long, hollow sigh.

“Oh ho?” Ruan Qiu raised an eyebrow, looking at her with amusement. “A little sprout like you knows how to sigh?”

When she arrived, both the doctor and Chu Qing had repeatedly urged her to be “gentle, kind, and patient” with Zhengzhi. They warned her not to be simple and crude as she had been when raising Ruan Youran. The child had psychological issues that hadn’t developed overnight; the “knots” in her heart needed to be untied slowly.

Ruan Qiu found this perspective annoying and disagreed with it. What was wrong with her Zhengzhi? Why should people look at her as if she were a patient? She refused to do that. When President Ruan got stubborn, no one could talk her out of it.

Zhengzhi didn’t respond. She lowered her head and continued with her toys. Ruan Qiu reached out and poked her soft little cheek. Zhengzhi tilted her head away but didn’t say a word.

Strangely enough, even though Zhengzhi had been terrified of Ruan Qiu at first, after a few days of Ruan Qiu’s persistent teasing, she seemed to have grown accustomed and immune to it. Anyone else would have had their face rubbed raw by Zhengzhi trying to wash the touch off, yet Ruan Qiu had somehow succeeded.

Chu Qing brought out a plate of fruit and sat down in front of the pair. Zhengzhi was comfortable with Chu Qing now; knowing what was expected, she took a piece, put it in her mouth, and whispered, “Thank you.”

Chu Qing smiled at her. Look at her granddaughter—so sensible and obedient.

Ruan Qiu, seeing this, opened her mouth wide. “Ahhh, I want fruit too.”

Chu Qing: “…”

It was like this every time. Zhengzhi acted like a sensible adult, while Ruan Qiu acted like a nursing infant. Left with no choice, Chu Qing used a toothpick to feed a piece of peach to Ruan Qiu. After eating it, Ruan Qiu didn’t pull away; she leaned in and kissed Chu Qing on the forehead.

Chu Qing was a bit embarrassed and tried to push Ruan Qiu away with a red face. Ruan Qiu clung to her, whispering in her ear, “Don’t move, look at the child.”

Chu Qing immediately froze and peeked at Zhengzhi.

Zhengzhi seemed to be looking at the two grandmothers with curiosity. Since birth, she had only been with her mother. Chu Nian’s love was deep, but her expression was usually limited to hugs; Zhengzhi had rarely seen people interact like this.

Ruan Qiu laughed. She reached out and pulled the peeking Zhengzhi onto her lap. Zhengzhi panicked slightly, looking at Ruan Qiu blankly, thinking she had done something wrong.

Ruan Qiu stared at her with a smile for a moment before her eyes suddenly turned red. She leaned down and kissed Zhengzhi’s cheek. “Zhengzhi, Grandma loves you.”

Zhengzhi’s watery eyes stared seriously at Ruan Qiu. Chu Qing, watching from the side, was moved to the point of tears.

At that exact moment, Zhengzhi raised her little hand and gently wiped the spot Ruan Qiu had just kissed. She shouted toward the door: “Auntie, wash face!”

Chu Qing: “…” Ruan Qiu: “…”

In contrast to the lively living room, a light drizzle was falling outside the window.

Curled up in bed, Chu Nian felt cold all over. She was wrapped in two layers of quilts, but they didn’t seem to help. Her body had always been sensitive to the cold, and it was even worse now.

Unlike before, whenever the weather turned, there would always be someone else in her bed. Ruan Youran would always jump in to warm the covers for her. Sometimes she was serious; other times, she wore nothing at all, her eyes full of mischief.

Back then, Chu Nian would always try to keep a straight face, even though her heart was racing like a stampede of wild horses. She would lift the quilt and look at Youran: “What are you doing?”

“Warming the bed,” Youran would say coquettishly.

Chu Nian tried to stay calm, but no matter how long they had been married or how many times they had slept together, Ruan Youran in that state was a fatal temptation.

After the bed was warmed, Youran would roll over and breathe into her ear: “The bed is warmed for you. Isn’t it time for you to warm me up?”

Her eyes, which she thought had run dry, began to moisten again. Chu Nian bit her lip and stared at the ceiling. She wouldn’t cry. Even she despised her current self. This was all her own doing.

Chu Qing had wanted to check on Nian Nian several times, but Ruan Qiu held her back, her expression solemn. “Don’t go in. People need time to be alone.”

Chu Qing was anxious. Ruan Qiu continued: “I believe in Nian Nian. She made it through the hardest times alone. Now that we’re here and Zhengzhi is getting better, she won’t just give up.”

Giving birth alone in a foreign land. Hovering between life and death. Seeing her child taken to the ICU before she could even hold her… Chu Nian had endured things in a few years that most wouldn’t experience in a lifetime.

The thing that had supported her and kept her alive was Ruan Youran. Ruan Qiu firmly believed she wouldn’t let go now.

Days passed… each one an agonizing wait.

While Ruan Qiu and Chu Qing acted normal, the weight in their hearts grew heavier. During these days, Nian Nian barely ate, let alone left her room. She mostly lay in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, appearing both lost in thought and completely hollow. Like a doll without a soul, she made them worry.

Zhengzhi didn’t know what was happening with the adults. Since she was born, her mother had often been bedridden due to surgeries or treatments. Though she was smart, she was still a child and wasn’t that perceptive. She simply felt that since her mother was awake, everything would be okay.

Chu Nian rarely spoke. Zhengzhi seemed to have a tacit understanding with her; one lay in bed in silence, while the other sat on the floor playing with toys without a word.

