Chapter 38: Mom

The train roared past, delivering countless outsiders to this unfamiliar city.

Bai Sha, carrying a backpack, disembarked from the train, her gaze sweeping around in a daze.

She had no money on her, nor did she know a single soul in this place.

– Hello? Is this Brother Hao? It’s Fox. I was supposed to come for a tryout at your place.

– Didn’t your parents disagree?

– I… I ran away myself. I’m at the train station right now. Could you come pick me up?

– Oh, come on! We told you we don’t take people like you! Go home quickly.

A series of beeps sounded.

The call was disconnected.

Bai Sha irritably rubbed her buzz cut.

She knew she had to leave the station; at the very least, getting into the city would offer some opportunities.

Glancing at the swarm of taxis outside the station, she then rummaged through her wallet.

Ultimately, she pulled out her phone and dialed Bai Qing’s number.

A series of beeps sounded.

– Hello?

– Xiao Qing! I’m at the station. Send me an address, and I’ll take a taxi myself! No need to trouble your brother.

After getting off the train, it was natural for her to seek Bai Qing’s help, though she was no longer the same youth she had been seven years ago.

Bai Qing sent Bai Sha her address, specifying only the apartment complex’s location.

Seven years prior, a financially strained Bai Qing had been unable to offer the young man assistance, leaving him to walk all the way to the city center that day.

Seven years later, He Lichun settled into a taxi—the very kind that the young man could only watch from afar—and sped towards the city center.

The scenery along the route remained unchanged, a detail Bai Sha remembered with startling clarity, even now.

But what of He Lichun?

She would likely glance at it and dismiss it from her mind.

Upon arriving below the apartment complex, He Lichun still called Bai Sha.

– Hello, Xiao Sha, I’m downstairs at your complex. Why don’t you come down?

– Didn’t I say I’d come pick you up? All right, wait a moment, I’ll be right down.

In stark contrast to He Lichun’s nervous anticipation, Bai Sha upstairs appeared remarkably calm.

Zhou Haochen, standing nearby, asked, “Who is it?”

“It’s the bad grandma who doesn’t like Mama!” The little one, puffing out her cheeks, blurted out the answer.

“You must not be rude,” Bai Sha said, stroking the little one’s head.

“A grandmother is a grandmother.”

Zhou Haochen, surprised and somewhat apprehensive about the sudden visit from Bai Sha’s mother, asked, “Do you want me to go down with you?”

“Are you worried about me?”

Zhou Haochen nodded.

‘Who knows what might happen? Having me by your side might make things a little safer.’

Bai Sha extended her hand to him, a smile gracing her lips.

“Guess why I bothered to dress up today? It’s precisely so I can bring both of you down there and show her that I already have my own family.”

Zhou Haochen clutched his heart, feigning distress.

“So, it wasn’t for me? How heartbreaking! How sorrowful!”

Bai Sha retorted good-naturedly, “It’s you I’m hugging, you I’m kissing.

If you keep up this act, I’ll return all my dresses.”

Zhou Haochen immediately straightened his posture.

“No, don’t! You look so beautiful like this!”

Bai Sha took the little one’s hand and, addressing Zhou Haochen, said, “Well then, let’s go down.”

He Lichun paced back and forth at the entrance, consumed by overwhelming excitement.

Her son, whom she hadn’t seen in years, was about to appear before her.

Every few steps, she would turn back, peering anxiously inside.

‘A girl? No.’

‘A boy? Too short. No.’

‘A family of four? No.’

‘A couple? No.’

‘A family of three? No… Oh!’

As she watched a family of three approach from a distance, He Lichun rubbed her eyes, a strange thought forming: ‘Why does that woman look more and more like my son?’

‘Impossible! That long hair, that delicate face, that long dress, and she’s even holding a man’s arm with a little girl beside her.

It simply can’t be!’

He Lichun’s resolute expression gradually dissolved into bewilderment as the woman, leading the man and child, walked right up to her.

Bai Sha gazed at the small, elderly woman with her graying hair and a face etched with wrinkles, a stark contrast to the vibrant, energetic mother she remembered.

The words lingered on Bai Sha’s tongue for a long time, until finally, she managed to utter, “Long time no see.”

The moment the voice left her lips, He Lichun instantly recognized it as her child, the one she had yearned for day and night.

