Love in the Midst of Mistaken Identities

Xia Ruoxin looked up at Rainy who was sitting quietly playing with her doll. Her daughter had not smiled at all. She was merely holding her doll and playing with it. That doll was her sole playmate. Other than the doll, she did not like to play with anything else.

She did not wish for her daughter to have just a doll.

However, now was not the time. It really wasn’t.

“Ruoxin, can you tell me your reason?” Three deep vertical lines could be seen between Gao Yi’s eyebrows. She was clearly keeping something from him.

He did not know about her past or attempt to ask her about it while she did not take the initiative to tell him, too. However, this concerned Rainy’s education. He had to insist with his way.

Xia Ruoxin closed her eyes, and then she opened them slowly. Gradually, she let out a long breath as her hands clenched tightly together.

“When I was four years old, I had a mother who loved me very much. Our life was similar to how Rainy and I used to have, but it was slightly better.”

The look in her eyes became more pained. Gao Yi’s hands never left her shoulders or let go. He had a feeling that he was getting to know the real Xia Ruoxin.

“At that time, my mother had loved me. She would give me all the best things. Even though I did not have a father, I was content to have such a mother.

“We weren’t doing very well in our lives. There were no new clothes, and we couldn’t have meat every day. However, we were happy.

“After that, she met a very rich man, and she married him when I was four years old, bringing me with her. That man had a daughter who was six months younger than me.

“I had a new father and a new sister, but I lost the mother whom I loved the most. Mom no longer cared about me because she was in love with that man. She put her heart and soul into loving that man and his daughter to the extent that she forgot she had a daughter herself. I was that girl.

“She forgot about my existence. She no longer cared if I had eaten or whether I was warm enough. She even forgot about my birthday.”

As Xia Ruoxin recounted, her vision became blurred with tears in one moment and cleared up at the next. The two hands on her shoulders gripped her shoulders even tighter, giving her the courage in silence.

“That year, when I was six, that man’s daughter had to shave her head bald because she became very sick. After she was bald, she kept crying and throwing her tantrums. She refused to eat or take her medications.

“My mother and that man were worried sick. Finally, when my mother saw me, she pulled me and cut my hair away. I had kept them for a very long time. She shaved my head bald because she said I had to accompany my sister. Haven’t I paid enough? I even had to pay with my mother among other things.

“That year, I had already started school. All my classmates mocked me. They said ‘Xia Ruoxin—an ugly duckling. Her father was not fond of her, and her mother did not love her. Nobody loved her bald head’. Even now, I can still remember vividly how I felt. I was really sad and heartbroken. I felt like I was a child whom no one loved. In actual fact, I was one.”

Gao Yi’s hands shifted to below her eyes and caught her translucent tears. His hands clenched into two balls of fists, and then he bent both his elbows to embrace this woman into his arms. She had been going through hardships alone for so long.

“Alright. I understand. I really do. You don’t have to say anymore. We will not let Rainy attend school until her hair has grown fully. Okay?” He embraced the emaciated woman tightly in his arms trying with all his might to let her get closer to him. He hoped to reduce a fraction of her pain.

“Don’t forget. You are not your mother, and Rainy is not you.” Gao Yi cupped Xia Ruoxin’s face with his hands. At the same time, he wiped the tears that had fallen from her face like a river. This woman really liked to cry. He was amused and annoyed.

“Ruoxin, you loved Rainy so much. You won’t let anyone bully her.” He tightened his arms around her again. “Neither will I. Never.” He promised himself, and it was also a promise to Xia Ruoxin. He, too, was very fond of Rainy. How could no one love her?

She was their baby.

“Mmm, thank you. Thank you, Gao Yi.” Xia Ruoxin grabbed at the front of Gao Yi’s shirt tightly. She was thanking him for being understanding, for taking care of her and Rainy, and for his consolation. No amount of her gratitude would make it up.

He was right. She was not Shen Yijun, and she would never abandon her daughter.

She would not be a mother like Shen Yijun. She would keep loving Rainy and prevent the world from having another Xia Ruoxin.

Her Rainy would be a happy child. She would have all the love in the world.

Rainy leaned against the side of the sofa. She opened her eyes slightly and hugged her doll against her chest. She was tired of playing; it was time for her to sleep. Whatever happened between the adults, she did not understand or care.

“All right now. You have become a bigger crybaby than Rainy.” Gao Yi used his sleeve to dry the tears from her face. Luckily, she was wearing any makeup, or else her face would be in a huge mess now.

Xia Ruoxin allowed him to caress her face with his fingers. She did not feel any discomfort. On the contrary, she felt extremely secured.

She closed her eyes as leaned into his arms. This man had given her so much.

Gao Yi patted the woman’s shoulders. His arms remained around her. He looked at the mini version of Xia Ruoxin and laughed softly. Great! Both of them had fallen asleep. He should be turning in, too.

He carried Xia Ruoxin to the sofa and covered her with his jacket. Then, he carried the child who had been laying on the floor into the room he had specially prepared for her. The wallpaper inside Rainy’s room was full of cartoons. The color scheme was pastel, very soft. There was a pile of dolls that she would play with infrequently. Most of the time, she would still play with the one in her arms.

He put her on a small bed and tucked her under the blanket. He was lucky that she was a good sleeper, and she did not kick her blanket away. Otherwise, it would be too tiring for him.

He walked out of her room, gently closing the door behind him. As he sat beside the sofa that Xia Ruoxin was occupying, he smiled. Very good. They were both asleep. He should sleep, too. This kind of feeling was not too bad.

However, he opened his eyes again. There was a table full of almost-untouched food. Looks like they would be having it for dinner. Even if it was just leftovers, he would have a way to think of them as delicacies as long as she was the one to make them.

A rare silence occupied the room. It was peaceful and quiet with three sleeping people.