Sometimes Ruan Qiu and Chu Qing tried to lure Zhengzhi out to relax, even using cartoons as bait, but she was unmoved. The child was stubborn; for some reason, she spent more and more time in Chu Nian’s room. In the last few days, she was in there almost constantly except for mealtimes. Chu Nian didn’t speak, so she didn’t either.

On another rainy day, Chu Nian finally moved. She turned on her side and looked at Zhengzhi on the floor. Zhengzhi was building something with intense focus, her two little hair-buns bobbing as she concentrated, her long lashes blinking.

“Zhengzhi…”

Because she hadn’t spoken in so long, Chu Nian found her voice incredibly raspy. Zhengzhi paused and looked up at her mother.

That gaze… that identical face…

Chu Nian’s tears fell again. This time, she didn’t even have the strength to wipe them away. “I’m sorry…”

Since Zhengzhi’s birth, although Chu Nian wasn’t good at expressing herself, her love for her daughter was immense. She had told her many stories—about the outside world, and many times about how much her other mother would love her if she were here. But she had never said “I’m sorry.”

Zhengzhi was stunned. She looked at her mother, tilted her head, and whispered, “But you’re my Mamma.”

A child’s world is the simplest, yet that made it hurt more. Zhengzhi put down her toys and walked obediently to her mother’s side. Just as her mother used to comfort her, she hugged Chu Nian and patted her back. “Oh, oh, oh~ don’t cry~”

Chu Nian laughed through her tears. She hugged Zhengzhi tightly and kissed her forehead. “Mamma will definitely do what she promised you.”

When she finally got out of bed, Chu Nian realized her legs had almost no strength to walk. She wanted to shower first but feared fainting in the tub, so she went to eat instead.

It was late. Her movements were light. She sat in the kitchen alone, the lights off, swallowing food. It was the chicken soup Chu Qing had made for Zhengzhi. Chu Nian had always preferred a vegetarian diet and didn’t like the smell of meat, but now, everything tasted like wax. She was just eating.

She only wanted her body to recover faster. A fire seemed to be burning in her chest.

Three months… Three months after filming the show, she would have to return for surgery. She had to live. Once, she resented the heavens for being unfair. Now, she couldn’t let the same fate fall upon Zhengzhi. She had to live. Only by living would a future be possible.

Ruan Qiu was woken up by her phone. She was always grumpy when woken up. Sitting on the sofa in her slippers, she looked at Ruan Youran on the video call: “What are you doing, Jianjian? Do you know what time it is?”

There was a time difference between China and the US. Youran didn’t care. Her voice was booming, surrounded by the sound of rushing air: “Mommy! I’m at an altitude of 3,800 meters! I’m about to skydive! What did you say? The wind is too loud, I can’t hear you!”

Ruan Qiu stood up abruptly, her voice rising in panic: “What? Jumping from what?? You—”

“Whoo-hoo~!” Then came Youran’s thrill-filled scream, followed by the sound of rushing wind. “I’m flying! AAAAAHHH!!! I’m the prettiest girl in the sky! Fly, fly, fly!!!”

Because it was the front-facing camera, Youran looked like a little pig with her eyes squeezed shut by the wind. Ruan Qiu: “…”

In the kitchen, Chu Nian had already put down her spoon. Her heart was thumping violently. Youran used to love extreme sports, but after they married, she never touched them again because Chu Nian was worried. Chu Nian never said it, but Youran would smile and comfort her: “Don’t worry, I get it. My life isn’t just mine anymore. For you, I won’t do dangerous things.”

And now, she really was doing exactly what she said before the breakup. She had found her old self again.

When she finally landed, Ruan Qiu heard Youran laughing and talking to the instructor in English. The instructor gave a thumbs-up: “Amazing!”

Jianjian started taking off her gear. She gave Ruan Qiu a radiant smile. “Mom, do you know how good the weather is here? Oh, right, I want to show you something else.”

“What now???” Ruan Qiu asked, still recovering from the shock.

Jianjian ignored her and lifted her shirt to show her abs. “See this?”

Their voices were so loud they woke Chu Qing, who sat down next to Ruan Qiu. Ruan Qiu squinted at the screen. “You got a tattoo!!!”

Her “good girl” baby was actually… getting inked!

Youran made a “666” gesture. Her eyes held a spark they hadn’t seen in a long time. “I’m going to do so much more! Oh, right, remember what I told you when I was little? I want to be a singer—the kind of superstar who makes kids scream their lungs out the moment I hit a high note! And a cold Film Queen, winning that Red Duck Award! I also want to… blah blah blah…”

Youran talked non-stop until someone nearby called her name, and she hung up.

Ruan Qiu and Chu Qing were happy for their daughter, seeing that she was truly moving on, but they felt complicated. Jianjian mentioned many plans for the future. None of them included Chu Nian.

After a silence, Ruan Qiu asked: “Did you see what was tattooed on her stomach? It looked like CN.”

Chu Qing nodded. “Is something wrong?”

Ruan Qiu, usually a fashion-forward person, looked a bit scandalized. “She actually tattooed ‘C-N’ (Screw You). This child is too shameless! There’s letting go, and then there’s this.”

Chu Qing stayed silent for a moment before looking at Ruan Qiu with confusion. “I have a feeling those are Chu Nian’s initials…”

A deathly, awkward silence filled the air. This was a classic case of seeing what you want to see.

At that moment, the living room lights were turned on. Chu Nian walked out from the corner. Ruan Qiu and Chu Qing squinted at the brightness. After eating, Chu Nian’s complexion looked a bit better. She looked at the two mothers and said slowly:

“Mom, I’ve made up my mind.”

Both looked at Nian Nian. After days of silence and lethargy, after being saved from the brink of death once more, she seemed different. They waited for her next words.