Disregarding everything else, the bag in her hand tumbled to the ground.

With tears streaming down her face, she embraced Bai Sha, her trembling arms clutching her tightly, and burst into such loud sobs that everyone around fell silent.

“My child!”

The little one, a touch frightened, burrowed into her father’s embrace.

Even without her mother’s words, she knew this person was her grandmother.

‘But wasn’t she a bad person? Why was she crying so sadly?’

Bai Sha’s body remained stiff, her hands hovering in the air for a long moment before finally coming to rest with a gentle pat on He Lichun’s back.

“There, there,” she murmured.

“We’ve met again, haven’t we?”

Bai Sha’s emotions were unsettlingly calm; she had expected to feel at least a flicker of sorrow, but there was none.

Yet, as her mother, whom she hadn’t seen in years, clung to her, weeping uncontrollably, a sense of peace finally settled in her heart, even though she had once believed she didn’t care.

‘Perhaps this matter could finally be laid to rest.’

“Papa, why is she crying?” The little one asked from beside them.

“If Xiao Yu and Mama were separated for a very, very long time, and then saw Mama again, do you think Mama would cry?”

Xiao Yu shook her head.

“I don’t want to! I won’t be separated from Mama for a very, very long time.”

The little one pondered for a moment, then added, “Neither will Papa! We’ll always be a family!”

Zhou Haochen, a radiant smile on his face, ruffled the little one’s hair.

‘You’re still so young.

When you grow up, you’ll marry and form your own family, naturally separating from Mama and Papa.’

Noticing He Lichun’s sobs gradually subside, Bai Sha turned to the father and daughter.

“Something feels off,” she said.

“You two should go up first.

I’ll talk to her.”

Zhou Haochen nodded.

‘Just making an appearance before the former mother-in-law should suffice; wouldn’t want to scare her too much.’

****

After the father and daughter departed, Bai Sha led the still-sobbing He Lichun to a small restaurant, realizing the elderly woman hadn’t eaten anything since rushing all the way there.

“Xiao Bai,” He Lichun said, wiping her damp eyes, then looked at Bai Sha and asked, “You… how did you become like this?”

“I originally didn’t intend to tell you,” Bai Sha sighed helplessly.

“But since you’re here, I won’t keep it a secret any longer.”

“Now. I. Am. A girl.”

The expected scene of stunned disbelief never materialized; instead, He Lichun simply nodded gently.

Perhaps she simply wished to see her child again, and whether that child was a boy or a girl, as long as it was Bai Sha, it didn’t matter to her.

“This was an accident, and it’s hard for me to explain,” Bai Sha said, showing her a photo of the family of three on her phone.

“In short, I have my own family, and my own child—a biological one.”

He Lichun looked at the photo, seemingly only just processing the information.

“But you’re not… This little girl is already so big, the timing doesn’t make sense!”

He Lichun attempted to grasp the situation but ultimately gave up, choosing instead to gaze at her beautiful, radiant, and glamorous son… daughter.

“Never mind, as long as you’re happy.”

She took a bankbook from her bag and pushed it across the table to Bai Sha.

“This is the savings your father and I accumulated over the past few years,” she said.

“Please take it.”

Bai Sha remained silent, her gaze fixed on the money the elderly couple had worked so hard to save.

“I’ll give it to my sister,” she finally said.

“As long as you’re willing to accept it, you can give it to anyone.

I won’t disturb you further; I just wanted to see you properly before I leave shortly.”

She ate a little, glancing up at Bai Sha occasionally, then prepared to leave, needing to catch her afternoon train.

“Well, I’m leaving then. Please take good care of yourself.”

“Mm.”

The slender, short figure pushed open the door, preparing to depart.

“Wait,” Bai Sha called out, stopping her.

She turned around, and after Bai Sha softly uttered a single word, He Lichun burst into tears.

****

That evening, upon returning home by car, Bai Anguo glanced at her.

“Heh! Why are your eyes so swollen? Did he scold you?”

He Lichun wiped away her dried tears, her voice choked with sobs.

“Sh-she… she… she called me ‘Mom’!”

****

That night, Bai Sha held the little one, gazing out at the night sky.

After becoming a mother herself, and witnessing her own mother’s genuine tears, perhaps only then could Bai Sha truly let go.

Even with a lingering awkwardness, she could finally utter those words.

“Mom.”